A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! I'm sorry for the pause in updates! I decided to split one chapter into three, which took some re-writing. Then I got the flu. While in theory this gave me a lot of time with nothing to do but write, I couldn't keep my eyes open long enough to let my computer boot up. But I'm back now! Regular updates should resume. :)

Bill felt, rather than saw, Buffy as she began to race toward him. At the same time, he caught sight of the Avada spell hurtling towards him.

"Buffy, no!" he shouted. "Protego!"

But he was too late and she refused to alter her course.

It was as if someone had cast a time spell, slowing everything down so Bill could discern the most minute of details; the air displaced by the Killing Curse as it raced toward Buffy, the slight grunt of pain she made when the spell made contact, the vibration of the ground when her body fell, limp and motionless.

Up until this point, he had denied to his family and to himself that he and Buffy were little more than strange bedfellows. And yet there was no logical way to explain the pain coursing through him.

She was dead.

Something in Bill shifted. He felt his canines elongate, sharpening into dangerous points. His nails also lengthened. Panicked, he stood there for a moment, unsure what to do.

This hesitation was all the other werewolves needed to surround him. As they closed in on him, Buffy became obscured from his view. Before she disappeared entirely, however, he caught sight of the one responsible for all this; Greyback. The coward had finally shown his ugly face, using the opportunity to go after Buffy. Bill could see the bastard's eyes gleam as he leaned over her. To what end, Bill didn't know. He could only imagine it was to desecrate her corpse or some other foul deed.

Bill was instantly filled with white hot rage. The raw emotion was so intense. It soon consumed his entire being, emotionally and physically; he felt some of his bones start to shift, bringing him the closest he'd ever come to full transformation.

Without waiting to see if he would complete the shift, he attacked the werewolves surrounding him with an animalistic fury. He felt their flesh give way under his claws as he cut a path towards Buffy. Though he himself did not escape entirely unscathed, he barely noticed the teeth and claws cut into his own flesh. He only had eyes for Greyback, and nothing would deter him from reaching his target.

Greyback, sensing the danger he was in, grabbed Buffy by the throat and held her in front of him. If he thought this would slow Bill down, make him second guess his course of action, he was sorely mistaken. The sight of Buffy being used as a shield only served to further enrage Bill.

With a howl, he launched himself at Greyback, aiming right for his throat. Greyback had no choice but to drop Buffy in order to defend himself. He tried to grab for his wand, but Bill was faster, fuelled by his rage.

With a snap of his jaw, Bill destroyed Greyback's wand. He felt a sense of satisfaction at the crackle of magic shoot through his teeth as the wand core broke.

Greyback was far from giving up the fight, however. With a vicious swipe, he caught Bill on his shoulder, his claws raking a bloody path halfway down his chest.

It burned like hell, but thankfully the cuts weren't too deep, as Bill was able to throw himself to the side at the last minute, effectively changing his trajectory and avoiding the worst of it. Still, Greyback continued to pursue him, even as he fell to the ground. Bill could feel Greyback's fetid breath as the werewolf lunged for his throat without hesitation.

With a growl, Bill caught Greyback around his neck. Before he could do anything more than that, however, Greyback grabbed his wrist with one hand and used the other to grab at the arm across his chest. With both their arms and hands engaged, the two grappled with one another on the forest floor.

Though Bill considered himself fairly fit, armed with a rage that was far from spent, Greyback's sheer bulk and experience was no easy feat to overcome. To Bill's utter frustration, he found himself pinned to the ground. He snarled as Greyback pressed his full weight down on his arms, his maw gaping once again as he went for Bill's throat.

Before he could make contact, a loud crack rent the air.

Bill could've sworn he saw something small and round drop to the ground next to his head. He was too busy focusing on Greyback to be certain, however, for the werewolf had gone completely still, looking as stunned as Bill felt. At the same time, his hands lost their vice-like grip as a small trickle of blood made its way from his temple down the side of his neck.

It only lasted a moment; within seconds he regained his equilibrium and continued his onslaught. It was all Bill needed, however. As soon as the pressure on his wrists had lifted, he wrenched his hands free and reached for Greyback.

His original intention was to fend off the oncoming attack. Instinct kicked in, however, when he realized that Greyback was not yet aware of his increased mobility, still a little dazed from whatever had happened.

Without thinking, Bill clamped down one hand on Greyback's shoulder to hold him in place while the other reached for his opponent's throat. He let out a hiss of satisfaction when his claws met the soft flesh just above the collarbone.

By this point, Greyback realized what was happening and tried to pull himself away as his claws dug into Bill's hand around his throat, practically ripping it open. It was too late, though. Bill was impervious to the pain. The only thought running through his head was his overwhelming need to protect his family from the threat before him.

With a roar, Bill dug his claws into Greyback's throat and pulled. He immediately felt a spray of blood on his face, quickly followed by a gush of blood flow over his hand. With a start, he let go of Greyback, pushing him so he fell onto the ground next to him.

For a few moments, Bill did not move, content to lie on the ground with only the sound of his blood pounding in his ears. Soon, however, the sound ebbed, replaced by multiple growls around him.

Realizing the precariousness of the situation, Bill leapt to his feet and snarled at the werewolves surrounding him. He must've been quite a sight, because no one dared to attack him at first. After a few nervous glances, however, they seemed to regain their collective nerve and began to close in on him. Before they could make contact, however, a series of spells illuminated the area.

Bill watched in astonishment as the werewolves around him howled in agony and began stampeding around in a panic. As they edged near Buffy, however, he dove toward her, protecting her body from the surrounding chaos. Though logically he knew she was dead and it was all for naught, he didn't care; any werewolf that dared get too close quickly learned their mistake. Even when the clamor around him began to die down, he kept his post, until he heard soft footsteps making their way to him.

"Bill, son, it's us. It's okay. It's over now. Let us help."

Bill recognized his father's voice, but he instinctively pulled Buffy's body closer. As he did, he caught sight of his hands, which were still partially transformed. Feeling a flush of shame, he buried his head in Buffy's hair, shielding himself from view.

"Bloody hell, he's gone completely feral."

Bill frowned. He didn't immediately recognize that voice. Still, he refused to look up.

"Bill, heel!"

That was George. His voice was quickly followed by the sound of a smack. "Ow! What? It was worth a try."

Bill simply buried his head further in response. That's when he heard it. Buffy's heartbeat, though faint, followed by a small groan.

With a gasp, he jerked his head up, all thoughts of hiding his appearance gone in an instant. To his astonishment, Buffy was blearily looking at him, very much alive.

"You're, you're not dead," he rasped, unable to believe his eyes.

"Told you," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "Bad habit of mine."

"But no one's ever survived the Killing Curse, aside from Harry anyway," he amended.

She tried to smile, but the effort was clearly too taxing. It came out more like a grimace. "Won't tell… if you won't… hate to rain… Harry's fame parade… besides, spell didn't touch," she explained, her eyes drifting toward her sword lying next to her.

Bill's breath came out in a whoosh. He had seen the Avada spell hit her. He had just assumed—

He quickly gave her a once over, as if to prove to himself that she really was alive. As his gaze moved down to her hand, he saw a small stone there. It was almost identical to the one that fell next to his head when he had been grappling with Greyback.

"You—," he began, as he realized what she had done. He stopped abruptly when he saw the frown on Buffy's face as she looked him up and down. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"Still hot… wolfed out… some people… have all the luck," she muttered, right before she passed out.

Bill blinked, utterly gobsmacked by her words. Those around him took the opportunity to jump in.

"Bill, we must get her to St. Mungo's."

Bill looked up with a start at the sound of Kingsley Shacklebolt's authoritative voice. Though the Minister looked kindly at Buffy, Bill's instinct was to pull her closer. Clearly, it was too late to hide her presence. That did not, however, erase his misgivings over handing her to St. Mungo's and - for all intents and purposes - the Ministry. At yet he was hardly in a position to argue.

Seeing his reticence, the Minister held his hands up in a non-threatening manner. "Your father has explained everything. I only want to help. I promise you that no harm will come to her. Now come, we must move quickly while I can still control the situation."

That last part caught Bill's attention. He looked around and for the first time, noticed the Aurors that had accompanied Kingsley. They were few in number, but Bill recognized them as the Minister's most trusted. They were currently occupied rounding up the rest of the werewolves. He could also see that his family was by and large unharmed. In between the familiar faces, however, new ones were appearing, ones bearing the crest of the Romanian Ministry.

That shocked Bill into action. Dealing with his own Ministry was difficult enough; the last thing he wanted was to engage another. Rising swiftly to his feet, he followed Kingsley away from the crowd, holding Buffy close to him as he moved.

Still, he made a conscious decision to leave Buffy's sword behind, subtly nodding to his father to take it after they left.

Some secrets weren't his to tell.

Bill sat with his head in his hands. Buffy had been at St. Mungo's for three days straight without waking.

Not for the first time, he questioned his decision to hide the sword and how exactly she had been wounded. In his gut, however, he knew that what afflicted her could not be healed by magic; in fact, there was a possibility it would only make it worse, making the Healers at the hospital ill-equipped to help. In the end, all they could do - all he would let them do - was stabilize her and tend to her physical wounds. What she really needed was time, time for her own innate abilities to work through the volatile magic coursing through her, just as it did before. He had not expected it to take so long, however; as every day passed, he became more and more worried. Only Hermione's and Angelina's assurances that they were doing the right thing kept him sane. He didn't dare allow himself to think of the wounds Bromley had inflicted and what they meant.

The only consolation was that Kingsley had been true to his word. Buffy had been placed in the highest security wing, and her identity had been kept firmly under wraps - though it wasn't solely for her benefit.

Apparently, the Ministry of Magic found themselves in quite the predicament. If Bill and his family's interactions with the Slayer had come to light before the fight with Greyback, there would have been severe repercussions for them all; Kingsley had said as much himself that first day in the hospital when he had come to talk with Bill. As it stood now, however, it was the Ministry who found themselves in trouble. They had on their hands an international incident where the Slayer was grievously injured by a dangerous Wizard the Ministry had long assured the public was dead. If this were to leak, it would undermine the newly rebuilt Ministry and the precarious trust they had re-established with the British Wizarding community post-war; hence, the entire situation was being treated as top secret. Bill was fairly certain the rank and file Ministry members still didn't know of Buffy's presence here, that knowledge was only Kingsley and a few other higher ups. The Romanian Ministry was of a similar mindset; they, too, wanted to sweep the whole fiasco under the rug instead of pursuing the major breach in international Wizarding relations. It did not look good on them that they harbored such dangerous individuals within their borders without the slightest inkling.

The obvious obstacles to their little plan were the Weasleys and the Slayer. Therefore, it was in the Ministry's utmost interest to make certain Buffy was happy and well-cared for, and, to a lesser extent the Weasleys. All in exchange for their silence, of course.

Bill and his family didn't mind. If the current circumstances came to light, the Ministry would owe them in equal parts a debt of gratitude and an extended stay in Azkaban. Though they had faith Kingsley would do what he could, they would prefer not to leave their fate in the hands of the often mercurial Wizengamot. While Harry and Bill's family were held in high esteem, there would always be those looking to knock them down a peg or two; all they needed was the ammunition.

That meant everything hinged on Buffy. Kingsley and his peers were clearly concerned, uncertain what reaction the Watcher's Council would have to all this and not wanting to do anything that would exacerbate the situation, particularly when Bill let it be known that some of her people knew where Buffy was and that she was helping on a matter the Ministry refused to address. Bill had a feeling they themselves had never been in contact with the Watcher's Council or the Slayer and instead relied on what had been recorded long ago, and it wasn't good.

Bill gave a small smile as he looked at Buffy. They were in for quite a surprise.

But first she needed to wake up.

Unwittingly, Bill's thoughts began to drift back to that night in the Hoia Baciu Forest. Though he was relieved that there would be no consequences from the Ministry, it did nothing to quell his inner turmoil, which had been roiling around since the battle. Feeling suddenly agitated, he abruptly got to his feet and began pacing around the room.

On the one hand, he was absolutely sick to his stomach whenever he thought about the savagery with which he had killed Greyback. On the other hand, he wasn't sorry at all. Even worse, it had felt natural. And that scared him, more than he could say. He had finally begun to accept the aspects of him that were more wolf than man, but he hadn't expected this. This was something else entirely.

He didn't dare broach the topic with his family. He wouldn't be able to bear it if they reacted badly to his admissions. Keeping it bottled up obviously wasn't working, either-

"I'm getting a serious case of deja vu."

Bill whipped around toward the bed at the sound of Buffy's voice.

Though she looked pale and exhausted, she was awake, looking at him with an amused expression on her face.

"Merlin's beard," he breathed. "You certainly have a flair for the dramatic, don't you?"

Buffy gave him a wry smile. "You don't know the half of it."

Bill laughed and, unable to contain himself any longer, rushed over to envelop her in an enormous hug.