1. Chapter 1

"Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry? You've gotta be joking. I'm not going there!" Buffy Summers' lively face was full of horror and her automatic judgement was glistening in her deep eyes. "It's not for slayers! It's for...it's for witches! And wizards! And...eugh!"

"But Buffy, they specialise in all things supernatural, and that means Slayers too...you know that! Besides, I'm going there whether you like it or not." decided Willow proudly, pulling her infamous resolve face.

"And you have a duty, Buffy." Added Xander. "You know, fighting the force of evil and all that."

"_And all that?_" Giles walked into the room, eyes fixed on an ancient, crumbling book, no doubt full of charming pictures of apocalyptic demon rituals. "I'm afraid that's a very casual way of describing the ultimate evils, Xander." Giles continued reading as he stumbled into a wall, adjusted his glasses, and continued into the next room.

"Anyway, it's all rubbish. Hogwarts. Harry Potter. Yada yada yada. Like he actually exists anyway...I mean, if you were like, a top secret race of magical humans, why would you write seven world famous books about your life?" Buffy ranted.

"Actually he does exist," Willow said, "I met him once last year at this magic conference thing. Kinda boring guy actually...or maybe just shy. I dunno, I guess we'll find out." She smiled. "He had really nice eyes though." Tara poked Willow's knee to point out that Willow was already taken.

Suddenly, the door burst open and a cloud of smoke filled the archway. "Oi, my eyes are the prettiest, end of." William the bloody, a.k.a Spike, entered the room, blocking out the light that had shone through the door; although his bleach-blonde hair made up for most of it.

"Hey gorgeous." He winked at Buffy, who raised her eyebrows and stuck out her tongue. "Whatever." she said. "We're off to some magic school in England. Free entry. It's kinda like a university, and they're experts in the supernatural. You wanna come?" She asked casually.

"Magic school? Supernatural? They better not do any bloody tests on me for being a vampire. And you better tell them I'm one of the good guys now. But I guess if you're all going I should come along. I'll fit right in with my jolly old accent...what's it called?" he smirked.

"Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and silly men in cloaks." Xander said.

"Hogwarts?" Spike blinked in surprise. "Hogwarts? Like, Harry Potter and Mouldy Voldy and all that?"

Buffy raised her eyebrows for the second time in a few minutes, and a tiny blush was visible beneath Spike's angular cheekbones. "I...er...I read the books. Vampire gets bored on his own in the day, okay? No blood left, can't go out, no Passions on TV..." he said defensively. Buffy laughed at him, but was secretly glad that he was so excited. Oh, and that he was actually coming. That would make the whole thing a lot more bearable. She really wasn't looking forward to months of stone corridors, rules, punishments, homework and possibly lots of supernatural creatures of the night that she wasn't permitted to kill as brutally as she liked. Hopefully Albus What-ledore would still let her patrol. Of course, if she'd known about the amazing meals, she would've looked forward to it just slightly more.


	2. Chapter 2

Buffy Anne Summers, Slayer of the Vampires, was known for her extreme strength, agility and speed...but also for her amazing comebacks. And to be honest, she was pretty sure comebacks weren't going to be tolerated at Hogwarts with the same level of patience that they had with Giles...she also thought they held the basis of her personality, and without them, nobody would find her vaguely interesting. But still, she knew she had Willow, Tara and (strangely) Spike at her side who wouldn't let her down if they could help it. So as she waited for the magicians to arrive, the back flips currently occurring relentlessly in her stomach slowed their pace down slighty. She didn't doubt that Spike could hear her heart beating faster and faster as 11.00pm approached, but he thankfully didn't mention it.

The four of them were sat on a large memorial in the nearest graveyard, unsurprisingly. They were waiting patiently for the 'escort' to arrive, simultaneously wondering just how they planned to 'appear.' The letter hadn't specified; _'an escort will appear for you at 11.00pm, American time, at the Restfield Graveyard. Be prepared.' _So there was no clues in that.

"Sooooooooo..." said Willow, breaking the unnoticed silence.

"G...Giles said we were allowed pets," Tara contributed to Willows' attempt, 'maybe...maybe we could get a cat! You know, like in college?"

Willow grinned. "Yeah! If they're allowed...I think the letter said only toads, owls and rats...it sounds so traditional, doesn't it?" she laughed, and Buffy snorted.

"Toads?" she said. "Who would want a toad?"

"I knew this guy with a perfectly reasonable toad once, actually," Spike retorted. "Spoke English an' everything. Also, you are allowed a cat, bloody Hermione Granger had one in the third book. I know these things."

That remark earnt him many a suspicious glare, and he tapped his nose wisely yet almost sarcastically, if such a thing is possible.

CRAAAAAAACK!

Suddenly, right before their four pairs of eyes, two other pairs appeared; dazzlingly bright and full of life. Attatched to the eyes were a man and a woman, both shrouded in glistening velvet cloaks. Buffy resisted the urge to comment on their strange taste in clothing.

"So bloody fashionable." Spike murmered, throwing his cigarette to the floor. _Damnit, _Buffy thought.

"Hey!" said Willow, as the two cloaked people looked at their surroundings. They finally seemed to register where they were, and they approached at once with strange intensity.

"Hello!" said the woman. "I'm Nymphadora, but please call me Tonks, I hate my name...and this is Remus Lupin. Professor Lupin to you." she grinned, gesturing to a greying, scarred yet kind looking man to the left of her. "We're here to take you back to Hogwarts! I'm guessing you're...Willow Rosenberg?" She smiled at Willow, and noticed her holding hands with the girl beside her. "And you're Tara Maclay! Great to meet you guys. Got all your stuff? Hold on with one hand, and hold on to one of my hands each...yep, that's right..."

Tara and Willow looked at eachother nervously as Tonks rambled on, giving them enthusiastic looks. Buffy and Spike stood side by side, eyes wide, not realising they had inched together slowly; both of them were equally as confounded by the fact that two wizards had just appeared, CRACK, from the middle of no-where. As Tara and Willow each took one of Tonks' hands, and held their suitcases trembling in the other, Buffy suddenly registered what was going on.

"Guys! What the hell just-" Tonks closed her eyes, and suddenly, with another CRACK, all three of them were gone. Buffy and Spike were left standing there with the so called 'Professor Lupin.'

Buffy instinctively shoved him to the floor where he lay, looking shocked. She'd expected him to get back up, so she grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the wall of the nearest crypt.

"_What...is...going...on." _She spat. Right in his face. She was angry. She wanted her friends back, back to safety. "Where...have...you...taken...them?" She asked.

"Buffy, calm down, the old man doesn't mean no harm. He's the escort. You just gotta be worried about exactly what 'escorting' means in their wacky world..." Spike put a hand on her shoulder and she instantly calmed, and then flinched from his touch. He withdrew his hand straight away, and she let go of poor Professor Lupin, who fell to the floor.

"God, I thought you were going to beat me up then." He said in his ripe English accent.

"Oi mate! You guys were English! High five!" Spike grinned. Lupin smiled and nodded hurriedly, and then looked around as if expecting another attack. He spotted Buffy, ready to pounce again if she needed to, ready to interrogate harshly if it was necessary.

"Sorry, sorry, for being so unclear. Your friends just apparated to Hogwarts; they'll be there right now, for sure. It's okay, I promise. We must be going, really, if you'll just each take a hand..."

"You gotta be bloody kidding me, you're a werewolf!" Spike retorted. "I've read the books," he added, "and I know this stuff. And what apparating is. It's fine, Buffy. Except this guy..."

"Oz was a werewolf," Buffy said.

"Oh...oh yeah, I guess."

So, not dropping her guard but following the instructions, Buffy took one of Lupins' sticky hands and held her luggage in the other. She looked at Spike nervously, who was doing the same, and then held her bags on her arm and grabbed Spike's other hand so that they formed a circle. He looked surprised, but then squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Ready?" Lupin looked tired. Buffy and Spike nodded, eyes closed. Just as they were leaving, and the strange tight sensation entered their bodies, Buffy whispered in Spike's ear, "Don't let go..."


	3. Chapter 3

Just so you know, these are kind of set at no particular point: all characters are in it, Spike and Faith are good, nobody from Harry Potter who dies is dead, and the same with Buffy. Riley's a thing of the past but Buffy still thinks of Angel...it's just kind of like, an idealistic time period :)

Buffy and Spike landed in a tangled mess on the cold concrete floor.

"Jeez," Buffy gasped, picking herself up, "couldn't you have chosen somewhere more...comfortable?" Lupin, however, was standing calmly looking at his scarred watch.

"Where are we, then?" Spike asked, his eyes widening as he looked up and blinked at his surroundings. They were in a deserted car park, with faded lines and split bins.

"Muggle car park." Lupin replied. "Can't apparate straight into Hogwarts, security regulations. We're in the nearest empty muggle spot. We'll walk to the local magic pub, and travel into Professor Dumbledore's office using the floo network."

"...you what?" Buffy asked, completely oblivious to what on earth Lupin was saying.

"Basically, love, we'll go grab a pint and then jump in some hocus-pocus fire to get there. Clear?" Spike replied.

"...er..."

"We don't have time, come on, Dumbledore's waiting."

The three of them set off, Buffy and Spike still both amazed that they had gone halfway across the world in a few seconds. Her thoughts were mainly set on her surroundings, and remaining inconspicuous, when suddenly she realised how closely she was walking next to Spike. Their hands were repeatedly brushing each other, and every time they did she felt him flinch away just as fast as she did. She focused on walking straight forward, and it took a lot of unfair self control to stop herself from grabbing his conveniently placed hand. Her own emotions confused her; didn't she hate Spike? Where was that burning suspicion that he was secretly against her? Why was her heart beating so fast over a man – well, not even that – who had tried to _kill _her? Then she realised he was right. He'd always said she couldn't live without a bit of bad in her man, a bit of evil, that something that just put him on the edge...and that was exactly what Spike had. A bit of your regular, casual evil. She felt guilty for needing that.

"This is it." Lupin interrupted her thought train, and she was tempted to slap him for it metaphorically with a neat remark, but she bit her tongue to stop herself, remembering that she didn't really know him well enough for that yet. Suddenly she wondered if there were any kind of spells that automatically prevented words that she'd barely thought from escaping her mouth...

"There's a tongue tying curse, that might do it," Spike said, chewing his lip suggestively. Buffy raised her eyebrows. "How did you..." she asked.

"Saw you clamping your mouth shut. Forcing yourself to keep the words inside you. Wise move." he smiled knowledgeably.

"You know too much." she teased, shaking her head.

Lupin led them through a door that Buffy was sure hadn't been there a few moments ago, but she didn't question it for once. They were in a dusty, under populated pub, with only the bartender and one drowsy looking old man disintegrating into the corner.

"Eh, is this like the Leaky Cauldron?" Spike asked, interrupting the deliberate silence.

"Shhhhhh." croaked the old man in the corner. "I'm contemplating..." he buried his face in his knuckles and retreated into the darkness.

Spike looked affronted, but silenced. Lupin gestured to them and they hurried over to the dilapidated fireplace. Spike wondered if it was going to survive the floo procedure...

"Right," Lupin whispered. "Buffy, you go first. Take a handful of power, step into the fireplace...stoop if you have to, and say very clearly 'Professor Dumbledore's office.' and then drop the powder. Make sure you say the words _very clearly. _We had a situation once where-"

"Old' Harry boy said diagonally instead of Diagon Alley. Didn't get him anywhere he wanted to be..."

"Exactly." Lupin said. "Come on then."

Buffy stepped forward; her head was full of nervous thoughts, but on the outside she showed no signs of fear. She took a handful of powder from a musty pot on the mantelpiece, and stooped slightly to fit in the fireplace. She closed her eyes tight, and spoke very clearly: "Professor Dumbledore's office." She dropped the powder as instructed, and just as she felt herself being sucked into the abyss of chimneys, she opened her eyes, and she caught Spike's fixed onto her, torn in some kind of overwhelming emotion...it confused her, but she had more to think about as she lost her breath in the rush of scenes that went past. Darkness, rooms, more darkness, the airlessness and the soot...this was a bad route...darkness, and finally she tumbled out onto a wooden floor, and looked up into the kind, withering face of Albus Dumbledore.


	4. Chapter 4

(In this scenario, Willow did turn evil because of Tara's death, but Tara who watched from heaven knew the only way to save Willow and the world was to somehow bring herself back to life. With the help of Osiris and many other dark forces, she was successful, and together her and Xander persuaded Willow just in time.)

Spike, still leaning conspicuously against the fireplace in the lifeless pub, thought about the look he'd just seen in Buffy's eyes; could it count as longing? Could it even count as _anything? _A part of him hoped it was want, it was need...and then he caught himself thinking about her, and mentally slapped himself. What was he doing? She was the _slayer. _She killed his kind. And there was no way she would ever feel anything for him. Was there? Did she?

"Come on, it should be clear now." Lupin broke the silence that had been quickly gathering dust. Startled, Spike took a handful of powder, announced his destination, and disappeared into a whirl of unnatural emerald flames.

Lupin waited patiently, wiling away the minutes thinking about Tonks and Teddy; what they would be doing next weekend, whether to buy Teddy his first box of puking pastilles or his first toy broomstick for Christmas...these sort of things were the subjects that mostly filled his busy brain. Ducking into the fireplace, he too was sucked into the darkness, but for him the ordeal was simply normal. He stepped calmly and cleanly out of the fireplace when he reached Dumbledore's, and observed Buffy and Spike standing bewildered, covered in soot. He could see the laugh twinkling in Dumbledore's piercing eyes, and managed to stifle his own. The two witches also stood a few feet away, hands twitching nervously.

"Alas, we are together at last. There are many things to discuss." Dumbledore smiled. "You, the Slayer, and you...the vampire of all the vampires...with a soul! And Willow, the witch who went bad...and Tara, who did all she could to return and revive her. It truly is a miraculous thing." He looked from one to the other, not judging, but seeing more than most people ever saw in either of them. She wasn't just Buffy, the 'vulnerable', mouthy blonde, and he wasn't just a good looking guy in a leather jacket. They both held beneath them a tangled web of emotions and memories, and a maturity that would never usually be visible to the eye.

"Yes, it's very nice to meet all of you. Yes." Dumbledore trailed off, evidently lost in his thoughts. Buffy recalled the time when she first met Riley, and she's knocked some psychology books on to his head and he'd said it was nice to meet her: and stupidly, she'd replied with a dumb smile, 'I'm nice to meet.' Allowing time for her head to fill with more reasonable replies, she simply said, "You too."

"So," Spike said, "first things first. What exactly are we gonna be...doing around here?"

"Well, as you know, all three of you are over the age limit for attending Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, this does not render you useless, if my opinion remains valid." Dumbledoor surveyed Lupin over his half-moon spectacles, sharing an inside joke of some sort. Spike had read about the villain of this school, Severus Snape, and wondered if he opposed to the Slayer, the Vampire and the two witches joining in the 'frivolous fun' that was to be had. "Therefore, we believe that you may join the school as...well, as assistants, in a sense. You may live in a sort of school limbo style, where you may attend lessons as you please, either in the role of student or advisor. You may sit in the great hall with us, the teachers, but you may sleep in dormitories as well as your allocated rooms. You will, interestingly, have to be sorted before anything can be officially decided."

"Sorted?" Willow asked, trembling.

"Don't worry yourself, Red, it won't hurt a bit. It'll test your morals real good though...this is gonna be interesting." Spike said, unhelpfully. Tara squeezed Willow's hand by way of encouragement, and Willow grimaced in a brave sort of way.

"Now, if you could follow Lupin downstairs, he will lead you to McGonagall who will take you to the hall to be sorted. It's a little late for the usual sortings, and the students may be a little...excited. Good luck!"

Lupin gestured to them to exit, and they filed awkwardly out of the stone archway, feeling large and clumsy as though they were at Sunnydale High but were much too big. Buffy hoped it wasn't going to be a re-run of her high school days, because that was certainly how she felt.

They reached a spiralling stone staircase and walked down carefully – well, Spike more sort of sauntered down, in the same way that he sauntered casually through the rest of the echoing corridors. _Keeping his cool, _Willow thought. She also thought that it really wasn't working.

Buffy, however, was marvelling at the fact that he managed such a cool walk whilst being such a loser. She loved the way he walked. Like he was constantly the predator.

They reached an important-looking doorway, where there was an even more important looking lady waiting for them. She had a sharp accent to match her sharp eyes; it was obvious she wouldn't miss a trick.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen, I am Minerva McGonagall. There is no time for sweet meetings; we must continue to the sorting immediately. Once the hat chooses a place for you, you must find yourself a seat on the allocated table. Let us continue."

A flick of her wrist and the doors heaved themselves open to reveal a chattering, robe-clad crowd of students who all fell silent upon the entry of the four outsiders. Spike instantly scanned the room for the legendary Harry Potter, but could not find him. Dismayed, he tried to figure out which teacher was which, and found himself doing rather well.

The four of them were led self-conciously to the front of the hall, where a disgusting, filthy man pulled a ragged old stool on to a raised stage. On the stool was positioned a leathery old hat; Willow's head was filled with insane torture rituals that involved hats and she tried miserably to push them away.

McGonagall stood on the stage, and the four of them waited below.

"Students, please welcome our guests with your cheeriest hello."

There was a pause, and then two identical voices began to belt out;

"_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts  
Teach us something please,  
Whether we be old and bald,  
Or young with scabby knees  
Our heads could do with filling,  
With some interesting stuff,  
For now they're bare and full of air,  
Dead flies and bits of fluff,  
So teach us things worth knowing,  
Bring back what we've forgot,  
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,  
And learn until our brains all rot."_

By the end, the rest of the students had joined in, until Buffy, Willow, Tara and Spike were laughing comfortably. They really felt welcome, surprisingly; more so than they had ever done at Sunnydale High.

"Let the sorting of the four commence." McGonagall smiled, warmed by the singing voices.

"Maclay, Tara." She read out. "Come forward please."

Tara stepped uncomfortably up to the platform, unsure of what to do. McGonagall instructed her to sit on the stool, and place the hat on her head. She did so, and sat for a second waiting.

"WITCH! I can smell you a mile away. Thousands in this school, but you..._you..._you have power. But your witchy little friend has power too, yes? Stinks, stinks right through my tip...loyalty. You are true to your kind, true to your kin...and love, so much love! Tainted by pain...by humiliation...by rejection. Memories still etched in your mind...forever...yet _so very loyal. _There's only one choice for you, isn't there...I think we all know it...Gryffindor!"

Tara, having no idea what this meant, grinned at her friends awkwardly and sat down to the table cheering her with red and golden Lion flags waving busily above her. All the Gryffindor's smiled encouragingly, and she relaxed slightly. The nerves she felt remained only for her shyness, and the thought that Willow might not be sorted the same as her...

"Rosenberg, Willow." was the next name read out. Willow dragged herself reluctantly up to the stool, and went overly red under the eyes of hundreds of inquisitive students. She yanked the hat on, almost over her eyes...

"Another one. A strong one. With power...don't block me out! You can't stop me, I'm in your mind...you've had trouble, you've _been _trouble...confusion, child, so much confusion. What do you want, eh? Yet what do you need? A lot of control, yes, so much control forced upon you...and fear of loss...but again, _loyalty. _Rather you than any of your friends. Sacrifices are difficult, that much is true...and in your heart is love, too. You're a strong little one, aren't you...angry at some...loving to others...pleasantly warm...such a _strong witch..._but you're pulled towards your witchy friend, I feel it...well, if that's how you feel...Gryffindor!"

Willow was incredibly relieved. She had no idea what Gryffindor really meant, but Tara was there, so she would survive.

"Next...William Pratt? Also known as Spike...?" McGonagall said, sceptically. Spike winked at Buffy as he left her to be sorted, and she shivered involuntarily and then realised she still couldn't remember competely Albus What-ledore's name.

Spike pulled the hat down over his short white hair and looked up at it, trying to disguise the fear in his eyes with scorn. Buffy could see right through it.

"You! What creature is this?" it screeched. McGonagall jumped over to it, yanked it off his head and smothered its mouth, throwing it quickly into a back room. "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen," she said loudly, "please wait a few minutes. We have some...technical problems." she lowered her cutting voice, and said casually to Buffy and Spike, "you two, follow me." They did so, exchanging nervous glances, Buffy's mind dancing as she looked into his eyes.

They walked through the door behind the teacher's table, which shut swiftly after them. Buffy suddenly became much more aware that there was no way out, and tensed herself for pouncing if it was necessary.

"Now," McGonagall said, "it's a sad fact, William, that we simply can't have the students knowing of your true nature. Please don't be offended; Lupin himself is a werewolf, but hardly any of the students know. There would just be too many complaints if we were to be housing a vampire, no matter how soulful he is said to be. As a result of this, the sorting will have to be performed back here." She passed the hat to Spike, who nodded in acceptance, and pulled it on once more.

"As I was saying, before I was _so rudely _interrupted..." the hat twisted its way to where McGonagall was standing, wringing her hands impatiently, " what creature _are _you? A vampire, that I know, but your soul is simply burning with passion, with emotion. Oh, you've done some bad things in your time...some mean things...so many desperate faces...but you're not responsible, are you not? You still take the guilt...so much guilt..._everlasting...immortality..._repent, you have...tried to make it better...stuck to your friends...loyalty, but for love. Love, love is strong," (At this point, Spike's pale cheeks burned unusually red) "and your will for doing good is also. You have bravery, much bravery...or is it stupidity?" the hat laughed. "Ignorance or courage? You've read about me, I see...got me sussed...know where you want to be. Would've been Slytherin, eh? Teaching your lookalike Mr Malfoy your dirty tricks? Not anymore...not the Spike with a _soul..._where do you want to be, big bad?..." there was a pause. "In that case, it's for the best...Gryffindor it is!"

Spike whipped the hat off faster than is humanly possible (conveniently, considering his inhumanity) and grinned childishly. "Gryffindor!" he said. "I'm a Gryffindor!" Buffy could see the guilt draining away in his eyes just a tiny, tiny bit, because in a sense he had been slightly forgiven for some of his sins. He was worthy of Gryffindor. It made him happier than he'd ever admit, and she was happy to know that. She felt the overwhelming urge to hug him – and so she did. _God, he's tall, _she thought as she did. It was warm and comfortable, and then she stepped away awkwardly, and returned to normal, sensible Buffy. If there ever was one.

"Finally, Miss Summers, I believe it's your turn." Buffy took the hat, and placed it gently on. She wasn't afraid of it; she was just afraid of what it would give away.

"Ah! I've been looking forward to this." it breathed. "The Slayer, the Chosen One, the Good Guy. Done a lot for the world, haven't you...modesty, regret, unsatisfied. No recognition. So very happy with your friends...comfortable...warm...sadness at the loss. The Slayers lost, your mother lost, your friends lost. So much sadness. So very unhappy...yet so very optimistic...and again, the loyalty! Running theme with you all...never let them down, put them first, do what you can, sacrifice it all. And oh, _the sacrifices. _So painful. The guilt, the killings, the _sacrifices. _The dilemmas, the lack of purpose, are you an evil being? Questions...so many questions...and the love is so strong. The devotion. Fear, once again, of humiliation...the darkness you desire, the edge...the something...you've been let down, torn down, pushed down. Clamber back up. Deep mind, such a deep mind...clever eh, Buffy...strong, stronger than you thought, but not invincible...fear of leaving them behind...you're a confusing one. But I haven't got a choice, have I? I g'et seconds to read your complex mind, but it's pointless, because you're going where your friends are...and I'd put you there anyway, your bravery is simply intense...you know what I'm saying, Summers. Gryffindor!"

Buffy jumped up, crazily glad and lucky that she was staying with the four people she loved. She smiled. "That was the most confusing hat I've ever worn." she said to Spike, as they were led back into the fidgeting hall.


End file.
