All right, yeah so, Warren isn't breathing! NO! WARREN! NO! Gosh, I guess this means you're going to have to read this chapter. I mean, how can you not? What in gosh's name can possibly make this okay?

Anyways, here we go...

I own the story
Joss owns my soul

I think I screamed. I think I passed out. I think I swore. I think I cried. I'm not sure. I remember Buffy calming me down almost twenty minutes later. I remember Giles talking to Xander and Spike about what to do with the body. I remember Andrew and Jonathon clinging to each other sobbing. I remember Willow laughing.

"Sorry Dawnie, I guess sometimes my magic gets the best of me, you know how it is."

"Willow, just shut up." The words flew out of my mouth before I could think about how they would be taken.

"Willow, just shut up." She said mockingly. "I don't get why you all are crying. No one here liked Warren; he was just a loser. A loser Dawn, a loser." I had had just about enough of Willow. I stood up and walked over to where she was tied up. I crouched down so we were at eye level.

"I want you to know that I remember you're still Willow. I can look into your eyes and see black, but I remember who you really are. I remember when we were younger and you would take me for ice cream. I remember you being there for me when Buffy died. I remember our slumber parties and our inside jokes. That, and that is the only thing that is keeping me from killing you." I was taken aback by the emptiness in her eyes. I thought maybe it would have some kind of affect on her. I guess you really can't change people.

"He killed Tara, Dawn. It was my right."

"How can you justify what you did by saying you only did it because he killed your girlfriend."

"She was more than just a girlfriend to me Dawn. She was Tara; do you remember Tara? Do you remember her taking the cone I got you back because I didn't know which flavor was your favourite? Do you remember her holding you and telling you everything was going to be okay when Buffy died. Do you remember that she was the one who invited you over to the slumber parties; do you remember that she was the one who made the jokes? No, you don't, because you don't care. You obviously don't care."

"I don't get what you're trying to prove Willow." She didn't answer me, so I tried again. "Don't you want to get better? Don't you want to start your life over?"

Willow looked up to me, her eyes watering.

"No."

I stood up and walked back over to where Warren lay on the bed. I sat down beside him and stroked his hair. I willed for him to wake up, to open his eyes and for his lungs to begin breathing again. Please. Nothing happened though and I knew nothing was going to happen.

I sat with Warren for a long time before Jonathon came over to lead me away from the body. He took me to the guest room and helped me lie down. He had calmed down significantly but his eyes were still bright red and there was still a cold sweat on his brow.

"Dawn. I know this day has been incredibly difficult for you, but you have a way to fix all this. Today was your birthday Dawn, and Andrew and I gave you a little gift for you birthday. It allows you to..."

"Wait." I said, ignoring Jonathon. He was just rambling anyways. "Wait, Willow has books. Oh I'm so stupid, why didn't I think about this before." I quickly sat up and ran out of my room. I could hear Jonathon calling my name, but I just hurried down the stairs and into the living room. Everyone was upstairs still so I knew I had at least a couple minutes before Jonathon got Buffy involved.

I went to the bookshelf where Buffy kept all the books mom had left in her room. I paused for a second, I had never touched these before. I closed my eyes and took a breath. Sorry mom. I remembered Willow telling me a couple months ago that she was scared. She had relapsed slightly and went to the magic shop and bought a few items. Books mostly. I told her it was okay and didn't ask her which ones. I hoped she hadn't sucked these dry when she went all evil. Carefully I took out the books Willow had told me she put hers behind and sure enough there they were. The soft leather with the bright gold writing glistened like a tiny beacon of hope. I pulled them out one by one.

"Woah." I breathed. When Willow told me she bought a few, I figured one or two, three tops. But when I finally pulled the last out, there were easily nine or ten. I stacked them in my arms and sneaked back up the stairs. As I rounded the corner I saw everyone standing in the room still talking. They hadn't even noticed I was gone. I slipped back into the guest room and shut the door.

These books were insane. They were obviously old, but were filled with nothing but straight spells. Ones for protection, others for revenge. Some had recipes for love spells and some of the heavier books had things like astral projection and levitation. I focused mainly on the books that seemed to be written for beginners. They had basic instructions and soon enough I could feel the power pulsing inside of me. I wondered if this was how Willow felt when Warren had murdered Tara. I kept reading, soaking all of it in. I could understand why Willow loved her magic, this feeling was better than anything I'd ever felt before.

"Just wait Warren," I whispered, "we'll be together soon enough."