The sounds of the battle seemed far away as Willow shut her eyes and began to magically examine her bounds. Using her unique sense of magical sight she realized the body-bind spell placed on her had in effect enveloped her body with what resembled tight golden wires that crisscrossed around her. She searched for a while to see if there was a spot where the spell was weakest but it remained strong throughout. Dimly she heard Anya shriek and she began to move quicker in finding a solution. Finally she imagined a sharp dagger and began mystically cutting at her binds. This process required intense concentration due to the strength of the spell but she was slowly and surely making progress.

By the time her ankles and calves were free Willow's attention was snapped to the rest of the world as she heard a cruel, hard voice hiss behind her.

"True, but then again it would be rather interesting to unhinge the Slayer by killing her sister."

Willow's eyes blinked back the cold rain as she scanned the area for Dawn. She struggled to scream for the girl but couldn't due to the spell. Finally she saw her, thirty feet away, standing bravely in a firm stance while pointing a wand.

"Now this is the sort of fun that I have been missing," the man behind her chuckled.

With a renewed burst of adrenaline-fueled energy, Willow began to work on severing her bounds.

"Protego!" she heard Dawn shout.

'Good. Good job Dawnie,' she thought with relief. A shield spell should hold back the man until Willow could free herself or someone else could come to the girl's aid. Already her legs were free. Now time to work on her upper half.

"Stupid girl. The killing curse can't be stopped by that."

Willow's blood turned cold at the man's words and echoing laughter. She had spent enough time with Sirius to understand the spells of the Wizarding world to know that particular one.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Her eyes snapped open in time to see a blast of green light hurl towards Dawn. The girl's blue eyes shadowed with fear as she turned her back and tried to leap out of the way.

But she was too slow.

The spell struck the back of her right shoulder and she was thrown into the thick grass like a discarded doll.

Willow's control over her magic snapped at that moment – the moment when she saw Dawnie's lifeless form roll facedown onto the ground. In reaction, her binds snapped and she levitated up and harnessed the darkest spell she knew to throw at the man – a spell that would lock him into his mind where he would forever be shown his darkest fears come true and be treated to every torture device created by man.

She shook her hair out of her face – hair that was now black and weaved around her head like a nest of serpents – and looked for the murderer of Dawn Summers. Yet… her lips curled into an angry frown when she didn't see the man. Eyes the color of obsidian scanned the meadow and saw that Buffy, Anya, Sirius, Remus, and Luna were still unconscious or invisibly bound by spells while Kennedy faced two opponents and Luke faced one.

Then she saw him. The black robed murderer was sprawled on the ground and with one touch of her magic she knew he was dead. But how? Who killed him?

No matter. There were still three others who were just as guilty as the dead man. Soon they would join their friend.

Her veins coursed with hatred as she took one last pitying glance at Dawn. Poor Dawnie, who really had only lived life for barely three years before she was ripped away so casually. Dawn, who had been given to Buffy – and really – to all of them to protect and love. Even worse was the sympathy that suddenly sang a melancholy melody through her soul at the thought of Buffy losing the person she had once given her life for. Tears sprung to her eyes and Willow slumped to the ground with the weight that the mourning carried with it. It wrapped around her anger and buried it; thus neutralizing Willow's enact a bloody revenge on those final three.

With a sudden startling awareness she knew who she was and remembered how close she had come to letting her emotions control her magic – and how she finally was able to stop herself in time. She sniffled through her tears and pressed her hands to the ground in order to give back some of the magic she was going to use to kill the wizards and instead sent the magic to touch each of her friends and break their spells. As they gingerly began sitting up she stood and snapped her magic like a frisbee in the direction of the wizard Luke was fighting, who immediately fell to the ground in a deep sleep. Unfortunately, loud popping noises signaled that Kennedy's opponents apparated away before Willow could capture them.

Within a minute everyone was swarming her.

"Willow, that was great! Can't believe you got out of that body-bind, great job!" Luke congratulated her as he kept his wand focused on the captured wizard who was now snoring loudly.

"Well if anyone can break out of a spell, it's my Willow," said Sirius with pride.

"Hey did you guys see that? I totally knocked that one wizard out with a spell!" bubbled Anya in an excited voice.

"I did see that – how were you able to do that?" asked Remus. "Not to mention, thank you," he said in a voice full of emotion.

"Some wizards believe only wizards can use wands but it is true that the Normandy pixies are known to grant special powers during a time of a great need. Of course, it is unheard of for them to be all the way over here in America," Luna trailed off in a thoughtful voice.

"Is everyone alright?" Buffy called out as she made her way to the group from where she had been knocked down farther away.

"I think so," answered Kennedy promptly. "Wait - where's Dawn?"

"What? DAWN!" shouted Buffy as she began to frantically glance around.

"Buff-" Willow let out a choking sob as all eyes turned to her, just now realizing that it was more than rain drops that streaked her face. "Buffy, she's, she's, she's," Willow stuttered; unable to complete the sentence.

"Willow?" Buffy asked apprehensively; her voice taunt with worry. "Where's Dawn?"

She found herself unable to form words but finally answered in one shaky word as she pointed towards Dawn's body. "There."

Willow watched as everyone's faces swiveled in that direction and Buffy sprinted towards her sister. "Dawn?" she asked. "Dawnie?" she repeated in a childish voice. She rolled her sister over and touched her face. "Dawn. Dawn. Dawn. Dawn, wake up. Wake up, wake up, wake up," Buffy pleaded in a cracking voice.

"This wizard here, the dead one, hit her with the Killing Curse. It killed her on impact," Willow informed softly as Sirius helped her up.

"No, no it didn't," Buffy argued in a soft voice as she knelt and pulled Dawn into her lap and stroked her hair. "She's not dead, she can't be," she choked out in an emotional voice.

A half a dozen loud popping noises erupted into the meadow as their group whirled to face the new threat. "Wands up!" demanded Luke in a furious voice.

"Agent Drake with the Office of Special Services, reporting sir! The wolves told us something was amiss," answered a young man in a crisp voice. The Scoobies relaxed their alert stance at the answer; though Buffy had never even bothered to look up from her sister.

"Agent Matthews, Office of Special Services," Luke reported. "We were ambushed by three wizards and one witch who I believe were affiliated with the Unspeakables of the British Ministry of Magic. Two apparated but one fell in battle and one was captured. Take him to the morgue and the other to the holding cell at the office. Inform Secretary Asp immediately of what has occurred here."

"Yes sir!" Immediately the agents collected the bodies and melted into the woods – where Willow assumed the entrance to Columbia Village was.

Not that Willow cared what they did. All she cared about right now was her best friend and the body in her arms. It seemed all the magic and all the energy seeped out of her at the sight – it broke Willow to see someone so young and innocent killed. Of course, Willow had seen many dead bodies before – people she knew even. But not Dawn. Never Dawnie.

"Buffy," she whispered as she touched her friend's shoulder as she rocked back and forth while rain washed her silent tears away. "Buffy, I'm so sorry." She knelt down beside Buffy, laid her head on Buffy's shoulder, and wrapped her arms around the petite blond as sobs shook the girl.

"Not true, not true, not true," she repeated. "Can't be dead, no, not this time. I didn't save Dawn from a hell goddess only to for her to get kill by some lame ass wizard wearing a dress," she said in a tightly controlled voice.

"Buffy," said Luke in a quiet voice. Both Willow and Buffy's eyes looked at him sharply for his interruption. Behind him, they saw the others looking on in solemnity. "We must enter the village. The wolves can distract the Muggles for a while but the zoo is open and we'll be seen if we stay out here much longer," he explained hesitantly – as if he knew it was not smart to interrupt the grieving of two of the world's most powerful women.

"You," Buffy suddenly hissed and she gently laid Dawn down and stood up to point an accusing finger. "You were the only outsider to know we were going to be here. The only one who possibly could have told those damn Unspeakable bastards that we were going to be here. It's your fault my sister is dead!" Buffy's voice raised into a murderous shriek as she catapulted herself at the bewildered and frightened wizard. With her weight and speed Luke fell to the ground with a sickening crunch as Buffy straddled him and began throwing her fists into his body.

"It's your fault! Your fault!" she yelled.

"Buff-" his words stopped at her tooth-breaking punch to his mouth. "I'm not the only one who knew! The prophecy said it would be someone –ugh!" he moaned as she took the wind out of him with a thrust to his solar plexus. "Someone you trusted! For all you know it was that damn vampire!"

"You know nothing!" she yelled as she hit him again in the chest.

"Question the prisoner then! I didn't do anything!" he wheezed out.

"Buffy!" Sirius said sharply as he grabbed her arm. "You're going to kill him!"

She threw him off her as easily as swatting a fly. "Good! See if I give a damn anymore!"

"Petrificus Totalus," Remus said in a solemn voice as Buffy froze and fell to the ground. "Buffy, I'm sorry to do that but it's better than you doing something you'll regret later," he explained to her.

Buffy only stared up at him with hostile eyes.

"We can speak to the prisoner?" Willow asked Luke warily as she smoothed Dawn's clothes tenderly.

"Yes, of course. I swear, I had nothing to do with this. As a government we would not even work with the Unspeakables – and I am surprised that they would willingly murder an innocent."

"Maybe they are not working for Fudge anymore," Sirius said grimly.

"Rogue Unspeakables?" Remus said in concern. "That would be troubling indeed."

"Let's go," Willow said in a hollow voice. "The sooner we speak to the Unspeakable the sooner we can get home and…" Willow didn't bother to finish the sentence – she could not imagine going through the motions of funeral arrangements for yet another loved one.

Sirius said several words in Latin and within minutes a stretcher formed of smooth wooden planks wrapped with colorful flowers materialized underneath Dawn. A sheet of sewn bright green leaves covered her body. "This way we can take her with us in dignity," Sirius said in a sad voice.

"And Buffy?" Luke asked nervously, with his black hair matted to his head with dark blood, blood dripping down a mouth that was missing several teeth, and with his right arm dangling uselessly at his side. "Will you be keeping her like this?"

Willow sighed as her lips set in a thin line. "Buffy?" she asked as she knelt down next to her motionless friend. "Listen, let's go and question the remaining bad guy before we do anything… hasty," she said as she glanced at Luke. "But," here her tone sharpened, "when we figure out who is responsible we will go after them. Okay?"

Buffy clenched her eyes shut and she seemed to ponder Willow's words. Finally she blinked twice in rapid succession. Willow nodded at Remus who reversed the spell with a wave of his wand. Slowly Buffy sat up and took several deep, cleansing breaths. Their eyes met and Willow's heart stopped at the sight of deep grief swirling within them.

"We question the dude, take Dawnie back, and then I get to really, really, really hurt the bad guys?" she asked.

"Yes. And I'll be hurting them right there with ya," answered Willow solemnly with a nod of her head.

Buffy glanced at her sister and wiped away a stray tear before she hardened her face. "Good."


A/N:
Review please!

I know this was a shorter chapter than normal but these things tend to ebb and flow as Musie chooses to dictate. I may have made some people unhappy … but if you're a smart cookie you'll understand very soon ;) Promise.