Hey everyone, sorry for the long wait, but I had coursework (which is in for tomorrow and I still haven't finished) and I had to do it.  Unfortunately, school is priority.  Argh. 

Great news is that summer holidays start in six days!  And then, I'll be free to write lots of chapters and update loads (except when I'm going away) which is definitely of the good! 

Anyway, thanks go out to everyone who reviewed!  I really appreciate it!

This chapter was incredibly hard to write, but in the end I did it, so I hope you all like it.

Chapter 39.  Consequences.

Buffy's death affected everyone in the castle, even those who did not know the causes of her death.  An unspoken agreement was issued on Halloween, and those who had witnessed Buffy's death chose not to talk about it.  Most students had never seen someone die before, and it would leave an imprint on their minds forever. 

Those who did not witness Buffy's death talked only of the event of Halloween in secret.  Most students were upset by her death, as they had all been taught by her at least once, and she had been a friendly and nice person. 

Two others had died that night, a second year Hufflepuff and a fifth year Ravenclaw.  Most students had been directed away from the Great Hall, and those inside had been protected by the teachers.  However, a week later, and there were still five beds occupied in the hospital wing, and two mediwitches from St. Mungo's were called to Hogwarts, and remained till two weeks after Halloween.

Four Aurors took up residence at Hogwarts after the attack, on Fudge's orders.  He felt Hogwarts needed defense, and Aurors were the best way to go about it.  He failed to recognize Dumbledore's point against the Aurors, that four Aurors could never hold their own against thirty Death Eaters. 

Twelve students were taken out of Hogwarts, against their will and against Dumbledore's, but many parents felt that Hogwarts was not as safe as it used to be. 

It was two weeks after Buffy's death, and the funeral was to be held that evening, so Spike and Angel could attend.  The will had been read two days before, and Buffy had stated that she wanted to be buried next to her real parents, and the headstones of Lily and James.  It was a small Muggle graveyard, but it was what Buffy wanted. 

"I like the blue one." 

Willow frowned.  "Really?"  She turned around, admiring herself in the mirror.  "No, I think I'm gonna go with the dark purple." 

She lifted searched through the small wardrobe in her room, and took out a dark purple jacket.  She held it against her body and looked in the mirror again.  "Does it go?"

Tara nodded.  "It looks fine Will."  Willow took off the blue jacket she was wearing and shrugged on her purple jacket. 

"Better?" 

"I still like the blue one."  Tara said.  Willow smiled halfheartedly. 

"That doesn't help me, baby." 

Tara smiled, and stood up.  She walked over to the wardrobe and rifled through the clothes.  "Maybe if we find something we both like, then you can wear it." 

Willow smiled.  "Sure.  If you can find anything." 

Tara stopped rifling through the clothes and admired a black jacket, with a black rose embroidered on the front.  "I like this."  She said, taking it out of the wardrobe.

"That's Buffy's."  Willow said, furrowing her brow.  "I should give it to her…"  Willow trailed off, realizing what she had just said.  "I mean, it was Buffy's.  It's not her anymore, 'cos she's…"  Willow trailed off again, and felt harsh tears running down her cheeks.  "She's gone."  Willow whispered.  "She's really gone." 

Tara dropped the jacket on the chair and ran to Willow.  She hugged Willow tightly, stroking her red hair and drawing small comforting circles on her back.  "Ssh, it's ok, it'll be ok."  Tara whispered into her ear. 

"It's not ok, it'll never be ok."  Willow said, parting from Tara and sitting on the bed.  "She's gone, and nothing anyone can do will bring her back."  Tara handed Willow a tissue, not quite sure what to do with herself as she stood watching Willow cry. 

The door opened, and Xander and Anya tiptoed in, both dressed in black.  Following them were Giles, Faith, Angel, Spike and Cordelia, all of them dressed in black or dark colours.  The room was quite small, but they all could fit in.  The door closed, and they were all silent. 

"When are we leaving?"  Faith asked, her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail.  Her hands were shoved in her black trouser pocket, and there was a frown line on her forehead that had been permanent ever since Halloween.

"As soon as the carriages are ready."  Giles informed.  "They'll take us to Hogsmeade station, and then a train will take us to London.  From their, we'll hail taxis to the graveyard."

"Oh."  Faith said quietly.  They were silent again. 

"Who's telling us that the carriages are ready?"  Xander asked after several moments. 

"Lupin."   Giles answered.  "I told him to meet us in the Entrance Hall.  We should go down there soon." 

The group nodded, but no one made a move to go.  All of them of them different, but linked to each other by one person.  They had all been Scoobies at one point, but now, without Buffy, it seemed pointless.

"I'd never thought I'd had to go through this again, not so soon anyway."  Xander said softly.  "First Doyle, then Joyce, now Buffy.  Who's next?"  He added bitterly.

"Xander, don't."  Cordelia said softly. 

"I knew it was coming, in the back of my mind."  Giles said, staring blankly at the wall.  "No slayer can live forever.  She lived an exceptionally long time, but I knew it had to end.  One day." 

"It still would have been a shock though."  Angel said quietly.  "She's strong, but we could never have been prepared for something like this." 

"It's always hard when a friend dies."  Cordelia added.  "She was just, something special, y'know?  I never thought she would die so soon."  Cordelia sighed sadly. 

"She had a good life though."  Willow said quietly, her hands folded in her lap.  "Despite everything that happened, all the rough times we went through, she was always happy." 

Giles chuckled, and glanced at Willow.  "I remember the first time I ever saw her.  Walking into the library, carefree and so young.  She had such an attitude though, and I could barely understand a word she said."

"That was you, Giles.  You're just too English."  Xander joked.

"She was so strong, even then."  Willow reminisced.  "She was sixteen years old, but she had a calling, a destiny."

"She didn't want it at first."  Giles added.  "But she came around."

"She knew it was right."  Angel said quietly. 

"She loved it, didn't she?"  Willow said, smiling.  "Every minute of it.  She saved lives, saved the world.  Yet no one knew what she did." 

Giles shook his head.  "That's not true.  At your prom, she got recognition for what she did.  The students knew that she was something special, they knew she saved them from countless horrors, and they awarded her for that."

Xander smiled.  "I'll never forget the smile on her face when she accepted the award."

"She was so proud of it."  Willow remembered.   "She used to just stare at it, with a small smile on her face."

"She was glad that people knew of her work, and thanked her for it."  Angel said quietly. 

"She did so much good."  Cordelia said.  "Helping everyone, hardly ever wanting anything in return." 

"Buffy was just like that.  A giving person, one of the best people I've ever known."  Willow said quietly.  The group smiled at each other. 

"We should go."  Giles said, and one by one they left the room, in silence.  The door closed quietly, and the room was left silent.  A couple of seconds later, the door opened and Willow rushed in and removed her jacket.  She put it on the bed and picked up the jacket on the chair, Buffy's jacket.  Willow smiled to herself, shrugged it on and left the room.

The funeral had been small, intimate.  The Scoobies, the AI and some of the Order had been present, including Petunia Dursley who had been informed of Buffy's death by Dumbledore, shortly after Halloween.  No one thought she would come to the funeral, but she did, and she wept along with everyone else.

The students who attended to funeral (Harry, Hermione and the Weasley's) were allowed two days off school, where they spent the night at the Order headquarters, where some of Buffy's friends were staying.  They all sat in a subdued silence around the kitchen table, adults among children, ex convicts among vampires.

Willow was probably taking it the hardest; she had cried constantly through the funeral.  She sat at the head of the table, Xander and Tara close by her.  She was tired of crying, the funeral had been that day and she was exhausted.  But she couldn't bring herself to go to bed.

"I can't believe she's dead."  Fred whispered, interrupting the quiet.  Cordelia squeezed the young Texan's hand, and nodded.

"It's like a dream."  Xander said.  "A very bad dream and I wish to wake up immediately."  He added.

"I was surprised to see Petunia at the funeral."  Lupin said quietly.

Harry nodded.  "Yeah, she hates all things magical, but she came anyway."  He fingered the small pendant on a chain around his neck.  The pendant was the letter 'H', and it was what Buffy had given him for his first Christmas.

"Sometimes people can surprise you."  Hermione said. 

"Petunia was family, Harry.  Sometimes people just can't turn their back on that."  Giles said.  "Having Buffy back was probably a big shock for Petunia, but having her taken away again was probably even a bigger shock.  No matter how much your aunt hated magic, Buffy was still her sister, and I doubt Petunia ever stopped caring for her, as she never stopped caring for Lily."  He took a breath and continued softly.  "Even if she never showed it, judging from the amount of tears that Petunia shed, she never stopped caring for her sisters."

They were silent again, as everyone remembered the two Evans sisters who had died on the same day, yet years apart.  After several minutes, the Scoobies and AI exchanged glances, knowing which question came next.

"What now?"  Xander asked to no one in particular. 

"You're welcome to stay here."  Sirius said softly, he looked particularly upset and had not said much since Buffy had died. 

"I'm sure Dumbledore will let you stay at Hogwarts."  Lupin added.

Spike shrugged.  "Maybe we should go back, I mean, we all came here because of Buffy, we don't really have a reason to stay.  No offense."  He added those who lived in England.

"Yes, we could just go back home."  Giles agreed.

"We'll miss you, but at home is where you belong."  Charlie said, squeezing Faith's hand. 

"So we go home?"  Anya said, asking the group, waiting for people to reject or agree.  No one did anything, most people wanted to go home, but they liked it in England. 

"There's a war going on."  Willow whispered, but her voice commanded the attention of the room.  "We could help."  Willow volunteered weakly, looking at the faces of her friends.  "It's what Buffy would have done."  She added, a sad look on her face as she mentioned her best friend.

"I'll stay."  Faith said.  "Even if it's only for a while."

"I'll stay."  Spike volunteered.

"We'll stay too."  Giles said, glancing at Tara and Wesley.  They nodded in agreement. 

"Fight the good fight; it's what we do best."  Cordelia said dully.  "I'm in."

"Us too."  Fred and Gunn said. 

"Me too."  Lorne said quietly.

"I'm in."  Angel said quietly.

Anya glanced around the group.  "I'm pregnant."  She said bluntly.

"You don't have to stay, Anya."  Tara said.

Xander sighed, and locked gazes with Willow.  "We'll have the baby, and then we'll come back, ok?"

"Some of you can stay here, others can stay at Hogwarts." 

"You can help the Order."  Bill said.  "We'll be glad to have people like you."

Cordelia sighed.  "Fight the good fight; it's what we do best."  She repeated.

Woo hoo, so the Scoobies are staying in England!  Now, question and answer time!

Lightdemondarkangel:  I don't hate Harry, he just bugged the hell out of me in book five and he turned into a really moody teenager, and I'm trying to continue what Rowling wrote, but he will be less moody in the future. 

WiccanOne48:  Aw, thank you!  Is this soon enough for ya?

Hinomi, CharmedChick:  Could be Malfoy, but is he a half blood?  Because he sure looks like Lucius and Narcissa to me. 

Chrios:  Of course Harry won't be mean!  Buffy saved his life for crying out loud!  That is something you just cannot forget.  Mark Evans was the dude in the fifth book, who Dudley beat up.  A fairly small mention, but in the first book, Sirius Black was mentioned and look how important he was.  But, apparently J.K Rowling said it was not Mark Evans, so there goes that theory down the drain. 

witchlight:  The guy was a Death Eater.  If he hadn't told Voldemort about the prophecy, then Harry could never be killed, and Harry is first on Voldemort's 'to kill' list. 

elsawriter:  Aww, your so sweet!  Buffy did not know about the prophecy, only Dumbledore did.  I've updated, how about you!  Come on, I need an update here!  AS' have finished, so you can update, right? 

Anyway, please review!  And bug Sam-453 to update her story!