Chapter 45: Buffy's Wedding

June 22, 2003

The Ministry of Magic via the Daily Prophet finally admitted that Voldemort was back. They had also printed an apology to Buffy, Harry and Dawn. Dumbledore got all of the positions that had been taken from him over the course of the last year.

Buffy sat in her suite alone the day after the attack at the Ministry debating with herself. One thing she had learned was how much she loved Willow.

"Hey," Willow said as she stepped through the portrait hole from the corridor.

"Hey, baby," Buffy said as she looked at the redhead. She knew what she wanted to do. She moved off the sofa and then dropped to one knee in front of Willow. "Willow," she said. "I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

Willow smiled as she pulled Buffy to her feet. "Yes!"

June 28, 2003

In the few times she had been in Diagon Alley, Buffy had never been in this particular shop before. She caught sight of herself in a mirrored wall. She was wearing the red Victorian style gown that Willow had had bought her for her birthday. Behind Buffy came Dawn and Hermione. She had gotten special permission from Dumbledore to allow them both out of Hogwarts as Dawn was to be her maid of honor and Hermione her bridesmaid.

They stepped through an archway decorated with red roses and twisted vines and entered into another world. The candlelight lighting was flattering and the white carpet seemed to have been laid that morning.

"Come here", the racks of bridal dresses seemed to sing, "You're beautiful. Bring me to life"

The salesgirl wore matt brown lipstick and her dark hair was neatly sliced into a geometric bob. She didn't push Buffy into one particular style or designer but let her roam about the room at her leisure, for which she was grateful.

The salesgirl pushed a glass of champagne into Buffy's hand and moved to do the same for Dawn and Hermione before Buffy said they were still underage. "Don't rush, take your time and when you find what you want let me know."

"Thank you," Buffy said.

She browsed the dresses as Dawn and Hermione sat down to watch. She let toile, chiffon, silk and satin glide through her fingers, pressing the fabrics to her cheeks and inhaling their potential. For a brief, delirious moment she thought about a red taffeta tube dress. She saw herself wearing it and pictured Willow's reaction when she saw her. The smile, the twinkling of Willow's eyes, the dimples that, every time they flashed, made Buffy fall in love with her all over again.

Buffy sipped the warm champagne. Her eyes fell on an ivory gown and she stopped looking.

'You just know when it's the right dress', Joyce Summers had once said, 'The same way you know when you meet the right person.'

Buffy took the dress into the changing room. It slid on, smooth and cool as a glass of milk. The salesgirl laced her into the boned bodice, which seemed to be tailored to the exact dimensions of her ribcage. The fishtail skirt skimmed her hips. The crystals that hemmed the neckline threw tiny stars into Buffy's neck and cheeks, an instant facial making her seventeen again. With the right dress you didn't need makeup.

Buffy stepped out into the main room and spun so that Dawn and Hermione could see.

"It's perfect, Buffy," Dawn and Hermione agreed.

Buffy smiled and nodded in agreement. She walked back into the dressing room and changed back into her street clothes. She told the delighted salesgirl she would take the dress. The dress was carefully placed into a large, garment bag. The bag shone like amethyst. With its smooth purple sheen and silver lettering it was nearly as beautiful and exciting as the dress itself.

July 1, 2003

It was the morning of Buffy and Willow's wedding. This was the day that Buffy had been waiting for since Kindergarten. It just wasn't as she had pictured it all those years ago. Back then she always thought she would marry Prince Charming, not Snow White or Cinderella.

It had been over two and a half years since Riley had left her. She knew his reasoning for leaving was because he thought she was still in love with Angel. But his reasoning had been wrong. Yes, she would always love Angel. But when she sent Angel to hell, she began to realize the truth. Then when he came back she tried to see if she could rekindle it. But it had been the first time she had seen Faith that she realized that if she wasn't fully gay that she was at least bisexual. That had been why she had dated Riley, because she had to know which way she truly swung. It wasn't till Riley left that she had taken a long hard look at Willow and realized she had always preferred women. She saw her best friend in a whole new light and knew that if Willow hadn't been in love with Tara that Willow might have fallen in love with her instead.

Buffy was putting on her makeup and saw Dawn in the mirror already in her lavender maid of honor's gown. "Hey," she said.

"Need some help?" Dawn asked as she came up behind Buffy. "I could do your hair."

Buffy smiled at Dawn and nodded. As she did her makeup she watched in the mirror as Dawn styled her hair.

"I'm happy to see that your happy," Dawn said as she pulled Buffy's hair back loosely so it gave her sister a peaceful look. "You and Willow deserve this after everything you two have been through."

"Thanks, Dawnie."

"Did you and Willow decide what last name you two are going with?" Dawn asked. "After all you technically have two, Summers and Potter. Unless you are going with Willow's."

"Will is taking mine. And this is actually giving me the excuse to get my name changed legally back to Potter."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

The wedding started with Ginny, acting as both flower girl and ring bearer, throwing flower pedals on the ground. She was followed by Hermione and Dawn. As the Music rang Dumbledore walked Willow down the aisle toward the stage before the lake as Buffy and Willow had agreed they wanted their wedding outdoors. Dumbledore moved to his place on the stage as Buffy and Willow had asked him to officiate. The wedding gift he had given them was that he did all the preparations for the ceremony, he had made sure the entire setting was to Buffy and Willow's exacting specifications.

Willow had known since October when Buffy took her to Sunnydale and seeing Tara's ghost that this day was coming for it was this day that Tara had shown her, the day that she and Buffy would be married. She turned and looked back toward the back of the rows of chairs as nerves flittered in her stomach for but a moment. When Willow saw Buffy the nerves instantly vanished and she smiled. She watched as Harry walked with Buffy down the aisle toward her. She looked at the ivory gown that clung to Buffy's body in all the right places and nodded her approval. When Harry and Buffy finally reached Willow, he handed his sister to her fiancée.

It had been decided that while both Dawn and Hermione would be bridesmaids for both Buffy and Willow that they would each stand on either side of the couple. Harry, had a dual role in the ceremony. The first was that he was acting in their father's place when it came to who gave Buffy away. The second was he was Buffy's groomsman. He moved beside Dawn who stood next to Buffy while Hermione and Ginny stood beside Willow.

Willow took Buffy's arm as they stepped in front of Dumbledore. "We are gathered here today to witness the coming together of two people; Elizabeth Buffy Lilyanne Potter and Willow Danielle Rosenberg, whose hearts and spirits are entwined as one. They now desire to profess before their friends, family and the student body of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry their intention henceforth to walk the road of life together," Dumbledore began.

"To these two women, this marriage signifies the birth of a new spirit, a spirit which is a part of each of us, yet not of any one of us alone. This birth of spirit reminds us of spring, the season when all life is reborn and looms again. It is appropriate, therefore, that the wedding of Buffy and Willow be at this time of year, and that it be under the open sky, where we are close to the earth and to the unity of life, the totality of living things of which we are part."

"Do you, Buffy, knowing Willow's love for you and returning it, realizing her strengths and learning from them, recognizing her weaknesses and helping her to overcome them, take Willow to be your wife?"

"I do" Buffy answered, love evident in her voice.

"Do you Willow, knowing Buffy's love for you and returning it, realizing her strengths and learning from them, recognizing her weaknesses and helping her to overcome them, take Buffy to be your wife?"

"I do," Willow answered as she smiled at Buffy.

Ginny stepped up and handed the rings to Buffy and Willow.

"Buffy place your ring on Willow's finger," Dumbledore said as Buffy placed the wedding band on Willow's ring finger. "Willow place your ring on Buffy's finger." Willow smiled as she placed the wedding band on Buffy's ring finger. "Let these rings serve as locks–not binding you together–but as keys, unlocking the secrets of your hearts for each other to know, and thus bringing you closer together forever. And now Buffy and Willow, seeking the fulfillment of love and marriage, find that the poet Gibran speaks for them."

"Love has no other desire but to fulfill itself. To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks to another day of loving. To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy; to return home eventide with gratitude, and then sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips."

Dumbledore smiled as he looked at Buffy and Willow. "I now pronounce you wife and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Buffy leaned in to Willow and kissed Willow passionately as their friends, family and the student body, with the exception of the Slytherins, cheered and applauded.

"The reception," Dumbledore said. "Will be in conjunction with the leaving feast this evening."

That evening when Buffy tossed her bridal bouquet, she angled it straight at her sister, who caught it with no problems.

July 4, 2003

Dawn let herself and Harry into the Summers' house. She found a twenty on the table by the door and a note:

Will and I are out doing newly married couple stuff.

Faith and Sirius went out to patrol.

Here's money to get a pizza.

Buffy and Willow

They had been back only two days and both days Buffy and Willow had left a note with the same excuse of going out to do newly married couple stuff. They were sure what it really meant was:

We're on our honeymoon. Don't call us unless it's the end of the world.

Dawn smiled at Harry. "What do you want on the pizza? And don't say whatever I like. Because you know me, Harry. You could easily find yourself with peanut butter, anchovies and pineapple," she said as they walked into the kitchen.

"You have the weirdest sense of taste, Dawn," Harry said. "Just the usual will be fine."

"So, a supreme," Dawn said as she picked up the phone and ordered.

As soon as the pizza arrived, they sat down in front of the television.

"There it is again," Dawn said. It was a thump, and it had been going on intermittently for most of the evening. She and Harry had thought maybe it was a tree branch scraping on a window, something like that, but so far nothing.

Or maybe it was someone at the door . . .

Dawn got up from the couch and opened the door. It flew open on its own accord, a wind blowing violently. She managed to get it shut, crying, "Harry, turn over to the news. Is there a storm?"

The door blew open again, more insistent, more violent. This time it hit Dawn.

Suddenly the TV started blaring. And the CD player . . . and the radio . . .

Dawn raced to the TV while Harry raced to the CD Player. They tried to turn them off . . . then they pulled the plug ... and they stayed on.

Dawn got Faith's battle axe and slammed it down on the TV screen, and it finally went dark. Then she swung the axe and smashed the CD player, and it went silent.

Hoisting the axe, Dawn headed into the kitchen, intent on smashing the radio, which was blaring a crazed banda tune. But before she could get to it, the microwave began to hum . . . and hum...

It exploded, the door blasting outward in fragments of glass. Dawn yelped as she threw her arms up and muttered a shield spell deflecting the glass.

"Are you all right?" Harry asked.

"Yeah except now if I take one step," Dawn said. "My feet are going to be sliced to ribbons."

The music on the radio dissolved into static, and through that static, they heard . . .

"Dawn?"

Dawn froze, staring in astonishment. "Mom?" she whispered.

Harry had heard the voice also, but he knew that Dawn and Buffy's adopted mother was dead. So how could they be hearing her voice now.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

The lights were on in the Summers home. Harry and Dawn were sitting on the living room floor, Harry was picking glass out of Dawn's feet and wrapping cloth around them. The phone was pressed against Dawn's ear, Buffy wasn't answering the phone.

On the floor, the radio remained silent.

Dawn gave up and hung up.

"Do we know which hotel they would have gone to?" Harry asked as Dawn shook her head. "What about portal and doing that thing you did at our Astronomy O.W.L.?"

Dawn closed her eyes as she went to try and open a portal. Suddenly the lights went out and the room fell into darkness... but only for an instant. Then the lights flared back on.

The room had been altered: the weapon's chest stood on end, the chairs were piled on the table, and the wall was splashed with the bloody words:

MOTHER'S MILK IS RED TODAY.

The lights went off again. In the darkness they heard a slow, steady thump that shook the house on its foundations.

The lights came back on. Everything was back in its place. No chairs in a tower, no disarray.

No blood.

The thumping resumed, even louder, more insistent,

thumpthumpthumpthump.

"Stop it," Dawn pleaded.

THUMPTHUMPTHUMP

"Stop it, please!"

THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP

"STOP IT!" she shrieked.

Silence.

Surprised, Dawn and Harry looked around. The silence reigned.

"Hello?" she called.

THUMP.

She lowered her voice and whispered, "Mom?"

THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP.

"Wait. Wait! Wait! I don't—"

THUMPTHUMPTHUMPTHUMP.

"Slow down! Once for yes . . . okay, once for yes . . . and twice for no."

To the silence she called, "Mom?"

THUMP.

Her voice broke. "Mom, it's you?"

THUMP.

"Are you okay?"

THUMPTHUMP.

"You're not. Mom . . . Mommy . . . are you alone?"

The house shook violently, earthquake levels. The lights strobed on and off, blinding Dawn and Harry in flashes as everything tumbled to the floor—vases, pictures, lamps.

Then a sound raged through the house, like a frenzied, growling animal.

"We hear you," Harry said deciding to play along. He didn't believe that this was Joyce Summers. He wasn't sure what it was but he was sure it wasn't her. "We hear you breathing. Are you hurting Dawn's adopted mother? Joyce?"

A brilliant flash of blue light revealed Joyce lying on the couch, her eyes milky and dead.

Harry held Dawn back as he stared at the dead body.

There was another flash. A strange, dark figure loomed over Joyce, choking her as she helplessly reached out toward Dawn.

"Harry, let me go," Dawn screamed. "Mom's trying to talk to me!" She looked at the creature. "Get off her and let her talk to me!" She got down on the floor, groping through the wreckage for the battle axe. Another flash of light revealed that the figure had it, and was swinging it straight at Harry's head.

Dawn stood quickly and spun with the speed of the Slayer that she was and knocked the axe away from Harry. It clattered to the floor as it fell out of the creature's hands.

Then it said in a low, gravelly voice, "Get out!"

"No," Harry said. "This is our house. If that is really Joyce then we will protect her from you."

On the couch, Joyce's eyes flashed open.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Dawn and Harry sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by white candles and Willow's Wiccan spell books.

"I know you're there," Dawn said, listening to the terrifying breathing that reverberated through the house. "I will cast you out. My mother needs to talk to me." She held a bowl of powder and she sprinkled some on the floor. "I cast you from this place! It is your poison and your bane!"

Harry started as he saw invisible fingers rake Dawn's cheek. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea," he suggested.

Dawn shot him a look as she sprinkled more dust. "It is the skin that is cut from your flesh!" she cried.

Then hellwind rose and blew out all the candles. The living room window imploded, and shards of glass showered down on them like bombs.

Then . . . glowing, white, transcendent, Joyce Summers appeared robed all in white. She glowed like an angel, and her smile was sweet and gentle, belying the message she had for her daughter. "Things are coming, Dawn. Listen. Things are on their way. I love you, and I love Buffy, but she won't be there for you. Nor you, Harry."

Dawn and Harry looked at each other knowing in that instant that this was not Joyce Summers. After everything they had gone through the last couple years, they knew Buffy would be there for them.

"When it's bad, Buffy won't choose you. She'll be against you both," Joyce said as she began to fade.

"That wasn't your mother, Dawn," Harry said.

"Yeah, I know," Dawn replied. "When she said that Buffy wouldn't choose us. I knew she was lying. For Buffy it's always been about family. She would choose us over everything else. Even if it meant the world would end."

Dawn and Harry heard the front door open and footsteps

"Dawn? Harry?" Buffy called out.

"We're in here," Dawn called back.

Buffy and Willow walked into the living room and looked at the destruction.

"What happened?" Buffy asked as she knelt next to her sister. She noticed that Dawn had been cut. "You're cut."

"I saw Mom," Dawn said. "Only Harry and I both believe it wasn't her. She said that you would abandon us. That's when we realized it wasn't her."

Buffy and Willow looked at each other with understanding. They had not been the only ones to be visited. "Dawn, we had one too. Tried to tell us that it was talking for Tara. Since we had seen Tara a few months earlier we knew it wasn't coming with a message. It even tried to get us to kill ourselves. I think it's the Big Bad, that we knew was coming. Remember Willow's visions?"

"Yeah," Dawn said. "From beneath you, it devours."

The front door opened and closed as they heard footsteps.

"B?"

"In here, Faith," Buffy called back as Faith and Sirius came into the living room.

"What happened?" Sirius asked looking at the destruction.

"Our big bad is chomping," Buffy said. "Apparently started with Dawn and Willow. For Dawn it took the appearance of our mom. For Willow it took the appearance of that girl you told us about, Faith."

"Cassie?" Faith asked.

"Yeah," Buffy said. "This thing knows us. It wanted us think that we were talking to people we knew."

"I may have had one though it dusted like it was real," Faith said. "A vampire Sirius and I dusted said that Spike sired him two nights ago."

"That should be impossible," Dawn said. "Doesn't he still have his chip?"

"He should, yes," Faith said. "But maybe our big bad found a way around it since Spike got his soul."