Title: Grief, Judgment and Family

Author: Kate R.

abelard950@aol.com

Disclaimer: Not mine and never will be.

Rating: PG-13 to R

Pairings: Giles/Ethan and Wes/Angelus for now, more possible in future

Summary: AU, Willow was stopped but not before she killed everyone but Dawn and Giles. Ethan Rayne stopped her, bound her power and took her before the ministry. Now, Giles is hurt and Dawn is hurt emotionally. Ethan takes the glamours off himself and Giles and takes them home to his family: The Weasleys.



Grief, Judgment and Family
by Kate R.

Prologue: Murder and Arrest

Destruction was around him as he held the dark witch bound with Chaos. The one magic she could not command and he was its lord; its caretaker. He watched the young Key kiss each of her dead family. He would use magic to reduce the bodies to dust and then he would take Giles and Dawn away from this place. As he watched her, he found himself putting a name to each face as Dawn covered them with blankets:

Anya Jenkins

Xander Harris

Tara McClay

Andrew Simms

Jonothan...never knew his last name.

Buffy Summers

He hated the girl but he would not have wished this on any one.

Ethan Rayne sighed as he lifted Giles' badly injured body into his arms and Dawn came to his side. He jerked on the magical chains holding the black-hearted bitch and she stumbled over to him. He was not Rupert Giles. He was not nice, lenient or one for giving another chance. There was not second chance for this one. This little bitch had murdered those closest to her. He was damned if he would leave her free to do it again. Showing remorse now or not, he did not trust her. And he never would.

A quick trip to the ministry to deposit her, still wrapped in Chaos, for trial (She would not be going anywhere) and then he touched Dawn again and took them both to his family home. Here was hoping his mother had room for him and two guests. Because he could not leave Dawn and he would not leave Rupert and until Angel could bring Spike, he had both.

They appeared in the front yard and he swallowed as he contemplated the door.

7 years.

How the hell did he do this?



1: Arrivals at the Burrow

"Good to be home," Ron was saying as the Weasley family turned down the dirt road that would take them home to the burrow. Molly, their mother, nodded as they drove. After the scare with Ginny, she planned to call all of her children home if she could. Maybe even Bill's twin brother if he had
the time.

"What the hell?" she heard her husband mutter as they pulled into the yard. Ethan was already here. And he looked like he'd been through a war. And he was holding Rupert Giles and there was a girl about Ron's age clinging to him.

"Ethan?" she asked as she got out of the car.

He did not say anything at first because he looked like he was somewhat shell shocked. The girl at his side looked blankly at nothing and Ethan cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry to bring this mess to you, mum," he said in a bare whisper, "But I have no place else to go."

"Ethan," Molly Weasley began, "There is no need to apologize but what happened? You look like you've seen hell and Rupert...What's happened?"

"A Wandless witch got a little too impressed with herself. She murdered all those closest to her, tried to end the world. I stopped her but I could not save Dawn's sister or any of the others. Rupert only lived by his tie to me. Chaos protects its own and as I am Chaos' and Rupert is mine it saved him. Dawn lived by virtue of being The Key but the others...the others are all gone. Angelus is looking for his Childe, Spike. Spike is Dawn's protector. Until he can get here, I've had to bring Dawn. I cannot...Will Not leave her alone. Not now."

"No, of course you wouldn't. Come in. Bring her in and Rupert. I'll contact Bill and Charlie and we'll see what we can do. Ethan? Are you alright?"

"I will be," he whispered softly as he led Dawn into the house.

His siblings followed, all of them subdued. He felt Percy watching him, not with hostility like he sometimes got from Ron, but with sympathy. Percy was the most sensitive of them emotionally. Ethan swore he was an empathic but he hid it because it would just make him a bigger target.

He laid Rupert on the bed in his room and then he set about making healing poultices. Dawn brought him what he asked for as he worked. Percy
leant him aid as well and they soon had Giles bandaged up. Rupert would live he knew, and his magic levels were already returning. The Aurorers, Curse Breaking division, had just figured out how to return what the black-hearted bitch took. This was good. He was allowing them to work but she could not touch anything. That was how his power worked, no rules so he could do what he wanted with it.

He touched Giles, feeling the taint of dark magic in him and slowly reached out and began to purge it. He would need someone else to take over the potion and poultice mixing while he did this so it was with great relief that he saw his twin brother Bill and the second oldest after Bill in order of birth, Charlie. Ethan was older than Bill by a minute. He was born between days.

"Thank you," he whispered to them when he finished. He was nearly at the end of his strength now. He'd used his magic in a major way three times already. He was taxed beyond belief right now and he needed to rest but Dawn...

And then he saw Percy and he knew it would be okay. Dawn was holding on to him. He knew Percy would take care of her. He knew he could trust his younger brother. Percy would not let him down. He knew it.

"Dawn," he said as he felt the exhaustion creeping in on him and voice was hoarse from the screaming spell match he'd gotten into when fighting Willow, I need to rest, my dear. Percy, Bill and Charlie will take care of you for now, okay?"

"You'll be okay...right?" she asked and he could see her fear and worry.

"I'll be fine, my dear," he said. "I'm afraid I used more power than was wise but I had to get us here and I had to ward and chain Willow, bury our dead and make the potions and cleanse the taint out of Giles fromWillow. I just need a little sleep. I'll be fine, dear. I promise."

"Okay," Dawn whispered as Ethan lay in the bed next to Giles and went to sleep. Bill made the bed bigger as he looked at the girl holding on to Percy.

"Can you tell us who did this?" Charlie asked.

"Willow," Dawn whispered sadly. "She got hopped up on dark magic and she killed everyone. Ethan wasn't nearly as forgiving as everyone else would have been. Maybe that's why they sent him?"

"Maybe it is," bill agreed. He saw how tight she was holding on to Percy and he smiled.

"Why doesn't Perce give you a tour and we'll stay here until the healers come, okay?"

Dawn looked at Percy for a minute before she nodded.

She hoped Spike got there soon.

She was scared.



END PART 1