Disclaimer: The song is Mean To Me by Tonic I'm poor as dirt, so obviously I don't own

Buffy or Potter. Basically, nutin's mine.

A/N: I know ya'll love me and have been holding their breath for me to review (don't I

wish!). I've finally had a break through, and here it is, the blessed story itself. Thank ya

reviewers, you ROCK! I started this chapter right where the other left off, refer to Ch. 8

to know exactly what's going on. Oh, and I have figured out exactly what the ending to

this is gonna be! Very teary. Oh, but this chapter is sad. Don't write hate mail, because

it is one of the most awesome chaps I have ever written. I have so much detail it's just

plain cool, so here's the story, and hope you love it. I brought back a classic, so be

happy!

Chapter 9: Everyone's Got A Curse

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There's an empty place inside that is hurting me

A place that keeps my heart out on it's own

A disconnected function of my wretchedness

That keeps me so hard pressed

It's a place where words are spoken you will never hear

A broken bridge of lines that just won't come

An empty lung that won't give the wind to speak at me

How far can it be from home

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Buffy ran out of the library, away from the castle, and into the forest that

Dumbledore was foolish enough to call forbidden, thus adding to it's appeal. Darkness

crept slowly, soon covering her completely in a cloak that not even the most powerful

wizards could break through. The evil here was understandable, the sun had been

banished from this place long ago. Perhaps that was why she was wondering around in it,

she was always attracted to areas where no light could stun her. Tears flooded blind

eyes, and she couldn't help but ponder at why she was crying. Nothing tragic had

happened, but perhaps the way things had gotten complicated had overwhelmed her.

"Walking around alone in the dark. Little girls should be more careful. Who

knows what could lurk nearby." A voice whispered in the ear. Buffy couldn't help but

be calmed by it. Only one type of creature spoke that smooth, with a texture that almost

seemed exotic. At times she was so infatuated with that sound that it became life

threatening. This person, if you could call it that, was one of the best of his kind at

making her quake at his voice. But then again, he had always seemed to be obsessed

with her...

"What are you doing here Spike?" she asked, turning around to face the vampire.

He was the exact same. Same leather duster, same scar, same bad vamp. She could

sense something different in the very beginning. Something out of place. A calm space

where there used to be hatred and fear. Something new.

"Actually, I came to help you." he said with a smirk. She could read him, so

easily in fact that it was frightening. He was telling the truth. And the truth, in the end

wasn't going to be good.

"Why?"

"There's something you need to know. 'The Powers That Bloody Be' decided I

need to be a goodie and gave me these visions that I see in my bloody head. You're not

going to like what I saw." he was nervous, a tremor was in his voice that made him seem

to stumble as he spoke. She couldn't remember ever hearing that from him before, and

the fact that he was anxious disturbed her.

"What happened? What did you see?" a wave of worry hit her. Names screamed

in her head, something that happened a lot when she tried to read vampires. Incoherent

thoughts mumbled and churned within themselves as if trying to form a complete idea

but never seeming to get that far before breaking off into their own helpless existence

again.

"Angel, Willow didn't bring him back." Buffy wasn't sure if he was speaking

these words or if they were still locked in his mind. Everything was scrambled in one

crashing heap, she barely was able to understand what he said next.

"That man in there, it's Angelous. And Xander, he's dead. Check his neck.

They're here to kill and feed." she nodded. What else was he supposed to do? He went

on, still talking about some demon in Sunnydale as she tried to compute the information.

Then she snapped back to life, needing answers.



"What about Willow?" *Oh, please dear God let there still be Willow...*

"They can't get to Willow because of some sack of protection she has wrapped

around her neck, so they've been acting like normal and walking through the castle like

they're people. Now in about three minutes, the boys in there are going to get antsy and

start killing everything inside. As much as I don't give a rat's arse and would love to be

in there murdering defenseless kiddies, I have this whole bit where I've got to play the

dashing hero. Plus Angelous might come after Dru again, so get yourself in there and

stake him before I bite you."

She was going to laugh in his face. She wanted to stand there and mock him for

ever believing that such a thing was true. She wanted anything to happen that would

mean it had been a lie. Anything. But nothing did. So once again she ran. Only this

time it was towards her home instead of away from it. Once again she was racing with

time, and realizing it once again was against her as she heard the first scream that pierced

the cold night air. Soon it was followed by hundreds of others. As she burst through the

doors she automatically directed her attention to the fact that Angelus and Xand were

standing on top of the Gryffindor table in full game face. Then she noticed the lifeless

body of a redheaded guy, and that Angelus's mouth was covered in blood. Ron's blood.

Reaching out her powers she knew he was dead; no heart beat was found.

"Cool. Buffy's here. Now the fun really starts." Xander said, changing back to

normal. *It's true! Xander! This is all my... wait Buffy, get control. Deep breaths. Slay

now, cry later. Slay now, cry later. Slay now, cry later. Slay now, cry...* She watched

as Xander picked up Hermione by the neck and Angelus take out a knife.

"Let's start playing." Angelus said, his voice full of cruelty and laugher. An evil

laugh that chilled every bone in her body with it's rancid toxin.

"I know this game." Xander said, "You're gonna have ta pick Buffy." she was

confused. More riddles. And no people to help. Everyone had fled the castle except for

Willow, Draco, Harry, Hermione (who was still hanging by her throat), and Tru. Harry's

voice still blared in her head about how he thought she was crazy for believing vamps

even existed. No one but her knew what to do. Besides Will, but she couldn't help. Her

face was full of fear as well.

"Choose Buffy. Between your sweetheart and your blood." Angelus aimed his

knife at Harry and Xand lifted the half strangled Hermione up onto the table, fangs at the

ready again.

"I can't!" she screamed, but in the blur of yells she could barely make out the

whispered 'three, two, one' made by the vampires. Then the next second went by in slow

motion. Angelus threw the knife and Xander threw back Hermione's hair. She could

only save one, only one... Something made her move. Nothing that was about to happen

in the next minute was because of her making it happen consciously. It was because of

something more primal. A need no keep the two people alive, and knowing that would

probably never happen. It was something that definitely hurt like hell. Both physically

and emotionally.

She took off at a sprint. How else was she going to get the knife about to pierce

his heart? She paused about a half a second though, a half a second of precious time that

made it so there was only one way to save him. Quickly she reached out her left arm,

catching the knife directly in her palm, and cutting through the bone. She muttered

something like 'Get the hell out of here' and then as the pain slammed into her, her own

scream hit the air, but she wouldn't let the fear be heard. The sound wasn't describable.

Not of pain, not of fear, not of any of the sadness she felt in her heart as she saw

Xander's fangs pierce Hermione's pale skin. It was a sound that was distant, and

unrecognizable to her and everyone else.

Pulling out the knife she let out a hiss, and threw it with her right arm directly at

Xander's back. It hit with amazing accuracy, and he yelled a curse that she couldn't

make out as Hermione fell to her knees. She was still alive, unlike Buffy's hand which

was losing blood dangerously fast.

Angelus jumped off the table with a grace that only something inhuman would

have. Then she realized he had a sword. Where it had come from was a mystery to her,

she didn't remember him having it before. Xander jumped off the table and walked over

to an ancient sword hanging on the wall, prying it off and throwing it to Angel who then

threw his sword to her.

"Just you and me Slayer. Just you and me. Like old times." he swung his sword

at her with wicked accuracy, and she blocked. The fighting was hard as she tried to baby

her hand, but the pain was numbed, and she got around the handicap. After a few more

rounds she jumped on a table to block another strike, finding it being the exact thing

she'd done back in the mansion. It was the same fight. Soon she was on her back,

crawling backwards feeling helpless, totally alone since her friends disappeared. Only

this time she almost had no desire to live on. This time she knew in her heart he would

win. There was no extra strength in her to catch the sword that was going to come. He

repeated the infamous lines...

"No friends, no weapons, no hope. Take that away and..."

"She's still got me." Willow said, floating a pencil behind Angelus's back and

making it go foreword. It pushed through him, but being weak Willow wasn't able to

make it reach his heart. Once again Angelus laughed, knowing that the pencil wasn't

enough to dust him. He grabbed Willow forcefully and slammed her into the wall.

Buffy's eyes changed to the fire that the First Slayer's strength always brought to her, and

she leaped onto Angel. He was dragged to the ground, Buffy straddling him and pressing

down hard on his chest to make the #2 writing untencil pierce his cold, dead heart. A

cloud of dust surrounded her, encompassing her being as she registered what had

happened.

Willow's screech snapped her once again to the real world. Xander had her

pinned against the wall, and was going to snap her neck. He was going to break Will...

"Aaarrggghhhh!!!" Spike slammed into Xander with a blow that not even Buffy

had seen coming. With a quick flick of the wrist there was nothing left of Alexander

Harris beside his ashes, the precious reminders of the horror that was all because she had

left them. It was all because she had left them...

Slowly Willow and Buffy huddled together, tears combining to hit the floor

echoing the grievous sound through the entire castle with no one besides Spike to hear.

Each drop sounded like thunder, with lightening ready to strike the vulnerable pair.

Spike supposed that was why he let them near him. The PTB had traded Angel's soul

and made it his. Seeing them acting the way they were was starting to break his

non-existent heart. After a while the water stopped falling, and a silence broke out

amongst the three, with Spike sitting and leaning against the wall and a girl at each side.

He knew that they were asleep, their breathing started to drop as they became

unconscious, surrendering to their exhaustion from the weeping. He couldn't help but

smirk, it would be so easy. Oh, it would be so easy to just flip that hair and take a bite...

But no, he was cursed. But they were too, he supposed. They all were. Cursed.

Everyday and every action lead to only more hurt and pain... they were worse off than

him in the end. Bloody unfair world this was. Bloody unfair world.