Howdy! This is the Beta, Alpha, taking over for a few slight days. Your author unfortunately was in an accident and broke her wrist, so I as her roommate and betareader have decided to take over. So if you notice different language and stuff, it's because she wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing. She did have most of this and the next chapter written, but I added my own stuff (like the nifty Buffy quotes I always apply to life).

Any flames should be sent my way. I know she really wanted this chapter out earlier, and I know cliffhangers suck, but it was my suggestion. These next two chapters will be posted over the weekend, so if you don't see anything for about a week, don't fret, she'll be allowed near a keyboard again someday. And her story is almost up to 100 reviews! Thank you so much y'all for reviewing! I know she really appreciates it, because I don't think this many people have read anything she's written before!

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Chapter 21
Into the Fire

- - - - -

The school's reaction to what happened in the field was evident even an hour after it occured. One of their own, one of Gryffindor's finest, had been attacked.

The students crowded around the closed ward, which was open only to Ron's family as they came in pairs, all of them with the same tight expression on their faces, as though hope as they knew it had fallen.

Buffy's position was the worst. She didn't know what day it was or remember what time had past. All she could do was stand at the corner of Madam Pomfrey's medical ward and stare as the Weasley family came to grips on what had happened to Ron.

He had been attacked by a vampire.

Ginny stood a few paces away, slightly aside from her brothers Bill, Fred and George, and her parents. Her eyes were still illuminated with shock and the truth seemed unable to sink in.

Buffy could feel Ginny's pain, for it was Dawn's reaction to when Buffy had gone to Dawn's school to inform her sister their mother had died.

She had hoped she wouldn't see such pain anymore.

Unable to think of anything else, she pulled away slightly to see the Headmaster discussing options with the rest of the family. Ron had lost a lot of blood from being bitten, and despite the family's protests that they wanted their family blood to replace the blood he'd lost, there was no way they could. They were incompatable.

"I'll send for Charlie immediately," Mrs. Weasley promised while gazing at her husbands fascination with the puncture hole where his blood had been tested. "I'm not sure that Percy would want to help."

"We should send for him too, Mum," Bill said in a low voice. "He needs to be here for Ron."

Ginny let out a miserable sob and walked out of the ward.

"This isn't happening," Buffy moaned from her own corner as she sat down on an empty bed. "Tell me this isn't happening."

"You could not have forseen this," Willow said in a comforting voice, appearing at Buffy's elbow. "You dusted that vampire before it had a chance to kill him."

"He should never have been there in the first place," Buffy muttered angrily, standing up.

A moment later, Professor McGonagall returned with Charlie Weasley, who looked a bit startled. "Mother, what is it? They said that Ron was hurt."

Which launched into another explanation.

Charlie immediately offered his arm for the testing and everyone inside the closed ward waited on bated breath, even Professor McGonagall, who's face was unusally tense, her eyes carefully averted.

Buffy took the opportunity to step out of the room and take a quick break, Willow at her heels. "Wow," Willow said softly.

"Wow is right," Buffy replied, leaning against a cold rocky wall and feeling somewhat better now that the tension was locked up inside. "I just don't know how we can help him... his parents were keen on using pure blood."

Willow sighed and tugged Buffy's arm, trying to get her to move away from the hospital wing. "Maybe we can persuade someone in the Ministry to bring that other Weasley in here kicking and screaming."

"I bet if we ask the right question," Buffy quipped, playing along, "Andrew could just bore him to--" She stopped suddenly, turning to Willow. "That's it!"

"We get Andrew to bore the guy to death to bring his body here?" Willow asked, following the old train of thought. "How... gross."

"No!" Buffy said, now taking off at a run. "Not Andrew, Xander!"

A look of comprehension fell over Willow's face as the two ran down the corridor and disappeared from sight.

- - - - -

Ginny had barely returned to the common room when students swarmed in around her, offering her words of comfort.

She was warmed slightly to see them, but still too numb to speak, for everything seemed to be falling apart around her.

Charlie's blood was incompatable, meaning their last hope was Percy. Ginny let out a bitter laugh, thinking of how ridiculous it sounded. Percy, who refused to be a part of such a fantastic family, coming back to help the brother who turned his back on him. It seemed right out of a soap opera.

She sat in one of the empty chairs near the fireplace, extending her hands closer to the flames, desperate to feel any warmth. Or hope.

She could feel someone approaching and saw Hermione standing over her. Ginny felt a rush of gratitude. Ron may never tell anyone of his courtship, but Ginny saw enough to know that Ron and Hermione were definitely a couple. She wordlessly reached across and took Hermione's hand. "He's holding in there."

"If I could only see him," Hermione said, wiping away her tears, her words full of bitterness. "If only I could tell him..."

"Tell him what?" Ginny asked, her own voice dull and not sounding like her own. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine... Ron was never one to confide," she continued hastily.

Hermione turned her sharp eyes to Ginny. "He really loves you, you know," she said in a sad voice as more tears threatened her control. "You're the girl he would die to protect."

"As if I haven't heard that one before," Ginny spat bitterly.

Hermione glanced at her. "I know Harry means well, Ginny... but he's an idiot. He knows he's an idiot and he should pay for treating you the way he did. He's a boy, Ginny. A foolish, insulant boy."

"You blame Ron for what happened to him, don't you?" Ginny asked in a voice that barely hid her awe. She could feel the anger coming over her in waves.

"I do," Hermione said softly.

"It wasn't his fault," Ginny finally said. "It was Voldemorts. He wanted to mark the territory, prove that Slayer strength is useless when students get in the way. Worked like a charm, it did."

"But why," Hermione said in her tiny voice, "why on Earth did it have to be Ron? Why couldn't the vampire have mauled Malfoy and done us all a favor?"

Ginny smirked, appreciating Hermione's dark sense of humor when things were rough. "He'll be okay, Hermione, you'll see. And then you can tell him whatever you want to tell him. You won't have to be afraid anymore."

"I hope," Hermione sniffled loudly as she stood up again, her eyes spying someone walking from the dormitories. "Harry and I are going to see him if we can get in."

"I'll go... and convince Mum to let you guys in," Ginny said in a hesitant voice, standing up and facing Harry for the first time since Ron's ordeal. "Hello Harry."

"Ginny," he said, and the emotion in that single word was enough to make Ginny's heart melt. No matter how angry she was with him for pushing her away, no matter how badly it hurt; the fact he was staring at her now with compassion and grief was too much to bear.

"Harry," she said in a simple voice.

"I'm sorry, Ginny," he said, reaching over and taking her hand. "Really sorry."

"He's your best friend, Harry," Ginny said, forcing herself to turn away. "Let's go."

- - - - -

It was still quiet on the closed ward when Buffy and Willow returned over an hour later, slightly surprised to see Hermione Granger and Harry Potter inside, talking with Ron's family. After expressing their own solitudes, they retreated back to their corner.

"I hope we did the right thing," Willow muttered, crossing her arms.

"We are," Buffy said softly. "And someday, they'll know we did."

Suddenly, there was a sharp knock on the door. The doors swept open regally, admitting Professor Dumbledore and two others in tow. One was Xander, the other was...

"Percy?" Mrs. Weasley said, shock in her voice as she stumbled forward.

"Mum, Dad," Percy said, adjusting his glasses and looking rather coolly at everyone in the room, until his eyes swept on the hospital bed. "What the hell..."

Everyone watched as Percy lost all composure before running to the bedside of his youngest brother. "Ron? Ron? What happened to you?"

"He was attacked by a vampire," Buffy said, stepping out of the shadows. "He's lost a lot of blood."

Percy looked horrified as he turned back to Ron. "What do you need?" he asked his parents.

"We need to see if we can use your blood for a transfusion," his father replied tartly. "He'll die before nightfall if we don't get him the blood he needs."

Percy nodded and spotted Madam Pomfrey standing beside Buffy. He walked over, rolling up the sleeve of his robe as he stepped. He finally held out his arm, his voice firm, his eyes hard. "Test me."

Buffy was slightly surprised that Percy was so receptive to the fact that although he was on hard terms with his family, he was accepting the responsibility that he alone may be the only person standing between his brother and certain death.

It was sort of stupifying, to say the least.

The tension seemed to crackle as Madam Pomfrey took the blood sample to her lab and quickly scanned it with her wand. She returned a short time later, beaming. "It's a match."

- - - - -

The tension in the Great Hall that night had lessened significantly. After finding out that Ron's brother Percy would supply the blood Ron needed to survive, the school seemed to finally sense they were out of any real danger.

Dawn sat with the rest of her House, watching as Harry, Hermione and the rest of their group all left amidst cheers as they were all going to check on Ron. As she rose to greet them, her eye caught another figure leaving. Malfoy. With a sigh, she hitched up her bag to follow him out.

Across the room, Harry was leaving with Hermione and Ginny. As they reached the entrance hall, they took the now-familiar walk down the corridor to the hospital ward. He was slightly surprised to see Ginny very serious.

As they reached the doors, Hermione went inside first. Feeling he owed her some private time alone with Ron and his family, Harry hung back. Ginny, to his surprise, waited by the door, her eyes closed.

"How can you just stand there and pretend everything is all right?" she finally asked, her voice full of underlying anger.

"Because it isn't," Harry said softly. "Ron was almost killed."

"That has nothing to do with this," she replied between gritted teeth as she wheeled around to face him. "How can just push me away?"

"Because those eyes aren't meant for grief," Harry said, taking a step closer and gently reaching out for her, "and because those tears aren't meant for pain. You deserve better."

"This isn't your choice to make!" she cried out. "I should be the one to decide my fate. I should be the one to decide what's better for me, not you!"

"You have to live, Ginny, for me," Harry said sadly. "If I fail, then all of this... would have been nothing!"

"It isn't nothing!" she shouted. "It never was nothing! I have loved you for so long now just dying to say it to your face." Harry stared at her in disbelief, momentarily frozen. "You hurt me, Harry. You hurt me so much."

"That was now what I intended to do," he said, his voice full of frustration. "I wanted you to be happy, to love someone who can make you happy."

Ginny turned her back on him. "I do."

Harry reached out and took her shoulder. "You what?" He turned her slowly to face him, seeing the tears on her glowing face.

"I'm happy, Harry, knowing that you care enough about me to not see me hurt, but look what happened to Ron! How do you think Hermione feels, knowing that she and Ron just realized something so huge? And she may never be able to tell him... it's wrong, and you know it's wrong."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "I could walk away now, live with my grief and find someone else to love, but I would regret it forever. If you were on your death bed, after failing to save the world, the one light you could look to is knowing that you were loved, not as a friend or a mentor, but as a man. I wouldn't regret being there, because I know in my heart, it's what you would do if you were me."

"I would," he said, unable to keep his own tears from flowing. "If you were dying... I would say that I would find you when my time came. I will always find you."

She blinked and looked down. "Please, Harry. Please, don't push me away. You need strength now that Ron is... out. You need someone by your side, not someone to follow you."

"Are you suggesting someone for the job?" he asked in a light voice.

She beamed at him, her eyes shining. "Just don't tell me to go away."

He leaned over and kissed her forehead, feeling as though a great weight had been lifted. "But if you get killed, don't say I didn't warn you."

The door beside them opened a crack as Fred stepped out. "What is going on here?"

Harry gently let go of Ginny before turning to the twin. "Ron? Is he..."

"He's awake."

- - - - -

Dawn was slightly surprised to see Draco standing alone in the courtyard, his head bent against the cold, harsh winds sweeping from the mountains. His head was ducked, his collar tucked to his ears. He was alone.

Dawn walked past him, fishing for another insult. She was already in a bad mood. If he insulted her enough, she could jinx him. And since her sister had saved Ron Weasley's life, she could probably get away with it.

"What, no insult?" she snapped, walking past him a second time.

He looked up, finally noticing that she was standing there. "Dawn?"

She stopped dead. The look in his eyes wasn't of gleeful malice or vindication, it was a deep sadness and guilt. Far from her desires to egg him on further, she took a step forward, expecting him to take two back, but he stood there rooted. Something was definitely amiss. "What is it?"

"I'm so sorry," he said, spreading his hands helplessly.

This wasn't what she had expected to hear at all.

"Sorry?" she breathed, confused. "Draco, do you have any idea what hell you've put me through these past two weeks?"

He didn't reply, but kept staring at his shoes. "It should have been me," he finally said. "That vampire was coming for me... and I ran away... I'm a coward, Dawn. How can I ever be anything great if all I do is run away from my worst fears?"

"You were scared, Draco," Dawn replied, her voice still slightly cold. "It could have happened to anyone."

"I didn't do anything... I could have... attacked it... but I just stood there... and I couldn't move..." his voice was trembling now, as were his hands. Dawn stepped forward gingerly until she stood straight in front of him and took his cold hands into hers. "And now... his parents... and friends... they haven't left the ward in three days... and he might die... because I was too afraid... I killed him. I killed him..."

"No, Draco, you didn't," Dawn replied softly.

He looked up at her, before averting his eyes to the sky, attempting to blink away the tears. It was then he noticed she was holding his hands and squeezed them, as though he were trying to draw strength from her.

"Draco, the hardest thing in this world is to live in it," Dawn said.

"But Granger... and Potter... and all the rest of the Gryffindors... they all... they can't... it's impossible... he lost so much blood..." His breathing was erratic now, and Dawn began to panic slightly. What would happen if he started to hyperventilate? "Who.. who... who would have been there for me had I been attacked?"

"I would have," Dawn admitted. He turned to her with shocked eyes. "Don't get me wrong... you still hurt me after everything we've been through... but you've earned my respect and that would be a reason to cash in on it. Besides... you shouldn't have to face anything alone."

His eyes were watering again and he looked away. "You shouldn't be here... my House... they know what you are... if they saw you with me..."

"They'd make my life more of a hell than it already is?" Dawn asked, arching one eyebrow. "They don't know the real me, Draco. You do... at least I think you do."

"The one thought I had," Draco began in a muffled voice as he gently detached his hands from Dawns' and wiped his eyes on his sleeve, "was that I would never get a chance to tell you I'm sorry..." He turned back toward her, surprising her by taking her shoulders. "You are one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I may have had everything I could have dreamt of, but I've never been treated as an equal before. I was always superior, snooty. But you've given me..."

Her trembling hand reached out and grasped his. "Draco, I already told you how much you meant to me, but I had to tell you the truth about me too. And you don't know the half of it. I'm not as bad as your House thinks I am."

He looked confused at this. "You aren't?"

"Let's take a walk back inside.. I'm freezing and you're starting to turn blue..." she said, linking her arm through his and leading him back inside the double doors. "I want to tell you a story... about a key..."

- - - - -

Chapter 22 -- Ron remains down; the Quidditch Cup.