Chapter 2

He was going to die. He knew it. It was inevitable. He had skated by death too many times. Brushed against its robes by the skin of his teeth. And now…now he could feel it. Death was coming for him…mercilessly…ruthlessly –

"Ron."

It was calling him. He could hear it now. It was coming for him…

"Ron?"

It was over. He was a goner…

"For heaven's sake, Ron."

Carefully prying one blue eye open, Ronald Bilius Weasley looked up at the faces hovering over him – some concerned, one or two annoyed, and by some mercy, there was an arm stretched out toward him. Which – really? Just one? Didn't they realize he almost died? How inconsiderate of his so-called friends to just leave him to fend for himself after he almost died.

"Come on," Xander encouraged, after Ron took his offered hand, and he helped to lift the fallen Weasley to his feet. "You, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," nodded Ron, brushing off his backside, which he was sure was decorated with cemetery dirt. "I'm good."

"You sure?" Buffy asked. "You took quite a hit there."

It was all so innocent really. They had stumbled upon a pair of vampires while passing through a graveyard toward the other side of town, and Buffy and Co. decided to follow and do some unscheduled slayage. But this was Sunnydale, demon playground and all that, and the pair of vampires were soon forgotten when a large bull-like demon suddenly appeared from a nearby crypt. Wands and mortal weapons were raised, ready to fight, and then the demon, overtaken with self-preservation, abruptly threw the entirety of its roughly three-hundred-pound self at them – and Ron Weasley had the misfortune of being right in the bullseye of its path while the rest had the opportunity to flee. The momentum from the demon cannonball pushed Ron back with a 'humph' and both demon and wizard crashed violently against a nearby headstone that knocked the wind, and sense, right out of Ron. And that's where he stayed, flat on his back, incapable of moving as his lungs fought to work, and his head throbbed in pain, while the demon fought against his friends and acquaintances in a spatter of spells and fists, before Buffy slayed it with a swift, and slightly queasy, beheading – all out of Ron's line of sight, of course.

"I'm alright, just…" he trailed off, rubbing his head while the world tilted a little.

"Ok, woah there," Xander said, grabbing Ron as he stumbled.

"Maybe you should sit down," Ginny suggested.

Confused, her brother blinked at her slowly. "I'm not sitting down?"

Ok, yeah, that wasn't good. Slowly, Xander and Ginny helped to lower Ron to the ground, where he sat and rested his head in his hands.

"He's going to be all right, isn't he?" Hermione questioned worriedly.

"He'll be fine," Xander answered her. "Not to brag, but I've been hit a few times myself and I'm still holding steady. Can't remember the fourth grade, but who needs fractions anyway."

Willow gave him a reproachful stare before turning sympathetically to the brunette witch. "I'm sure he'll be okay. Just a little loopy till his marbles get back in line."

It was the loopy part that had them worried – especially Hermione. So, they took a breather and stood around watching Ron carefully in case he started talking gibberish or passed out or forgot the alphabet.

This was definitely not how the night was supposed to go. In fact, it very much went the opposite of how it was supposed to go, and Buffy couldn't help but grumble, "Mrs. Weasley is so going to kill me."

Molly Weasley was not a fan of her children, and the friends of her children, being out after dark in Sunnydale. There were vampires and demons roaming around. What if they were attacked? What if they got hurt? What if they came across a dementor? What if He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named suddenly showed up? What if they didn't watch both ways while crossing the road and got hit by a car?! The dangers were innumerable! It was a tough sell, a really tough sell, but eventually, after hours of discussion, she allowed her children to go with Buffy and her friends to see what Sunnydale was like at night when it wasn't nearing apocalyptic peril. After all they were able to use magic, albeit with some caution, they were able to defend themselves, and they had a vampire slayer with them if things got a little too hairy – or fangy. And they promised to be back by eleven, so Molly agreed to their outing and rescinded herself to cleaning the entirety of the Summers house to keep herself from thinking about things that were fangy, and hairy, and soulless, and unruly drivers, until they got back.

And if Molly Weasley had witnessed what had just transpired within the vicinity of her children, she would have locked them all away until they returned to the safety of the Burrow.

"And who says she needs to know?" said Ginny, cheekily.

"I think the fact that your brother can't walk a straight line might be a dead giveaway," Buffy pointed out.

"Hey! I can too!" said brother protested indignantly.

Well at least he was coherent. His marbles seemed to be getting back in order, so that was good sign. Still, there was a bit of fog lingering in Ron's brain, so much that it took him a second to realize that a figure was leaning towards him after his outburst. And then his glassy eyed stare had nothing to do with his near concussion.

Hermione smiled gently at him as she lowered herself to eye-level and carefully looked him over for any visible bumps or bruises. "Are you sure you're okay, Ron?"

Dumbly, Ron nodded before he found his voice, trying his best to reassure her, "Yeah. I'm okay."

And she smiled again. And he smiled. And it was such a sweet and tender moment. Both seemingly oblivious to the outside world, encompassed in their own little bubble as they continued to stare at one another.

It was a moment so thick with unspoken affection that it was hard to ignore, and it did make people wonder…

"So, what's going on there?" asked Xander quietly of the redhead next to him.

Ginny couldn't help but sigh. "Too much pride."

And that said it all. The muggle boy nodded, having once been a victim of too much pride himself. Having let pride get in the way of admitting how much he felt for Cordelia, how much those feelings scared him – of course that all ended because of too much ego and too strong hormones that left him single, heartbroken, and breaking the heart of the girl loved, which he realized much too late. Fun times.

Not wanting to break up the not-really-but-kind-of-is romantic moment, Willow knew they only had so much time before the Weasleys, and the one Granger, turned back into bumpkins, and with Ron's grey matter still in question, it left one only option, "So, I guess this means the Bronze is out."

Buffy sighed. "Looks like."

But – no, Ron could still – well he couldn't dance, but he could sway! Or sit. Sitting was good. Sitting he could definitely do.

"No, wait, I'm all right. Really. We can…" Ron flinched as another headache came on and he placed his palm on his forehead.

The Bronze had plenty of places to sit and too lean if no seats were available. You know what else it also had? Loud music. Very loud music that would probably send Ron's sensitive brain into panic mode.

Something Buffy very much understood as the lack of ruckus and noise was already causing him trouble.

"We can go to the Bronze another night," Buffy advised and helpfully suggested, "right now I say we head over to that pizza place by Maple and grab some seats, sodas, and slices because I, for one, am starving."

"Greasy slices gets my vote," Xander agreed and everyone else concurred.

"That was very almost-rhymey of you," Ginny said of the slayer's alliteration in her suggestion.

Buffy shrugged casually. "I blame Flitwick."

Ginny smiled as they both went to help Ron to his feet. Checking if he was okay to put one foot in front of the other as they lead him out of the cemetery with Buffy and Xander flanking his sides just in case his body decided to topple over unexpectedly.

Mr. Smith's Pizza was…well it wasn't winning awards for its pies, but it was cheap, tasty, and was the kind of place that attracted kids to hangout when there was nothing else to do.

The place itself was pretty clean and very retro. A mesh of 1980s does 1950s with a broken jukebox that played the theme from 'Happy Days' halfway through before skipping to the next song on the list. The color scheme was…a choice…a cohesive mix of neon pastel furniture with overhead fluorescent lighting that caused Hermione's eyes to widen at the brightness of it all as soon as they walked in.

"I'm not sure this place will help Ron's headache," she noted as they made their way to an empty white-top table with six available chairs upholstered in mint-green vinyl.

"It's fine," he brushed off. "Headache's not as bad and I'm starving."

Hermione and Ginny rolled their eyes at his words, because of course he was, but they took it as a good sign that he was feeling better. He might even be normal by the time they arrived back at the Summers' house where Mrs. Weasley will no doubt be waiting up to check them over for any slight scratches.

"So usual times three?" Xander suggested.

"What's the usual?" Ginny asked.

"Large pepperoni," answered Willow.

"Sounds great to me," said Ron, stomach rumbling and ready for food.

With that, Xander stood from his seat. "One grand pizza feast coming right up. Willow, mind helping out a poor guy's wallet."

"Sure," she said with a wry smile, rising from her seat.

"Oh, I can –" Hermione was ready to offer.

"Oh no, it's ok," Willow quickly shot down. "It's on us."
"Are you sure? I don't mind."

Xander quickly brushed her off. "Nah, we got it. Or at least Willow does."

And with that the pair moved off to the counter while the rest of the group went on to discuss a less dense subject.

"How's your head?" Buffy asked as she looked at Ron.

"Smarts a bit but that just might be the lights," he replied, momentarily gazing up at the bright fluorescents.

She smiled sympathetically. "I'll sneak you some Tylenol when we get back to the house."

"What's Tylenol?" asked Ginny.

"Muggle pain reliever. We lack general potions in the Summers' household. Part of the whole blending into muggle society when we first moved in."

Hermione thought back to the brief house tour she and the Weasley's received when they arrived at 1630 Revello Drive. It was a lovely home. Warm, cozy, and very muggle, with no obvious wizarding details in sight. Hermione had never given much thought to Buffy's life in Sunnydale. She briefly imagined a normal wizarding home, something like the Burrow, but on a much more grand and wealthy scale. To see the craftsman's home, with its simplistic exterior and inviting furniture, was not something she expected. And now to hear that Buffy and her mother lived regular muggle lives before returning to the Wizarding world, was very much a surprise. Then again, until recently, Hermione only remembered Buffy as a snobbish Wizarding princess who bullied for her own enjoyment. Until recently, Hermione had no idea how much Buffy had gone through, how much horror was done to her, and of how much she had been forced to give up. It was a revelation she hadn't expect, and one that altered her perception of Buffy completely.

"Was it difficult? Having to stop using magic?" Hermione asked.

Buffy thought about it briefly. "At first. I mean, I was a witch my whole life until I couldn't be. It was hard, especially the first year, but…I got the hang of it. Then it was kinda nice. It helped to feel relatively normal living here…well as normal as living in Sunnydale can be."

Obviously, that did not include the random acts of magic she sometimes performed like the accidental Apparating or the wandless magic of summoning dropped weapons during her fights, but they didn't need to know about that.

"Honestly, I don't think anyone would've noticed if you had used magic here," Ginny pointed out.

"You're not wrong," Buffy agreed. "Probably could've taken my O. right here and no one would've batted an eye."

Hermione immediately perked up at the mention of the Ordinary Wizarding Level exams, because of course she did.

"Were you able to retake them? Your exams?" she asked.

"Yep. All five them," Buffy replied. "Which was…nerve wracking."

"What was nerve wracking?"

Xander and Willow returned to the table at the tail end of Buffy's answer, and Xander wondered as to what caused the slayer's anxiety.

"My makeup tests," she responded.

"The one's you had to go back to Hogwarts for?" Willow questioned as she and Xander settled back into their seats.

The blonde nodded and Ginny was curious. "You went back to Hogwarts?"

"Yeah, a couple of days after the Mayor fight. Dumbledore, McGonagall, and some of the professors explained my very unfair situation to whoever's in charge of O.W.L exams, and they let me retake them. And let me tell you, being the only student there to take those tests is an experience I don't recommend to anyone."

"Did you have stay there?" Ron asked.

The slayer nodded. "Three days."

Hermione was surprised. "Three days?! That's almost two subjects a day. A written and a practical. That's not enough time. They let us have at least one subject a day during the regular exams."

But Buffy shrugged it off. "It wasn't too bad. Like I said, I was the only student there, and I so wanted to get them over with. And the examiners were cool about it, they let me take them when I was ready."

"Did they tell you when the results would be sent out?" Hermione inquired, aching to know what her marks would be.

"Nope," she replied with a shake of her head.

Hermione was ready with more on the subject of O. , because that's just who she was, when a loud voice bellowed, "Number 12! Orders ready!"

"That was quick," Ginny pointed out.

"Simple order, fast results," Buffy deduced. "And it's not like they're overly bombarded with people."

Remembering they were only the customers in there, the girl had a very fair point.

"Need extra hands for the drinks," Xander requested.

"I'll go," Hermione volunteered, very pleased to help.

The group went to the counter to pick up their provisions and soon laid out the feast before them. With Ron, expectantly, grabbing the first slice, and everyone soon followed.

"Okay, so, tell us," Willow began. "How was Buffy really like at Hogwarts?"

The wizard and witches paused. Not knowing how to proceed exactly. How much did Buffy's friends know about her Malfoy-like days?

"Yeah, give us the skinny," Xander requested. "She said something about being Cordelia-esque, but I just don't see it."

"Guys," Buffy pleaded of her muggle friends, not wanting to rehash one of her most shameful times.

"Now, Buff, if you want us to bond, we need to hear some of your most embarrassing moments, I don't make the rules," Xander imparted, and then took a bite of his slice.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "That's not how bonding works."

"Yeah, you're supposed to bond through hardship and life and death moments," Ginny pointed out.

"But we've already done that," Xander Harris replied.

"Oh, right," said the witch.

"So come on, spill," he egged on.

Ginny and Hermione had things to say, but didn't want to say them. Things were different, Buffy was different, who she was and how she behaved, the things she did, well…

"She was a selfish and spiteful brat," Ron stated offhandedly, before taking a bite of pizza. He was chewing on his food when he noticed the mainly shocked looks at his words. "What? I said was."

And technically…

"I mean…he's not wrong," Ginny agreed, and smiled at Buffy's glare.

No, Ron was most definitely not wrong. And they noticed Hermione hadn't said anything, even though you could tell she wanted to, and Xander and Willow waited expectantly.

"There was that time," she began hesitantly, "during our first year, when she teased me during potions class, causing me to fail the assignment and for Professor Snape to deduct house points from Gryffindor."

Willow's jaw dropped and she looked at Buffy who was currently squeezing her eyes shut in distress from the memory.

While Xander simply shrugged it off. "That doesn't sound so bad."

"Not so bad?!" Willow nearly shrieked.

"I failed my assignment!" Hermione emphasized, the memory of it still haunting her.

"Something she probably worked really hard on."

And he still didn't get it. "Yeah…so…?"

Xander Harris was not a Willow, and he was most definitely not a Hermione, he was maybe, barely, just a Ron. School was not exactly on his list of priorities. As long as he passed, and he didn't have to repeat any classes, failing one assignment didn't really seem like a big deal.

A least until Buffy explained it in terms he could understand.

"Think Willow, but on steroids," she clarified.

Willow. Willow who knew, off the top of her head, the square root of 841. Willow who got a near perfect score on her PSATs. Willow who always had a sharp number 2 pencil at the ready. Who gets excited about the first day of school. Who looks forward to test day. Who hyperventilates at getting anything lower than an A on a paper, and even that was pushing it. Who hands in her assignments early and does extra-credit voluntarily. And that's when it clicked, if Hermione was Willow on steroids, then…

"Oh. Oh!" he exclaimed in realization and looked at Buffy. "Oh, you were definitely on Santa's naughty list."

And Buffy wished the floor would just collapse right under her…but where would the fun in that be.

"What about the time she tormented Hannah about her pigtails," reminded Ginny.

"Blimey, the haircut!" Ron exclaimed at the memory. "I'd almost forgotten."

"Oh, god," Buffy couldn't help but groan.

"What haircut?" asked Willow.

"Because of Buffy, Hannah hated her hair," Ginny answered, so carelessly, like the memory of it wasn't currently torturing her best friend. "And, we're not exactly sure why, but Hannah asked Susan – her friend – to cut them off for her."

"Oh, no," Willow nearly whispered, already knowing this wasn't going to be good.

"In my defense, I never said anything about cutting her hair," Buffy tried to justify.

The group gave a near in-sync look of cynicism, because really? And the blonde slayer couldn't help but shrink a little into her seat.

"So, then what happened?" Xander asked Ginny.

But it was Hermione who answered. "Susan tried her best, really, except…she couldn't get the ends of her hair just right. And the best explanation is…well…the end result was like giving scissors to a toddler and letting them loose on a doll."

And the shocked and incredulous expressions of Willow and Xander once again turned to face their dear and loving friend Buffy Summers, who couldn't help but plea, "Kill me now."

But the night was still young, and for the rest of the meal, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione, brought up the ghosts of Buffy's past, all the while Buffy tried not to die from complete and utter shame and embarrassment.