War of the Worlds

Chapter 2: Out of the Hellmouth and Into the Fire



Buffy awoke bright and early, just in time to follow the Gryffindor students to the Great Hall. She feared if she’d slept any later and missed them, she would’ve gotten herself lost. She’d had a hard enough time learning her way around her high school, and it wasn’t even a fraction as large or complicated as this castle.



She still received strange stares from most of the student body, but she was becoming more adept at ignoring them. A smile graced her features when she spotted Hermione sitting at the Gryffindor table, accompanied by the two boys she’d conversed with the previous evening. During their little chat by the fire, Hermione had given Buffy a brief history lesson on Harry and his involvement with the Dark Lord, which had led to the trio getting mixed up in several wild adventures.



Buffy envied the connection they had because it reminded her so much of Willow and Xander. It had only been two days since she’d seen them last and already she missed them. She was dying to have a girly chat with her redheaded best friend, knowing that Willow would appreciate the magical stuff so much more than she ever would.



Hermione saw Buffy standing awkwardly by the table and she quickly waved her over, much to the blonde’s relief. Buffy sat next to her new friend with a smile that wasn’t forced. She was looking forward to getting to know this girl and learning more about this place. It was unlike anywhere she’d ever been, and she’d seen so many things she’d never dreamed were possible, even after living on a Hellmouth for a year. Vampires and demons she could accept easily. An entire world of witches and wizards was a different story.



The only type of magic she’d ever known was the kind that Willow practiced. Now she had a totally different view of magic being presented to her. This was the kind of magic that you read about in story books, with all the robes and wands and cauldrons.



She was broken from her reverie when Hermione faced her and began to speak. “Did you sleep well? I remember when I first got here I was too excited to properly sleep for days.” Buffy shrugged, smile still in place, and answered truthfully, “It’s a huge adjustment for me, since I never even knew these kinds of things existed, but I like it here so far. I slept okay but I’ll admit that I kind of miss home, and my friends.”



The trio nodded in understanding and Buffy turned her attention to the boys. “Hi! Hermione’s told me a lot about you two. I’m Buffy.” She felt a little awkward in her introduction, uncertain of whether shaking their hands would come off as too formal. So instead she smiled and waited to see what they would do. Harry spoke first and introduced himself, welcoming her to Hogwarts and wishing her a pleasant stay. Ron spoke next, saying, “I don’t think you’ll get bored here. A lot of strange things seem to happen every year.”



She bit her lip lightly and pondered, ‘I wonder what they would say if they knew about Sunnydale? That place gives strange a whole new meaning.’ Outwardly she just said, “Sounds like I’ll be having fun then.” She glanced at Hermione, who was sitting beside her, and she was about to speak when she was distracted by the arrival of a redheaded girl, who appeared to be just a little younger than the other three. The girl sat down across the table, next to Harry, and Buffy noticed that Ron fidgeted uncomfortably.



She looked back and forth between them for a moment, noting that they looked to be related. Finally she introduced herself and found out that the girl’s name was Ginny, and she was, in fact, Ron’s little sister. The group’s attention was drawn to the front when Dumbledore arrived and began to speak. It was then that Buffy noticed Giles sitting near the end of the head table. She almost didn’t recognize him at first because he’d replaced his usual tweed with black robes.



She blinked several times to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating, and she was aware that her mouth was hanging open slightly. She wondered how he’d gotten hold of the attire since they hadn’t stopped anywhere the previous day, unless he’d already had it in his possession. As the mystery of Giles grew greater in her mind, a little frown settled upon her face. They would definitely be discussing this later.



She peeled her eyes away from him and saw that the food had appeared. She began to fill her plate silently, still frowning and contemplating the situation at hand. She felt a gaze on her and turned her head, seeing Hermione staring at her inquisitively. She eased up on the frowning a bit and decided to change the subject before the girl could ask any questions. “So, what do you guys do for fun around here?”



“Reading.”

“Wizard’s chess.”

“Hogsmeade.”

“Quidditch.”



She blinked at the four of them slowly as she processed their words, starting to get a feel for each of their personalities. It somehow didn’t surprise her that Hermione read for fun, or that Ron liked to play chess. She was stumped on the last two things however. Deciding to skip to the last one first, she turned her confused gaze upon Harry and asked, “Quidditch?”



She was immensely relieved when he didn’t look at her as if she was ignorant. Instead he smiled and proceeded to explain the game to her. “It’s the main sport of the wizarding world.” Knowing that she was a Muggle and he could relate to how she’d grown up, he tried to find a comparison she would understand. “It’s sort of like basketball and American soccer combined, but on broomsticks.”



This caught her attention immediately and she wondered how such a thing was possible. She raised her brows in interest and he continued, “Each team has a Keeper, which is sort of like the goalie. The Keepers guard the hoops at each end against the Quaffle, which is the main ball and the means of scoring. If the Quaffle makes it through one of the hoops, the team who made the shot is awarded ten points.”



Buffy listened intently but found it a little difficult to envision what he was saying, since she’d never seen a Quidditch field. The comical image of floating basketball hoops popped into her head and she snorted unexpectedly. Those around her looked at her with a mixture of expressions, some of amusement and some that clearly stated she was very strange. She blushed a little and muttered, “Sorry. Funny word picture. Continue.”



She tried her best to keep a serious face as he explained about the Chasers and Beaters. Her eyes widened slightly when he got on the subject of Bludgers and she couldn’t help blurting out, “But isn’t that really dangerous?” Harry and Ron both shrugged, sharing a little grin, and Ron said, “That’s Quidditch. No one’s ever died from it at Hogwarts, but there are occasional broken bones.”



Buffy was no stranger to danger or to broken bones, but the thought of being suspended in midair on a broom stick, and having a ball flying at her with the intention of knocking her off, was just enough to make her wince. She directed her next question at Harry. “So do you play Quidditch here at Hogwarts?” That immediately launched him into a pride-filled speech about how he’d become the youngest person in a century to play for his house team, and that had been during his first year. Now in his sixth year he was actually the Gryffindor team captain.



Buffy had to admit it was mildly impressive, but it would’ve been more so had she any idea what Quidditch was actually like. He was good with the descriptions and it sounded like an interesting sport, but never having seen a match in person she really couldn’t say. At the end of his speech about the Seeker, his position, and the Golden Snitch, she smiled and said enthusiastically, “Well I look forward to seeing a game. I’m sure you’re an excellent player.”



He seemed to almost blush at her compliment and she found it slightly adorable. She noticed Ginny bristle a little beside him and she smirked, thinking to herself, ‘Someone’s got a crush.’ Luckily for the redhead, Buffy was far from interested in Harry. She had her own hunk of man meat waiting back in Sunnydale. Thinking of Angel drew her into daydream land and she missed the next part of the conversation.



She snapped back to attention when she suddenly felt that everyone was staring at her. Sure enough, they were, and they all had expectant looks upon their faces. She adopted a sheepish look as she said, “Sorry, I kind of missed whatever was just said.” Hermione jumped to her rescue and informed, “We were all just wondering if you wanted to come to Hogsmeade with us this weekend?” A light bulb popped on in Buffy’s brain and she thought, ‘Oh right… that thing Ginny mentioned earlier.’ She scrunched up her nose in confusion and asked, “What exactly is Hogsmeade?”



The group took turns telling her their favorite parts of it, from Zonko’s Joke Shop to The Three Broomsticks, where they all liked to socialize whilst drinking Butterbeers. She was further perplexed by this and she had to ask, “The legal drinking age isn’t 21 here?” She felt stupid for asking as soon as Harry explained that it wasn’t actually beer, and that the drinking age in the UK was 18 anyway. She decided to keep her mouth shut for the rest of the meal, feeling she’d further embarrass herself if she spoke.



That worked fine until dozens of owls streamed into the room and began dropping packages on the tables and on people’s laps. She gaped at the display and Ron explained simply, “This happens every morning. It’s just the mail delivery.” She nodded slowly, as if it made perfect sense to her, when really she was thinking, ‘I guess that means they don’t have any mail boxes in the wizarding world.’



*~*~*~*~*~*~*



After breakfast Buffy was supposed to meet Giles in the library, if she could actually find the library… Hermione had offered to show her the way but she’d foolishly declined, claiming she could trace her steps back and follow the directions she’d been given.



That might have been a little easier if the staircases weren’t in the wrong places. She didn’t have any solid evidence, but she was pretty sure they’d moved. Either that or she was completely insane.



She walked around for a good ten minutes, trying to find her way back, before she decided to suck it up and ask for directions. She stopped the first random person she came to, who just so happened to be a blonde boy. His hair was so light that it almost looked bleached, and the permanent smirk on his face reminded her of a certain vampire, whom she’d had the displeasure of meeting about a month ago.



“Hi. Could you tell me how to get to the library?”



*~*~*~*~*~*~*



Draco Malfoy was wandering the halls, enjoying the opportunity to traumatize the First Years in his free period, when he felt a tap on the shoulder. He turned to find quite an attractive girl staring at him intently. He recognized her immediately as Buffy Summers, the Muggle girl Dumbledore had brought here.



His lip curled up in dislike as she spoke to him. It was no secret that he didn’t like Muggles. He found them foolish and unworthy of his presence. Still, she was attractive. Deciding a lewd comment or two wouldn’t harm his reputation, he sneered at her and said suggestively, “That depends on what service you’d offer in return.”



Her blood boiled and her eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. She hadn’t even spoken to him for twenty seconds yet and she wanted to hurt him. Not one to let him get the better of her, she put on a perky smile and asked in a chipper tone, “How about a punch in the face? At least then you’d have an excuse for your appearance… But I don’t think magic would even be enough to fix you.” She snorted, feeling overly content with herself, and she made her way down the hall, leaving Malfoy and his group of goons to gape after her incredulously.



Malfoy turned with a billow of his black robes and stomped off in the other direction, a scowl permanently fixed on his face. He’d show her… No one insulted Draco Malfoy.



*~*~*~*~*~*~*



Madam Pince, a stern and well-organized woman, prided herself on being the librarian at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Over the years she’d seen things that would make some people’s toes curl, and she’d heard things she preferred to pretend she hadn’t. Nothing much surprised her anymore, so it was to her absolute dismay when a small blonde girl managed to sneak up on her.



Buffy had finally procured the help of Professor McGonagall, who’d conveniently been monitoring the halls and had noticed her look of confusion, and she'd had her suspicions confirmed about the staircases. She was given more concise directions and had just entered the library when she spotted a woman organizing a shelf of books. She stepped up behind the woman, assuming she was the librarian, and chirped pleasantly, “Hi! I’m Buffy.”



The woman started, letting out a high-pitched squeak as she dropped a heavy pile of books, and turned to face her, looking flustered and upset. Buffy gave her an apologetic smile and asked, “Is Giles around?”



The woman scowled at her and pursed her lips, clearly still miffed at being caught off guard, and said, “He’s in the left wing of the library, waiting for you I suspect.” As Buffy turned to leave, the woman stopped her again by saying, “And do try to make a little noise when coming up behind people.”



Buffy mumbled an apology as she went to find Giles, finding it kind of ironic that the Scoobies used to say similar things to Angel. He was the king of all things stealth. She rounded a corner at the end of the walkway, having passed a good twenty rows of bookshelves on her way, and she saw Giles seated at a table in the corner, heavily immersed in whatever he was reading.



She cleared her throat to give him some warning of her presence, but he still started slightly at the sound. She rolled her eyes as she approached the table and flopped down in a chair next to him. “I seem to be scaring a lot of people today. Maybe it’s my new calling.”



His brows furrowed and he asked politely, “Beg your pardon?” She shrugged and tilted her head, looking at the various tomes strewn across the table. “I startled the librarian lady when I came in. I really don’t think she likes me.” A faint smile appeared on Giles’s face and he assured her quietly, “I don’t believe she cares for people in general.”



Buffy smiled at that and relaxed a little, enough to point at the hat he was wearing and giggle. He was decked out in full wizarding attire and it was very comical to her. It looked like he was dressed up for Halloween. After the novelty wore off, she was reminded of her earlier curiosity.



A frown settled on her face as she became serious again, and it didn’t take long for her to begin her inquisition. “Giles… Where did all of this come from? I keep getting the feeling that you’re not telling me something. You seem to know this place really well, like you’ve been here before, and you’re obviously on bad terms with that creepy Severs guy. What’s going on?”



She fixed him with a stubborn, determined look, folding her arms across her chest as she waited for him to answer. There was no way she was budging until she got the truth out of him. She was officially a non-budger.



He stared at her for a long moment before sighing and removing his glasses, cleaning them with a cloth as was so typical of him. She waited with the same expression frozen in place, inwardly gleeful that he seemed to fidget under her expectant gaze. Finally he returned his glasses to the bridge of his nose and began to speak.



“When I was a young boy, before I had it in mind to become a Watcher, I studied here as a wizard.” At Buffy’s wide-eyed look of astonishment, he quickly pushed forward. “I never graduated, mind you. I got caught up in a lot of dark magic as a teenager, mostly having to do with Ethan Rayne, a fellow student I befriended.”



Buffy was sure her jaw would be hitting the table any second now. Her stuffy, tweed-wearing Watcher used to dabble in the Dark Arts? She opened and closed her mouth several times, but she couldn’t figure out what she wanted to ask just yet. He saved her the trouble by continuing his tale. “Eventually we were caught practicing the dark arts and we were thrown out of the school. Dumbledore gave me a stern talking to and told me I had better straighten myself out. Even the mess I was at the time, I still respected him and a part of me listened.”



He paused a moment and rubbed his forehead, as though contemplating what to say next. “Once I was rid of Ethan and his negative influence, the Council took me in and trained me. I went through several hoops to prove to Dumbledore that I had rescinded my old habits, and he in turn finished my magical training, as well as restoring my wand to its original state.”



Buffy knew she was staring, but it was all so much to process in so little time. Giles was a wizard… a real, robe-wearing, wand-waving, pointy-hat-having wizard. She blinked several times in quick succession then stood up and began pacing by the table. Finally she stopped and looked at him with a frown. “Why didn’t you tell me about any of this?”



Giles shifted uncomfortably and cleared his throat, a guilty look marring his aged face. “I assure you, it was nothing against you, Buffy. The fact is that I didn’t tell anyone who didn’t already know about the wizarding world. I felt you had enough of a burden to bear with being the slayer and protecting the Hellmouth. I didn’t want to add to that the stress of knowing there’s another world co-existing with ours, filled with many evils of its own kind.”



She deflated at that, knowing she didn’t have the will to stay upset with him over something so petty, and she sat back down beside him. She was still lowering, however, and there was one question he hadn’t answered. “What about that guy? Severs or Snake or something.” Giles chortled quietly before correcting her. “Severus Snape. He’s an old peer of mine. We attended Hogwarts together and he always liked to rub it in that he was the best in the class.” Giles seemed genuinely perturbed by this fact and Buffy patted his shoulder comfortingly.



“Well I think you’re the best-est Watcher in the whole wide world. That Snake guy has nothing on you.” This got another smile out of Giles and he gave her a look as if to say ‘Thank you.’ They both knew she was purposely mispronouncing his name now, but the comedy was too tempting to resist. The irony was that Snape was, in fact, much like a snake most of the time. He was greasy and grouchy, yet cunning and sly. Buffy really, really didn’t like him.



After the brief reprieve from serious talk, they moved on to the subject of patrolling. It was agreed that she would do her first patrol of the grounds that evening, after all of the students were in bed. Even with all of the new security measures in place, the vampires were still managing to slip onto campus. The Aurors protecting the school could put up magical barriers until the cows came home, but most of them had never even seen a vampire before, let alone knew how to kill one.



All of the staff had been briefed on the situation and told what to do in the event of an emergency, but it was clear to Dumbledore that they were very uncomfortable. On another hand, the students would be put in terrible danger if the vampires found a way into the castle. So far they’d yet to penetrate Dumbledore’s defenses, but one could never be too careful. This was why he’d called upon the slayer. She could teach the students how to defend themselves against the vampires, while also ridding the grounds of them after dark.



Teaching was the next subject Buffy and Giles discussed. Apparently Dumbledore had requested her presence in his office before lunch, so they could figure out exactly when her classes would start and how she would inform the students of the situation. The entire student body would be required to take her class and pass a series of tests, given by Buffy herself. She knew this meant a lot of hard work ahead, but she was very avid about saving lives, even if it meant she had less free time.



They departed the library together and Buffy groused all the way up to Dumbledore’s office, because Giles had just told her she’d have to keep up with regular school work on top of everything else. Since she wasn’t receiving her education at Sunnydale High presently, and she wasn’t taking classes at Hogwarts to join the magical community, she would have to compromise by studying independently. Giles agreed to meet with her three times a week to help with her studies and quiz her occasionally. If all went according to plan, she’d be back in Sunnydale in time for her senior year. Unfortunately, Buffy had a feeling that things weren’t likely to go as she hoped.



After the trek up several flights of shifty stairs, she and Giles arrived in front of a large gargoyle. Having been up here the previous night, she already knew that it would move aside to reveal a hidden staircase, but it was still neat to watch. “Lemon drop.” Her lips quirked up as Giles spoke and the gargoyle began to shift. They ascended the winding path until they found themselves outside the Headmaster’s door. Giles rapped on it twice and waited.



The door opened to reveal Professor Slughorn, who seemed none too happy. He nodded at them curtly as he exited, leaving the door open in his wake. Buffy raised her brows at Giles before stepping into the room. Dumbledore had his back to them and was leaning over what looked like a giant bowl. Buffy was itching to ask what was going on, but she didn’t want to appear nosy. She stood awkwardly beside Giles as they waited for Dumbledore to address them.



When he turned and greeted them, after several long minutes of tense silence, Buffy noticed he didn’t have the usual sparkle in his eye. He seemed… worn. His greeting was jovial as always, but there was something missing. She frowned a little in confusion and concern, wondering what could have occurred between the Headmaster and the new Potions professor.



“Buffy… Rupert… Pleasant to see you again.” He turned his attention to Buffy and asked, “I assume Mr. Giles has told you about the classes you’ll be teaching?” Buffy forced a smile and said, “Yeah, I’ve got the gist. When will I be starting?” Dumbledore turned toward the window with a thoughtful frown, keeping in silence for a moment. “I think next Monday would be appropriate. That should give you ample time to get acclimated with the castle and the grounds.” He turned back to her and asked with a smile, “I trust you’re making friends?”



Buffy smiled genuinely this time and answered in a lighter voice, “Yeah, I have actually. Hermione Granger is giving me a tour this afternoon. She’s great, and Ron and Harry are nice too.” Dumbledore smiled and nodded his approval. “You won’t find a more loyal and talented bunch. They’ve saved this school from tragedy several times.”



Buffy grinned a little and said, “I’ve heard about some of their adventures already. I can’t stop thinking about the giant snake thing. Eeek, snakes creep me out. Go figure. I face mortal peril each night and reptiles give me the wiggins.” Sheepish expression in place, she continued on a brighter note. “Hopefully I’ll get to experience my own adventure while I’m here.”



Giles and Dumbledore exchanged a look before Dumbledore answered her kindly, “I fear you’ll experience more than you’d like during your stay here. Things haven’t been easy as of late, and they likely won’t be for a while. But for now you needn’t worry. Enjoy the remainder of your week and the weekend, before your more time-consuming responsibilities begin. Mr. Giles will accompany you to Diagon Alley to pick up your magical supplies. You’ll need a few basics if you wish to blend in here.”



He walked over to the fireplace and picked up a small cauldron from the mantle. He held it out to her and said, “Floo Powder?” She scrunched up her nose, not exactly sure what it was, and said, “No thanks. I’m perfectly healthy.” This was another moment when she should’ve kept her mouth shut, which she found out as soon as both men began chuckling at her. Dumbledore’s eyes crinkled up behind his half-moon glasses as he laughed and said, “Perhaps I should’ve elaborated. You’ll be traveling by Floo Powder.”



Giles stepped toward the fireplace and said, “I’ll demonstrate. Just watch closely and you shouldn’t have a problem.” He stuck his hand into the cauldron and pulled it out, clutching a fistful of green powder. Buffy eyed it skeptically as he stepped under the chimney chute. She watched in absolute amazement as he threw the powder down and green flames erupted around him. She heard him say loudly, just before he disappeared from sight, “Diagon Alley!”



She stared at the vacant spot for several seconds before looking to Dumbledore in puzzlement. “I don’t… How does that…” She shut her mouth and decided to stop speaking. As strange as everything seemed to her, this was obviously something perfectly normal to Dumbledore and Giles. It couldn’t be dangerous if they wanted her to do it, because she knew Giles would never knowingly put her in harm’s way.



She grabbed her own handful of the powder and stepped into the fireplace. Before she threw the powder down, Dumbledore reminded her gently, “Don’t forget to speak very clearly. We don’t want you ending up in the wrong place.” She nodded and took a shaky breath, extremely nervous about what she was about to do. She threw the powder down and a haze of green flames surrounded her being. “Diagon Alley!”



She coughed a little as some soot flew into her mouth, but she quickly forgot about it when all the air was squeezed out of her lungs. She actually had to close her eyes as everything began spinning around her in hyper speed. She knew if she kept them open she was likely to get dizzy, and maybe even sick. As it was her body felt like it was being compressed from four different directions. When she finally felt the ground beneath her feet again, she opened her eyes and spit out some soot. She was covered in the black substance and her whole body was trembling.



Her stomach lurched suddenly and she clapped a hand over her mouth. She stepped out of a foreign fireplace and frowned, not having any idea where she was. Wherever it was, Giles wasn’t in sight. The place had a gloomy feel to it and the lighting was very sparse. As she fought the constant onslaught of nausea, she scanned her surroundings and whimpered. “Where the hell am I?”





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