Okay, I'm not going to keep saying that I don't own anything so this is the last time and it carries through the rest of the story. I don't own Harry Potter or Buffy.
AN: Suggestions are welcome for any pairings. I heart reviews. And Buffy will get to Hogwarts in due time, just gotta establish the Sunnydale stuff and make the transition. Helps with believability.
Chapter 2: Just a Girl
Buffy was lounging on the couch in her living room. She was stretched out in her yummy sushi PJs with her hair in a messy pony tail and vegging out with a stack of movies she and her mom had been planning on watching. Buffy thought she owed it to her mother to spend some time with her. Her mom had never asked to have a slayer as a daughter, did she? What if Xander hadn't been there to revive her? It would have just killed her mom. And she loved her mom, she really did. If something happened to her because of Buffy...no. No thinking about that. She hated hiding things from her mom but she had to, for her mom's safety and hers. Last time she had tried to reach out she ended up in the loony bin. Not fun. Besides, she was secret identity girl here, not that she had done a great job at it in Sunnydale. Pushing the thoughts out of her head, Buffy looked up and smiled when her mom came in. This was their night.
"Hey, honey," Joyce said. "Okay now what movies do we have?" She leaned over and picked up a couple of the movies and started shuffling through them. "Pretty Woman, Grease, Groundhog Day..."she paused before continuing in an are-you-kidding-tone, "and Dracula, Buffy?" She looked up at Buffy and shook her head. "Really, I don't know how you can watch that kind of movie. I can't stand horror movies. And they are so gory and violent. Who really needs to see that? It sends a bad message. Why can't people talk things out?"
Buffy rolled her eyes and protested, "Talk things out with the big bad evil monster? Yeah, like that ever works. Besides, it is sooo not scary, mom. I think these type of movies are funny. Like, they are soooo unrealistic. What kind of vampire acts like that anyways? Capes and coffins? What self respecting vampire sleeps in a coffin? I mean sure, crypts are common and stuff but still. It's just lame. Which is why it's funny." She noticed her mom giving her a weird look. Buffy fidgeted and then forced a laugh. "Not that vampires are real. It's just that, if they were, which they aren't, they wouldn't turn into bats or anything. And garlic? Puh-lease, give me a break." She stopped herself before she could continue her babble. God, she was starting to sound like Willow.
"I say let's start with Grease," her mother decided, ignoring Buffy's babbling. Buffy's mom was good at ignoring her daughters oddities by now.
Buffy smiled. "Grease it is." She curled up next to her mother. It was nice, doing this. But it wasn't the same for her as it once was. Before she died, it had been easy to watch a fun movie with her mom and forget about being the Slayer. She could always do that later. She could lose herself in the movie and be normal Buffy again, feel safe next to her mother, and not worry about the monsters. It was harder now. She had come to terms that normal Buffy doesn't exist. Neither does safety.
"Is Willow coming tonight?" Joyce asked.
"Huh?" said Buffy, snapping out of it. "Oh yeah, she couldn't. Homework and all that. You know Willow," Buffy easily lied. She hadn't invited Willow. She didn't really want to see any other friends, not that she didn't love them. She just couldn't relate to them. And she was a danger to them. As long as they helped her, they could get hurt. They didn't have super powers and they kinda got in her way sometimes and endangered her when she had to risk herself to protect them. She knew they meant well. They thought they were helping. Or was it still just a game to them, where Buffy could always save the day at the end? Either way, she didn't want them to get hurt. She had to keep them safe, along with the rest of the world she mentally added to herself with a sigh. She was having conflicting feelings of anger at them, resentment at everything, and a whole lot of stuff she just didn't want to deal with right now. It was way easier to deal with her problems by beating her problems out on the local demons and vampires. Buffy shifted uncomfortably. Another reason why she didn't want Willow to spend movie night with them was she had wanted alone time with her mother. She had wanted to recapture that safe feeling. Even though she failed at that, she would be damned before that would ruin her mom time and a night off from patrol. She had too eagerly jumped into a fight with a group of vamps and had taken some harsh blows which hadn't healed yet, even with her fast healing. She internally winced at the pain as it flared up. Her face remained smooth as ever though as she pushed the lingering pain back down. She bottled her emotions and feelings up.
"I do know Willow. She's a good friend for you, Buffy, and a good influence," Joyce said. The movie was almost rewound. Joyce hated it when people didn't rewind the movies after renting them. It was rude. "You really should take a hint from her and study more. I'm concerned about you. You need to work harder on keeping your grades off if you want to get into a college. Your record isn't exactly stunning."
"Mom!" Buffy looked at her mother incredulously. "I can't believe you'd bring that up! I-"
"Sorry, sorry," Joyce interrupted. "You're right I shouldn't have brought it up. The movie's staring now. Forgive me?" Joyce smiled hopefully.
"Yeah sure, mom. Shhh it's playing," Buffy distractedly replied even though the comment hurt her.
Joyce felt guilty as she looked at her 16 year old girl. She looked so young and small. She was young, Joyce reminded herself. It was easy to forget that sometimes. One minute she'd be happy peppy Buffy but she could switch to a more serious Buffy in a heartbeat. It never used to be that way. She was always her sunshine girl, popular and outgoing. Now, her friend circle was more limited (although Willow and Xander were great for her, it's just she used to have so many more friends...) and Buffy could switch from outgoing to quiet and...introspective? She also seemed to shut Joyce out sometimes in a way she never did before. It bothered her. Buffy had changed in the past couple years. Even in the way she held herself. Not to mention the trouble she always was getting into now. There was something...She shook her head clear of her thoughts. She was being silly. Joyce fell back into sweet Sunnydale denial as she turned her attention to the movie and her little girl beside her.
Rupert Giles rubbed his glasses. He was sitting in his living with a now empty glass of scotch. He had been on the phone with the Watchers Council for the past hour. The Council wasn't very fond of Buffy. Buffy had her own unique ways of doing things and the Council liked tradition. The idea of two slayers was just not something they liked. It frustrated Giles. He had learned a lot since becoming a watcher to an actual slayer. Two slayers of course would be better than one not only for the world and the fight against evil, but it would ease the heavy burden placed on the shoulders of the young girls. Travers, one of the top men on the Council, was not pleased with the idea though that Giles had proposed. Damn that foolish man! Was he blind? He had discussed with them his idea of sending Buffy to Hogwarts. He himself didn't exactly love the thought of sending away not only a talented, experienced capable slayer from the Hellmouth (even if she kicked and screamed the whole way against her destiny, she nonetheless did her job and did it well), but a girl who he had grown to love as a daughter. He had put his own feelings aside though and figured it was best for her. It would help her heal and she could learn so much, maybe even enough to keep her alive longer than slayers tended to live. He hated the thought of his young charge dying again. Giles, I'm sixteen years old. I don't wanna die. But the Council was hesitant. They did want the newer, more disciplined girl guarding the now semi quiet- or at least as quiet as it could possibly get-hellmouth. And they did not want Buffy's unconventional ways influencing the less experienced girl. So why the hesitation? They just did not want her to a place like Hogwarts. If Buffy was capable of learning magic, she could become uncontrollable and dangerous in their opinion. Giles scoffed. Well, of course slayers could be dangerous! They have to be dangerous. Also, the Council was possessive of their control over the Slayer Line. Slayers were known in the wizarding world to a degree. Some viewed them as myths and others knew their existence to be real. The views and the opinions were mixed as to whether the slayer was good. Regardless, the council was afraid if a slayer, particularly this one, involved herself in the affairs of the wizarding world, somehow trouble would ensue or they would lose control of her and the wizards would not only gain it, but help her tap deeper into her power making her a bigger threat should she chose to rebel. And Buffy Summers was just the type of girl who might rebel. The thought of his Buffy having access to her full slayer abilities scared them a bit. The thought of her knowing or understanding what they were scared them perhaps even more, as the Watchers even did not fuller understand the history of the slayers, or the extent of their powers. In the end, Giles had surprisingly won over, on the conditions that Buffy not reveal her identity. He smiled ruefully. The slayer wasn't supposed to reveal her identity anyways, but Buffy tended to slip up on that sometimes. Kendra would become the Council's Slayer and they would for now ignore "the Summers girl". Maybe she'd get herself killed again in this new unfamiliar world and things would be set right. Giles was mad when they had implied that but he snorted at the thought. Buffy was hard to kill and when she was killed she didn't stay dead. No, his girl was a fighter. he would miss her. His girl...
Review more? Please? And like I said, pairing suggestions are more than welcome. As are other suggestions or just observations. Feedback makes me happy and encourages more writing. And makes my day happy.
Oh yeah, and authors note- yes I said movie, not DVD, and rewound...DVDs weren't the thing yet. But as I've messed with the time lines a little, I might get confused and bring up stuff like technology or pop culture wise that hadn't happened yet. I will try not to but if I do, well, oops.
