Chapter Three - Losing Myself
Riley looked at Dawn and smiled. "Hey Dawnie. How's it going?"
Although she never really liked Riley, Dawn gave him a sympathetic hug. "I'm sorry"
He smiled. "Nah, it's okay. I mean, I've been through worse, right?"
Dawn pulled away. "Yeah. I know the feeling"
Riley arched an eyebrow and said, "We'll talk later"
Dawn nodded and let Riley introduce himself to Ron, Harry, and Hermione.
"So, YOU'RE Riley" Harry said, shaking his hand.
"Ah, so you've heard of me" He grimaced. "Was Buffy that hard on me?"
"A little, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. I think she's officially over you, what with getting married and all" Dawn was shaking her head violently in Harry's direction, but the damage had already been done. Harry shrugged. "What?"
Riley looked surprised. "Married? Buffy? To who?"
"A very human Angel" Dawn answered, knowing that Riley hated Angel unlike any other person he had ever hated. Not only was he a vampire, but he was the man that Buffy loved. She couldn't deny it - even while Buffy was with Riley, her heart always belonged to Angel. And, although he had found Sam, this still bothered him.
"Oh - wait - human?"
"Why don't we talk about this later, hmm?" Sirius said, butting in. "Right now, we have other things we need to discuss"
"Like what?" Ron asked.
"Like a certain prophecy Giles discovered last night"
Everyone in the room groaned.
"Prophecies - ah, now I know I'm back in Sunnydale" Riley said nostalgically.
"Shut up Army-Boy" Dawn quipped.
"Enough you two" Sirius said. "Giles wished to tell you himself, but he was called back to England for an important meeting at the Watcher's Council. It was found on the same page as the prophecy from last year. It seems a certain incantation had to be spoken for it to become visible"
"Incantation?" Hermione asked.
"Yes. The Ritual of Endowment had to be spoken and performed. One prophecy had to be fulfilled for the other to show itself to the world. This couldn't exist without the other"
"Okay, enough with the cryptic" Dawn said impatiently. "Who's involved this time?"
Sirius pushed a sheet of paper with the translation on it across his desk. "It's called the Prophecy of Seven"
Dawn took the paper and read it aloud. Riley was listening intently, though Harry couldn't imagine why.
"Seven years,
Seven friends,
Seven loves that have no end,
Seven lives await the light
Seven worlds she will unite
Seventh son of seven brothers
Seventh daughter of seven mothers
Seventh chosen past eighteen years
Seventh demon to cry blood tears
Seven demons, the Final Battle won
The dawn before the approaching son"
The room was so silent, you could have heard a pin drop. Dawn was the first one to speak. "Does Buffy know about this?"
Sirius shook his head. "I think Giles refrained from telling her, for the obvious reasons"
"Yeah"
"Do you understand it all?" Riley asked, "Because I'm pretty damn lost"
"I'll explain later. I promise" Dawn took a breath. "Okay. Here we go. Seven years, seven friends. Well, it's probably talking about your seven years at Hogwarts" She said in Ron's direction. "Seven friends - could it be the people involved in the first prophecy?"
"There were only six of us" Hermione said, a bit harsher then she may have meant to.
Dawn bit her lip. "You're right. Moreover, if we include everyone else involved, it would make nine, not seven -
"No - it is seven" Harry said. "We're not including Voldemort" Ron flinched.
"Right. But he wasn't a friend" Ron said, as if stating the obvious.
"Maybe it means friends like acquaintances, not friends really" Hermione said.
"Right" Dawn sighed. "Okay - seven loves that have no end. I thought love wasn't supposed to have an end"
"I have no idea what that is. Maybe it's talking about certain relationships?" Sirius offered, hoping Dawn would get the hint.
Dawn shook her head. She got it. "Maybe" Dawn dropped it fast. "Seven worlds await the light - that's probably that whole sun thing. Seven worlds she will unite. There I am" She said sarcastically.
"What?" Ron asked.
"Oh - I talked to Willow after the whole Glory thing. It turns out, Glory ruled over seven dimensions that would have united into one huge hell dimension had she used the Key. Not a happy place to be"
"Right" Ron said sighing.
Dawn looked as if she might cry again, so she continued. "Seventh son of seven brothers, seventh daughter of seven mothers. I...think I get it, but I'm not - "
"Ron and I" Hermione said. "My mother was one of seven children, and I'm the youngest of all of the nieces and nephews in the family. Same thing with Ron and his father, only he's the youngest boy"
"Your mom had six sisters?" Riley asked.
Hermione smiled. "Her mother liked a big family. Which is why she wanted a small one" She laughed a little and so did Riley.
"Seventh chosen past eighteen years, seventh demon to cry blood tears. Buffy and Angel. Again"
"There were seven demons who cried tears of blood?" Sirius asked.
Dawn nodded. "As it turns out, Angel wasn't the only vampire the Romany cursed. There were six others before him, and they all cried tears of blood when they realized the evils they had done. All that great stuff. And Buffy must be the seventh slayer to live past eighteen - wow. Seven in thousands of years. That's scary" Dawn shivered and Ron went to instinctively put and arm around her, but thought better of it and pulled back. Dawn didn't notice.
"And last but not least - Seven demons, the Final Battle won, the dawn before the approaching son. Seven demons" Dawn counted in her head. "Yup. Seven"
"Share" Harry said.
"Oh, right. Buffy has defeated seven major demons - the Master, Acathla, the Mayor, Glory, Adam, the Judge, and Angelus"
"And the Final Battle must be referring to the fight with Voldemort last year" Harry added.
"Exactly. But what about that last line?" Sirius asked confused.
"Oh my god" Dawn said, realization hitting her.
"Dawn?" Hermione asked.
"The answer's right there. It's me and Harry. I'm the dawn - Harry's the son"
"How - " Sirius began.
"The Amulet of the Flower" Ron answered. "You've been connected all along"
Dawn looked over at Ron, hoping he didn't mean what she thought the underlying message was. "Yeah. I guess"
Sirius looked from one to the other, and sighed. "Look, it's obvious you guys need to work some stuff out. Talk to Buffy and Angel and then get back to me. Dawn, I need you to look over that report Ron brought over and sign it. The rest of you - go back to work"
Dawn retreated to her office and practically threw herself into the chair.
"Why didn't I listen? Why?" She asked to herself.
~* July 30 * ~
Dawn and Harry snuck back into the house. Their training session had run two hours overtime, and it was going to be hell trying to explain to Ron and Hermione why the two of them were sneaking into the house, alone, at five o'clock in the morning.
Dawn ushered Harry in and shut the door quietly behind him. "Get upstairs before someone notices we were gone" Dawn whispered.
"Right" Harry nodded and gave Dawn a kiss in the cheek, one that landed dangerously close to her lips. "Goodnight"
"Goodnight - go!" Dawn said, pushing him up the stairs. She turned around - and walked straight into Willow.
"You have some major explaining to do little girl. And I suggest you do it quickly"
Dawn's shoulders slumped with defeat. She walked with Willow into the living room, sat down, and told her everything.
"Wow. So, you've been training. Alone. With Harry" Willow said, fighting to make a point.
"Yes, I was, and, it's not anything romantic. He's helping me control my powers, that's all" She leaned back into the cushion of the couch.
"So, you mean to tell me that there wasn't any attraction during that kiss I saw before?"
Dawn shot a surprised look at Willow. "You - "
"Yes, I saw. I also saw the look on your face, and it greatly resembled the look on my face whenever I used to think about Xander. I loved Oz. But I loved Xander at the same time. I tried to convince myself that it was only as a brother, but when the chance came to truly show myself that was true, I let things slip out of my hands. And you know how that turned out. Dawn, I'm telling you this because I don't want to see you make the same mistake I did. You're attracted to Harry - I know you are. So, quit while you're still ahead. Tell Sirius you want Ron to train you, and stop this. Before things get worse. Because believe me, from what I just saw - things will go farther then you want to believe. I don't want to be there when they do. Ron and Hermione are suspicious enough as - "
"WHAT? What do you mean they're suspicious? How do they - "
Willow laughed. "They're not 'intelligence agents' for nothing. They've noticed you and Harry going off to be alone together to talk about things, and they've also noticed that you both disappear at all hours of the night. Together. They're getting worried, and I can't blame them. Dawn, please, take it from me, and stop this. Before it's out of your hands"
Willow pat Dawn on the shoulder and went back up to bed. Dawn lay down on the couch and closed her eyes. She wanted to tell Ron. But she couldn't. It was too much for him to worry about. She had control. She knew where this was headed, and it was purely friendship.
Right?
~* Present *~
Dawn sighed and pulled out the file Sirius asked her to sign. She then pulled out a piece of parchment and began a letter.
Dear Harry,
I can't get my mind off of everything that's happened. How did we get here? Why didn't we stop? I should have listened to Willow - she knew what she was talking about. But no, I had to be Ms. Naïve and Stubborn and go off and do my own thing. And look where it's gotten us - complete disaster. I want to talk to Ron -I want to talk to him so badly, but - I need time. Time to get my thoughts together. Time to get my emotions back in check. I love him. I love him with every part of my heart, soul, and mind. But then, there's these feelings that keep surfacing for you and I keep denying them and they're still around. God, what did we get ourselves into?
Maybe it's better that Ron and I are sharing a room in the hotel. Maybe we can get things straightened out by then. But the wedding's a month away! A whole month without him...it's more then I can bear.
Help me, Harry. I don't know what to do. I'm losing myself.
- Dawn
Dawn folded the envelope and gave it to Isis (the owl that the Harry, Ron and Hermione gave her for her birthday) to get to Harry. She watched as Isis flew out the window and out into the sky.
It was then she noticed a letter on her desk from Buffy. She opened it up and read:
Rehearsal Dinner next Friday at Margarita's Diner. Be there by seven - yes, you have to sit next to Ron. Love you, Buffy
Dawn almost ripped up the paper in frustration. Everyone was trying to set them back up - why? She could barely get her head on straight, why was everyone else trying to do it for her?
'Damn them.' She thought as she threw the note back on her desk.
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