Chapter 11

The next morning Buffy woke somewhat refreshed, if a little sore. It was still early and her room mates were still asleep, which she was very thankful for. Grabbing her clothes and toiletries from her trunk, Buffy headed to the bathroom on the other side of the room, closing and locking the door behind her.

Examining herself in the mirror, Buffy grimaced when she saw what was there. There were a couple of bruises on her face as well as that cut that was well on its way to healing. Her injuries would have been much worse had she been a normal human, but at the rate her healing was going she would be completely healed by the next morning, if it took that long. She wondered how she was going to explain her fast healing to anyone who asked, but decided to deal with it when people asked about it, if they ever did.

She got dressed quickly and put on her make-up before surveying her face in the mirror again. Satisfied, she left the bathroom, tossing her toiletry bag into her trunk and leaving her pyjamas on her unmade bed before grabbing her book bag and heading downstairs. Her room mates were just beginning to stir as she left, and she idly wondered if they would be downstairs in time for breakfast.

"You're up early," Quentin remarked from his spot in front of the fire. She looked at him; he was seated in almost the exact same spot he had been in last night.

"Did you even go to bed last night?" Buffy asked, arching an eyebrow as she sat down next to him.

"Of course I did," Quentin replied with a sniff. "This is my usual seat, that's all."

"I see," Buffy said. "So, what's on tap today?"

"Pardon?" Quentin asked, confused.

"What classes do you have today?" Buffy asked, mentally sighing and rolling her eyes. It sucked when people didn't understand you, even though you were speaking the exact same language.

"Transfiguration and Defence Against the Dark Arts in the morning," Quentin replied. "I'm pretty sure you've got the same thing. Double Herbology in the afternoon. How about you?"

"Same here," Buffy replied after digging her schedule out of her bag and studying it. "Looks like you're stuck with me all day today."

"It'll be a pleasure," Quentin replied with a smile.

"You won't be saying that once you realize you have to explain everything to me ten times for me to get it," Buffy said with a self depreciating smile.

"I doubt it'll be ten," Quentin reassured her. "It'll be five at the most."

"Your lack of faith is disturbing," Buffy quoted. Quentin just looked at her strangely, and Buffy mentally smacked herself. Of course no one in this time would know Star Wars quotes. She wasn't even sure George Lucas was even born yet. Quickly, she scrambled for a reason why she had said what she said. "Uh, personal joke between me and my friends back home. Usually got them to crack up."

"You'll have to tell me the story sometime," Quentin said as he got up from the sofa. He held out his hand to help Buffy to her feet, which she gladly took. "But first, breakfast! A mind cannot function if it is not nourished."

"Is food the only thing you boys think about?" Buffy asked. "I swear, that's the only thing Xander really thought about. Well, food and girls."

"Who is this Xander fellow?" Quentin asked, curious, as they crossed the common room and headed out into the corridor. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"Oh no. No, no, no," Buffy replied vehemently. "He's just a friend. A very good friend, but just a friend. It's always been me, Willow and Xander, since I moved to Sunnydale a couple of years ago."

"You miss them, don't you?" Quentin asked.

"You asked me that yesterday, my answer hasn't changed since then," Buffy replied sadly.

"Why don't you send them an owl post? Let them know you're thinking of them?" Quentin suggested.

"Wish I could, but they live in the mystical convergence like I did, and magical means of communication can't get through, including owls," Buffy replied. Not to mention they haven't been born yet, Buffy added silently. But he doesn't need to know that. Not now, not ever.

"There's something you're not telling me," Quentin said, narrowing his eyes. "I'm not going to push you about it, not now, but I'll find out what's going on. It's my new goal."

"You're right, there is something I'm not telling you," Buffy replied. "But I'm not ready to talk about it and I would really appreciate it if you didn't mention it again."

"Deal," Quentin said. "For now, anyway."

"That's all I ask," Buffy replied, fighting the urge to sigh. She was beginning to trust Quentin and consider him a friend, even though she had only known him for a few days. However, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to tell him about everything. Not yet. She just hoped that when the time came, he wouldn't run screaming and saying she was nuttier than squirrel poo.

The rest of the walk to the Great Hall was in silence, and the room was about half full when they entered. Buffy scanned the room, looking for a certain familiar face. Not seeing him at the Slytherin table, she let out an unconscious sigh of relief before following Quentin to the Gryffindor table. She sat down and grabbed an apple and a muffin, placing them on a plate before pouring herself a glass of orange juice.

"No huge breakfast this morning?" Quentin asked, curious.

"Not that hungry," Buffy replied with a shrug. The Slayer metabolism was a funny thing; she could eat as much as she wanted and not get fat, but the real reality was that she didn't actually need a lot to eat to keep herself in tip-top condition. Obviously, when she was actively slaying she needed more to eat, but for the most part she could easily subsist on three small meals a day and be completely fine.

Buffy was saved from further questioning by the arrival of Terrence, August and Minerva, coming in all smiles and laughter.

"Good morning everyone!" August said cheerily as she sat across from Buffy. Minerva sat on the other side of Buffy and Terrence sat across the table, next to August.

"You're looking much better, Buffy," Terrence said, looking Buffy over with a critical eye. "That cut looks like it's almost healed."

"Told you I'd be fine," Buffy replied as she took a bite of her apple. She heard a rustling overhead, and looked up to see owls of every size, shape and color flapping overhead, packages and letters tied to their legs, each and every one of them looking for their intended targets. She was surprised when one owl broke away from the swarm and swooped down towards her, a letter tied to its leg.

"Looks like you've got owl post, Buffy," Minerva commented. "Who would be writing to you?"

"No idea," Buffy replied as the owl landed in front of her, sticking out the leg with the letter attached. After Buffy had taken the letter off of the owl's leg, it dunked its beak into her orange juice and nicked a piece of her muffin before spreading its wings and flying away. Curious, Buffy grabbed a clean butter knife and slit open the envelope, taking out the thick piece of parchment paper inside. Written on it was a simple note in elegant cursive.

Miss Summers,

Professor Slughorn has allowed us the use of one of his Potions labs tonight to begin your tutoring. Please meet me in the dungeons after dinner at 7:30 p.m. Bring your potions kit.

Yours,

Tom Riddle.

"This is gonna be fun," Buffy muttered, folding the note and placing it carefully into her bag. She looked up to see her four newest friends staring at her. "What?"

"What's the letter say?" Terrence asked, only to be glared at by August.

"Being a little nosey, aren't you?" she asked, eyes narrowing. "It's none of your business what Buffy's owl post was. Right Buffy?"

"It's not a sordid love poem or anything," Buffy replied with a shrug. "Just letting me know when my tutoring session starts tonight."

"Which one?" Minerva asked, curious. To her knowledge, none of the Gryffindors had set up tutoring sessions with Buffy; she certainly hadn't.

"Potions," Buffy replied, wrinkling her nose before taking a bite of her apple. She wasn't going to touch her muffin again, considering that an owl had just snacked on it, and she wasn't going to touch her juice again either.

"We didn't set up a tutor for you for that one," August remarked. "Did we?"

"No, Slughorn did," Buffy replied.

"Who'd he stick you with?" Terrence asked. "If you don't mind me asking, that is."

"Tom Riddle," Buffy replied.

"Figures," Terrence said with a scowl. "A dirty rotten snake would, of course, pick another dirty rotten snake over another house. Maybe we could petition to have someone else tutor Buffy. Hey Min, are there any Gryffindors who are good at potions?"

"Unfortunately, no," Minerva replied, wrinkling her nose. "At least, not anyone who can also teach."

"Ravenclaws?" Terrence suggested. Minerva shook her head "no". "Okay I know there can't be any Hufflepuffs good enough at Potions. What are we going to do?"

"What's the problem?" Buffy asked, curious. She'd heard a little bit about the houses from Minerva on the first day she was allowed to talk to people, but she still couldn't see anything wrong with Tom being her tutor. Well, except for the fact that he seemed to take on some creepy stalker-like qualities.

"Slytherins and Gryffindors aren't supposed to mix," Terrence replied matter-of-factly. "It's a Hogwarts fact of life. Besides, Riddle's evil."

"How do you know?" Buffy asked. While her Slayer sense buzzed a little when Tom was around, she didn't get the whole "he is evil, you must slay him now" vibe. Then again, Hogwarts in its entirety sent her senses buzzing.

"All Slytherins are evil," Terrence replied quickly.

"That's like saying all blondes are dumb and all people who wear glasses are smart," Buffy shot back. "Kind of a gross generalization, isn't it?"

"Slytherins have always been evil, though," Terrence argued. "Ever since Salazar himself helped found Hogwarts nearly a thousand years ago, the evil ones go to Slytherin. They'll do anything to get ahead; lie, cheat, steal, backstab. Do you really want someone like that tutoring you? He'll probably tell you how to do everything wrong in the off chance that you could end up being better than him."

"And how will that make him look?" Buffy asked, curious. "Won't that make him look bad because he can't teach dumb person potions to, well, a dumb person?"

"He's a Slytherin," Terrence replied. "He'll find a way to twist it so that he looks like a prodigy and you look like a slack-jawed yokel that just fell off the turnip truck."

"I'll burn that bridge when I get to it," Buffy said. "If worst comes to worse, I'll muddle through on my own and have a couple of you guys help me out. You said you're not the best, but you're still better than I'd be on my own, right?"

"You know, for a girl and a blonde you're sounding quite reasonable and smart," Terrence remarked, only to find himself smacked hard across the back of the head. "Ow, what was that for?"

"Do you really need me to answer that question?" August asked, glaring at him.

"No, I suppose not," Terrence replied, rubbing the back of his head with a grimace. Buffy glanced up at the staff table, wondering if their discussions and actions had garnered the attention of some of the faculty. The Great Hall was still rather unpopulated, so their antics would have garnered some attention, had anyone been paying any attention to them. Thankfully, no one from the faculty table was looking in their direction, not even Dumbledore. However, Buffy could still feel a pair of eyes on her, and she wasn't entirely surprised when her eyes locked onto Tom's dark ones. He smirked at her, amused, raising his glass of pumpkin juice to her before turning his attention back to his friends.

"Freakin' stalker," Buffy muttered under her breath, grabbing another muffin from the tray in front of her.

"What was that?" Quentin asked, curious.

"Nothing, just talking to myself," Buffy replied, taking a bite out of her new muffin, chewing it with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"If you keep that up, people will start thinking you're barmy or something," Quentin advised her sagely.

"You're only crazy if you start answering yourself," Buffy shot back with a smirk.

"I suppose that could be considered true," Quentin said thoughtfully. "Just… don't let anyone else catch you muttering to yourself. People might start thinking you're nuts or something."

"Been there, done that," Buffy said with a scoff, causing Quentin to look at her curiously as she took another bite of her muffin. It was good, one of the best bran muffins she'd had in a while, even though it probably would have been better with some blueberries or something in it. Oh well, there wasn't much she could do about it. She saw Quentin looking at her strangely. "What?"

"You're quite strange, you know," Quentin remarked with a wry smile. "I kind of like it."

"Huh, it usually takes people at least a month before they figure out I'm strange. Go you," Buffy remarked before she felt a few more pairs of eyes on her. She averted her attention from Quentin only to see August, Terrence and Minerva looking at her curiously. "What?"

"You're one strange bird, Buffy," Terrence replied. "Life's definitely going to be interesting with you around."

"You've just figured that out?" Buffy asked with a smile. You have no idea how interesting things are going to get if you all find out my secrets, Buffy thought. Their lives were probably interesting enough, what with going to school for magic and everything, and they didn't really need to know about her Slayer side. She hoped they wouldn't find out, and she hoped that Tom hadn't told anyone. Seeing as no one was giving her odd looks or anything like that, she assumed that he had stuck with the cover story he had come up with, if he had told anyone at all.

"Uh, Buffy?" Quentin asked.

"Yeah?" Buffy replied, taking yet another bite out of her muffin.

"We should probably head to class soon. Professor Dumbledore might be our Head of House, but he'll probably still give us detention if we're tardy," Quentin said, getting up and gathering his bag from the floor. "Nothing as horrendous as Ramsay would dole out, but not something you'd want anyway."

"You'd better not get another detention," Minerva said seriously, although the corners of her mouth were twitching and Buffy could see an amused sparkle in her eye. "You still have to start your tutoring in your other classes; it's obvious you need help with a multitude of subjects. After your tutoring session with Riddle, we should meet and set up a study schedule that everyone can stick to. Sound fair?"

"Doesn't look like I have much of a choice even if I didn't," Buffy joked, earning her a stern glare from Minerva. "Sorry."

"Min's great fun, until you poke fun at her studying and schedules," Terrence said with a grin. "You'll get used to it quickly, because heaven help you if you don't."

"August, could you smack him for me please?" Minerva asked mildly. Smiling and nodding, August reached out and took a swipe at the back of Terrence's head, only to miss as he ducked out of the way. He smirked smugly, until he was hit in the face with a grape.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, glaring at Buffy, who was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Thank you for that, Buffy," Minerva said with a snort as Terrence grumbled something underneath his breath.

"Like you'd be able to do that again," Terrence said, sticking his tongue out at her. Again, Buffy took aim and he was hit in the face with another grape. He turned and glowered at Buffy, although the expression did nothing to faze her. "Well, that was a really easy shot. It's not like you could shoot a quaffle into a hoop from fifty feet away or something like that."

"Oh no, he's started on the Quidditch talk," August said with a groan. "And here I thought he was taking a hiatus or something. Guessing it was way too good to be true."

"Hey, I can't help it if there was something more interesting to talk about than Quidditch around here for the past few days," Terrence replied waggling his eyebrows at Buffy before turning serious again. "Now that that little rumour mill has died down, I gotta catch up somehow."

"Except that there hasn't been any professional Quidditch in ages," Minerva replied with a sniff. "It's too dangerous, what with the war and all. Even with protection spells, it's far too risky to have so many people gathered in one area."

"But there's still the school games," Terrence retorted. "Ravenclaw and Gryffindor match in a little over a month, if I remember correctly."

"I'm sorry, but what's Quidditch?" Buffy asked, feeling lost.

"Oh, I've forgotten, you grew up Muggle," Terrence said absently. "Quidditch is a wizarding sport, played up in the air on flying broomsticks. It can get really complicated and I don't have the time to explain it, but it's wicked and great fun to watch. Each house has its own team; all of the teams have been picked for this year, but there's a reserve spot on the Gryffindor team if you're interested in trying out."

"Sports and Buffy are non-mixy things," Buffy replied, shaking her head. "I'm more than happy to just be a cheerleader."

"And I hate to say this, but you probably wouldn't get a lot of time to play anyway," Minerva replied, wrinkling her nose. "I'm one of the reserve seekers on the team, and they always choose the little third year boy to go in before me, even though I'm a superior flier and have a lot more experience. I just hope I'll be able to get a spot on the Holyhead Harpies when school's finished."

"Are they a good team?" Buffy asked, trying to keep up with the conversation.

"Well, they only hire witches," Minerva replied with a shrug. "If I can get on that team, it might be my only opportunity to play professional Quidditch."

"I don't think you will play Quidditch," Terrence said.

"And why's that? Do you think I'm not good enough to play professionally?" Minerva asked coolly, narrowing her eyes at him.

"No, no, no, it's not that at all," Terrence replied. "I think you're smashing on the pitch, but I don't think that's where you real passion lies, and you won't find complete happiness playing Quidditch."

"And where, exactly, does my real passion lie?" Minerva asked icily, her eyes still narrowed.

"Promise not to hit me? Or have anyone else hit me?" Terrence asked, cowering a little. Minerva was still for a moment, before nodding once. "Teaching."

"Teaching?" Minerva asked, her eyes widening.

"Come on Buffy, let's get a move-on," Quentin said, tugging on her sleeve slightly to get her attention. "We've still got a bit of a hike before we actually get to Transfiguration, and Dumbledore's already left the staff table."

"Okay, fine," Buffy replied with a sigh, although all she really wanted to do was sit and listen to Minerva and Terrence's conversation. It had the sound of an old argument, one that was just getting interesting.

"We'll see you at lunch, okay?" August said as the two sixth years got up and gathered their things. Quentin and Buffy both nodded at her before leaving the Great Hall, along with several others who had classes in far off corners of the castle.

"That sounds like it could get interesting," Buffy said when they were out of earshot of the seventh years.

"You're telling me," Quentin said with a sigh. "Although it's gotten less violent over the years. There's very little hair pulling or slap fights now."

"Please tell me you're joking," Buffy said as they started up the stairs. Halfway up, the stairway started to move, causing Buffy to go off balance. If Quentin hadn't been there to catch her arm, she probably would have fallen. "Thanks. I don't think I'll ever get used to that."

"I'm sure you will, it didn't take me that long before I stopped falling and stumbling every single time the stairs moved. Then again, I got really good at predicting when the stairs would move, and avoided using them during those times," Quentin replied with a shrug. "And I wish I were kidding. They've mellowed over the years, but it can still get heated. Once they start arguing about Quidditch in general, it's usually a good idea to stand back and watch the sparks fly from a distance. I don't envy August, being stuck in between her best friend and her boyfriend."

"Sounds entertaining," Buffy remarked as they finally reached the seventh floor. "So, Transfiguration is transforming one thing into another, right?"

"Yes, that's about right, although it's a lot harder than it sounds," Quentin replied as they rounded the corner to the Transfiguration corridor. "Some people say it's the most difficult of the magical arts because there's so much that could go wrong."

"And what do you think?" Buffy asked, following Quentin into the Transfiguration classroom. About half of the class was there, mostly dressed in blue and gold. Ravenclaws, the smart ones, Buffy reminded herself as she sat down next to Quentin at his table. The other students were looking at her and trying to make it seem like they weren't which made it more obvious that they were, in fact, looking at her. While she had been used to being the centre of attention while attending Hemery High in Los Angeles, a year and a half in Sunnydale had her used to being in the background, and all of the attention was making her feel uncomfortable.

"I think transfiguration is interesting and a challenge," Quentin replied with a shrug before smiling cheekily. "If you want someone to wax poetic about it, talk to Minerva."

Buffy smiled and was about to say something when a voice behind her got her attention. She cringed, hoping that she would have been able to avoid the owner of the voice for at least a day.

"Hi Buffy!" Ursula said, bounding over to where Buffy was sitting, her nose crinkling in disgust when she saw who Buffy was sitting with. "What are you doing sitting next to him? He's such a creep!"

"He's also been the only person in our year who's been really nice to me," Buffy replied with a shrug before turning away to rummage around in her bag for her Transfiguration textbook and wand.

"I've been nice to you!" Ursula argued. "I let you sit with me and Felicia during Divination yesterday!"

"Obviously your definition of nice and mine are kinda different," Buffy retorted. "Although I'll agree that you did let me sit with you during class yesterday, and while that was nice, you also told my guide that I would be okay on my own finding my way through the castle on my first full day of classes, when I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing. That doesn't sound nice, now does it?"

"I didn't want Quentin to be late," Ursula defended herself with a huff. Buffy narrowed her eyes, wondering if Ursula was telling the truth.

"I wouldn't have minded," Quentin replied with a shrug. "At least she might have had some good company during detention last night if we'd been late together."

"You got detention last night?" Ursula asked.

"Yeah, because Ramsay didn't like the fact that Quentin and I were discussing and trying to figure out why he had left me hanging after class," Buffy replied. While that wasn't entirely true, they had talked about why he had run off, although it had ultimately been her remark about Ramsay's grouchiness that had been the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Oh, well then," Ursula said, floundering a little before gaining her bearings again. "But do you really want to sit with this loser, seriously?"

"Not seeing a loser here," Buffy replied. "At least, not a male loser."

Ursula stood there for a moment, silent, before an indignant noise issued from her mouth. With a huff, she turned and stomped across the room before flopping down gracelessly in her seat. She glared at everyone who was looking at her, but didn't speak because at that moment Dumbledore entered the room, his eyes sparkling and a half smile on his lips.

"Good morning, class," he greeted, his voice quiet.

"Good morning, Professor Dumbledore," the class greeted in unison. Dumbledore surveyed his class silently for a moment, his clear blue eyes scanning the room. They lingered on Buffy for a moment before returning to the centre.

"Now then, I'm glad to see everyone is alert and ready to learn," he said pleasantly, his voice still a normal tone. He had a special talent; he was able to keep a classroom silent without raising his voice. It was a talent that few people had, and he had it in spades.

"Today we will be continuing our lessons on human transfiguration, something that undoubtedly come up on your NEWTs next year," he continued. "Well, most of you will. I would like you to please read the next section on transfiguring humans into similarly sized objects or animals. We may be attempting some partial transfiguration next week, depending on how well you focus today. Miss Summers, would you please meet me at the desk at the back? I have something different in mind for you."

She glanced over at Quentin, who smiled reassuringly at her before turning back to his book. Gulping nervously, Buffy got up from her seat and walked to the desk at the back of the room, meeting Dumbledore there.

"What did you have in mind, Professor?" Buffy asked, curious.

"Since I know you haven't had much of a chance to start your tutoring, I thought you might appreciate some extra help with the basics," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. Buffy ducked her head in embarrassment, which caused the professor to smile. "It's all right, my dear. But, back to business here. Since you're relatively inexperienced with magic, I would like you to try something a little simpler to start off with. Once you get the basics of Transfiguration you can join your classmates in their work, but I would like to make sure you have a solid foundation before you do anything involving humans or other live subjects."

"Sounds fair," Buffy said with a nod.

"I'm glad you think so," Dumbledore replied. He gestured to the box of matches on the desk. "I would like you to try and transfigure these matches into sewing needles. It's the first bit of transfiguration the first years do. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to come and ask me."

"Um, Professor?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, Miss Summers?" Dumbledore responded.

"How do I do it?" she asked, confused.

"The explanation is simple, but the task is difficult," Dumbledore replied. "You must point your wand at the object you wish transfigured and concentrate on the task. Envision the match transforming into a needle. Keep your mind clear and concentrate only on the match turning into a needle. Don't get too discouraged if you can't get it right away; I'm certain that Ms McGonagall will be able to get you up to snuff once you begin your tutoring with her."

"Thank you," Buffy said gratefully. Although the information helped somewhat, she wasn't quite sure how she would be able to utilize it. All she could really do was what Dumbledore had told her to, and hope for the best. She just hoped that this would work out better than her Charms class the day before.

She took one of the matches and placed it in the middle of the desk. Closing her eyes, Buffy pointed her wand at the matchstick and concentrated on making it change into a needle. She envisioned the matchstick in her mind and imagined it morphing into a needle. After a few moments of concentrating, she peeked to see if she'd made any progress.

"I think you may have an affinity for transfiguration," Dumbledore said from behind her, startling her. She turned to find him smiling down at her, something akin to pride shining in his eyes. "Look at your progress, Miss Summers. I'm sure you'll be surprised."

Buffy turned back to the desk and picked up the matchstick to examine it. To her surprise, it was shiny and pointy, although it didn't have an eye yet. She turned to Dumbledore, who was smiling softly at her.

"I think you might have a talent for Transfiguration, Miss Summers," Dumbledore said before walking off, checking up on the other students before returning to his desk at the front of the room. Buffy stared at the pseudo-needle, examining it. She was curious, wondering if she could finish the job by the end of the lesson.

Buffy spent the rest of the class concentrating on her almost-needle, trying to give it an eye. Before long, Professor Dumbledore was calling an end to the class as he came to the back table to see how Buffy was doing. He picked the needle up from the wooden surface and examined it again.

"Yes, Miss Summers, I'm certain Miss McGonagall will have you up to scratch in no time," he said with a smile. "Soon you'll be able to do a dozen or more of these a class, although I'm hoping to get you onto something a little more difficult next lesson. You're dismissed, and have a good remainder of the week."

Smiling to herself, Buffy gathered her wand and her textbook, which she had taken out of her bag at the beginning of class and hadn't bothered putting it back when she moved, and put them back into her bag before hauling it onto her shoulder and joining her classmates as the clamoured at the door in an attempt to be the first to leave. Once she was out in the corridor, she craned her neck to find Quentin, as he was still her guide and she didn't know where her next class was.

"Buffy, over here!"

Buffy turned around to see Quentin standing right next to the door; she had walked right by him. Smiling apologetically, she turned and walked back to him, following him to their next class as soon as she reached him.

"Sorry, I totally zoned out there," Buffy said as they walked.

"That's okay, it happens to the best of us," Quentin replied with a smile. "Besides, you were concentrating pretty hard in there. That's bound to strain your mind and magic a bit, which can cause you to be disoriented."

"Oh shut up," Buffy said, nudging him on the arm as they walked. "So, what's the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher like?"

"It's his first year teaching, so we've only had him around for a couple of months," Quentin replied. "He seems to know his stuff though, so I'm not complaining. Defence is my best subject, so having a decent teacher is awesome. Not that the other teachers aren't decent, because they are. It's just that… this teacher really knows her stuff. Like she's actually experienced it, you know? I mean, she's pretty old, but she had to have had an interesting life if she knew and experienced all of this stuff."

"Really?" Buffy asked, a little surprised that this teacher was female. She was certain that this woman wasn't a Slayer, because Slayers died young, and Quentin said that this woman was old. Besides that, the Slayer was supposed to be a myth to the wizarding world. "What's her name?"

"Professor Edna Giles."

****

*pokes head out from behind a rock* Um, hi everyone! I'm SO SORRY that this didn't come out way sooner. I can't even blame writer's block, really, because I already know where this thing is going, and I even have a sequel half planned in my head already. Things just… happened. November/December got really hectic, I started a new job last month after getting my month's notice from my other job just before Christmas. My brain has been fried trying to unlearn how everything was done at my old job, and relearning how to everything at my new job.

I promise to get a new chapter out within a month this time, instead of four months like this one. I hope you enjoyed this one, and choose to review to let me know how much you liked it. Or, you know, to yell at me because I took so long. Any feedback is good feedback, right?

*hides behind rock again*