Author's Notes: This is the seventh chapter in my new HP/BtVS crossover.
The series is called 'Over The Rainbow' and the chapter is entitled 'Not
Alone'. The rating for this chapter is PG. As far as 'spoilers' go, this
story takes place after Goblet of Fire and after Season 5 of BtVS. In my
world they correspond at the same time. So, Anya isn't a demon and is with
Xander, Tara is alive and with Willow, Spike is NOT souled, and Giles is
still around.
If you're interested in receiving a copy of this story with a header for posting on a website, email me at jesca10@attbi.com.
Some notes on the fic:
Just another thanks for everyone who is sending such nice feedback for this story. To answer some questions, the history of Buffy has been changed, what with Dawn leaving and all so things may not go as it did on the show. Buffy may not be revived, Tara may not die, Xander may not leave Anya. Nothing after season five will happen exactly like it did on the show. Also, I have no idea the direction of this story. I just write what comes to me. So as for whether the Dawn/Draco thing will be like Buffy/Spike, I have no idea. To those who wonder if Dawn will be with Draco or with Harry.I have no idea. I guess we'll all just have to see.;)
On with the story.
*~*~*
Classes went on like normal on Tuesday. While the students were in class, the adults were being given the grand tour. Double Transfiguration didn't usually slip away so swiftly, but it was over before anyone knew it. Dawn was relieved. Ever since she had woken up and realized that today was the Ravenclaw game, she was feeling her stomach was in knots.
"Nervous?" Harry asked her as the class let out.
"Very," she confirmed.
"Don't be. You'll do great," he said and slipped an arm around her shoulders. She smiled up at him.
"Hey Harry," a voice said making the two look over. Cho Chang smiled at Harry and his arm slipped from around Dawn almost immediately.
"Hey Cho," he said. His voice had a sort of dreamy quality to it. Dawn's eyes narrowed. She folded her arms in front of herself. As per usual, Cho didn't look at anyone but Harry as she spoke.
"I just wanted to wish you luck tonight," she smiled. She leaned forward a little and put her hand on Harry's shoulder. He seemed shocked by her touch. "I'm more than a little nervous. It's one thing to do this in front of the school, but all those parents." She smiled.
"Oh, you have nothing to worry about Cho. You're a great Seeker." She smiled prettily at the compliment. Dawn started to feel like maybe she should leave Harry to this when someone bumped her from behind, making her shoot forward into Cho. She gave a startled sound as she careened into the girl, knocking her down. Cho landed with an oomph, Dawn on top of her.
"Cho! Dawn! Are you ok?" Harry said, trying to pull Dawn off of Cho. Dawn looked over at who had pushed her and noticed Malfoy and his two lackeys laughing as they were walking away. She pushed Harry's hands away, irritated and got up off of Cho.
"I'm sorry," she said, trying to help Cho up. Cho looked very put out as she accepted Harry's help up, ignoring Dawn's. She glared at Dawn.
"What are you trying to do? Break something so I can't play today?" She straightened her robes angrily.
"No.I.I was pushed," Dawn wasn't expecting this kind of behavior from the girl.
"I don't think she meant to-" Harry stopped at Cho's hurt look.
"I'll see you later, Harry," she said, walking away stiffly. Harry watched her go, totally oblivious to Dawn or anyone for a moment. He looked as if his puppy had died. Dawn rubbed her now sore elbow and watched Harry, hurt. Finally Harry snapped out of it, as Cho turned the corner out of sight.
"You ok?" Harry said, turning to Dawn. By this time, Dawn was really upset.
"Thanks for sticking up for me, Harry," she said accusingly.
"What? I.I was going to but."
"Forget it," she said, a little irritably. "Let's go find the others."
Harry frowned at her but didn't protest. They walked to the school, looking for the others and their families.
*~*~*
Willow frowned and checked her map. All the visitors were given a map so they could find their way around the school. Each map was enchanted so that it showed the user their location and all of the rooms of note were marked. But for some reason, Willow's map didn't seem to be working. Nothing registered on it. She thought about doing a little magic to make it work but she wasn't sure what kind of spell to use. Instead she rolled up the map and started to look around manually.
Ever since she had learned about Hogwarts from Giles she had been dying to come here. The idea of an entire school set up to teach young people magic was just thrilling to her. Most people in America seemed to view magic as some Satan-worshiping voodoo and it was somewhat refreshing to her to know that not everyone felt that way.
She saw some stairs leading downwards. She was quite sure that this was not the way back to the Great Hall, where she was anxious to have lunch, but she hoped she would run into someone just the same. Willow descended the steps slowly, looking around. It was darker down there and the halls were colder. She looked down at her clothes. She was wearing a light blue shirt that made her green eyes more aqua colored. It was an off the shoulder top, and right now her shoulders were starting to prickle with goosebumps. Added to that, her black skirt, while not tight, was rather short. It was pleated and swished around her thighs. She wasn't too worried about it's length thought. Her black tights covered everything. But right now the thin material that her tights were made out of seemed to let the cold right in to her skin.
"Lost?" she heard a voice from behind her. She jumped, flinging herself around. It was Severus Snape. He had just walked out of a room and was standing in its doorway. Willow's mouth went dry and she couldn't make herself make sound. Snape was quite imposing that day he was on the balcony, but up close, he was even more so. He stood there with his black hair hanging down around his face. His wide shoulders as well as his entire frame was draped in black robes. His hands were unseen within the robes. Her eyes traveled to his face, which looked slightly as if he were seeing something he didn't understand.
"Daft?" he asked, this time sounding annoyed. That snapped her out of her thoughts.
"What?"
He sighed, as if being very patient. "Are you daft, woman?"
"No. Not daft. Not dumb. Not deaf, either. You just startled me."
His chin came up a little and he took a step forward, closing the door he came from. "Obviously." She narrowed her eyes. He sure was being nasty. "Are you lost?"
"Obviously," she said, mocking his tone and dropping her voice a little. His eyes widened a bit and his nostrils flared. She widened her eyes a moment, a bit intimidated by him. He looked like he might want to turn her into a toad.
"Follow me." He turned, his robes swirling around him, and started to walk the way she had come from. She frowned but followed him. She noticed that he was keeping a brisk pace ahead of her and the way she was following him, it almost seemed as if she were one of his students and she were in trouble. She jogged a little to walk next to him, rather than behind him.
"So," she said brightly, "you teach here?"
He looked at her as if she were stupid. She looked surprised at his nastiness.
"Well, I'm certainly not a student here."
"I guess not. But you could be some unlucky kid's dad," she muttered.
"No, I couldn't," he said tightly, staring straight ahead.
"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
He sighed, breaking her off. "Save your apologies. I didn't mean couldn't as in I can't spawn but rather couldn't as in I wouldn't want to."
"Oh." Willow looked ahead. She wondered to herself what could make a man so nasty to someone he didn't know. But then she realized that he did know she was a friend of Giles'.
"So you know Giles, huh?" she said, watching his face. She got him to look at her, but only for a moment before he looked ahead.
"Yes."
"You guys used to be friends."
"Yes."
"What happened?" she asked. He seemed to be getting annoyed, but annoying him was better than walking through these halls, silent and as if she were cowed.
"Do you do little else but talk? I never understood the need to fill a perfectly good quiet with useless prattle for the sake of having something to say. You'll forgive me, but small talk isn't my strong suit."
Willow stopped in her tracks. It took him a moment but Snape noticed she was not following and stopped as well. He looked at her and she looked angry. He raised an eyebrow at that.
"No, I won't forgive you. Actually, I think I'll dislike you instead. I have no idea what I could have possibly done to make you so crabby, but you can just escort yourself to where ever you're going. I'll find my way out, without you." She stalked past him. His expression didn't change as she past him, but she didn't care. She was full of indignant anger.
When she came to a fork in the hallway she stopped. She started turning left but then thought about it and started to go right.
"So sure are you?" she heard Snape say from behind her. She inwardly groaned. Finally she turned around.
"Which way?"
He looked at her a moment. "I apologize for my harshness. It wasn't meant to be offensive." He looked uncomfortable with the apology and she eyed him suspiciously.
"Well it was," Willow said, almost pouting. He watched her face and could see the moment she decided to put it behind her. She stuck her hand out to him. "I'm Willow Rosenberg," she introduced herself.
He looked at her hand a second before taking it. His hand was rough and a bit chilly. It engulfed her much smaller hand. "Severus Snape," he said, pulling his hand away afterwards. He still looked as if he was trying to comprehend her.
"So, which way?" she asked, eyeing the fork. He indicated the right and she followed, faintly aware that she was going to head the right way even without Snape's help.
"Did you not get a map?" he asked her.
"Yeah, I did. But it's broken," she said, handing him the map. He stopped and opened it. He took his wand out.
"Revealio!" he shouted and the map glowed for a moment. She watched intently as he used his wand. He handed it back to her and she saw that it was indeed working. She smiled a little.
"Thanks."
He nodded curtly, starting up again.
"You know, you should just talk to him."
"I haven't a clue what you are talking about."
"Giles. He's a good guy. You should just talk to him."
Snape looked over at her but was silent.
"Are you afraid?"
"I am not afraid," he said, his mouth pulling into a thin line.
"Well then, why not talk to him?"
"That's my business, Miss Rosenberg, and I'll thank you to stay out of it."
"Ok.no need to get grumpy again," she frowned.
"I am not grumpy," he said, the word grumpy came out as if it tasted poor in his mouth.
"Right," she said, "and I'm not a redhead."
Snape sighed in frustration and was about to say something when Willow noticed the Great Hall.
"Oh! My stop. Thanks!" She smiled a little to him before walking in, spying Dawn and heading towards the Gryffindor table.
Dawn smiled as she saw Willow come in. She frowned a little when she saw that Snape entered just behind her. Had they come together?
Lunch was fairly pleasant, except for the gut wrenching nerves and the disturbing feeling that someone was watching her that was. Dawn looked over to the Slytherin table. Her blue eyes connected with steely ice ones. The way Lucius looked at her unnerved her. She looked away, trying to concentrate on the conversation at the table.
After lunch, she had about an hour before the match would begin.
"I have something for you," Giles said to her. She looked at him with interest.
"Oh?"
He smiled and led her away from the Great Hall, alone. He took her through many halls she hadn't been in before, and she was sure he was taking her to his quarters.
"Am I even supposed to be in this part of the castle?" she asked, looking around with mild interest.
"I'm sure it's all right if you're accompanied by me," he assured her.
"I'm nervous about the game," Dawn said after a moment.
"Well I'm confident that you will do a smashing job, Dawn. You're quite a talented girl, you know."
She flushed at the compliment. They stopped at a door. He looked at Dawn a second before he spoke the password.
"Anne," he said and the door opened. Dawn smiled. Buffy's middle name.
Inside, Dawn stared at the room. It was huge! It was actually like a small apartment. There was a sitting room with a fireplace, some couches and a desk pushed against the wall. There was a small bar against another wall and a door lead to the bedroom. Dawn could see the canopied bed from where she stood.
"This is bloody fantastic!" Dawn said. She looked at Giles who was looking at her in amusement. She looked confused for a moment.
"What?" she asked.
"Bloody?" he chuckled. "Be careful, Dawn. You're starting to sound British."
She laughed a little. "Wouldn't want that, now would we?" she teased. "So what's the surprise?" she asked.
"This," he said, bringing out a shining new broom. Dawn's eyes widened considerably.
"It's a-"
"Nimbus 2001," Dawn said in awe. She looked rooted to the spot and Giles smiled as he brought the broomstick to her. She gratefully accepted it, giving him a fierce hug.
"Well, it isn't a Firebolt, but I didn't want you going out on a borrowed school broom, either," he said, rubbing her back in a fatherly fashion as he hugged her in return.
She smiled to her new broomstick. "I've got to try this out before the match."
*~*~*
Dawn strapped her protective gear on and put her cloak around her shoulders. She was ready. The weather was holding up. It was cold but not as rainy as it had been in past weeks. She felt an excited flutter in her stomach. Her first game.
When Angelina led them all to the doors that would take them out, Dawn gripped her new Nimbus 2001 tightly as she mounted it. It was time.
The Gryffindor team roared out of the doors as soon as it opened and the team did some fancy synchronized flying before everyone settled in their spots. Cheers from Gryffindor and polite clapping from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw met them. Slytherins hissed at the Gryffindor players. Ravenclaw flew out shortly after Gryffindor and they were met with a round of applause from both Slytherin and Ravenclaws. It didn't faze anyone, though. Slytherins usually rooted for whoever was playing against Gryffindor.
Dawn looked around, as nervous as she'd ever been. She spotted Giles and Willow seated by the Gryffindors. She wished Spike could join them, but with the sun out, it wasn't possible. She had seen very little of him since everyone arrived and she was a little concerned about how he had been spending his time.
Dawn glanced over to the Slytherin side and noticed Lucius watching her intently. She noticed Draco beside him, his look guarded. She narrowed her eyes a little, making Lucius smile a little more. She looked away, putting her mind on Quidditch.
When the Quaffle was up, Dawn pushed all other thoughts away. She focused on the activity of the ball and blocked out all other things. She watched the Ravenclaw Chasers as they tossed the ball back and forth between the three. One of the twins darted in front of Dawn's sight and she heard the sound of a Bludger being swatted away, but she didn't let it distract her. She had learned to trust the Beaters. When the ball was thrown to a hoop Dawn quickly darted out in front of the ball, batting it away with the tail of her broom. The crowd cheered.
Katie tossed the ball to Angelina who dove quickly to miss two Ravenclaw Chasers who were trying to sandwich her and tossed it to Alicia who made it through the hoop.
"Ten points for Gryffindor!" Dawn heard Lee Jordan yell.
She was up again when one of the Ravenclaw Chasers faked throwing the ball, tossing it way over her head to a waiting teammate behind the hoops. Dawn moved upwards to catch the ball and didn't get down fast enough before the Chaser flew around and tossed it into the hoop.
"Ten points for Ravenclaw!" Dawn narrowed her eyes and remained focused.
The Ravenclaw Keeper seemed to be in some sort of a funk as the next three attempts to score for Gryffindor worked and Dawn started to feel exhilarated with the idea of winning her first game. She let herself get so sidetracked with her thoughts, though, that she barely was able to put herself between the ball and one of the hoops she was supposed to be guarding. The incident put her back on track as she blocked the next attempt as well. Third time looked to be the charm for Ravenclaw as she missed the next attempt. Dawn hit her broomstick handle in frustration. She missed seeing the Bludger that was hit towards her until it was on her and she flew off of her broomstick, landing hard in the sand below. Her broomstick landed beside her, but Dawn couldn't get up. The wind had been totally knocked out of her and she struggled to breathe. She looked up and saw Draco Malfoy looking over the side at her. She gritted her teeth and stood, picking up her broom. She didn't bother to brush herself off but ascended quickly before Ravenclaw could make another goal.
The game went on a lot longer than anyone had expected it would. When the sun went down, a time out was called and lights were turned on. Dawn flew to a refreshment stand and drank down some water quickly. Her forehead had blood on it from hitting the hoops as she was defending them, but the blood was long dried. Her hands hurt worse than she had ever felt from catching the Quaffle so many times. The score was 110 to 130 with Gryffindor in the lead.
"They're good!" one of the twins said, nearly out of breath.
"Yeah, it looks like their new Chaser is really working for them," Angelina said with a frown. "Harry, we're counting on you. I know you haven't done this in the dark before and the snitch is going to be even harder to see, but we need this win," she said. He nodded.
"I almost had it but Cho cut me off.again," he said, a little frustrated.
"You remember your third year when she kept doing that?" Angelina asked. Harry nodded. "She's not stupid, Potter. She knows what she's doing. It's fairly obvious that you have a thing for her." Harry flushed a little and Dawn looked away. "Get over it. This is Quidditch. There's no room for that here, got me?" she said, seriously. Harry nodded, knowing she was right.
When the whistle blew, the team scurried to their positions. Dawn was happy to note that Spike had come to watch her play now that the sun had gone down.
The game started in a frenzy. A Bludger nearly unseated Harry as he dove for what could only be the snitch. Dawn put her mind to the Quaffle. After being hit with a Bludger, though, she was a little more worried about them. Still, no Bludger came to hit her and soon she was totally focused on keeping the Quaffle from the hoops. Both teams seemed to be evenly matched. Neither was making much in the way of scores. It was going to come down to endurance, and the snitch.
Dawn circled the hoops, a trick she liked to do once in a while. Ravenclaw Chasers seemed to be falling for it now more than before. Dawn was sure it was because they were more tired. Just as Dawn got around the far right hoop the Ravenclaws would throw left. Because Dawn was too close to the right and center hoop, it forced them to throw left and knowing where your opponent was going to throw was half the battle. Dawn quickly maneuvered down, through the poles that held the hoops and up in time to catch the Quaffle. She grinned as the Ravenclaw Chaser cursed and flew off. Dawn caught Cho's eye as the girl flew by. Dawn threw the ball to Alicia and the game continued.
Keeping the Quaffle from the hoops became easier as the night went on. Both teams were getting tired and their imaginations where running down. Dawn hoped they would call another time out, but she knew they were rare. She narrowed her eyes as she saw two Ravenclaw Chasers weaving around, tossing the ball back and forth. Cho was racing towards Dawn's end of the field from closer to the ground, her eyes seemed to be focused on something. Harry was close behind her. Dawn focused on the Chasers until suddenly the ball was dropped and Cho caught it. Dawn didn't even notice that Cho had the ball until it sailed past her, through the hoop, scoring the tying score of 140 for Ravenclaw. Dawn's eyes widened. She didn't even know the Seeker could score, much less to think that she would. Her eyes narrowed as she caught Cho's satisfied look being thrown her way. No way was another score being made by the Ravenclaws, Dawn vowed.
Energy seeped through Dawn and her tired body seemed to be rejuvenated. The Ravenclaw Chasers were unable to get past her as she repeatedly blocked the Quaffle as it neared her hoops. Although she was doing well before, when she was angry, she was even better.
While the Quaffle was on it's way to the Ravenclaw Keeper, Dawn spotted Harry and Cho, side by side diving towards the ground. They were going so fast, her image of them blurred. Harry started pulling in front of her and Dawn was sure he was going to hit the ground. Cho pulled out before Harry though and Harry pulled up just in time, the Golden Snitch in hand. Gryffindor had won!
The crowd erupted with cheers as Dawn and the other Gryffindors went to Harry, cheering and patting him on the back. Dawn cast a huge smile towards Draco who was just watching on, his face impassive. She looked to her friends who were clapping for Gryffindor. Willow was standing up and whistling too. Dawn waved at them, a happy expression on her face. The team, lead by Harry, started to fly back to the locker rooms, but they made a victory lap around the field first. Dawn was smiling out to all of the people who where waving and clapping. As they rounded the hoops and prepared to descend towards the building Dawn caught a glimpse of a girl standing on the ground next to the hoops Ravenclaw was guarding during the game. Something about the girl made Dawn's eyes fix on her and as she got closer and the face became clearer, Dawn fainted.
*~*~*
Dawn was floating in a black abyss. She couldn't see anything. But she seemed to be swimming. It was calm. She didn't seem to be breathing, but she didn't seem to have to either. She just swam along until something hit her hand. She grasped it and swam upwards, taking it with her. When she got to the top, sight flashed to her eyes and she was in the water. She was in the middle of the ocean and it was stormy and the sky was grey. She was floating on the item she bumped into and grabbed. She looked down and at the thing and realized it was Buffy's headstone. Buffy's name peeked out at her and she screamed herself awake.
Dawn looked around her. She was sat up in bed and Willow, Giles, Spike, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were beside her bed. They all looked concerned but it was Giles who had his hand on her shoulder and was telling her it was all ok.
"Buffy," Dawn said, panting as if she had ran a race. "Buffy was out there." She knew she sounded stupid but she could have sworn she saw Buffy.
"Dawn, calm down and I'll tell you everything," Giles said. The way that he said it made her heart constrict for a moment in hope. She lay back in bed and did her best to calm her breathing. Giles seemed to be waiting for her and the seconds ticked on like years.
"So?" she finally asked, impatiently.
"I am not sure how to begin. I had, on many occasions, practiced how to tell you, but I never imagined that it would happen this way."
"Giles, just tell me," Dawn said with feeling.
"I resurrected Buffy," Willow said simply. "Well, I had help, but." she trailed off. Giles shoulders slumped a little at not being able to tell it to Dawn more delicately. He looked at Dawn.
Dawn's eyes were as wide as saucers. She looked at everyone's face, but she could see no humor. This wasn't a joke. That really was Buffy.
"Where is she?" she whispered, not really trusting her voice. She heard a clicking of heels that made her whirl her head over towards the curtain that separated her bed in the infirmary from the others. She held her breath as the heels echoed in her ears until finally Buffy emerged from behind the curtain. Dawn drew a full breath in. Buffy was just the way she remembered her. Thoughts that this could be the Buffybot flashed through her mind, but she new that her friends wouldn't do that to her.
"Hi, Dawn," Buffy said, timidly. The way Dawn was looking at her made her remember the first time she saw one of the castle ghosts. She must have looked the same way. Dawn just stared at her for a moment and Buffy let her have that moment. She knew this was going to be hard to digest. It was hard for her to digest at first.
Dawn's eyes started to water a little and she held a hand out to her sister. Buffy's face looked relieved as she came towards Dawn, taking her hand and sitting on the bed. Dawn threw her arms around her and hugged her sister as tight as she could. Buffy's arms closed around her and instantly Dawn felt complete. Buffy was alive. Buffy was alive and she was here. For once Dawn felt like she was not alone.
*~*~*
It seemed like forever when the last of her friends left. All she wanted was to be alone with Buffy and talk to her for a while. Although it took a while, finally they were alone.
"When did this happen?" Dawn asked Buffy.
"About a month ago," Buffy smiled. "They wanted to tell you then, but I was.well let's just say I wasn't myself. They weren't sure if I'd recover or not and so they decided to wait to tell you." Dawn just stared at her as if Buffy might disappear if she blinked. "Please don't be angry, Dawn. They wanted to tell you, but they didn't want you to be worried."
"I'm not mad. I just.how?"
"Willow, mostly. She got the help of Anya, Xander, and Tara too. But it was mostly Willow. She's been plotting this ever since I died, apparently." Buffy had a far away look in her eyes for a moment and then seemed to snap out of it. "Cost her a lot. She and Tara aren't together anymore."
"What?" Dawn seemed truly shocked.
"Yeah. Tara was worried that Willow was using too much magic and Willow and she had a fight that broke them up. Don't tell me you've not noticed Willow's new look?"
"I've noticed. Her clothes are tighter and.less," Dawn awkwardly said.
"Yeah. She started that when Tara left. She's been a little more wild lately. Hanging out with Amy."
"Amy?"
"The rat?"
"Oh," Dawn said, her brows furrowed. She couldn't help but think of how Willow was looking at the balcony Snape was on that day or how they seemed to come in together at the Great Hall before the Quidditch game.
"What is it?" Buffy asked.
"Oh, nothing. I'm sorry. I just phased out for a moment." Dawn smiled at Buffy. It was good to see her.
"Well, Giles wrote to Dumbledore and told him I would be late but that I would be here and he gave the permission for me to be here, even though there were already three people coming." Dawn smiled. "Well, I think we should get this nurse to let you out of here. I want to see everything and properly meet your friends. We should make the best of this week before we go back to Sunnydale."
"We?" Dawn suddenly felt a chill creep over her.
"Yeah. Now that I'm home, there's no reason for you to stay here," Buffy said, smiling. Dawn's mind started racing. No more Harry. No more Hermione. No more magic. No more Quidditch. No more Hogwarts. "We'll be like a family again. You, me, the gang. All together again. The way it should be."
If you're interested in receiving a copy of this story with a header for posting on a website, email me at jesca10@attbi.com.
Some notes on the fic:
Just another thanks for everyone who is sending such nice feedback for this story. To answer some questions, the history of Buffy has been changed, what with Dawn leaving and all so things may not go as it did on the show. Buffy may not be revived, Tara may not die, Xander may not leave Anya. Nothing after season five will happen exactly like it did on the show. Also, I have no idea the direction of this story. I just write what comes to me. So as for whether the Dawn/Draco thing will be like Buffy/Spike, I have no idea. To those who wonder if Dawn will be with Draco or with Harry.I have no idea. I guess we'll all just have to see.;)
On with the story.
*~*~*
Classes went on like normal on Tuesday. While the students were in class, the adults were being given the grand tour. Double Transfiguration didn't usually slip away so swiftly, but it was over before anyone knew it. Dawn was relieved. Ever since she had woken up and realized that today was the Ravenclaw game, she was feeling her stomach was in knots.
"Nervous?" Harry asked her as the class let out.
"Very," she confirmed.
"Don't be. You'll do great," he said and slipped an arm around her shoulders. She smiled up at him.
"Hey Harry," a voice said making the two look over. Cho Chang smiled at Harry and his arm slipped from around Dawn almost immediately.
"Hey Cho," he said. His voice had a sort of dreamy quality to it. Dawn's eyes narrowed. She folded her arms in front of herself. As per usual, Cho didn't look at anyone but Harry as she spoke.
"I just wanted to wish you luck tonight," she smiled. She leaned forward a little and put her hand on Harry's shoulder. He seemed shocked by her touch. "I'm more than a little nervous. It's one thing to do this in front of the school, but all those parents." She smiled.
"Oh, you have nothing to worry about Cho. You're a great Seeker." She smiled prettily at the compliment. Dawn started to feel like maybe she should leave Harry to this when someone bumped her from behind, making her shoot forward into Cho. She gave a startled sound as she careened into the girl, knocking her down. Cho landed with an oomph, Dawn on top of her.
"Cho! Dawn! Are you ok?" Harry said, trying to pull Dawn off of Cho. Dawn looked over at who had pushed her and noticed Malfoy and his two lackeys laughing as they were walking away. She pushed Harry's hands away, irritated and got up off of Cho.
"I'm sorry," she said, trying to help Cho up. Cho looked very put out as she accepted Harry's help up, ignoring Dawn's. She glared at Dawn.
"What are you trying to do? Break something so I can't play today?" She straightened her robes angrily.
"No.I.I was pushed," Dawn wasn't expecting this kind of behavior from the girl.
"I don't think she meant to-" Harry stopped at Cho's hurt look.
"I'll see you later, Harry," she said, walking away stiffly. Harry watched her go, totally oblivious to Dawn or anyone for a moment. He looked as if his puppy had died. Dawn rubbed her now sore elbow and watched Harry, hurt. Finally Harry snapped out of it, as Cho turned the corner out of sight.
"You ok?" Harry said, turning to Dawn. By this time, Dawn was really upset.
"Thanks for sticking up for me, Harry," she said accusingly.
"What? I.I was going to but."
"Forget it," she said, a little irritably. "Let's go find the others."
Harry frowned at her but didn't protest. They walked to the school, looking for the others and their families.
*~*~*
Willow frowned and checked her map. All the visitors were given a map so they could find their way around the school. Each map was enchanted so that it showed the user their location and all of the rooms of note were marked. But for some reason, Willow's map didn't seem to be working. Nothing registered on it. She thought about doing a little magic to make it work but she wasn't sure what kind of spell to use. Instead she rolled up the map and started to look around manually.
Ever since she had learned about Hogwarts from Giles she had been dying to come here. The idea of an entire school set up to teach young people magic was just thrilling to her. Most people in America seemed to view magic as some Satan-worshiping voodoo and it was somewhat refreshing to her to know that not everyone felt that way.
She saw some stairs leading downwards. She was quite sure that this was not the way back to the Great Hall, where she was anxious to have lunch, but she hoped she would run into someone just the same. Willow descended the steps slowly, looking around. It was darker down there and the halls were colder. She looked down at her clothes. She was wearing a light blue shirt that made her green eyes more aqua colored. It was an off the shoulder top, and right now her shoulders were starting to prickle with goosebumps. Added to that, her black skirt, while not tight, was rather short. It was pleated and swished around her thighs. She wasn't too worried about it's length thought. Her black tights covered everything. But right now the thin material that her tights were made out of seemed to let the cold right in to her skin.
"Lost?" she heard a voice from behind her. She jumped, flinging herself around. It was Severus Snape. He had just walked out of a room and was standing in its doorway. Willow's mouth went dry and she couldn't make herself make sound. Snape was quite imposing that day he was on the balcony, but up close, he was even more so. He stood there with his black hair hanging down around his face. His wide shoulders as well as his entire frame was draped in black robes. His hands were unseen within the robes. Her eyes traveled to his face, which looked slightly as if he were seeing something he didn't understand.
"Daft?" he asked, this time sounding annoyed. That snapped her out of her thoughts.
"What?"
He sighed, as if being very patient. "Are you daft, woman?"
"No. Not daft. Not dumb. Not deaf, either. You just startled me."
His chin came up a little and he took a step forward, closing the door he came from. "Obviously." She narrowed her eyes. He sure was being nasty. "Are you lost?"
"Obviously," she said, mocking his tone and dropping her voice a little. His eyes widened a bit and his nostrils flared. She widened her eyes a moment, a bit intimidated by him. He looked like he might want to turn her into a toad.
"Follow me." He turned, his robes swirling around him, and started to walk the way she had come from. She frowned but followed him. She noticed that he was keeping a brisk pace ahead of her and the way she was following him, it almost seemed as if she were one of his students and she were in trouble. She jogged a little to walk next to him, rather than behind him.
"So," she said brightly, "you teach here?"
He looked at her as if she were stupid. She looked surprised at his nastiness.
"Well, I'm certainly not a student here."
"I guess not. But you could be some unlucky kid's dad," she muttered.
"No, I couldn't," he said tightly, staring straight ahead.
"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"
He sighed, breaking her off. "Save your apologies. I didn't mean couldn't as in I can't spawn but rather couldn't as in I wouldn't want to."
"Oh." Willow looked ahead. She wondered to herself what could make a man so nasty to someone he didn't know. But then she realized that he did know she was a friend of Giles'.
"So you know Giles, huh?" she said, watching his face. She got him to look at her, but only for a moment before he looked ahead.
"Yes."
"You guys used to be friends."
"Yes."
"What happened?" she asked. He seemed to be getting annoyed, but annoying him was better than walking through these halls, silent and as if she were cowed.
"Do you do little else but talk? I never understood the need to fill a perfectly good quiet with useless prattle for the sake of having something to say. You'll forgive me, but small talk isn't my strong suit."
Willow stopped in her tracks. It took him a moment but Snape noticed she was not following and stopped as well. He looked at her and she looked angry. He raised an eyebrow at that.
"No, I won't forgive you. Actually, I think I'll dislike you instead. I have no idea what I could have possibly done to make you so crabby, but you can just escort yourself to where ever you're going. I'll find my way out, without you." She stalked past him. His expression didn't change as she past him, but she didn't care. She was full of indignant anger.
When she came to a fork in the hallway she stopped. She started turning left but then thought about it and started to go right.
"So sure are you?" she heard Snape say from behind her. She inwardly groaned. Finally she turned around.
"Which way?"
He looked at her a moment. "I apologize for my harshness. It wasn't meant to be offensive." He looked uncomfortable with the apology and she eyed him suspiciously.
"Well it was," Willow said, almost pouting. He watched her face and could see the moment she decided to put it behind her. She stuck her hand out to him. "I'm Willow Rosenberg," she introduced herself.
He looked at her hand a second before taking it. His hand was rough and a bit chilly. It engulfed her much smaller hand. "Severus Snape," he said, pulling his hand away afterwards. He still looked as if he was trying to comprehend her.
"So, which way?" she asked, eyeing the fork. He indicated the right and she followed, faintly aware that she was going to head the right way even without Snape's help.
"Did you not get a map?" he asked her.
"Yeah, I did. But it's broken," she said, handing him the map. He stopped and opened it. He took his wand out.
"Revealio!" he shouted and the map glowed for a moment. She watched intently as he used his wand. He handed it back to her and she saw that it was indeed working. She smiled a little.
"Thanks."
He nodded curtly, starting up again.
"You know, you should just talk to him."
"I haven't a clue what you are talking about."
"Giles. He's a good guy. You should just talk to him."
Snape looked over at her but was silent.
"Are you afraid?"
"I am not afraid," he said, his mouth pulling into a thin line.
"Well then, why not talk to him?"
"That's my business, Miss Rosenberg, and I'll thank you to stay out of it."
"Ok.no need to get grumpy again," she frowned.
"I am not grumpy," he said, the word grumpy came out as if it tasted poor in his mouth.
"Right," she said, "and I'm not a redhead."
Snape sighed in frustration and was about to say something when Willow noticed the Great Hall.
"Oh! My stop. Thanks!" She smiled a little to him before walking in, spying Dawn and heading towards the Gryffindor table.
Dawn smiled as she saw Willow come in. She frowned a little when she saw that Snape entered just behind her. Had they come together?
Lunch was fairly pleasant, except for the gut wrenching nerves and the disturbing feeling that someone was watching her that was. Dawn looked over to the Slytherin table. Her blue eyes connected with steely ice ones. The way Lucius looked at her unnerved her. She looked away, trying to concentrate on the conversation at the table.
After lunch, she had about an hour before the match would begin.
"I have something for you," Giles said to her. She looked at him with interest.
"Oh?"
He smiled and led her away from the Great Hall, alone. He took her through many halls she hadn't been in before, and she was sure he was taking her to his quarters.
"Am I even supposed to be in this part of the castle?" she asked, looking around with mild interest.
"I'm sure it's all right if you're accompanied by me," he assured her.
"I'm nervous about the game," Dawn said after a moment.
"Well I'm confident that you will do a smashing job, Dawn. You're quite a talented girl, you know."
She flushed at the compliment. They stopped at a door. He looked at Dawn a second before he spoke the password.
"Anne," he said and the door opened. Dawn smiled. Buffy's middle name.
Inside, Dawn stared at the room. It was huge! It was actually like a small apartment. There was a sitting room with a fireplace, some couches and a desk pushed against the wall. There was a small bar against another wall and a door lead to the bedroom. Dawn could see the canopied bed from where she stood.
"This is bloody fantastic!" Dawn said. She looked at Giles who was looking at her in amusement. She looked confused for a moment.
"What?" she asked.
"Bloody?" he chuckled. "Be careful, Dawn. You're starting to sound British."
She laughed a little. "Wouldn't want that, now would we?" she teased. "So what's the surprise?" she asked.
"This," he said, bringing out a shining new broom. Dawn's eyes widened considerably.
"It's a-"
"Nimbus 2001," Dawn said in awe. She looked rooted to the spot and Giles smiled as he brought the broomstick to her. She gratefully accepted it, giving him a fierce hug.
"Well, it isn't a Firebolt, but I didn't want you going out on a borrowed school broom, either," he said, rubbing her back in a fatherly fashion as he hugged her in return.
She smiled to her new broomstick. "I've got to try this out before the match."
*~*~*
Dawn strapped her protective gear on and put her cloak around her shoulders. She was ready. The weather was holding up. It was cold but not as rainy as it had been in past weeks. She felt an excited flutter in her stomach. Her first game.
When Angelina led them all to the doors that would take them out, Dawn gripped her new Nimbus 2001 tightly as she mounted it. It was time.
The Gryffindor team roared out of the doors as soon as it opened and the team did some fancy synchronized flying before everyone settled in their spots. Cheers from Gryffindor and polite clapping from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw met them. Slytherins hissed at the Gryffindor players. Ravenclaw flew out shortly after Gryffindor and they were met with a round of applause from both Slytherin and Ravenclaws. It didn't faze anyone, though. Slytherins usually rooted for whoever was playing against Gryffindor.
Dawn looked around, as nervous as she'd ever been. She spotted Giles and Willow seated by the Gryffindors. She wished Spike could join them, but with the sun out, it wasn't possible. She had seen very little of him since everyone arrived and she was a little concerned about how he had been spending his time.
Dawn glanced over to the Slytherin side and noticed Lucius watching her intently. She noticed Draco beside him, his look guarded. She narrowed her eyes a little, making Lucius smile a little more. She looked away, putting her mind on Quidditch.
When the Quaffle was up, Dawn pushed all other thoughts away. She focused on the activity of the ball and blocked out all other things. She watched the Ravenclaw Chasers as they tossed the ball back and forth between the three. One of the twins darted in front of Dawn's sight and she heard the sound of a Bludger being swatted away, but she didn't let it distract her. She had learned to trust the Beaters. When the ball was thrown to a hoop Dawn quickly darted out in front of the ball, batting it away with the tail of her broom. The crowd cheered.
Katie tossed the ball to Angelina who dove quickly to miss two Ravenclaw Chasers who were trying to sandwich her and tossed it to Alicia who made it through the hoop.
"Ten points for Gryffindor!" Dawn heard Lee Jordan yell.
She was up again when one of the Ravenclaw Chasers faked throwing the ball, tossing it way over her head to a waiting teammate behind the hoops. Dawn moved upwards to catch the ball and didn't get down fast enough before the Chaser flew around and tossed it into the hoop.
"Ten points for Ravenclaw!" Dawn narrowed her eyes and remained focused.
The Ravenclaw Keeper seemed to be in some sort of a funk as the next three attempts to score for Gryffindor worked and Dawn started to feel exhilarated with the idea of winning her first game. She let herself get so sidetracked with her thoughts, though, that she barely was able to put herself between the ball and one of the hoops she was supposed to be guarding. The incident put her back on track as she blocked the next attempt as well. Third time looked to be the charm for Ravenclaw as she missed the next attempt. Dawn hit her broomstick handle in frustration. She missed seeing the Bludger that was hit towards her until it was on her and she flew off of her broomstick, landing hard in the sand below. Her broomstick landed beside her, but Dawn couldn't get up. The wind had been totally knocked out of her and she struggled to breathe. She looked up and saw Draco Malfoy looking over the side at her. She gritted her teeth and stood, picking up her broom. She didn't bother to brush herself off but ascended quickly before Ravenclaw could make another goal.
The game went on a lot longer than anyone had expected it would. When the sun went down, a time out was called and lights were turned on. Dawn flew to a refreshment stand and drank down some water quickly. Her forehead had blood on it from hitting the hoops as she was defending them, but the blood was long dried. Her hands hurt worse than she had ever felt from catching the Quaffle so many times. The score was 110 to 130 with Gryffindor in the lead.
"They're good!" one of the twins said, nearly out of breath.
"Yeah, it looks like their new Chaser is really working for them," Angelina said with a frown. "Harry, we're counting on you. I know you haven't done this in the dark before and the snitch is going to be even harder to see, but we need this win," she said. He nodded.
"I almost had it but Cho cut me off.again," he said, a little frustrated.
"You remember your third year when she kept doing that?" Angelina asked. Harry nodded. "She's not stupid, Potter. She knows what she's doing. It's fairly obvious that you have a thing for her." Harry flushed a little and Dawn looked away. "Get over it. This is Quidditch. There's no room for that here, got me?" she said, seriously. Harry nodded, knowing she was right.
When the whistle blew, the team scurried to their positions. Dawn was happy to note that Spike had come to watch her play now that the sun had gone down.
The game started in a frenzy. A Bludger nearly unseated Harry as he dove for what could only be the snitch. Dawn put her mind to the Quaffle. After being hit with a Bludger, though, she was a little more worried about them. Still, no Bludger came to hit her and soon she was totally focused on keeping the Quaffle from the hoops. Both teams seemed to be evenly matched. Neither was making much in the way of scores. It was going to come down to endurance, and the snitch.
Dawn circled the hoops, a trick she liked to do once in a while. Ravenclaw Chasers seemed to be falling for it now more than before. Dawn was sure it was because they were more tired. Just as Dawn got around the far right hoop the Ravenclaws would throw left. Because Dawn was too close to the right and center hoop, it forced them to throw left and knowing where your opponent was going to throw was half the battle. Dawn quickly maneuvered down, through the poles that held the hoops and up in time to catch the Quaffle. She grinned as the Ravenclaw Chaser cursed and flew off. Dawn caught Cho's eye as the girl flew by. Dawn threw the ball to Alicia and the game continued.
Keeping the Quaffle from the hoops became easier as the night went on. Both teams were getting tired and their imaginations where running down. Dawn hoped they would call another time out, but she knew they were rare. She narrowed her eyes as she saw two Ravenclaw Chasers weaving around, tossing the ball back and forth. Cho was racing towards Dawn's end of the field from closer to the ground, her eyes seemed to be focused on something. Harry was close behind her. Dawn focused on the Chasers until suddenly the ball was dropped and Cho caught it. Dawn didn't even notice that Cho had the ball until it sailed past her, through the hoop, scoring the tying score of 140 for Ravenclaw. Dawn's eyes widened. She didn't even know the Seeker could score, much less to think that she would. Her eyes narrowed as she caught Cho's satisfied look being thrown her way. No way was another score being made by the Ravenclaws, Dawn vowed.
Energy seeped through Dawn and her tired body seemed to be rejuvenated. The Ravenclaw Chasers were unable to get past her as she repeatedly blocked the Quaffle as it neared her hoops. Although she was doing well before, when she was angry, she was even better.
While the Quaffle was on it's way to the Ravenclaw Keeper, Dawn spotted Harry and Cho, side by side diving towards the ground. They were going so fast, her image of them blurred. Harry started pulling in front of her and Dawn was sure he was going to hit the ground. Cho pulled out before Harry though and Harry pulled up just in time, the Golden Snitch in hand. Gryffindor had won!
The crowd erupted with cheers as Dawn and the other Gryffindors went to Harry, cheering and patting him on the back. Dawn cast a huge smile towards Draco who was just watching on, his face impassive. She looked to her friends who were clapping for Gryffindor. Willow was standing up and whistling too. Dawn waved at them, a happy expression on her face. The team, lead by Harry, started to fly back to the locker rooms, but they made a victory lap around the field first. Dawn was smiling out to all of the people who where waving and clapping. As they rounded the hoops and prepared to descend towards the building Dawn caught a glimpse of a girl standing on the ground next to the hoops Ravenclaw was guarding during the game. Something about the girl made Dawn's eyes fix on her and as she got closer and the face became clearer, Dawn fainted.
*~*~*
Dawn was floating in a black abyss. She couldn't see anything. But she seemed to be swimming. It was calm. She didn't seem to be breathing, but she didn't seem to have to either. She just swam along until something hit her hand. She grasped it and swam upwards, taking it with her. When she got to the top, sight flashed to her eyes and she was in the water. She was in the middle of the ocean and it was stormy and the sky was grey. She was floating on the item she bumped into and grabbed. She looked down and at the thing and realized it was Buffy's headstone. Buffy's name peeked out at her and she screamed herself awake.
Dawn looked around her. She was sat up in bed and Willow, Giles, Spike, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were beside her bed. They all looked concerned but it was Giles who had his hand on her shoulder and was telling her it was all ok.
"Buffy," Dawn said, panting as if she had ran a race. "Buffy was out there." She knew she sounded stupid but she could have sworn she saw Buffy.
"Dawn, calm down and I'll tell you everything," Giles said. The way that he said it made her heart constrict for a moment in hope. She lay back in bed and did her best to calm her breathing. Giles seemed to be waiting for her and the seconds ticked on like years.
"So?" she finally asked, impatiently.
"I am not sure how to begin. I had, on many occasions, practiced how to tell you, but I never imagined that it would happen this way."
"Giles, just tell me," Dawn said with feeling.
"I resurrected Buffy," Willow said simply. "Well, I had help, but." she trailed off. Giles shoulders slumped a little at not being able to tell it to Dawn more delicately. He looked at Dawn.
Dawn's eyes were as wide as saucers. She looked at everyone's face, but she could see no humor. This wasn't a joke. That really was Buffy.
"Where is she?" she whispered, not really trusting her voice. She heard a clicking of heels that made her whirl her head over towards the curtain that separated her bed in the infirmary from the others. She held her breath as the heels echoed in her ears until finally Buffy emerged from behind the curtain. Dawn drew a full breath in. Buffy was just the way she remembered her. Thoughts that this could be the Buffybot flashed through her mind, but she new that her friends wouldn't do that to her.
"Hi, Dawn," Buffy said, timidly. The way Dawn was looking at her made her remember the first time she saw one of the castle ghosts. She must have looked the same way. Dawn just stared at her for a moment and Buffy let her have that moment. She knew this was going to be hard to digest. It was hard for her to digest at first.
Dawn's eyes started to water a little and she held a hand out to her sister. Buffy's face looked relieved as she came towards Dawn, taking her hand and sitting on the bed. Dawn threw her arms around her and hugged her sister as tight as she could. Buffy's arms closed around her and instantly Dawn felt complete. Buffy was alive. Buffy was alive and she was here. For once Dawn felt like she was not alone.
*~*~*
It seemed like forever when the last of her friends left. All she wanted was to be alone with Buffy and talk to her for a while. Although it took a while, finally they were alone.
"When did this happen?" Dawn asked Buffy.
"About a month ago," Buffy smiled. "They wanted to tell you then, but I was.well let's just say I wasn't myself. They weren't sure if I'd recover or not and so they decided to wait to tell you." Dawn just stared at her as if Buffy might disappear if she blinked. "Please don't be angry, Dawn. They wanted to tell you, but they didn't want you to be worried."
"I'm not mad. I just.how?"
"Willow, mostly. She got the help of Anya, Xander, and Tara too. But it was mostly Willow. She's been plotting this ever since I died, apparently." Buffy had a far away look in her eyes for a moment and then seemed to snap out of it. "Cost her a lot. She and Tara aren't together anymore."
"What?" Dawn seemed truly shocked.
"Yeah. Tara was worried that Willow was using too much magic and Willow and she had a fight that broke them up. Don't tell me you've not noticed Willow's new look?"
"I've noticed. Her clothes are tighter and.less," Dawn awkwardly said.
"Yeah. She started that when Tara left. She's been a little more wild lately. Hanging out with Amy."
"Amy?"
"The rat?"
"Oh," Dawn said, her brows furrowed. She couldn't help but think of how Willow was looking at the balcony Snape was on that day or how they seemed to come in together at the Great Hall before the Quidditch game.
"What is it?" Buffy asked.
"Oh, nothing. I'm sorry. I just phased out for a moment." Dawn smiled at Buffy. It was good to see her.
"Well, Giles wrote to Dumbledore and told him I would be late but that I would be here and he gave the permission for me to be here, even though there were already three people coming." Dawn smiled. "Well, I think we should get this nurse to let you out of here. I want to see everything and properly meet your friends. We should make the best of this week before we go back to Sunnydale."
"We?" Dawn suddenly felt a chill creep over her.
"Yeah. Now that I'm home, there's no reason for you to stay here," Buffy said, smiling. Dawn's mind started racing. No more Harry. No more Hermione. No more magic. No more Quidditch. No more Hogwarts. "We'll be like a family again. You, me, the gang. All together again. The way it should be."