Dawn hears the scrape of Buffy’s window sliding open. Relieved, she tiptoes into Buffy’s room only to find Buffy gone and a powder-blue jacket heaped on the floor. Before she can think, Detective Stein rings the doorbell. When he leaves, Joyce rushes to find Buffy, telling Dawn to stay put while Dawn decides to dig up the charm.

Joyce returns as Buffy arrives with a man with cool hair and a cool leather jacket. Watching from the stairs, Dawn gasps as a vampire explodes! Buffy is SO busted! Buffy rushes upstairs to change clothes while Dawn slips inside with the charm. “I found the cross you were looking for.” Buffy takes the necklace, asking, “Why does it smell like Thanksgiving?” Dawn shrugs innocently. Buffy swaps the smaller cross she’s been wearing for the larger one and relief washes over Dawn. The charm is complete.

As Buffy prepares to leave again, Dawn begs her to stay. Buffy, frantic and overwhelmed, tells her to go back to her room. Hurt, Dawn blurts that she wishes she didn’t even have a Slayer sister and slams the door. She only comes out when raised voices drift upstairs, catching the end of an argument: “You walk out of this house, don’t even think about coming back!” Dawn’s stomach sinks. She rushes down to find Joyce with head in hands near the open door. Before Dawn can ask what happened, Joyce tells her to go back upstairs.

The next morning, despite Dawn’s pleas to wait for Buffy, Joyce takes her to school. Dawn finds Cynthia, who assures her the charm is going to work. Their carefully researched spell will bring Buffy home unharmed. During their final goodbye, Cynthia hugs her and hands her a slip of paper with her LA address—171 Oak St.

When Dawn gets home, the house is impossibly quiet. Joyce sits on the couch clutching a note in Buffy’s writing. Dawn stops cold and runs upstairs. Even before seeing the empty room, the ache in her chest tells her what she already knows: The charm didn’t matter. Buffy is gone and she’s not coming back.

Xander meets Buffy at her house before patrolling. When Dawn eagerly asks to come, Buffy snaps, “No.” Dawn brightens when Xander tells her she’ll be patrolling in no time, but Buffy practically drags him out the door, shouting “Never!” over her shoulder. It reinforces her decision not to tell Buffy about the charm—she would never let Dawn help.

In the flashback of Buffy crying while her parents fight in LA, Buffy leaves the bathroom to find Dawn waiting by the door. Buffy hugs her and promises they will always have each other.

The morning of Buffy’s immolation-o-gram, Dawn’s teacher is absorbed in a newspaper article about a big rock dominating the front page. Dawn finds Cynthia, proudly proclaiming that the charm is ready--they just have to wait for the full moon. Cynthia smiles, but appears down. She reveals her mom got a new job and they’re moving to LA at the end of the week. Dawn is surprised to find herself disappointed.

That night, Buffy sneaks through her window for supplies before facing Angel at the cemetery. Worried that Buffy is searching for her missing cross, Dawn steps into the room to distract her. Buffy is visibly shaken and clutching an extra-pointy stake, prompting to Dawn to ask “what’s wrong?” Buffy tells her not to worry about it. “It’s Angel, isn’t it? You only get like this when it’s Angel!” Dawn presses when Buffy brushes past her. “You never tell me anything!” “Dawn—” Buffy snaps before Dawn cuts her off. “You already died once!” Buffy freezes and her expression softens. She crouches to Dawn’s height and pulls her into a powder-blue hug. “Dawnie,” she says quietly before promising to come back.

After Buffy leaves, Dawn decides the charm can’t wait any longer. A waxing gibbous will have to do. Unable to find sage, she pours poultry seasoning into a bag alongside a quartz from Cynthia and Buffy’s cross. As Buffy confronts Angel, Dawn buries the "charm" in the backyard, relieved she can finally do something to help her sister.

Willow and Xander come over to get ready for the beach bonfire. After Dawn finds several excuses to wander into Buffy’s room, Buffy finally gives up and lets her stay. Dawn plays Go Fish with Xander while Willow works on pie chart lesson plans. Dawn thinks Willow is so cool—her school literally lets her teach her own class!

The next morning, Buffy gets picked up by a villainous-looking boy in a Mustang to drive three blocks to Sunnydale High. At school, Cynthia hands Dawn a list of ingredients. After finishing their academic research, they’ve decided to make Buffy a protective charm. Without an actual guide, their plan is to combine everything they’ve learned with sheer optimism. First step: Dawn needs something of Buffy’s. Dawn gets home before Buffy. When the phone rings, she answers for her mom, expecting Pat (as usual). Instead, it’s Principal Snyder looking for Joyce. Buffy sprained a boy’s wrist and nearly broke his nose. Dawn promises to pass along the message and immediately decides not to. Dawn roots around Buffy’s room for something to use for the charm. She settles on one of the cross necklaces from her extensive collection. (Does Mom think Buffy is religious?)

The next morning, Buffy asks Dawn to cover for her—she has a surveillance mission and will be home late. Dawn agrees, offering advice from a spy book she’s reading: Buffy needs a disguise—a magazine to pretend to read and maybe a trench coat. When Buffy later returns smelling like fish after saving (most of) the swim team, Dawn catches her in her room, staring at the bite on her shoulder. Buffy tries to scare her out of being interested, explaining how the swimmers gruesomely ripped off their skin and turned into fish monsters. Dawn listens, completely absorbed, and blurts out, “Cool!” when Buffy’s finished.

Before bed, Dawn helps collect supplies from the medicine cabinet for Buffy, telling Joyce she’s working on a “science experiment” when she asks.

Another night with Buffy out late leaves Dawn and her stuffed animals flipping through one of Buffy’s magazines while Joyce does laundry. When Joyce comments on a bloodstain on Buffy’s shirt, Dawn quickly explains its ketchup she spilled. Later, as Joyce heads to Buffy’s empty room to say goodnight, Dawn stops her and insists Buffy’s already asleep. She makes a mental note to remind Buffy she has the best sister ever.

After school the next day, Dawn meets Cynthia at the playground before heading to the library. She still doesn’t fully trust her, but she doesn’t have anyone else to talk to about having a Slayer for a sister. Dawn explains Buffy is always fighting monsters and she’s afraid of losing her. Cynthia earnestly wants to help, eager to make up for the journal theft. Deciding to delve into magic for a solution, they agree to gather research materials and meet at Cynthia’s house the next night.

At the library, Dawn finds everyone researching a ghost haunting the school! When she eagerly offers to help, Buffy instead puts her in Mr. Giles’s office to do her homework. There, Dawn spots a pink crystal and picks it up until Mr. Giles sharply tells her to put it down. Softening, he explains it’s rose quartz that’s special and has healing properties. Dawn is instantly intrigued, and by the time they leave, she has a book on crystals tucked into her bag.

The night of the exorcism, Joyce drops Dawn at Cynthia’s for their research sleepover while on her way to Spanish class with Pat. Along with her PJs and a stuffed animal, Dawn comes prepared with her magical artifacts: the book on crystals, a Magic 8 Ball, and a Pyramid Collection catalogue she found in Buffy’s room. Cynthia is just as ready, armed with VHS-taped episodes of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, several Goosebumps books, and her best cootie catcher. They spend the night drinking Diet Coke and building something that feels like a plan while Sinéad O'Connor plays in the background.

Buffy argues with Dawn about patrolling while she’s sick. After the charcoal and everything that happened with Angel, Dawn is genuinely scared. When Joyce gets the call that Buffy's in the hospital, she immediately starts calling around for someone to stay with Dawn. Pat from Spanish class answers on the first ring and while babysitting, asks endless questions about Joyce. Dawn reveals her mom loves empanadas. Dawn sleeps in Buffy’s room like she has since “Passion.” Joyce returns late and assures her Buffy is stable, promising Dawn can visit tomorrow. Instead of sleeping, Dawn’s mind runs through every terrible possibility.

Before the hospital, Dawn roots through Buffy’s room for clean clothes for her sister. When she sees Buffy awake and sitting up in her hospital bed, she breaks into a run and throws her arms around her sister. Dawn asks Joyce to stay overnight, but Buffy quickly says no, giving Dawn a look that makes it clear something monsterey is happening. As Joyce leads her out, Dawn passes Xander and makes him promise he’ll stay with Buffy at the hospital.

The next day Dawn asks to go back, but Joyce explains Buffy asked to keep Dawn away. Joyce assumes it’s because of Buffy’s suddenly relevant trauma with cousin Celia and assures her Buffy will be okay. Since she can’t visit, Dawn asks to be dropped at the school library, but when Joyce calls Mr. Giles, the line is busy.

Dawn storms upstairs when they get home, pacing and tossing stuffed animals aside in frustration. She can’t just sit there while Buffy—her Slayer sister who has already died once—is constantly putting her life in danger. Finally she runs downstairs, grabs the phonebook, flips to the Y’s, and starts dialing. When Cynthia finally answers, Dawn exclaims: “I need help protecting my sister.”

Dawn finds Buffy pacing her bedroom, pale and frantic, clutching a piece of tri-folded paper. When she sees the drawing of Buffy asleep (in charcoal!), her stomach drops and nausea swells in her throat. Fear spills out as frantic questions: Why was Angel in her room? Is Angel going to hurt Buffy? Are we safe?

When Buffy comes home from school, Dawn feels so guilt-ridden she tells Joyce she's sick and misses dinner. Instead, she collects garlic braids from the chest in Buffy’s room and hangs them over the beds for added protection. When Willow sleeps over, Dawn hauls her pillow and blankets into a heap on Buffy’s floor, too afraid to sleep alone.

At school the next day, Dawn warns classmates to stay inside after dark, even advising a girl hanging up lost puppy flyers not to search at night. She comes home to Buffy and Willow setting up the spell to revoke Angel’s invitation. She eagerly asks to help before spotting another charcoal drawing—this time of Joyce. The color drains from her face. This is only happening because she gave Angel the charcoal. It's her fault. She runs upstairs without explanation before they begin. When Buffy says it worked, Dawn's overcome with relief. They’re safe. No more creepy drawings.

Later, the phone rings. From the couch, Dawn sees Buffy’s face collapse before handing the phone to Willow, who immediately starts sobbing. Joyce rushes to comfort them while Dawn stands frozen in shocked silence. When Buffy rushes to Mr. Giles's, Dawn only manages a small, “Be careful,” and promises to keep Joyce inside. She doesn’t understand any of it. How could Angel suddenly be a monster?

When Dawn finally goes to her room, an envelope taped to her window catches her eye. Her name is written on the front. Her hands shake as she opens it, unfolding a note that holds broken pieces of charcoal. The paper slips from Dawn’s fingers as she clamps her hands over her mouth. It’s short, written in charcoal and flecked with blood: Thanks for your help.

Post-Passion pod episode edit: Dawn was learning to roast a chicken. She was so tired from her day of seasoning and basting that she fell asleep before dinner. Next episode, everyone thinks Buffy is hospitalized because of the flu. Nope—it’s food poisoning.

While Buffy and Joyce spend Valentine’s evening on the couch with TV and snacks, Dawn munches on tortilla chips in the kitchen, taking stock of her many boxes of chalky, heart-shaped class valentines. Before Buffy receives Angel’s rose delivery, Dawn abandons the open bag and darts upstairs to work on her real project—recording the perfect mix tape for Xander by waiting for her favorite songs to come on the radio and hitting “record” at exactly the right moment. It takes her the entire next day and night to capture the perfect mix.

When her masterpiece is complete, she asks Buffy to take it to Xander at school. Buffy agrees, but whenever Dawn mentions Xander, Buffy’s expression turns dreamy and strange. Before school, Buffy bluntly announces that Xander will never like Dawn “that way,” and that she shouldn’t set herself up for disappointment. Dawn is even more crushed when Joyce gently agrees that she is too young for Xander. On the way out, Buffy grabs a raincoat—but the tape stays behind.

After school, Dawn,distraught, runs straight to her room and collapses on her bed with Buffy’s Discman, blasting “How Do I Live” so loud she doesn’t even hear Xander and his friend Cordelia downstairs. It isn’t until they flee to Buffy’s room that Dawn realizes something is awry. When she hears Cordelia scream Xander’s name, she rushes to her door, only to find it locked. Dawn pounds on the door, confused and furious, until the crowd of women shouting outside pulls her attention to the window.

Through the chaos, she spots Angel—and beside him, a familiar dark-haired woman with an eerie smile. The woman’s eyes meet Dawn’s. “Such a pretty green thing,” she croons. “Still shining and bright.” Angel tugs her away before Dawn can say anything. When it’s over, Buffy apologizes, but Dawn is upset—Xander was in the house, she never saw him, AND he still didn’t get the tape. Her outrage falters when Buffy explains it was all a spell, and something inside Dawn shifts…

Magic is real.

Ms. Klusmeyer teaches Dawn's class about lunar cycles and gravity—how the moon controls the tides, affects animal behavior, and has even been linked to magic. Dawn's eyes meet Cynthia’s across the room at the word "magic" before Dawn immediately looks away. She is NOT friends with a journal thief, even if she’s the only other person at school who knows about monsters.

That night, while Buffy is hunting werewolves, Dawn sprawls on her bed with Buffy’s Discman, a pair of thin, black-foam headphones, and the new “Spice World” CD. She catches movement outside the window and spots Angel on the sidewalk, turning a flower in his fingers, eyes fixed on the house. Angel smiles menacingly and waves. Dawn gives a small, uncertain wave before he calmly walks away into the dark.

When Dawn tells Buffy the next morning, she abruptly pulls Dawn aside and tells her that something happened to Angel and he isn’t safe. Dawn asks, small and hopeful, “Will he be okay?” Buffy hesitantly stammers, “I...don’t know.” She makes Dawn promise to stay inside after dark and to run if she ever sees him again. She hugs Dawn tightly before rushing off to school.

Dawn’s class has a substitute. Word spreads in hushed whispers: Ms. Klusmeyer’s daughter, Theresa, was killed last night. The class feels different—quieter, heavier, like no one knows how to act. When the bell rings, she passes Cynthia, but a nagging feeling of responsibility turns her around. She pulls Cynthia aside and hurriedly tells her to stay inside after dark and not invite anyone inside. Cynthia nods, wide-eyed with scared understanding.

That night, there’s a knock at the door. It’s Xander—sent by Buffy to watch over Joyce and Dawn (which is why we don't see him chasing werewolves with the other Scoobs). She gives him a full tour of her room, plays the entire Backstreet Boys album, and teaches him her masterfully curated choreography. Before bed, she ends the day’s journal entry with Xander’s name surrounded by tiny hearts.

Dawn wasn’t sure what she expected, but it wasn’t this. Cynthia—the quiet girl from homeroom. The witch from Halloween. Confusion, anger, and embarrassment crash together as Cynthia blurts out an explanation with all the breathless panic of an overwhelmed fifth grader. She just moved to Sunnydale. Weird things keep happening—girls vanishing into thin air, nightmares coming true, a high school with a terrifying mortality rate (though, lower than average this year). She’s been scared. She saw Dawn fight and protect people on Halloween. She saw Dawn drop the journal on the porch. She panicked and took it. She knew it was wrong, but she needed to know she wasn’t crazy.

Dawn feels relieved… and furious. Someone read her journal. Her private thoughts! It wasn’t okay. She tells Cynthia she can’t just read her journal and expect it to be fine just because she was scared. She storms off the playground, too angry to hear her out.

At home, Buffy isn’t there—she’s staying at Willow’s. In the morning, Buffy rushes in, shaken, asking if Angel came by and fretfully asks Dawn to tell him she’s looking for him if he does. That night, Buffy comes home late and goes straight to her room, door slamming shut. Dawn hears her sobbing. She sits outside Buffy’s door organizing her Trapper Keeper until she’s too tired to stay awake, leaving a pile of stuffed animals on guard before heading to bed.

After Buffy storms out for school the next morning, Dawn announces to Joyce that she’s baking Buffy a birthday cake. Joyce quietly plans backup cupcakes. When Buffy comes home dejected and exhausted, Dawn decides two different box-cake mixes are better than one and dumps them both into a single bowl before realizing they’re out of eggs (see: Bad Eggs). She shrugs and bakes it anyway. In the final shot, Dawn loads plates of lumpy, variety-flavored birthday cake in the kitchen while Joyce sets out cupcakes for herself and Buffy, who wait on the couch for Dawn to celebrate Buffy’s 17th birthday.

In Dawn’s dreams, a dark-haired English woman watches her sleep. She smiles and sings to Dawn--"such a pretty little green thing, all shiny and bright.” Dawn tries to move, to scream for Buffy, but nothing happens. The woman leans close and her face shifts. When she finally pulls away, there's blood on her lips. Dawn's vision dims, leaving her helpless to watch the woman drift toward Buffy’s room. “Happy birthday, Buffy,” the voice croons before Dawn startles awake.

At school, she can’t shake the dream, so she stays busy. It’s Buffy’s birthday, so during art class, she gathers supplies—charcoal, scraps of paper, anything she can use for later. When she gets back to her station, she finds another note, written on a piece of wide-lined composition paper. “Tomorrow, after school, the park with the playground.” She tries not to react, but her eyes dart around the room, cataloging her fellow students.

That night, Buffy patrols while Dawn works on her gift, deciding Buffy’s stakes could use sharpening. Plastic-handled scissors, a pencil sharpener, and sheer determination leave wood shavings everywhere. Angel interrupts, looking for Buffy. They discuss Buffy's birthday and Dawn is thrilled to learn he likes art. Dawn excitedly lends him the school's charcoal and suggests he draw something for Buffy. Dawn decides he's okay.

Buffy wakes up the next morning on her birthday to find Dawn hovering with a shoebox full of stakes in various states of sharpness. Dawn barely sticks around, telling Joyce she’s staying after school for a yearbook meeting and spends the school day waiting for the last bell. When school finally ends, she runs to the park. Dawn spots a figure near the swings and her stomach flips. She’s small, unmistakably nervous, and clutches a page from the Dawnmeister Chronicles to her chest. Dawn stops short as she places the face. The witch costume. Halloween. “Cynthia?” she questions.

Somewhere across town, Buffy’s birthday is about to change everything.

Big news in Sunnydale: the mall opened a Limited Too. Dawn begs Joyce to take her, which is perfect because Joyce has errands anyway. Buffy decides to tag along despite Dawn’s observation that Buffy is always copying her. At the mall, Dawn meets up with Shannon, Janice, and Melinda while Joyce and Buffy do boring adult stuff. Later, Dawn is outraged to learn she somehow missed slaying at the mall.

The next morning, she struts through Sunnydale Elementary armed with glitter scrunchies, butterfly clips, and flavored ChapSticks. She nearly screams when she opens her locker and finds another note, ripped from her journal: I think we should talk. Heart pounding, she slams her locker shut and tries to act normal. She’s grateful for the distraction when Buffy comes home with an egg. Buffy jokingly asks Dawn to babysit while she’s patrolling, and Dawn accepts with enthusiasm. Before Buffy’s out the window, the egg has a name—Eggbert. Dawn crafts it a tiny basket, creates Buffy a nightly checklist, and tucks it into Buffy’s bed surrounded by her best stuffed animals.

The next night, while Buffy is out with Angel, Dawn abandons her food pyramid homework (why does anyone need an entire loaf of bread every day?) to upgrade Eggbert’s living situation. She adds more stuffed animals and attempts to knit a pink carrier before noticing the egg move. She taps it; it shivers. Before bed, she adds “check for possible haunting” to the list. The next morning, Buffy shows her what’s left of “Eggbert.” Dawn isn’t sure what’s more disturbing: her journal stalker or the creature she’s been nurturing.

That night, Joyce and Buffy get home late, so Dawn takes matters into her own hands. She inspects every egg in the fridge, decides none can be trusted, and throws them all away—smashing most for good measure. The episode ends with Buffy and Angel making out through Buffy’s window while Dawn stands in the doorway making gagging noises until Buffy starts launching stuffed animals at her.

Dawn is at Janice’s house while Joyce is out with Ted. When she comes home, Xander is in her kitchen eating pizza! He probably even likes anchovies; they’re basically soulmates. That night, Buffy tells Dawn Ted is mom’s boyfriend, and the Summers girls smack-talk him together on Dawn’s bed. Dawn is sick for mini-golf and stays home, so Ted makes her chicken fingers and mustard before they leave. By the time they return, Dawn feels oddly cheerful, but Buffy looks shaken and implores Dawn not to trust Ted.

Things turn bad fast when Dawn accidentally catches Ted rifling through Joyce’s planner. “Good girls don’t interrupt grownups,” he snaps. “You’re not my dad,” she fires back and runs upstairs. He follows, sending her to bed without dinner. When she protests, he grabs her wrist—too hard—and she feels cold metal. After he leaves, she finds a lock installed outside her door and Ted tells Joyce Dawn is “too sick” for dinner. Trapped and scared, Dawn later hears Ted rummaging in Buffy’s room.

When Buffy returns, Dawn hears Ted’s threatening tone and the ensuing physical struggle. She hides under her bed before she hears the crash downstairs and Joyce’s gasp: He’s dead. Dawn can’t help but feel relieved that Buffy is safe. Minutes later, Buffy finds Dawn under her bed, telling her to stay put while she and mom talk to the police and Shannon’s sister babysits. When they return, neither will say much, but Dawn eventually crawls into Buffy’s bed.

Ted sneaks back in while Dawn lies awake in her room. She hears creaky stairs. Footsteps. Then, a sillouette. Darting under her bed again, she stifles a scream as Ted moves down the hall. She hears the fight in Buffy’s room and seconds later, Buffy appears in the doorway with a finger to her lips before disappearing downstairs. She hears the clang of metal, a crash, then silence. Finally, Buffy returns, promising, “it’s over—he’s not coming back.” Despite Buffy’s words, she can’t help thinking: How many Teds are out there?

Dawn wakes in Giles’s office with stiff limbs and a tweed-print on her cheek. Voices carry through the door, hurried and tense, and one she recognizes instantly. Buffy. She’s halfway to the knob when a single sentence stops her: “The new Slayer is only called after the previous Slayer has died.” A knot tightens her stomach. The rest of the conversation becomes static. Buffy can’t have died. If she died…she’d be dead.

When Buffy finally slips inside, she’s rushed and focused on saving Angel at Willie’s. She asks if Dawn’s okay. Dawn nods, managing only, “Be careful.” Giles brings a cafeteria breakfast tray, and Willow attempts distraction with a beginner chess lesson. Dawn pretends to listen, but that sentence loops in her mind. The previous Slayer has died.

At Buffy and Kendra's return, Dawn is whisked to school. Learning Norman Pfister got into their house, Buffy insists Dawn stay at school and wait for her at the end of the day. Dawn recognizes Buffy's "something serious is happening" tone. School is a relief of normalcy until she opens her locker and nearly screams. Her missing journal. The Dawnmeister Chronicles sits on the top shelf, perfectly intact. Her hands shake as she flips through the pages. No missing sections. She even shakes it upside down, half-expecting another note—nothing. After weeks of dread, the relief is overwhelming.

After the Scoobies stop Spike and Drusilla, Buffy meets Dawn outside school. As they walk home, Dawn can’t hold it in anymore. She quietly asks about what she overheard—the part about dying, forcing Buffy to freeze, mid-step. Gently, Buffy confirms it and Dawn goes silent. They reach their house and freeze again, greeted by a long trail of dead mealworms from the porch to the basement. Slaying is SO gross. After disgusting worm cleanup, Buffy comes to Dawn’s room. She tries to play off her death casually, promising she isn’t going anywhere. Dawn nods, accepting the words—but the knot in her stomach doesn’t ease.

It’s Career Week, and Joyce is out of town until Thursday. That leaves Buffy in charge—with some backup from Janice’s mom and Joyce’s new friend from Spanish class, Pat, to watch Dawn after school. Buffy’s been glum all week, and Dawn doesn’t get it. Why can’t Buffy just pick what she wants to be when she’s done being a vampire slayer? Someone else will take over eventually… right?

One evening, Janice’s mom drops Dawn off late, and Buffy’s not home yet. On the porch, a shadow moves—Angel. Dawn nearly screams but recognizes him just in time. She invites him in and introduces him to her stuffed-animal collection, appointing him the temporary guardian of Mr. Gordo. She’s mid–grand tour before trotting to her room for more when Buffy climbs in through her bedroom window. After making ice-skating plans, Dawn marches back in, arms full of plush toys and indignation. She huffs that she and Angel were in the middle of something. Typical Buffy—always stealing the spotlight.

Meanwhile, at the library, the Watchers Council tries to call Giles to warn him they’re sending Kendra, another Slayer, to Sunnydale. The line’s dead. They assume Giles is ignoring them—too pompous, probably—the gang never realizing Dawn unplugged the phone during The Dark Age. Buffy comes home tense and cancels both babysitters. New plan: Dawn comes straight to the school library after class. Fine.

While the Scoobies research, Dawn pokes around and spots the unplugged phone cord. Oops. She plugs it in—just in time for Giles’s call to Xander. The mention of Xander perks her right up; she begs to tag along. Giles sighs and tells her to stay put (but quietly). When he checks later, Dawn’s curled up in his office chair, fast asleep. His resulting exasperated sigh does nothing to stop him from draping his thick tweed jacket over her before retreating back to his books.

Mom’s at Spanish class again, which means Buffy’s babysitting—and Dawn’s first night in the Sunnydale High library! She watches Buffy aerobicize, mimicking her own kicks like maybe her Halloween slayer powers will kick back in if she tries hard enough. Between moves, she darts to the shelves, peppering Giles with “What’s this one about?” until he finally storms off into his office muttering about “newfangled nonsense.” He’s just so… old.

At school the next day, her missing journal obsession boils over. Dawn tears through her locker, the lost and found, even corners Kirstie in the bathroom to accuse her of stealing it. Of course Kirstie denies it—they’re sworn enemies. Still, she comes home empty-handed again. Relief only comes when Buffy casually mentions meeting Giles at the hospital about a blood theft. Totally normal slayer goodbye. One more night Dawn doesn’t have to confess her missing pages.

The next evening, Joyce is out with the gallery’s computer guy (again!)— so Dawn winds up back in the library. When Ethan Rayne shows up and chaos explodes, Buffy shoves her into Giles’s office and orders her to stay put. Dawn fiddles with a shiny orange orb on his desk, ear pressed to the door, until Buffy comes back just long enough to pawn her off on Willow and Xander.

When Willow comes up with her genius plan, the Scoobies tell Dawn they’ll be right back and dash off to rescue Jenny. Awaiting their return, Dawn comes to an important realization—she has the library to herself! She sprints through the stacks, thumbing random books, until she trips over the phone cord and yanks it straight out of the wall—oops. Finally settling down to do homework, she flips open her notebook and a folded scrap of paper slips out: "Your secrets are safe with me." Dawn’s chest tightens. Who knows? Who wrote it? Her panic only breaks when Buffy returns… sporting a brand-new tattoo. Dawn’s eyes widen. She is definitely telling Mom.

When she hears Buffy sneak back in after the park, Dawn slams her bedroom door with more force than intended. It isn’t anger—it’s nerves. If Buffy looks at her too closely, she might see the truth written all over her: the missing journal, gone since Halloween, holds Buffy’s greatest secret. If someone finds it, Dawn will be the one who ruined everything.

After school, she launches another desperate search. Retracing her Halloween steps, she even checks the old woman’s house where she last carried it, heart pounding as if she might spot it sitting on the porch where that ghost was sleeping. But the journal is gone. The weight in her chest only grows heavier. Her fear bubbles out that night in a string of questions aimed at Buffy. Why keep it secret? Wouldn’t people want to know? Wouldn’t they be proud? Already pulled thin between Ford and Angel drama, Buffy finally snaps: “It’s not that simple!” before storming to the kitchen to make herself hot cocoa (with little marshmallows). When Angel arrives and their voices drift from the kitchen, Dawn doesn’t even try to listen—tonight she’s too wrapped up in her own disaster.

The next evening, Dawn tears apart her room, her backpack, even the laundry basket as though the journal might magically reappear. When Buffy comes home after saving Chantarelle and most of the Sunset Club, Dawn presses again—maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if people knew. This time Buffy doesn’t dodge. She tells the truth. When she was first called, she told their parents. They didn’t believe her. They sent her to an inpatient psychiatric hospital. Dawn freezes. She remembers that time—her parents told her Buffy was just visiting Aunt Arlene in Illinois. Gutted, Dawn sees Buffy for the first time as a girl who carries unbearable weight, alone. Her voice breaks on a vow: “I won’t tell. Ever. Not even Mom. I promise.”

While Buffy’s at Pop’s Pumpkin Patch, Dawn ransacks her closet for the finishing touches to her Halloween costume. To Buffy’s horror, she’s going as a vampire slayer. She grabs the smallest leather jacket she can find, a cross necklace from Buffy’s collection, and a fake crossbow from Sunnydale’s trendy new Halloween shop. Armed with her “slayer field research journal” (The Dawnmeister Chronicles), her costume is complete.

Another tech issue keeps Joyce working late, so Dawn trick-or-treats under the watch of a Sunnydale High student. She’s grouped with a Chewbacca, classmate Cynthia (a witch), Kirstie and friends, and Cordelia, who's mapped out the most lucrative route based on house size. Halfway through Cordelia’s unsolicited lesson on fake-laughing, chaos erupts. Costumes come alive, kids morph into demons and vampires, and Chewbacca grows larger by the second.

Then it hits Dawn: power. A fierce calling to fight evil—and quip while doing it. When Chewbacca chases Cordelia, Dawn bolts with crossbow in hand. But spotting Xander and Buffy, she veers off, trusting they’ll handle it, and instead follows the sound of a scream. An old woman’s door hangs open; inside, a child-sized demon torments her. Dropping the Chronicles on the porch, Dawn rushes in, barely noticing the unconscious ghost nearby. To her shock, she hurls the demon across the room with ease, then finishes it with a punch and a throw that knocks it out cold.

Outside, more cries for help pull her back into the fray. All night she fights through Sunnydale’s chaos—ensuring, against all odds, the lowest body count of any Halloween episode. When the spell breaks, Dawn hurries back for her journal—only to find it gone. Panic rising, she runs home, pacing as she debates telling Buffy. In the end, she stays silent, promising to check again in daylight. What worries her most isn’t just the missing journal, but that it holds far more than just her secrets.

Dawn dances in her room to her new “Backstreet Boys” CD on the family boombox just as Xander searches for a hair tie to complete Buffy's braid. He hears Nick, Howie, AJ, Brian, and Kevin's harmonious vocalization and can’t help but be drawn in. Dawn is shocked to see Xander in her doorway but thrilled that he also has amazing taste in music. She squeals into her stuffed animals when he leaves to finish the movie with Willow and Buffy. Joyce and Dawn pick Buffy up from school the next day and pass a black BMW talking to Buffy’s friend Cordelia. The two boys inside look Dawn’s way, oddly focused, like they’re staring at something bright or unusual.

Later, Buffy gets ready to patrol while an enthusiastic Dawn hangs in her room like usual. She peppers Buffy with questions about her night's slaying plans (Vampires? Mummies? Gangs on PCP?), and about Angel. Trying to be helpful, Dawn gives Buffy unsolicited dating advice (from Shannon, obviously): Boys like when girls are mysterious. She suggests saying something dramatic and confusing then abruptly running away. Buffy rolls her eyes and tells Dawn that’s stupid, prompting Dawn to storm back to her room, slamming the door for emphasis.

At the end of the episode, Buffy comes home finally eager to tell her sister about her terrible night with the demon lizard patriarchy. Buffy walks into Dawn’s room, immediately declaring she is NEVER allowed to date, but Dawn can’t hear over the sound of “I’ll Never Break Your Heart” (envisioning being serenaded by Xander) playing from Buffy’s discman! When Dawn’s caught red-handed, the Summers girls argue (Dawn always touches Buffy’s stuff!/Buffy always acts like she’s an only child!), and she earns her reputation as a hair-puller when Buffy tries to take her discman back without first returning her beloved “Backstreet Boys” CD. The girls end their night separately, forcing Joyce to once again consult her parenting cassette tapes.

On the way to school, Joyce tells Buffy and Dawn for the first time (come on, mom!) she signed them up for the student cultural exchange program. Joyce just started a new Spanish class and is excited to practice with Ampata. Understanding passes between Dawn and Buffy, both recognizing the potential problems a stranger in the house could bring. Dawn helps Buffy de-slayer her room but gets distracted by a Giga Pet in one of the desk drawers. Buffy’s Giga Pet is dead (of course!), so Dawn hits the reset button to get a new Giga Pet and forgets to move the weapons in the other desk drawers.

The night Ampata arrives, Joyce has to work late while some guy installs a new computer system at the gallery, so she takes Dawn with her while Buffy picks up Ampata. When they get home, Dawn immediately likes Ampata, who conspicuously tells her about mummies and Incan princesses. Later, while journaling in the “Dawnmester Chronicles” about how it was SO UNFAIR that Xander AND Willow were over while she was stuck doing STUPID homework at the gallery, the inexplicable sound of a pan flute catches her attention.

The next day, Dawn experiences a betrayal when she learns Ampata and Xander are going to the dance together. She refuses to come out of her room while Ampata gets ready. Giles comes over and Dawn can hear him talking to Buffy in her room. She (obviously) eavesdrops and as soon as they leave, Dawn darts into Buffy’s room to look inside Ampata’s chest, confirming her worst fears: An evil mummy must have done something evil to force Xander to fall in love with her! Fretting for Xander’s safety, Dawn eagerly awaits Buffy’s arrival home. When Buffy finally comes home, Dawn’s relieved to hear that both Xander and Willow are okay. Dawn tells Buffy she opened Ampata’s chest. Buffy’s irritated by Dawn’s snooping, but they spend the next hour together anyway, brainstorming ways to get rid of the mummified body in Buffy’s room.

At the beginning of the episode, we see Dawn’s class at the unveiling of the new, hand painted by the Sunnydale Elementary 5th grade class, “Welcome to Sunnydale” sign at the edge of town. When Dawn gets home from school, she checks the mail, tossing a letter from Buffy’s school on the kitchen counter while she tears into Buffy’s new cream rinse she ordered from a catalogue (6-8 weeks ago, of course). Only planning to use a little, Dawn accidentally leaves the cap off and spills half of it, forcing her to cover her tracks by filling it up with water. Buffy comes home and Dawn hears the shower running, so she conspicuously shuts her door.

She overhears her mom scolding Buffy for getting kicked out of Hemery in LA, which makes Dawn wonder if it was because of Buffy’s vampire-fighting superpowers. She wonders for the first time if being a superhero might be lonely. Attempting to make her sister feel better, Dawn gives Buffy a lemonade recipe before they part for bed. Dawn has a weird nightmare where she can hear an English lady talking about cakes, but she can’t see anything.

The next day, Buffy and her mom pick up Dawn from Janice’s house after the parent-teacher conference and Joyce is practically gushing over Buffy and some gang at school on PCP (what’s PCP)?! When Joyce asks Buffy how she knew exactly what to do, Dawn quickly jumps in to say how she must have learned it from a movie she and Buffy recently watched together. Joyce seems blissfully content with the explanation while Buffy shares a grateful smile. The episode ends with Buffy telling Dawn about the #1 rule of vampire slaying: Don't invite bloodsucking dead people inside.