Title: Harry Potter and The Vampire Slayer
Part IV: Diagon Alley
Author: Miss Witch
Email: MissWitch@witchesbrew.zzn.com
Rating: PG
Summary: Dark forces are afoot. (Gee, that never happens!) Giles receives an unusual request and has to leave Sunnydale. This request has to do with the protection of a certain young boy with a lightning scar on his forehead. A BtVS/Harry Potter crossover story.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even my car. BtVS belongs to Joss (all hail), Mutant Enemy (grrr argh), Fox, UPN, WB…. whoever. Basically, it belongs to someone who is not me, no matter how much I whine and beg.
Disclaimer 2: I so don’t own any of the Harry Potter stuff. If I did I’d be J.K. Rowling and well on my way to being the first billionaire writer ever. I lay no claims on any of the characters or what will happen after book 4, so please don’t sue!
Spoilers: This takes place before Season 4 of Buffy, and after Goblet of Fire
Distribution: Just ask. If it helps, I’m going to say yes. I just like the thrill of knowing someone wants it.
Feedback: Pretty please.
Notes: <> means thoughts. Oh, and for the sake of argument and my sanity in writing this… Faith did not go bad, just to L.A. (granted, some would argue that it’s the same thing)
Disclaimer 3: As we enter the Harry Potter world, I would like to make clear that these stories are my interpretation of the Harry Potter books. If it doesn’t jibe with your interpretation, I’m sorry. But, just go with it. Who knows, you might learn something you didn’t notice before.
"Yikes!" Xander shouted as the wall in front of him began to move. A small hole appeared as the bricks seemingly folded in on themselves, growing larger until finally it grew into an archway. An obvious doorway.
"Wow." Buffy breathed. "That was amazing." Giles grinned.
"Oh, that’s nothing." he assured them. With a slight bow, he gestured them through the doorway.
Buffy was the last of the gang through. She instantly collided with Willow, who bumped into Xander, who narrowly missed knocking into Oz, all of whom were gaping in amazement. Even Oz couldn’t hide his surprise at what he saw.
Buffy had no problems figuring out what they were gawking at. Everything. The street was lined with shops the likes of which Buffy had never seen. Cauldrons, cloaks, potions, owls, broomsticks and lots and lots of things Buffy couldn’t identify. And the people!
Buffy could’ve spent hours sitting on a bench and watching the people on the street. She didn’t think there was a single person wearing a dull color. Just lots of jewel tones and bright colors everywhere she looked. Buffy’s fashion sense rebelled at the sight of a young woman wearing a florescent pink robe with a lime green hat. She whirled to face Giles, who was standing behind all of them, watching their reaction with amusement. He was obviously enjoying their discomfiture.
"There’s not a chance in hell I’m wearing that outfit." she told him. Grinning, Giles took her by the arm and began to drag her down the street. The rest of the gang fell in step behind them, trying to look everywhere at once.
"Ok, so, you do know where we can buy all our stuff." Buffy admitted.
"I told you." Giles smirked, as Buffy swatted at him. Stopping out of the way of foot traffic, he gathered the gang around him. Out of his pocket, he pulled several small cloth bags and some paper. Buffy, Oz, Willow and Xander all got one of each.
"Now, I have to buy things myself, so I’m giving each of you some money and a list of supplies you’ll need. I made notes as to where I recommend you get them." he told them. Xander dug eagerly through the bag of money.
"Um, Giles," he said, looking at the coins. "These aren’t…"
"It’s wizard money." Giles interrupted. "The gold ones are Galleons, the silver Sickles and the bronze are Knuts." he explained showing each as he named it. "Galleons are worth seventeen Sickles. Sickles are worth 29 Knuts." The gang gaped at him.
"Oh perfect sense there, Giles." Buffy retorted. Buffy held up one of the gold coins. "Where did you get these?" Giles pointed at the huge white building down the street.
"Gringotts, the wizarding bank." he explained. "While you were sleeping off your jetlag, I went and exchanged some money." He smiled at the group. "Go explore. Just make sure you get your school supplies before you buy anything frivolous." He gave Xander a hard look with this statement.
"Ok, ok. I get the message." Xander said, looking rather sheepish. Giles strode toward a side street, leaving the group to wander where they wished. Buffy watched him walk away.
"I’ll catch up in a minute." Buffy told the gang, and ran down the street. "Giles!" she called. Giles stopped at the sound of his name. He watched her with curiosity.
"What is it, Buffy?" Buffy held up the bag of coins he’d given her.
"This money." she said. "We can’t take this. It’s too much." Giles smiled, touched by her concern.
"Buffy," he said, placing his hand on her cheek. "There’s no need to worry. I will not go bankrupt paying for your school supplies."
"But…" Buffy began to argue. Giles interrupted her.
"If it will ease your mind, Buffy, I can assure you that being a Watcher pays quite well." Buffy still looked uncertain.
"Giles…" Giles shook his head.
"Buffy, go shopping, spend the money." he ordered softly, pushing her toward her waiting friends. Giles watched as Buffy took a few steps and stopped. He thought that he was in for another round of arguments about the money. Instead she turned quickly on her heel and darted back to him. Standing on her tiptoes, Buffy pressed a kiss on his check.
"Thanks Giles." she said, before running back to the gang. Giles watched her move lithely through the crowd back to her friends. Giles sighed as he turned away. <Get a hold of yourself, man.> he thought as he walked down the street. <She’ll never see you that way.> Giles chastised himself. With one last look over his shoulder, he took one last glimpse of Buffy before he turned the corner.
Willow, always the scholar, insisted that they buy the school supplies right away. Which meant Buffy had to suffer through a fitting for her robes and had to buy the strangest stack of books she’d ever seen. When they requested four copies of "The Monster Book of Monsters" the shopkeeper nearly cried. Buffy soon understood why.
The cage that contained them rattled as the books threw themselves at the bars. They attacked and snapped each other, the stronger ones ripping apart the weaker ones.
"Are those the books?" Buffy asked, as the shopkeeper put on protective gloves. At his nod, she walked over to the cage and opened the door, much to the manager’s horror. He watched in amazement as she shot her hand into the cage and pulled out a book, tossing it on the floor and stepping on it before it could scuttle away. She repeated this three more times. The manager stared awestruck at the pile of books under Buffy’s foot.
"H- H- How did you do that?" he asked. Buffy shrugged, stomping her foot down when the books tried to toss her off.
"It’s a gift." Grateful, the shopkeeper helped her secure the books so they couldn’t cause any trouble. He even gave them a discount because he was so thankful for not having to get the books himself.
"That was so cool, Buff." Xander said. "I thought he was going to pass out when we said we needed four books." Buffy giggled.
"I know. That’s why I decided to get them for him. Poor guy had bites all over his arms." She turned to Willow, who was in charge of the shopping list. "Where to next?" Willow consulted her paper.
"Um, we just have wands left."
The group made their way to Ollivanders, the wand shop that Giles had recommended. Pushing open the door, they found themselves in a tiny dark shop. Buffy peered into the darkness, looking for the owner.
"Hello." a voice said from behind, causing everyone to jump. They turned to find an old man moving toward them. "Welcome to Ollivanders. I am Mr. Ollivander."
"We need to get wands." Buffy managed to tell him.
"Ah, yes. The Slayer." Mr. Ollivander said. Buffy gawked at him in shock.
"What? Am I wearing a sign?" she asked Willow. Mr. Ollivander smiled. Buffy wasn’t quite sure if she liked the smile. It was kind of creepy.
"Rupert Giles was in earlier and told me to expect a group of people in Muggle clothing. And as I happen to know Mr. Giles is an active Watcher, one of you had to be the Slayer. Most probably the most daring one." Buffy was pretty sure there was a compliment in there somewhere. "Let’s get started then." he said, placing boxes in front of them.
With the exception of Buffy, there was a collective step backwards.
"Thanks guys." Buffy muttered, giving the group a nasty look as Mr. Ollivander gazed at her expectantly. She endured yet another set of measurements, although this one was a bit different than the last, as the measuring tape did all the work on it’s own while it’s owner rummaged through the back.
Mr. Ollivander had Buffy try a series of different wands, having her wave them in the air. Buffy felt pretty stupid do this until finally one sent a shower of gold sparks in the air when she waved it.
"Well, well, well. Dragon heartstring and cedar, 13 inches. An excellent choice for a Slayer." Mr. Ollivander said as Buffy paid for her wand. The rest of the gang went through the same procedure until they too found their perfect matches. Buffy found the wands oddly reflective of their owners; Xander with phoenix feather and maple, Oz with phoenix feather and redwood. It was Willow’s wand that everyone found the most amusing as she ended up with unicorn hair and willow.
The gang was very pleased with their purchases as they left the shop. Xander was busily counting his remaining coins. He figured now that they’d bought all their supplies, they could buy something fun. Like what, he didn’t know, but he was sure there was something cool he could get.
"Giles!" Buffy called out, waving as her Watcher strode into view. He, too, was loaded down with purchases, maybe even more than the Scoobies had. He juggled his packages into one hand so he could wave back.
"Giles," Xander said excitedly, as they drew together. "we got the coolest stuff."
"Did you, now?" Giles asked. Xander nodded.
"You should’ve seen the books we had to get." he said. "I don’t know why we had to get a book on monsters when we’ve been fighting them for 3 years."
"You’ve been fighting demons, not monsters." Giles informed him, giving him a stare. "Besides not all monsters are evil." he corrected in the tone that always made Buffy want to stick her tongue out at him. Of course, it was wasted on Xander.
"Whatever. The book tried to bite Buffy." he continued, undaunted. "You should’ve seen the guy’s face when we asked for 4. It kind of reminded me of you when we tell you all the jelly donuts are gone." Giles cleared his throat.
"Yes, quite." he said, rather primly. Buffy patted his arm consolingly. She didn’t notice when he jumped at her touch. She was too busy trying to see what he’d bought. Giles turned so she couldn’t peek. "You’ll see everything at Hogwarts." Buffy opened her mouth to protest, but never had a chance to speak.
"Rupert? Rupert Giles?" Buffy turned to see a red haired man hurrying down the road toward them. Giles stepped forward and shook the man’s hand.
"Arthur Weasley! I didn’t expect to see you here!" Giles exclaimed. Arthur shook his head in amusement.
"Three days before the start of term? Where else would I be? I have 7 kids, you know, Rupert." Giles looked astounded.
"Seven?" Arthur nodded. "Well, only four of them are at Hogwarts now." He looked pointedly at the Scoobies. "And you?" Giles followed his gaze and laughed.
"Oh, no, these aren’t mine. Well, they’re mine, but not my children." he explained. "This is Buffy, my Slayer and these are her friends." Arthur looked at the group.
"I heard you went to work in the Muggle world. Watcher to a Vampire Slayer." he said, obviously impressed. "I would have never believed it." Arthur looked at the packages everyone was holding. "Off to Hogwarts are they?" Giles nodded and put his hand on Buffy’s shoulder. Buffy resisted the urge to lace her fingers with his and lean back against his chest.
"Yes, I’m teaching Defense of Dark Arts this year. They’ve been invited as special exchange students." Arthur nodded.
"Excellent. At the rate Harry’s been going, he’s going to need all the help he can get in that area." Buffy perked up at the sound of Harry’s name. She looked up at Giles questioningly. Understanding her unspoken question, Giles squeezed her shoulder and nodded.
Willow watched this exchange and sighed. <It was so romantic.> she thought.
"And here’s the lot of them now." Arthur said, watching a large group moving toward him. Buffy was nearly knocked off her feet as a rather plump woman grabbed Giles in a tight hug, scolding him about not keeping in touch at the same time.
"Molly." Giles laughed. "I’m sorry. I’ve been a bit busy." Molly humphed and looked over at her husband.
"And where have you been?" she demanded.
Meanwhile, Xander, Oz, Willow and Buffy stared in amazement at the group of teens that had been following Molly. The majority of them had red hair just like Giles’ friends and two of the red heads were identical. The other two had dark hair. Buffy decided to introduce herself.
"Hi, I’m Buffy. This is Willow, Oz and Xander." Buffy said, gesturing to each in turn.
"Hello. I’m George, this is Fred," he said gesturing to his twin. "This is Ron," George pointed to another red haired boy, "and our sister Ginny." George pointed at the other two "These are our friends, Hermione and Harry."
There was a round of hand shaking among the teens.
"You’re Americans, aren’t you?" Hermione, a girl with rather bushy hair, asked. Willow nodded.
"Yes, we’re going to Hogwarts as special exchange students." she explained.
"Are you taking the Hogwarts Express?" Ron asked. Buffy nodded. She glanced over at Giles. Seeing that he was safely engrossed in conversation with the Weasleys, she turned back to the twins.
"What’s it like? Magic school, that is?" she asked. All of the
youths looked at her in surprise.
"You’ve never been?" George asked. Buffy shook her head.
"Too busy kicking vampire ass." she told them, shrugging. Buffy figured that there was no point in trying to keep her Slayer status a mystery. Obviously enough people knew that Giles was a Watcher. All someone had to do was put two and two together and they’d figure out who she was. Ron was obviously impressed.
"The Vampire Slayer! Wicked!" he said. He turned to Harry. "Think maybe Snape’s a vampire? Would you let us watch you slay him?" Ron asked Buffy.
"Who’s Snape?" she asked, confused.
"One of our teachers. He hates me." Harry told her.
"Sounds like Snyder, the principal at my high school. If it makes feel any better, Snyder gotten eaten by a huge snake at graduation." she laughed. Ron closed his eyes, imagining the picture.
"I can work with that." he said. Harry looked over at Giles.
"Is that your dad?" Buffy followed his gaze.
"Dad? Giles? No. Giles is my Watcher. He teaches and trains me." Buffy looked at Harry thoughtfully. "He’s going to be the Defense of Dark Arts teacher this year." she told him and Ron.
"Really?" Fred asked. "Does he know what he’s about?" Xander looked at Fred in shock.
"Giles? Of course he does. Do you have any idea how many apocalypses he’s helped us stop?" All heads swiveled to study Giles.
"Wow." Ginny gasped.
"I can’t wait to get to school!" Willow said. "We just got our wands, and I can’t wait to get back to the hotel to try it out."
"Sound like anyone we know?" Ron asked as they both looked at Hermione, who was currently pouring over books with Willow.
"Time to be getting back." Mrs. Weasley called. The gang made their good byes to their new friends.
"We’ll see you on the train." one of the Weasley twins called as they followed their parents down the street. The gang waved as they left.
Despite all the excitement, Buffy was tired. The Scoobies willingly followed Giles back down the alley and through the pub, returning to the Muggle world, trekking back to the hotel.
"Buffy, once you’ve put your purchases away, will you come down and see me?" Giles asked as Buffy reached the door of her room. Buffy nodded, sighing at the thought of just collapsing on her bed. It looked so soft and inviting. Buffy dumped her stuff and went back down to Giles’ room.
He answered her soft knock almost immediately and gestured her inside.
"What’s up?" she asked, turning to face him. "Please tell me I don’t have to go patrolling or something." The mere thought of having to drag her sorry self out onto the streets of London to patrol was almost more than she could bear. Giles took his glasses off and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Of course not Buffy." he said tiredly. Giles put the glasses on the table by the door. "I just wanted to ask if you feel any better about Hogwarts now?" Buffy smiled.
"Yeah, I do." Giles reached out and tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
"See, you were worried about not making friends, and you made some and haven’t left London yet." he teased. Giles leaned down so that his mouth was next to her ear. "Feel free to say it." he murmured. Buffy smiled.
"You were right." she said wryly. "But…" Buffy added turning her head toward Giles. Whatever she’d been about to say was lost as she realized that Giles still had his head bent to hers, and his mouth was mere inches from her own.
Buffy’s breath caught in her chest. Heart pounding, she looked up and met Giles intense gaze. Her tongue darted out and moistened her suddenly dry lips. Giles watched her tongue slide across her lips. She felt Giles’ hand slide up her arm. Entranced, Buffy leaned forward, her eyes never leaving his.
Their lips were mere centimeters apart. Buffy could all but taste him. <God, I’m going to kiss Giles!> she thought excitedly.
"Hey G-man!" Xander yelled, pounding on the door. "When are we going to eat?"
Chapter 5 – Hogwarts Express
"Are you sure we're in the right place?" Buffy asked, looking around
the crowded train station. "These people don't look too magical to
me."
"They're not." Willow said, studying the paper Giles had left them.
On it was written very specific instructions so that they could catch
the train to school. "We have to pass through a magical barrier to
get to our train." Willow looked up from the paper to read the
platform numbers. "It should be over there." she said
pointing. "Somewhere between 9 and 10."
"Let me get this straight," Xander grunted as he started pushing his
heavy cart. It had been decided (by the girls, of course) that he
and Oz would be in charge of pushing the trunks to the platform.
Xander had argued that since Buffy had the super strength, she should
be the one pushing the carts. It hadn't worked, but Xander had felt
it'd been worth a shot. "We have to take a train from between
platforms."
"Stop whining." Buffy ordered. "Push"
Willow shook her head. Buffy had been irritated with Xander since
he'd interrupted her near kiss with Giles. Not that Willow blamed
her, but she'd hoped Buffy would've been over it by now.
Willow supposed it was because Giles had just pretended nothing had
happened. He'd opened the door and sent Xander on his way, giving
him permission to call for room service. Then, turning back to
Buffy, he'd told her they were both very tired from the day's outing,
and she should go rest.
Ok, so he'd followed that up by sending food and chocolate desserts
to the room. But still, Buffy had been very disappointed at the turn
of events. She'd also been understandably cranky since then. She'd
ranted and raved for hours afterward. It had taken all of Willow's
calming influence, plus almost all the chocolate, to keep her from
marching over and smacking Xander around.
"Well, here we are." Willow said, standing between platforms 9 and
10. She looked back at the instructions. "According to Giles, we're
supposed just walk casually at the barrier and we should pass right
through." Xander's eyes nearly popped out of his head.
"We're supposed to do what?" he yelled. Buffy and Willow hissed at
him to be quiet. Meanwhile, Oz was undeniably moseying toward the
barrier. Acting like he was looking at the platform signs, he
slipped silently through the wall.
"See." Buffy hissed. "It's easy. Hop on the cart." she told him,
knowing he'd never be able to go barreling toward a solid barricade.
Xander did as he was told, covering his eyes as they grew closer to
the stone wall. Chatting, the girls pretended to be deep in
discussion, unaware of where they were going.
They passed unnoticed through the wall. On the other side, they
found themselves surrounded by people in robes of all colors. Kids
of all ages were pushing around similar carts piled with trunks along
side of a scarlet steam engine, smoke drifting up from the engine.
"Wow." Willow whispered, trying to take everything in.
"Now we're in the right place." Buffy said as Xander jumped off the
cart. Xander caught a glimpse of red hair and hands waving at them.
"There's Oz with Ron, Harry and Hermione." he said pointing. He
helped Buffy push the cart down the platform toward them.
"We found an empty compartment, and we thought you'd like to share."
Harry offered shyly. Buffy grinned.
"That's great. Thanks." She began to effortlessly heave the trunks
onto the train. The young students watched in amazement.
"That is so awesome." Ron breathed. Xander smiled understandingly.
"Better get used to it or else you're going to spend a lot of time in
awe." he said putting his hand on Ron's shoulder.
A whistle sounded causing the group to jump. They scrambled onto the
train and into the compartment.
"Wow, this is nice." Buffy said, looking around the wood paneled
compartment. She jumped in surprise when a large snowy owl hooted
softly at her. "Is that a real owl?" she asked. Harry nodded.
"This is Hedwig. She's my owl." he said, opening the cage door and
holding out an arm for the bird. The white owl hopped on to it and
blinked at Buffy.
"Can I touch her?" Buffy asked. Harry nodded and Buffy cautiously
reached out toward the feathered head.
"Hello Hedwig." she said, softly stroking the bird. "I'm Buffy."
Hedwig hooted a greeting back at her. Buffy smiled. "Wow." she
whispered. Harry put Hedwig back in her cage, explaining she was
safer there for the trip.
The train whistled again and began to move slowly away from the
platform. The group of teens all settled into seats and prepared for
a long ride. Willow and Hermione soon became engrossed in several
spell books. Buffy could hear Hermione giving Willow pointers on
performing some of the spells.
"Make sure that you roll your r's when you say the spell or it won't
work."
"Tell her about how you made fire out of ice." Buffy suggested,
grinning mischievously. Willow rolled her eyes.
"Don't try doing that on anything flammable, like your bedspread."
she advised Hermione.
"Where's your Watcher?" Harry asked curiously. "He's not coming with
you?" Buffy shook her head.
"He left yesterday so that he could prepare for class." she told
him. Xander nodded.
"We were relieved." he told Harry. "We've been researching for that
class since he got the job."
"What sorts of things are we going to be doing?" Ron asked eagerly.
He was looking forward to being taught by someone who'd averted a
couple of apocalypses. Xander and Buffy looked at each other and
shrugged.
"We don't know." Buffy said. "We just helped do research."
"We research a lot." Oz interjected. "It's pretty much second nature
now."
The group fell into comfortable conversation, each group telling the
other about their experiences. It grew into a friendly game of one-
upmanship.
"So, then, Xander walks back into the cafeteria and is about to eat
the Jell-o, when he looks up and sees the lunch lady dumping rat
poison into the food." Buffy was telling them. Behind her, the door
of their compartment slid open.
"Well, well, well. Isn't this interesting?" a snide voice that
reminded Buffy very much of Cordelia in her sophomore year. Buffy
looked up to find a thin, pale boy looking at her with very mean
eyes. On either side of him stood two stocky and stupid looking boys.
"Great. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle." Harry muttered.
"Rumor has it that the Vampire Slayer's on the train." Malfoy said
unpleasantly. He looked the Scoobies over and then at Harry and
Ron. "Obviously the Weasley twins are telling tales."
Eyes narrowed, Buffy stood slowly.
"I'm the Vampire Slayer." she said shortly. Malfoy looked her up and
down and snorted.
"You? The Vampire Slayer?" he laughed nastily. "I find it hard to
believe." The stocky boys behind him laughed as well. "You,
however, have many other possibilities." he added lecherously. For a
moment, Buffy stood and stared at him. He couldn't have possibly
just said what she thought he had.
"You take that back, Malfoy!" Harry and Ron shouted almost
simultaneously. They had drawn their wands and were pointing them at
the boy. Malfoy snorted.
"And what are you planning on doing?" he asked them.
"I wouldn't worry about them," Buffy told him, her voice low and
dangerous. She closed the distance between them in two steps. "I'd
worry about me." Before Malfoy could say or do anything, Buffy had
grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
"Help!" he gurgled to his friends, his feet dangling. Crabbe lunged
toward Buffy, and ended up with an elbow in his face for his
trouble. He backed away, holding his nose and howling in pain.
Harry could see blood trickling down his face.
"I wouldn't." Buffy warned Goyle as he took a step toward her.
Wisely, he chose to stay where he was. Buffy slammed Malfoy against
the wall. "Never, ever insult a Slayer." she advised, emphasizing
each word with a knock against the wall. "We're not known for our
even tempers." She gave Malfoy's neck a squeeze. "Now, apologize."
Malfoy gasped out an apology. Buffy let go and he dropped to the
floor in a crumpled heap. He stood, rubbing his neck and glaring at
Buffy.
"You're regret that." he told her. "Crabbe, Goyle, let's go." he
ordered. The three boys strode off, Crabbe still holding his nose
and whimpering.
"That was bloody brilliant." Harry said. Ron nodded his agreement.
"Wait `til Fred and George see those three. They'll know immediately
who did it." Ron added, grinning. "They'll be so mad they missed it."
"Who were they?" Willow asked. Harry, Ron and Hermione rolled their
eyes.
"Draco Malfoy and his thugs, Crabbe and Goyle." Harry
explained. "They hate us and we hate them."
"So it's all even then." Buffy said with some humor. Her anger had
dissipated, although she was pretty sure Giles would not be amused
when he heard about the incident.
"Malfoy's from one of the oldest wizarding families." Ron said. "They
don't believe anyone from Muggle families should be allowed in
Hogwarts."
"Snobs." Oz summarized. Harry nodded.
"I hope you're not in Slytherin." Harry said to Buffy. "He'll make
your life miserable." The gang looked at him, confused.
"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked.
Harry began to explain to them about how Hogwarts was split into four
houses, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Slytherin. Hermione
interjected to give a detailed history of the four houses.
"They don't care about that." Ron told her, gesturing for Harry to
continue. Harry explained that each first year student had to try on
the Sorting Hat, and the hat determined what house they were in.
"What house are you in?" Willow asked.
"Gryffindor." Ron told her. "All of us." The gang looked horrified.
"Giles didn't say anything about being sorted." Willow said, sounding
panicked. "What if they split us up? What if we never see each
other? What if…"
"Oz." Buffy murmured. Oz leaned over and covered Willow's lips with
his own. When he pulled away, Willow took a deep, calming breath.
"Ok, I'm alright now." she assured them. Ron, Harry and Hermione
looked at Buffy for confirmation of this. She gave them a slight
nod.
"Do you think they'll have us `sorted'?" she asked. Ron and Harry
looked at Hermione, who shrugged.
"I don't know." Hermione admitted, causing looks of disbelief on Ron
and Harry's faces. "Well, I don't." she defended. "There's never
been anything like this. When the other schools came, they brought
their own sleeping quarters." Buffy settled back in her seat.
"I guess we'll have to wait and see."
A few hours later the train slowed as it pulled into the Hogwarts
station. The gang had changed into their robes and school clothes.
Buffy had decided to have a chat with Giles about this, as there was
no way she could do any sort of slaying in the gray pleated skirt.
"I feel like a dork." she muttered to Willow. Willow nodded her
agreement. The train came to a stop and they pushed their way
through the door and onto the platform.
"Firs' year over here!" a big booming voice called. Buffy and the
gang looked over and jumped in surprise.
The biggest, hairiest man they had ever seen was calling for the
first year students. He stopped when he saw Harry, Ron and
Hermione. A huge grin split his face.
"Oi there! You alright there?" The three waved like mad at him.
"Hi Hagrid!" they called. Hagrid noticed the gang standing by Harry.
"You there. You Professor Giles' lot?" he asked. Speechless, they
nodded. He gestured for the gang to follow him. "Come with me."
The gang made their good byes to Harry, Ron and Hermione and followed
Hagrid, along with about 40 other students, down to a dark lake.
"Everyone in a boat. Four to a boat." he ordered. The gang
clambered into a boat, looking around for oars or a motor. They
couldn't find either. Once Hagrid had ascertained that everyone was
safely in a boat, he called out "FORWARD!"
The boats glided silently along the lake, taking a path well known to
them. The gang could see a huge castle on a cliff above them. Buffy
just shook her head.
"It's gonna be a weird year." she whispered to herself when Hagrid
yelled for everyone to duck as they passed into a dark tunnel. After
a few minutes, they landed in an underground harbor.
Once everyone had climbed out of the boats, and Hagrid had checked to
make sure nothing had been left behind, he led them through a
passageway, up some stone stairs to the huge front door of the
castle.
A tall witch wearing green robes opened the door immediately. She
looked the students over critically.
"These are the firs' years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid told them.
Professor McGonagall nodded.
"Thank you, Hagrid." she said, a Scottish burr evident in her voice.
She opened the door wide and gestured the first years into the large
flagstone entrance hall. Buffy had never seen anything like it in
her life. She couldn't see the ceiling, it was so high. Off to her
right, she could hear the low murmur of voices. <Must be the rest of
the students.> she thought.
Once the entire group was in the hall, Professor McGonagall addressed
them.
"Welcome to Hogwarts." she said. "In a few moments, I will take you
into the Great Hall, so that you may be sorted into your houses."
Professor McGonagall went on to explain that they would live, take
classes and spend free time with their houses. Willow clutched Oz's
hand in worry. They were warned against any infraction of the rules,
as it would cost their houses points, while good behavior and
knowledge would be rewarded. Professor McGonagall looked the group
over critically and advised them to straighten themselves up.
"Form a line, please." she ordered. "and follow me."
Professor McGonagall led the nervous first years down some halls and
finally into the Great Hall itself.
"Oh my God." Buffy whispered to herself as they entered the room.
Huge didn't even begin to cover how big it was. There were four long
tables, all set with what looked like gold plates and goblets. The
tables were filled with students. Buffy was pretty sure they were
all staring at her.
The group passed by what was obviously the Gryffindor table, as
Harry, Ron and Hermione were all seated together. Ginny sat next to
them, and across the table Fred and George gave Buffy enthusiastic
thumbs up. Buffy couldn't help but grin back. She knew they were
congratulating her for beating up Malfoy.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a silver white figure floating
through the room. <A ghost!> she thought with a start. The candles
that floated above her in midair amazed her. They filled the air,
lighting the room for the meal. However, she jolted when she
realized that the ceiling looked just like the outside sky, belatedly
remembering that Hermione had told them that it was bewitched to look
that way.
<What have I gotten myself into?> Buffy wondered as Professor
McGonagall led them to the front of the hall. On a raised dais stood
another long table, which was where all the teachers were seated.
Buffy raised her eyes and found Giles staring down at her. He was
dressed in black robes over an outfit similar to the uniforms the
students. The candlelight glinted off his glasses as he gave her a
small smile and nodded. Buffy gave him a small wave, trying not to
draw too much attention to herself.
Taking a deep breath, Buffy felt her nervous stomach settle. Just
knowing Giles was here made her feel better. Down towards the middle
of the table, Buffy saw Professor Dumbledore, dressed even more
finely than when he'd visited them in Sunnydale. He, too, was
watching her and gave a small smile. Buffy smiled back at him.
>From his seat in the Great Hall, Giles watched Buffy and the others
enter the room. From the look on her face, Giles figured that Willow
had a near death grip on Oz's hand. Xander was looking more than a
little pale, and Buffy was looking overwhelmed.
She gawked up at the candles, and jumped when she saw a ghost float
by. Giles supposed that he should have warned them of what to
expect. But he had wanted them to have the full experience of
arriving at Hogwarts. Giles regretted that, in all likelihood, the
teens would only have this single year to experience the wizarding
world. He wanted it to be as full as possible.
As Buffy grew closer to the head table, Giles couldn't help but
notice the way the candlelight shone on her hair. Unbidden, Giles
remembered the vanilla scent of her shampoo and how silky it had been
in his hands. Giles mentally cursed himself and Xander. Himself for
even considering kissing Buffy, Xander for stealing possibly the only
chance he may have had to make that dream a reality.
Pretending that nothing had happened had seemed the best course of
action at the time. He couldn't imagine what sort of explanation he
could've given Buffy. <Terribly sorry, Buffy, my lips slipped and
fell on yours.> Giles snorted with laughter. <That would've gone
over oh so well.>
Still, as Giles noticed the sixth and seventh year students watching
her with a great deal of interest, he couldn't help but wish he'd
been able to kiss her. If only for that one time. Admittedly, he'd
been glad to leave London early to escape the awkwardness that was
sure to follow the moment. He just hoped that he and Buffy would be
able to move past it.
On the floor below, Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool
in front of them. On the stool she placed a tall, pointed wizard's
hat. The hat was tattered and dirty.
The hall grew silent, and everyone's attention became fixed on the
hat.
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