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The Life Of Brian By Echo
"What in the bloody hell is the matter with you?" Severus hissed as soon as the door closed behind him. "I don't know!" "Dawn, what am I supposed to do here?" "Huh?" "What did your mother do in situations like this?" "Well, Buffy was usually the one getting in fights." "So what would she have done?" "Punish me?" "I already did that." "Tell me how disappointed you are in me?" "But I'm not." She looked up at him sharply. "I do wish you would be less physical with your arguments with Malfoy, but at the same time, it does me give a certain bizarre amount of perverse satisfaction to know my daughter is an even match for the Slytherin Prince. He's never had anyone who set him down like you do, Dawn. Not even Potter.... whom you will still stay far away from." "That's a bit hard, us being in the same house and all." "Well, you're a smart girl. I'm sure you can come up with something." "I could always defy you." "That would be most unwise." Dawn grinned. "Don't grin at me, young lady. I am still most put out with you. Tackling Malfoy. How unladylike." "I'm sorry." "Don't try to humor me. You most certainly are NOT sorry." "You're right. I'm really not." He rolled his eyes and tried to appear exasperated, but he was pleased that his daughter was shaping up to be someone you in no way wanted to 'fuck' with. *~*~*~*~*~* Dawn left her step father's chambers after having made a solemn promise to try VERY HARD to avoid any further physical altercations with Draco Malfoy. She was almost to Gryffindor Tower when a nasty hiss stopped her. "You leave Draco Malfoy alone, mudblood!" The blast hit her in the back between her shoulder blades. Dawn's face smacked the wall as she fell. Everything went black. So this is what Giles's first years in Sunnydale were like. *~*~*~*~*~* Dawn's eyes rolled as she tried to come to consciousness. She was moving... quickly. No, not her moving - someone was carrying her and that someone was cursing... a lot. Her vision was swirling like a kaleidoscope. Who ever it was had strong arms. That, she noticed. "Summers! Dammit! Come on, open your eyes, you little bitch. Stay with me, tough girl." "Malfoy?" "Stay awake! Open your eyes, you stupid cow! Fuck! Stay with me, damn you!" "I wouldn't stay with you if you paid me in chocolate." Her eyes tried to close. "No! Don't you fucking close your eyes, you little cunt!" "Hey! Don't call me that!" "Then stay awake, you great pain in my arse." "Don't wanna. Put me down. Get your grabby grabbing hands off of me, dicknose." Her voice sounded slurred even to her. He shook her. "Summers! Dammit! I forbid you to pass out!" "You forbid..." "We're almost to the infirmary. Hang on please. Come on, Dawn." Darkness claimed her again right as Draco had kicked open the doors to the infirmary and started shouting for Madam Pomfrey. Her last thought was that her name had sounded very nice the way he had just whispered it. *~*~*~*~*~* "She's really very lucky, Severus. If Mister Malfoy hadn't found her, well..." "He likely did it." Severus snapped. Wow. Her step father sounded pissed. He was holding one of her hands in both of his and stroking it gently. Dawn grinned and shifted a bit. She felt stiff. "Wasn't Draco." "Dawn?" She opened her eyes and immediately squinted in pain. The light was too harsh. Severus reached over and turned down her bedside lamp. "Dawn, who did this?" "Didn't see. They got me in the back." "That's what Mister Malfoy said. He came around that corner just in time to see her get hit, but the wall blocked her attacker." "Cowards." Severus hissed. He didn't want to think bad of his house, but he'd bet anything it was a Slytherin that had cursed her. One of those zealots who were still following their parents' bad lead, still following the 'dark lord'. Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore had turned that snaky git into worm food. He'd seen it happen... and then he'd danced a damn jig on the evil bastard's grave. Die Tom Riddle die! "He has a very foul mouth." Dawn said sleepily. "Who does, dearest?" "Malf..." She drifted off to sleepyland.... or pretended to. She was really good at faking sleep. Spike was the only one who was never fooled. "Dawn?" "It's all right Severus. She doesn't have a concussion. That hex was a mighty powerful. She'll be sluggish for a few days. But it's ok for her to sleep." They thought she'd drifted off. She just didn't want too think too much about what had happened. Not yet. Dawn concentrated on keeping her breathing even so she could hear what was said. Severus sighed loudly. "She's going to be ok, Severus. Thank goodness for Draco Malfoy. He ran the whole way here with her." Another sigh. "I think he might... fancy her." "What? No." Damn skippy! No was right. Someone was taking nips out of a hallucinating potion. Sniffing the bandages. Something. Draco Malfoy did NOT fancy her. He didn't even like her. And the feeling was so very mutual. So why was this tiny voice whispering that he'd ran all the way to the infirmary with her in his very strong arms? And who ever had attacked her had warned her away from him. Well, someone forgot to tell Malfoy about it... and what had he been doing out and about anyhow? Was he the one who had done it? No. It wasn't his voice, and Malfoy wasn't the back-stabbing sort. He was an 'aim for the heart' kind of guy. He wanted you to know he was the one making you bleed. Dawn fell asleep thinking very hard about Draco Malfoy. *~*~*~*~*~* He had completely lost his bloody mind. Sneaking out of the rooms his mother was making him share with her, sneaking into the infirmary... to sit and watch a girl he hated with a passion sleep. Why didn't he just sneak into Gryff Tower and watch Potter sleep. Or Weasley. Either of them. Perhaps he could creep into the prefect's dorm and crawl into bed with Granger. Draco slammed the heels of his hands into his temples. What in the hell was wrong with him? He could not COULD NOT be attracted to some skinny twit in her fifth year. And a mudblood. Yes, so she was Snape's step daughter, but she was still a mudblood. Her parents were muggles. The only way this could be any worse was if he was fancying Ginny Weasley. No, he could always be fancying Harry wanking Potter. That would be worse. Not because Potter was a male too. Sod that. Who gave a damn about that? Honestly. Well, prudes and homophobes did, but Draco wasn't like that. Man wanted to make the sweet love to another man that was so his own business. No, the 'worse' was because he was Harry effing Potter. His thoughts were interrupted by Dawn whimpering in her sleep. "No." She tossed the covers off. Draco blinked at her little cami top with the kitten on it and matching pink pajama pants. "Buffy, no. Please." There was a thread of emotion in her voice. "Take it easy, Summers." He whispered. She was going to thrash herself right out of the bed and wake Madam Pomfrey if she didn't stop. "No." She was crying in her sleep. "Please no. Don't. Don't leave me here alone." Something twisted really hard in his chest, and Draco couldn't stand hearing her make those sounds for another second. He sat on the edge of her bed and lifted her to him. She clung to him in sleep and cried silently. He could feel her tears wetting the collar of his shirt. It was foreign to him. Draco had never held anyone and had them hold him back. Her touch was like sin almost. It created and stirred things inside him that Draco didn't know he had. "Shhh." He soothed. Draco smoothed her hair down across her back. Dawn burrowed her face into his throat, still much asleep. "She left me alone, Spike." Draco ground his teeth. "You aren't alone, Dawn." "She gets to be with Mom now, and I hate her for it. I feel so guilty, Spike. She died so I could be, and I can't stand it. It hurts so bad." He tightened his arms around her. Everything that was frozen inside him was thawing far too fastly. His eyes started to burn and his throat closed up. He knew what it was like to hate a dead person who you had once loved because they had left you here... alone, to hate them for the choices they had made. In his case the bad choices. "It's all right to be angry, Dawn." "Stop calling me Dawn, Spike. Call me one of your pet names." "What's your favorite?" "Bit. When you call me lil' bit." "All right, bit." "I miss her." "I know." Her breathing had evened again. She had fallen back to sleep. He laid her back on the bed and stared at her for a very long time. What in the blue blazes had happened to him? This was the girl who kept knocking him low... literally, and he was comforting her? He'd lost his mind. That was all there was to it. But she was quick and strong for a girl. She was a bit violent, and sharp-witted. And actually rather pretty when she wasn't scowling now that he was really looking. She was practically all leg, but that was ok. It made her near as tall as he was. Her brown hair had been soft too. For as hardened as she seemed, Dawn Summers was all softness when you touched her. So he did. Draco traced a finger from her bruised temple and along her cheek. She sighed and leaned into his touch. It was something different. No girl who didn't plan on being a Death Eater ever leaned into his caress, and even then that had been false. Just after the Malfoy estate. Well, he knew this was real on two counts. Dawn was asleep thinking he was someone else, and there was no Malfoy estate now. And since when was she Dawn and not Summers? That's when the bad idea that would change everything for him struck. Bad ideas are like that though. The ones you could just kick yourself for always just creep in. They sneak up on you like sunlight after a night of restless insomnia. Draco leaned over her and pressed his lips to hers. And sweet Merlin, she ended up kissing him back! His hand was cupping her jaw, his thumb caressing her cheek. She tasted like the mint that had likely been in her healing draught. It mixed rather well with the square of chocolate he'd eaten on his way walking to the infirmary. She had obviously never kissed anyone before, but she seemed open to his lead. Draco pulled back suddenly when he realized what he was doing. Dawn sighed in content. She was smiling in her sleep. He stumbled away, nearly overturning the chair he'd been in before she'd started having her nightmare. He grabbed it before he managed to make a ton of noise. Draco righted the chair soundlessly and hurried out of the infirmary. He didn't see Poppy Pomfrey peek around the corner after he'd cleared the doors. The school nurse was smirking something fierce. She just loved being right. Malfoy DID fancy Snape's daughter. *~*~*~*~*~* Anya was sitting on the edge of Dawn's bed when she opened her eyes. The entire bed was surrounded by Gryffindors. Harry was sitting on the other side holding her hand. Ginny was standing next to Anya looking worried. She kept biting her bottom lip. "Dawnie." Anya breathed when she noticed the other girl was awake. "Dawn, what happened? Snape said you were attacked." "What time is it?" Dawn cringed at the thickness of her voice. She sounded like she'd just eaten a whole jar of peanut butter. "Almost dinner time." "Wha? I missed classes?!" Still with the peanut butter voice. Dawn cleared her throat. "Here" Ginny said pouring her some water from the pitcher on her bedside table. Dawn took the glass, but her hands shook so badly Anya had to help her drink it. Ron was scowling darkly. "What?" "When I find who did this to you, Dawn, they're gonna be sorry." Everyone looked at Ron. Since he was such a big guy, he was sort of menacing when upset. "I can take care of myself, Ron" Her arm shook violently then, causing some water to slosh out of the glass. "Oh I can see that." Anya took the glass out of Dawn's hands. "Don't let start this, ok." "Dawn, it's ok to let people watch out for you." Ron said. Ginny was staring at her brother. She was mighty proud of him for not letting the fact that Dawn was Snape's daughter cloud his judgment of her as a person the way Professor Black had done. "Ron, I've always had people watching out for me. Poor little Dawn. My sister watched out for me her whole life. You know where it got her? Dead. In the ground. I can't do that to anyone else." Anya sucked in air harshly. "Dawn, that wasn't your fault. Buffy made that choice." "My blood opened those portals. It should have been mine that closed it, not hers. She was needed. I was just window dressing." Dawn started crying. Harry squeezed her hand. He hated to see anyone hurting so bad. He knew what she felt to a degree. He still caught himself taking the blame for Cedric Diggory on bad days. He wondered if she had seen her sister's body... because that was the worst part. That image never really left you. "Guys..." Hermione said. "Perhaps we should leave Dawn and Anya alone." Everyone nodded. Dawn grabbed Ginny's wrist as she tried to leave. She also shook her head 'no' at Colin. "If you need anything..." Hermione patted Dawn's hand before she followed the others out. It was silent for a long time. Anya sitting. Ginny standing with Dawn's hand still clamped on her wrist. Colin standing stock still on the other side of Dawn's bed. "You are NOT just window dressing, Dawn Summers, and if you ever speak of yourself so meanly again, I will be forced to beat you." Dawn snorted. "Little thing like you." "Size doesn't matter in torture. Especially if you're tied up." Colin's eyes went wide. He was fiddling with his camera nervously. "Anya, you say some really weird things." "That have film in it?" Ginny snorted. "Always." "Take our picture." "What?" "Does it have a timer?" "Of course." "Set it up and make a memory. The moment Dawn learned she was NOT the window dressing." Dawn giggled and swiped at her eyes with her hand. "Here." Ginny took a handkerchief from her robes and dabbed at Dawn's eyes. Colin walked across to the bed opposite Dawn's. He set the camera on the bedside table near it and peered in. "Get ready." Anya turned and wrapped her arm around Dawn. Ginny leaned in and placed her head on Anya's shoulder. Colin pressed a button and ran over. He sat on the other side of Dawn and leaned his head towards hers. The flash went off. Dawn leaned to Anya's ear. "I need to talk to you." "About?" Dawn blushed. "I had this bizarro dream last night." "Was it about sexy stuff?" Anya wriggled her eyebrows. Dawn sighed. "Kind of. Not really. I dunno. I dreamt that Spike kissed me." "Dawn, that's very disturbing." "Actually, it was really kinda nice. It felt so real too..." Dawn blushed again. "And I swear to the gods, he tasted just like chocolate. It was yummy." "Yummy? See? Totally dreaming. And I'm just going to keep in mind that you hit your head last night. I don't want to hear anymore of this chocolate Spike nonsense, Dawn. Besides Spike wouldn't taste like chocolate-y goodness, he'd taste like whiskey and cigarettes... and possibly blood." "Eww." Ginny and Colin were looking at them. "Who's Spike?" Ginny asked. "How much time you got, red?" Anya said with a smirk on her face. *~*~*~*~*~*~* Everyone looked up as the doors to the great hall banged open. Anya Bell was stalking to the end of the Gryffindor table looking haughty as the Queen of Hearts on execution day. Behind her small form came Ginny Weasley and Colin Creevey carrying Dawn Summers with an arm each around their shoulders. Ron jumped to his feet so fast he nearly fell. He moved to them very quickly. "What are you doing?" He hissed to Anya. "Harry and I could have carried her a lot easier than Colin and Ginny. What were you thinking?" "We were thinking of showing who ever did this that they didn't break Dawn Summers. She was beaten... but not broken." "You should have come and gotten one of us, Bell." "We managed just fine, Ronald Weasley." He made an exasperated face. "Just like a woman. You all think you can do anything. It is ok to ask for some bloody help every once in a great while." "A girl can do anything a boy can do." She looked thoughtful. "Well, maybe not pitch a tent in her pants with her dick, but other than that..." Ron sputtered. His ears had gone a violent shade of red. He snatched Dawn from Ginny and Colin, swinging the fifth year up into his arms effortlessly. He stalked to the end of the table where the empty seats were. He blushed the entire way. Anya Bell blew his mind. He just didn't know what to think about her. But Ron still had enough presence of mind to smirk knowingly at Snape before he placed Dawn in the seat right next to Harry Potter. He even kissed her bruised temple for good measure. Ron was so busy eyeing Snape that he didn't notice Draco Malfoy was practically foaming at the mouth and trying to hide it. Narcissa noticed though. She had to place a delicate hand over her mouth, so no one would see her smiling like she was. But Sirius Black noticed. He was sitting in Remus Lupin's empty seat next to her since the other Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was not feeling so well and having dinner in his chambers tonight. Narcissa was thinking perhaps she would stop by and see if Remus was all right. He'd been more than nice to her, despite Severus's snarling about it. "What has you smiling so, Ms. Malfoy?" "Perhaps you could call me Narcissa, Professor Black." "Only if you call me Sirius." He was awfully flirty. Narcissa giggled. It seemed he was trying to get over her whole 'Malfoy' thing. That was nice. It was nice to actually be seen by a man. "I think I am going to VOMIT." Severus hissed. Narcissa looked at him. Snape leaned around her. "You do realize, mutt, that Narcissa was in Slytherin." Narcissa glared at him. Ever the big brother, from the day Lucius had introduced them. Yes, they had lost touch after she married Malfoy, but he was still Draco's godfather. As much as this irritated her, she WAS a woman grown for Merlin's sake, Narcissa liked his protective vibe being out again. "I am beyond houses today, git." "Bastard." "Pompous windbag." "Manwhore." "Limp-dicked degenerate." "Punk-assed bitch." "Frequent masturbater." "Premature ejaculator." "Do you two need a moment alone? I could leave." Narcissa snapped. "Really." "No." "Sorry." "Sorry." It was quiet for several minutes. "Hippogriff fucker." Snape hissed. Narcissa threw her hands in the air and left the table, muttering something about infantile name calling and grown men acting like third years. The insults continued all through dinner... with some words so foul most third years did not even know them yet.
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