Chapter Fourteen of Unexpected Losses

Willow buried her face in Xander's shoulder, blushing bright red. They were sitting in the bedroom that Giles, Buffy, and Xander had rebuilt for her. Buffy and Xander had almost immediately begun teasing her once they got into the room. Giles and Harry were talking out in the other room, Giles was having Harry share pretty much everything that had happened since he left the wizarding world.

"Looks like I'm right, as is usual." Buffy said proudly, noting exactly how embarrassed Willow was.

"I do not like him, Buffy. I mean, I've only just broken up with Oz."

"I may have failed Chemistry, but that doesn't mean that I don't recognize it when I see it." Buffy answered, grinning. She laughed outright when Willow blushed again.

"You're evil. And what was with the whole lap-sitting act?" Willow muttered in return.

"Xander's comfy?" Buffy offered brightly, and gave a slightly embarrassed grin at Willow's put-out stare in return. "Oh, c'mon. Like you didn't like getting all snuggly with him. Besides, it would've been even more squished if I hadn't sat on Xander."

"Sure." Willow replied, drawing out the word in sarcasm.

"You've grown sarcastic in your time away." Buffy reported. "You must be stopped."

"What're you gonna do. Slay me?" Willow teased.

"Maybe."

"I'm glad you guys are here." Willow said suddenly, stopping the playful mood. "I mean...with everything that's going on. I'm just glad that you guys are here for me. I don't know if I could do it all on my own."

"Hey, Wills, we're always here for you." Xander said in a voice that was mildly chiding, as he affectionately tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I know that you're there. But it's not the same as here." Willow replied, working herself into a mini-babble. "I mean. That one guy killed Harry's parents and now he's after Harry and they're after me. They want to use my magic except for the 'me' part. And I'm getting better, but I'm still not using any really big spells. I just think this thing is bigger than me."

"I'm sorry that we have to go home, Wills." Buffy said.

"Oh, that's not what I meant!" Willow objected. "I'm just glad you came to visit. It made me feel just...better about everything, I guess. I was trying to thank you, not make you feel guilty about having to go back. Plus, I feel kinda bad for stealing you from your mom on Christmas."

"I, on the other hand, had a nice upgrade." Xander reported proudly, trying to relax the mood again, and succeeding as both girls grinned at him. "No Harris invasion. It was like...Christmas!" Willow and Buffy shared a glance, rolling their eyes at his antics. Buffy gave Willow a very pointed "You-used-to-like-him" glare.

"I'm smarter now." Willow answered verbally, to a very confused Xander and an amused Buffy. "Oh, bugger off."

"British!" Xander announced, bouncing excitedly at Willow's use of British slang. "You have a Giles accent!"

"I do not!" Willow answered indignantly, but admitted – only to herself – that she was indeed picking up the manner of speech of everyone she'd met. In her defense, she had people at her school speaking a little bit more like her, and everyone loved her babbles...not that they could always understand what she was talking about. Her phrasing and lingo was as odd to them as her accent. It made for some interesting conversations over the past few months. "Anyway." She added, strongly, trying to draw their conversation away from her changing accent. "So, how's Cordelia? I believe I heard the 'L' word."

"Cordy's great. She actually says hi. And she wishes she could've come along. But the timing was bad." Xander answered, a slightly faraway look in his eyes, declaring the fact that he was thinking about his girlfriend.

"I think I may actually miss her." Willow teased him, then turned to Buffy. "And what about Faith?"

"She's okay." Buffy piped up. "Ever since she almost staked that guy, she's been working pretty hard at training though. See, while I get fun cramps when the vamps are a'comin', Faith gets the skin tinglies. Harder to sense, but she's getting a lot better at recognizing them. I think Wesley's a good Watcher for her, though. Even if he is a little...stuffy?"

"Stuffy?" Willow echoed, asking for clarification.

"Very British, but not Giles-y British. Scary British." Xander translated. "I don't like him."

"That's because he was making eyes at Cordy." Buffy teased in return.

"He's like...old. It's gross." Xander replied stubbornly, causing both Buffy and Willow to burst into giggles at the conviction in his tone. "So, what about you Willow. Any new friends besides Harry?"

"Yeah, at school. I know a few people." Willow shrugged. "Nobody über-important. Mostly I've been working on the whole magic thing. Not a time of the socializing. Plus, I don't wanna get that attached, you know?"

"Well, we don't want you all alone while you're here, Wills." Buffy chided the redhead as Xander had a few moments before.

"I'm not all alone. Besides, it's only for a few more months. And then we can figure out how to get me back home. I mean, studying over here is kinda nifty and all that, but it's not home. And if it's not home by now, I don't think it ever will be." Willow answered softly. She easily caught the glance Buffy and Xander shared. "I'm not unhappy, guys, really. I'm just a little homesick I guess. And with Oz? I just wasn't expecting all of this at once."

"Hey, that slay offer is still open." Buffy kidded, winking at Willow, who was surprised into a laugh. While Willow knew that for one, she really didn't want Oz hurt, and two, Buffy wouldn't really hurt him; it was kinda nifty that she offered anyway. "No then?" Buffy pouted. "I get all the slayage abilities and then no one even wants me."

"Can I be the first to not comment on that?" Xander asked hopefully, earning himself a swat from the Slayer and a giggle from Willow. "I'll take that as a 'no.'"

Conversation drifted off as the three simply indulged in each other's presence. It would be the last time they could really be together for who knew exactly how long. Hardship surrounded both places they lived, and there was precious little peace punctuating the madness. They had long ago managed to grab it where they could, and use it for all its worth. Willow and Xander had lived on a Hellmouth most of their lives and Buffy had been dealing in death since she turned fifteen. They each knew to take advantage of any peace there was.

It was no real surprise then, when they heard Giles yell from the living room. Without even pausing to regret the breech on their momentary tranquility, they hurried into the front room to make sure that the Watcher was okay. Willow arrived first, and stopped short, causing Buffy and Xander to pile up behind her. "Harry!" She called. The boy in question was extremely pale, curled up into a fetal position on the floor, jerking spasmodically, and clutching his forehead as if it was tearing open.

She knelt immediately at his side, resting her hands on his face, trying to calm him. He was inordinately hot, and she pulled away from him for a moment in shock at the heat. Almost immediately, she rested her hands over his, and he slowed in his movements. She ignored the tears flowing down the sides of his face and his whimpers as she held her position.

"What happened, Giles?" She asked him, concerned.

"I've no idea. We were talking, and he seemed to slip into shock. He fell out of his chair, and he's been in his current state for almost a minute. I have no idea what's wrong with him. And no way to contact Lupin at the moment. My owl is currently at Hogwarts, and there's no way I can confer with anyone in the wizarding world at the moment. We're entirely on our own." Giles answered, cleaning his glasses for lack of more helpful use of his hands.

"Is it some kind of curse?" Buffy asked doubtfully, glancing around to see if there were any wizards in the vicinity that could've cursed Harry without being seen by either he or Giles.

"I do not believe so." Giles answered. "It's almost as if his scar is hurting him, but the idea is somewhat preposterous. Scars cannot harm people."

"Well, something's hurting the guy." Xander reported, in true Xander fashion.

"Apparently." Giles answered dryly.

All during their conversation, Willow had taken to speaking to Harry in what she hoped was a soothing voice, petting his hands gently, as he refused to let go of his forehead. "This is dark, Giles." She reported, worrying her lip after she spoke.

"Can you tell if it's a spell, Willow?" Giles demanded, willing to let his shock register later. He certainly couldn't sense any kind of spell, and none that he knew of had these particular consequences. And he, really, should be more adept than her at sensing magic, but was apparently the honing of her skills that she'd been indulging in was working quite well.

"It's not a spell. Or a curse." Willow answered, eyes closed in concentration. "It's almost like a connection." She shrugged, knowing that she sounded like an idiot. "Remember how I used to float pencils?" Affirmative nods came from the Scoobies. "Well, I would attach a thread of magic from me to the pencil to make it float. There was a connection between the pencil and me. But really teeny. It's like that, only it's not like a thread..."

Almost afraid of the answer, Giles was the first who dared ask. "What is it like, then, Willow?"

Willow swallowed hard. "It's interwoven, Giles. It's like...Harry's attached to something like I am to the pencil. Except bigger. It's not a thread. It's like a blanket that's wrapped around both of them. The harder they try to pull away from it, the tighter it gets until they merge."

"Have they?" Giles questioned her in a fierce tone.

"Not yet. But he keeps pulling." Willow said desperately, indicating Harry with a barely perceptible nod. "I'm going to try to help him. I can't sever it...the shock would kill him. I have to try to loosen it."

"Willow, no!"

"Giles, shut up." Willow said in a decidedly calm voice.

"What is she doing, Giles?" Buffy questioned, the pitch of her voice rising in panic.

"She's going to hurt herself." Giles answered, and rushed to the redhead's side, soundly slamming into...absolutely nothing. She had apparently made a barrier around herself and Harry. Her eyes were still closed, and she muttered under her breath. The slip of a girl gasped suddenly, eyes snapping open.

"Why are Willow's eyes all black?" Xander asked suddenly, an edge of nerves coating the timbre of his voice.

Giles rushed at the barrier again, determined to break through it.

"Stop!" Willow demanded in a low voice, and the Watcher was frozen in place. Willow closed her eyes again, trying to focus despite the rush of energy that almost consumed her. Part of her wanted to lose herself to the rush. It felt marvelous, filling every fiber of her being like nothing had before. Pleasure shot through every nerve until it became almost painful. But the bigger part of her was too concentrated on the feel of Harry beneath her fingers. She started there.

He whimpered again, and she once more ignored the noise. Her fingertips brushed his hands, and she was finally able to move them away. The concentrated part of her was shocked at the sight of his forehead. The scar had somehow opened and was bleeding massively. Somehow he'd managed to hold the wound closed with his fingers, but it bled freely now. The scar was the foundation of the connection. Slowly, using small strands of her own magic, she tugged. Willow could actually see and, in an odd sense, taste the magic she was working with, though she never had the ability before. Her magic was like a breath of fresh air, pure as new earth, like a whisper of wind. There were two magic signatures on Harry's scar.

One, she knew, was Harry's. He was powerful, she knew, but his magic was surprisingly hot where hers was soothingly cool. The strands of magic she'd attempted to adhere to his were snapped upon contact. Like honey, thick and rich and sweet, his magic seemed to simmer. After taking a deep breath, she attempted again, reaching for the other magic. It was dark, she knew without having to use this new sight. It was like ice. It tasted like decay and death. Willow shivered at having to touch it, and likewise, the dark magic shivered when her own touched it. But not enough to shake her determination lose.

She worked her magic around it, constricting it tightly. Using more threads of the same magic, she coaxed Harry's magic until it loosened, and then she pulled her magic away. Willow was able to separate the two magics for the most part in this fashion. They were still connected, but whereas Harry had been almost entirely surrounded by the magic, he was now attached in a far more straightforward fashion. Had the connection been severed before, no matter by whom, it would've destroyed both Harry and whatever was on the other end. Now it could be done, though there was still a huge risk of backlash.

Willow definitely wasn't going to be the one to attempt it, though. Her eyes rolled upwards and turned to the back of her head, as she, in a dead faint, and the barrier around her both collapsed. Giles, immediately freed from the hold Willow cast over him, barely managed to rush forward quickly enough to catch her.

"I'm voting that for the mega-wiggins." Buffy volunteered.

"I second." Xander agreed, approaching the collapsed Willow swiftly, gently brushing his fingers through her hair once he reached her. "I mean, did you see her eyes Buff?"

"Yeah." Buffy said weakly. "The Slayer sense was definitely tingling." She shuddered in remembrance. "That is so something that I never wanna see again. Ever."

"That one, I'll second." Giles muttered, cradling Willow in his arms. He focused his gaze on Harry, who seemed to have slipped into sleep. He was no longer whimpering or shaking, but his forehead was still bleeding. "Poor child." He muttered after a moment. "Assuming Willow was correct, this isn't the first time that has happened to him."

"Ouch." Buffy answered eloquently.

"Quite."

"So, what do we do now?" Buffy asked.

"You and Xander are leaving. You have to go home, irregardless of this event. We will be leaving in an hour." Giles said firmly, preparing himself for the indignant refusal from both of them. Buffy, had she not already been standing would've jumped to her feet, and both Xander and she leveled dark glares at the Watcher.

"You want us to leave after this?" Buffy asked. "Before this, I wasn't sure about it. I am not leaving her like this."

"You have no choice." Giles replied. "You will go home. I will deal with the situation here, and then follow you. The Hellmouth needs you, Buffy."

"Not me." Xander spoke in a quiet, thoughtful voice. "At least let me stay, Giles." A hopeful tone entered his voice, and he glanced up at Giles. "This isn't a great situation for anybody, and Buffy's all with the Slaying. Let me stay, I can help. I can't leave her like this. She's my best friend."

"And I'm what?" Buffy objected. "She's my best friend, too."

"You have to go back, Buffster. You know it." Xander replied, and Buffy pouted her consent. "The longer I can stay away from home, the better I'll feel, and I have to stay and help her. You know I'll take care of her."

"Xander, this is dangerous." Giles objected.

"Oh, and home isn't?" Xander answered in a surprisingly scathing tone. Even in teasing Giles, he usually had a sense of respect about him, but it vanished in that instant. "The whole world is dangerous, Giles, and I'm not going to leave Willow in one danger to go home and face another one. Not when I don't have to."

Unexpectedly, Giles pinned Xander in a glare, and then nodded his assent. "You may stay, Xander. But Buffy is still going back. Your mother would kill me if I didn't, and you need to remain over the Hellmouth. The Mayor's ascension is quickly approaching, and you must be ready."

"Score one for bad parenting." Xander said with honest enthusiasm, which was somehow worrisome to the other conscious inhabitants of the room. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"You wait for them to wake up. I drive Buffy to the Airport." Giles commented, easily ignoring the glare that would have demons blood running cold. "You can handle that, Xander?"

"Yeah. I'll make sure--." Xander was interrupted by an owl zooming into the room, carrying an envelope. Curiously, Buffy watched it drop the envelope on top of Harry's now still form, and flew quickly up to the top a bookshelf, where it settled. A few seconds later, an odd rumbling sound came from the fireplace at the front of the room. After a moment of terse silence, the empty hearth burst into flames. After a moment, Buffy let loose a short scream when a head appeared.

"Is Harry Potter here?" The head asked Buffy, who was nearest, who nodded frantically, searching her person for a weapon to use. A moment later the head disappeared to her relief. Unfortunately, the head was replaced with a body that tumbled out. This body was followed by another. Buffy fell into a defensive stance immediately, inching over to stand between the defensive Willow and Harry. After a short moment, the two people stood. It didn't take more than a moment to realize that the one figure was identical to the other.

"Harry." The first said in a pained voice, approaching the unmoving boy quickly, stepping around Giles, who was still cradling Willow's inert form, and Xander who was sitting next to Giles. "What happened to him?" He glared up at Giles in anger, a protective tone lacing his voice. It was surprisingly Xander who noticed it and relaxed slightly.

"He got hurt. His forehead." Xander reported. "Willow said it was some kind of connection to dark magic."

"Who the hell are you?" The boy asked, with his eyes narrowed.

"Xander Harris. This is Willow. She's been living with Harry." Xander said calmly, not wanting to set off the guy in front of him, sensing that this situation could turn very dangerous. The pair both nodded tersely, understanding.

"He told us." The voice was still thick with worry. "Ennerviate." He waved what was apparently a wand. With agonizing slowness, Harry's eyelashes fluttered open. He sat up slowly, blood pouring thickly down his face. He wiped at it futilely. The wound was simply too severe to be staunched by swiping at it.

"Willow?" He asked, blurry vision only making out a blurry pale figure with red hair.

"No, Harry." Said the figure slowly.

"George?" Harry asked in return, confused. "What are you doing here?"

"Something I'd like to know as well."

"The letter. It was supposed to lead us to Harry." George answered, glancing at Giles. "We had to find him."

"Well, you're certainly here." Giles answered dryly, but stopped when Xander touched his arm, shaking his head emphatically.

"We're sorry to barge in, but this is too important."

"Where's Willow?" Harry asked, blinking furiously to clear his vision of red.

"I have her." Giles answered.

"Want me to wake her?" George asked, wand still in hand.

"Please." Xander answered softly before Giles could object, as he undoubtedly would. George repeated the weird word that woke Harry and Willow also came to, slowly. "Wills, are you okay?"

"My head hurts." Willow answered, and then she paused before continuing, "Harry?"

"You did something." Harry answered her.

"I pinched the connection. I'm not sure what it was, but it was hurting you. I think it was killing you." Willow seemed slightly embarrassed, and shuffled out of Giles's grasp. "Who are you?" She glanced at the two boys, confused.

"Fred and George." Harry answered, instead. "They're my family."

"Why are they at Giles's?" Willow asked, bringing her hand to her forehead, dragging it through her hair. Her mind felt muddled and thick, it almost felt like she was thinking in slow motion.

"Harry, something happened." Said the other boy in a tight voice.

"Fred? What?" Harry asked.

"Harry, it-it's Ron." George answered instead, voice breaking as he spoke.

"No." Harry answered instead, shaking his head slowly in response, ignoring the blood that still slid down his face. "No."

"The clock. It--." George drifted off, resting a comforting hand on Harry's shoulders. The raven-haired boy jerked away.

"No."

"Harry, listen to us." Fred said in the same broken tone his twin used. "He's. Ron's—the clock."

"He can't be." Harry answered softly. "He—He just.—Ron!" Unsurprisingly, the teen started crying; wracking sobs silently overcoming his slender body. He was immediately scooped up into a hug by Fred and George.

"Ron's gone." George finally managed. "He was killed." He fell silent as soon as the last word slipped past his lips, unable to manage another sound pardoning a rough sob that tore through him.

(a/n: ta-da. I wrote more. Be happy. Or rather, don't be happy. Be as depressed as I am. I'm crying. I mean...not really, but I kinda wanna. I suck at writing...anything, but this was particularly not great. I love the twins. And for some reason, George in particular. And I'm not sure about this chapter. I hope you liked it. Oh, God, I killed Ron. -sobs-).