A/N: My sort-of muse (who gives me an idea for a story and then deserts me to finish it) gave me this idea, and I just had to get it down! Anyway, this is going to be a fairly short fic, not like the Witches Watcher (or as I've so fondly named it, the bane of my existence), probably about 5 chappies.
Disclaimer: It's mine! All mine, dammit! OK; I own nothing. Happy now?
Thanks to the reviewers: Draco-FutureBF, Charlotte and LizaGirl, I'm glad you like the story enough to say so; You guys are great!
This follows directly on from the last chapter.
SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY- CHAPTER 2: THE SECRET
"Dawn!" Spike rushed over and hugged his 'little sister' before stiffening and stepping back. He held her by the shoulders and sniffed the air. "Niblet; is there anything you need to tell me?"
"Err...no?" She tried, knowing by the anger on his face that there was no point.
"I'll bloody kill him!" He ignored Dawn and vamped out, storming past a stunned Buffy and Willow.
"What is going on here?" Willow asked, stumbling as the vampire pushed past her.
"That prick Malfoy!" Spike blurted out.
"Yeah; what about him?" Buffy asked impatiently.
"I can smell him all over her." Someone who didn't know Spike would be very afraid of the snarling vampire...someone who did know Spike would also be afraid at his enraged expression.
"What do you mean?" Realisation dawned on the blond slayers face. "Oh no; Dawn, you didn't?" Dawn suddenly found the floor very interesting. "How could you do this to Harry?"
"He doesn't have to know. Spike, please." Dawn begged, giving him her best puppy eyes.
The blond vampire calmed down a little and his human face returned. "Fine; I won't tell him. But he'll find out Dawn, they always do." He only used her real name when he was really serious. He punctuated his statement by wagging his finger almost comically.
"Do you think I should tell him?" Dawn asked in a tiny voice.
"I've been here, Dawnie," apparently it was Willow's turn to impart some wisdom, "the thing with Oz, Xander and me. We tried to keep secrets and it went all kabloomy."
"So I should tell him?"
"That's up to you, but if it was just a mistake then I wouldn't bother." Buffy advised.
"Aren't you supposed to be telling me to be honest?" Dawn asked sceptically.
"Why spoil your relationship with Harry for one mistake?" Buffy shrugged at the look Willow was giving her. "Like I said, it's your decision."
"Hello? Is anybody ho-ome?" Harry's voice wafted in.
"In here." Dawn fought to keep her voice steady with all the eyes in the room on her.
Harry came in and dumped his bag on the floor and walked over to Dawn. "What's wrong?" He asked seeing all the serious faces in the room.
"Nothing." Dawn said quickly. "Erm...how's things?" She asked more normally.
"Fine." Harry looked around, still suspicious.
"Well if it isn't Potty back from his secret mission. What was it this time? Alphabetising Dumbledore's socks?" Draco sneered as he came down the stairs. The temperature in the room seemed to drop about 50 degrees.
Dawn stiffened and moved closer to Harry, Spike looked like he was sitting on a crucifix and Willow and Buffy were giving Draco death glares. Harry looked confused. It was only 18 hours since Dawn had told him to give Malfoy a chance, and now she seemed to hate him too.
"Malfoy. How was patrolling? Did Dawn have to save your ass much?" He retorted.
"It was most...satisfying. And your lovely girlfriend took good care of my ass." He leered with a look at Dawn. This confused Harry even more. What was he insinuating? And why was Dawn blushing?
"Come on, lets get out of here." Dawn said and went upstairs. A bewildered Harry followed and left Draco in a room with a slayer, a vampire and a Wicca who all hated him.
"Draco, sit. I think it's about time you and I had a little chat." Buffy said, forcing him into an ugly blue armchair.
"Dawn, what's wrong?" Harry asked when he closed the door to their room.
"What do you mean?" Dawn said, refusing to meet his eyes.
"Look at me." Harry commanded. He took both of Dawn's hands, led her over to their bed and pulled her to sit down on it with him. "Something's bothering you. Tell me, I'll understand."
Tears formed in Dawn's eyes and she quickly looked down. This alarmed Harry; she was normally so happy. "What's wrong? You're family? Is it Draco? Did he hurt you?"
"No! No, I'm fine, really. I don't know what's got into me." She laughed uneasily. "I'm fine. What I really want to hear about is what you've been up to." Dawn smiled, and Harry seemed to be satisfied.
"I don't think that's important do you? We've got a lot of catching up to do..." He gently pushed her back on the bed and started kissing her, leaving Malfoy at the mercy of Dawn's family.
"Dawn?" Buffy knocked on her sister's door. Hearing no reply she pushed it open gently. "Oh, Dawn." Buffy rushed over to her sister who was sitting on the bed with the sheet pulled around her. "It's OK." She hugged her sister and felt wet tears on her shoulder.
"Harry said I could find you up here." She said when Dawn had finished crying, but her eyes filled with tears at her boyfriend's name. "Don't start that again." She spoke gently and kindly.
"I only did it cause I felt guilty." Dawn sobbed.
"Did wha- oh." Buffy sighed. "Dawn, you've got to stop feeling sorry for yourself. You're not gonna like hearing this, but it's your own fault."
"I didn't ask Draco to kiss me!" She said indignantly.
"But you didn't pull away." Buffy stroked Dawn's hair soothingly. "You made your bed, sweetie, now you've got some choices to make: Draco, Harry or neither. Something, or someone, made you cheat on Harry. Think about it." Buffy started to leave the room. "Oh yeah, dinners ready in five. You might want to get dressed."
She went back downstairs leaving Dawn staring after her. Why did she cheat on Harry? Did she like Draco? Sure, well not so much his personality, but he was hot. Did she want to be with Draco? No, well, probably not. Did she still love Harry? Yes...or she thought it was yes...
Dinner time: The one time of day when everyone is forced into one room, one suffocatingly small room with a big table in. They all sat in the same places every night, even when hardly anyone was present. Professor Dumbledore at the head; then other Hogwarts teachers; then aurors; then ministry workers and finally everyone else. The only people there today were the Scoobies, Harry, Draco, Tonks and the Weasly's (minus Ron).
Dawn took her seat between Harry and Buffy...and opposite Draco, who kept giving her funny unreadable looks.
Harry leant over and kissed her on the cheek. One of those looks from Draco. He whispered something in her ear and squeezed her hand. Another look. The food appeared in front of them, courtesy of Mrs Weasly and people started eating.
Harry was getting seriously 'wierded out', as Dawn would put it. Draco was staring at his girlfriend who was determined not to meet the blond's eyes and was much quieter than usual.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Harry whispered.
Dawn nodded and reached for another breadstick. Instead of grabbing the breadstick, she felt another hand and jumped back when she saw whose it was; Draco's.
"Why are you so jumpy?" Harry hissed.
"I'm fine, OK! Why can't you just accept that!" Dawn hissed back, although a lot louder than Harry and several people heard and looked around.
"Look, I'm sorry. I just worry about you." Harry gave her his best lost- little-boy eyes.
"You don't have to apologise. I should be the one to apologise." She felt guilty again.
"I think I do have to apologise." Harry paused before continuing. "I have to go away again."
"What? For how long? Where?" Dawn was getting herself worked up.
"Hush, it'll only be fore a couple of weeks, max."
"A couple of weeks? When I can't see you or talk to you. I won't even know if you're alive!" Dawn had progressed from a quite whisper into an almost-shout and everyone was listening to their conversation. Especially Draco.
"Dawn, you know this is important." Harry reasoned.
"Let me guess it's some secret mission that only you can do? Yeah right! No- one else has to go away as much and why can't one of them go instead of you for once?" Dawn noticed everyone staring at them and calmed down. "Look, I'm sorry. I know I'm being selfish, but I guess I just miss you." She sighed. "When do you leave?"
"...Tonight." He said quietly.
"Tonight? You only just got back! I'm so sick of this, Harry." Dawn stood up and stalked away from the table, leaving the surprised and uncomfortable witches and wizards behind her.
"Dawn, wait!" Harry called at her retreating back.
Dawn looked over her shoulder. "Just go Harry." She said quietly before leaving the room.
"She's right, Harry." Tonks acknowledged. "You do more than your share. I can go on this trip if you like."
"No, it's alright. She'll get over it." Harry said dismissively.
"She's got a bit of a nerve, if you ask me. What Harry does for the order is important." Bill Weasly said. "She should understand that."
"She does. She'll be fine tomorrow. Thanks though." Harry smiled at Tonks.
"If you say so." The pink haired auror turned her attention back to her food.
"Hey, Dawn! Are you up for patrolling?" Buffy asked as her sister entered the lounge.
"Sure." Dawn replied shortly. She was mad at Harry, but felt guilty too, and the two emotions kept interfering with each other. On one hand Harry deserved it because he was never around for her. On the other hand she shouldn't have slept with Draco just to get back at him. And guilt was the winning emotion at the moment.
On an aside, Dawn was wondering why this was affecting her so much. Lately she was feeling all emotional. She kept snapping at Harry and crying over everything. It wasn't like her.
"Mind if I join you?" Draco asked smoothly, interrupting Dawn's thoughts.
"Umm, I guess not." Willow said giving Dawn and Harry anxious glances.
"The more the merrier, right Wills?" Xander said, not knowing about what happened between Draco and Dawn the previous night.
"How about you, Harry? Wanna go kick the baddies asses?" Buffy swung an axe around her fingers.
"Don't you have some packing to do?" Dawn asked him curtly.
"I guess I better." He said, almost sadly. "Bye Dawn, I'll be gone by the time you get back."
"Fine. See you later."
The group left about five minutes later. Harry had been unable to talk to Dawn properly and was feeling bad about it.
"You know, my offer still stands." Tonks appeared beside Harry.
"Thanks Tonks, but-"
"But what? Dawn isn't gonna take much more of this." She pointed out.
"Are you sure? Thanks, Tonks. I'm meeting Dumbledore at midnight, if it's OK with you then we can both go and meet him and I can explain."
Meanwhile, Dawn was venting her anger on some unsuspecting vampires. The group had been ambushed by a very large nest and they had their work cut out for them. But with a slayer, a vampire, a Wicca, a witch and two wizards how could they lose?
It came to a point when everyone was finishing off the vampires. Buffy and Spike were fighting two vampires and everyone else was fighting one each. Dawn finished off her vampire quite quickly as it was only a fledgling, and not a particularly strong one at that. She looked around. Xander and Willow were holding their own against a couple of fairly experienced vampires. Buffy and Spike were double teaming those attacking them but Draco was having some difficulties. He too was fighting a new vamp, but he didn't have much experience and he'd lsot his wand ages ago, so Dawn grudgingly went to help him.
The vampire was surprisingly strong and threw Draco into a wall. A couple of punches later, Dawn followed. She landed on to of Draco and sat up. By now, there was only one other vampire left and Willow and Xander were taking care of that. Buffy and Spike quickly staked the vampire attacking Dawn and Draco.
With all the vampires taken care of, Buffy, Spike, Willow and Xander looked to where Dawn was still sitting astride Draco's stomach. They seemed frozen, almost glaring into each others eyes. Spike growled.
"Err, Dawn?" Buffy said tentatively.
The reaction was instant. Dawn sprung as far away from Draco as she could get and Draco sat up smirking.
"I think we've had enough for tonight, don't you?" Willow said calmly. "How about we head back?"
She was granted nods from everyone else and they left he alley where they had been fighting.
Spike kept on growling all the way home. Willow walked in silence, but she kept on shooting worried looks at Dawn. Buffy had firmly placed herself next to Dawn and kept on glaring at Draco, almost daring him to try and get closer to her sister. Draco kept smirking and Dawn was off in another world.
One person was even more confused than the rest; Xander didn't know anything about Draco's and Dawn's 'one-off-mistake'. "Am I missing something here?"
"Where's the golden boy?" a voice sneered from the doorway.
"Draco; you scared me. I guess Harry left while we were patrolling...not that you care." She said, not knowing that Harry was on his way back from meeting Dumbledore at that minute.
"You're right I don't care about him. But I do care about you." He kissed her gently, but Dawn pulled away.
"No. Last night was a mistake. One I am not keen on repeating." Dawn pushed herself away from Draco.
"Why not? We had fun? Anyway, it doesn't mean anything; it's just sex. It's not like Potter will find out; I'm not trying to steal you from him." Draco moved closer to Dawn.
"Oh so that's what all this is about; you getting one up on Harry." Draco was standing about two inches away from Dawn now.
"No; it's about you getting even with him. This is about revenge, sweetheart, and it always has been." He said before capturing her mouth in a second kiss.
Dawn responded to the kiss. Draco moved down to her neck and started sucking gently, all the time nudging her gently over to the bed. "I don't think this is a good idea." Draco didn't stop and Dawn didn't make him. He pulled the strap of her bra down and slid his hand under her top. "Draco, I really don't think this is-" Dawn said, attempting to push him away softly; looking over his shoulder. She suddenly pushed him away hard. "Harry, wait. It's not what it looks like!"
But it was too late; Harry had seen everything.
Chapter 2: Complete. Please review. If I can spend four hours on a chapter, you can spend four seconds reviewing! Please?