Forgive me if I get any of the Wizard/Witch funeral rites wrong.

Chapter 13: It's Not a Joke

*****The Same Day Ron Died*****

The twins were more than horrified to see their baby brother murdered.

"How did this happen?" Fred asked, still not sure he wasn't hallucinating.

"Maybe it's some elaborate prank," George said, kicking his brother a bit. "Okay, Ron. You got us."

When Ron's body just fell over, though, they realized it was not joke. Although his throat was slit, there was not a lot of blood on his clothes, which was odd.

"For Merlin's sake, George, we have got to get him home!" Fred urged.

George nodded grimly and bent down to pick his brother up. They wrapped their arms around him and carefully pulled him to his feet. Then they apparated home.

"There you are!" Molly exclaimed as soon as she saw them. "I just came in, and the clock said mortal danger. Then I saw Ron's name erased from the family tapestry, but you brought him back."

"Mum, he's not okay," Fred said, his voice cracking.

"Someone killed him, Mum," George said.

"If this is one of your damn pranks, I will never forgive you!" she yelled, annoyed.

"I'm sorry, Mum," Fred said.

George moved Ron's head, so his sliced throat was visible. That's when the screaming began.

Their father appeared and tried to console their mother and find out what happened. When Ginny came into the room, she collapsed. It took Percy appearing before Aurors were called, and the word spread.

"How did you know to come?" Arthur asked Percy as he didn't normally pop by in the middle of the week.

"Dumbledore said he tried to floo you and Mum, but there was no answer," Percy replied.

"We had an appointment at Gringotts and were visiting with Bill," Arthur said.

"Dumbledore sent an owl to me, telling me that all of us should be on guard. After what happened to Buffy, they believe the vampires would seek retribution," Percy said. He stared at his baby brother with unbelieving eyes." I guess they were right."

"What happened, boys?" Arthur finally asked.

"We were waiting at the shop—the one we want to secure," George said, feeling a growing sense of horror. Surely, this was not real? It had to be a joke. Ron was paying them back for all the ones they'd played on him.

"Ron was thirsty, and he said he was going to get something to drink nearby," Fred added.

"He didn't return," George said flatly. He couldn't take his eyes off his brother, who they laid on the living room sofa.

"I can't believe you two!" Molly said, flying into a rage. "He is your responsibility, and you let someone murder him!"

"Molly, that is not necessary," Arthur said gently.

"We're sorry, Mum," Fred said, his eyes filling with tears.

"It was daytime, Mum, and he just went across the street," George said. He finally collapsed on the floor next to Ron's body, unable to look away. "We didn't think anything would happen to him."

"I will call the aurors," Percy said. His father nodded.

"I don't understand, Mum. How could this happen to Ron?" Ginny said, crying.

Molly couldn't answer her youngest as all she could do was look at the body of her precious baby boy. "Ron is gone, Arthur! What are we going to do?" she asked before sobbing in his arms.

Arthur had no words to comfort her as tears gently rolled down his own face. The lack of blood, though, was not missed. That his baby boy was murdered by a vampire was a horror he did not voice, nor the fear that his son's body would stir once more.

******Hogwarts******

Severus was about to retire for the night when he heard a knock on his bedroom door. He thought it might be his daughter, so he hurried to open it. It was a surprise to see Dumbledore.

"Albus, what is wrong?" he asked.

"Ron Weasley was murdered," he said grimly.

"What?" Severus said in surprise.

"The twins were with him in Diagon Alley, looking to procure a store for their joke shop," Albus said. "Ron went to get a drink. A half hour went by, and he never returned. They found him not far with his throat slashed."

"Are you sure that was the cause of death?" Severus asked.

"No, Rupert is going to them now," he said. "I suspect that it was either a Death Eater or the vampire, Spike."

"A slit throat isn't typical of a Death Eater," Severus said.

"Nor is a slit throat typical of a vampire," Albus remarked. "Rupert believes it is most likely to cover the actual cause of death. Death Eaters would have used dark magic to kill, which would not slice the throat."

"Buffy Anne will be devastated even more than she already is. Not to mention how she will blame herself for bringing Spike into their lives," Severus said.

"We cannot tell her—at least not until she buries her own father," Albus said.

"I agree," he said. "I will send out owls to all her friends."

"You cannot owl the Americans as their families know nothing of magic," Albus reminded him. "It is best if you go in person and tell them before you retire for the night."

Severus sighed. A visit to the hellmouth was not what he needed.

"Fine," he said.

"You should take Wesley with you as it is the hellmouth," Albus said. "The floo is ready."

"Have him meet me in your office in thirty minutes," Severus said. Because they were frequently going back and forth to the hellmouth, Albus had decided to put in a floo between Buffy Anne's house and his office.

"I will let Hermione know, though, not to say anything. Most likely she will go to the Burrow," he said.

"It's best to wait until the morning," Severus said. "Let her have a night with her parents." Now that he was a parent, he knew how important it was to have the time.

"I'm going to go speak with Wesley and then break the news to Harry," Albus said grimly. "The poor boy has to withstand yet another loss."

"Maybe you should have Sirius tell him the news and be here for him," Severus suggested.

"You are right," Albus said. "It can wait until morning."

"I will head to the hellmouth," Severus said. "The world will spread too quickly. Someone will tell Buffy Anne before it's good for her to know."

"When is it ever a good time to know a friend is dead?" Albus wondered with sober eyes.

Angered at yet another loss for his daughter, Severus had nothing to say.

*****The Burrow*****

Giles wished desperately he wasn't looking at the body of one of his students. "It was daylight when this happened?" he asked the twins, who nodded. "It most likely won't be a vampire."

"Are you sure?" Arthur asked. "Is there blood in his mouth? I was afraid to look."

"No, there isn't. We can't be sure until sunset," he said. He looked closely at the wound. Someone had cleaned it up. "Did you clean it?"

"I did not want blood on the sofa, so I sealed the neck wound," Arthur said. "However, we did not do anything else. The lack of blood on the clothes made me question that it was the cause of death."

"It does appear that there are two punctures. The knife was used to cover up a vampire bite, I suspect. The lack of blood, of course, is the strongest evidence," Giles said.

"Are you say there's a chance my Ron could come back to life?" Molly asked with eager eyes.

"No, your son is dead," Giles said. "There's a chance a demon may reanimate your son's body if a vampire fed him their blood."

"How can you know?" Molly asked.

"Was there blood in his mouth?" Giles asked. "There isn't any now."

"There was not a lot of blood," Fred said. "We never looked in the mouth. It was closed, so there wasn't a reason to."

"There's no way of knowing for sure," Giles said. "If Spike or another vampire did the murder in daylight, one must wonder how he was able to be out and about in daytime. If they used the knife to cover up the vampire bite, they most likely would make sure no blood was in the mouth in order to add to our confusion and misery."

"There are magical means of allowing a vampire in the daylight," Percy said. "I do not know why a sane person would empower a vampire to go out in daytime, however."

"That's the thing, Mr. Weasley," Giles said, "we are not dealing with a sane person. Voldemort is most definitely mad. He has no real idea the horror he has unleashed as Spike cannot be controlled. A master vampire on a revenge quest will not take orders for long."

"The sun sets soon," Arthur said, looking at the window as they light fell.

"Yes, we will know if he was turned," Giles replied, nodding.

It was a dark vigil in the Weasley household. Charlie and Bill both arrived, shocked and heartbroken that their baby brother had been murdered.

When the sun had set and an hour went by, Ron's body didn't stir. Molly served tea and cold sandwiches, needing something to occupy her mind and hands. This has to be a nightmare was the refrain in her mind.

Another hour passed, releasing a bit more of the tension. Still, Ron did not move.

Then a third hour came and went without any change in Ron.

Finally, Giles was satisfied. "I do not think Ron was turned," he said.

"Thank, Merlin!" Arthur said. The rest of the family felt equally relieved.

Ginny didn't understand what was happening, but she knew vampires and murders weren't a part of her world until Buffy Summers-Snape came into their lives.

"This is your fault," Ginny said to Giles.

"Excuse me?" Giles asked.

"You and your slayer brought vampires and death to our world!" Ginny exclaimed in angry tone.

"Ginny, you do not yell at professors! Apologize!" Molly said.

"It is all right," Giles said. "I understand how easy it is to feel angry in this kind of situation."

"This is my fault," George said. "I'm the one that killed the vampire."

"Which you wouldn't have done if they hadn't taken you to a hellmouth," Ginny said in an accusing tone.

"If I hadn't failed to kill her lover, then this probably wouldn't be happening," Fred said.

"Plus, we let Ron go out alone," George said.

"First of all, vampires and death were already in your world, thanks to Voldemort," Giles said. The Weasley adults instinctively flinched at how easily he said the dark wizard's name. "Second of all, vampires are dangerous and deadly creatures, and they don't need an excuse to kill. Thirdly, George, you and Fred had no reason to think there was any danger to allow Ron to go across the street to get a drink. There was no way of knowing."

Giles knew that no words of comfort could help the Weasley family, nor would his words do much to alleviate the guilt. Their son and brother was gone, and he wasn't coming back.

*****The Next Day*****

Albus waited until after breakfast to break the news to the children. Draco and Harry were finishing up breakfast, visiting with Sirius, who surprised them with his appearance at breakfast. Buffy Anne had left with her mother and father to claim the body the aurors had located. Severus was bringing the head, so it could be re-attached as he wanted them to be able to put the poor man to rest intact.

"Boys, may I speak with you?" he asked.

Draco frowned. The headmaster never wanted to speak to him, and he was looking very somber. Draco braced himself for bad news. Maybe his parents weren't going to be free.

"Are my parents well?" he asked.

"As far as I know," Albus said. "This is not about your parents, but it's about the Weasley family."

"What's wrong?" Harry asked. He could tell that Albus did not have good news to impart and gave Sirius a quizzical look. Sirius would not meet his eyes, so he knew it was going to be terrible news.

"First, I need your promise to not tell Buffy Anne the news," he said. "She has enough burdens to bear. Let her bury her adopted father in peace."

"I doubt she will appreciate things being kept from her," Harry said. He resented all the times things were kept from him for his own good.

"Yesterday afternoon, the twins and Ron were at Diagon Alley, and someone murdered Ron," Albus said, not putting off the grim news anymore.

"What?" Harry said in disbelief. "This is a joke or something."

"No, I'm afraid not," Albus said.

"I am so sorry, pup," Sirius said, putting his arm around his shoulders.

The news left Harry reeling. "I don't understand. Why would anyone want to hurt Ron?" he said.

"We assume it was meant to hurt the twins as a way to punish them like what they did to Buffy," Albus said.

"Punish them for what?" Draco asked. He couldn't stand the Weasel, but he never wanted the poor guy to be murdered.

"For killing Drusilla, the vampire," Albus said.

"How did it happen?" Harry said.

"We're not sure," Albus said. "His throat appeared to be slit, but it was most likely to cover up a vampire bite."

"He's not a vampire, is he?" Harry asked, sick at the thought.

"No, he did not rise," Albus said. "Professor Giles was there just in case."

Harry looked horrified at the thought and stood up. "May I go to the Burrow? Does Hermione know?"

"I sent an owl asking her to go there as I knew you'd want to be with her," Albus said.

"You want us to wait to tell Buffy?" Draco asked.

"Do you think she should know this before she buries Mr. Summers?" Albus asked.

"No," Draco said.

"Keeping secrets never does anyone any good," Harry said.

"It's not your place to tell her," Sirius said. "Let Snape do it."

"I am not suggesting you lie to her," Albus said. "Just focus on being there for the Weasleys."

"Harry, I am sorry for your loss," Draco said sincerely.

Harry was surprised at his rival's words, but he nodded in acknowledgment, still unable to comprehend the loss. Then he went to his room and gathered up some clothes and used Dumbledore's floo to go be with the people he considered his family. Sirius went with him, so he didn't have to face the loss of his best friend alone.

******California*****

Buffy went back to Sunnydale three days after her dad's head was left at the school. They did find the rest of his body, but they wouldn't tell her where. She didn't push as she didn't really want to know. It was enough that they were able to put his head on his body because her mother insisted that they get to see another version of her dad that was not the horrific head without the body picture they both now carried since the dance. Neither of the Summers women wanted his head to be the last imagine in their minds. Not only were the wizards at the ministry able to re-attach the head, but they managed to rid Hank of the look of torment on his face. Before the Ministry transported his body to the States, they were allowed to view it. They stood together and gazed down at the new picture of Hank, who looked peaceful.

"He looks much better," Joyce said. Severus stood behind both of them, ready to offer his support if they needed it.

"Yes, I'm glad," Buffy said. She worked hard to replace the other image with the new one of him at peace.

When she and her mom returned to Hogwarts, they didn't take much time to get ready as they still had clothes at their Sunnydale home. Buffy asked about Harry and was told he decided to go to the Burrow to be with Hermione and the Weasleys.

There was no reason for to question that.

Draco seemed distracted when she left Hogwarts, asking to go with her. "Thanks, Draco, but I don't want your first trip to America to be for a funeral. When the school year is over, maybe you can come spend some time in California with me," she said.

Draco felt warm at her invitation and pulled her in for a hug. Her natural affection had gotten him used to hugs as only his mother ever hugged him until he met his cousin, Cordelia and Buffy, his godcousin. Now, though, she was in pain, and he really wished that he could do something to help her. Guilt for not telling her about Ron's murder made the goodbye harder, but his Head of House was giving him that look. Severus would be furious if he told Buffy about Ron.

When Buffy and her mom made it home, she went up to her room and laid down. Her mother was making calls, so she wanted to try and clear her mind.

Voldemort was evil and wanted to get her back for causing him a major setback. Spike was pissed that George killed his psycho girlfriend, so he was looking for payback. That he had come all the way to Scotland to get his payback was very single-minded of him. Giles research on Spike had not shown that characteristic. He was malicious in his murders, and he had killed two slayers. However, mind games was more the characteristic of Angelus, the monster Angel used to be.

Her mind in turmoil, Buffy fell asleep.

******Three Days Later*****

Hermione and Harry were still reeling from the loss of Ron as the last three days with the Weasley family had been the worst days of their lives. Hermione spent most of the time with Ginny as the two kept taking turns crying together.

Harry, though, was still feeling the shock and disbelief that his best friend was dead. It seemed surreal—like the cruelest of jokes. Just when his godcousins arrived, bringing Sirius back into his life, and he felt better than ever, his world had to explode once again. Sirius stayed with him as much as possible, and Harry was grateful for his presence. However, nothing could bring back his friend. Ron was gone.

When he and Hermione had first arrived at the Weasleys', Ron's body had just been removed from the home by the aurors. As soon as Harry could, he pulled the twins aside.

"Please tell me that this is some sick joke of yours. Ron's fine, right?" Harry asked.

The pained look in Fred's eyes and guilt in George's, answered the question for him.

"We wish—"

"—it was a joke," George said.

"He never hurt anyone," Harry said. "I don't understand."

"It was me," George said. "I got him killed."

"Revenge from a mad vampire," Fred said.

Harry didn't understand why Ron would be targeted, but he didn't have the energy to heap blame on the twins. Instead, he felt like he should have been there with Ron. He would've protected him—he just knew it.

Now it was the day of the funeral, and Hermione was glued to Harry's side. They clung to each other as Dumbledore spoke about Ron. Several of their housemates were there, including the twin's best friend Lee, Dean, and Seamus as well as Neville. All the professors, including Snape were there. Only Buffy and her mother were absent. Remus and Sirius were there as well as Draco and his mother. Narcissa sat next to her sister and Tonks.

Charlie and Bill each spoke, but the twins did not. For once, they just couldn't find the words.

Harry and Hemione, though, wanted to speak about their best friend. Together, they walked to the front to say some words.

"Many of you know that Ron was my first friend at Hogwarts," Harry began. "But most of you probably don't know that he is the first friend that I ever had in my entire life. He made life at Hogwarts better every day, and I don't know what I'm going to do without him. He wasn't just my best mate—he was my brother."

He stopped, unable to go on while Hermione took her turn. "Ron drove me batty—we had some famous rows," she said, causing his family to smile as they knew what she meant. "He saved my life once from the troll, and we were friends ever since. Like Harry, I'm an only child. He and Harry were rarely not at my side—I loved him a lot. I can't imagine school or this world without him in it. He loved beating Harry and everyone in our house at chess and was mad for quidditch. I don't know how we will bear school without him. We've always been like the muggle Three Musketeers or the Golden Trio. No one enjoyed beating the Slytherins as much as Ron." She paused and looked over at Draco and Snape, who offered her a grim smile. "He didn't deserve what happened, and I hope he knows how much we already miss him. Things won't ever be the same without him." Her voice broke, and she said no more as Harry hugged her tightly.

Arthur closed the ceremony with a few words that weren't that audible without magic amplifying his voice.

"My baby boy is dead. This is the cruelest of jokes," he said, looking at the casket that contained Ron even though it was closed. "The world has gone mad when a person can't get a drink in broad light. How did no one not see Ron was hurt and needed help? I don't understand how or why this happened. Molly and I will never get over this. We are grateful, though, for all our other children and our dear friends. Thank you for being here."

He went to embrace his wife, who collapsed against him. Finally, Harry let his tears flow as the casket was lowered into the cold earth.

*****California*****

Buffy's friends were acting guilty about something, and it was starting to piss her off. They came to her dad's funeral in Los Angeles. Severus brought them all. Dumbledore and Minerva were there from Hogwarts, which her mom thought was very nice. Her mother had called all the family, and she had seen some cousins she'd not seen in years. Her dad's co-workers were all shocked that Hank had been murdered when he went to the UK to visit his daughter at boarding school—that was the story Joyce told. Buffy was sick of the pitying looks they were all giving her, and the slayer in her was crying out for blood and vengeance.

Buffy had spent the last few days crying, so she was dry-eyed as she watched them lower her father's casket. She was the last to toss in her rose. Guilt that her life had caused him such unbearable pain was eating away at her. The guilt was quickly turning into a rage that she had never felt before.

After the minister finished speaking, Buffy turned to her friends and cousin. "What the hell is going on?" she asked. Her mother was pulled away by family, and her father stayed by her side.

"Buffy Anne, now is not the time," he said.

"Something else has happened?" Buffy asked.

Cordelia nodded. "Yes, but you have enough going on," she said.

"I'm going to go say goodbye to my mom, and you are going to apparate me back to Sunnydale," Buffy said to Severus. "Then whatever it is you all are hiding better come out!"

Five minutes later, they all stood in her living room.

"What has happened?" Buffy demanded. When Willow started crying, she knew it was bad. Xander put his arm around her while Cordelia just looked glum.

"Ron Weasley was murdered," Severus said flatly.

"What?" Buffy asked, her mind reeling. "Murdered? You're joking! Why would anyone kill Ron?"

"We believe it was Spike or another of the Dark Lord's Death Eaters as payback for killing Drusilla," Severus said.

"He was drained of blood?" Buffy asked.

"He wasn't turned, but his throat was slit. Rupert believes it was to cover up the bites as there was very little blood," Severus said.

Buffy's mind couldn't wrap around the awful news, and she ran out of her house. Buffy ran for miles until the sun set, and then she went to Willy's, killing every vampire there and two or three demons. Her rage didn't require a sword as she killed with brutal efficiency. When she was cornered by two pissed off demons, Angel arrived to help. She ignored him and used her wandless magic to set one of them on fire as she punched through the chest of the other—great was her rage.

"Go away," Buffy snarled, stomping away from the man she loved. She didn't want comfort right now—she wanted to slate the slayer inside her, who was crying out for blood.

"Your friends told me what happened to your classmate. I'm sorry," Angel said. Buffy had seen him the first night she was back and told him about her father. However, she wouldn't accept much comfort from him. Angel felt the weight of Hank Summers' death as he had sired Drusilla, who sired Spike.

"Did they tell you it was my fault?" she demanded.

"No," he said. "Because it wasn't."

"I'm the one who let the twins come here. I took them to the Bronze where Dru spotted them," Buffy said. "My hellmouth—my responsibility. Just when my life finally begins to make sense, it all goes to hell."

"You can't take this on yourself," he said. He kept up with her fast stride as she walked into the closest cemetery, looking for more vampires to kill.

Word, though, had gone out that the slayer was on a rampage. There were no more monsters out for her to slay, and she turned her left

over rage onto Angel, an easy target.

"Go away," she said. When he grabbed her arm to stop her, she swung around and punched him hard in the face.

"Do you need someone else to hit? Then start hitting me because, ultimately, I am to blame," he said.

"How do you figure that?" Buffy asked.

"I created Drusilla, who sired Spike, but it was Angelus who modeled how to be truly diabolical to Spike," Angel said.

His words gave Buffy pause, and she stared at him a long moment before collapsing to her knees in tears. Angel held as she cried, glad that she finally was letting him hold her.

"Ron was such a goofy kid—red headed like Willow," Buffy said as she wiped her eyes.

"I met his brothers," Angel reminded her.

"He was the baby, so you can imagine what life was like having the twins directly over him and then the one sister a year behind," she said.

"Siblings like that are great to have," Angel said. "He had a blessed life even if it was cut short."

"Too short," Buffy said, getting to her feet. "He had Harry and Hermione. Like Willow and I have Xander. I love these kids, and I can't believe one of them is gone."

"Death is always sudden and brutal," Angel said.

"I know," she said.

"Are you ready to go home?" he asked.

She shook her head, and they walked together, holding hands. As they walked, she shared her memories of Ron. Although she hadn't known him long, she liked all the Weasleys, and her heart broke for the family. Eventually, they arrived at Angel's mansion.

Buffy went inside, looking at some books he had lying around. She smiled when she saw he was reading History of Hogwarts. "How did you get that book?" she asked.

"Giles sent it to me when I asked," Angel admitted. "I just wanted to feel connected to you. Learning about your school has helped." He sat down next to her on his bed, and she put her head against him.

Buffy felt drained and nearly spent. Finally, she looked up at Angel. "I love you, Angel," she said. "Thank you."

"There's no need to thank me," he said. "I wish I could help you more. I love you."

"Just knowing you're here on the hellmouth keeping things in check when I can't be, really helps," she said. Then she raised her head up for a kiss.

Angel returned her kiss but pulled back after a few minutes. "You should probably go," he said softly.

"Why? Don't you want me, Angel?" she asked.

"More than anything," he said. "You're young, though."

"I will be seventeen in a few weeks. I'm old enough to die for this world—I've already done it once," Buffy said. "I am going to face Voldemort soon, and one of us will die. I'm not meant to live a long life, Angel. I'm a slayer. I should be allowed to gift my virginity to the man I love."

"That's the thing, Buffy. I'm not just a man," he reminded her.

"Do you think I don't know that? I know all of you," she said. "I love all of you—every face." She kissed him again, and he allowed himself to get lost in it.

Finally, she pulled back and scooted more onto the bed. "I don't want to stop," she said. She pulled off her shirt. "I want to feel something good, Angel. I'm so tired of feeling bad."

Angel wasn't sure this was what she needed, but he loved her more than anything and could not refuse her. He took off his own shirt, and then he covered her with his body.

*****To Be Continued*****

I had initialing figured I'd make Ron a vampire, but then I realized that there was no way Giles would fail to make sure he wasn't turned. If I was planning on doing Ron the vampire, I should've just had Ron disappear in the last chapter. It probably would've made for a better story. Sorry for those that were hoping for Ron the vampire.