Firstly, I’d like to apologize to you who had been waiting for an update of “What Only The Heart Can See”, me and sis are having a serious block on that one, plus with the all the work we’ve been having lately it’s nearly impossible to get sit together and write. We’re so sorry! I don’t know how long it will take for us to update, so I humbly ask a little patience!
Now, this fic here is an idea I’ve been entertaining for quite some time and this last weekend I was able to finish the first part. I wasn’t going to post it soon ‘cause I didn’t want you Kittens biting my head off for ‘neglecting’ my other fic, but I got anxious to see if you’d like my idea, so I’m taking the risk.
This fic is a Crossover with the Harry Potter books and I totally ignored the Buffyverse, so I guess you could say it’s an uber fic with HP setting. (if I’m wrong someone please correct me, I don’t really understand the ‘uber’ concept)
Title: Shades Of Gray
Author: RedIshtar
Rating: PG for now (when the rating changes I’ll give you a heads up)
Spoilers: Nothing from BtVS, but there will be some spoilers from the Harry Potter books, mostly from 1 to 4, I hated the fifth book, so there won’t be much from it.
Summary: I totally suck at summaries, so you’ll just have to read, sorry.
Feedback: Yes, please! This writer needs her fix of feedback to keep going!
Disclaimer: Sadly, I own neither BtVS’s nor Harry Potter’s characters, I’m just borrowing them to play a little, promise I'll put them back when I'm finished!
N/A: Major OOCness ahead, Kittens! Just remember, the characters had different upbringings and different lives, so with different factors influencing them, their personalities won’t be quite the same, ‘k? So no killing of the poor writer!
N/A2: By the way, I don’t like Ron too much, so there may be some Ron-bashing in this fic. I’ll try not to be unfair, but I think Ron is an immature git.
Part One – A Whole New World
Tara blinked confusedly, trying to sort out the situation at hand. She stared at the ticked in her hands, as if it was a piece of a puzzle that didn’t seem to fit anywhere. She looked up at the plaques of the platforms 9 and 10 and once more looked blankly at her ticked. Where the heck is this platform 9 ¾?
You see, Tara Maclay is no normal girl. In fact, she is far from it. She is a witch. When she was little her mother started teaching her the basic principles of magic, how to respect and use it wisely. Then when she was 11 she received a letter informing that she was accepted in a magical school and that year she joined the Salem Academy of Ancient Arts.
She spent the last six years learning various magical subjects, she grown up, made friends and blossomed from a painfully shy, stuttering kid into a quietly confident young witch.
Now on the last year before she graduated she was assigned to an exchange program with a British school of magic, Hogwarts. Now the only problem was how to find the platform to take the train to school.
“Any idea of how to find this platform?” she asked the kitten tucked in her dark blue sweater.
The tiny black and white kitten poked her head from between the soft fabric of the sweater and looked at her with blinking sky blue eyes and mewed almost inaudibly. Miss Kitty, the kitten, had been given to her as a departure gift from her friends from Salem. They had said the kitten was magical and would help protect her. How a tiny kitten would protect anything was beyond her, but she didn’t point that out to her friends.
“Hey, you lost?” she spun around at the unfamiliar voice and faced a most unusual group of people.
First a short, lean, pale young man. A pair of rounded glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, framing emerald green eyes that showed wisdom beyond his years. He had a mass of unruly jet black hair that gave him a boyish look. Tara’s eyes widened when she caught sight of a lightening bold shaped scar on his forehead, partially hidden by his bangs.
She decided not to duel on it right now and rested her eyes on the next person of the group. A younger girl with a finely shaped, slightly freckled face and kind chocolate colored eyes. Her bright red hair went past her shoulders and she was smiling dreamily as her hand hold the green eyed boy’s. It was obvious they were a couple.
By the first boy left side was a really tall, lanky redhead boy. His blue eyes were playful and matched his boyish grin. It seemed that, though his hair was a shade darker, he and the younger redhead were related, probably siblings or cousins. He was looking at her appreciatively and she wasn’t sure what to make of it.
Beside him was a shorter, beautiful brunette. She had long wavy hair that was almost waist length and intelligent cinnamon eyes that were studying her with genuine curiosity. Tara had no doubt she was looking at a scholar.
The strange thing about them was that all of them were wearing what could only be described as robes and both boys were carrying big bird cages in their trolleys.
“Yeah, a bit.” she answered a little dubiously. It was obvious they were wizards and witches, but she wasn’t about to take a risk.
“Hogwarts?” asked the dark haired boy.
“How-?”
“Well, you’re staring at the platforms 9 and 10 with a ticked in your hand, you’re carrying a trunk and you seem confused as hell.” started the tall redhead with a grin.
“That’s typical muggle-born first year comportment. You seem a bit old to be a first year, though.” added the brunette with a raised eyebrow.
“I’m not. I’m starting my seventh year, I’m a transferred student.” She explained more comfortable now, knowing that there was no threat.
“Oh! From the United States?” the brunette asked excitedly. “I heard of the exchange program, I think Terry Boot went to the American school.”
“Salem, yes.” Tara smiled slightly.
“Are we just going to stand here? People are starting to look at us funny.” the younger redhead pointed out.
“Gin is right, we better get going before anyone ask.” the green eyed boy said and then he turned to Tara. “See that wall between the platforms 9 and 10? You just have to walk through it.”
“Walk through it?” she looked at him strangely. “Is there some kind of spell concealing the platform entrance or something?”
“Yes, to keep it from the muggles.” the brunette responded. “Just look.”
The girl started walking toward the wall pushing her trolley and Tara blinked as she just disappeared behind the barrier covering the platform entrance.
“It’s easy.” the remaining girl, ‘Gin’, told her with a grin. “Just run if you’re afraid.”
Tara looked at the supposed entrance and took a deep breath, bracing herself. She took off running, half expecting to crash on the wall and look like a complete nut-case. She blinked owlish when instead of crashing she passed direct through the wall, the others a step behind her.
They were inside some kind of enormous cavernous railway station, high, dark walls towering on all sides, the platform cluttered with witches and wizards armed with trunks, owls, cats and toads.
Purplish smoke and steam billowed around them as the group led her out onto the bustling platform around several robe-clad witches who were trying to bundle their illusive offspring into carriages, her eyes trying to take in everything at once.
Everything was dusky and softly-lit by the flickering lampposts, but it didn't look gloomy, foreboding or at all frightening. It had an air of magic and mystery, which hung over the whole concealed platform.
That was when she saw it, just a little way ahead of her. While she had read some books about the school, she had never imagined the Hogwarts Express to look so... wow!
Brilliant red in color, it was surrounded by the swirling smoke and steam that didn't make it look less impressive. If anything, it made it look more spectacular, the metalwork gleaming and glinting by the light of lamp posts on the platform.
“Wow…”
Teeming everywhere, young witches and wizards - clad in robes and muggle-wear - aged between eleven and eighteen were hugging parents, siblings and loved ones, as they climbed into the compartments of the train, some gathering in groups of friends.
“See? It was easy!” said the redhead girl as the boys helped unload their trolleys and put them in the train.
Tara could only nod dumbly as they led her to a free compartment. It was without a doubt very different from the way the Salem apprentices went to school, but no less glamorous. Even Miss Kitty had poked her head out of her warm nest to look around.
They entered the compartment where the boys had already placed their trunks and Tara chose a seat near the window with her trunk at her feet.
“Where are our manners?” the brunette exclaimed holding her hand out to Tara. “I’m Hermione Granger.”
“I’m Tara. Tara Maclay.” she smiled and shook Hermione’s offered hand.
“Ron Weasley.” the redhead boy grinned and shook Tara’s hand too.
“Ginny Weasley and I am his sister in case you’re wondering.” the other redhead smiled.
“And I’m-“
“Harry Potter, I noticed.” Tara grinned and pointed and his forehead, where his scar could be seen from between his bangs.
Harry sighed and waited for the wave of questions that always followed when anyone recognized his scar and was pleasantly surprised when none came.
“Oh! A kitten! How cute!” exclaimed Ginny noticing Miss Kitty presence for the first time.
“Thanks. She was a gift from my friends from SA3.” Tara said holding up the kitten that was no bigger than her own hand.
“SA3?” questioned Hermione freeing her own cat from his cage.
Crookshanks jumped from his owner lap to Tara’s, eyeing Miss Kitty with his intelligent yellowish eyes. He sniffed the kitten and seemed to approve what he smelled, because his next action was to rub his ginger head against Miss Kitty much smaller one, purring contently. Miss Kitty mewed softly and pawed at the much bigger cat nose curiously.
Harry and co. shared a relieved look when the kitten passed the ‘Crookshanks test for evil Death Eaters animagi’, they didn’t want a repeat of the third year.
“Salem Academy of Ancient Arts, hence SA3. It was better than SAAA, anyway.” Tara explained, scratching Crookshanks behind his ear, oblivious to the exchange between her new friends.
“Can you tell us a bit about the Academy, then?” asked the always knowledge-hungry Hermione.
“From what I’ve read about Hogwarts, it’s very different from Salem. We don’t go there by train for starters. There’s a field concealed from muggles where we catch flying chariots pulled by griffins, it provides a great view.” she explained with a slightly homesick smile.
“The carriages are concealed by spells, right?” asked Harry remembering when he and Ron went to Hogwarts in the flying Ford Anglia.
“Yes, invisibility charms, it’s perfectly safe.” Tara assured.
“What about the uniforms? You seemed a bit surprised at our robes.” Ginny asked, leaning comfortably against her boyfriend.
“That’s because we don’t use robes in the States, it’s far too hot most of the time, anyway. American witches and wizards use muggle clothes practically all the time, it’s much easier to blend in with them. As for the Academy uniform…” Tara opened her trunk and got out a leather bound photo album and opened on the last page. “Here.” she passed the album to Hermione.
The Gryffindors leaned in to see the moving wizarding photo. There was a group of twenty five youths, all of them clad in Greek-like white togas with a deep red sash around their waists, a few of them wearing a thick golden band on their right wrists, fewer wearing bands on both wrists. They immediately found Tara on the picture. She was joking around with girl and a boy of her age. The three of them were wearing the golden bands on both wrists.
“Cool uniforms.” Ron remarked, his hormone-driven mind imagining just how Tara would look on them up close.
“What do the golden bands mean?” Hermione asked after returning the album.
“They represent the level we’re in. The pupils with no bands are of average level, the ones with one band are above average and with the two bands are the advanced ones. The lower years have the same system of bands, only they aren’t made of gold, but of silver and bronze.”
“So you’re an advanced student?” Harry asked impressed.
“Eh… Yes. Amy and Michael are too. They’re the girl and the boy beside me. My best friends.” Tara explained a little embarrassed.
“That’s why you were chosen to come here, right? They offered me to go to the Academy too, but I didn’t want to leave my friends, so Terry went in my place.” Hermione said.
“I’d have stayed too, but Amy and Michael threatened to ‘turn me into a chicken if I acted like one and gave up a chance like that’. I’ll miss them, but we can always write to each other.”
“Well, we couldn’t threaten ‘Mione like that, she’d probably turn us into chickens.” Ron grinned, swiftly ducking Hermione’s playful slap.
“Now look what we have here.”
They all snapped their heads to the door when it slid open and a boy their age stood there. Platinum blonde hair slicked back, dressed in immaculate black school robes with a green and silver tie and a snake badge on his cloak, his silvery blue eyes studied the group before him coldly.
“Malfoy.” Ron practically growled, already on his feet looking at the aristocratic blonde boy in rage.
“Weasley,” the blonde sneered looking him up and down with disdain. “I see you finally got some decent robes, had to sell that thing you call a house to buy them? Or perhaps Potter decided it was time to do some charity?”
“Get your ass out of here before I kick it out for you.” Ron said between gritted teeth, the tips of his ears doing red.
“Money can’t buy you some class, I see. You’re still the same poor excuse of a baboon.” Malfoy smirked with an amused glint in his cold eyes.
“And you’re still the same little Death Eater spawn. Where are your little bodyguards, by the way, finally got kicked out?” Harry spoke up standing beside Ron, his emerald eyes blazing in fury.
“I hope you and your daddy find your cells in Azkaban comfortable. Oh wait, you’ll probably be babbling soulless idiots by then, so I guess it won’t matter too much.” Ron added with a smirk of his own.
Tara watched the scene unfold between her with increasing worry, not really understanding what’s going on. The amusement left the blonde’s eyes to be replaced with a cold fury that sent a shiver up her spine and before they could blink he had his wand pointed at Ron’s forehead and Harry was reaching for his own.
Just as Hermione was about to call upon her Head Girl status to stop the upcoming fight, another person beat her to the punch.
“While I’d love to see Weasley’s brain splattered on the ground,” said a silky feminine voice. “I think it’s a rather gruesome way to start the term, so why not keep this… impressive… show of testosterone for another day, preferably not after a meal?”
Tara almost gasped when she looked at the newcomer. She was using the same robes as the blonde boy, but hers seemed to hug her slander frame in all the right places. Her crimson hair stood out against her pale, slightly freckled, beautiful face, but it was her eyes that got her attention. Irises of a beautiful shade of forest green that if you looked closely you could see hazel and golden flecks in its depth. Eyes that were currently regarding Harry and Ron with icy indifference as she put her pale hand on top of Draco’s wand hand, lowering it slowly until it rested by his side.
“If it isn’t the Ice Queen herself.” Ron scorned, glaring at her. “Still whoring yourself out to Malfoy?”
At this everyone looked at Ron in surprise and Draco tightened his hold on his wand, but the pressure of the redhead’s hand on his told him to stay put. He looked at her in question and smirked when he saw her lips forming a lazy grin that didn’t quite reached her eyes.
Everyone’s attention was on the green eyed redhead as she stepped forward, her hips swaying sensuously, and positioned herself in front of the platinum blonde boy, leaning comfortably against his broad chest as she gazed at Ron with mix of amusement and disgust.
“What do you think you’re doing, Rosenberg?” Ron hissed angrily.
“Why, Weasley, I’m just watching your pathetic attempts to avenge your bruised ego. It’s very amusing.” she answered calmly as if talking about the weather.
Draco smirked as he watched Weasley sputtering; it was all highly amusing to him. He circled the redhead’s waist with one of his arms and readied his wand arm, after that one he was sure Weasley would try something stupid.
Ron was fuming and didn’t think twice and reached for his wand, only to find two different wands pointed at him.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Weasel.” Malfoy drawled with his wand once again trained between the redhead’s eyes. “We don’t want a repeat of what happened last time you tried, eh?” his eyes glinted in satisfaction when he saw the other boy blush in fury.
“Ron…” Harry started putting a restraining hand on his friend shoulder.
“It seems Potter has more sense then you, Weasley. Then again, that’s not really surprising; you were never accused of being the brightest crayon in the box, were you?” Rosenberg sneered. “Why don’t you ask your little sidekick to back down, Potter? We wouldn’t want anyone getting hurt, would we?”
Ron gritted his teeth but Harry’s hand on his shoulder prevented him from doing more.
Tara trembled slightly when the cold gaze of the redhead girl turned to her, she suddenly felt like a guinea pig being analyzed.
“Well, well, well… Looks like the Golden Team gained a new member. I would watch my back if I were you, girl.” she purred in that silky voice of hers.
Without another world she took Draco’s hand and both left swiftly.
“That bloody bitch! Who does she think she is?” Ron huffed as he slumped back on his seat glaring at nothing in particular.
The girls had watched the entire scene in silence, each with their own questions and worries about the situation. Now they watched as Ron muttered angrily and Harry stared at the compartment door pensively.
“They’re up to something…” he declared finally.
“Of course they are! They’re bloody Slytherins! They’re always up to no good!” Ron bristled.
“Can anyone tell me what happened? Who were those two?” Tara asked, though she was more interested in knowing who the girl was, but she wouldn’t say that out loud.
“That was just the usual Malfoy visit, he usually comes with Crabbe and Goyle, though.” Ginny explained absently, her mind far away.
Seeing Tara’s confused look, Hermione decided to elaborate. “Those two are Draco Malfoy and Willow Rosenberg; they’re not very nice people and pretty much treat anyone outside their House like dirt.”
“But why?” Tara wanted to know how such a beauty could be mean to anyone.
Ron snorted. “Because they’re Slytherins.” he stated matter-of-factly.
Now Tara was thoroughly confused and her answer showed it. “Huh?”
“Slytherin is one of the Houses of Hogwarts.” Harry started. “The Slytherins come from rich pureblood families and despise muggles and muggle-borns. The Slytherin House is famous for producing Dark Wizards and Witches.”
“They’re a bunch of bloody spoiled, self-centered brats that pride themselves on their ‘pure blood’ and think of tormenting people as a hobby.” Ron summed up with a sneer.
“Malfoy and Rosenberg, well, you could say they’re the leaders of the Slytherins. The Malfoy family is very rich and influent in the Wizard World; they’ve been supporting the Dark Side for God knows how long but are far too powerful for anyone to do anything against them. The Rosenbergs, on the other hand, no one knows much about their side on the war. They’ve always remained neutral in the past wars, choosing not to interfere in any way.” Hermione explained in her usual ‘lecture voice’.
“Malfoy is the one who does most damage, always lurking around with those gorillas as bodyguards. Rosenberg is usually nearby, but she doesn’t do much, mostly she ignores or insults everyone, that’s how she earned her nickname: The Ice Queen.” Harry added.
“I don’t know why Dumbledore doesn’t kick those two out, they’re bloody Death Eaters, they get off on torment everybody, especially us.”
“Because there’s no proof they’re Death Eaters and they actually haven’t done anything expulsion-worthy.” Ginny pointed out.
Tara was trying to process the information she received. She knew what, or better yet who were the Death Eaters. Followers of the Dark Lord Voldemort. Murderers, torturers and rapists; she knew the history. She had read about some of the attacks and was aghast with the brutality of it all; whole towns destroyed, not even children and animals were spared.
After that the trip went in relative silence. Harry and Ginny were lost in their own little world. Hermione was engrossed in one of hers ‘light-reading’ book, which was so thick that one would wonder how she carries it around. Ron and Tara, on the other hand, were too preoccupied brooding about their blonde and redhead visitors, albeit for completely different reasons. The silence was interrupted only when the lady with the sweets car stopped by and they interrupted their activities to buy some snacks.
“This is very disturbing.” Tara says while munching on her chocolate frog after the first jumped out of the window, scaring the stuffing out of her.
“You get used to it, my first one escaped too. I nearly jumped out of my skin when it became alive.” Harry explained eating a caldron cake.
“Still, I feel like I’m eating a real frog. At least they don’t charm them to be green and slimy.” Tara said not noticing the weird grin that appeared on Ron’s face.
Harry, Ginny and Hermione looked at her in wide eyed horror. “Don’t even think about it!” Ginny glared at Ron.
“Aw, Gin, c’mon! Don’t be a spoil sports!” Ron protested in what sounded suspiciously like a whine.
“Huh?” Tara looked from one sibling to another, not understanding what was going on.
“You gave him ideas.” Hermione stated with a solemn look.
“Now we’re all doomed.” Harry played along, nodding his head mournfully.
“Stop it you wankers!” Ron threw empty chocolate frogs boxes at them playfully.
Tara smiled at their antics, feeling slightly like an outsider in this tight knit group of friends. “Anyone care to explain the situation to the confused American here?”
“Ron’s been helping his brothers Fred and George with the Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes.” Ginny said simply as if it explained everything, but it only made Tara more confused.
“Which would be…?” she prodded.
“It’s a joke shop.” Harry elaborated.
Hermione sniffed. “It’s more like a shop of supplement for pranksters.”
“They have all kinds of things which can be used in different kinds of pranks. Colorful hair, temporary metamorphosis, animal’s body parts…” Ron explained excitedly.
“Vomit slugs for half an hour…” Ginny added in a teasing tone.
“Hey!” Ron pouted childishly.
Tara went a little green as they all laughed at Ron’s indignant face. “Vomit slugs? Why would anyone do something like that?”
“Fred and George created a powder that if ingested makes you vomit slugs for half an hour, they got the idea from an… incident on our second year.” Harry explained.
“They put it on Snape’s food on their seventh year, in their Graduating Feast!” Ginny laughed remembering the scene.
“Honestly!” Hermione huffed, though her lips were twitching to suppress a smile.
“Oh, c’mon, ‘Mione! It was bloody hilarious! Especially the looks on the slimy Slytherins face when their Head of House started puking slugs!” Ron was almost falling from his seat with his laughter.
Hermione shook her head. “I can’t believe they did that. It’s not like I don’t dislike Snape as much as every non-Slytherin, but that was a bit… extreme.”
“Who exactly is this Snape guy?” Tara asked still a little grossed out by the whole slug thing.
“Our not-so-dear Potions Master.” Ginny said making a face.
“Do I want to know?” Tara arched an eyebrow at them.
“Probably not, but you better be prepared for a sadistic, insufferable, greasy bastard.”
A second eyebrow followed the first at Harry’s description of the Potions Master, but Tara refrained from commenting, choosing to turn her attentions to her stirring kitten on her lap. She scratched Miss Kitty’s underchin, receiving a content purr from the still sleepy kitten.
They spent the rest of the last hour of the trip talking amiably. Tara explained some more about the Academy and the States in general and the gang told her a bit about life in Hogwarts, the classes and Professors. At some point the boys excused themselves to change into their uniforms and the girls stayed in and changed there, although at first Tara was a bit self-conscious about changing in front of her new friends.
i just can`t get enough off them!
hmm i think faith and buff should make a cameo eh? 
Hope to see more soon.