Fic: Unexpected Guest (3/7)
Title: Unexpected Guest, Ch. 03: Early Morning.
Author: 3am_moonlight
Crossover: BtVS / Harry Potter (JKR)
Rating: Gen / Teen.
Word Count: 1,336 (chapter) / 10,237 (complete).
Timeline: BtVS: S05's The Gift and book 5 (the Order of the Phoenix) of HP.
Disclaimer: The Buffyverse belongs to Joss and the Harry Potter 'verse belongs to JKR.
Summary: Dumbledore comes by the hospital wing, attempt to get Buffy to explain the portal.
Author's Note: Written for the August FaD, Day 18.
The next time Buffy opened her eyes the sunrise had begun and she was alone in the hospital wing again. After listening carefully for a few minutes she deemed herself to be alone except for another person who was unconscious on another bed. There was a privacy curtain around his bed so he was blocked from her curious gaze.
As she'd been checking on her surroundings she had also been doing a personal examination of herself and came to the conclusion that whatever had caused the dizziness, aches, and random bouts of unconsciousness had been healed during the last day and a half. Or, at least, she thought it had been a day and a half. She would need to ask someone to be certain and make sure she hadn't lost another day.
The examination had also revealed someone had removed her clothes and put her in an old-fashioned hospital gown, much to both her amusement and annoyance. The thing was frilly and kind of stiff and very much not from this century. When she swung her feet down to the floor she realized she was barefoot. When someone came around to check on her or the other patient, she needed to ask to get her own clothes back, because she was so not wearing clothes that went out of fashion centuries ago.
Buffy had taken a walk over to the window and was looking out towards a dark lake when the sound of a woman's footsteps came from the adjoining room. Right before, the sound of a door opening and closing softly had been followed by low, inaudible mumbling. Somehow Buffy was certain the annoyed mumbling was aimed at her, and specifically because she was out of bed, but it didn't make her go back. Her injuries or whatever it had been had finished healing and there was no harm done. Laying in bed wouldn't help.
"Miss Summers!" The woman's voice was pitched low but she had done nothing to hide her disapproval of Buffy's actions. "Why are you out of bed?"
"I'm fine now and I'm wide awake." She smiled at the other woman, "Is there an exercise room or something I can use? All that time in bed has made me really restless."
That was clearly the wrong thing to say because what followed was a very stern talking to which ended with Buffy back in her hospital bed and pouting. Meanwhile, Madam Pomfrey, as she'd introduced herself, went back to her office to 'floo', whatever that was, the headmaster and inform him of her patient's apparent improved condition.
No amount of convincing arguments could sway the magical nurse, so Buffy decided to be a good girl and followed the direct order. Getting back under the covers made her feel ridiculous, but she snuggled back into them and began waiting for the old bearded Merlin wannabe. To her surprise, Pomfrey didn't pick up a phone or walk to the man's office or bedroom, instead, she said 'incendio' and suddenly she heard the sound of crackling fire from the other room. Then she threw something into the flames and said 'Dumbledore's office' and right after there was the sound of footsteps, and suddenly there was nothing.
Five minutes passed where Buffy sat confused in her very white hospital bed and then she heard the flames roar up again followed by first Pomfrey's steps and then Bumbledore's. Could these people travel through flames or maybe fireplaces? If they could, it was kinda of the awesome.
After they had gotten the formal greetings out of the way, the old man dismissed the school nurse and she disappeared behind her office door with a terse expression on her face and a warning not to stay long.
Bumblebore smiled at her and sat down on the bed opposite hers. She decided she wanted answers of her own, and since she hadn't been able to ask Pomfrey she asked the head of this strange school. "Do you know what happened to my clothes? This antiquated thing is really uncomfortable." Then she suddenly realized what she'd said and a light blush covered her cheeks. "Um, no offense, Mr. Bumblebore."
His lips twitched a little behind his long beard before he replied, "I'm afraid not, Miss Summers. However, I will inquire with Madam Pomfrey after we've spoken. And my name is Dumbledore, not Bumblebore."
"Sorry," Buffy apologized, "I'm really bad with names."
"It's quite all right, my dear. You've had an eventful few days." Then he changed tactics. "Perhaps you could tell me what happened before you arrived in the Great Hall in the middle of dinner?" He looked her directly in the eyes as he spoke and she felt something brush at the edges of her mind. Kind of like something Tara had tried once, but this wasn't as gently or friendly.
The change of topic, though expected, threw her a little. "It's, um... Complicated." These people were magical, but she was still supposed to be secret identity girl. Traveling across the world or to a (hell) dimension didn't change that.
Dumbledore changed his smile to a grandfatherly one and she felt something was off. The brush against her mind had come back as she spoke, more gentle this time but still insistent. What was he doing, or trying to do?
"I assure you, Miss Summers, I have experienced a great many things in my life and I am quite sure you can make me understand what happened. Perhaps I might even be able to send you home if you explain how the portal was made."
In her mind, Buffy heard herself tell her sister, 'It's Summers blood. It's just like mine', and she gave the old man a sad smile as Dawn's terrified face flashed before her eyes the way she'd looked when Buffy told her she, Buffy, had to jump to save the world. "You can't recreate it. It isn't possible, not anymore. And even if you were capable I wouldn't allow you to do it."
He frowned at her certainty, but there was no way for him to know about the Key and Glory tearing down the walls between all the dimensions just so she could go home. As the principal of this school, he needed to be knowledgeable, but this was extremely rare historical information and the secrecy had been very closely maintained by the monks. Sharing it wouldn't help, neither would opening the portal since she had no guarantee it would bring her back to Sunnydale and her sister.
"You won't allow me?" His voice had lost some of its friendly tones.
"Some things are not meant to be shared, especially with people I've only just met." Keeping secrets was not her strong point, but this was something she was unwilling to share with anyone. Across from her, Dumbledore nodded sagely, but there were still traces of the frown from earlier. As if he'd expected something to happen but it didn't.
In an attempt to move the conversation forward, she asked. "Could you tell me something about this school? What do you teach here? I didn't know magical schools were real." For some reason, he chose to go along with her distraction and spent the next ten minutes explaining the Four Houses, the core subjects the school taught, and a few basics about the community in general. He was almost done explaining wands and how they worked when suddenly the door to the infirmary slammed open making both of them startle. When they turned they saw the toad-looking woman and a pompous looking man striding in like they owned the place.
Dumbledore got up as soon as he saw them and if Buffy had been wearing proper clothes she would've done the same. Umbridge looked much too smug for Buffy's comfort and the strange man, who was followed closely by a couple of men in blue robes, was carrying what looked like some kind of official paperwork.
This did not look good. At all. Shoot.
Author: 3am_moonlight
Crossover: BtVS / Harry Potter (JKR)
Rating: Gen / Teen.
Word Count: 1,336 (chapter) / 10,237 (complete).
Timeline: BtVS: S05's The Gift and book 5 (the Order of the Phoenix) of HP.
Disclaimer: The Buffyverse belongs to Joss and the Harry Potter 'verse belongs to JKR.
Summary: Dumbledore comes by the hospital wing, attempt to get Buffy to explain the portal.
Author's Note: Written for the August FaD, Day 18.
The next time Buffy opened her eyes the sunrise had begun and she was alone in the hospital wing again. After listening carefully for a few minutes she deemed herself to be alone except for another person who was unconscious on another bed. There was a privacy curtain around his bed so he was blocked from her curious gaze.
As she'd been checking on her surroundings she had also been doing a personal examination of herself and came to the conclusion that whatever had caused the dizziness, aches, and random bouts of unconsciousness had been healed during the last day and a half. Or, at least, she thought it had been a day and a half. She would need to ask someone to be certain and make sure she hadn't lost another day.
The examination had also revealed someone had removed her clothes and put her in an old-fashioned hospital gown, much to both her amusement and annoyance. The thing was frilly and kind of stiff and very much not from this century. When she swung her feet down to the floor she realized she was barefoot. When someone came around to check on her or the other patient, she needed to ask to get her own clothes back, because she was so not wearing clothes that went out of fashion centuries ago.
Buffy had taken a walk over to the window and was looking out towards a dark lake when the sound of a woman's footsteps came from the adjoining room. Right before, the sound of a door opening and closing softly had been followed by low, inaudible mumbling. Somehow Buffy was certain the annoyed mumbling was aimed at her, and specifically because she was out of bed, but it didn't make her go back. Her injuries or whatever it had been had finished healing and there was no harm done. Laying in bed wouldn't help.
"Miss Summers!" The woman's voice was pitched low but she had done nothing to hide her disapproval of Buffy's actions. "Why are you out of bed?"
"I'm fine now and I'm wide awake." She smiled at the other woman, "Is there an exercise room or something I can use? All that time in bed has made me really restless."
That was clearly the wrong thing to say because what followed was a very stern talking to which ended with Buffy back in her hospital bed and pouting. Meanwhile, Madam Pomfrey, as she'd introduced herself, went back to her office to 'floo', whatever that was, the headmaster and inform him of her patient's apparent improved condition.
No amount of convincing arguments could sway the magical nurse, so Buffy decided to be a good girl and followed the direct order. Getting back under the covers made her feel ridiculous, but she snuggled back into them and began waiting for the old bearded Merlin wannabe. To her surprise, Pomfrey didn't pick up a phone or walk to the man's office or bedroom, instead, she said 'incendio' and suddenly she heard the sound of crackling fire from the other room. Then she threw something into the flames and said 'Dumbledore's office' and right after there was the sound of footsteps, and suddenly there was nothing.
Five minutes passed where Buffy sat confused in her very white hospital bed and then she heard the flames roar up again followed by first Pomfrey's steps and then Bumbledore's. Could these people travel through flames or maybe fireplaces? If they could, it was kinda of the awesome.
After they had gotten the formal greetings out of the way, the old man dismissed the school nurse and she disappeared behind her office door with a terse expression on her face and a warning not to stay long.
Bumblebore smiled at her and sat down on the bed opposite hers. She decided she wanted answers of her own, and since she hadn't been able to ask Pomfrey she asked the head of this strange school. "Do you know what happened to my clothes? This antiquated thing is really uncomfortable." Then she suddenly realized what she'd said and a light blush covered her cheeks. "Um, no offense, Mr. Bumblebore."
His lips twitched a little behind his long beard before he replied, "I'm afraid not, Miss Summers. However, I will inquire with Madam Pomfrey after we've spoken. And my name is Dumbledore, not Bumblebore."
"Sorry," Buffy apologized, "I'm really bad with names."
"It's quite all right, my dear. You've had an eventful few days." Then he changed tactics. "Perhaps you could tell me what happened before you arrived in the Great Hall in the middle of dinner?" He looked her directly in the eyes as he spoke and she felt something brush at the edges of her mind. Kind of like something Tara had tried once, but this wasn't as gently or friendly.
The change of topic, though expected, threw her a little. "It's, um... Complicated." These people were magical, but she was still supposed to be secret identity girl. Traveling across the world or to a (hell) dimension didn't change that.
Dumbledore changed his smile to a grandfatherly one and she felt something was off. The brush against her mind had come back as she spoke, more gentle this time but still insistent. What was he doing, or trying to do?
"I assure you, Miss Summers, I have experienced a great many things in my life and I am quite sure you can make me understand what happened. Perhaps I might even be able to send you home if you explain how the portal was made."
In her mind, Buffy heard herself tell her sister, 'It's Summers blood. It's just like mine', and she gave the old man a sad smile as Dawn's terrified face flashed before her eyes the way she'd looked when Buffy told her she, Buffy, had to jump to save the world. "You can't recreate it. It isn't possible, not anymore. And even if you were capable I wouldn't allow you to do it."
He frowned at her certainty, but there was no way for him to know about the Key and Glory tearing down the walls between all the dimensions just so she could go home. As the principal of this school, he needed to be knowledgeable, but this was extremely rare historical information and the secrecy had been very closely maintained by the monks. Sharing it wouldn't help, neither would opening the portal since she had no guarantee it would bring her back to Sunnydale and her sister.
"You won't allow me?" His voice had lost some of its friendly tones.
"Some things are not meant to be shared, especially with people I've only just met." Keeping secrets was not her strong point, but this was something she was unwilling to share with anyone. Across from her, Dumbledore nodded sagely, but there were still traces of the frown from earlier. As if he'd expected something to happen but it didn't.
In an attempt to move the conversation forward, she asked. "Could you tell me something about this school? What do you teach here? I didn't know magical schools were real." For some reason, he chose to go along with her distraction and spent the next ten minutes explaining the Four Houses, the core subjects the school taught, and a few basics about the community in general. He was almost done explaining wands and how they worked when suddenly the door to the infirmary slammed open making both of them startle. When they turned they saw the toad-looking woman and a pompous looking man striding in like they owned the place.
Dumbledore got up as soon as he saw them and if Buffy had been wearing proper clothes she would've done the same. Umbridge looked much too smug for Buffy's comfort and the strange man, who was followed closely by a couple of men in blue robes, was carrying what looked like some kind of official paperwork.
This did not look good. At all. Shoot.