Chapter Three
Hi! Thanks for all the reviews! You people are epic! I, sadly, could not make an original show or series as brilliant as that Joss's or Rowling's. There's a time skip of about a day from the last chapter.
Buffy watched as Dawn got sorted into Gryffindor. But her mind was on other things. Such as the message Willow had sent Spike. He told her that Willow and the Gang were just worried about her. That didn't explain Spike's first expression. Damn. That's not good. What's vnot good? A new Big Bad? Buffy put it out of her mind.

The only thing Buffy was really uneasy about was the simple fact of who she would be working with. She and Riley would be co-teaching with Spike as their assistant. That was bound to explode in their faces. If the two of them got into a contest, Buffy would let them kill each other, then pound whatever was left. Violent tendencies? No, just a restless Slayer. She hadn't even explored whatever was giving her major danger vibes.

No, she had to stay in the castle, hidden from view until tonight, when they gave their grand entrance. Dawn seemed cool with it, but Buffy knew better. She noticed Dawn fidgeting. She noticed the way she played with the sleeve of her robes. She noticed Dawn tracing circles on her arm when she thought no one was looking. Buffy wanted to get it over with. Dumbledore gave them an excuse.

Buffy was here to teach with Professor Finn. Dawn, her younger sister, was going to be a witch, who didn't get detected because mystical interference from the Hellmouth. They arrived a day late because the Floo systems were closed because the American Ministry had declared an emergency(Buffy snorted at that; there was an emergency, but did the A.M do anything? No.), and when they were opened something got messed up, so people were arriving in weird places. Their parents were dead. Joyce died of a brain tumor, and their father burned in a fire. Dumbledore was their great-uncle.

"C'mon Blondie, Niblet. Professor just gave us our cue," whispered Spike, a sly grin on his face. Dawn looked at Buffy.

"Why can't Willow teach me?" she whined. Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Dawnie, we've been over this. Willow doesn't do wand magic. She does it the way where if she gets it wrong it tends to go kaflooey, smell really awful, or knock herself out." Spike grimaced.

"Oh for God's sake!" He pushed the two sisters inside while they were bickering.

"Spike, can I come hang with you later?" asked Dawn, a look of innocence on her face. Buffy glared at her.

"Geez, Dawn. Hanging out with Spike won't get you back home unless you like landing on your face." The two stood in the middle of the Great Hall, arguing without noticing the hundreds of eyes on them. Dawn shrugged.

"So? It annoys you. That's good enough for me. Besides, it not like I've haven't been around him before. Plus, he's never kidnapped me."

"Just because they don't kidnap you doesn't mean they're safe!"

"Just because they kidnap me doesn't mean they're dangerous!"

"Really? Name one."

"Harmony." Buffy scoffed.

"Please. Harmony doesn't count. She's a blonde who couldn't tell the head of a axe from the handle." Dawn shrugged.

"So?"

"If you get kidnapped this year, you will be grounded for the rest of your life. I'll have Willow put a permanent locator spell on you, let Spike stalk you instead of me, and superglue you to the house."

"Ladies, as interesting as this bickering is, some of us are hungry," said Spike. That got their attention. Buffy glared at him while Dawn looked around.

"Buffy, can we go back now? Please?"

"No. Go sit with whoever you're supposed to."

"What if they're evil?" asked Dawn. Buffy rolled her eyes. God, it was simple. Dawn should've known this.

"You tell me, Spike, Giles, DD, or any of the Gang and we kick their ass. Now go! If that Mole with a Wart guy shows up, come get me. I stab until dead." The students gasped at the butchering of the Dark Lord's name. Some of them chuckled.

"Or you whack it with a troll hammer until it can't get up," muttered Dawn. Buffy cracked a smile.

"They seem short of that. Go sit. Spike, you shut up and deal with working with Riley. On the upside, I'm working with a person who won't hesitate to kill you if I ask him to."

Buffy looked around the hall. There were four tables. Each one had a lot of kids sitting there. The only the kids seem to have in common was the insignia on their robes. One set had raven, another a snake, another a badger, and the last had a lion.

"Bit, I think you're over at that table," said Spike, pointing at the one with lions. Dawn looked at them.

"Damn. Did Willow lose a family?" Buffy looked at the table. There were a few redheads sitting near each other.

"No clue. Go!" Buffy pushed Dawn over towards the table. Dawn glared at Buffy, but she walked slowly over to the table. Spike chuckled.

"Hush. Do you know if those people with the snakey thing on their robes actually have snakes?" she asked Spike lowly as they walked to the Head Table.

"Don't insult them! We Slytherins are incredible!"

"Uh-huh. And Xander married Harmony. Do they?"

"Snakes aren't allowed here, Pet. Only owls, cats, and toads are allowed. Of course, that didn't matter to me. I brought a horse one year. I got detention for a long time, but it was worth it."

"Yes. When you were human and not killing everyone you met."

"Hey! I didn't kill you and your Scoobies!"

"You sent assassins to kill me! You kidnapped Willow! You nearly destroyed the world!"

"Oi, that was Angel. Remember? You an' I, we had a deal. You let me skip town with Dru and-"

"You didn't stay out of Sunnydale! And you didn't help me!"

"Buffy, as wonderful as dinner amusement is, some of us want to go to bed," cut in Riley. Buffy snorted.

"Sorry. I'm not stopping them."

"It's no surprise that the Minister was worried about conditions at Hogwarts. Apparently some of the teachers are just children," a woman in pink said sweetly. Buffy's eyes flashed dangerously. She was not a child! She had stopped the world ending five times! Yeah, a child can do that.

"Buffy," warned Spike. He saw the glint in Buffy's eyes. It was the glint she got when she found a nest, or she was killing something that threatened her family.

"I'm sorry. It's just sometimes William needs to torn down verbally. You know how men get with their egos," Buffy replied sweetly. Spike glared at her.

"What did I do now?"

"Nothing. But you and Riley will probably start some stupid argument soon. Then I'll have to beat you both so you shut up. I'm hungry. Go away."

"Hanging around Anya?" Buffy ignored Spike and took the open seat next to the Headmaster, leaving Spike the one next to Riley.

Dawn tried not to snort when she saw Buffy arguing with Spike. It was almost like being back in Sunnydale. They just didn't have a psychotic hell god after them and friends to support them. Now, they were stuck in castle that didn't have T.V. It was awful. She actually laughed when Buffy made Spike sit next to Riley.

"Who are you?" demanded one of the redheads rudely. Dawn glanced at him. He seemed okay.

"Dawn Summers. You?" The redhead looked taken aback at her rudeness. She was a fifteen year old girl who had just found out she had to learn magic.

"I'm Ron Weasley. This is Harry Potter and Hermione Granger," he said, introducing himself and the two people sitting next to him. The boy, Harry, looked uncomfortable.

"Cool."

"Cool? He's the Boy Who Lived." Dawn snorted.

"Nice. You're a boy who lived too. Or is that title reserved for one person?" she asked sarcastically. Ron stared at her, shocked.

"You don't know who Harry is?" he whispered. Dawn shook her head.

"Nope. Don't know, don't care. Unless he's out to destroy the world."

"Harry wouldn't do that!" exclaimed Hermione. "He hates You Know Who!"

"And that is?" asked Dawn. She was from the United States! She didn't know what was up with the magical world!

"Just the Dark Wizard that killed my parents and nearly killed me. He tried to take over Britain fourteen years ago. He cast the Killing Curse on my parents because he wanted me dead. My mother sacrificed herself to save me," said Harry grimly. Dawn flashed back to when Buffy jumped into the portal. Always the attention hog.

"Oh. Sorry. My mom died a few months ago, and my dad burned in a fire. All I have left are the Scoobies and Spike."

"How do you know the two people who jut came in with you?" asked Hermione curiously.

"Sister and occasional babysitter. Completely awesome guy who tells really good horror stories." and most of them are from his own escapades as a vampire, Dawn almost added. She could see the curiosity burning behind Hermione's eyes.

"If you're American, why are you at Hogwarts? Why not Salem?"

"DD's our great-uncle."

"DD?"

"Dumbledore. He offered my sister a job working with someone she knew. He let Spike in because Spike is one of my unofficial guardians. He probably knew I wouldn't stay here unless Spike could stay." Hermione blinked. It clearly wasn't the answer she was expecting. Dawn smirked. She had already confused someone.

"What about your sister?" asked Harry. Dawn shrugged.

"She's annoying. I could visit her whenever I want. None of her friends would let me visit Spike. They hate him."

"Why?"

"He's not exactly Prince Charming. He's more of the 'I can deal with you, but if you annoy me, I'll torture you until you think down is up and up is down' people. He's awesome though." Dawn began piling her plate with food. Ron looked at the strange mixture of foods.

"How can you eat that?" he demanded, pointing to the mix of shepherd's pie, pickles, and mustard. Dawn snorted.

"It's my food. You don't like it, don't eat it. Can we hold the Spanish Inquisition until after dinner?" she asked impatiently. Hermione blushed and turned her attention back to her plate. Ron and Harry shrugged.

Dawn deflected any questions asked throughout the rest of dinner. She ignored every attempt to talk to her or to the students. She only spoke again when dinner was over, and someone called to her. It was Buffy.

"What?" asked Dawn, slightly annoyed. Buffy had a mix between a grin and an angry frown on her face. "Make with the 'splainy."

"Do you want to learn about what I do?" Buffy asked reluctantly. It wasn't her idea! Riley, Spike, and Dumbledore ganged up on her! Dawn broke into a disbelieving smile.

"What did you do with my sister?" she smirked. Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Meet me tomorrow outside at 7:00. You have any pointy pieces of wood?" Dawn raised an eyebrow out Buffy.

"You and Mom didn't let me out of the house after sunset. You wouldn't let me even touch a sword. Why would I have a weapon?"

"Rule #3: Always have a weapon. Rule #2: Never invite someone in. Rule #1: Don't die. You should know these. You have lived with knowing what I am for three years." Dawn shrugged.

"Not my fault! You guys couldn't let the annoying little sister do anything by herself. Nope. I'm just too precious to let see deadly things. Too fragile. I might end up being more mentally scarred by looking at a battle axe than listening to Anya talk about what she does with Xander. Oh no, little Dawnie can't hear words. They might hurt her," Dawn said bitterly. A chuckle came from the shadows.

"Were you always this sarcastic, or is this a new development?" asked Spike when he came out.

"God, I've got to get you a little bell to wear!" shrieked Buffy. Dawn snorted. Spike shrugged and put an arm around Dawn.

"Well, I think my birthday's in a few months. I'm gonna take the Bit and educate her in the wonderful tales of my unmentionable days." He picked Dawn up. "I'll return her to her dorm before midnight. Oh, Soldier-boy's lookin' for you." He carried Dawn off. Buffy sighed.

Those two were a formidable pair. She hoped they didn't get the idea to start pranking. It would be disastrous. Dawn would come up the pranks, Spike would set it up. She shuddered. Horror.

Buffy began compiling a mental list of things she'd need to teach Dawn. How to handle weapons, what she can fight, how to meditate, ways to get information out of a demon, were just a few of the things Dawn needed to learn. She also needed to learn to research and manage to not fall asleep.

"Buffy!" shouted Riley, jogging to catch up with her. She stopped and spun around. She looked at him.

"Yeah?" she asked. Riley paused.

"The first class starts at 9:30." Riley fought back a chuckle when Buffy groaned.

"But morning and Buffy are non mixy! We're worse than Willow and coffee!" she whined. Riley let out a chuckle but tried to turn it into a manly cough.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Night Buff," he said as he headed off in a different direction. Buffy nodded. She got directions from the portraits to her room.
Okay. I lied. I got ONE review, but I'm updating because I want to. And I love it when the pretty blue button gets pushed. The more times it's pushed, the faster I write!