False Memories | Season Five | Season Six | Season Eight     The Key is a mystical ball of energy that can open a portal to all dimensions, causing dimensions to bleed into one another. When a brethren of monks came across it, they felt the dangerous power could be put to good use, using powerful magic to forge it into human form - a fourteen-year-old girl - and sent it to the Slayer in the form of a sister to protect fwith her life. Dawn's immediate family were unaware of her mystical origins, having been imbued with artificial memories to support her existence as Buffy's younger sister. These altered memories showed Dawn to be the one to discover and subsequently inform her parents that Buffy believed herself to be a Vampire Slayer, them to worry that Buffy needed professional help and committed her to a mental institution. (BtVs: Slayer Interrupted)     Prior to Buffy's stay at the mental institution, she had run away from home, leaving her parents worried sick, which caused them to become overly protective of Dawn. During Buffy's absence, one of her enemies delivered a package to her home, and mistakenly gave it to Dawn, believing her to be the Slayer. The package was a toy teddy bear possessed by a Djinn that granted its owner's fondest desires, but acted as a double edged sword, taking away more than it granted. The bear came to life and attacked people in order to grant Dawn's wishes. When Dawn discovered that her desires were what controlled the Djinn, she used her thoughts to cause the bear to attack itself and run away. (BtVs: Dawn and Hoopy the Bear)     After Buffy's return and subsequent stay at a mental institution, Buffy and Dawn were forced to deal with their parents' crumbling marriage. One night, Buffy took Dawn to a carnival, where she left Dawn with a security officer in order to stake several vampires in the area, but was unaware that she left her little sister with one as well. Buffy was not in time to save the day, but Dawn's life was spared when a mysterious stranger, who been stalking Buffy from afar, dusted the vampire and left Dawn back in the care of Buffy. (BtVs: Angels We Have Seen On High)         After their parents' divorce and subsequent move to Sunnydale, Buffy discovered the truth about her sister's origins, initially only confiding the truth to her Watcher. When Dawn's function as the Key was activated, Buffy sacrificed her life in Dawn's place to close the interdimensional bleed. Following Buffy's death, Dawn's emotional state became unbalanced and she began to cause problems at her school. She managed to overcome her grief with the help of Giles and friends. (BtVs: False Memories, Death of Buffy)     After Buffy's death, the Scooby Gang tried to move on and continue with their lives. Still the sadness and grief that they bore attracted the attention of a malignancy demon called Veeya. Dawn saved the day by convincing the Scoobies to put aside their grief and celebrate Buffy's life instead, which defeated the demon. (BtVs: Lost & Found)         After her resurrection, Buffy experienced the pain of having been ripped from Heaven, as well as the added responsibilities of raising Dawn and paying bills, and failed to notice Dawn's growing isolation and kleptomania. Dawn fell into the wrong crowd and almost got herself killed when a vampire gang used her as a virginal sacrifice to resurrect an ancient demon. She was kidnapped again by a surviving member of the vampire gang, and attempted to use Dawn in a revenge plot to draw out the Slayer. Dawn's constant endangerment made Buffy realize that she had been neglecting her sister, and tried to become a more positive role model for her adolescent sister. (BtVs: Creatures of Habit, Withdrawal)         Following the destruction of Sunnydale, Dawn began college at Berkeley City. Dawn has spontaneously become a giant, the possible result of losing her virginity to Kenneth, a "thricewise." Now, living in the basement of Command Central's Scottish citadel, Dawn's relationship with her sister is strained, refusing to talk to Buffy about her giant circumstances. Dawn is not as proportionally strong as she is large. Nevertheless, she still takes an active role in large scale battles, decommissioning enemies with super-sized kicks. It is unknown if she is still growing. (BtVs: The Long Way Home)

Links Comic Book Guide to Buffy   Tales of the Slayers   Joss Whedon's Fray   Comic Monster Guide   Hellmouth Central