Buffy X-overs 1. Part One

Title: Shadows Whipser Back  
  
Author: eena_angel2001  
  
Email: igrewal@sfu.ca or eena_angel@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: Overall R  
  
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and Joss Whedon gets all the credit for BTVS.  
  
Category: BTVS/HP crossover  
  
Pairing: Willow/Harry (cause I want to try it).  
  
Spoilers: Season Two for BTVS and Goblet of Fire for HP.  
  
Summary: Willow's mother has been keeping things from her . . .  
  
Notes: AU, for sure. In BTVS, every up to the end of Season Two holds, except:  
  
1) No Oz/Willow relationship in this fic.  
  
2) Willow and her friends are fifteen.  
  
  
  
Part One  
  
  
  
"How could she do this?"  
  
Willow Rosenburg flinched at the sound of her mother's voice, biting her lip as she strained to hear her father's reply. Ira Rosenburg was saying something back to his wife, but it was muffled as he was in the kitchen. She wished her father would come out into the living  
  
room so she could hear what he was saying.  
  
Willow craned her neck, eyes peeking through the railing of the staircase to where her mother was pacing. Whatever her father said, Sheila was in extreme disagreement with it.  
  
"I tried so hard," Sheila cried, tears flooding down her cheeks. "I tried so hard to keep all of that from her, but she found it anyway! Oh God Ira, what are we going to do? My poor baby!"  
  
Willow had never seen her mother so upset. Hell, she had never seen her mother show this much interest in her before. But once Ira and Sheila had heard what happened, they came rushing back into town.  
  
Her and her friends fed her the same story they fed the cops, that they were attacked by a gang on PCP. Cops bought it, her parents didn't.  
  
Sheila had gone into hysterics the moment she laid eyes on Willow in that hospital bed. She had immediately grabbed her daughter, demanding to know why she had done it. But Willow was confused.  
  
Done what?  
  
Her parents had her released from the hospital and essentially caged her up in their house. She was allowed no visitors at all, period. She wasn't allowed phone calls or emails, which was a real pain right now considering how Buffy had up and disappeared. Willow had tried to convey to her parents her need to check up on Buffy, but they would not be moved. Willow was not allowed out of her room.  
  
The redhead leaned her head against the railing, looking down as her father finally joined her mother in the living room. It was hard to tell that Willow was Ira's daughter. The redhead followed after her mother completely. Right down to the pale skin, red hair, and fairy  
  
like features. The only confusion came from Willow's bright green eyes. Her mother had hazel eyes, her father had brown eyes. She didn't know where she got her eyes from, but her mother assured her it was from her grandmother. But then Sheila would get a nervous  
  
look to her face and change the subject. Her mother did that a lot when Willow asked questions.  
  
"How did she get her hands on it?" Sheila wailed below, avoiding Ira's outstretched arms and continued her pacing. "How did she manage to find out about it? We were so careful about it Ira! We hid all signs of it, kept far away from her so that it couldn't be  
  
awakened by our presence. We did everything we could, but still she got her hands on it! God Ira, what are we going to do?"  
  
What was this "it" that scared Sheila so much? Willow frowned, watching her frantic mother carefully. Her father was attempting to calm her, but it wasn't working. Sheila was a figdeting mess.  
  
"Sheila," Ira started off in a soothing tone. "You have to calm down now. We aren't going to get anyway in this frame of mind-"  
  
"We don't have time to be calm!" Sheila retorted, turning an enraged face to her husband. "You think I haven't tried, but it doesn't matter any more Ira! Do you know what I found today? Do you? It came with the mail!"  
  
Ira paled at that, nervously watching Sheila stomp over to the coffee table. Willow got to her knees on the top step, watching in curiosity as her mother shoved an envelope her father's way.  
  
"This isn't happening," Ira croaked out, staring at the envelope in his hand like it was some sort of time bomb. "They can't do this, they don't know about her-"  
  
"They found out when she did that damn curse!" Sheila spat. Willow felt her heart leap up her throat at those words. The curse? How did her mother know about the curse? Her mother didn't even know about Sunnydale and vampires and the Hellmouth. Or did she? Willow was getting very confused.  
  
"I knew that Summers girl would cause problems," Sheila muttered darkly. "We should have moved Willow away from this town the minute the Slayer showed up. You and I both knew it would only be a matter of time until Willow would draw the Chosen One to her. We should have acted-"  
  
"And gone where?" Ira demanded of his wife, shutting her up. "We have no where else to go. This damn place was the only shield we had for Willow. If we go anywhere else, they'd find us in a heartbeat."  
  
"They found us anyway!" Sheila shrieked, waving the now open envelope. "They're coming for our daughter Ira. What are we going to do?"  
  
Coming for her? Willow was becoming increasingly confused and worried. Were her parents on the run or something, because that was what this was all sounding like to her.  
  
"Maybe we should give Dumbledore's proposition a chance," Ira offered feebly. Sheila turned on him with blazing eyes.  
  
"How could you even think that?" she shrilled. "Bring her into that world. No one knows about her, but they'll put the pieces together Ira. They'll know she isn't yours-"  
  
Isn't his?! Willow gripped the railing, trying to make sense of her mother's revelation. How could she not be Ira's? He was her father!  
  
"They'll know," Sheila continued. "And they'll never be able to let it go. What kind of life could she have there? With them all knowing about him? They'll think she's the same. We'll be lucky if they don't demand her execution on sight!"  
  
Execution? This wasn't sounding to good for Willow.  
  
"Dumbledore would never let that happen," Ira stated firmly. "He's a good man, an honest man. We can trust him, if he thinks this is best-"  
  
"He won't be able to protect her from everyone," Sheila interrupted. "But he will keep her safe from You-Know-Who," Ira countered. "And with what she did last week, there's no way we can keep her hidden. He knows now Sheila, he must have felt her when she did it. Lord knows you did. He'll never back down from this, his own flesh and  
  
blood-"  
  
"She's nothing like him!" Sheila shrieked in panic. "She's mine, mine and yours. She only knows us, only knows what we taught her-"  
  
"And nothing we have taught her could keep her safe from him," Ira broke in gently. "I think that we should really give this some thought. Dumbledore, he's strong, he could keep him away."  
  
Sheila broke down after that, falling to the floor in despair. Willow watched numbly as her father, or the man she thought was her father, knelt down next to her. They embraced, holding each other as they cried. Willow held only herself, rocking back and forth on the  
  
top step while she waited for them to continue.  
  
Eventually Sheila quieted, relaxing in her husband's arms.  
  
"We have no choice do we?" she whispered. Willow strained to hear her parents' soft spoken words.  
  
"We don't," Ira agreed. "We have to do what will keep her safe. That's all we can do now."  
  
Sheila nodded, wiping her tears on the back of her hands.  
  
"I guess we better send a reply then."  
  
*****  
  
Xander Harris had never been so worried in his life. Buffy, one of his best friends was missing. His other best and closest friend, Willow, had been quarantineed by her parents. He had no clue on how either of them was doing, and it was driving him insane.  
  
Giles was no help, always with Buffy's Mom as they tried to track down the runaway Slayer. The Watcher had no time to stop and reassure Xander about anything. Oz, well, he was useful with the patrol they picked up for Buffy, but not much else. He hadn't been  
  
in the group for that long, unsure of how to make things better.  
  
Cordelia was his only salvation. His girlfriend was working overtime to try and help him deal. Of course, Cordelia's idea of helping him was making out. That plan did have merits, but it failed to address the issues at hand.  
  
But then again, Xander was a fifteen year old boy. Smoochies would not be taken idly. So he indulged himself in his girlfriend to keep his mind off things.  
  
Which was what he had been doing that late June night. His parents had long ago fallen asleep, so that left just him and Cordelia. They had ended up in his room, on his bed, and kissing. And he had been enjoying himself until-  
  
*Scratch-scratch-scratch*  
  
"What the hell?" Cordelia demanded, pulling away from him. Xander pouted at the sudden loss of smoochies, but recovered when he saw what was at his window.  
  
Willow, clawing frantically to get in. He rushed over, opening the latch and pulling her in.  
  
"Willow?" Cordelia cried in alarm, dragging the redhead down next to her. "What's wrong?"  
  
Willow had been crying, was crying, horribly. She sniffled, gratefully excepting the tissues Xander offered her. The dark-haired teen watched his friend in trepidation.  
  
"What happened?" he asked softly after she had calmed a bit. "Did Sheila and Ira let you out?"  
  
She gave a bitter laugh at that.  
  
"No," she answered, shaking her head. "I snuck out. I had to see you guys. They're-"  
  
She broke off into a fresh batch of sobs. Xander gathered her up in his arms, looking at Cordelia in confusion. His girlfriend shot him a concerned look, stroking Willow's hair in a soothing fashion.  
  
"What did they do Willow?" Cordelia asked softly. They barely heard her reply, so muffled was it by Xander's chest. But when he had deciphered it, Xander felt a new fear clutch at his heart.  
  
"They're sending me away."  
  
***** 


	2. Part Two

Title: Shadows Whipser Back  
  
Author: eena_angel2001  
  
Email: igrewal@sfu.ca or eena_angel@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: Overall R  
  
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and Joss Whedon gets all the credit for BTVS.  
  
Category: BTVS/HP crossover  
  
Pairing: Willow/Harry (cause I want to try it).  
  
Spoilers: Season Two for BTVS and Goblet of Fire for HP.  
  
Summary: Willow's mother has been keeping things from her . . .  
  
Notes: AU, for sure. In BTVS, every up to the end of Season Two holds, except:  
  
1) No Oz/Willow relationship in this fic.  
  
2) Willow and her friends are fifteen.  
  
Notes: I started another one. I'm real bad, too many stories at once and only a handful finished. Hopefully I'll be updating more since school is almost completely over.  
  
Part Two  
  
  
  
Ronald Weasley was worried.  
  
No, scratch that. Worried was too strong of a word. He was curious and slightly concerned. The curiosity came from the mysterious news his father had given her mother in the beginning of July. The concern came from his mother's apparent reaction to that news.  
  
Whatever Arthur Weasley had told his wife unnerved her quite a bit. His normally cheery and playful mother was on edge all the time. She snapped frequently at his older brothers, Fred and George the twins. Molly Weasley had never been so quick to yell or punish before. Ron was surprised the twins even came out of their room in the mornings. Their mother's switch to a tyrannical reign frightened them, he knew it. It frightened him a bit as well.  
  
He could have ignored it, chalking it up to the fact that his mother had finally had enough of the twins' exploits, but it wasn't limited to his brothers. Ginny, the only girl of the family, had burst into tears on several occasions after Molly had torn into her. Ron  
  
himself kept himself perpetually busy with chores so his mother wouldn't have anything to yell at him about. When Bill came home for a visit, there was no polite asking him to cut his hair.  
  
"Get rid of that ponytail or get out of my sight!"  
  
He had never heard his mother speak to any of her children like that before. Bill, who refused to cut his hair, left the next day, concern on his face as well. Percy barely noticed the change in their mother, being far too busy at the Ministry to notice much of anything else. Charlie came home for a week when Molly suddenly had hysterics over his well being for no apparent reason. The second child had to come home from his entirely too dangerous job (Molly's words) to help calm his mother.  
  
Ron wondered if his mother had lost her mind. This kind of behaviour was entirely out of character for Molly Weasley. When Harry came in the start of August to stay with them, she barely noticed. She spent all her time either scrubbing the house clean, yelling at her  
  
children, or crying.  
  
Arthur refused to tell his children what was going on with their mother. It was her secret, whether or not she wanted to tell them remained to be seen. Though Arthur had a feeling they would all know before they left for Hogwarts at the end of summer.  
  
So in the meantime, the Weasley children and their friend Harry, tiptoed around Molly as much as they could. They spent all day out of the house, doing yardwork or other things, leaving Molly to herself. Ginny took over making dinner in mid August when Molly  
  
became too exhausted to do it herself.  
  
And so, Ron was concerned and curious about what was going on with his mother. He got no answer from either parent, though he and Harry tried several times to pry it out of them. In what seemed like no time at all, they were buying school supplies in Diagon Alley. The trip only served to increase his curiosity about his mother. The entire time there, witches and wizards of all kinds would stop his mother and offer her their sympathy. None of them would tell why they were doing this, only that they felt they should. Molly would  
  
shed a few tears and then move on, thankful for the support she seemed to be getting.  
  
But again, no answers were given to the children. Ron and Harry had met up with their friend Hermione Granger at the bookstore, asking her if she had heard anything while shopping. Hermione knew as much as they did. People were concerned and sympathetic to Molly Weasley for reasons never discussed. It made for the most frustrating  
  
mystery.  
  
They received no answers from anyone until the day had come to depart for school once more. The Weasleys plus Harry made their way to King's Cross, slipping through the barrier to arrive at platform 9 and 3/4. And that was where they all learned the truth.  
  
*****  
  
Passing through the barrier separating the Muggle World from the Hogwarts' Express, Ron and Harry were both puzzled to find Hermione waiting patiently next to Hagrid on the platform.  
  
"Hagrid?" Harry called out, approaching the two with his trolley pushing in front of him. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be waiting by the boats for the first years?"  
  
"Not this year Harry," Hagrid admitted, his tone far less jovial than Harry had ever heard. "No, this year I have to travel on the Express with you."  
  
"Why?" Ron asked curiously. Hagrid didn't answer, only turned a stony face to the other side of the platform. All three students turned their heads, following his gaze. Ron was surprised to see his mother standing at the far end of the platform, hugging another woman  
  
quite fiercely. Arthur Weasley and his other children stood a bit off from them, waiting for the women to finish.  
  
Exchanging confused looks with his friends, Ron made his way over to his family. Harry and Hermione followed, both surprised to find Hagrid right on their heels.  
  
Ron stopped next to his father, peering closely at the woman his mother was hugging. The woman had red hair, just like his mother's, and pale skin like her as well. In fact, the woman bore a remarkable resemblence to Molly Weasley. He looked to his father for an  
  
explanation, but Arthur just hushed him. Turning back to the women, he found they were both crying, his mother wailing heartbreakingly.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?" Molly was asking the other woman. She pulled back, staring hard at the strange woman, brushing tears from her eyes. "How could you not tell me?"  
  
"I wanted to keep her safe," the woman explained in a tired sort of voice. "And I knew the only way for that to happen was if she was kept secret. I wanted to tell you Molly, I did. But Ira and I knew what we had to do. For her."  
  
Molly's eyes drifted to some point behind the woman, Ron following her gaze as well. There, at the very edge of the platform, waited two people. One was a man, looking about the same age as his father, and a young girl, sitting calmly on a bench. The man was tall, with  
  
dark hair and glasses covering his dark eyes. He was tanned, dressed conservatively in a suit, and stood standing next to the seated girl. The girl was a different story. She could have been another Weasley child at first glance. Long red hair and bright green eyes with pale skin. Her eyes were red, looking as though she had been crying for a while. She turned her head whenever the man tried to catch her eye, her expression one of anger. Finally the man gave up, sinking to sit on the bench with her.  
  
Ron looked next to her, noting the trunks and other luggage. She must have been a new student, maybe transferred because she was too old to be a first year.  
  
"I tried so hard to keep her secret," the other woman's voice brought his attention back to his mother. "I tried so hard, but she found magic anyway. And I couldn't stop her in time. He knows she exists now-"  
  
"You don't know there if he's still alive," Molly countered. The woman gave a bitter laugh at that.  
  
"He's not dead," she muttered darkly. "The bastard will never die. But he won't have her either. I won't allow it."  
  
"She looks a lot like Mum," Molly offered, eyes again on the girl. The girl had stiffened at that, shooting his mother a questioning look.  
  
"The eyes . . ." Molly trailed off.  
  
"I like to think she got them from Mom," the woman shrugged. "I guess its possible either way. I just don't want him to have any part of her."  
  
"He won't," Molly assured the woman. "Now that I know, I promise you he won't get her. I'll fight him myself if I have to little sister."  
  
Little sister? Ron felt his eyes bug, shooting a disbelieving look up at his father. Arthur only nodded, turning himself to look at the girl and the man waiting on the bench. The girl had seemed surprised at the news, looking at Molly in more curiosity now. Ron assumed  
  
that this was the woman's daughter, which would make her his cousin.  
  
Well, it explained her looks at least. But was his mother and his aunt prattling on about? Who's this man they seemed to hate so much? And why was he never told he had an aunt? The questions flooded his mind, making him hungry for answers.  
  
But then the train blew its whistle, signifying that it was time to start boarding. The girl went wide-eyed, turning to face the man at her side finally.  
  
"Please don't make me go Daddy," she pleaded, clutching at his suit jacket. "I won't ever do it again. I promise. I want to go home, I don't want to go there. I'll never do it again!"  
  
But the man, her father, simply pried her hands off his jacket. He leaned over, whispering in her ear. Her eyes flooded with tears and she jumped off the bench and away from him. Her mother tried to embrace her, but the girl pushed off her advance. She turned,  
  
looking sulkily off into the distance.  
  
Ron waited patiently with everyone else for what came next. His aunt seemed at a lost at what to do. Molly patted her arm before turning to everyone behind her.  
  
"Pack your things on the train," she instructed. "And someone help Ira with Willow's things. On the train, I'll be along in a moment."  
  
Ron watched as his mother walked off to Willow, putting an arm around the girl's shoulders. His father jostled him out of his observance, instructing him to help his Uncle Ira. Ron obediently helped the man, tossing his friends astonished looks. Harry came forward to  
  
help, all of them making for the train.  
  
Once on board, Ron turned back to look at his mother. She was steering the girl Willow towards the train, drying the girl's tears with a handkerchief. Willow still refused to look at her parents, let alone say goodbye. His aunt and uncle just looked helplessly at  
  
her as she passed them, his aunt bursting into a fresh batch of tears. Ron was more than shocked to see his mother steer Willow right to Hagrid. He watched the groundskeeper put his hand on the slight girl's shoulder, ushering her onto the train. She walked up past him, not looking up to face any of her newfound cousins.  
  
Instead she allowed Hagrid to lead her to a compartment, disappearing from sight within seconds.The train was pulling away now. Ron, his siblings, and his friends  
  
piled up into one compartment, noting how quiet the whole train seemed to be. Everyone had their eyes focused on Willow's compartment.  
  
Fred finally broke the silence, letting out a brief whistle.  
  
"That was weird."  
  
Ron grunted his agreement, eyes going to across the hall at the closed compartment door. He could see Hagrid, seated across from where he assumed Willow was sitting. Hagrid wasn't saying anything, just looking out the window as the scenery flew by. It was strange  
  
to see Hagrid so quiet when the giant was usually so cheerful and friendly. But he was making no attempts to even talk to this girl, his cousin.  
  
Ron sat back in his seat, thoughts in a turmoil.  
  
What was going on?  
  
***** 


	3. Part Three

Title: Shadows Whipser Back  
  
Author: eena_angel2001  
  
Email: igrewal@sfu.ca or eena_angel@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: Overall R  
  
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and Joss Whedon gets all the credit for BTVS.  
  
Category: BTVS/HP crossover  
  
Pairing: Willow/Harry (cause I want to try it).  
  
Spoilers: Season Two for BTVS and Goblet of Fire for HP.  
  
Summary: Willow's mother has been keeping things from her . . .  
  
Notes: AU, for sure. In BTVS, every up to the end of Season Two holds, except:  
  
1) No Oz/Willow relationship in this fic.  
  
2) Willow and her friends are fifteen.  
  
Notes: Thanks to all the people that reviewed. It really helps to get me going. And for all those who asked, Willow's Dad is revealed in this chapter. Not outright, but you can get it from the end.  
  
Part Three  
  
The scenery flew by her, a slew of greens, yellows, oranges, and reds. The train was hurtling forward at an almost unnatural speed. Wherever they were headed was still far away so the journey would take a few more hours. She didn't mind, she figured she might as well get used to long lonesome treks. She was in store for a whole school year of them.  
  
Willow sighed, shifting her position slightly but never letting her eyes leave the window at her side. She noticed that this Hagrid person startled at the sigh she uttered, resisting the temptation to roll her eyes. If she scratched her nose, someone around her jumped. Like with every little movement they expected her to breathe fire and roast them all.  
  
Willow snorted to herself, gritting her teeth in frustration as the sound caused Hagrid to jump in his seat. Her green eyes narrowed and she tried to not scream in anger. They were treating her like some sort of monster. But she wasn't a monster. No matter how much her biological father was.  
  
She clenched her fists in anger, as the memories of the last few months came back to her. Her parents had packed up all her things and booked the flight to England in the last week of June. She had been given only one hour in which to say goodbye to her friends before she was stowed away in the car for the trip to the LA airport. Xander had been absolutely devastated, and quite angry with Giles. After hearing about the circumstances from her parents, the Watcher had agreed with their course of action. Willow had never felt so betrayed in her life. Giles was supposed to be on her side, not agreeing with her parents. She hadn't said a very nice goodbye to him.  
  
Then it was from LA to London, all with a stony silence. She refused to look at her parents, regardless of the things they had told her. She knew it made sense, but she was still angry. Biology did not determine everything about a person, certainly not her. It wasn't her fault that she was the offspring of an evil man. Sorry, evil wizard she meant.  
  
She couldn't believe that her parents had kept this from her. She could understand it on some level, but her anger with them failed her from feeling too much pity for them. Except for her mother, she really felt for her mother, but she couldn't tell her mom that. Whenever she thought of what happened, she felt this wave of guilt and self-loathing wash over her. She couldn't believe her mother had had her, when she could have easily gotten an abortion or given her up to adoption. Willow sure as hell wouldn't have been able to bear with the lifelong reminder of something like that . . .  
  
She didn't want to think about it. No good would come from her sitting here and feeling guiltly and ashamed. She hadn't done anything wrong, and she kept repeating that to herself. No matter what reaction people had to her, it wasn't her fault. She was a good person who cared about her family and friends. She had been helping the Slayer keep the people of Sunnydale safe from the evils of the dark. She had patrolled and slayed alongside Buffy. She was a good person, and she wouldn't let others' prejudice make her think otherwise.  
  
They seemed to think that he was ingrained in her, though she had never met him. Hell, she hadn't even known he had existed for the past fifteen years of her life. For her entire life up until the last three months, she had thought Ira Rosenburg was her father, biological and otherwise. She didn't belong to him in any matter of respect. She was Willow Rosenburg, and that's the only person she knew how to be.  
  
But the people of this world had a hard time accepting that. The minute she stepped off the plane with her parents, they had been swarmed by distrustful wizards. She had been herded to the Ministry of Magic headquarters, forced to spend her summer in a suite of rooms underground. While there, she under went several forms of tests on her magical abilities. They wanted to gauge her, see how far advanced she was and where they would be able to send her.  
  
She passed all their tests, having the magical prowess of a third or fourth year, something she hadn't understood at the time. And she had done it all without the aid of a wand, something that made her examiners mumble in panicked tones. It seemed to frighten them something awful, and were adamant she obtain one. They had a strange man show up in the Ministry, with wands. It had taken several hours for him to find a wand suitable to her. It had been holly, nine inches, with a phoenix feather. But of course, Willow had been feeling surly during her captivity, and she refused to use the thing. She told them she would never need a wand to do any magic, and they agreed. And then they panicked some more.  
  
Sheila hadn't taken the testing period very well. Every time the testers started mumbling, she began to panic and occasionally burst into tears. She would get horribly wound up, insisting they were planning on sending Willow to Azkaban. Willow had snapped at her mother, yelling that maybe Willow would enjoy being in Azkaban. It was only after Ira told her exactly what Azkaban was did she retract. There was too many things she didn't know about this world. So she gave up on the teenaged surliness and taken up the age old tactic of silent treatment.  
  
But it had gotten her nowhere. Her parents told her to remain there. Sometime in mid July they began training her instead of testing her. They wanted her to be paired with students her own age, so they began to tutor her. She caught on real fast, even using the wand. But she still didn't need it, showing her instructors after each mastered task that she had no need of the wand. It didn't make them any easier around her and Willow decided to give up on trying to make them less high strung around her. They wanted to be like that, fine by her. She didn't need them, any of them. And if she got the same treatment by the students, all the better. She already had friends back home, she didn't have to have more.  
  
Though, even she would admit, it would have been nice to at least be given a fair chance. But she wasn't getting one, she could tell that much from the way people acted around her. She was being held accountable for his sins.  
  
And she couldn't help but feel angry about it.  
  
*****  
  
"Enough of this!"  
  
Harry looked up, frowning as Hermione rose from her seat and tugged Ginny upright with her.  
  
"She's your cousin," the brunette spoke to the Weasley children. "And we don't know what her entire story is, but she's obviously upset about being away from her home. Would it kill you gits to go make nice? She's family."  
  
"But, Hagrid closed the door," Ron protested. "I don't think we should-"  
  
"You just don't like being around crying girls," Ginny spoke up. "But Hermione is right. We should at least talk to her. I'm going."  
  
"Me too," Hermione announced, frowning when no one else offered. Her brown eyes turned onto Harry, giving him a meaningful look. The Boy Who Lived rolled his eyes and got to his feet.  
  
"I guess I'm going too," he muttered. "But if she starts crying again, can I come hide with Ron and the twins?"  
  
"We're not hiding!" George protested.  
  
"Yeah," Fred agreed. "We're biding our time."  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes, leaving the room with Ginny. Harry started after her, tossing Ron a look over his shoulder.  
  
"If you don't come now, she'll never let you hear the end of it."  
  
Ron sighed, agreeing with Harry's words. He climbed to his feet, glaring at his older brothers until they joined him. With somber looks, the boys followed their friends and sister to the compartment across the hall.  
  
*****  
  
Harry noted how Hagrid jumped when they tapped on the door. The half- giant ambled to his feet, opening the door a crack while shooting a nervous look over his shoulder at his young charge.  
  
"Yeah?" he mumbled. "What are yeh all doin' 'ere?"  
  
"We want to talk to our cousin," Ginny answered primly. "Is she awake?"  
  
"I'm awake," came the answer from behind Hagrid. Hagrid closed his mouth quickly, turning to look over his shoulder again. He heaved a sigh, standing aside as the group wandered in.  
  
"I'm just steppin' out ta grab a bite," he announced when they had settled. "Make sure no one else comes in 'ere, understand?"  
  
They all nodded, Harry frowning at the strange instructions from the large man. Hagrid nodded nervously, shooting a strained look at the redhead by the window before leaving the compartment. He closed the door firmly and with one final look through the glass, he left.  
  
Silence reigned in the compartment for a bit, the redhead Willow looking from face to face.  
  
"Do you know?" she asked them.  
  
"Know what?" Ginny asked softly.  
  
"About me," Willow replied. "About my father-"  
  
"We didn't even know our Mum had a sister," Fred shrugged. "So don't feel angry or anything when we say we had no idea that you existed."  
  
Willow shook her head, giving a small smile.  
  
"Well, might as well enjoy company while I can keep it," she shrugged. Harry frowned, mulling over the bizarre comment, not even noticing how his friends had started talking quite animately with the new student. Hermione and her were discussing some books in earnest, making Ron roll his eyes.  
  
"Another bookworm," he bemoaned to Harry. The boy just grinned in return, starting when the new girl called out to him.  
  
"And who are you?" she asked, green eyes looking deep into his own. "I didn't get an introduction."  
  
Harry blushed, rising out of his seat to shake her hand.  
  
"I'm Harry Potter," he greeted her.  
  
"Willow Rosenburg," she replied, shaking his hand firmly. He saw her eyes wander over to his forehead, lingering on the lightning scar there. He sat back, waiting for the eventual gasp and the awed question of: Are you THE Harry Potter?  
  
But it never came. She just tilted her head, frowning slightly at the scar.  
  
"How did you get that?" she asked curiously, looking almost chastised in the next instance. "You know, if you don't mind me asking."  
  
Harry didn't mind, opening his mouth to reply. But he was interrupted, by a slightly smug voice from the doorway. The reply was stunning, causing Harry's heart to pick up a beat for a second. He thought for a second that he had been hearing things, but one look at Ron's face assured him he had heard right.  
  
"Your father gave it to him."  
  
***** 


	4. Part Four

Title: Shadows Whipser Back  
  
Author: eena_angel2001  
  
Email: igrewal@sfu.ca or eena_angel@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: Overall R  
  
Content: Warning, there is some mention of rape in this fic.  
  
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and Joss Whedon gets all the credit for BTVS.  
  
Category: BTVS/HP crossover  
  
Pairing: Willow/Harry (cause I want to try it).  
  
Spoilers: Season Two for BTVS and Goblet of Fire for HP.  
  
Summary: Willow's mother has been keeping things from her . . .  
  
Notes: AU, for sure. In BTVS, every up to the end of Season Two holds, except:  
  
1) No Oz/Willow relationship in this fic.  
  
2) Willow and her friends are fifteen.  
  
Notes: Sorry that it took so long to get this out. I've been plagued with finals at school, but they're all over. Now I have ample time for fics and hope to get much work done on this one. Thanks to all the people who reviewed.  
  
Part Four  
  
It was a strange sensation. She had been bemoaning the loneliness she thought was certain in the coming months when low and behold-people had wanted to meet her.  
  
She had been shocked when she heard a voice asking for her at the door. And then a whole slew of people walked in, four of them her cousins. She quickly came to the conclusion that they didn't know her entire story and that's why they were being so nice. She figured that someone would eventually tell them and they would be like all the others, but she could enjoy the company while it lasted.  
  
Then there was that boy in the corner, the one with the dark hair and green eyes. He was handsome, his glasses only adding to his attractiveness. She was surprised she hadn't blushed at her train of thoughts but she didn't. She was more distracted by the mere presence of him. She felt something was off. It was a strange feeling, down in the pit of her stomach when she looked at this boy. Something about him was very familiar, but she couldn't place her finger on it.  
  
So she had asked for his name. He was Harry Potter, and he acted like he expected her to know him by his name. She felt a little embarrassed when she saw them all looking expectantly at her. She didn't know what kind of reaction they were expecting, but it probably wouldn't happen with her. She didn't know much about this world, just enough magic so she could survive her classes. She didn't know much about anything else.  
  
But there was his scar on his forehead. It was half hidden by a strand of his unkempt hair. She liked his hair, just flung about and all disorderly on his head. It just made him even more handsome. But she didn't have time to reflect on that. No, the scar was something much more important.  
  
She couldn't quite explain it, but the scar filled her with a sense of foreboding. She looked at it, squinting to see its shape. It was like a lightning bolt on his forehead. And the longer she looked at it, the stranger she felt. It was like there was this fire building inside of her, a painful fire. Right now it was just momentarily uncomfortable, but it had the potential to be very painful.  
  
She asked him about it without thinking. Her forwardness caused her to blush. She couldn't believe she had pried so rudely into the business of someone she just met. She knew that the scar couldn't be anything nice or good, but she hadn't been able to stop herself from asking. There was something very off about it, something she had to know.  
  
But he never answered her, never got the chance to. She did however get an answer, from the doorway. It wasn't the answer she expected, filling her with another flood of fear and shame.  
  
"Your father gave it to him."  
  
*****  
  
Draco's slimey voice was the first thing that he had even registered. Harry had jumped to his feet, cursing himself on the inside. He promised Hagrid that they wouldn't let anyone else in here. But they must have gotten too distracted with Willow, because Malfoy and his goons were standing in the opened doorway of the compartment.  
  
The second thing he registered were the words that Malfoy had uttered. He stilled at once, along with everyone else in the room. He looked towards Draco, seeing the self-satisfied look on his face.  
  
"What's wrong Potter?" the blonde sneered. "Afraid? You should be. After all, You-Know-Who's daughter has made her appearance, how long before the man himself does?"  
  
"Take it back Malfoy!" Ron roared, the first to recover. He was all red in the face, bearing down on Draco in a rage. Fred and George were quick to join him, a united front against the Slytherins in the doorway.  
  
"How dare you spread such awful rumors about our cousin!" Ginny added, jumping to stand next to her brothers. The Weasleys looked ready for a fight, to which Draco just smirked. Harry backed slowly away from the doorway, looking towards Willow in a bit of a haze. The redhead refused to meet his gaze, eyes going to his scar and then to the floor. She looked so ashamed. Hermione sat frozen at her side, coming to the same conclusion that Harry did.  
  
"He's not lying," Harry whispered, not even heard over the ruckus the Weasleys were causing at the front. He turned, repeating himself and shouting to be heard.  
  
"He's not lying!"  
  
That stopped all arguments. The Weasleys turned, staring from Harry to their newfound cousin with horror etched on their faces. Willow bit her lip when she saw the looks on their faces. She shook her head, turning her head to look out the window. Harry caught a glimpse of her face before she turned away from all of them. She was on the verge of crying.  
  
"Well, now that you're all quite done," Draco continued to sneer, stepping further into the room. He marched right over to Willow, smirking at her cousins as he passed them. He was quick to grab Willow's hand and bring it to his lips, causing the redhead to look at him in confusion.  
  
"Quite a pleasure to have you at Hogwarts," he preened, winking at her quite obviously. Harry couldn't believe what he was seeing. Draco was flirting with her! He dropped that huge bomb on everyone and now he was trying to suck up to Willow.  
  
"Who are you?" she demanded, taking her hand back cautiously. The question caused him to swell with pride.  
  
"I'm Draco Malfoy," he introduced himself. "And my family was very excited to hear that you were attending the school this year."  
  
Willow frowned.  
  
"How did you know I was-"  
  
"And my father realized how hard things would be for you once you started," Draco cut her off. "And he wanted you to know its not your fault. The people at the school can be such awful prejudiced gits."  
  
Harry thought his eyes would pop out of his head. They were prejudiced gits? Who was Malfoy kidding? Everyone knew that he was the most stuck up, elitist, prejudiced-  
  
Everyone but Willow knew that.  
  
"I just want you to know that me and my friends will be doing everything in our power to make your time at Hogwarts enjoyable," Draco continued, smiling rather snakishly at the redhead. "And once you're in Slytherin, you'll be treated like the Princess you are."  
  
"Princess?" Willow repeated, a confused look coming over her face. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"You'll find out once you're in Slytherin," Draco assured her with a pat on the hand.  
  
"You don't know she will be," Hermione jumped in, the first to recover her voice. She glared at Malfoy, lifting her chin defiantly at him. "What if she ends up in Gryffindor? The rest of her family comes from there?"  
  
Draco's eyes clouded over, a rage settling on his face. Willow was eyeing him cautiously now, looking worriedly over at Hermione. Draco realized this and replaced his glare with a strained smile.  
  
"Well, it's a safe bet isn't it?" he sneered at Hermione. "Her father was in Slytherin, wasn't he? You shouldn't talk about things you know nothing about-"  
  
"What in the world?"  
  
Everyone looked up, seeing Hagrid, his arms laden with food and treats, glaring at them from the doorway. The giant man's eyes settled on Draco, and Crabbe and Goyle at the front of the compartment. His gaze darkened and he moved over to the bench to drop his load.  
  
"All of you out," he ordered abruptly. "Everyone out. Now, before I start deducting points."  
  
Draco smirked at the half giant, turning around to grab Willow's hand for another kiss. The redhead was looking at the Slytherin strangely, like she wasn't sure if she should be flattered or pissed as hell. Harry didn't have time to figure it out.  
  
"Now," Hagrid ordered, ushering them all to the door.  
  
"I'll see you later Princess," Draco called over his shoulder. He sneered once more at the Gryffindors around him before taking his henchmen down the hallway.  
  
"Hagrid, is it true?" Ron asked as the professor pushed him out the door. Hagrid stopped, tossing an apprehensive look over her shoulder.  
  
"What?" he asked distractedly.  
  
"Her father-"  
  
"Yes," Hagrid answered quickly, glaring down at them. "And yeh be better off keepin' that to yerself."  
  
"Is that why you have to guard her?" Harry asked in a whisper as his friends obediently walked back into their compartment. Hagrid stilled once more, staring at Harry with wonder in his eyes.  
  
"Guarding her?" the giant man shook his head. "Now, yeh got it all wrong there 'Arry. I'm not guarding her, I'm supposed to be protecting her."  
  
"Protecting?" Harry repeated. Hagrid nodded, tossing another look over his shoulder.  
  
"Just know this 'Arry," Hagrid mumbled, leaning down to whisper to the boy. "No sister of Molly Weasley would ever willingly lay with the Dark Lord. Never willingly."  
  
And then he was slamming the door shut behind him. Harry stayed in the hallway in numb shock, thinking over Hagrid's words. He made his way back into his compartment, finding the Weasleys in an uproar.  
  
"No wonder Mum was in such a snit over the summer," Fred was saying. "Imagine, finding out that your sister that the child of You-Know-Who. Why would any good witch let that happen?"  
  
"She didn't," Harry mumbled, not heard by anyone but Hermione. The brunette looked sharply at him, sending a glance across the hall. Hagrid had settled back on the bench, offering treats to the barely visible Willow. He wasn't guarding her, he was protecting her.  
  
"I mean, think of the shame," Ginny was saying. "I was confused when all those people were hugging Mum in Diagon Alley, but I guess it makes sense. To find out your sister did that and then hid the girl-"  
  
"She didn't," Hermione interrupted, eyes flashing. "She's your aunt! How can you think that? And didn't you hear Harry. She didn't let it happen."  
  
"No sister of Molly Weasley would ever willingly lay with the Dark Lord," Harry mumbled, turning to look at his friends. "That's what Hagrid said."  
  
"Never willingly?" Ron repeated, alarm washing over his face. He jumped to his feet, joining Harry by the door and staring at his cousin across the hall. "You mean-"  
  
"She didn't willing let it happen," Hermione finished for him. "You figure out what it means."  
  
Harry felt the air go out the room. He didn't have to look to see the horrified looks on the Weasleys' faces. Imagine, finding out something that horrible happened to someone in your own family, by the worst person in the world. Harry looked harder at Willow across the hall, seeing how Hagrid kept a nervous eye on her at all times.  
  
"He didn't know," Harry blurted out, realizing the truth all at once. He turned to his friends, a frantic look on his face. "He didn't know! He never knew about her. No one did."  
  
"But now everyone knows," Ron finished for him, eyes going wider than before. "The Malfoys know, and therefore-"  
  
"He knows," Harry nodded, turning back to stare at Willow in shock.  
  
"Voldemort knows he has a daughter at Hogwarts."  
  
***** 


	5. Part Five

Title: Shadows Whisper Back  
  
Author: eena_angel2001  
  
Email: igrewal@sfu.ca or eena_angel@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: Overall R  
  
Content: Warning, there is some mention of rape in this fic.  
  
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and Joss Whedon gets all the credit for BTVS.  
  
Category: BTVS/HP crossover  
  
Pairing: Willow/Harry (cause I want to try it).  
  
Spoilers: Season Two for BTVS and Goblet of Fire for HP.  
  
Summary: Willow's mother has been keeping things from her . . .  
  
Notes: AU, for sure. In BTVS, every up to the end of Season Two holds, except:  
  
1) No Oz/Willow relationship in this fic.  
  
2) Willow and her friends are fifteen.  
  
Notes: Sorry that it took so long to get this out. I've been plagued with finals at school, but they're all over. Now I have ample time for fics and hope to get much work done on this one. Thanks to all the people who reviewed.  
  
Okay, someone pointed out that with the changed ages, then the Angel and Buffy relationship would be kind of gross (her sleeping with him when she was like 14 or 15?). So, I'm going to change that. Angel did not lose his soul that way, he lost it another way. We'll say through something about the Judge and Druscilla. I'm working on it currently, but Buffy and Angel did not have sex.  
  
Part Five  
  
Harry waited patiently in line as students began filtering off the train. His eyes trailed to the side, peeking through the window of Willow's compartment. The redhead had changed into her robes and was sitting patiently on a bench as Hagrid pulled all her stuff together. The half giant looked up, seeing Harry in the hallway, and motioned him to move along. Harry nodded, figuring Hagrid would make sure she would be the last off the train.  
  
Harry sighed, turning his eyes forward as he shuffled along with his fellow students. Ron and the other Weasleys were in front, still silent over the rather astonishing afternoon they had. In the span of a few hours, they learned they had an aunt, uncle, and cousin they had never heard of before, that their cousin was the daughter of the most evil wizard of all time, and that said wizard had raped their aunt to conceive that daughter. It was bound to put a damper on anyone's spirits.  
  
Hermione stood right in front of him, stealing glances at Willow as well. She was deeply curious about the girl as well, and felt for her. He could see that his friend was planning all sorts of ways to befriend the girl, regardless of what house she was put in. Even though it was most likely she would be put in Slytherin.  
  
Speaking of which, there was Draco at the front, craning his neck to see the back of the train. His eyes met Harry's and a triumphant sneer crossed his features. Draco certainly believed that Willow would be in Slytherin. And he seemed rather intent on befriending, or flirting with her, whatever the case. No doubt his father told him to make nice with the boss's daugther, no matter what. Of course, the fact that Willow was really pretty probably made things easier for the Malfoy heir.  
  
Harry frowned at that thought. Did he just say Willow was pretty? Well, he guessed he did. He shot another glance at the window, seeing the redhead's profile. She was pretty, he decided, but horribly sad. Sad and ashamed, for reasons beyond her control. Poor girl, she would need all the friends she could get here. And he meant actual friends, not just Slytherins trying to suck up to the Dark Lord.  
  
She didn't really look all that evil. In fact, she really didn't look all that intimdating. She looked positively fragile. Harry frowned, remembering Hagrid's claim about protecting her. She would need protection, no doubt everyone would hear about Voldemort's newfound daugther. And some with grudges against the wizard might be tempted to take vengeance on the easiest target they had . . .  
  
Hard to think of the fine mess the poor girl had been thrown into. At least things weren't so bad now that the Ministry didn't just throw her into Azkaban without hearing her side of things. At least Dumbledore seemed willing to give her chance, but then again, the old wizard had always said he was a firm believer in second chances.  
  
Harry took comfort in that, but he couldn't help but feel that maybe Willow should be given a first chance to begin with.  
  
*****  
  
All the other students were off the train. Hagrid, the giant man, turned to her and started to speak. She stood before he could get a sound out, making her way to the door. He shut his mouth, nodded to himself absently, and led her off the train.  
  
She followed him, head down and silent. She already hated it here. She stepped off the train and onto the platform. Immediately she felt all eyes on her. The redhead bit her lip to keep from crying or yelling. Instead she just followed directly behind Hagrid, never raising her head to look at anyone.  
  
The whispers began as she walked by her fellow schoolmates. It was horrible, like walking through Cordelia's crowd of sheep back at home. But then again, Cordelia wasn't like that anymore. No, the brunette had changed quite a bit, and was a good friend now. Willow almost laughed to herself. She never thought she would see the day that she would rather be in the company of Cordelia Chase.  
  
She kept her thoughts going, reflecting on them instead of the people around her. But it was hard to ignore them, there were so many. Finally, she had enough. She had put up with enough of this in that damn Ministry place.  
  
She raised her head rather defiantly, meeting the eyes of every student who looked her way. Several them started and turned away in fear. She snorted to herself in disgust, but kept her head up. Her eyes traveled over the whole crowd, meeting every glance that came her way. Her eyes met up with that Draco guy. He smiled at her, a smirk on his face that was almost approving of her hard gaze. She arched an eyebrow at the boy, to which he just bowed his head. He gave her a quick wink and she turned her head away, having enough of him for the moment.  
  
Her eyes continued to travel, meeting up with a pair of green, not unlike her own. She frowned, staring hard at the boy she had been introduced to as Harry Potter. He didn't look afraid of her at all, instead, he just looked curious. And he looked almost concerned.  
  
That just served to increase her confusion. He looked concerned for her? What was that about? Her eyes moved onto the scar on his forehead, the evidence of her "father's" evil. Shouldn't he hate her for just that? People seemed to hate her anyway, and for much less. She kept on thinking on Harry Potter. He was strange, but in a good way. Well, a better way than anyone else she had met in this place.  
  
From there, she saw that Hermione girl, the smart girl. She had seemed so friendly when talking to Willow that the redhead wasn't too surprised to see her shooting the redhead a tentative smile. She returned it minimally, moving onto the next students. Her cousins. They still looked stunned and disbelieving. She turned away from them quickly. She didn't want to see their disgust or fear. She felt it would hurt more than the others.  
  
Hagrid stopped walking suddenly. So suddenly she had to react quickly to stop herself from running into him. He seemed to be talking to someone in front of them.  
  
"Here she is professors," the gigantic man was saying. The redhead felt her curiosity peak, and she leaned around the man to see who he was conversing with. She was greeted by the sight of two people, a woman and a man. The woman looked like a stern grandmother type, but who had a kind streak in her. The woman's eyes fell onto the redhead and held her eye for a moment. Something flickered over her eyes, and then a warm smile descended over her features. Willow felt a bit better at that.  
  
The man was a completely different story. He was tall and a bit sour looking. She took him in with wide eyes, trying hard not to feel a bit of fear at the sight of him. Black, stringy hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in a good long while, framing a frightfully pale face. That same face was set in a bit of a glare, like he didn't know any other way to appear. He was dressed in all black, standing very straight, and with his arms held rigidly at his side. He looked her in the eye, and she had to fight to keep from cringing. But then his eyes flickered and she thought she saw something in there for a moment. Was it compassion?  
  
"Miss Rosenburg," the woman was calling for her attention. Willow turned her head at the sound of her voice, coming to stand beside Hagrid now. The woman smiled reassuringly at her again.  
  
"I am Professor McGonagall," she introduced herself. "And this is Professor Snape. Do you have all your things?"  
  
She broke her gaze with the two professors, turning to Hagrid. Her eyes fell on her luggage and she did some mental counting. Then she nodded, still without uttering one word.  
  
"Good," Professor McGonagall smiled. "Hagrid, the first years are waiting for you."  
  
The giant man nodded, patting Willow on the shoulder before moving away to the first years. The redhead watched him go, eyes widening in shock when she saw him herding the students into boats. They were going to have to boat to the school?  
  
"Come Miss Rosenburg," Professor McGonagall said, snapping Willow out of her thoughts. "We must get to the school. Professor Dumbledore would like a word with you before the Sorting starts."  
  
Willow nodded, shooting a slightly wary look to Snape before following the other professor. Snape was right behind her, holding the door to a carriage open as the two females climbed in. He followed, seating himself next to Professor McGonagall, across from Willow, and continued to be silent.  
  
Willow twitched nervously, her eyes going to outside the carriage window. Scenery passed by her and she saw a huge castle come into view. She sighed, settling back into her seat and returning her gaze to her hands. The professors were quiet, Snape still watching her steadily. Willow gave a mental groan, suppressing the urge to make a face.  
  
It was going to be a long school year.  
  
***** 


	6. Part Six

Title: Shadows Whisper Back  
  
Author: eena_angel2001  
  
Email: igrewal@sfu.ca or eena_angel@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: Overall R  
  
Content: Warning, there is some mention of rape in this fic.  
  
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and Joss Whedon gets all the credit for BTVS.  
  
Category: BTVS/HP crossover  
  
Pairing: Willow/Harry (cause I want to try it).  
  
Spoilers: Season Two for BTVS and Goblet of Fire for HP.  
  
Summary: Willow's mother has been keeping things from her . . .  
  
Notes: AU, for sure. In BTVS, every up to the end of Season Two holds, except:  
  
1) No Oz/Willow relationship in this fic.  
  
2) Willow and her friends are fifteen.  
  
Notes: Sorry that it took so long to get this out. I've been plagued with finals at school, but they're all over. Now I have ample time for fics and hope to get much work done on this one. Thanks to all the people who reviewed.  
  
Okay, someone pointed out that with the changed ages, then the Angel and Buffy relationship would be kind of gross (her sleeping with him when she was like 14 or 15?). So, I'm going to change that. Angel did not lose his soul that way, he lost it another way. We'll say through something about the Judge and Druscilla. I'm working on it currently, but Buffy and Angel did not have sex.  
  
Part Six  
  
Dumbledore was interesting.  
  
She hadn't had the best trip but to the school. Silence and tense were two very key words revolving around that ride. Professor McGonagall tried to make light conversation and such, but gave up after a while. She didn't want to talk, she didn't want to smile and pretend like everything was okay. Gonagall seemed nice and everything, but she reminded Willow entirely too much of Giles. And that hurt.  
  
Professor Snape was the worst part of the whole trip. He didn't even try to make nice. He just sat there, staring at her but never really looking at her. Instead, he looked forward, looking everywhere around her but never directly at her. And that was bizarre because while he did so, he watched her like a hawk. Everything she did, like twitch or shift, was taken in by Snape with a calculated look. And the absolute worst thing he did was remind her of Snyder. She couldn't believe that she was even missing Snyder, but low and behold! She must be very homesick.  
  
But Dumbledore was interesting. He had been waiting for her inside the school. Willow had allowed McGonagall and Snape to march her up the school stairs, through the hallways to come to a stop in front of a large gargoyle. Willow looked expectantly between her two guard dogs, as she quickly had figured them to be, and the statue. McGonagall offered her a smile while Snape just did his staring straight forward thing.  
  
"Carmel Popcorn."  
  
Willow gave a bit of a start when she heard McGonagall speak. And she became confused when she had heard what the professor had said. But all of that was cleared from her thoughts when the statue began to move.  
  
"Come along," was the only instructions given to her. Willow frowned, watching in interest as the statue started spiralling upwards, revealing a staircase as it did. She felt a hand pushing her, so she hopped onto a step, watching Snape and McGonagall follow her. Snape was the one who had given her the push, and he had kept his hand on her shoulder. It felt heavy, in a strange way. And he still wouldn't look at her directly.  
  
Finally, the stairwell stopped moving. Willow felt the slight push from Snape again and moved forward. She found herself in a large office lined with bookshelves and moving pictures.  
  
She frowned, stepping closer to look at one more closely. She had never gotten over the bizarre Wizard photos that moved. When she had seen her first at the Ministry, it had been damn near frightening. Then her parents had explained them to her, but they failed to answer the most pertinent question she had.  
  
What the hell made the pictures move?  
  
Her parents hadn't had an answer for her. No one did really, it was infuriating for her curious little mind.  
  
The Wizard she had been looking at smiled at her. She found herself giving him a ghost of a smile, turning into a full blown one when he started spinning in his chair and generally fooling around. She bit back a giggle as she watched his trip on his robes and fall rather clumsily behind his desk. He peeked his head back over the top, tossing her a smile and a wink before sobering.  
  
She turned, seeing that Snape was watching over her shoulder now. The Wizard took one look at the stern face of the professor and stopped his performance. Willow pouted and then sighed, giving the Wizard one last smile before making her way to one of the office chairs.  
  
Settling in, she looked around, becoming mesmerized by the large red bird perched next to the desk. She gave a gasp at the sight of it, taking in its vibrant colours and twinkle in the eye. The bird looked back at her as she watched it, squawking a bit and ruffling its feathers.  
  
"He's a phoenix."  
  
The statement, answering her unspoken question, startled Willow. Her eyes went to find the source of the voice, stopping at the ancient figure making his way down from the upper level. She felt nothing but absolute disbelief at the sight of him. This couldn't be Dumbledore. Her parents had raved for hours about how strong and powerful Dumbledore was. But this man was old, very old. Practically fragile old.  
  
But then he lifted his head and she got a good look at his eyes. There was a fire in those blue orbs, something Willow didn't see even in the youngest of people. And a twinkle at that would rival the one Xander had in his eye. It was downright mischievous.  
  
"Hello," he spoke, his voice soft but strong at the same time. He came to a stop right in front of her, looking down at her amusedly.  
  
"You must be Willow," he declared, giving her a bit of a wink. "You look just like your mother, with a good mix of your aunt as well."  
  
Willow couldn't help but grin at him, giggling when he winked again at the mention of her aunt. She bit her lip after that giggle left her, trying to sober up again. She schooled her face into her "I'm-not-happy-so- don't-even-bother" look. It had worked the entire summer at the Ministry.  
  
But seemed to fail here. Dumbledore just gave a bit of a smile and made to sit at his desk.  
  
"Thank you professors," he continued to say. "Now that Miss Rosenburg is here, I'm sure you want to attend to House matters."  
  
It was a dismissal if she ever heard one. But the two professors seem to take it in stride. Both left, Snape in a whisper of cloaks. How the hell that guy did that all the time was beyond her.  
  
"Now Miss Rosenburg," he began, giving her yet another smile. "I understand that this is difficult for you-"  
  
"Then let me go home," she interrupted, arms folded across her chest. "Because I don't like it here. No offence."  
  
"None taken," he waved off. "I understand that some people have been somewhat leery of your presence-"  
  
"They're all scared of me," she blurted out, tears threatening in her eyes. "That is if they don't hate me horribly already. It's not my fault."  
  
"I never said it was," Dumbledore replied, face going serious. "It was all very much out of your control. But you shouldn't let any of the circumstances of your lineage bother you. You're not evil Willow, and no one here thinks you are. But you are in danger-"  
  
"I've never even heard of him before!" Willow protested. "He doesn't even care about me. I mean, I'm fifteen! He had all this time to come and get me if he really wanted-"  
  
"You and I are both aware he knew nothing of your existence," Dumbledore interjected gently. "And I understand that you find this all to be horribly unfair to you, but its really not. For the time being, Hogwarts is the only place you can be safe."  
  
"You can't guarantee that," she argued. Dumbledore gave her a wane smile at that.  
  
"Well, I can't," he agreed. "But I have this feeling about it. If Voldemort wanted to go against me directly, he would have done so already. I'm sure you know that Harry Potter goes here."  
  
She gave a nod.  
  
"Yes, well, Voldemort has been most concerned with killing that young boy for a matter of years now," Dumbledore shook his head. "And he has yet to succeed in any attempt. Voldemort will not try to come here directly to collect you-"  
  
"But that doesn't mean he can't send someone else," Willow muttered. "I'm sorry, I know this is a big risk for you to take. I know that HE is one hell of a bad guy, but that he probably is looking for me right now. And all that makes me being here bad for everyone else, but you have to understand. I've been taking care of bad guys for a little while myself. I'd feel much safer at home, with my friends."  
  
"I doubt your friends would be able to stop Voldemort," he told her resignedly.  
  
"You don't know my friends."  
  
"I don't," he nodded. "But you don't know Voldemort. I do, and that's why I can tell you, this is the best thing for you Willow. After all, there is the matter of your powers to deal with. Without proper training, there is no telling what could happen. You might lose control, find yourself embroiled so deep into the Dark Arts that you could never recover."  
  
"I'm not that stupid," she objected.  
  
"But you are that young," he responded. "In time I believe that you will see how this was for the best."  
  
"How much time?" Willow muttered darkly. Dumbledore only had a laugh for her, coming out from behind his desk and making his way to her side.  
  
"You don't have to hate this right from the start," he chided her. "I know you think we're all working against you, but we're not. A lot of people went to a lot of trouble to make sure you were safe. Shouldn't you at least be willing to give this a shot?"  
  
Willow sighed, pouting furiously.  
  
"Sure, be reasonable about it," the redhead huffed. Dumbledore chuckled again, extending his hand to the witch.  
  
"Come, the Welcome Feast starts soon. You need to be sorted first."  
  
"Why bother?" Willow grumbled, getting to her feet. "Haven't you hear? I'm destined for Slytherin."  
  
Dumbledore only smiled, leading her out of the office.  
  
"Nothing is set in stone my dear."  
  
*****  
  
She was nervous.  
  
This was difficult, even more so than it should be. Why the hell had she agreed to this? It was rather cruel and unusual, and despite Dumbledore's claims, she knew it had to be some sort of punishment.  
  
She hated being in front of crowds.  
  
Her green eyes darted out over the crowds of students in the Hall. She found Draco quickly enough, the blonde sitting up straighter as he smirked. He had cleared a seat right next to him, winking at Willow several times to let her know. He was saving her a seat among the Slytherin.  
  
She wasn't sure how she felt about that. It had the potential for being bad. She had heard the talk about Slytherin. Apparently Slytherin was the house to all Dark Wizards, or the such. And her biological father had been the Slytherin to end all Slytherins. All in all, everyone thought she was going there.  
  
Willow was trying to figure out why she felt wrong about that. From her time here, Slytherins had been the only students willing to associate with her. They weren't afraid of her or angry at her. No, they seemed to revere her, which might be why she was feeling something was off. Why the hell would they want to worship her?  
  
Unless they already worshipped her father.  
  
Her eyes fell on the Gryffindor table, noting her cousins and Harry and Hermione were watching in great curiosity. She found Harry's eyes, perplexed when he smiled reassuringly at her. She was even more confused when she gave him a little smile back before her attention was drawn to McGonagall at her side. The professor held the Sorting Hat in her hands, looking expectantly at Willow. The redhead gulped and sat down on the chair.  
  
The hat fell onto her head and began moving. She wasn't so surprised, watching it sing and shout before with the First Years. So she sat back patiently, waiting for the Hat to make its inevitable decision.  
  
"Well, aren't you a puzzle?"  
  
It was talking to her. Willow frowned, eyes going upwards.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"That's about how I feel," the Hat laughed. "Now, you are a puzzle. What to do with such a perplexing girl?"  
  
"Aren't you putting me in Slytherin?" she asked in confusion.  
  
"Do you want to be in Slytherin?" it asked in response.  
  
"No," she blurted out quickly. "Well, I don't know. I just thought you were supposed to make the decision for me."  
  
"I am," the Hat agreed. "But you see Willow, you're a bit hard to sort. Your mother was a Gryffindor, as was your aunt. And what a pair of Gryffindors they were!"  
  
"Everyone keeps saying stuff like that," Willow mused. "What exactly did those two do?"  
  
"Well, you could ask McGonagall for the gritty details," the Hat laughed. "And trust me, it's an interesting story. Your mother took great delight in mischief."  
  
"My mother? You do realize that my mother is Sheila Rosenburg, don't you?"  
  
"Yes," the Hat affirmed. "It was a shock when she married Ira. He was Ravenclaw, and quite the serious sutdent. He was Head Boy, one of the prides of the school. And I see a lot of Ira in you-"  
  
"Do you see any of HIM in me?"  
  
The Hat was silent for a second.  
  
"He is a part of you Willow," the Hat sighed. "And yes, there is some of him in you, but it's just DNA. You were right the first few times. You're Sheila and Ira's daughter, you don't belong to him."  
  
"You're putting me in Slytherin are you?" she whispered.  
  
"Well, I think I should put you where you would do the most good," the Hat mused. "And as well, would have the most fun. I can tell by the way people are looking at you, putting you in Slytherin wouldn't be the wisest of choices. Besides, I think alongside your cousins, especially Fred and George, this school would turn out to be far more interesting than ever before."  
  
"Wha-"  
  
The Hat cut her off, bellowing it's decision loud out across the Hall.  
  
"GRYFFINDOR!!!"  
  
***** 


	7. Part Seven

Title: Shadows Whisper Back  
  
Author: eena_angel2001  
  
Email: igrewal@sfu.ca or eena_angel@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: Overall R  
  
Content: Warning, there is some mention of rape in this fic.  
  
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and Joss Whedon gets all the credit for BTVS.  
  
Category: BTVS/HP crossover  
  
Pairing: Willow/Harry (cause I want to try it).  
  
Spoilers: Season Two for BTVS and Goblet of Fire for HP.  
  
Summary: Willow's mother has been keeping things from her . . .  
  
Notes: AU, for sure. In BTVS, every up to the end of Season Two holds, except:  
  
1) No Oz/Willow relationship in this fic.  
  
2) Willow and her friends are fifteen.  
  
Notes: Sorry that it took so long to get this out. I've been plagued with finals at school, but they're all over. Now I have ample time for fics and hope to get much work done on this one. Thanks to all the people who reviewed.  
  
Okay, someone pointed out that with the changed ages, then the Angel and Buffy relationship would be kind of gross (her sleeping with him when she was like 14 or 15?). So, I'm going to change that. Angel did not lose his soul that way, he lost it another way. We'll say through something about the Judge and Druscilla. I'm working on it currently, but Buffy and Angel did not have sex.  
  
Part Seven  
  
And then there was chaos.  
  
Willow reflexively clamped her hands over her ears as the Great Hall erupted into a cacophony of shouts, cries, and generally angry voices. Her eyes had flown to the Slytherin table the moment the Hat made its decision. Seemingly as one, every student at the table rose to their feet in anger. She could see Draco, his face flushed with fury, as he screamed in outrage in the direction of the Staff table. One of the Slytherin made some sort of comment aimed at the Gryffindor table and soon they were all on their feet as well, fighting with their traditional enemies.  
  
But she couldn't move for the life of her. It was like she was watching everything through a haze. She barely registered anything being said on either side, not able to hear any of it at all, especially not when Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw jumped up and joined the ever-frighteningly loud racket.  
  
Numb, she watched as the professors rose from the table, pushing their way to the tables and barking orders at everyone. McGonagall took the Hat from Willow's head before turning to try and gain control over her House. Professor Snape was standing at the head of the Slytherin table, barking out orders to his House. She couldn't quite hear what he was saying, but from the look on his face she knew it was pretty harsh.  
  
Very slowly, under the disapproving glares from their professors, the students began to quiet down. Angrily, many took their seats, glares being exchanged between the Slytherin table and everyone else. The professors returned to their table, except for the Head of Houses, who stood firmly at the head of their respective tables. They were glaring down at the students, as if daring them to try their patience once more. Luckily, all the students seemed to know better and keep their mouths shut.  
  
She was still sitting there, in front of the Staff table, too shocked to move. Her eyes were wide as they flitted over the Hall. She saw Draco again, actually sulking and pouting in his chair while throwing the occasional dirty look towards the Gryffindor. Her eyes followed his glare, going to the Gryffindor table, to find them all staring at her. Everyone had regained calm and the entire student body was now staring fixedly at her.  
  
Willow felt her face flush, knowing she must be as red as her own hair right now. Her eyes were dropped to the ground, staring at the tips of her shoes, trying to calm her racing mind. Her eyes slid to her right, finding the now doormant Sorting Hat lying beside her. Crafty little bugger wasn't it?  
  
When she looked up again, she saw everyone was still looking at her. Her panicked eyes went to McGonagall, only to find the woman staring at her in the same kind of shock everyone else was. Professor Sprout was trying everything in her willpower not to look afraid while she couldn't see the Ravenclaw Head of House. Looking towards Snape, she couldn't decipher anything in that man's eyes. Giddily, she noticed this was the first time he had looked directly at her. Stupid thing to notice at a time like this, but still she did.  
  
Her fingers were clutching the rim of the stool tightly, actually starting to hurt her. But she wouldn't let go. Tense and still, the redhead sat there for the longest time, unsure of what exactly to do. Logic dictated she would go and sit at her table, but her legs would not move for the life of her. She was starting to sweat, debating whether or not she should just go back a run for it. Head wildly in the direction of anywhere but here, see if she could make it to Sunnydale before anyone could stop her. Not the most rational thought she had ever had, but the most appealing at the moment.  
  
Even Dumbledore wasn't doing anything. She turned, looking at him for some sort of guidance. He only smiled, eyes twinkling like they had always done, and stayed silent. He seemed quite content to let this all ride out on its own. If she wasn't in such shock, Willow would have been angry at him for the lack of assistance.  
  
Trembling by now, the redhead turned back to face her fellow students. She was starting to breathe heavily, on the verge of hyperventilating as she looked from shocked face to shocked face. Time passed, how long had it been since the Hat made its decision? Half an hour, an hour, only ten minutes? She didn't know. All she knew was that she was in Gryffindor, but she had no idea what to do after that.  
  
The soft squeak that rang out at that instant shocked everyone, taking their attention from Willow for the time being. The redhead looked for the source of the noise, surprised to find one of her cousins standing by his table. Ron, the one that was her age, and he looked a bit lost. She saw him look to his friends, Hermione and Harry, before setting his face into a determined look.  
  
She didn't know what to feel when he started walking up to her, ignoring the looks he was getting from his housemates. He stopped just shy of her, looking confusedly at his feet for a second before glancing up at her. He extended his hand to her and she looked at it in complete confusion.  
  
"Come on cos," he encouraged her with a bit of a devilish grin. "The longer you sit up here, the longer Dumbledore will make us wait for the food. And I'm bleeding starving!"  
  
She let out a laugh, trying to squish it halfway out of her mouth so that it sounded nothing more like an amused snort. He only grinned wider, grabbing her by the arm and starting to lead her back to his spot.  
  
Dazed, she allowed herself to be led to the table. Ron seated her between himself and Harry. The dark-haired boy shot her a grin, one that was actually genuine. She returned it nervously, eyes shifting up and down the table as her fellow Housemates just stared.  
  
She didn't even notice Dumbledore stand, starting when she heard his voice ring out. All of a sudden, food began appearing in front of her. She blinked, looking down at her plate for a second before remembering where she was. Of course, they did everything by magic here. Her parents had told her such before shipping her off.  
  
Eventually, the shock began to wear off the Hall. Students turned their attention to their food, quietly whispering the latest happening. She heard nothing but grumbles coming from the Slytherins behind her, shooting a look over her shoulder.  
  
Draco again was the first to come to her attention, him being the only Slytherin she actually knew by name. The look on his face was nothing short of murderous as he looked up to the Staff table. She frowned, noticing his glare seemed to be focused on Dumbledore, as if he was the cause of this. That was stupid, the only person or thing to blame was the Hat. But then again, directing his anger towards an inanimate object (well, a mostly inanimate object) might have seemed a bit stupid to him.  
  
When he caught her looking at him, the murderous look was immediately swept from his features. She marveled at the change, seeing the seemingly sincere smile on his face. She knew that he was smiling genuinely for her, but seemed to be battling with his urge to pitch a fit over her sorting. He was odd.  
  
Nudging from her side drew her attention back to her table. Ron was looking at her in concern.  
  
"Aren't you going to eat?" he asked worriedly. She looked down at her plate in surprise, as if remembering that there was food there. She gave her cousin a frazzled smile before nodding shakily. Automatically she began placing food in her mouth, not really tasting any of it.  
  
"It'll be okay."  
  
This came whispered from her right, from Harry. She turned wide green eyes to him, noting the encouraging smile on his face.  
  
"Everyone will be over it by tomorrow," he assured her. "Far too busy worrying about Potions with Snape you see."  
  
She managed a weak smile for him, trying to let him see the gratitude she felt. He nodded, patting her hand gently before returning his attention to his food. She turned her face forward, seeing Hermione and Ginny sitting across from her. The brunette gave her a bright smile while the redhead gave her a sympathetic look.  
  
"They'll get over it," Ginny told her honestly. Hermione rolled her eyes.  
  
"Who cares if they don't?" the brunette snorted, turning her full attention to Willow. "So, what classes did you take?"  
  
The redhead felt a bit better at that, laughing when Ron starting complaining about Hermione's obsession with school. The brunette seemed aggravated with him when he called her neurotic bookworm. Willow swore she saw Hermione's eyes flash when she demanded to know if Ron actually knew what neurotic meant. Pretty soon, the two were bickering rather viciously, both getting very flushed in the face.  
  
"Ignore them," was Harry's advice. "They're both entirely too stubborn to just go and snog it out like they want to, so they do this. It'll pass."  
  
"Snog?" Willow repeated, turning to arch an eyebrow at Harry. "Doesn't that mean kiss?"  
  
Harry nodded, eyes twinkling mischievously as he looked at his best friends.  
  
"Means exactly that."  
  
Willow paused, following his gaze to Ron and Hermione, who were still fighting, and giggled. They kind of reminded her of Xander and Cordelia. She predicted many janitor closets and empty classrooms for those two. She laughed and shook her head.  
  
"So," Harry started off. "Tell me about Sunnydale. Hagrid told me the strangest things about it, and I don't know if I believe him."  
  
Willow gave a rueful smile.  
  
"And what did he tell you?" she asked with a smile. Harry shrugged, looking towards the large man.  
  
"Something about vampires and Hell," he replied. Willow sighed, viciously spearing a carrot with her fork.  
  
"Well then, you know the bulk of it."  
  
***** 


	8. Part Eight

Title: Shadows Whisper Back  
  
Author: eena_angel2001  
  
Email: igrewal@sfu.ca or eena_angel@hotmail.com  
  
Rating: Overall R  
  
Content: Warning, there is some mention of rape in this fic.  
  
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and Joss Whedon gets all the credit for BTVS.  
  
Category: BTVS/HP crossover  
  
Pairing: Willow/Harry (cause I want to try it).  
  
Spoilers: Season Two for BTVS and Goblet of Fire for HP.  
  
Summary: Willow's mother has been keeping things from her . . .  
  
Notes: AU, for sure. In BTVS, every up to the end of Season Two holds, except:  
  
1) No Oz/Willow relationship in this fic.  
  
2) Willow and her friends are fifteen.  
  
Notes: Sorry that it took so long to get this out. I've been plagued with finals at school, but they're all over. Now I have ample time for fics and hope to get much work done on this one. Thanks to all the people who reviewed.  
  
Okay, someone pointed out that with the changed ages, then the Angel and Buffy relationship would be kind of gross (her sleeping with him when she was like 14 or 15?). So, I'm going to change that. Angel did not lose his soul that way, he lost it another way. We'll say through something about the Judge and Druscilla. I'm working on it currently, but Buffy and Angel did not have sex.  
Part Eight  
  
"All right, first years up front! Follow me!"  
  
Willow bit her lip, standing very close to Harry and Ron, relieved to know that Ginny and the twins were at her back, closing her off from all other students. No offence to any of her other housemates, but she wasn't comfortable with them. Mostly due to the fact that they weren't comfortable with her.  
  
She tried to ignore them as she shuffled along with the other students, hands clutching at the back of Ron's robes as everyone trailed after Hermione. Apparently the girl was something called a prefect, which was kind of like a hall monitor but with more power. Hermione was darn proud of being a prefect, though it was something  
  
Ron ridiculed her about often over dinner. There was some reference to her being a she-Percy, who Ginny informed her was another Weasley. One of her older cousins apparently, though it wasn't explained why being a she-Percy was a bad thing.  
  
Anyway, Hermione was leading all of Gryffindor up to their dorm, which was in a tower. Her parents had explained all this to her, telling her how each house had their own section of the school, complete with rooms and a common room which was cut off from the rest of the school by a tunnel guarded by a painting.  
  
She had thought they were joking. But they weren't, because here she was, following everyone as they made their way towards some painting the older students referred to as the 'Fat Lady'. Willow didn't think that name was all that nice, but Harry assured her that the painting did not mind.  
  
There was the occasional glance in her direction, followed by a bout of hushed conferences. She tried her best to ignore them, struggling not to lash out when she heard some of the things they were saying. The most popular being 'why isn't she in Slytherin'? It was a question she herself didn't know the answer to, and she didn't want  
  
to dwell on it. She was just grateful she was placed in a house other than that particular one. If she had been, Willow knew it would have been only a matter of time before she was officially declared evil.  
  
Right now, being in Gryffindor and related to the Weasleys, well that was the only thing keeping people indecisive about her. Was she the spawn of all evil or not? Would she be as bad as her father or not? Were they safe with Voldemort's daughter sleeping under their roof?  
  
In all honesty, she didn't know the answers to most of those questions. Willow didn't feel evil, and she sure as hell didn't like that whole devil spawn theory, but she just didn't know. Back when she did that curse, she was deep in some dark magics. And even though she was doing it for her friends, a way of trying to save the world and Angel at the same time, the dark seemed awfully inticing for a few moments. Just a few, before she came back to herself, the redhead found herself wondering just what it would feel like if she didn't go back to herself, if she just stayed where she was, swimming in dark power . . . but just for a minute. And then she was back to  
  
being good old Willow, devout Scooby and computer extraordinaire. But there had been that temptation.  
  
As for being safe with her under the roof, Willow had to agree with her parents on this. She was at a lot more risk just being out in the open in this world. Forget about other students being safe from her, would she be safe from everyone else? Her mother had told her, there were a lot of people who hated HIM out there. Not that they didn't have a good reason for hating him, but there was that threat they representing to her.  
  
She wished desperately that Buffy was here with her. The Slayer would keep her safe and let her know that she wasn't evil. That she was just Willow, completely through and through. No evil, just a good friend and one hell of a computer nerd. That was what Buffy would say, or at least she thought that was what Buffy would say. Her conceptions about her best friend were under some heavy suspicious. There was a time when she would have never thought Buffy would run away from home, but it had happened. Something had changed for her friend, and not for the first time Willow found herself wondering where she was, and whether or not she was safe.  
  
Or if she was with Angel, yet another person missing in action. The curse worked, she knew that for certain. Willow had felt it work, felt something go through her. Angel was back, but where he was in particular, that the redhead could not say for certain.  
  
"You okay?"  
  
She practically jumped when she heard Harry's voice in her ear. Wide green eyes went to his, a fake smile quick to plaster over her features.  
  
"Fine," she lied quickly. He frowned, his face telling her that he didn't buy that for one second.  
  
"Really," she insisted. "I'm just thinking too much. Xander's always telling me that I do that a lot, so next time, just poke me or something and I'll stop."  
  
He gave her a small smile at that babble, attention returning to Hermione as she stopped by the Fat Lady.  
  
"Okay, now this is the entrance to the Gryffindor common room," Hermione explained, her voice carrying over all the students bunched around. "You need the password in order for the door to open, so be sure to remember it."  
  
Willow heard a small groan come from somewhere beside Ron. She took in the slightly round boy with dark hair who seemed to be paling at the thought of remembering a password. He looked so forlorn, she immediately felt for him.  
  
"Don't worry Neville," came the whisper from Ron. "Hermione would choose something that you could remember."  
  
That seemed to cheer the boy, Neville, up. Curious, Willow looked back to where Hermione stood, patiently waiting for everyone's attention.  
  
"Okay, the password is . . . " her brown eyes seemed to wander over the crowd, catching those of her two best friends. A smile blossomed over her features and she winked at the two of them, causing Willow's curiosity to go through the roof.  
  
"Ferret Boy."  
  
She didn't get it, but apparently all the other Gryffindors, save the first years, did get it. There was a chorus of snickers and a few cheers as the passage opened and Hermione began to lead everyone inside.  
  
"That's our girl," was the appreciative chuckle from Ron. Willow frowned, turning to Harry for guidance. He patted her shoulder, giving her a grin.  
  
"I'll explain later."  
  
*****  
  
Willow sat cautiously on her bed, ignoring the other two girls in the room with her. Lavender and Parvati, she thought their names were. The two weren't unfriendly or anything, but they seemed to be a bit too afraid of her to warrant conversation.  
  
So she ignored them, grateful that she was placed in the same room as Hermione, though she felt that might have been planned. Dumbledore had taken to winking at her throughout dinner, leading her to believe that he made sure she wouldn't be completed isolated or alienated. Either that or he was planning to have a frog placed in her bed while she slept. She honestly didn't know with that man.  
  
A sigh escaped her as she plucked at her bed covers. Her eyes traveled to her nighttable where the letter she composed to Xander and the others back home. It would be sent by owl the next morning. She just prayed that Xander wouldn't freak out when the bird showed up at his window. Not the most normal way of sending mail, but apparently a lot faster than human methods.  
  
Her mind flittered back to the Hellmouth and she gave a shiver. No Slayer and the Scooby gang in shambles, there wasn't much keeping the Hellmouth together nowadays. She sent a prayer upwards, hoping that Giles's attempts to find Buffy proved to be fruitful and soon. Sunnydale wasn't in the greatest shape before she left, it couldn't have gotten any better by now. To think, the most evil place on earth was left virtually defenceless because the good side couldn't locate their heroes. Man, evil was bad, but at least it was organized.  
  
The sound of the door opening alerted her to Hermione's presence. The prefect smiled a greeting at the other two girls before joining Willow on hers.  
  
"How are you feeling?" she asked quietly. Willow gave a small shrug and a ghost of a smile.  
  
"I don't know," the redhead confessed. "I guess I hadn't really noticed how fast things had been going. Just seems like the other day I did that damn curse-"  
  
"Curse?" Hermione repeated, eyebrows raised.  
  
"Not a bad curse," Willow quickly amended. "Well, depends on who you are, it wasn't a bad curse. For Angelus it was bad, but then again, Angelus was a mean old vampire so I don't think anyone cares about  
  
his opinion much. Anyway, it was for the best. It made evil Angelus go away and replace him with good but broody Angel. And while Angel broods, he never wants to suck the world into hell. At least, I don't think he doesn't."  
  
Hermione blinked, mind processing that babble rather well.  
  
"You cursed a vampire?" she ventured slowly.  
  
"With a soul," Willow nodded. "Because they don't have souls when the demon takes up shop, so I gave him his back so the demon wouldn't be in control anymore."  
  
"Oh," Hermione looked a bit pale. "That sounds like a complicated spell."  
  
"It was," Willow conceded. "But I don't think I did it all on my own. I mean, I started it off, and then it was like something took over my senses and finished it."  
  
"You were possessed?" Hermione looked positively gleeful.  
  
"Well, I don't know if you could say that," Willow frowned thoughtfully. "It was more like there was someone else with me, helping me finish the curse. Probably a gypsy spirit, considering it was a Romany curse."  
  
"A Romany curse!" Hermione repeated with excitement, bouncing on the bed a bit. "Well, that's just-wow! A Romany curse!"  
  
"Yeah," Willow nodded, grinning over her obvious excitement. "You want to know about it?"  
  
Hermione nodded so hard Willow was afraid she would hurt her neck.  
  
"Well, okay . . ."  
  
*****  
  
She was in Gryffindor!  
  
That wasn't right. It wasn't right at all. She was the Dark Princess and she was in Gryffindor!  
  
Draco growled, shifting in his bed unhappily. His father was going to be furious, and when HE heard, there would be hell to pay. HIS own daughter, in Gryffindor.  
  
Draco knew he was going to be in for a screaming. His father's instructions before he left for school were very clear. Make sure that Willow was kept far away from Harry Potter. And with her in Gryffindor, that wasn't going to be possible. As well, Potter seemed to have attached himself to the girl's side. It was disgusting  
  
watching how he ogled the girl. Draco didn't even want to be in the same country as his father and Dark Lord should it come to pass that those two became an item. He gave a bit of a shudder.  
  
It was bad enough she seemed to have befriended the Golden Boy anyway. His father had wanted him to charm Willow, get her on their side. How he was supposed to do that with her in Gryffindor was beyond him, but no doubt his father would want it done even more once the news reached him. Draco was screwed.  
  
There was going to be mayhem coming in the next little while. That was certain.  
  
Draco just didn't want to be caught up in it.  
  
***** 


	9. Part Nine

Part Nine  
  
It was morning.  
  
The night had passed without much hubbub. There was no surprise  
  
attack by the Dark Lord to recapture his lost daughter or anything  
  
even remotely close to that. Willow personally thought those fears  
  
had been unfounded to begin with, but there were those people who  
  
felt that way all the same. Her father inspired a lot of fear in the  
  
Wizarding World, and for good reason.  
  
But that didn't mean he was coming for her. After much careful  
  
thought, Willow honestly didn't understand why HE would come for  
  
her. She was a child begotten of rape, and while he was the one  
  
doing the raping, still. She wasn't expected, he wasn't anticipating  
  
her. And finally, didn't HE have more important things to do with  
  
his time. After all, plotting world domination is a trying task. Or  
  
so she assumed.  
  
Willow planted herself down at the Gryffindor table, studiously  
  
ignoring all the whispers and squeaks around her. The Slytherin  
  
table was practically squawking with indignation when she wandered  
  
into the Great Hall, surrounded by her cousins and Harry and  
  
Hermione. She knew how they stood on the whole her being in  
  
Gryffindor thing, but wished they would get over it. The Hat had  
  
sorted, time for everyone to deal with it.  
  
"What's on the schedule for today?" Ron asked cheerfully, loading his  
  
plate up with food the second he sat down. Willow watched him fill  
  
his plate with wide eyes, momentarily having a flashback to Xander.  
  
That reminded her of the letter she had to send, the one currently  
  
residing in her pocket.  
  
"Um, guys?" she called for attention. "How do I send a letter around  
  
here? I know its by owl, but I don't have an owl."  
  
Harry smiled reassuringly at her.  
  
"Don't worry. You can borrow Pig or Hedwig."  
  
"Who and who?"  
  
"Harry's owl is Hedwig," Hermione explained from her spot across the  
  
table. "And Ron's owl is Pig."  
  
"Not by choice," Ron muttered, shooting his younger sister a  
  
glare. "All her fault that was."  
  
Ginny responded by sticking her tongue out at her brother before  
  
turning her attention to breakfast and her schedule. Oh, the  
  
schedule! Willow scooped her timetable up, eyes flying over the  
  
lessons she had for the day.  
  
"Oh bloody hell!" Ron declared unhappily, reading over her  
  
shoulder. "First day back and we've got Double Potions with the  
  
Slytherins!"  
  
"This that a bad thing?" Willow asked in confusion, thinking over her  
  
tutoring during the summer. Potions had been one of her favourite  
  
subjects, being very close to Chemistry and therefore not that hard  
  
for this witch to grasp. But why was Ron acting like it was the end  
  
of the world?  
  
"Ignore Ron," Hermione instructed her, nibbling on a piece of  
  
toast. "He just doesn't like Professor Snape."  
  
"Does anyone?" Ron snarled in response. "Well, anyone not in  
  
Slytherin?"  
  
"Snape teaches that class?" Willow felt faint, eyes going up to the  
  
staff table and picking out the black-clad figure of Snape. She gave  
  
a tremor of fear, remembering the man's rather strange behaviour to  
  
her. Not afraid, not angry, but something else entirely. It  
  
bothered her.  
  
"Yeah, but don't worry about him," Harry consoled her. "He's too  
  
busy hating the three of us to even focus on anyone else most of the  
  
time."  
  
"Except poor Neville that is," Hermione sighed, shooting a glance  
  
down the table at the boy in question. "Snape loves tormenting him."  
  
Willow frowned, following Hermione's gaze down the table at Neville.  
  
The boy was reading his own timetable, and paling considering.  
  
Willow watched in interest as he worked himself up to a minor panic,  
  
Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan trying to calm him down.  
  
"Neville is scared witless of Snape," Ron explained, his mouth full  
  
of food. Hermione made a face at him, disgust evident on her mouth.  
  
"Don't talk with your mouth full," she chastised lightly before  
  
returning her attention to Willow. "Neville has a tendency to get  
  
very nervous in class, and Snape likes to feed off that. He  
  
purposely tries to make Neville more nervous, hoping that he ends up  
  
ruining his potion."  
  
"That's just mean!" Willow declared, shooting a reproving glance up  
  
at the staff table. "Teachers aren't supposed to act like that!"  
  
"Well, Snape does," Harry shrugged. "We've given up on hoping for a  
  
change. Just one of those dreadful things you have to put up with in  
  
life."  
  
"What a fatalistic approach," Willow commented dryly, and then  
  
frowned. "You'd fit right in at Sunnydale."  
  
"Oh yes, the Hellmouth!" Hermione was practically bouncing in her  
  
seat. "Tell us more about that!"  
  
Willow bit back a giggle at her excitement, nodding her consent.  
  
"Well, what do you want to hear about?"  
  
*****  
  
The time had come for Potions class.  
  
Willow followed behind her fellow Gryffindors as they made their way  
  
down to the dungeons. Once at the classroom, they all piled on one  
  
side of the doorway while the Slytherins milled around the other  
  
side. Willow caught Draco's eye more than once, a bit unnerved at  
  
his almost constant staring.  
  
Ron didn't like it either, sending a snarl or two Draco's way before  
  
blocking his view of Willow. The redhead didn't mind, taking refuge  
  
behind both Harry and Ron, conversing quietly with Hermione while  
  
they all waited on Snape. She saw Neville out of the corner of her  
  
eye, seeing him almost sweating with trepidation. Her heart went out  
  
to the boy, just looking at his frantic form. Snape must be an  
  
absolute monster in the classroom.  
  
And she was about to find that out personally. With a swirl of black  
  
robes, Snape marched up the classroom door, pausing to sneer once at  
  
his Gryffindor students before ordering everyone into the class.  
  
Willow skittered in behind Harry and Ron, taking the seat in between  
  
Hermione and Neville right behind them. She put all her supplies on  
  
the table in front of her, nervously waiting for the start of class.  
  
Hermione sent her a reassuring smile before turning to leaf through  
  
her textbook. A glance in Neville's direction found the boy  
  
nervously shifting his school materials around, avoiding looking at  
  
Snape for as long as he could.  
  
Her eyes went unwillingly to the Slytherin side of the room, where  
  
sure enough, Draco was still watching her. This time he offered her  
  
one of his smirks, a expression that no doubtedly made quite a few  
  
girls swoon. This guy reminded her so much of Spike, in looks and  
  
danger. He just reeked of trouble, someone that she would do well to  
  
avoid. And so, she turned her eyes away, focusing instead on Snape  
  
at the head of the class.  
  
"Well, time to see how much you've forgotten," the man was grumbling,  
  
snappishly doing a roll call. As soon as Willow's name was called,  
  
the list was over, and Snape was looking directly at the redhead.  
  
"You're going to need to pair up with someone for the first little  
  
while," he barked at her. "I don't want you accidentally blowing us  
  
all up."  
  
Willow frowned at his comment, biting her tongue to keep back a  
  
sarcastic remark. Snape was still looking at her harshly, as if  
  
trying to egg her into snapping back at him. But no, if nothing  
  
else, Willow was a good student. And good students didn't question  
  
their teachers, no matter how wrong they were.  
  
"After you're familiarized with the class, then you can work on your  
  
own," Snape continued, letting his eyes travel over the  
  
classroom. "Now, who to be your partner?"  
  
Willow saw Draco perking up at the sound of that, as well felt  
  
Hermione do the same at her side. But Snape's eyes had yet to fall  
  
on either of them, but Willow knew he would look to Draco first if he  
  
got half the chance. So she spoke up, calling his attention away  
  
from the other students.  
  
"Neville can help me."  
  
The whole class seemed to balk at her words. Snape's eyes flew to  
  
hers, mistrust and disbelief evident in his expression. His harsh  
  
gaze went to Neville, but Willow drew his attention to herself.  
  
"You won't mind, will you Neville?"  
  
The boy gulped, unsure who he wanted to anger. There was Snape, the  
  
man who lived to make his existence hard. And then there was the  
  
daughter of You-Know-Who. And as scary as Snape was, he wasn't as  
  
scary as HIM.  
  
"Okay," he barely squeaked out. There were some shocked murmurings,  
  
one that Snape shouted down in a second. The professor looked back  
  
to her, as if measuring her quietly. Willow met his gaze right on,  
  
keeping her face as innocent and neutral as she could.  
  
With a scoff and look that just screamed 'it's-your-funeral', Snape  
  
turned on his heel and marched back to the front of the class.  
  
"Turn to page 91 in your textbooks . . ."  
  
*****  
  
"But, how?"  
  
Willow giggled, shaking her head at Neville's shocked expression.  
  
She took the boy by the arm, leading him away from the dungeons and  
  
to where Hermione, Ron, and Harry stood waiting.  
  
"I'm not sure what you mean, how?" she grinned, nudging Neville with  
  
her elbow slightly. "Care to clarify?"  
  
"How did you manage to do that? To the potion?"  
  
She giggled again, letting go of his arm when they reached the other  
  
three Gryffindors.  
  
"I didn't do anything Neville," she chided him. "It was your potion."  
  
"But I've never done a potion right before," Neville protested,  
  
gesturing to the others. "Go on, tell her."  
  
"Neville's right," Ron laughed. "That has to be some sort of  
  
historical event. Neville passes a Potions class. There might a  
  
special bulletin in the Prophet tomorrow."  
  
"I didn't do anything," Willow insisted, smiling reassuringly to  
  
Neville. "All I did was ask you questions about the class. And  
  
while you were distracted with me, you couldn't focus on how scared  
  
you were of Snape. Basically, you did the potion almost  
  
subconsciously while you were talking to me. And you did it right."  
  
"She's right Neville," Hermione chimed in. "When you aren't worried  
  
about how Snape is going to attack you, you do well in Potions."  
  
"Which means that Willow here figured out a way to get around the  
  
terrible powers of one Professor Snape," Harry chuckled. "The man is  
  
not going to be pleased if this keeps up."  
  
"Why not?" Willow protested. "He's the teacher. It's his job to  
  
make sure that students do things correctly. It's kind of part of  
  
the learning process."  
  
"But tormenting me is a hobby of his," Neville lamented.  
  
"Well, he can't bother you anymore if you keep doing the potions  
  
right," Hermione offered. "So, just keep doing them right."  
  
"But, I don't know how!" the boy protested. Willow shook her head,  
  
clucking her tongue in sympathy.  
  
"You know how Neville," she told him. "You're just too busy being  
  
scared to do it."  
  
This seemed to quiet him and the others, to the point where Ron  
  
rolled his eyes and began pulling on Willow's arm.  
  
"Come on then!" he ordered. "Enough of this. Neville got a potion  
  
right. We should congratulate him and then move on. It's time for  
  
lunch anyhow."  
  
"Do you ever think with something else besides your stomach?"  
  
Hermione frowned disapprovingly. Ron sent her a smile before  
  
dragging Willow in the direction of the Great Hall.  
  
"Not if I can help it," he retorted, chuckling when Hermione stewed  
  
for a second. Willow rolled her eyes, falling into step with her  
  
cousin.  
  
"Remind me to introduce you to Xander. I think the two of you would  
  
get along great."  
  
***** 


	10. Part Ten

Notes: Sorry that it took so long to get this out. I've been plagued with finals at school, but they're all over. Now I have ample time for fics and hope to get much work done on this one. Thanks to all the people who reviewed.  
  
Okay, someone pointed out that with the changed ages, then the Angel and Buffy relationship would be kind of gross (her sleeping with him when she was like 14 or 15?). So, I'm going to change that. Angel did not lose his soul that way, he lost it another way.  
  
We'll say through something about the Judge and Druscilla. I'm working on it currently, but Buffy and Angel did not have sex.  
  
Part Ten  
  
Her first week at Hogwarts passed without further incident. Actually, once the shock of her father's identity had passed, people immediately began consoling themselves with the fact of her maternal heritage. After all, if she was related to the Weasleys, how bad could she really be? And add onto that, she had the personal endorsement of Dumbledore stating that she was not evil as far as he could see.  
  
It was the sweetest thing anyone had said since she left Sunnydale. Which should show people how really bad things had been for her.  
  
Even her own housemates were acting a bit warmer towards her. This had a lot to do with the fact that her cousins, Harry, and Hermione were constantly at her side, trying to get people to at least give her a chance. Another large part of it came from Neville Longbottom, who was on the verge of worshipping Willow due to the help she gave him in Potions. It was cute, but kind of weird. She wasn't sure how many more times she was going to have to explain to Neville that she wasn't a good luck charm. He knew how to do the potions, he just got too scared to do them properly when Snape was around. But Neville wouldn't be convinced of that just yet, and Willow found herself with a fan.  
  
The only problem was, he wasn't her only fan. The whole of Slytherin seemed to be the basis of the Willow Fan Club, only their reasons weren't as innocent as Neville's. People like Draco and that Parkinson girl were insistent on calling her Princess, and the others were also smiling and generally acting warm and welcoming around her. It was all so fake she could barely stomach it! She didn't want to even look at their table during meals anymore. She just couldn't handle their friendliness/worship. It was disturbing, especially since she knew where it came from.  
  
But other than that, the first week had gone off pretty well. She was adjusting just fine, her classes steadily becoming less confusing and overwhelming. She was even being cooperative enough with teachers, using her wand to complete all her spells. Besides, it was better than having people break out into hysterical whispers when she didn't use one.  
  
As she became more comfortable at school, Willow eventually relented to requests from Ginny and Hermione to talk to her parents. She wasn't angry at them anymore, but that didn't mean she was happy with them at all. But she was at a point where she could admit to herself that there wasn't much else that her parents could have done. Not against her father anyway. Willow had spent much of the week listening to various stories of her father's previous exploits, including one from Ginny and her firsthand experience with the monster that was Lord Voldemort. Willow couldn't understand how her father could have been so evil, even at such a young age as sixteen.  
  
But then again, evil probably didn't know any age limits. From all accounts, Draco had been downright evil since before he even came to Hogwarts, though she didn't quite see it. Sure, Draco was mean enough to everyone around him, but he wasn't evil. Even after hearing about the incident of Buckbeak and Hagrid from third year, Willow wasn't convinced that Draco was annoying. He seemed like a colossal brat, but he wasn't evil. She had seen evil in her life. Hell, she had lived through months of Angelus, Druscilla, and Spike conspiring to kill her and all her friends. Draco was not evil by any accounts.  
  
But her father. Yeah, he was evil. It only took the story of the Chamber of Secrets to convince her of that. He was big time evil. He was Master-like evil, and that was EVIL.  
  
But she wasn't evil. She wanted everyone to learn that, and it seemed that everyone was well on their way to learning that. The Slytherins might hang onto hope of her inner bad-girl for a while to come, but she was going to have to disappoint them. This redhead was going to stick to the straight and narrow. No matter how much that House of Slytherin wanted her to deviate from it.  
  
Of course, she would have felt more comfortable with that if it hadn't been for that letter she got, eleven days into her stay at Hogwarts. It was in response to the letter she had sent home the first day of classes. Apparently Hedwig had made it all the way to Xander, and her friend hadn't had a heart attack since he was capable enough to send her a reply. Or so she thought.  
  
It came with the morning post. She had been sitting in between Ron and Harry once again, facing away from the Slytherin table and across from Fred and George. Harry and Ron seemed to be her bodyguards from just about everyone while Fred and George did the scare tactics of the job. At that moment, they were glaring certain death over her head in the direction of the Slytherins. She didn't have to turn around to see who they were glaring at in particular. She knew it was Draco. The boy had yet to give up his idea of befriending her or whatever.  
  
She was ignoring him, along with the rest of Slytherin. She said it before and she'll say it again: she didn't need their warped brand of Willow-worship. She had enough of that worship trouble with Neville, but at least Neville didn't want her to be his Dark Princess. Well, she certainly hoped he didn't, because that would be bad in so many ways.  
  
Anyway, it came with the morning post. Hedwig came flying in with all the other owls. She swooped down and deposited the letter right before her plate. Her job finished, Hedwig turned to her master, chirping happily when he feed her a bit of his breakfast.  
  
"Is that from Sunnydale?" Ron asked, mouth full of food as always. Willow fixed him with a reprimanding look, one that she saw mirrored on Hermione's face from Ron's other side. Her cousin just rolled his eyes, motioning to the letter with his fork.  
  
"Open it," he commanded, making a show of swallowing his food before talking. Willow arched an eyebrow at his command, picking up her letter while only listening to Hermione's quick lecture on table manners. She opened the scroll sent, surprised to find two of them. She recognized the messy writing on the first letter as Xander's script, but it was the familiar handwriting on the second letter that caught her eye.  
  
"Buffy!" she exclaimed, causing everyone around her to jump slightly. But she didn't look up, didn't meet any of their questioning gazes. She almost tore apart the letter from Buffy, eyes skimming over the words quickly. Her face was almost radiant with joy as she began the letter, something everyone around her noted.  
  
But when her face started falling, her friends began to get a bit concerned. They watched as Willow read line after line, her face growing more and more horrified with each passing word. By the end of the letter, the redhead had tears in her eyes.  
  
Finished, she rolled up the letter again and placed it next to Xander's on the table in front of her. Her eyes were full of tears, some rolling down her cheeks as the redhead sat back and tried to absorb everything.  
  
Harry gave a surprised grunt when he was forcibly removed from Willow's side by Ginny. He had to protest, wanting to find out what was wrong with her as well, but shut his mouth when he saw Ron getting the same treatment from Hermione. Both girls crowded around Willow, whispering to the girl quietly. Harry tried to edge forward to hear what they were saying, horrified when he heard the telltale sounds of sobs coming from Willow.  
  
"What is it?" Fred demanded, reaching for the letters on the table only to have Ginny snatch them out of his reach. He gave his little sister a glare, one she returned with more force than his own. He backed down quickly, but the look on his face showed that he wasn't going to let this go. George tried to diffuse the situation with a nervous.  
  
"What? Did someone die?" he asked jokingly. In horror, he watched as his words caused his cousin to break out into loud, heart wrenching sobs. Willow leapt up from the table, running out of the Great Hall as fast as her legs would take her. Everyone in the hall fell silent at her exit, the Slytherin table on its feet as they watched their 'Princess' leave in tears.  
  
"Brilliant George," Ginny snapped at her brother as she stood. "Don't you remember where she's from? You don't ask that!"  
  
George realized his mistake too late. He flinched visibly, looking immediately apologetic. But Ginny ignored him, scooping up Willow's letters and followed Hermione out of the hall as they went in search of Willow. Fred waited until they were out of sight before fixing his brother with a disgusted look.  
  
"Did someone die?" he repeated, glaring at the red-faced George. "Damn it man! You're supposed to be the smart twin!"  
  
"Don't be so hard on him Fred," Ron jumped in quickly. George shot him a grateful look to which Ron just responded to with a smirk.  
  
"Besides, no one ever thought either of you was all that smart."  
  
*****  
  
She ran all the way from the Great Hall to the Gryffindor Tower. She was barely able to choke out the password before dashing through the Common Room and up the stairs to her bedroom. Once there, she flung herself on her bed and dissolved into a fresh batch of hysterical tears.  
  
After a few mintues, she heard the door creak open slowly. She didn't move as Hermione and Ginny seated themselves on her bed, Ginny reaching out tentatively to stroke her hair. Hermione took Willow's hand, placing the letters she had received this morning by her shoulder.  
  
"What's wrong?" the brunette asked softly. "I thought you would be happy that Buffy had come home. You sounded so worried before."  
  
"It's not that," Willow sobbed. "It's not that at all. I just can't believe-I shouldn't have done it. Mom told me, Giles didn't want me risking it, and just look at what happened! I messed up everything! It's all my fault! God, how could she forgive me?"  
  
"Willow, what are you talking about?" Ginny asked, a bit frantic as her cousin continued to berate herself. The older redhead deflated at that, falling silent as she grasped her pillow closer to her chest. An answer was mumbled out, but neither of the calm girls heard it.  
  
"What was that, Willow?" Hermione prodded her gently. Willow heaved a great sigh, closing her eyes in remorse as she replied in a louder voice.  
  
"I sent Angel to Hell."  
  
***** 


End file.

Buffy X-overs, Drama, Suspense