She knew it was a dream, in that half-conscious, back-of-your-mind way, but she rarely dreamt with enough power to control the dream, was seldom lucid enough to turn the tide of sleep or even wake herself up so the knowledge was of little use. Like every other night, she went with the flow of it.
In her dream, she descended into the dim underbelly of the Bronze, someplace she was still not allowed to go despite the fact that Buffy had gone there when she was even younger than Dawn was now. Music played, quiet and atmospheric, and the crowd was full of half-familar faces, both from her real memories and Buffy's past. She looked around fearfully, hoping that Buffy wasn't there. Dawn really didn't want to get grounded in her dream. Of all the things.