Title: All You Need is Faith.

Author: Knife Hand

Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated

Spoilers: None.

Rating: R

Disclaimer: I do not own either Buffy or Harry Potter.

Summary: In desperation, with the threat of Dolores Umbridge hanging over his head, Dumbledore reaches out to find a new DADA Professor. What he gets is a survivor, a warrior and a rebel… who can't do magic. But maybe this Dark Slayer is exactly what Hogwarts needs.

A/N: apologies in advance for the dense dialogue in this chapter. If you are familiar with the subject matter, then sorry for rehashing it, if not then you might learn something.


Faith and the Fourth Year Ravenclaw Gryffindor Defence class were all standing around a model of a mountainous pass and a coastal area beyond.

"Ok, this is the pass of Thermopylae in northern Greece, which roughly translates to The Hot Gates." Faith explained, gesturing to the model. "This is one of the most famous battles in history. There were about four thousand Greeks, led by King Leonidas of Sparta and his three hundred bodyguard. On the other side were the Persians, led by King Xerces. While some historical sources claim there were a Million Persians, there were probably only one hundred to one hundred and fifty thousand."

Faith was walking around the model, which took up a large portion of the classroom. She could see some interest from the Gryffindors, they were supposed to be the brave ones, while most of the Ravenclaws were thoughtful, perhaps thinking that things should be more fair.

"The Greeks were Hoplites, heavily armed infantry with large bronze shields and long spears, and they fought in a tight formation called a Phalanx, each man protecting the man's shield protecting the man to his right and a veritable wall of spear points. The Persians on the other hand were mostly a mix of archers and light infantry with wicker shields. It was the Greeks who chose this place to fight. Anyone want to tell me why they would choose this spot?" Faith asked.

The students studied the model for a moment as Faith continued to stroll.

"No ideas at all?" Faith asked again.

"Did it limit the number of men that the Persians could use at any one time?" Ginny Weasley asked.

"It did indeed." Faith said. "The Greeks set up at the narrowest point of the pass and let the Persians come to them. For two full days the Greeks held out inflicting terrible losses on the Persians and rotating out their Phalanxes to give the men a rest. At dawn on the third day, it was revealed that a Greek traitor had shown the Persians a way around the Greek position. Once the Greeks found out about the encircling Persians, most of them left the field to return to their own City States, but approximately fifteen hundred Greeks, including all of the Spartans, stayed as a rear guard. Now most of the Greek Hoplites were Citizen Soldiers. They were not full time soldiers, but were Potters, Blacksmiths, Weavers and all the other trades that kept a City State running and only went to war when necessary. The Spartans on the other hand were full time Soldiers. Their profession was War."

Faith was using a pointer to show the Movement of the Persians and the position of the remaining Greeks.

"On the final day, the Greeks did not wait for the Persians, instead charged out to meet them. A few soldiers from the City State of Thebes surrendered but the rest of the defenders died to the last man. So my question to you is… which side won?" Faith asked.

"Obviously the Persians won." A Gryffindor boy said. "They drove the Greeks from the battlefield and killed those who remained."

"No. The Greeks won." Luna Lovegood countered, getting derisive laughs from most of the class.

"Why do you think the Greeks won?" Faith asked.

"The Greeks were buying time." Luna explained. "At first to simply delay the Persians and on the last day to allow the other Greeks to get away."

"But the Persians took the field. That means they won." The Gryffindor boy argued.

"Actually you both are right." Faith replied. "From their own perspective, both sides won the battle of Thermopylae. It is a matter of how you define winning. In immediate terms, the Persians won by defeating the defenders marching into Greece. But for King Leonidas the ultimate goal was never to completely destroy the Persian army, though if the Greeks had held out another day or two then a lack of food could have forced the Persians to retreat."

Faith gazed over the students, many of whom were stunned to hear that 'Loony' Lovegood was right.

"On the final day in particular, the Spartan King's goal was twofold. First was to inspire, through example, the rest of Greece to rise up and oppose the Persians, because at this time Greece was a patchwork of City States that fought each other as much as they did the Persians and some City States openly supported the Persians. His second goal was to demoralise the Persian soldiers. In this Leonidas was extremely successful. The Greeks had a number of victories both on land and at sea following the battle and approximately one year after Thermopylae a pair of battles, Plataea on land and Mycale at sea finally crushed the Persian invasion." Faith conclude and then gestured at the model. "So… what have you learnt from this?"

There was silence for a moment before Ginny raised her hand and Faith nodded to her to proceed.

"The location of where to fight can make a lot of difference in the outcome. If the Greeks did not have the pass to funnel the Persians, then they could not have countered such a difference in the number of men." Ginny answered.

"Good. Anything else?" Faith prompted.

"Victory is not the only way to win." Luna said.

"Absolutely." Faith said. "That is one of the most important lesson you can ever learn. Sometimes there is something that is more important than your own life. Figuring out what a 'win' for both yourself and your opponent is vital. If you don't know what that 'win' is, then you can kill your enemy and still lose. There are some cases where dying is even vital to achieving that 'win'."

The bell for the end of class rang.

"We'll save that for another time." Faith said. "Dismissed."

The Fourth Years picked up their gear, which had been put at the back of the room, and left for lunch. Faith just hoped McGonagall was not going to be too long in showing up to shrink the model so Faith could store it back in her office.


Faith sat on her desk in front of the Fifth Year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, having just pulled the cover off the magical artefact standing next to her desk.

"It's a mirror." Shamus said.

"Yep." Faith replied, popping the p sound. "I also have it facing the wall for your own safety. Now I believe Potter and Weasley are familiar with this particular mirror. They can have a go if they want, but everyone else is to come up and look in the mirror for one minute. I will be timing and will drag you away if need be. You don't need to talk about what you see in The Mirror. Finnegan, you're up first."

There was a gamut of emotions that crossed the students faces as they looked into the Mirror or Erised. Confusion. Hope. Excitement. Need. Most students were able to pull themselves away when she called time, but two needed Faith to shake them out of their trance.

"Apart from Potter, Weasley and Granger, can anyone tell me what this Mirror does?" she asked after everyone had their go looking in the mirror.

"It shows the future." One student said.

"Can't be. I saw the past." Susan Bones countered.

There was a moment of confused silence, where Faith rolled her eyes.

"Potter, enlighten us." Faith instructed.

"It's the Mirror of Erised. It shows the deepest desire of the viewer's heart. What it shows is not true, merely what we want the most." Harry replied.

A few of the students blushed at that explanation.

"This is probably one of the most dangerous items I will ever bring into this classroom." Faith said. "This show the biggest weakness that most people have, even those who are prepared to fight. Most people are unaware that their desires can be used against them and the deepest wounds can be emotional rather than physical. The other side is an attack through your fears, but I understand one of your previous Professors had you face a Boggart. There is no way to fully protect yourself from emotional attacks but knowing your desires and fears will assist in recognising these kind of attacks and help counter them. I have seen some mighty warriors break when their desires were waved in front of them and others who were not proficient fighters face their deepest fear and force that fear to submit to them."

"Then how do we protect ourselves?" Hannah Abbott asked.

"Easiest way?" Faith said with a shrug. "You don't. Easiest way is to protect each other. What makes one person weak can have no effect on another, or even make another stronger."

Jumping off the desk, Faith went to retrieve the cover for the mirror and glanced into it for a second.

"If you don't mind me asking, Professor, what do you see in the Mirror?" Potter asked.

"A chance long past." Faith replied. "Class dismissed."

The students filed out and Faith took last long look in the mirror before throwing the cover over it. The afterimage still echoed in her mind. A crocked smile, a strong arm around her shoulders, soulful brown eyes. A small red dress, hair like her own in pigtails, his eyes, her own grin in a tiny face, small hands clutching around her legs. What could have been… what she destroyed before it could be.

TBC….