This story begins a bit after “Purging the Darkness” ends. If you are just now finding this series, you should start with “Homecoming”.
Disclaimer: I do not own BTVS or Harry Potter. None of these characters are mine.
******A Week Later******
Cordelia had enjoyed her week staying with Buffy and Dawn in their huge mansion. She found their brother Draco snarky and amusing. Draco was quickly infatuated with her—it was sweet. Buffy kept her word and took her shopping in London. The girls had a blast. It was so nice see to see Buffy young and carefree. Cordelia wasn't sure how she managed it with having died and come back to life. All the tense history between them seemed very insignificant.
Now she was at the school with the ridiculous name. The place was such a trip. Anytime she walked up a stairway, it moved. How insane was that? What architect that it was a good idea to make stairs move on the students?
She shared her opinion with their headmaster, who just smiled and offered her a lemon drop.
Then there was the set of armor that never seemed to stay an empty set of armor. When she had her first encounter with it, she was walking next to Buffy and her godfather, Severus. She paused to look at them, but Buffy didn't notice as she was telling a story about Willow's ghost healing.
"Is this authentic?" she asked Severus.
"Of course," he said, trying to pretend he didn't find her ravishing with the regrown hair and vitality she displayed.
Cordelia was assessing it when it moved. She didn't expect it even though she really should have. Her very girly reaction embarrassed her greatly.
"Ahh!" she yelled and grabbed a hold of Severus. "What the hell?"
Buffy turned, noticing she was gone, and laughed hysterically. "Did the haunted armor scare you? I'm shocked! A child of the hellmouth shouldn't be so jumpy!" she teased.
"This place is insane! Moving staircases is bad enough!" Cordelia complained, still holding onto Severus' arm.
Severus wasn't sure what to do. Beautiful women were never so quick to touch him, and he found the experience quite novel but not unpleasant.
Buffy, however, saved him from further awkwardness. "Cor, do you think you can let go of my godfather?" she asked, grinning at her old friend.
"Oh, sorry!" Cordelia said, jumping away.
"It's fine," he said. He so needed to get away from the woman, who was putting strange ideas in his head.
"I'll catch you later, Cor. I gotta get to Transfigurations and see what new thing I can turn into what!" she said with an excited smile. Cordelia waved and watched her practically skip down the hall.
"You wouldn't happen to need any help in your class? I'm feeling useless and bored," Cordelia said.
"I would think that Lucius or Sybil, our divination teacher, would love to have someone with your experience help them," he said. "Potions is a bit more delicate."
"It's mixing ingredients, right? I got an A in chemistry in high school. Willow was flashier with her brains, but I had a 4.0 also," Cordelia said. "I didn't go to college only because my parents lost all their money and stole my trust fund before fleeing the country, hiding from the IRS and police."
"That is unfortunate," Severus said.
"I did offer my help to Sybil, but she was a bit sanctimonious for my taste," Cordelia said. "As I don't know anything about reading the stars or tea leaves, she didn't seem interested in what I could offer."
"Sybil is occasionally touched with the sight in the form of prophecies," Severus said. "However, it is rare. One such as you have never been at Hogwarts."
"Lucius did say that I could come to one of his classes soon," Cordelia said.
"Well, you may sit in on my class if you'd like," Severus said. "Did you want to see if you could acquire a wand?"
She shrugged. "Do I really need one? I have my own powers that work fine, and I know how to use a sword," she said.
Severus chuckled. "That you do," he said as he had seen her ability to hack a monster.
He led her to his dungeon, assumed she'd find the dark and cold place creepy. However, she was more like his goddaughter than he realized. "I bet the students love being terrified by you," she said with a grin. "Your room is actually in a dungeon!"
"That doesn't bother you?" he asked, surprised.
Cordelia shrugged. "My best friend is a vampire that lives in a basement. He likes art and books and ancient weaponry, so he's got more pictures. If you wanted to spruce up the place and keep with the whole creepy vibe, go with blood red," she suggested.
"I will keep that in mind," he said, gracing her with a small smile. No one had ever shown him such immediate approval outside of his goddaughter, but she was his family. Cordelia’s response really surprised and pleased him.
"So have you ever been to America?" Cordelia asked.
"I have not," he said.
"You'd fit right in Los Angeles," she said.
"I doubt that," he replied grimly. He didn't fit anywhere really.
"Oh, sure you would," she said. "There's lots of Goths in L.A. That's what they'd assume you were. You'd have to lose the robe, though, as the temperature is too warm for them."
Severus looked surprised but said nothing. Instead, he gave her a cauldron and went over the most basic spell for first years that didn't require any magic to see how she could do.
It was good to see that she wasn't exaggerating. She could definitely follow directions. "You know I can't get Buffy to do the most basic of potions such as this one," he said. "She always manages to mess it up in some way."
"Yea, Buffy wasn't much for research," Cordelia said, smiling. "Action girl."
"So she says every day," he said. "This is a Will or Giles thing, she says."
"I can totally hear that," she said. "However, I was also there, and then I did research for Angel's detective agency."
Severus liked to learn about her life. It seemed her life was devoted only to daily fighting of dark creatures.
"We help the helpless," she explained.
"I suppose that is commendable," he said diplomatically.
Cordelia grinned and continued with the mixing. When she was done, Severus told her that it was perfect.
"There you are," Buffy said as she came in to see what they were doing. "I was looking for you."
"Class is over already? Severus is showing me how potions work," Cordelia said. "I was very bored."
"You must be to be doing that," Buffy said, giving her godfather a cheeky smile.
"Not everyone has your disdain for my profession," Severus said.
"I don't disdain you, Uncle. I just don't find potions interesting," Buffy said.
"It's kind of cool. They use potions in place of medicine," Cordelia said. "They even have a potion to replenish blood loss. Isn't that cool?"
"Well, I suppose," Buffy said with a shrug.
"You should take your friend to Diagon Alley and get her a wand," he said
"Can you use one?" Buffy asked. She handed her the wand she kept in her back pocket.
"I have my own power," Cordelia said. She looked down at the piece of wood with a grimace. "But I'm still having to wave your magic stick."
Severus bristled at the irreverence but said nothing. He wasn't surprised that the wand reacted to her as she had shown herself to be powerful and was raised on the hellmouth.
"There you go. We can go get my dad to take us shopping," Buffy said eagerly. "Maybe he'll take us the store with the awesome shiny stuff and get you a sword. Or we can pick out matching daggers for Xander and Anya's wedding."
Severus chuckled. "You just want an excuse to go back to that store," he said.
"Well, yeah," Buffy said. She grabbed Cordelia's hand and pulled her along.
"Are you going to come with us?" Cordelia asked.
Although Severus would love to spend more time with her, he knew that it was foolish to keep doing so. "I have a class coming in soon," he said.
"Okay. We'll come see you when we get back," she said.
Lucius was happy to cancel his last class of first years to take his sweet girl wherever he wanted to go. He had missed a decade of shopping for her and loved to make her smile. Naturally, her friend was as excited to look at sharp objects as she was when they arrived at the ancient weapons store.
"Isn't it beautiful, Dad?" Buffy said, holding up a long sword.
"Didn't you already buy a sword the last time?" he said.
"Well, yes, but this one is for Cordelia. She can't visit another Earth without a nifty souvenir," Buffy said with a grin. "Then we need to pick out his and her daggers for Anya and Xander."
"Over there," Cordelia said, pointing.
"How did you learn swordplay?" Lucius asked her.
"Angel taught me," she said.
"He's the vampire who taught you, right?" Lucius asked.
Buffy nodded. "Yeha," she said.
"Angel said I'm a natural," Cordelia said.
"Oh, we can totally go to Dad's class, and you can show me your moves," Buffy said. "I got this really nifty sword the last time we were here."
Cordelia nodded, eager to do something. "Hey, look, they have these cool scabbards to hold the swords in," she said.
"I totally didn't see those the last time 'cause Draco and I got distracted with the bows," Buffy said.
"With your height disadvantage, you'd want one to go across your back," she said.
"Hey, no short digs. I don't know why they didn't make me taller when they brought me here. It's totally not fair. Dawn's tall. My mom is also," Buffy complained.
"You are perfect the way you are," Lucius said. "You may look like a delicate little flower, but you are as deadly as a viper."
Buffy smiled. "Dad gives the best compliments," she said.
"My dad did, too. Too bad he ran off," she said.
"You don't ever hear from them?" Buffy asked.
She shook her head. "No," she said. "I left Sunnydale, and it wasn't like I could give them a forwarding address or anything. I'm assuming they're okay, or I probably would've heard."
"That sucks," Buffy said.
After their purchases, they went to get Cordelia a wand, which took no time at all.
"Hey, I can't believe you found one so soon," Buffy said.
It was a ten-inch oak with a dragon core. "It's very strange," Cordelia said in bemusement.
"Well, you were always such a witch, no one will be surprised," Buffy said with a smirk.
"Ha ha," Cordelia said, rolling her eyes.
When they got back to school, Buffy took them first to Willow and showed off the new hardware.
"I didn't know you knew swords," Willow said.
"Yes, Angel taught me," Cordelia said.
"You don't share their love for swords," Lucius observed.
"Well, they're useful tools," she said. "But, no. Xander will, though. He likes the sharp and shiny also."
"We're going to go to Dad's classroom and play with them. You wanna come watch?" Buffy asked.
"Give me ten minutes to locate Tara. She's with her aunt," Willow said.
Lucius went to grab Severus, knowing he'd be interested in watching the swordplay. When they ran into Dumbledore, he, too, decided to watch the girls.
"Care to make a wager?" Lucius asked Severus.
"Your daughter is a slayer, so it doesn't seem fair," he said.
"No, not on whether or not she will win, but how quickly she'll disarm Cordelia," Lucius said.
"I don't know. Cordelia may surprise you," Severus said.
"I will give her sixty seconds," Lucius said.
When their audience was all there, Buffy grinned. "Don't worry, Cor. I'll try not to embarrass you too much," she said.
"As if," Cordelia said with a haughty sniff.
Buffy let Cordelia make the first strike, surprised by the strength in the blow. "You're stronger than you look," she said.
"I'm not fully human anymore, remember?" Cordelia reminded her.
Then the fight was on. Willow was stunned to see Cordelia's skill and said to Tara, "This is not the Cordelia that I remember," she said.
"She's not the girl you went to school with," Tara said. The woman had an aura that showed her deep compassion and love for people—a far cry from the tormentor that Willow had told her about.
Buffy was impressed and pleased to see Cordy's skill level. "You've definitely learned a lot," she said as she parried another blow. Then she kicked out with her foot and was surprised when Cordelia dodged it.
"I told you. Angel trained me and said I was a natural," Cordelia said. "I don't tire like I used to before when I was only human."
"These girls are very good," Albus said. "Of course, it is to be expected that Buffy would excel at anything related to fighting. However, the other one is a surprise."
"They were trained by the same vampire," Lucius said. "The one with a soul."
"The one Buffy had to kill but was brought back by the powers that rule their world?" Albus asked.
Lucius nodded. "Yes," he said.
The swordplay went on several minutes past the time Lucius predicted, and Severus looked smug. "Told you she would surprise you," he said.
"Yes, you did," Lucius said. "I shouldn't let any of her friends surprise me. We both saw all that they did for Buffy in the other world."
Severus nodded. They were unusually brave.
Finally, Buffy managed to disarm Cordelia, but it took her nearly twenty minutes.
"That was fabulous, Cor!" Buffy said excitedly. "I haven't got a workout like that since I've been back. Maybe tonight, you can come with me to the Forbidden Forest. They got lots of cool monsters there, but you can't hurt the centaurs. They are wicked cool. Half horse and half man."
"Seriously?" Cordelia asked.
"Definitely," Buffy said. The girls left while the men watched them in various levels of amusement.
Severus was thinking how extraordinary Cordelia was while Lucius was pleased his girl was so happy.
Albus, though, was thinking of something else entirely.
"We should get Cordelia to teach sword play as an afterschool club for the children. They would love it," Albus said.
"They will kill each other," Severus said.
"They would start with wooden swords. Professor Flitwick might be interested in sponsoring it as he is the dueling master and did some fencing while at the university," Albus said.
"I am sure the girls would enjoy showing off their skill," Lucius said.
"Speak to them about it while I bring it up to Professor Flitwick," Albus said before walking out of the room.
A mere two days later, Cordelia found herself teaching swordplay with Buffy and several eager children, including the famous Harry Potter and his two best friends. Hermione reminded Cordelia a lot of Willow, especially since she had two male best friends just like Willow had at her age with Jesse and Xander.
The teenage boys were very mesmerized at the sight of two beautiful young teachers doing something so very physical. Oliver Wood had already convinced Buffy to go with him to Hogsmeade the upcoming weekend, and he was enjoying the new club immensely.
After their third day of practice, Buffy asked Cordelia if she was going to go to Hogsmeade with them the next day.
"I'm not going to be a third wheel on your first date with Oliver," she said.
"He's a bit young for me, Cor," Buffy said. "But he's cute, and it kept me from choosing from all the Weasley's. Charlie is the toughest of the group, but Percy has this adore from afar thing going on."
"Poor little Buffy. Can't choose from all her many suitors," Cordelia teased.
"You can go with Willow and Tara, though," Buffy said.
"Or I can go get my own date," Cordelia said as an idea occurred to her.
"I suppose you could," Buffy said. "Anyone I know?"
"I was thinking of your godfather," Cordelia said with a grin.
"Uncle Severus? Seriously?" Buffy said.
"Why not? He's single and has that whole mysterious tormented vibe going for him," Cordelia said. "What exactly is his deal?"
"I don't know the full story, but I know he was picked on a lot as a kid by Harry Potter's dad and his godfather Sirius. He joined dad's Dark Lord and took the mark," Buffy shared.
"Really?" Cordelia said. "So he was really a bad boy?"
"Yes," Buffy said. "When they killed Harry's mom, though, he defected. She was his only friend when he was a student here."
"Wow. That's some back story," Cordelia said.
"I don't think he's ever had a girlfriend," Buffy said. "Don't go breaking his heart!"
Cordelia smiled. "I can't make any promises," she said.
Later, Buffy complained to her father about her concern about Cordelia toying with Uncle Severus.
"Severus is a grown man more than able to handle a woman even if she is formidable and beautiful," Lucius said. "He has spent time with your mother, you know. Narcissa is both of those things."
"Well, if she breaks him, I might have to hurt her," Buffy said.
Lucius laughed, knowing Severus would feel humiliated if he knew about their conversation. He couldn't wait to tell him.
*****The Next Day*****
Severus was walking out of breakfast when Cordelia approached him.
"Hello, Severus. What are your plans for today?" she asked.
"Nothing too interesting," he said, giving her a rare smile. "Just grading."
"Well, then, you can be my date to Hogsmeade," Cordelia said, putting her arm through his.
"Excuse me?" he asked, feeling confused.
"Buffy said Hogsmeade is a place for couples, and she's going with Oliver. I could crash Willow and Tara, but I figured that I should ask you," Cordelia said.
"No other prospects?" he said dryly.
Cordelia dropped her teasing smile and said honestly, "There was no one else I wanted to spend time with."
Severus was surprised at her words and gave her a searching look. Seeing nothing but sincerity in her eyes, he nodded.
"Very well," he said. "I will go with you."
He didn't think that there was any point to drawing close to the woman from another world, but he was finding it hard to resist her appeal.
Cordelia didn't know why she wanted to be close to the man with the greasy hair, but his pain mixed with keen intelligence touched something inside her.
She wanted to know him and was very determined to do so.
No one could really stand in the way of Cordelia Chase when she was on a mission.
*****The End*****
Thoughts? Please take a minute to share. Thanks so much! The next one will focus more on how Dawn’s presence has changed things.