A/N : This chapter is Buffy's Funeral. Sorry but we won't see any more of Buffy and Sirius until Chapter 6.... I have to add this one lol...Tara and Willow are still together and Tara is better. Xander is with Anya...
Chapter 5 : Beautiful Damnation
SunnyDale, California
"Dawnie! Are you almost ready?" A female voice called from the other side of Dawn's bedroom door. The brunette teen stood in front of her mirror, absently smoothing out imaginary wrinkles in her khaki skirt. She was contemplating going with black, but Dawn knew that Buffy would want her to at least try and be happy.
Therefore, she chose a khaki skirt that reached just above her knees and a white blouse. Her hair was straightened and her face solemn. The funeral was going to be held at night so Angel and Spike could attend it without bursting into flames. That wouldn't be too good for the rest of the world that needed their saving.
Dawn sighed. "Yes." She put on a pair of strappy black shoes and opened the door to find Willow giving her a sympathetic look, holding out her hand. Dawn took it and let Willow lead her downstairs.
Willow wore a pair of black dress pants and a white quarter-sleeve button up shirt. Dawn knew that Willow was also in pain from loosing her best friend, but that Willow was trying to be strong for her.
"Willow you don't have to pretend."
Abruptly, the redheaded Wicca stopped at the last step and turned to look at Dawn. "Yes I do."
Without any more words, they began to walk down toward the cemetary where the funeral was being held. The sky was beginning to fade into a dark hazy blue. The pale moon gave a soft glow over the graves of Joyce and Buffy Summers. Although Buffy's body wasn't found, Giles and Willow thought it best to honor her with a funeral.
Standing beside the dug grave was Rupert Giles, staring down at the dirt with pain relevent in his eyes. Xander stood back a ways, holding hands with his beloved Anya. She too had a heart-wrenching look appear on her face when she caught Dawn's eye. The Reverand stood with a book closed, beneath his right arm and Spike stood under the large Oak tree.
Willow was immediatley pulled to Tara's side, and Dawn into Giles' arms to hug her. More people began to arrive, including Angel, Cordelia, and Wesley. After several minutes, the Reverand began to speak his words of grace and beauty. Dawn heard the same words she had heard at her mother's funeral and it was painful.
"Earth to Earth. Ashes to Ashes. Dust to Dust..."
Soon, the coffin was covered with earth and people gave their sympathies and began to leave. The only ones left were Willow and Tara, who were crying and hugging Giles. Spike had left back to his crypt, probably to weep some more. Anya and Xander had also taken off. Janice stopped by and gave her wishes, then left, telling Dawn she would see her in school.. sometime.
"Angel? We're going back to the car, you coming?" Asked Cordelia softly, knowing that her friend was having trouble dealing with this. His deep chocolate eyes looked up at the brunette and he had a faint smile on his face.
"You go. I'll be there in a minute." Cordelia nodded and led Wesley back to the streets. Angel, with his hands tucked safely into his black duster, walked to where Dawn stood.
She suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her tippy-toes to reach him. Angel enveloped her in his arms, hugging the young girl.
"I'm sorry." He said softly. Angel could feel Dawn's tears against his red silk shirt, seeping to his cold skin.
"Angel..." She pulled back and looked at him, her eyes red and puffy.
He shook his head telling her not to speak. "I know it's hard, but we all have to move on. Not forget, just ... find a special place for her. In our hearts."
"Yours doesn't even beat!" Dawn snapped, and put a hand over her mouth immediatley, wishing she could take them back. Angel looked down and closed his eyes.
"Angel, I'm sorry. It's.. It's just..." Dawn paused and found a lump appear in her throat, making it hard to form any sort of a sentence. "My sister is dead and their covering her with dirt!"
Angel sighed and pulled Dawn into another tight hug. Soon enough he pulled back and tilted his head. "I have to get going. Back to L.A. Take care of yourself."
Dawn watched his retreating back move to hug Willow and then he headed towards the gate of the cemetary.
Hogsmeade
Hermoine and Ron sat in the Three Broomsticks in the corner, glancing at the entrance every few minutes to see if Harry was there yet. Still, no sign.
"Where do you think he is? Do you think something's happened to him?" Concern suddenly etched across Hermoine's pretty features. Ron rolled his eyes and than shook his head of shaggy red hair, fierce as fire.
"'Moine, if anything happened to him, we would know. Don't worry. He's probably just .. stuck in a meeting."
Hermoine looked very doubtful and knit her eyebrows together in confusion. Ron took notice of this and leaned closer to her to capture the girl's attention.
"Hermoine! He would have let us know if he couldn't - " Before Ron Weasley could speak any more, Hermoine jumped up from her seat and sighed with relief.
"Harry! There you are! We were starting to get worried!"
Harry walked over to his friends seeing them sitting over at a table and shrugged. Ron gave a pointed look at Hermoine Granger. "We?"
She gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine. I was worried. What happened?"
Harry took a seat next to Ron and glanced from one friend to the other, pushing his circular glasses back up to the bridge of his nose. "Sorry. Quidditch practice took a bit longer than I had expected. No need to worry 'Moine, I woulda let you know if I couldn't have come."
Ron smiled, very satisfied and Hermoine gave him a death glare. "Don't start with that rubbish, Ronald Weasley. I'm not in the mood for it."
Ron's smile faltered and tugged his lips into a frown. "Why? What's up your arse?"
"Don't curse Ron!" Hermoine spat, taking her seat again. She gave a thoughtful look and then turned, sharing glances with Harry and then Ron. "Fine. I don't think the Ministry will be hiring me."
Harry's green eyes grew large and Ron looked at his friend incredulously. "Are you crazy!? Why not?! Your a bloody genius!"
"Don't. Curse!" She scolded slowly and then folded her arms across her chest and leaned back in her chair. "Well, I don't think I passed all those wretched tests."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "Were that honestly that hard? I mean, McGonagall told me that the Auror tests were difficult, but passable. Surely, you passed."
Ron nodded in agreement. "That's right, mate. C'mon Hermoine, your gonna be one of the wickedest Aurors out there..."
Hermoine smiled at Ron and Harry's encouragement. "Thanks. So, Ron... How was your meeting? Did you decide to apply for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts job? Or the Dragon Researcher?"
All attention turned on Ron and he gave a half smile. "Actually, neither." At Harry and Hermoine's confused looks, Ron continued, his calculating smile growing. "I got a job working in the Floo Department. Ya know? I get to help regulate fireplaces and things."
Hermoine patted Ron's shoulder happily and Harry congratulated him. "Good job, Ron. Yeah, I got Seeker on Puddlemere. Did ya know Angelina's on the team? The Captain seems nice. Very uh.. what's the word? She's rather pushy, if I might say so myself."
The three friends laughed and chatted for about another hour before heading back to their own homes. Harry was staying at the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley. When he got there, he went straight up to bed, exhausted from his practice earlier.
As soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell straight asleep.
Harry was walking through the streets of a town he had never seen before. It was a muggle town from the looks of it and it had an eerie feeling about it. He could hear noises, yells and screams from a distance. Not being one to leave someone in trouble, Harry began to sprint towards the location.
When he found the cause of the noise, Harry found himself staring up at a very tall tower that looked unstable and not very sturdy. He began to walk through the rows of concrete blocks and poles when he saw a woman with strawberry blonde hair stagger back, holding a hand to her nose. Blood spluttered from beneath her hand.
Another girl, pale blonde with eyes of much pain and death, held a large hammer above her head and swung towards the bloodied woman.
Harry could hear screams from up above, coming from the tower. Intrigued, Harry began to climb upwards. The screams were clearer now and he could hear someone shouting 'Buffy!'.
As he reached the peak of the tower, he stood up and dusted himself off. He saw a girl, two, maybe three years younger than him tied to the ends of the tower poles. She had blood dripping from her stomach, seeping from the bottom of the platform. A small, old man with a sharp knife in his hand was cutting her, grinning.
Harry lunged at the man and was about to make contact .....
Harry shot up with a startled expression, a cold sweat covering his body. Who was this girl? Who was the man? What was going on? So many questions shot through his mind and he found that he couldn't sleep the rest of the night.
Who were these people plagueing his dreams?... or nightmares?
