Project Renewal – Hogwarts

Summary: **Part of the 2015 LiveJournal's Twisted Shorts FaD** series. Buffy and her staff have to face a lot of challenges to improve Hogwarts…starting with pureblood bigots.

Challenge: for the livejournal 2015 August Fic-a-Day Challenge

Timeline: Storywise - during Buffy's 12 months or so as Headmistress. A few years post-Sunnydale of an AU BtVS. AU for HP set in 1981-1982.

Warning: Lots of AU fandoms.

A/N: It would really, really help to read last year's FaD "Help Wanted" – Hogwarts if you haven't already.

Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy. HP characters belong to JK Rowling. Charmed characters belong to Constance M. Burge and the WB. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

Chapter 1: August 1, 2015 – Headmistress Buffy

Hogwarts

Buffy waited semi-patiently as the crowd of 'concerned' school board members harped on and on about some of the changes she made over the past few months. They were up to the requirement that all magically-raised students must take Muggle Studies. Nevermind the fact that all Muggle-raised students had to take Wizard Studies, as well. Mentioning that was pointless because it involved logic, and logic had no place in histrionics.

It all boiled down to them thinking that she was trying to destroy a thousand years of honored traditions for 'no good reason'.

When it appeared like their spokesman was done ranting, she put on her best Quentin Travers (snooty and dismissive) expression and replied a bit harshly, "Did you not decide, voluntarily, to give me the position of Headmistress of this school?"

Taken off-balance by her attitude, the spokesman answered, "Yes, but-"

Buffy cut him off, "And as a part of that offer, you gave me the authority to make any changes I felt were necessary…as long as they didn't endanger the students' safety. Are you claiming their safety is worse off than it was a year ago? Because I have documentation to prove otherwise."

He tried to speak up again, but she went on like a steamroller, "Your list of concerns did not mention safety anywhere. Therefore, unless you intend to remove me as Headmistress, I will thank you to let me do my job. My job is to provide the students of this school with a quality education in a safe and disciplined – yet nurturing – environment."

Her tone made it clear they were dismissed, but in case they were duller than most, she pushed a non-emergency button on her desk to alert her security personnel in the outer office that they were to come into her office.

"The board members were just leaving," she told Worf and Hagrid. "Can you escort them to the gate, please?" Nobody got to wander her school unescorted unless they were on staff or were students, and board members were not staff in Buffy's mind. It didn't matter that it was summer and there were not students around.

After Worf and Hagrid led them out of the office, Cole turned to Buffy with a look of bemusement. "Aren't you concerned they might remove you?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Not really. They won't fire me without cause so soon after giving me the position because that would make them seem like idiots for giving the job to an unqualified person simply because I killed Voldemort – which they are. They'll probably be waiting like vultures for me to screw up, though. Even though it would logically still be their fault, at least then they could place the blame on me for getting one of their children hurt or killed. Weird to think that at least one of them is hoping for that to happen."

"And if you're wrong?" Cole persisted. "I doubt they'd keep many of the people you hired…especially the muggles."

"Then I'll start my own school," Buffy responded in a deceptively glib fashion. "As far as I can tell, Hogwarts is the only school of its kind in this country- region, whatever. It could stand a little competition. We could find some place in a different area…maybe Foulness Island, for example. That's about 10 square miles and has a small population. At first it would probably be mostly just first generation witches and wizards, but it would be available for any that speak English."

"Why do I get the feeling that you've already thought about this?" Cole asked rhetorically. "Do you honestly believe the Ministry would let you start a school that competes with Hogwarts?"

"The people that would object the loudest are the ones that resent educating the first generation witches and wizards, so I don't think they'd give me any grief until it was too late. After we're an established school, they'd look stupid for objecting when they didn't see it as a problem earlier. But if they do, then I'll change it to a school for Slayer Potentials, Watchers, Wiccans and those deemed unworthy of education by the Ministry – like children bitten by werewolves."

"You're expecting them to try and shut you down, don't you?" Cole asked, this time wanting an answer.

"Given the attitudes of most of the wizards in power right now? Yes," Buffy answered. "But things could change once we strip away some of those biased attitudes. I'm just not sure if we'll be around long enough for that to happen."

"And you'd keep the staff you hired…including those like me?" he wondered with more than a little concern. This opportunity stopped him from sinking further into his obsession with Phoebe and he didn't want to lose it because of some stupid bigots.

"You mean those with demony roots? Of course!" she assured him. "We already have quite a few demon allies for the slaying stuff. Besides, if you want to get all technical about it, Slayers have demony roots, too. It'd be pretty hypocritical of us to turn away you when our powers are demonic. We voted on it and determined that as long as you aren't evil, you're welcome in our group. We get a kick out of knowing that the old management would hate that policy."

Cole breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "I'll admit that's a load off my mind. You had me worried when you taunted those bigots like that."

She grinned impishly. "Gotta keep life interesting."

A/N: And so we're back for another month of Hogwarts schooling stuff. I hope I have the energy and inspiration to last the whole 31 days this year.