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!
Dear God. It's been a long time since I've updated. My muse sort of lost interest with this story and has been wanting to write my Buffy/Dean fic instead. To add insult to injury, school's been sort of sucktastic lately, and the new boy in my life is eating up a lot of my time. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it keeps me from writing fanfiction for all of you wonderful people!
I've decided on the pairing I'll be using, and you'll be seeing it blossom within the next few chapters!
Thanks to PrInCeSsFBi, cRiMsOnGoDdEsS01, iamkagomeiloveinuyasha, BuffyGirl07, and urangel for your WONDERFUL REVIEWS! I'm so glad you're liking my story and the direction where I'm heading!
Anyways, enough of me talking, on with the show!
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Buffy cracked open and eye and immediately shut it again, wincing as the bright sunlight shining through the uncovered window assaulted her retinas. After a few seconds, she opened both eyes cautiously and shot upright as she took in the unfamiliar setting. The bed in which she was laying was intricately carved out of a dark, polished wood, and was located in the center of the room against the wall. The silk sheets were a bright emerald green, and looking up, she saw that the hangings around the bed were made of the same material. A matching nightstand, bureau, chest of drawers, and desk were scattered around the edges of the room, and the walls and floor were made out of the same polished wood. A large, curtain-lined bay window took up of the wall to her right, and she could see a vast landscape filled with gardens and fountains through it. Various paintings depicting Victorian-era scenes lined the walls, and on every surface rested a crystal vase filled with blood red roses. There were two doors in the room, one which she assumed led out into the hallway and the other into an adjoining bathroom. She had never seen a room like this at Hogwarts.
"Crap," she muttered to herself, impressed with the beauty of the room despite the fact that she had no idea where she was. "This can't be good." Her Slayer senses tingled, detecting the presence of magic, and she frowned, wondering if a spell had been put on the room to keep her from escaping. She tried, and failed, to apparate, but this could simply be because she had never attempted it before. Pushing the covers aside, wincing slightly as the tightness in her thigh and stomach made itself known. Looking down, she frowned when she noticed that she was dressed in a long, black silk nightgown, wondering who dressed her, but she quickly pushed that thought aside, deciding that she really didn't want to know. Lifting the hem of the nightgown so that she could inspect her wounds, she saw that the gash in her thigh was almost completely healed. There was a thin white line showing where the knife had pierced her skin, and the area was a bit redder than usual, but other than that, it looked completely fine. She assumed that the cut to her her torso was almost healed as well. Judging by the condition of her wounds, she estimated that she had been out at least two or three days. There were a few healing bruises on her arms and face, but like her other wounds, they were almost gone. She spotted a set of clothes on the dresser and walked over to them, holding them up and seeing that they were her size. Quickly, she let the silk nightgown fall to the floor and pulled on the jeans and white t-shirt, looking into the mirror and admiring how her hair looked and felt perfectly clean and slightly curled even though she had been unconscious for three days. Dropping to the floor, she pulled on the pair of socks that was placed on top of the dresser and a pair of black, high-heeled boots before standing up and seeing her wand on the bedside table. Grabbing it and shoving it into the waistband of her jeans, she made her way to the door and tiptoed out, not wanting to alert anyone to the fact that she had woken up. Emerging into a dimly lit hallway, Buffy stood there for a minute, deciding which way to go, until her Slayer senses gave a particularly large twinge. Dropping into a fighting stance, she immediately relaxed when she saw her former enemy turned ally turned enemy round the corner. Damn. So much for sneaking out without anyone noticing.
"Hey there, Goldilocks." Buffy gave an annoyed sigh and pinned him with a glare.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, giving him a disgusted look.
"What? All out of witty comebacks, Slayer?" he teased, curling his tongue to the roof of his mouth and looking at her in a way that made her want to cover herself with her hands. She managed to resist and cocked her hip to the side, placing a hand on it.
"I said, what are you doing here?"
"Now now, pet, is that any way to greet a mortal enemy?" He paused for a second, bringing his finger to his mouth in mock concentration before dropping it to his side and smirking. "Actually, I guess it is..." She raised an eyebrow, clearly impatient, and he raised his hands out in front of him in a gesture of surrender. "No need to get huffy. Looks like we have the same boss now." Buffy groaned, knowing that he was talking about Voldemort.
"Great."
"Though, I must say. Never pegged you as the type that would be the big bad's bitch." He took a step toward her and reached out to touch her blond hair, and making her jerk backwards. "If I didn't know better, I'd have guessed you were lying..." Slapping his hand out of her personal bubble, she sidestepped him and made her way to the stairs, letting out an annoyed growl when he turned and followed her. "Ooooh, you are, aren't you? Lying to old Voldy to save that Potter boy." Buffy twirled around to see him smirking at her, looking positively giddy, and she narrowed her eyes and threw her fist at his face, feeling infinitely better as a loud crunch echoed through the stairwell. "Ow! You bitch!"
"Oops!" she said, giving him an apologetic smile before turning her back on him and heading down the remaining stairs. Emerging into a dimly lit hallway lined with creepy looking moving portraits, Buffy sighed, knowing that she was in the Malfoy Mannor.
"My Lord, are you sure that it was wise bringing the girl here?" Staying close to the wall, Buffy crept toward the voice, peeking her head around the corner of the dining room and seeing Voldemort, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, Bellatrix, and Angel. Voldemort, Lucius, Narcissa, and Bellatrix were all seated at the table, with Voldemort at the head, but Angel was casually leaning against the back wall, his posture absolutely screaming the arrogance and cockiness. Looking over at Bellatrix, Buffy saw that she looked slightly worse for the wear: She had various cuts on her arms and face and was pouting slightly, much like a child who had been punished for stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. Buffy smiled smugly. It seemed as if Voldemort had punished the brunette for torturing her. Angel's eyes snapped up to meet hers, and the emotionless cold that was concealing his soul flickered slightly, but he made no other move to acknowledge her presence.
"Lucius," said the high-pitched voice of Lord Voldemort. "I brought Miss Summers here to ensure that Dumbledore would not discover her true intentions. Keeping her safe is of the utmost priority, do you understand?" Buffy cocked an eyebrow that this. Apparently her occlumency skills were now good enough to block people from her mind even when she was unconscious.
"Yes, my Lord," conceded Malfoy, bowing his head to his chest in a sign of respect.
"And you are never to question my judgment or any decision I may make. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my Lord." Buffy heard someone descending the stairs and whipped her head around, wincing as her neck cracked. Knowing that it was Spike, she stepped into the dining room, wanting to make her presence known before the annoying beached blond outed her. All eyes turned toward her, and she stood up a little straighter, noticing the furious gleam in Bellatrix's eyes. Angel pushed himself away from the wall and walked over to her, wrapping an arm around her waist and looking into her eyes, silently asking if she was alright. She gave him a small nod and a smile before turning her attention toward an expectant Voldemort.
"Ah, Buffy," he greeted, gesturing toward the seat next to him. "Please. Join us." Buffy took a step forward, but hesitated, wanting to get back to Hogwarts as soon as possible. "What's wrong, my dear?" Suppressing a disgusted look at the term of endearment as Angel tightened his grip on her waist, Buffy forced a smile and shook her head.
"I think I should be getting back to Hogwarts. It's been what? Two... three days?" Voldemort nodded once before waiting for her to continue. "They'll probably suspect something if I'm gone for any longer..." Just then, Spike burst into the room, coming to a stop in the doorway and pinning Buffy with a glare. Angel dropped his arm to his side and clenched his jaw, clearly annoyed to see his grand-childe.
"William," said Voldemort, acknowledging his bloody nose with a raise of his non-existent eyebrow. "Is there a problem?" Spike opened his mouth, clearly about to tell him that Buffy had hit him, but closed it again at the Slayer's gloating smirk and Ange's glare. Narrowing his eyes, he turned back toward Voldemort, and shook his head. "Good." He turned back to Buffy and smiled, a smile that twisted and disfigured his already frightening features. "You make a good point. You are to go back to Hogwarts and inform Dumbledore that we kept you here against your will, is that clear?" She nodded and watched as his gaze settled on Angel. "Angelus. You will go with her. He doesn't know that you have formed an alliance with us, so I doubt he will suspect you of having anything to do with her disappearance. I expect you to keep her safe."
"Yes, my lord." Angel gave him a small nod before holding out his hand to Buffy, giving her a small smile when she entwined her fingers with his. Grabbing a small scrap of paper that lay forgotten atop the black lace tablecloth, Voldemort withdrew his wand from his robes and pointed it at the paper, muttering a quick "portus" and watching it emit a bright blue glow before returning to it's original state. Getting out of his chair, he walked over to the couple, pressing the piece of paper into Buffy's palm and looking into her eyes, bright red connecting with green.
"Be careful," Voldemort instructed almost endearingly before stepping back and waving his hand, indicating for them to go. Giving him another nod, Buffy turned to Spike, giving him a wink before she disappeared from the room, feeling her her lungs compress and expand before her feet slammed into the ground and her knees buckled, sending her tumbling toward the gravel beneath her feet. Closing her eyes and reaching her arms out in front of her to break her fall, she cracked open an eye when she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her waist. Opening the other eye and glancing up, she saw Angel looking down at her with a soft smile and her breath caught in her throat as she tried to wrap her brain around the fact that he was standing with her in direct sunlight. As the golden rays played over his skin and illuminated his features, she continued to stare at him. She had never seen him look more beautiful. Thank God for the Gem of Amara and Spike and his stupidity.
"Thanks." She whispered, unable to tear her eyes from his chocolate brown ones as a rush of emotion flowed through her body. She felt like she was fifteen again, seeing him for the very first time. His breath tickled the flushed skin of her cheek, and she ripped her gaze away from his, pulling away and trying not to notice how his hand lingered on her waist before letting go. Finally noticing how cold it was, as winter was rapidly approaching, she shivered involuntarily, and Angel gave her a concerned look.
"Here." He stripped off his black leather jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, giving her a smile when she gave him an appreciative look. "C'mon lets get you inside." Placing a strong hand on her lower back, he led her toward the castle and through the doors into the entrance hall and closed the doors behind her, cutting off the frigid wind and trapping the cold weather outside. The two made their way up the stairs in silence, Buffy trying to remain impassive as she stared at his hand wrapped around her much smaller one. Hearing a small pop, she looked up to see Peeves, the castle's resident poltergeist hovering above them, holding a water balloon in each hand. Not seeing that she had noticed him, he chucked one of them at them, and Buffy quickly snatched it out of the air before it hit Angel's face. Seeing this, Peeves' eyes widened, and he floated lower, taking the water balloon from her outstretched hand and regarding her raised eyebrow with an expression of mild guilt.
"Peeves," she scolded gently, giving him an amused smile that made him blush. She had found out that he had a little crush on her several weeks ago, and had used that fact to her advantage, gradually weaning him off practical jokes, unless she approved of them of course. "Play nice. Go find Snapey and drop these on him, alright?" Her smile widened as he stood up straight, quite a feat as he was floating in mid air, and gave her a mock salute.
"Right away, Miss Buffy!" With that he zoomed off, leaving Buffy to giggle at the image of Snape drenched and annoyed and Angel to smile at his former love's amusement.
"He really seems to have taking a liking you," he pointed out, and she laughed, shaking her head.
"Yeah, sorry about that." She gave him a smile and continued her climb, feeling him fall into step with her almost instantly. "Guess he's just jealous of you." She started to head in the direction of her room, wanting to take a shower and change into her own clothes, but half way there, she changed her mind. "I should probably go find Giles and let him know that I'm not lying dead in a ditch somewhere, shouldn't I?"
"That would probably be a good idea," he said with an amused smile before his features turned serious. She gave him a concerned look at his abrupt change in mood, but he squeezed her hand to let her know that everything was fine. "Voldemort just wants me to a bit of recon. Nothing to worry about." But she wasn't convinced.
"I don't want you to go," she said with a frown, images of him dead, or worse flooding her mind. "You could get killed." He gave her a soft smile and reached out a hand to brush a stray strand of blond hair out of her face and affectionately tuck it behind her ear.
"It's not any more dangerous than what you're doing."
"Yeah," she sighed, but continued to worry. "But still..."
"Don't worry about me," he whispered, his hand trailing down to cup her cheek. "I'll be fine." The continued to stare into each other's eyes for a few more minutes before Buffy cleared her throat and pulled away.
"Alright. Be careful." Giving one last glance, she descended a flight of stairs and headed down the corridor toward the library, knowing exactly where her Watcher and mentor would be. Not seeing Madame Prince at the check-out desk, Buffy walked straight to the Restricted Section, and smiled when she saw him sitting at a large, polished wooden table in between two of the stacks.
"Giles!" she called, watching amusedly as his gaze snapped in her direction, and he nearly dropped the dusty old book he was looking over. Haphazardly tossing it onto the table, causing it to emit a large plume of dust, he rushed over to her and swept her up into a hug before holding her out at arms length to assess any damages.
"Thank God you're alright." Seemingly satisfied with her state, Buffy's former Watcher led her to the large wooden table and practically shoved her down into one of the chairs. "Where on earth have you been? I've been worried sick!" Dropping down in the chair next to her, Giles kept his eyes on her, frowning slightly at the various bruises that littered her arms and face. "We all were. We looked for you for days." Buffy sighed and leaned back in the chair, stretching out her hand to absently flip through a book sitting on the table.
"The big bad had me," she started, barely paying attention to his reaction. "Said that he wasn't going to leave me in Dumbledore's care. That he didn't trust him with my life."
"Voldemort showed concern for your well being?" Giles asked quizzically, furrowing his brow in confusion and plucking the glasses off of the bridge of his nose to clean him with the cloth he kept in his pocket. Buffy smiled at the familiar gesture.
"Yeah, it's so weird." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "He speaks to me in a much kinder voice than everyone else. And Bellatrix gets all jealous when he touches me... Bleh." A ghost of a smile appeared on her Watcher's face at her expression, but he quickly covered it with a concerned look.
"It worries me how involved you are getting with him. It means that you'll be in greater danger if he finds out where your true loyalties lie."
"I know," Buffy said, sighing. "But it's too late now. He trusts me, and I can't very well pull out now. We need someone on the inside. Someone that he can trust and tell stuff he wouldn't to Snape or Angel." The two sat in silence for a few moments, pondering this, until Buffy got impatient and started fidgeting, the built up energy from her coma buzzing through her. "I gotta get out of here. It's too quiet." Giles stood up with her and walked her to the entrance of the library, stopping when they reached the door. "Pass the word on that I'm back?" He nodded. "Where's Harry? I want to go see him and show him that I'm not lying dead in a ditch somewhere."
"He's probably in the infirmary," he answered, giving her a knowing look that she choose to ignore. "He's been by his godfather's side since you disappeared. Took your place in waiting for him to awaken."
"Alright, thanks." With one last smile, she was gone, making her way down three flights of stairs and several corridors, finally finding herself standing in front of the plain white doors that led to the school's infirmary. Turning the large brass knob and peeking her head in, Buffy saw Madame Pomfrey occupied with another patient, a young blond girl, and practically sprinted in the direction of Sirius' private room, not wanting to be seen. She was perfectly fine and didn't feel like having a couple of dozen potions shoved down her throat, something that would inevitably happen if the mediwitch caught sight of her. Slithering through the small crack in the door she made, she stepped into the dimly lit room, watching as the dark-haired figure occupying her usual seat next to Sirius' bed whirled around at the sound of the door closing, his expression quickly changing from surprise to relief.
"Buffy," Harry greeted, crossing the room in a few steps and wrapping her petite form up in a hug. "Thank God you're alright. I was so worried about you." The next thing she knew, he had wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and his pressed his lips to hers, eliciting a small gasp of surprise from the blond Slayer. It was a quick, chaste kiss, and his lips were gone from hers just as quickly as he had pressed them together.
"I, um..." she started but trailed off, not knowing what to say. Instead, she pulled back from his embrace and shyly tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Suddenly, the sound of a throat being cleared echoed through the room, and the two teenagers turned their heads in the direction of the bed only to see the man previously-unconscious man sitting up in bed and staring at them.
"Who are you?" he asked, his eyes trained on Buffy and his voice gruff from lack of use. "And why are you kissing my godson?"
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I am aware this chapter is extremely short and doesn't really do anything for the plot, but I needed a little filler to kick my muse into gear. Hope you guys liked it! Drop me a review on your way out!