Blood of Enemies, Blood of Friends
Chapter 20 - Aftermath
After Voldemort's departure, Professor Dumbledore ordered the students to follow their prefects back to their dormitories. Much to their dismay, Dawn, Andrew, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the Slayers were also ordered to return to their houses.
The injured were taken to the infirmary to be attended to by Madame Pomfrey. Buffy accompanied Giles, Robin, and Faith to the infirmary. Buffy knew that she would never be able to sleep until she knew that the others would be ok.
Each of the injured was placed on a bed in the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey quickly treated Robin's neck wound with a potion to promote healing. He was bandaged and released from her care. However, he remained in the infirmary sitting with Buffy as they waited to hear news about Faith and Giles.
Madame Pomfrey confirmed that Giles had several broken bones from the blow he had received. She gave him a potion to repair the breaks. He would have to remain in the infirmary for a day or two. Buffy was relieved. She didn't know what she would do if Spike had mortally wounded Giles. Though she was right about Spike being important in the battle against the First, he was the reason that she and Giles had turned on each other. Repairing their relationship had been a hard road, but they had finally reached the end. Things had been ok with them for the past month. Now Spike, who she had defended, almost killed Giles.
Buffy didn't understand how Spike was back, or why he would align himself with Voldemort. All she knew was that she would not allow her relationship with Giles to be destroyed again. Spike had obviously chosen to be evil, and that was the one thing that Buffy could not forgive.
Buffy remained with Robin until after Faith had been examined. Madame Pomfrey confirmed that she had been hit with a rather painful curse, but that the effects would fade after a few days. She also informed them that Draco had suffered a similar curse.
Buffy and Robin were given permission to stay with Giles and Faith under the condition that the patients were allowed to get their rest. The more rest they received, the quicker they would be able to recover. Buffy stayed by Giles' bedside until he regained consciousness. After he assured her, that he would be fine, she retired to her quarters. Robin refused to leave Faith's bedside. He slept in a chair at her bedside for the remainder of the night.
****************
Xander accompanied a very shaken Willow back to her quarters.
"I knew things were bad, but I never expected. . ." Willow trailed off.
"I know what you mean. I felt the same way, when Anya became a vengeance demon again," soothed Xander.
"That was different. Anya was hurt. Kennedy consciously decided to side with evil. She really is lost to us, isn't she?"
"I'm not going to sugar coat this, Will. This is bad."
"But look at Faith, she eventually sought her own redemption. She really is good now," Willow said hopefully.
"Yes, but Faith made that decision on her own. The only way for Kennedy to come back from this is on her own. You can't do anything to help," answered Xander.
"I know," said Willow.
"You should get some sleep," said Xander.
He turned his back to her as she dressed for bed.
Xander tucked Willow into her bed.
"This is going to be hard, but if you need anything, you know that I am here," said Xander.
"I know. I have been through worse," replied Willow.
"I know you have. I know you will get through this. But, Will, I also know this isn't going to be easy."
"Xander, stay until I fall asleep?" asked Willow.
"Anything you need," Xander replied as he made himself comfortable in the chair beside her bed. Xander fell asleep only minutes after Willow did.
Willow had not been sleeping for long, when she was awoken by a soft knock on her door. She quietly slipped out of bed, walked through the sitting room, and opened the door. Tonks was standing nervously in the hallway. "I just wanted to make sure you were ok," she said.
Willow motioned for Tonks to enter. As Willow walked over to close the door to her bedroom, so as not to wake Xander, Tonks tripped over a small table. The bang rang through the quiet suite. "I'm up; I'm up," yelled Xander from the bedroom, before appearing in the doorway to the sitting room.
"Sorry," Tonks apologized. "I am such a klutz." Willow thought that Tonks' clumsiness was kind of cute.
When Xander realized that everything was ok and that Willow would not be alone, he returned to his own room for a well deserved good night sleep.
"So are you ok?" asked Tonks.
"Kennedy made her choice. I will be here to help if she ever wants to change, but that would have to be her decision," Willow explained. "My friends were there for me, when I turned evil."
"You were hurting," said Tonks. "That makes it different."
"How do you know about what I did?" asked Willow.
"You cannot possibly think that the amount of dark energy you were channeling wouldn't be noticed by the wizarding world? I was actually one of the witches, who gave power to Rupert; so, he could shut you down," Tonks explained.
"You knew what I did, and you still want to be my friend?" asked Willow.
"Well, yeah. I mean, we all make mistakes, and it isn't like you haven't made amends," replied Tonks.
"But I tried to end the world just to stop my own pain."
"But you also saved the world from the First Evil."
Both women smiled at each other.
****************
The teens were gathered in the Gryffindor common room. The other students in their house had all retired to bed for the night.
Ron and Hermione sat close to each other on one of the couches, while Shannon took a seat on Harry's lap and Dawn paced around the room. They all watched Ginny give Andrew a quick kiss before she bounded up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.
"So how was your date?" Shannon asked Andrew, as he took a seat.
"Ginny is really nice. I had a lot of fun. Well, at least I did before the vampires showed up," he replied. "You and Harry seemed to be having a lot of fun too," Andrew added.
Shannon blushed slightly. "I did have fun," she said, glancing at Harry, who pulled her down into a kiss.
When the couple broke apart, Harry looked toward Ron and Hermione. "Well at least some good came of tonight. Those two finally admitted that they are together." Ron and Hermione both blushed but didn't argue with Harry's assessment. Ron actually put his arm around Hermione's shoulders as his way of confirming that they were together.
"Well, I am glad you two are finally an official couple. You should have seen the way you just stared into each other's eyes while you danced," added Shannon.
Hermione was beginning to become uncomfortable with the attention that she and Ron were receiving from their friends. "I am surprised anyone noticed us dancing, especially with Dawn and Draco moving all over the dance floor," said Hermione.
Shannon looked up at Dawn who was still pacing around the room. "She's right, Dawn. You two were amazing out there. Who knew that a guy our age could dance like that."
Dawn responded softly, "His parents actually made him take lessons."
"Are you ok?" asked Shannon.
"No. I am worried about Draco, not to mention that I have no idea what to even think about Spike being alive," replied Dawn.
Andrew added, " I can't believe Spike lived and went to Voldemort, instead of trying to find Buffy. The whole thing doesn't make sense."
"It really doesn't," agreed Shannon.
Dawn actually hadn't spent much time thinking about Spike's return. She was too busy worrying about Draco. She knew she should hate Draco for betraying her friends and family, but she just couldn't seem to find any anger inside herself. He had to have known that cursing the one Death Eater would cause the other to attack him. He had to have known, and yet he did it anyway. He did it to save her. Dawn should hate him, but she realized that she loved him.
"I am going to sneak down to the infirmary and make sure that Draco is ok," announced Dawn.
"You can't," said Hermione. "You will get in big trouble if you get caught."
"I don't care. I need to know that he is ok."
"Well if you insist on sneaking around the castle, you might as well not get caught," said Harry as he pushed Shannon off his lap. "Don't leave yet. I will be right back."
A few minutes later, Harry returned from his room with his invisibility cloak. He showed Dawn how to use it and made her promise not to let Malfoy know about it.
Dawn slipped on the cloak and then left the common room.
Andrew couldn't stop yawning; so, he retired to bed.
Shannon, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to wait until Dawn returned from her trip to the infirmary. Both couples really just wanted an excuse to spend more time together without a lot of prying eyes.
Shannon hopped back on Harry's lap and kissed him. Ron and Hermione tried not to gawk at their friends as Shannon and Harry continued to kiss for several minutes.
"You know, Mione, they have a pretty good idea of how to pass the time," said Ron. He couldn't believe he was being so bold, but he had been thinking about kissing her ever since that night in the Room of Requirements.
Hermione blushed deeply, as Ron pulled her close to him and began kissing her. She quickly forgot completely about their friends as she returned Ron's kiss.
****************
As Dawn approached the infirmary, she saw Buffy walking down the corridor. "Buffy," Dawn whispered. Buffy spun around in confusion. Dawn remembered that she was wearing the invisibility cloak. She quickly dropped the cloak and surprised Buffy by seeming to instantly appear.
"Dawn, what the hell?" said Buffy.
"Harry lent me his invisibility cloak," replied Dawn.
"Oh, why are you down here?" asked Buffy. "You are supposed to be in your dorm."
"I had to make sure that Draco is ok," answered Dawn.
Buffy just nodded. She knew that in Dawn's place, she would have done the same. Buffy explained that the effects of the curse would wear off in a few days. Dawn was relieved that Draco would be ok.
Dawn really wanted to tell Buffy about what the Death Eaters had said to Draco, but Dawn was afraid that her sister would over-react. Dawn decided that she would wait until she had a chance to talk to Draco about it.
"How did he get hit?" asked Buffy.
"He was protecting me," answered Dawn.
That was all that Buffy needed to hear. She told Dawn that she could sit with Draco for a while, but that she should get back to her dormitory before the morning. Dawn agreed and entered the infirmary. She quietly walked over to Draco's bed. She didn't want to wake Giles, Faith, or Robin. Dawn took Draco's hand in hers and sat quietly by his side.
Draco felt Dawn's hand in his, comforting him. He knew that he must be dreaming. She would never speak to him again, now that she knew of his betrayal. Losing her made him want to cry. Normally he would not allow himself to cry, but it seemed safe to do so in a dream.
Dawn saw a tear slide down Draco's cheek. She couldn't help herself, as she leaned forward and kissed it away.
Just before morning, Dawn returned to the Gryffindor tower. She found the two couples curled up together and sleeping in the common room. Dawn nudged her friends awake, and they retired to their rooms.
****************
Two days later both Giles and Faith were discharged from the infirmary. Giles bones had healed as Madame Pomfrey had predicted. Due to Faith's Slayer healing, she had recovered from the curse much quicker than anyone had expected.
Draco remained unconscious in the infirmary. Dawn spent every moment she could, sitting by his beside.
Chapter 20 - Aftermath
After Voldemort's departure, Professor Dumbledore ordered the students to follow their prefects back to their dormitories. Much to their dismay, Dawn, Andrew, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the Slayers were also ordered to return to their houses.
The injured were taken to the infirmary to be attended to by Madame Pomfrey. Buffy accompanied Giles, Robin, and Faith to the infirmary. Buffy knew that she would never be able to sleep until she knew that the others would be ok.
Each of the injured was placed on a bed in the infirmary. Madame Pomfrey quickly treated Robin's neck wound with a potion to promote healing. He was bandaged and released from her care. However, he remained in the infirmary sitting with Buffy as they waited to hear news about Faith and Giles.
Madame Pomfrey confirmed that Giles had several broken bones from the blow he had received. She gave him a potion to repair the breaks. He would have to remain in the infirmary for a day or two. Buffy was relieved. She didn't know what she would do if Spike had mortally wounded Giles. Though she was right about Spike being important in the battle against the First, he was the reason that she and Giles had turned on each other. Repairing their relationship had been a hard road, but they had finally reached the end. Things had been ok with them for the past month. Now Spike, who she had defended, almost killed Giles.
Buffy didn't understand how Spike was back, or why he would align himself with Voldemort. All she knew was that she would not allow her relationship with Giles to be destroyed again. Spike had obviously chosen to be evil, and that was the one thing that Buffy could not forgive.
Buffy remained with Robin until after Faith had been examined. Madame Pomfrey confirmed that she had been hit with a rather painful curse, but that the effects would fade after a few days. She also informed them that Draco had suffered a similar curse.
Buffy and Robin were given permission to stay with Giles and Faith under the condition that the patients were allowed to get their rest. The more rest they received, the quicker they would be able to recover. Buffy stayed by Giles' bedside until he regained consciousness. After he assured her, that he would be fine, she retired to her quarters. Robin refused to leave Faith's bedside. He slept in a chair at her bedside for the remainder of the night.
****************
Xander accompanied a very shaken Willow back to her quarters.
"I knew things were bad, but I never expected. . ." Willow trailed off.
"I know what you mean. I felt the same way, when Anya became a vengeance demon again," soothed Xander.
"That was different. Anya was hurt. Kennedy consciously decided to side with evil. She really is lost to us, isn't she?"
"I'm not going to sugar coat this, Will. This is bad."
"But look at Faith, she eventually sought her own redemption. She really is good now," Willow said hopefully.
"Yes, but Faith made that decision on her own. The only way for Kennedy to come back from this is on her own. You can't do anything to help," answered Xander.
"I know," said Willow.
"You should get some sleep," said Xander.
He turned his back to her as she dressed for bed.
Xander tucked Willow into her bed.
"This is going to be hard, but if you need anything, you know that I am here," said Xander.
"I know. I have been through worse," replied Willow.
"I know you have. I know you will get through this. But, Will, I also know this isn't going to be easy."
"Xander, stay until I fall asleep?" asked Willow.
"Anything you need," Xander replied as he made himself comfortable in the chair beside her bed. Xander fell asleep only minutes after Willow did.
Willow had not been sleeping for long, when she was awoken by a soft knock on her door. She quietly slipped out of bed, walked through the sitting room, and opened the door. Tonks was standing nervously in the hallway. "I just wanted to make sure you were ok," she said.
Willow motioned for Tonks to enter. As Willow walked over to close the door to her bedroom, so as not to wake Xander, Tonks tripped over a small table. The bang rang through the quiet suite. "I'm up; I'm up," yelled Xander from the bedroom, before appearing in the doorway to the sitting room.
"Sorry," Tonks apologized. "I am such a klutz." Willow thought that Tonks' clumsiness was kind of cute.
When Xander realized that everything was ok and that Willow would not be alone, he returned to his own room for a well deserved good night sleep.
"So are you ok?" asked Tonks.
"Kennedy made her choice. I will be here to help if she ever wants to change, but that would have to be her decision," Willow explained. "My friends were there for me, when I turned evil."
"You were hurting," said Tonks. "That makes it different."
"How do you know about what I did?" asked Willow.
"You cannot possibly think that the amount of dark energy you were channeling wouldn't be noticed by the wizarding world? I was actually one of the witches, who gave power to Rupert; so, he could shut you down," Tonks explained.
"You knew what I did, and you still want to be my friend?" asked Willow.
"Well, yeah. I mean, we all make mistakes, and it isn't like you haven't made amends," replied Tonks.
"But I tried to end the world just to stop my own pain."
"But you also saved the world from the First Evil."
Both women smiled at each other.
****************
The teens were gathered in the Gryffindor common room. The other students in their house had all retired to bed for the night.
Ron and Hermione sat close to each other on one of the couches, while Shannon took a seat on Harry's lap and Dawn paced around the room. They all watched Ginny give Andrew a quick kiss before she bounded up the stairs to the girls' dormitory.
"So how was your date?" Shannon asked Andrew, as he took a seat.
"Ginny is really nice. I had a lot of fun. Well, at least I did before the vampires showed up," he replied. "You and Harry seemed to be having a lot of fun too," Andrew added.
Shannon blushed slightly. "I did have fun," she said, glancing at Harry, who pulled her down into a kiss.
When the couple broke apart, Harry looked toward Ron and Hermione. "Well at least some good came of tonight. Those two finally admitted that they are together." Ron and Hermione both blushed but didn't argue with Harry's assessment. Ron actually put his arm around Hermione's shoulders as his way of confirming that they were together.
"Well, I am glad you two are finally an official couple. You should have seen the way you just stared into each other's eyes while you danced," added Shannon.
Hermione was beginning to become uncomfortable with the attention that she and Ron were receiving from their friends. "I am surprised anyone noticed us dancing, especially with Dawn and Draco moving all over the dance floor," said Hermione.
Shannon looked up at Dawn who was still pacing around the room. "She's right, Dawn. You two were amazing out there. Who knew that a guy our age could dance like that."
Dawn responded softly, "His parents actually made him take lessons."
"Are you ok?" asked Shannon.
"No. I am worried about Draco, not to mention that I have no idea what to even think about Spike being alive," replied Dawn.
Andrew added, " I can't believe Spike lived and went to Voldemort, instead of trying to find Buffy. The whole thing doesn't make sense."
"It really doesn't," agreed Shannon.
Dawn actually hadn't spent much time thinking about Spike's return. She was too busy worrying about Draco. She knew she should hate Draco for betraying her friends and family, but she just couldn't seem to find any anger inside herself. He had to have known that cursing the one Death Eater would cause the other to attack him. He had to have known, and yet he did it anyway. He did it to save her. Dawn should hate him, but she realized that she loved him.
"I am going to sneak down to the infirmary and make sure that Draco is ok," announced Dawn.
"You can't," said Hermione. "You will get in big trouble if you get caught."
"I don't care. I need to know that he is ok."
"Well if you insist on sneaking around the castle, you might as well not get caught," said Harry as he pushed Shannon off his lap. "Don't leave yet. I will be right back."
A few minutes later, Harry returned from his room with his invisibility cloak. He showed Dawn how to use it and made her promise not to let Malfoy know about it.
Dawn slipped on the cloak and then left the common room.
Andrew couldn't stop yawning; so, he retired to bed.
Shannon, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decided to wait until Dawn returned from her trip to the infirmary. Both couples really just wanted an excuse to spend more time together without a lot of prying eyes.
Shannon hopped back on Harry's lap and kissed him. Ron and Hermione tried not to gawk at their friends as Shannon and Harry continued to kiss for several minutes.
"You know, Mione, they have a pretty good idea of how to pass the time," said Ron. He couldn't believe he was being so bold, but he had been thinking about kissing her ever since that night in the Room of Requirements.
Hermione blushed deeply, as Ron pulled her close to him and began kissing her. She quickly forgot completely about their friends as she returned Ron's kiss.
****************
As Dawn approached the infirmary, she saw Buffy walking down the corridor. "Buffy," Dawn whispered. Buffy spun around in confusion. Dawn remembered that she was wearing the invisibility cloak. She quickly dropped the cloak and surprised Buffy by seeming to instantly appear.
"Dawn, what the hell?" said Buffy.
"Harry lent me his invisibility cloak," replied Dawn.
"Oh, why are you down here?" asked Buffy. "You are supposed to be in your dorm."
"I had to make sure that Draco is ok," answered Dawn.
Buffy just nodded. She knew that in Dawn's place, she would have done the same. Buffy explained that the effects of the curse would wear off in a few days. Dawn was relieved that Draco would be ok.
Dawn really wanted to tell Buffy about what the Death Eaters had said to Draco, but Dawn was afraid that her sister would over-react. Dawn decided that she would wait until she had a chance to talk to Draco about it.
"How did he get hit?" asked Buffy.
"He was protecting me," answered Dawn.
That was all that Buffy needed to hear. She told Dawn that she could sit with Draco for a while, but that she should get back to her dormitory before the morning. Dawn agreed and entered the infirmary. She quietly walked over to Draco's bed. She didn't want to wake Giles, Faith, or Robin. Dawn took Draco's hand in hers and sat quietly by his side.
Draco felt Dawn's hand in his, comforting him. He knew that he must be dreaming. She would never speak to him again, now that she knew of his betrayal. Losing her made him want to cry. Normally he would not allow himself to cry, but it seemed safe to do so in a dream.
Dawn saw a tear slide down Draco's cheek. She couldn't help herself, as she leaned forward and kissed it away.
Just before morning, Dawn returned to the Gryffindor tower. She found the two couples curled up together and sleeping in the common room. Dawn nudged her friends awake, and they retired to their rooms.
****************
Two days later both Giles and Faith were discharged from the infirmary. Giles bones had healed as Madame Pomfrey had predicted. Due to Faith's Slayer healing, she had recovered from the curse much quicker than anyone had expected.
Draco remained unconscious in the infirmary. Dawn spent every moment she could, sitting by his beside.