Chapter 3: August 3, 2015 – Designing Hogwarts, Part 1

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

Timeline: Storywise – Buffy's first week

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

Stairwell

Buffy was taking some time out of her day to look around the school a little. It probably wouldn't instill confidence in the students if she got lost. She was halfway up the staircase when it started moving, catching her off-guard enough to make her fall a little. If she had been at the bottom, or didn't have Slayer reactions, she could have gotten seriously injured or possibly even killed by this damn place!

Once she got off the staircase, Buffy called for one of the house elves to bring her back to her office using the most direct/least dangerous route. "Do you know if there's a handbook for the Headmasters?" she asked the elf before he left.

He shook his head and said, "I am sorry, Mistress Slayer, I do not. The headmaster portraits should be able to tell you."

"Thanks…what is your name?" she asked.

"Twain, Mistress Slayer, after the American author," he answered.

"Thanks, Twain. I'd like you to pass along a message to all the elves for me, okay? I'd rather not advertise the fact I'm a Slayer. I'd appreciate it if you called me Miss Buffy instead."

"You are the Headmistress of the school, so we must use the proper title, Mistress Buffy," Twain informed her.

"Okay, that'll have to do, then. Bye, Twain," she said in dismissal. She tried asking the various headmaster portraits for help, but most of them were horrified that a 'Muggle' was in charge of the world's greatest magical school and literally turned their backs on her.

Finally, she lost her patience and yell, "Can any of you tell me what I need to know?"

One of the portraits near the ceiling called back, "I can, Headmistress. If you push the button on the column closest to me, it will bring my portrait down to where you can see me more easily."

Buffy followed the instructions and in a few minutes was looking at a brunette woman named…Buffy's eyebrows raised at the name on the plaque. "Rowena Ravenclaw?" she asked.

"The first headmistress of Hogwarts. Despite what some of the history books suggest, most of the earliest leaders of this school were women because the men tended to get distracted by wars and such. That left it up to us women to educate and protect our children," Rowena informed Buffy.

"I guess that makes sense," Buffy agreed. "Since you were one of the Founders, maybe you can tell me how to make this school less of a deathtrap."

"What do you mean?" Rowena demanded, nonplussed at the insult to her greatest handiwork.

"I was just on one of the staircases and almost fell to my death because it started moving without warning," Buffy exaggerated in her frustration.

Rowena growled in her frame, "Somebody removed the safeties from the staircases?!"

"So they weren't designed that way? That's a huge relief to find out," Buffy said.

"We would never endanger the students or teachers by making the school unsafe in any way!" Rowena practically yelled. "When I find out which one of you did that, I'm going to make you suffer horribly!" she screeched at the other portraits.

"Yikes," Buffy said softly, then said hesitantly, "I'm not sure I should ask this now, but is there some kind of magical trick to changing Hogwarts into an easier-to-navigate place?"

"What do you mean?" Rowena asked.

"I feel like I'm in a funhouse at a carnival when I try to find my way to a classroom or dorm. I'm going down a hallway, turn a corner and find a dead-end. What's that about?" Buffy explained.

"Hippogriff food…when I find out who messed up my school, they're hippogriff food!" Rowena vowed. She paused to take a deep, cleansing breath, then said, "It is – unfortunately – the right of any headmaster/headmistress to alter the school. It was meant to make it easier for them to make the necessary adjustments over the years to match the school's needs at that time."

"Do I need to be magical to make those changes?" Buffy asked.

"It would help, but as long as you have somebody magical to input your ideas, the school can manage on its own," Rowena said. "Even one of the elves could do it for you."

"Where do we make the changes?" Buffy asked.

"In my old chambers; it used to be on the first floor, near the entryway. Just a hint when you go there: you must open it while thinking 'The headmistress needs Rowena Ravenclaw's chambers' or you may only find a broom closet. You see, I put a spell on the door to make the room turn into whatever the person needs," Rowena confided.

"I don't think it's there anymore because it's just a staircase and the Great Hall near the front door," Buffy informed her.

"I suppose that makes sense," Rowena said, surprising Buffy. "When it isn't being used, it is supposed to move a part of the school where people won't stumble upon it too often."

"Then I'll ask one of the teachers or house elves…since these buttheads refuse to help me," Buffy said, pointing towards the other portraits. "I'll see you when I get back."

Hallway

After passing the gargoyle which guarded her office, Buffy called out, "Twain?"

"Yes, Mistress Buffy?" he inquired politely.

"Are you busy?" she asked, getting a blank look in response…as if he didn't understand the question. "Were you in the middle of something or can you help me find a room?"

"Twain can help," he answered. "What room is Mistress Buffy searching for?"

"Well, it used to be Rowena Ravenclaw's chamber, but it got moved from its original place by the front door. She said it can change into other rooms, too," Buffy tried to explain, even though she didn't really understand how that worked herself.

"Ahh, the 'comes and goes room' is what Mistress Buffy wants," Twain decided. He led her up to the seventh floor and pointed out a troll ballet portrait and explained to her, "You must walk past this portrait three times while thinking of what you need. A door will appear then."

Buffy did as she was instructed and was rewarded with a doorway. She peaked inside and said, "Thanks, Twain. I'll poke around in here a little bit. You can get back to whatever you were doing."

A/N: Part two will actually be the design of Hogwarts (get ready for some Xander screen-time). This was just to prove to Buffy she needed to change the school.