Chapter Twenty-One - Letting It Go

I let the beast in too soon / I don't know how to live / Without my hand on his throat / I fight him always & still.

O darling, it's so sweet / You think you know how crazy / How crazy I am / You say you don't spook easy, you won't go / But I know / And I pray that you will.

-"Fast as You Can" - Fiona Apple

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Buffy, please, sit down." Professor Dumbledore said, motioning to a seat. Buffy did as she was asked. Angel sat down beside her and held her hand.

After the Ministry sent over God knows how many Aurors to take the still unconscious Death Eaters in for questioning, and Dawn and Harry went with Faith and Giles to the infirmary, Buffy and Angel were called to Dumbledore's office, while Xander and Willow went with Ron and Hermione to the Great Hall to tell everyone what was going on. There was both good news and bad news to be told.

"I know that you are probably curious as to know what went on with Dawn and Harry."

"Wouldn't hurt." Buffy quipped.

"Dawn figured out something we should have learned long ago. A vampire delivered a letter to you, yes?"

"Yeah, Spike, but what does - "

"That letter was from Sirius Black. I notified him of the prophecy the moment that we learned of it. He was hoping that you would receive the letter sooner."

"Alright, I get that he found out that Dawn - that the key's power could be used against Voldemort. But how was Dawn able to just give that away?"'

Dumbledore smiled. "Ah, Ms. Summers, I see that you are making a very big mistake. You are separating Dawn from the key. The key is very much a part if her. Once she realized this, she was able to focus that power and use it against the very forces she was trying to escape. Dawn is no ordinary Muggle girl, just as you are no ordinary Muggle woman. She is a force of power, yes. But she is also human. Just as you are both Buffy and The Chosen One, she is both Dawn and The Key."

Buffy nodded and got up to leave, but she turned around. "Professor?"

"Yes?"

"What's going to happen to all the students whose parents were taken away?"

"By students, I assume that you mean, in particular, Draco Malfoy?"

Buffy nodded.

"Draco is graduating this year, and will be going off to be on his own. There will be troubling times ahead, but - I'm sure he'll be able to manage. Also, due to recent developments, I'm sure you're happy to know that you have your job back."

"Yeah." She said quietly. Buffy gave Dumbledore a quick smile and she walked out.

Once they were outside, Angel put his arm around Buffy's waist. "What's on your mind?"

Buffy was silent for a moment, before, "She was willing to die, Angel. She would have died if it meant that the rest of the world was saved."

"Sounds familiar."

Buffy stopped walking. "I guess - I don't know. I'm the slayer. I was meant to die in the line of duty. She's just seventeen." She looked up at Angel, eyes full of tears. "She'll get through this right?"

"Yes. She's strong." Angel brushed a piece of hair away from her face. "Like you."

She smiled and leaned into his chest, allowing him to just hold her for a while.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry awoke in the infirmary. His vision was blurry, but that's when he realized that his glasses weren't on.

"Looking for these?"

Dawn smiled and handed Harry his glasses. He put them on and sat up. "How long was I out for?"

"Two days."

"TWO DAYS?!"

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I just woke up an hour ago. And I have the worst headache imaginable."

"But really, how are you?"

Dawn looked at him. "Surprisingly enough, I feel - awake. Not tired or, or weak. I can still feel that spell pulsing through me. It's like, I allowed the key to become a part of me and now I have all these weird...feelings I've never had before. Everything is personified - senses, emotions. But I'm okay. Are you okay?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm just - tired." He looked up into her face. "It's over. It's finally over. So why do I feel so..."

"Unrelieved?" Dawn gave him a half smile. "It's perfectly natural. You have this enemy for so long that once they're defeated, you don't know where to go. You still feel like you need to be looking over your shoulder, when in actuality, it's over. It's done. But," Dawn looked thoughtful. "It's never over. Not really. There will always be evil in the world. You can't defeat evil itself, Harry. You can defeat the powers that make evil prevail."

"I'm finally understanding what Tara said to all of us in our dreams," Harry said. "You think you know who you are, what's to come. But we've all only just begun to experience life. Maybe now, we can all actually begin to live."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Settle down you four - yes, I'm talking to you Hermione."

Hermione smirked at Angel and sat down between Harry and Dawn.

"We are going to be continuing werewolves today since I finally got a hold of our guest speaker, and, in light if recent events, and since final exams are cancelled, I figured you could all use a break. Both of these speakers are friends of Professor Giles. You've already met one, and have heard stories from Professor Summers about the other."

This struck a chord in Dawn's mind. She suddenly sat straight up.

"Please welcome Remus Lupin and - well - call him Oz."

The class broke into excited whispers.

"Willow is gonna freak!" Dawn squealed.

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Did you completely miss that part of Buffy's story? They were 'involved.' Oz came back because he wanted to see Willow, but she was with Tara, and he left again because she brought out the wolf him, and I'm rambling again aren't I?"

"Yeah." Ron kissed her on the cheek. "But you're cute when you ramble." Dawn flushed.

When class was over, Dawn vaulted out of her seat and gave Oz the biggest hug she could, while Ron, Harry, and Hermione went to speak with Lupin.

"Hey Dawn."

"Hi Oz!" She pulled away.

"So, I hear you have a boyfriend and you saved the world."

"Nah, it was - wait a minute." She put a hand on her hip. "How did you know I had a boyfriend?"

"Willow and Tara." Oz said smiling.

Dawn shook her head. "So, do you have ulterior motives for being here, or are you just here to talk about werewolves?"

"Ulterior motives a definite. Buffy and Willow were asked to plan an end of the year dance for the Seventh Years, like their prom, and they asked my band to play."

"How cool is that? It's like the whole gang is back together. Wait - when is this dance?"

"Next week."

"Well, when do they graduate?"

"Uh - June third."

"June third! That's only two weeks away!"

"Dawn calm down. I'll still be here."

"Yeah. You'll still be here." Dawn shook her head. "I gotta go. I'll see you later Oz."

Dawn walked off, leaving Oz very confused.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ron came into the Common Room with a very happy Harry and Hermione. Harry asked Hermione to the dance, and she agreed. Dawn was standing by the door and she grabbed Ron's arm.

"I need to talk to you."

This wiped the smile off of Ron's face.

"Umm - ok."

Dawn put her arm around his shoulders and they walked up the Astronomy Tower. Dawn looked out of the window. "I need to ask you a question, and I want you to answer me honestly."

"OK."

Dawn took a breath. "After you graduate - were you planning on breaking up with me?"

Ron took her hands in his. "How could you even think that?"

"It's just - you'll be a part of the wizarding world and I'll be a part of the Muggle world, barely out of high school, and I don't even know what's going to happen with Buffy and her job here and I just - " Ron cut her off with a kiss. Dawn wanted to pull away, but she also wanted nothing more than to be close to him. This, in her opinion, was perfect. His hands found their way up her shirt and in other places, and she pulled away.

"I'm sorry." He said.

"Don't be. Not now. Soon, but - not now."

"Dawn, how could you even think that I would break up with you? I love you. I love you, so much. I don't care that you have to go back to the Muggle world. We can make this work. Even if that means you have to come live with me after graduation."

Dawn looked up at him. "You mean it?"

"I swear it."

Dawn threw her arms around him happily, but then bit her lip. "There's something I need to tell you. It's not - nothing major, but - I still need to tell you."

"Go on."

"Remember when Harry and I were up here after we both had those dreams?"

Ron became very alert. "Yes."

"Well...we sort of...kissed. Not - not, like, making out. It was just a peck and there were no sparks. It was just spur of the moment. He's my friend, you know, and - "

"Dawn, Dawn! Calm down. I'm not mad."

"You - you're not?"

"No. Besides, Harry already told me. Look, it's not like I've never kissed Hermione. It's just friendly. It's not like you're sleeping with him." Ron paused. "Are you?"

"No, you idiot!" She shoved him and he shoved her back a little too hard. Dawn fell to the floor, but not before pulling Ron down with her. He fell right on top of her. They were tickling each other, when they heard someone clear their throat in the doorway.

Buffy and Angel looked as if they might burst into hysterical laughter at the look on their faces.

"We weren't doing anything. I swear," Dawn said, standing.

"We were just - "

"Wrestling?" Buffy offered.

"Uh - yeah."

Buffy arched an eyebrow. "Ron, I'd like to speak with my sister. Do you mind?"

"Nope, nope, nope." He shook his head and Buffy literally bit her tongue to keep from laughing as he walked out with a just as amused Angel.

"You're not going to lecture me, are you?" Dawn asked tentatively.

"Not exactly. Look, you love him. And I get that there are certain things you want to do with him. Just promise me you'll be careful."

Dawn smiled. "I promise. What do you think was one of the reasons I stopped him before?"

Buffy just arched her eyebrows. "I mean - never mind."

Buffy grinned as Dawn walked out. "Have fun at the prom!" She called after her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dawn walked into Hermione's room on Saturday morning. There was less then a day left until the prom - it was that night - and Dawn had a big problem -

She had nothing to wear. Dress robes were required, and she didn't have any.

"'Mione, I have a small problem."

"What? Are you worried about tonight?"

"Sort of."

Hermione gaped. "Are you and Ron going to - "

"Shush 'Mione! We're not going to do anything you and Harry aren't going to do."

Hermione giggled. "So, what's the problem?"

"It's so stupid."

"Try me."

Dawn sighed. "I have nothing to wear."

She couldn't help it - Hermione laughed.

"Gee, thanks a lot." Dawn grumbled.

"I'm sorry. It's just - do you have a dress or something?"

Dawn nodded. "Yeah. This is going to sound truly pathetic of me, but I found my dream prom dress over the summer on sale in this little shop for - well, cheaper then most dresses, and I brought it with me. I didn't want to leave it home. I figured I'd find a way to wear it and, look, opportunity presents itself."

"I see the problem - you don't have dress robes do you?"

"'Mione, I don't have ANY robes, hence the problem." She blew air through her teeth.

"Well, I can help. Do you have any money?"

"Yeah, my sister gave me some in case I needed some stuff for tonight - why?"

"Because I have the solution to your problems. There's this really small shop in Hogsmeade that sells robes and things like that. I could take you if you want. You're lucky because this is the last Hogsmeade weekend."

Dawn pulled Hermione into a hug. "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!"

"Don't mention it."

"Alright, I'm going to go get my money." She squealed and practically skipped off to her room.

"What's she so happy about?" Ron asked, coming into Hermione's room.

"I just helped her out with a problem. You're a lucky guy Ron. Dawn is truly an odd, but amazing person."

"Yeah, I know."

"You'd better know, unless you want Buffy to break your legs." Harry said smiling.

"Oh shut up Harry."

Harry and Hermione laughed.

Dawn came up behind Ron and put a finger to her lips. She put her hands over his eyes.

"Guess who?"

"Parvati."

"PARVATI?!" Dawn screeched.

Ron laughed and Dawn hit him in the arm.

"C'mon Dawnie. I'm only kidding."

Dawn pretended to be angry.

"Uh- I love you."

Dawn smiled. "I love you too."

"Awe." Hermione and Harry chorused.

"Oh shut up." Dawn and Ron said in unison.

The four of them started laughing.

And continued.

And just didn't stop.

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