Harry Potter and the Vampire Slayer
The First Day
Chapter Seven
by: Miss Witch
Rated PG
Summary: Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know what's going on by now.
Disclaimer: I know nothing, I own nothing. Blah, blah, blah. Don't sue!
Spoilers: This takes place before Season 4 of Buffy, and after -Goblet of Fire
Distribution: If you've had my permission before, knock yourself out. If you don't have my permission, you've just to ask.
Feedback: Does the word "Duh!" mean anything to you?
Buffy poured milk over her cereal, oblivious to the noise going on around her. She'd gotten to used to pointing and staring while she was in high school to pay much attention to it here. And since all the Gryffindors had gotten their awe of the Slayer out of the way last night in the Gryffindor common room, it's not like anyone at her table was gawking at her.
Besides, Buffy had gotten a good's night sleep last night, and she was raring to go.
After Dumbledore had dismissed them from dinner, the gang had followed a blonde girl named Rowan, who told them she was a prefect, through the castle to the Gryffindor rooms. They'd all followed in a bit of a haze. Buffy had been so tired that she hadn't even bothered to ask Willow what a prefect was. She'd just stumbled along, too tired to be amazed by the moving staircases or talking pictures.
When they'd reached Gryffindor tower, they'd been greeted by a portrait of a very fat lady in a hideous pink dress and with really bad hair, who'd asked "Password?" in a very haughty tone.
"Pumpkin pie." Rowan had answered. The portrait had swung open and they'd all clambered through the opening behind it. "This is the Gryffindor common room. This is where we meet and study." Rowan explained, gesturing around the round room, which was filled with comfortable chairs.
Rowan sent the first year boys through one door to their dorms, and the girls through another. The gang had started to follow, but Rowan had held them back, saying that Professor McGonagall had special instructions for them.
Just then the portrait hole had opened and the severe looking woman who'd greeted them in the front hall clambered through.
"So," she'd said, looking them up and down. "you're Rupert's group." Her eyes had rested on Buffy. Buffy was pretty sure that she was going to get tired of that sad gleam everyone's eyes seemed to get when they looked at her. "You are entirely too old to stay with the other first years." she'd informed them. "Special accommodations have been arranged." She directed them through a third doorway, told the girls to take the right branch of stairs, the boys the left.
Exhausted, the teens had followed her instructions and trudged up the steps. Buffy was the first into their room, having left Willow behind to say goodnight to Oz.
It was a small room, large enough for two four-poster beds with a little space left over. Her and Willow's belongings had been brought up and placed next to the beds, along with a yellow and red Gryffindor scarf and tie for each of them. Sighing, Buffy had fallen into her bed, pulled the red velvet curtains and had fallen asleep instantly.
"I got our schedules." Willow said, breaking into her thoughts. Buffy looked up from her breakfast as Willow scurried over. She took the piece of paper that Willow held out to her.
"Gee, Defense of the Dark Arts first." Buffy muttered. "Imagine my shock and amazement." Willow giggled.
"Training first thing in the morning. Almost like high school." Buffy glanced up at the teacher table where Giles was eating breakfast.
"He looks very cute in his robes though." she pointed out. Willow gave her a small smile, then turned her attention to Oz and Xander who sat down across from them. The three were soon engaged in a lively conversation about their rooms and how different it was from the world they were used to. Buffy continued to watch Giles.
He was so different around these people. More at ease and sure of himself. No, that wasn't true. He'd been confident and sure of himself in Sunnydale, she just hadn't noticed it before. It had taken a change of scenery to see it. In a way, she kind of missed the bumbling, stuttering librarian she'd once known.
Giles looked up from the conversation he was having with Minerva McGonagall about the different ways to kill a vampire and discovered Buffy staring at him. She blushed when he caught her.
She was wearing her Hogwarts uniform, and he fully expected to get an earful about it. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. [Not her normal hairstyle of choice.] he thought. [No hair dryer.] he realized suddenly. Wizards don't use electricity. She wouldn't have had a place to plug in her hair dryer.
Smiling, he motioned her over to the teacher table.
"Be right back." Buffy muttered to the others as she rose from her seat. As expected, conversations ceased as she walked by. With the exception of the Gryffindor table. Some of them called out greetings, and the Weasley twins asked if she was going to beat up Malfoy again, and if so, could she make sure that they were around to see it this time. Buffy simply grinned, then waved at Harry, Hermione and Ron as she passed.
The teacher's table was on a raised dais, and Buffy looked at Giles for permission before hopping up. She figured that she should at least pretend that he had some authority over her. Giles grinned knowingly and nodded.
Ignoring the stairs, Buffy jumped lithely onto the platform, causing some "ohs" and "ahs" from the watching crowd. She gave Giles a grin.
"Hey Watcher mine!" she greeted. She held out her schedule. "Seems I have you first thing in the morning. Am I student or subject?"
"Subject." Giles murmured as he took the piece of paper from her hands and studied it. "They gave you Divinations?" he asked incredulously. "Trelawney couldn't predict that the sun will rise in the east tomorrow morning." Buffy grinned.
"Does that mean that you're going to get me out of that class?" she asked. Giles nodded as he stood.
"It would be useless for you to go. She'd spend the entire time predicting your bloody, painful death." Buffy roiled her eyes.
"Please, no. That's the last thing I need." Giles nodded.
"I'll get that changed." Giles put his hand at the small of Buffy's back and guided her down the stairs of the dais. "I need to talk to you about something." he said. "And I'd prefer not to do it here."
Buffy looked at Giles as she allowed him to lead her down the hallway. Something was up. He had an odd look on his face, as if he was afraid of her reaction to what ever it was he had to say. He guided her into an empty hallway, shutting the door behind them.
"Buffy," he began, pacing the front of the room. "I'm about to ask you something that, well, I wouldn't dream of asking under normal circumstances." Buffy's head swiveled back and forth as she watched him. "Just know that it's perfectly ok for you to say no to my request." he assured her.
"Giles, just spit it out?" Buffy demanded. "You're making me dizzy with all the pacing." Giles stopped in front of her and took a deep breath.
"I want you to fight a vampire for my classes." he said. Buffy stared at him in amazement. She couldn't have possibly heard what she thought she'd heard. It was like her 18th birthday all over again. Fighting a vampire on demand just to prove she could.
"You want me to WHAT?" she demanded.
"It wouldn't be a real vampire." Giles rushed to assure her. "It would be a creature called a boggart. It's a shape shifting creature that shifts into what you fear the most." Giles stepped closer and brushed the back of his hand over her cheek. "I swear you'll be safe. One wave of my wand and it'll be gone."
"How can you be so sure it'll just shift into a vampire?" Buffy asked softly. "How do you know it won't shift into something else? Like say, Angelus or something." Giles took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I don't. But, Buffy, you are the Vampire Slayer, first and foremost. You have an internal instinct that naturally fears vampires." Buffy looked at Giles carefully.
"So, I don't have to kill it?" she asked. Giles shook his head. "And I'll be safe?" Giles nodded. Buffy thought for a moment. "For how many classes?" she asked finally.
"Three." Buffy tapped her lip thoughtfully.
"On one condition." she told him. "I am not wearing this Catholic school uniform all the time." Giles grinned.
"I will arrange it so that you only have to wear the robes over your normal clothes." he promised. Buffy's face brightened as she smiled.
"Deal." Impulsively, she stood on her tiptoes and brushed a kiss over his lips. "I'm gonna go change." Buffy bounded toward the door, and stopped abruptly. "Thanks, Giles." She treated him to a glowing smile. "I'll see you in a bit."
Giles stood amazed as he watched her leave. First and foremost, because she'd willingly kissed him, but also because she'd agreed so readily to his request to fight the boggart. Giles shook himself out of his stupor. He had a class to prepare for.
Ron, Harry and Hermione entered the classroom eagerly. They were looking forward to Defense Against the Dark Arts. They had a feeling it would rival last years with Mad Eye Moody. Even though it hadn't been the real Mad Eye Moody, they'd learned a lot.
Taking seats in the front row, the three got out their books and sharpened quills. Oz, Xander and Willow scurried in right after them, and sat behind them.
"Hey, do you know what Professor Giles is planning on doing today?" Hermione asked them eagerly. Willow shook her head, looking around as the room filled quickly around them.
"Not a clue." she told Hermione. "I haven't had a chance to talk to him. It should be interesting." Willow said. "Buffy disappeared with him shortly after breakfast." At that moment, Giles strode into the room and stood to the front podium. He quickly took role, smiling at Xander, Willow and Oz as he called their names.
Willow looked around for Buffy who was nowhere to be seen.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Giles began. "Welcome to the Defense Against the Dark Arts. For your first lesson, I will need everyone to move their desks back as far as possible."
There was a low murmuring as desks were moved to the back of the room. Giles waited until everyone had settled back into their seats.
"Professor Dumbledore tells me that all of you are familiar with a boggart." There was a sea of nodding heads. "Good. All of you need to have your wands out, however, I ask you not to interfere unless absolutely necessary." There was shuffling as the class got out their wands. Willow could hear a blonde boy behind her whispering "Riddikulus" over and over.
Buffy walked into the room as they were doing so. She sent a smile over to the gang and slid out of her robe. She had changed out of her school uniform into a pair of jeans and a crop top that had the eyes of every male in the room bugging out. Giles took one look at her and took a deep breath, forcing himself to focus on the task at hand.
"Buffy is going to demonstrate hand to hand combat with a vampire. Since it would be dangerous and frankly downright stupid to use a real vampire, we're going to instead use the boggart." Giles explained to the class. Once again, there was much head nodding. Xander leaned close to Harry.
"What's a boggart?" he whispered.
"A shape shifter that becomes your greatest fear." Harry whispered back. Xander swallowed hard. The thought of seeing Buffy's greatest fear was terrifying.
Giles moved to the back of the room, and looked over at Buffy. Buffy straightened her shoulders and nodded once. Giles pointed his wand at the cupboard and it flew open with a bang.
The entire class recoiled at what stepped out. Even Giles. Behind him, he heard the collective gasps of Willow, Xander and Oz. [I never would have imagined.] Giles thought in a mixture of wonder and horror. [Never in a million years would I have guessed.]
The boggart wore his face, right down to his glasses. Buffy gave a quick glance to the back of the room to make sure that the real Giles was safe and sound, before moving stealthily toward it.
The face of the boggart-Giles morphed as she approached. It's eyes turned yellow, canine teeth grew into fangs, and the skin became bumpy and furrowed. With a deep growl, it launched itself at her and she easily dodged it. Twirling, she gave it a roundhouse kick, sending boggart-Giles staggering backwards. Growling, it lunged, catching her arm, trying to pull it toward her.
Harry, Ron and Hermione watched the battle in a mixture of awe and terror as Buffy fought the boggart vampire. Deep down, they knew that it wasn't real, that she was fighting a shape shifter that could be dispersed with a simple spell. But that didn't change the fact that the Slayer seemed to be locked in a life or death struggle with a creature of pure evil. A creature with the face of their professor. Her Watcher.
Buffy fought with a passion, holding nothing back. She back flipped off the floor after the boggart vamp-Giles threw her down. She kicked, punched and moved as if her life depended on it. The boggart grabbed her and pulled her close, so that her back was to his front. It opened it's mouth, teeth gleaming as he moved to bite her.
There were gasps of horror from the class, and the blonde boy who'd been chanting the charm over and over covered his eyes. Giles straightened suddenly, ready to perform the charm necessary to save her.
Buffy didn't need his help.
Buffy threw her elbow up, slamming the boggart vampire in the face, causing it to howl in pain. It loosened it's grip just enough to give Buffy enough leverage to throw boggart vamp-Giles over her shoulder. It landed on the floor with a thud, and Buffy quickly pulled out the wooden stake she had stuck in her back pocket. She dropped to the floor, one knee on the boggart's chest and raised the stake.
Giles moved forward quickly.
"Riddikulus!" he called out sharply. Buffy dropped heavily to the floor as the boggart disappeared from beneath her in a wisp of smoke. Breathing hard, she stood slowly to face the class. She wasn't a bit surprised that everyone was looking at her in shock.
Slowly, the applause started. Harry stood and clapped as hard as he could, and soon, the other students had done the same. Including, Oz, Willow and Xander. Buffy smiled wanly and gave a small curtsey.
Giles walked up and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Well done, Buffy." he said softly. "Thank you." Buffy turned to face him, eyes shining with unshed tears.
"Can I go, Giles?" she asked softly. "I'll come back for the next class. I just need…" Giles cut off her words.
"It's alright, Buffy." Buffy nodded once. Turning, she grabbed her robe and walked stiffly from the room. Once outside the room, she slipped her arms into the black material, clutching it around her like a lifeline. Inside, she could hear Giles begin his lecture on recognizing vampires and methods of killing them. Buffy was positive that the entire class was taking careful notes.
Suddenly feeling closed in, Buffy turned on her heel and ran through the halls, robes billowing behind her. She dodged students and teachers and even ran though a ghost. Finally she reached the front doors. Pulling them open, she sprinted outside, taking huge gulps of fresh air.
When the boggart had come out of the cupboard wearing Giles' face, even she had been surprised. She'd expected the Master, the Mayor or even Angelus. Buffy had never allowed herself to entertain the thought of Giles being turned into a vampire. It was too horrifying. So when the boggart had come out as a vampire version of Giles, she'd been frozen for a moment.
Buffy had been afraid she wouldn't be able to fight it. For one moment, she'd stared at the boggart and her whole world had crashed around her. Never mind the fact that she'd known full well that the real Giles was safe and sound. Buffy had been unable to kill the vampire version of Willow or Angelus. How could she fight the most important person in her life.
But then, Buffy had realized that Giles would rather be dust than a vampire. Everything he did was dedicated to destroying them. To become one would be Giles' personal hell. It was that thought that had filled her with the rage that had enabled her to give the fight her all.
Buffy plopped down on the grass next to the lake. The crisp fall air cooled her heated skin. [I'm ok. It wasn't real.] she thought over and over again. In front of her, something that looked an awful lot like the tentacle of a giant squid emerged from the water and waved in the air before laying on the water's edge.
Buffy's heartbeat slowed to normal, but the urge to run hadn't faded. She needed to beat on something. Unfortunately, she had no idea where her training room was.
"Buffy." Buffy jumped at the sound of a voice behind her. She turned and found Professor Dumbledore standing over her. She quickly scrambled to her feet.
"Professor Dumbledore." she said anxiously as she brushed herself off. "Is there something I can help you with?" Dumbledore smiled and waved away her concern.
"I think it's the other way around." he said gently. "I think it's I that can help you." Buffy looked at him, confused.
"I'm sorry…" she began. Dumbledore gestured back toward the castle.
"I thought you might like to see your training room." he said. Buffy smiled was a bit watery.
"Yes, I'd like that."
The two began to walk together, silently. Buffy wondered why the headmaster hadn't just sent someone else to show her to the room.
"I heard about your demonstration in Professor Giles' class." Dumbledore said quietly. "It was quite effective. Neville Longbottom had to be sent to the infirmary." Buffy looked at Dumbledore in concern.
"Did he get hurt? Did I…?" Dumbledore shook his head.
"Evidently he fainted." he assured her. Buffy thought there was a glint of humor in his eyes, but she wasn't sure. Dumbledore led her down a hall that looked vaguely familiar. "The Gryffindor common room is just down there." he told her, pointing. Buffy could just make out the picture of the fat lady in a pink dress.
Dumbledore stopped in front of a large picture of a knight in silver armor. He was a rather good looking dark haired man, his helmet under one arm, a sword in his other hand.
"Password?" the knight inquired.
"Sunnydale." Dumbledore said, much to Buffy's surprise. "Might as well start with something you can remember." he murmured as the picture swung open to reveal a doorway.
The room behind the portrait was amazing. It was filled with training equipment, a training horse, a punching bag, swords, quarterstaffs… anything she could possibly need.
"Thank you." Buffy said to Dumbledore, smiling brightly. He shook his head.
"Don't thank me." he said. "Thank Rupert. He put this together for you."
"I will." Buffy assured him. "Thank you for showing me to the room." Dumbledore inclined his head, smiling.
"I'll leave you to pummel something to your heart's delight." he said as he left the room. The portrait swung shut behind him, leaving her alone.
Buffy took off her robe, tossing it onto a pile of mats by the wall. She walked over to the punching bag, and taking a deep breath, began to hit it. Soon, the rage she'd felt at seeing Giles as a vampire filled her and she exorcised it on the bag.
Giles stood outside the portrait of the knight. He could hear Buffy inside, pounding on the bag.
He hadn't wanted to let her leave the classroom after her fight with his vampire self, boggart or not. Giles could tell how shaken she'd been. Unfortunately, he had to teach his class, and he'd had to let her go.
The sound of flesh meeting leather grew faster and more furious. Giles took a deep breath.
"Sunnydale." he said.
The portrait swung open.