Disclaimer: Again, I do not own any of the characters in the story. All are owned by either Joss Whedon or J.K. Rowling.

Authors Notes: This is, again, a rewrite of the original Chapter 3 and also, part of the original Chapter 5. From here, things are vastly different from the original yet there are many aspects that coincide with those particular chapters.

Entering the Wizarding World

Buffy released a great sigh of relief as she exited the plane, wincing at her cramping muscles. She moved out of the way of the other exiting passengers, so she could reach down and massage her aching legs without holding up the line of traffic. As Willow and Dawn walked over to stand next to her, Buffy rolled her head to work out the kinks in her neck. Smiling ruefully at her traveling partners, she said, "A Slayer is not meant to be trapped in an itsy plane seat for that long. It's cruel and unusual punishment."

"People aren't meant to be trapped in a plane for that long, period," Dawn said, feeling her own legs aching after hours of sitting. "And at least you're short. For us tall people, it's even worse."

"Did you miss the Slayer part?" Buffy snapped, glaring at her sister for the slight. "Not meant to be trapped in small enclosed places for extended periods? It's so much worse for me."

Before Dawn could retort, Willow stepped between the two bickering sisters and held up her hands wearily. "It sucks for everyone, guys. Can we just cool it? All of us are on edge right now, 'cause that flight was just way too long, ok? Besides, we're in Britain! A brand new country! Doesn't that must make you want to go 'ooo?'"

Dawn nodded grudgingly at Willow's words, casting one last glance at her sister before smiling as she looked around the airport. "Yeah, we're in the land of Giles! And we get to go to a super cool mag….um….school."

"So how are we going to find our guides?" Buffy asked Willow, ignoring Dawn's almost slip-up. "Did it say anything in the letter?"

Willow shook her head, biting her lip nervously as she looked around. "No. So how are we supposed to recognize them? Are they going to be all dressed in robes and hats. No, that wouldn't make much sense, cause then they would be all stared at and people might think they're crazy. But then what are we supposed to do? I mean, cause they really didn't say in the letter that they sent us and – "

"Breathe, Will," Buffy interrupted, turning to her friend. "We'll figure it out. Somehow."

"So, let me get this straight," Dawn said, raising an eyebrow in disbelief as she stared the two down. "You guys accept a job offer, pack up all the luggage, bring me along for the ride, and not know how exactly we're getting to the place you're teaching?"

Buffy and Willow glanced at each other for a minute before turning back to look at Dawn, shrugging their shoulders helplessly. Dawn shook her head at the two of them. "Whatever."

"We might as well get outta here. I need to get the rest of my luggage. The last thing I want to do is lose all those great pairs of shoes," Buffy said as she started following the last of the exiting passengers. Willow and Dawn followed immediately, shaking their heads at her shoe obsession. All three of them hurried through the Heathrow Airport, Buffy leading them as if on a mission to protect her shoes from being stolen. They quickly made it to baggage claim when, having just grabbed their checked luggage, Buffy felt a light tap on her shoulder. She spun around quickly and found herself face-to-face with a girl about her age. Yet it was not the girl that caught her attention; rather, it was her shock of bright pink hair.

"Buffy Summers?" the girl asked cheerfully. Buffy looked at her warily before nodding. The girl smiled at her and stuck out her hand, "Wotcher! I'm Tonks."

"Hi…Tonks," Buffy said slowly as she shook her hand, eyes trained on the pink hair.

"We've been waiting for you for a bit," Tonks continued, completely unperturbed by Buffy's wary reaction. At the use of the world 'we', the three Americans scanned the airport crowds momentarily before noticing a shabbily dressed man walking towards them. His features had a weariness to him, as if he had shouldered a great burden for many years. Gray streaked his light brown hair, a surprising amount for a man who otherwise looked to be in his early 30s. A smile crossed his face as he saw them, a smile that seemed to light up his entire face and erase some of the weariness.

"I see you have found them, Tonks," he said to his companion as he reached a hand out for the girls to shake. "I am Remus Lupin. We were sent to intercept you at the airport, to help guide you to your meeting."

As Buffy shook Lupin's hand, her Slayer Sense starting tingling and a frown momentarily crossed her face before she replaced it with a sunny smile. He noticed her momentary frown and hastily withdrew his hand, looking at her nervously. The others noticed the strange exchange between the two, but before anyone could comment on it, Lupin turned and smiled at the others.

"We had better get going," he said, displaying none of the nervousness he had portrayed earlier. "I'm sure that Professor Dumbledore would like to talk our new professors as soon as possible."

Before anyone could comment on his abrupt end to the conversation, he had spun around and indicated for them to follow him. Buffy and Willow shrugged and started following. As they did, Buffy started as she heard Willow's voice in her head, though echoing strangely. While she had heard Spike mention Willow's blossoming ability, she had not yet experienced it.

Is something wrong, Buffy? You seemed kinda wigged by Remus.

A slight nod of her head was the only indication that Buffy had heard the message. Willow took this as a sign that they would talk later; as for now, they followed their guides out of the airport and into a waiting vehicle. Dawn, not noticing the awkwardness between the adults, chatted on about the excitement of being in England as they placed their luggage in the trunk.

"This is soo cool," the teenager gushed as she looked at the sights around her, drinking in all the differences between London and Sunnydale. Lupin slammed the trunk closed and opened the door for the others. Dawn looked at the car in confusion, wondering how all of them would be able to fit in one vehicle. Yet, as she got into the vehicle, the interior seemed to stretch before her very eyes, becoming large enough to fit everyone in their party. Her jaw dropped in shock at the unexpected show of magic. "Omigod!"

"How does that work?" Willow asked in wonder, almost bouncing in her seat at the prospect of discovering different types of magic. Lupin smiled at her obvious interest in the subject, sensing the intelligence behind the bouncy exterior.

"It's a charm that's been put on the vehicles to allow them to expand inwardly without expanding outwardly as well; so it doesn't draw the Muggle's attention." Tonks said.

All three of the newcomers glanced at each other in confusion before turning back to their wizard guides. "Muggles?"

"Non-magic people," Lupin explained at their question. The three nodded at the explanation and a silence fell between the occupants of the magical vehicle. At the uncomfortable silence, Willow started looking around the vehicle, looking at every crevice as if trying to figure out the charm put on the car when suddenly, the suitcase on her lap shifted and a slight squeak could be heard from inside.

"Oh!" Willow exclaimed, her mouth opening with surprise. Her hand flew immediately to her mouth as she turned to Dawn and Buffy. "I forgot about the spell!"

While Lupin and Tonks stared at her in confusion, Willow placed the suitcase onto her outstretched hands and lifted it until it was at eye-level. She stared at the suitcase intensely for a moment when suddenly, in the blink of an eye, the suitcase changed from a leather red case to a wire-cage complete with a squeaking rat. Satisfied that she had done the spell correctly, Willow lowered the cage onto her lap. She smiled brightly at her completed spell, though the smile faltered as she saw the looks of astonishment on Lupin's and Tonks' faces.

"How did you do that without a wand?" Tonks asked, her eyes glued on the cage Willow had just transformed.

"Well, it took a lot of practice. I had to start out small, learning how to levitate pencils and stuff. And it was really hard at first, cause I had to really work on control," she said, her voice brimming with enthusiasm, "And ever since the battle with…"

Her voice trailed off abruptly, leaving her sentence trailing. Lupin and Tonks stared at her quizzically, as if both wondering why she had stopped talking so abruptly. Tonks opened her mouth to begin questioning her about the unfinished sentence, but was immediately cut off as Dawn leaned forward.

"Your hair is totally cool," she said bubbly, "It reminds me a lot of Oz, 'cept he never had pink hair."

"Oz!" Buffy said suddenly, her sharp eyes focusing in on Lupin. "That's who you remind me off."

Lupin cocked his head slightly at her sudden statement about him, smiling slightly as he asked. "And who is Oz? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"My ex-boyfriend," Willow explained, also staring at Lupin, as if a light bulb had gone on suddenly in her head. "He left for Tibet over a year ago because…"

"He's a werewolf," Buffy said bluntly.

The temperature in the car dropped considerably at Buffy's matter-of-fact proclamation. Lupin's face paled at the words and for the first time, he looked at the Slayer nervously. An icy silence fell between them, which lasted a full five minutes. Tonks glared at the Slayer, frowning at the bluntness of her words.

"So what?" Tonks said indignantly, her eyes cold as she glared at Buffy. "So what if he is? What's the big deal?"

Buffy shrugged nonchalantly as she leaned back in the seat, the tension in her shoulders being released. She glanced at Lupin once before turning her head towards Tonks. "It doesn't bother me. I just don't like people keeping secrets from me. I like to know what I'm getting into, especially when it involves moving to a new country."

"Y-yeah," Willow stuttered, off-put by the tension still filling the car. "I mean, Oz was a werewolf when we dated, so we have no problem with werewolves. Good werewolves."

The last sentence was said with such force that Lupin and Tonks were surprised out of their other emotions. They looked at Willow questioningly, but she shook her head, though a slight smile crossed her lips. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"So, am I considered a good werewolf?" Lupin asked, half-serious, half-joking. Buffy and Willow exchanged glances before turning back to him.

"Well, you did save us from getting lost in a wacky new country," Buffy said, smiling at him. "So I guess you get points for that."

Before anyone could reply, the caged rat started to squeak as it ran around the cage, as if searching for an escape. Concern crossed Willow's features as she bent over the cage, watching the rat intently. For a few moments, all attention was concentrated on the rat. Willow looked up at Buffy, nervously biting her lip.

"I hope she's ok," said Willow. "What if the magic hurt her?"

"She'll be fine, Will," Buffy replied, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We'll have the Dunder-dude look at her, and poof! she'll be better."

"Dumbledore?" Lupin asked. Buffy nodded her head, though her attention was still focused on Willow and the rat. "Is there a problem with your pet?"

The women looked up at the statement and exchanged smiles. "Actually, this is Amy. We went to school with her but she turned herself into a rat to avoid being burnt at the stake and then she couldn't change back even though I tried every spell that I knew but it obviously didn't work because she's still, well, a rat…"

"Breathe, Will," Dawn instructed, speaking up since the hair comment. "Everything will work out."

"We can try to help her while you're meeting with Professor Dumbledore," Lupin said. "We might be able to help, and even if we can't, there are many options for people in her situation."

All three Americans nodded, mostly in relief. Suddenly, the car lurched to a stop. Tonks and Lupin smiled and unbuckled their seat belts as they opened the car door. Buffy, Willow, and Dawn followed, with Willow being careful not to jostle the cage. As they exited the vehicle, all looked around in confusion, not seeing anything that looked remotely magical. Looking at their guides for answers, Tonks just motioned towards the book store and the record store in front of them.

"Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron," she announced beaming.

As the words passed through her lips, a small, shabby-looking building seemed to appear between their very eyes. The windows were dusty and it seemed as if nobody had visited for a very long time. The women glanced at their guides dubiously before shrugging and entering into the building, following Lupin and Tonks.

Inside they found a room bustling with activity, though most of the occupants of the room kept looking around nervously, as if something was going to jump out at them. And for the amount of people in the room, it was surprisingly quiet. Most people did not even have a drink in front of them, though they were seated at the many tables throughout the area. Tonks and Lupin bypassed all the tables and immediately went over to talk to the burly man behind the bar. They kept their voices down, though Buffy could hear snippets of the conversation, enough to deduct that they were going to be taken to Professor Dumbledore.

With a smile and a word of thanks, Lupin moved away from the bar and walked back over to the women. "Professor Dumbledore is already in a private parlor room to meet with you. Dawn and...Amy can stay with us while you talk about your new teaching job. The room is the first one on the right."

Buffy and Willow glanced at each other before going in the direction that Lupin had showed them. Dawn watched them walk off as she, Lupin, and Tonks. As her sister and friend disappeared into the hallway, Dawn's eyes fell upon a young man watched her intently. At first glance, he reminded her of a smaller, younger Spike. The whitish-blonde hair, coupled with a very strong cheekbone and pale skin were very reminiscent of the vampire. The only very noticeable difference was the eyes. Instead of the warm blue eyes she was used to seeing, cold gray eyes stared back at her in extreme disdain. With a deep sneer at her, he stood up and broke their eye-contact. She stared at him as he walked away before turning back to her companions, smiling brightly at them.

Meanwhile, Buffy and Willow found themselves in a densely lit hallway, rich dark wood lining the narrow hall. The farther they traveled, the less light seemed to permeate the hallway until, at last, they noticed bright light coming from a doorway on their right. Taking a deep breath, Willow walked into the open doorway, squinting slightly at the brightness of the light. She blinked her eyes a few time, in an attempt to get them to focus.

Her jaw dropped as the room came into focus. A long, dark wooden table sat in the middle of the room, an array of candles lining its length. Dripping wax fell gently onto the wood, slowly hardening as it lay. Underneath the table lay a carpet of deep red, which accented the red and gold wallpaper that lined the room. The striped paper, in which the gold stripes were smaller then the red, held an array of portraits that seemed to stare back at the women. At second glance, Willow realized that the portraits were staring at them. In fact, the expressions on the people's faces changes just as any person would and as she watched, a few of the people portrayed looked at her in disinterest, stood up, and walked out of the frame.

"Buffy!" squeaked Willow, pointing at the portraits. "They moved!"

Buffy raised an eyebrow in disbelief as she turned to Willow, wondering if the excitement of learning about magic schools and moving to teach at one in Great Britain had caused Willow to actually lose her mind. With an eyebrow still raised, she followed Willow's outstretched finger and looked at the paintings. Her look of disbelief dissolved into a shocked look that mirrored Willow's.

"Um, Will?" Buffy asked, not taking her eyes off the portraits as she spoke. "Was there something in the airplane food? Cause last time I checked, paintings stayed put. They didn't move and walk and hey! That one's laughing at me!"

Before she could respond, a chuckle behind them caused both to spin around in surprise, with Buffy immediately falling into a defensive position. They found themselves facing an elderly man, his hair, beard, and mustache as silvery as reflected moonlight. Half-moon spectacles sat upon a crooked nose, behind which were twinkling blue eyes as he serenely looked at his newly hired professors. Unlike the other wizards and witches that they had seen in the bar, his robes were a deep royal blue in color, complete with a matching pointed hat.

Yet, it was not the clothes he wore that captured their attention. Nor was it the twinkling blue eyes that stared at them in delight. It was the wisdom and power that seemed to flow off of him in waves. Just a mere glimpse of the man would hint at the hidden power that covered the air around him and seemed to fall on everything he touched. Both Buffy and Willow stared at him for a moment before they recovered themselves.

Buffy stuck a hand out, looking the man straight in the eye. A normal person would not cause a Slayer's eyes to widen slightly in shock, as hers did for a split second. A normal person would not phase Buffy as he just had. Obviously, this man was not a normal person.

"Buffy Summers," she said. "And you are…?"

"I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am the one who sent you the letter you received a short while ago," he smiled, shaking hand with her. As their hands met, Buffy could feel a current of power running through her arm at even the mere touch of his hand.

Note to self: Don't mess with him. Not with that power.

"And you must be Willow Rosenburg," he said, turning to Willow. Just like with Buffy, he shook her hand before turning his gaze to both of them. "And I venture that the young Miss Summers is currently sitting with Remus and Nymphadora?"

They looked at him in confusion, and he quickly amended his statement. "You would know her as Tonks."

"Oh, yeah," Buffy said nonchalantly. "Didn't realize her name was Nymph…something. Doesn't anyone have normal names around here?"

"Says the girl with the porn star name," Willow said ruefully. Even with the death glare that Buffy leveled at her, Willow didn't flinch and instead looked at her companion challenging.

Dumbledore chuckled again at their interactions, seeing how the two new professors would have an interesting effect on the wizarding world. "You will find, Miss Summers, that there are an array of names here, just as there are in your world. And in reference to the portraits, you will find that there are many things in the wizarding world that are quite unexpected."

"But how do they move?" Willow asked eagerly.

"If a wizard or witch agrees to have a portrait done before they die, they leave a small amount of their essence in the portrait. That way, a small part of their lives will live on forever, even after they die," he explained patiently.

Willow opened her mouth again, as if ready to spill forth a variety of questions, but Dumbledore put up a hand gently to halt her. "While I do enjoy a great many discussions about the workings of the wizarding world, I'm afraid that our time here is short and we have a more pressing matter to attend. If you will please sit down, we will begin our discussion."

The mood permeating the room shifted immediately from excited to almost somber. Buffy and Willow exchanged a look before slowly sitting down at the table, putting their full attention on the wizard now sitting in front of them.

"So what's the what?" Buffy asked before anyone else could talk. "Why us? I mean, magic aren't very mixy. Bad things tend to happen when magic affects me. And I've never taught before, so I'm not exactly the prime candidate."

"And sometimes some of my spells have a tendency to just go an eensy bit wrong," Willow said nervously, biting her bottom lip. "I mean, I do everything right and follow all the instructions just like I'm suppose to but sometimes the results of the spell isn't exactly what I thought it would be and it causes a lot of problems…"

Her voice trailed off as she looked at him expectantly. Despite all of the many worries he was dealing with at the moment, he could not help but, once again, letting a chuckle escape. After everything he had researched and all of the information he received, he had realized immediately that both Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenburg were very lively females. Both would make very interesting additions to the teaching staff of Hogwarts.

"Ladies," he said quietly, though loud enough to attract their attention. Both turned to him once again, quieting down immediately, as if the power he held overcame their typical lack of respect for authority. "I do realize that neither of you had heard of our world before the letter, as do I realize that you have also never been introduced to magic using a wand. If I had wanted the students to learn to utilize their wands for every occasion, then I would not have invited either of you to teach at my school."

"At this moment, the wizarding world is the most desperate of times. A dark wizard, known as Lord Voldemort, has returned to power after many years of hiding. This particular wizard has delved deeper into the darkest of arts then most, if not all, other wizards. Before he lost his power many years ago, he was feared by many in our world, though a few did stand up against him. Alas, many were lost both to him and his followers, known as Death Eaters. He seduced many to his side, through both magic and manipulation. He was slowly taking over the wizarding world until, one night, fate came into play. He went to the house of James and Lily Potter, both of whom had fought against them. He killed both of them and then attempted to kill their son, Harry, but he could not. Leaving only a scar on the forehead of the infant, Lord Voldemort disappeared without a trace. Many thought he was dead, though he was not. He hid for many years until, last year, he was able to gain his powers back."

"That is quite a…terrible story," Willow ventured. "But what does that have to do with us?"

"Ah, yes," he sighed. "You wonder why I have asked both a vampire slayer and a Wiccan to come and teach at Hogwarts?"

At the term 'vampire slayer', Buffy looked sharply at him, eyes narrowing slightly. "And how do you know what we are? Have you been spying on us? Cause, I gotta say, I'm not much of a fan."

"Miss Summers," Dumbledore began, smiling in order to put her at ease. "I have kept track of all of the slayers since I began my post as Headmaster of Hogwarts in 1955. And you, Miss Summers, turned out to be rather peculiar as a Slayer, what with going against the Council rules and keeping in touch with not only your family, but allowing your friends to fight in battle with you. Among them Miss Rosenburg, a women with a great amount of affinity to magic. With both of your skills, and with the threat of Lord Voldemort, I felt the time came to add a new class to Hogwarts, one that will give students the ability to learn defensive skills in case their wands are forcibly removed."

At the end of his explanation, there was a silence between them, as Buffy and Willow silently recounted everything he had told them. Though both were slightly overwhelmed, a glance at the other was all they needed to express their affirmation of his words.

"Both of us are grateful to accept the position," Willow started. "But we were wondering about the salary for a job like this. Both of us have bills back home to pay for, especially to pay the mortgage on Buffy's house. Both of us need to make enough combined to cover our expenses."

"I had thought you would ask about that," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling as he pulled out a small piece of parchment from inside his robes. Placing the parchment in front of them, he said, "This would be the amount that each of you will make in teaching one year at Hogwarts. I have taken the time to convert to American dollars, to help give you a better understanding of what you will be making."

Both women leaned forward to read the numbers written on the parchment and, as they did, both of their jaws dropped and Willow even gasped at shock at the amount. Buffy blinked her eyes, as if convinced she was reading it wrong. After a few tense moments, beaming smiles crossed both of their faces as they looked at each other and then back to Dumbledore.

"This is awesome!" Willow squealed in excitement, her eyes constantly dropping back to the parchment, as if it would disappear if she looked away too long. "This will be more than enough! I can start saving up for a new computer and everything!"

"I take it you will accept the position, and the responsibility of teaching our students how to best defend themselves?"

"You betcha!" Willow exclaimed, practically bouncing in her seat at both the generosity of the wizard before them and at the prospect of teaching magic at a school.

"Then I do have two more favors to ask of you," he said, his face gravely serious, the expression instantly calming both the slayer and the wiccan down. "As I have mentioned, Lord Voldemort is an extreme danger to not only this world, but to the entire world in general. And I realize that, as part of your duty Miss Summers, you must do whatever you can to protect the world. I am part of a small but brave group of witches and wizards who do whatever we can to find information and fight against both Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Knowing all the darkness that both of you have faced over the years, I ask you sincerely to consider joining this group. Your expertise and experience in fighting the dark arts would be beneficial to this group and all that it protects. Now, I understand that you will need time – "

"I'm in," Buffy said promptly, cutting him off. At his surprised look at her immediate answer, she shrugged. "Like you said, it's my job. If this Lord Voldywart is trying to take over the world, then he's overstepping his bounds. I'm not gonna let some dark wizard-guy do this on my watch. He's stepping on my turf. I don't like that too much."

"Same here," Willow followed.

Nodding in delight at their acceptance he leaned forward, eyes twinkling once again. "Now, as the day grows short, I do have one more favor to ask of you."