Chapter One - Illusion

I look, but recognize no more / Objects familiar to my view; / The very pathway to my door / Is an enchanted avenue.

-"Moonlight" - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

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

Dawn was sitting in the front of her house, trying to make some sort of sense about what just happened inside.

Things like this had been happening all summer - weird things. Flickering lights, moving objects without going anywhere near them. She even "accidentally" pushed Buffy back a few feet while they were arguing - but she hadn't even moved. Dawn felt like a child who was just discovering that she was a witch.

Only she wasn't a witch. She was a friggen key.

And she knew that it was the key's power - no, HER power that was in danger of spiraling out of control.

'There has to be a way.........' Unfortunately, all of those ways involved telling Buffy or Ron, and she didn't want to trouble them with her problems.

Dawn sighed. "Well - happy birthday to me."

Dawn heard a car honk and looked up. Giles was puling up to the house with Ron, Hermione, Harry and - was that Sirius? - in the car.

"Hi!" Dawn waved. Harry and Hermione stepped out. She gave both of them a hug.

"So, when's cake?" Dawn laughed at Harry.

Hermione swatted his arm. "You stop that."

Sirius stepped out next, looking at Dawn strangely. It was as if - no, it couldn't be. He couldn't see right through her - could he?

'So THAT'S Dawn.' Sirius thought to himself. Besides the fact that Ron was currently speed walking in the girl's direction, Sirius could tell right away that she was the key. He saw a greenish light around her, almost like an aura, only much brighter. Sirius shook his head and walked over to her, waiting patiently for she and Ron to stop kissing.

Giles cleared his throat.

No response.

"Are they ever going to come up for air?" Sirius quipped.

"I doubt it." Harry said smiling.

Dawn pulled away and gave Ron a shy smile. She hadn't seen, much less kissed him, since that day on the platform. They kept in touch by owl, but it just wasn't the same as being in his arms.

"Are you two quite finished?" Giles asked.

"Sure." Dawn was still looking at Ron intently.

"Do catch up on your time together later." Giles said a bit frustrated. "Dawn, this is Sirius Black, Harry's godfather."

"Nice to meet you." Sirius said.

Dawn couldn't help but notice that he was looking at her kind of strangely. "Yeah, same here."

"Hey, G-man!" Xander called. "The party is INSIDE."

"I am well aware of that Xander, however, you might want to separate these two."

Dawn blushed furiously and glared in Giles' direction. Xander laughed.

"Nah - that's all the fun. C'mon - times a-wasting and the cake is going to melt."

Dawn linked her arm through Ron's and walked in, followed by Giles, Sirius, and a very giddy Harry and Hermione.

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

By 8:00, the house had died down. Willow and Tara went up to their room, Buffy and Angel were on patrol, Giles was camped out on the couch grumbling about having to share the room with Faith to the great amusement of Sirius ("Hey, I've had the couch all summer until you came along. Be thankful I'm taking the floor." "Oh, hip hip, hooray. Let's throw a bloody parade."), and Xander and Anya were at their apartment doing God only knew what.

Dawn, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were in Dawn's room chatting away about what had gone on since they last saw each other. Harry couldn't help but notice that Dawn was a bit distant, even while lying in Ron's arms.

Harry had just finished telling her that the three of them were recruited to work for the WIL (Wizard Intelligence League), sort of like the wizard version of the CIA. They "spy" on anyone they think might be dabbling deep in dark magic - especially those that used to follow Lord Voldemort. She let out a laugh as a not-so-thrilled Harry explained that Sirius was their boss.

After Pettigrew was thrown in Azkaban, Sirius was hired as the head wizard at the WIL, since he had fought Voldemort successfully from the sidelines for so long, and since their present head was retiring. Dumbledore seemed to think Sirius was up for the job, and Sirius accepted, becoming Harry's legal guardian in the process.

"So, you guys are what, like spies now?" Dawn said smiling.

Dawn giggled as Harry rolled his eyes at her.

"Intelligence agents, not spies."

"God, you sound like someone out of a James Bond movie." Hermione laughed and Ron arched an eyebrow. "Muggle pop-culture reference. Don't worry about it."

"Yes, well, we actually have some news for you." Harry said, eyeing Hermione.

Dawn sat up. "Go on."

Ron grinned and slipped his arms around her waist.

"Well, there's this one division, Muggle Interaction, where there's an opening. You would have to go through a short training period, which won't be anywhere near as grueling as ours was, though it will involve more physical stuff since...since - "

"Since I don't do magic." Dawn said sighing. "Go on."

"Well, I spoke to Sirius, and - do you want the job?"

"Are you kidding? YES!" Dawn practically jumped on Harry and gave him a hug. "This is great! I can't - I can't believe this!" She turned around and gave Ron a quick kiss. "So - so we'll be working with each other?"

"Sometimes." Hermione answered. "We're just starting out and we'll be doing the actual going-out-into-the-world-and-fight-dark-magic thing. You'll be working with Muggles mostly, probably some work on a computer. Stuff like that."

"Joyous noel." Dawn said sarcastically. "Doesn't matter I suppose. I'll be with you three and that's all that matters."

"Awe, I'm touched. Tear." Hermione wiped an imaginary tear from her eye. Dawn and Ron burst out laughing as Harry tackled her to the ground and started tickling her.

"I surrender! I surrender!" Hermione screeched through giggles. She sat up, still giggling, and ended up half in Harry's lap.

"Look, something's been bothering me all day and I was wondering if maybe one of you could help me out." Dawn took a breath and traced the lines of Ron's palm with a fingertip while she spoke. "When Sirius saw me this morning he sort of - looked at me kind of funny. Like he could see the key in me. But, that's just not possible because the only living things that can see me as the key are crazy people, which I'm pretty sure he's not, serpents, and canines."

Ron shot a glance at Harry.

"Canines?" Harry asked.

"Yeah." Dawn looked up at him and then at Ron. "Why?"

"Sirius' animagus form is a large, black dog, Dawn." Hermione explained. "That probably explains why he could see right through you."

"Ah, I see. Well, can someone please tell him to stop looking at me like that? It was sort of wigging me out. Took me back to my Glory days." Dawn shivered involuntarily and Ron pulled her closer.

"Will do." Ron said giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Dawn looked up at Ron and arched her eyebrows suggestively. She whispered, "So, about that making up for lost time..." She grinned at his pleased face.

"On that note, we'll be going to our room." Harry said, pulling Hermione up with him.

"See you two in the morning!" Hermione said, shutting the door behind them.

They didn't hear her.

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

"Accept it Dawn. Accept it."

Dawn shook herself awake and shivered with the feel of cool air on her skin. She slowly slipped out of Ron's arms and wrapped a long, fluffy robe around her. Dawn crept quietly downstairs and into the kitchen, where she poured herself a cup of tea.

"Mind if I join my fellow insomniac?" Harry asked groggily.

"Not at all. Sit." Dawn motioned to the chair across from her and poured him a cup. She sat back down and looked at her hands.

"So, I couldn't help but notice that you were really distant before. You seemed distraught last night on the phone. Dare I ask what's wrong?"

Dawn sighed. "I don't know what's happening to me, Harry. Since May, when I grasped the key's power - weird shit has been happening, and I don't understand it. It's like - it's like I'm using magic and it spins wildly out of control. I don't know how to control it, and I feel like I might be putting people in danger if I don't learn how." Dawn leaned back. "That's pretty much it, in a nutshell."

"You should tell Ron."

"No." Dawn put a hand on Harry's wrist. "I don't want him to worry about me." She glanced up at him. "Is there anyone at the WIL who could maybe help me learn to control this?"

Harry thought for a second. "I'll look into it. Maybe Sirius will know. But, you have to promise me that if this training doesn't work, you'll tell Ron or Buffy or hell, even Giles. Promise me that, and I won't say a word. Promise me that and I'll help."

Dawn smiled. "I promise. I swear it."

Harry smiled back at her. "Good." Harry jumped off of the stool, went over to Dawn, and kissed her forehead.

"Goodnight."

"Night Harry."

Harry walked back upstairs and Dawn bit her lip.

Was her stomach supposed to flutter like that?

She sighed. "I am so screwed." Dawn said quietly.

"There you are." Ron said coming into the kitchen. "I was wondering where you disappeared to."

Dawn smiled. "I couldn't sleep. Needed a little quiet time."

"Mhm." Ron slipped his arms around her waist and leaned his head on top of hers. She entwined her hands in his. "Can this quiet time involve another?"

Dawn nodded. "Sure."

Ron just held her for a few moments before she spoke. "When I was little, my mom used to sit here some nights. I'd come down the stairs and she'd be waiting for me with a mug of hot cocoa. When I'd ask her how she knew I'd be up, she'd say, 'Because I'm mom.' And I'd sit down and drink my cocoa and talk to her about my nightmares and she'd just smile and nod, but in a way that only she could." A tear slid down her cheek. "Do you know what it's like not only knowing that she's gone and that that's never going to happen again, but knowing that the memory is fake? I had no childhood. It was created for me."

Ron tilted her chin up to face him. "Hey." He wiped the tears away. "I can't know what you're going through right now. But I love you, no matter what. Know that THAT is real. It wasn't created. I fell in love with the real you, not the created you. And I'm sure your mum loved you the same way."

Dawn smiled and he leaned down to kiss her, his hand slipping underneath her robe.

"Naughty." Dawn said smiling. She glanced up and then back at Ron.

"Oh, and I'M the naughty one?" He said grinning.

"Sort of. Would you like to find out?"

Ron's answer was to pick her up and carry her back up the stairs to her room, shutting the door and locking it behind him.

:: On To Chapter Two ::