When I crack my eyes open, I'm lying in darkness, and fear wraps its tendrils around me. Didn't the Portkey work? Please don't let me still be in that God-forsaken place...

Then I barely make out the sight of the hideous goblin-plaques along the wall, and nearly sob in relief. I'm back, I'm at Grimmauld Place. Then it hits me, where is everyone? There's no energy left in me, not even to sit up, and it occurs to me that it must be very late, as the whole house is quiet. But wouldn't someone be looking for me? They wouldn't have just left me there, would they...?

Only one way to find out. I give a piercing scream that shatters the silence and echoes through the hollow house. A freaky silence follows before total chaos ensues. The portrait of Mrs. Black awakens, shrieking bloody murder, and the chandelier flicks on, bathing the hall I'm lying in with light.

A herd of footsteps rushes through a door in one end, and panicked voices reach my ears. I close my eyes in relief as a swarm of familiar faces swamp me.

"Oh Goodness, Buffy! Quickly! Levitate her to the kitchen!"

"Buffy! What happened?"

"Bloody Hell! What'd you do?"

"Ron! Don't swear!"

"Shut up, Hermione!"

"Children, go to your rooms immediately!"

"Mum!"

"NOW!!!"

Suddenly, the ground's falling away from me, and my shoulders slump, leaving my arms to dangle off me. My head's still throbbing, but then it's gone, and I wearily open my eyes in questioning.

"A slight charm to relieve the pain, my dear," Dumbledore's worried voice greets me as his face falls in front of me.

"Thanks," I whisper in reply before sighing in relief.

Then I feel a delightfully soft cushioning meeting my beaten body, and I nearly collapse in fatigue. I know the meditation was just temporary, but I didn't expect the exhaustion to hit me so quickly. But there's too much to do, and I need to tell them...

"Molly, tend to her while I organise a Phoenix meeting," says Dumbledore in a hushed, but steely voice.

"Of course, Dumbledore," the woman replies, putting a relieving wet towel to my forehead.

"Oh God, Buffy, what happened?" I hear Sirius ask me, panicked.

Peeling my eyes open, I see Remus and Sirius looming on top of me. Cracking a weak smile, I reply, "Bulldozer?"

Their faces tell me that it's not the time for jokes, and I sigh.

"Maybe I should wait till the Order gets here. I hate repeating myself," I say.

They nod, retreating to the side, but I feel a warm hand covering mine. Looking over, I see Sirius sitting worriedly next to me, grasping my hand. Giving a small smile, I sink into the relieving comfort and safety of Grimmauld Place.

-----------------------------------------------------

Waking once again, I find myself still lying on a wonderful cushioning, with a crowd of people seated around me in the kitchen. A warm fire is crackling to the side, and blankets have been placed on me. All coldness has left my body, and an indescribable relief swamps me. I notice that Sirius still has his hand on mine.

"How are you feeling, Miss Summers?" Dumbledore's anxious tone asks.

"Peachy," I reply, sitting up and letting go of Sirius' hand, stretching slightly. I shoot him a grateful smile, but can't seem to muster enough energy to leave my position on the table just yet.

"Yes, quite," the wizard says in a relieved, and slightly amused tone, "I apologise for my haste, my dear, and understand if you would not like to discuss it now, but would you care to tell us of your ordeal?"

A bitter frown twists my mouth as memories of all the gruesome pain I underwent came back.

"First, is the rest of my team okay?" I ask.

I see Snape step forward from a dark corner, a hint of remorse on his face, mixed with another that I can't identify. Surprisingly, Sirius gives a low growl when Snape steps out. Silvica and Tonks are seated near at the other end, looking suitably guilty, but all I feel is a sense of relief at their safety.

"Good," I say before addressing the whole team, "Well, we were doing fine in the battle at the forest, but near the end, I narrowly dived from this curse, but it managed to clip me on the shoulder. Next thing I know, this Death Eater's sent this horribly painful curse through me, and I fainted."

The room's fallen deathly silent, and out of the corner of my eye, a couple of bright redheads catch my attention as their hair reflects the bright glint of the fire.

Swallowing, I continue.

"I wake up, and find myself in this cage, sore as Hell. Then this Death Eater comes in, still masked, but with silver eyes I noticed, and strings me along, spouting some crap about not being able to hurt me because of his Lord's orders."

I snort, "Orders, my ass. He Crucio-ed me and leaves me there in that wretched cage. So I meditated for a bit and bent one of the bars."

Collective gasps, and I roll my eyes before continuing, "I found the Portkey in my waistband, but it wouldn't work. There was a charmed window at the top, so I carried the cage over and stood on top of it. But when I touched it, it was like that Crucio curse all over again."

"To make a long story short, I kicked through the window, jumped out of it and managed to make it to these huge gates. I pushed through them, and touched that rose, ending up here."

Total silence. My voice has gone a bit scratchy, and I gratefully take the glass of pumpkin juice that Mrs. Weasley gives me.

"You went through all that?" Sirius asks in a hoarse, disbelieving voice.

I shrug, rolling my neck to take out the cricks, "Wasn't too fond of all that pain, I must say."

"Summers!" Snape barks, snapping me out of my phase, "How can you be so damn unconcerned? You nearly died!"

I raise an eyebrow and open my mouth to retort, but Sirius beats me to it, "You bastard! How can you even talk to her like that? You were meant to look out for her!"

"Hey!" I protest, one hand pushing Sirius back down in his seat, the other rubbing a temple in an oncoming headache with all the yelling, "No one was meant to look out for me, okay? I'm a Slayer, I can handle my own."

Sirius looks like he's about to protest, so I shoot him a warning glare.

"Miss Summers," Dumbledore speaks quietly, "Your strength is incredibly admirable. I'm sure that you do not yet realise that this Crucio curse that you underwent is one of the Unforgivables – curses that have broken many wizards."

Looking across the table that I was still lying on top of, I reply in an equally soft-spoken and shockingly deathly tone that reminds me of when Dawnie was kidnapped, "I don't ever want to go through that again. And when I find that Death Eater, I'm going to make him regret he ever messed with me."

The wizard at the other end nods grimly, an acceptance of what I was promising.

Play-time's over.

--------------------------------------

"Wow," Ron says, mouth gaping.

"Ditto," Ginny echoes.

Hermione merely stares at me in wide-eyed wonder.

It's quite amusing, really. Dawnie was always upset with me being the Slayer and having 'dumb super-powers', but here, I nearly have my own fan club. If she were here, she'd be gagging at all the attention. If she were here...

"Buffy?" Ron asks, waving a hand in front of my face.

"Wha-?" I ask dumbly, "Sorry, spaced out to planet Buffy for a minute."

Only Hermione gives a small giggle, the other two look strangely at me. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

"So, you gonna give me that tour yet?" I ask, leaning my elbows on the kitchen table, and reaching for some more buttered toast.

"Sure! After breakfast?" Ginny asks excitedly.

I smile, biting into the coated bread, "Fine with me."

There are others in the room, but not many as early as the kids, Molly and I. A couple of Aurors had stayed the night, and were having a quick bite before apparating back. There's still a cosy sort of warmth in the room, the only one without the remote feeling of gloom in the house.

I had a peaceful night, thanks to another charm from Dumbledore. No doubt I would have had unrelenting nightmares, but I had sunk into a blissful sleep. I've spent the morning, however, contemplating telling him about the cryptic messages that have been popping up in my head.

"Come on, let's go," Hermione says, yanking me from my thoughts and ushering me out of the kitchen.

"Mum's said that we're to clean out the rooms as we go along," Ron said with a small scowl, "Which is gonna take ages, with all those bloody pixies."

"Ron! Don't swear!" Hermione reprimands, lightly slapping him on the arm.

We make our way up the staircase, the mindless chatter of the three kids, especially Hermione, explaining details of the house allowing me to zone out. It's only been three days, and I've been feeling guilty for not thinking of Dawn or the gang as much as I should be. I suppose being in life-threatening situations is an excuse, but still...

The kids take me into a couple of rooms on the landing, including their rooms. They're similar to mine, except without the ensuite. Walking along, they stop in front of a door.

"We've got to decontaminate this bedroom," Ginny says reluctantly, standing back as Hermione pushes the door open.

It's dark inside, as my room was too, without the curtains drawn. The kids look slightly scared, but Hermione has a defiant look on her face. She whips out her wand, lighting it and stomping in, heading straight for the other end. Yanking the curtains open, she gives us a triumphant look.

"There! Ron, you're doing the next bedroom," she states.

Sighing, Ron nods before entering the room. There's a cupboard in the corner, and a dresser at the other end, as well as two single beds with dusty sheets on them. Hermione heads to the dresser, glancing briefly at a slightly cracked and dust-coated mirror. Ron and Ginny head to one bed each, leaving me still standing in the doorway.

"On the count of three," Hermione says in a steady voice, "One, two, three!"

She rips open the drawer at the same time as Ron and Ginny lift the covers from beds' sides. Little blue sprites whiz out and I laugh loudly as the kids jump around, brandishing their wands, yelling 'STUPEFY!'

The blue pixies freeze in the air, floating around like gravity suddenly disappeared, and Ginny scrambles over to the window, trying to lift the rusty latch without any luck. I hurry over and yank it off, throwing the windows open as Ron and Hermione push the sprites out of the window before shoving the glass panes close.

As they collapse on the ground with a sigh of relief, I make my way over to the cupboard.

"Hey, you missed this one – "I say, swinging the cupboard doors open. An unexpected figure leaps out, however, crumpling to the floor in a whirl of brunette hair. Shocked, I quickly crouch down and turn her over, screaming when Dawn's face peers up at me, pallid and eyes cold, blood trickling out of the corners of her mouth.

I pull her up, sobbing, incoherent thoughts tumbling around. Oh God, Dawnie, Dawnie, Dawnie...

I vaguely hear the kids' voices in the back, yelling, but nothing really registers except my sister's cold, limp body in my arms. Suddenly a clear voice yells out, "RIDDIKULUS!"

My sister's body dissipates into a silvery orb, and with a puff, vanished into the air. I turn furious and wild eyes to the doorway, screaming, "What did you do to her?! Where is she?!"

Remus is standing there, with Snape, both looking at me with great concern. Snape has his wand drawn, still pointing to where my dead sister had just lain.

"It was a boggart, Buffy," Remus explains softly, "A shape shifter, a spirit that takes on your greatest fear."

My hand flies to my mouth; an automatic response. Sobs rip out, unwanted, and I lean against the cupboard, its doors slamming shut. Covering my face, I slide down. My mind is blank, and all I can think of is Dawnie, unmoving and cold.

"Oh God, I thought she was dead," I sob as arms encircle me, "I thought she was dead."

"Who?" Remus asks me quietly.

Stop, Buffy. Think. I breathe raggedly, lifting red eyes to Remus, and only seeing concern written in his face. Gazing over his shoulder, the kids are still there, staring at me in shock, while Snape is still in the doorway, stony as ever. But his eyes betray him, disquiet evident even from here.

"Dawn, my sister," I whisper.