Chapter Eighteen - Shadows at the End of the Tunnel
You come out at night / That's when the energy comes / And the dark sides light / And the vampires roam / You strut your Rasta wear / And your suicide poem / And a cross from a faith / That died before Jesus came / You're building a mystery.
You live in a church / Where you sleep with voodoo dolls / And you won't give up the search / For the ghosts in the halls / You wear sandals in the snow / And a smile that won't wash away / Can you look out the window / Without your shadow getting in the way / Oh you're so beautiful / With an edge and a charm / But so careful / When I'm in your arms.
'Cause you're working / Building a mystery / Holding on and holding it in / Yeah you're working / Building a mystery / And choosing so carefully.
--"Building a Mystery" - Sarah McLachlan
Buffy watched as about twenty Death Eaters stormed the castle.
"Damnit! Faith!"
"Yeah." Faith said, pulling her attention away from the scene on the lawn.
Buffy looked at her, knowing she was thinking the same thing. "They're human."
"So we can't kill them."
"But we CAN maim them."
The two slayers sped back to the Great Hall. Everyone turned their attention to Buffy and Faith as they came inside.
Over three hundred faces were staring at them, the faces of students they were bound to protect.
Buffy fumbled with the stone around her neck and glanced at Dumbledore.
"It's your call Buffy." He said to her.
Buffy nodded. "I need all of the professors outside. Dawn, Harry, Ron, you come too. Hermione, you're in charge in here."
When everyone was assembled outside, Buffy was able to try to formulate a plan.
"I'm not at full strength. You all know that. I also can't kill anyone out there, and am lacking in the magical department. So, I want to split up the group, even though I know we'll all be split up in the end anyways."
"What did you call the three of them out here for then?" Snape said with disdain.
"Because I'm going to need their help. We all know who these guys are after. We can use the help of anyone we can get. I need you three to STAY HERE. Help Hermione."
"But Buffy - "
"Dawn, don't argue with me. I know you can handle yourself, but I need you here. I can't watch out for you out there. Please, just stay here."
Dawn just looked at Buffy and hugged her.
"Come back ok?"
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
They pulled away and Buffy looked at Faith, who nodded.
"Let's go."
Dawn, Harry, and Ron watched as their professors - their friends - walked out to the chaos outside the castle.
"Oh god. They'll be back, right?"
Dawn shook her head. "I don't know Harry. This is way out of Buffy's league. She's never faces this powerful an opponent before who she couldn't just kill. I just don't know."
"She'll come back Dawn." Ron said, trying to convince himself as much as her.
"We have to get back inside." Harry said.
The hall went silent as the three of them walked in.
"They've gone out there." Harry said, and the room burst into shocked whispers.
"People, shut up!" Dawn screamed.
"Look, I know you're all worried. Christ, my sister is out there. But she's fighting for us. She won't let anything happen to us."
Dawn didn't see the shadow come up behind her.
But Malfoy did.
"Dawn, look out!"
Dawn spun around and screeched as Pettigrew pulled her out of the Great Hall.
"Dawn!"
"No Ron!" Harry held him back.
"We need to get out there! They have her now!" Ron pleaded with him. "Harry, please. I love her."
Hermione glanced at Harry, who was obviously having some inner debate about what to do. He glanced at Malfoy.
"Malfoy, I can't believe I'm about to do this, but I'm leaving you in charge. Can you handle that?"
Malfoy was pretty shocked, but he nodded.
"Good. Let's go." The three of them turned around and headed in the direction they thought Pettigrew was headed.
Meanwhile, outside, a different war was being waged. Buffy was struggling more then usual. She was knocked to the ground by one of the Death Eaters and barely rolled out of the way as he hurled a curse at her.
"You'll never win slayer." He said, holding her arms behind her back.
"Let me answer that with a head but." Buffy knocked her head backwards into his and kicked backwards to his stomach. He was quick - he grabbed her foot and she slammed into the ground. Buffy swore she heard something snap.
"I told you slayer, you can't win."
He let out a yell as Buffy kicked his legs out from under him. His head hit the ground hard and he was knocked out.
~*
Faith was fighting some guy, who not had a wand, but a knife as well. Neither of them had gotten a good shot at the other.
Faith was distracted by seeing Buffy go down and the Death Eater took those few seconds to his advantage. He threw the knife at Faith and it glanced off of her arm.
Faith looked at the blood beading on her skin. "I really hate being stabbed." The two of them fought for another ten seconds before Faith knocked him out. She picked up the knife from the ground and shoved it into her pocket. "Old habits die hard." She mumbled.
~*
"Angel, look out!" Willow screamed.
Angel had someone rushing at him from behind. He used the guy's force to flip him over his shoulder. He slammed to the ground with a crack. Willow had a knife to his throat.
"Don't even think about it." She said maliciously. The Death Eater swallowed.
"Where's Voldemort?" Angel asked.
"I will never tell you."
Willow put the knife closer to his throat.
"If you want to live, you'll rethink your answer." Angel could see the fear in his eyes. "Your choice. Time's a-wasting."
He didn't answer and Willow simply knocked him unconscious.
"I couldn't kill him."
"I know. Go help Buffy."
~*
While most of them were involved in physical fights, Dumbledore and Snape were involved in a magical battle. Curses were flying everywhere. Dumbledore pushed Xander out of the way of a particularly nasty Cruciatus Curse. The Death Eater screamed in rage and Xander hit him in the back of the head until he fell unconscious.
"Thanks" He said, turning to Dumbledore.
"Go help Buffy."
~*
"Slayer!" Pettigrew yelled out.
Buffy turned and saw Pettigrew holding knife to Dawn's throat.
"You little - "
"Come any closer and she dies."
"Buffy!"
"Shut up girl!" Buffy could see a small cut already forming in Dawn's neck. "I'll have her blood and my master will rise to power."
"You touch her and I swear, I will kill you with my bear hands."
Pettigrew laughed as Xander and Willow approached them. "You can't kill me slayer. I'm human. I know the rules."
"You might want to watch your tail when you're a rat. There's no rule against killing rodents."
Pettigrew seemed to take this into consideration for a moment. "This is true. But you'd have to catch me first." Pettigrew shifted and Dawn fell to the ground, her neck bleeding slightly.
"Dawn!" Buffy went to go over to her, but was pulled away by a very human Pettigrew. He rushed at Buffy and she rolled out of the way. Everyone else was fighting again as well - and this time, they were all trying to avoid curses.
Buffy screamed as a Cruciatus Curse hit her in the back. She was shocked. This was unexpected.
"Buffy!" Angel was thrown to the ground as he tried to rush to Buffy's aid.
Xander and Willow were fighting the same Death Eater. Willow screamed as Xander was slashed in the side by a knife. But he still kept fighting.
All of this was a distraction, however, for what would later be called the inevitable.
Dawn was grabbed up off of the ground. She screamed and kicked, but to no avail. Two Death Eaters were holding her arms behind her.
"Buffy!"
Buffy heard Dawn cry out, but couldn't see where she was.
"I told you I would find you Dawn."
Dawn had to stop herself from crying out again when she saw Voldemort step out of the shadows.
"Leave me alone." She said through clenched teeth.
The two Death Eaters behind her tightened their grip on her arms and she cried out.
"I don't think so." Dawn saw Voldemort pull a knife, the same knife, again from his cloak and tried to pull away. She was unsuccessful.
"Your blood is the source of my ultimate power. You're on hallowed ground my girl. Now stop struggling." He stepped up to her. "This will only hurt for a second."
Dawn screamed as the knife was slashed across her upper arm. She watched fearfully as her blood fell to the ground -
And nothing happened.
"Why isn't this working?!" Voldemort cried out angrily. He grasped her arms and the two Death Eaters let her go. Voldemort rammed her back against a tree and Dawn cried out in pain.
"You had better tell me how to fix this girl. You'll be better off."
"Go to hell." She spat, even though she knew what the results of those three words would be. She had been preparing herself for it since her conversation with Ron in the Forbidden Forest -
"I'll be the death of me yet."
"Fine." Voldemort threw her to the ground. "I warned you."
He pointed his wand at Dawn just as Harry, Hermione, and Ron showed up. Buffy had finally gotten out of the fray and ran over.
"Dawnie!" She yelled.
Harry and Ron were too far. They knew what was coming. They'd never make it in time.
"You'd have been better off as Glory's key.
"Avada Kedavra!" He bellowed.
Even from where they stood, Buffy, Ron, Hermione, and Harry were thrown backwards by a powerful wave of green light.
That was when the whole fight stopped.
All that was heard was Voldemort's angry laughter and Buffy's painful scream, mingled with Dawn's.
Voldemort snapped his fingers and he disappeared. The other Death Eaters followed seconds later. Willow scrambled after something in the bushes and Buffy ran over to Dawn's side.
Buffy brushed a piece of hair out of her sister's face, tears rolling down her cheeks onto Dawn's clothes.
"Dawnie?" Buffy shook her. "Dawn? C'mon Dawn. You have to wake up."
Angel approached quietly and knelt down next to Buffy.
"It's too late."
"No. It can't be too late." Buffy clasped Dawn's hands in hers and said through sobs, "She can't die."
Angel put his arms around Buffy and helped her stand as Harry and Hermione approached, their arms around a very distraught Ron.
"It's okay. Shh." Buffy buried her head in Angel's chest.
Ron looked at Dawn and blinked twice.
"Umm...guys?" He said, carefully and slowly.
"Ron, not now." Angel said, still soothing Buffy.
"But - Dawn."
"We know."
"Look!"
Angel looked at Dawn and his eyes widened.
"Buffy!"
Buffy looked up at Angel's face and followed his gaze, temporarily losing her voice. When she found it again, she uttered three simple words.
"Oh my god."
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