Chapter 19

Raven woke up, much to her dissatisfaction, the next morning and packed the rest of her belongings into her trunk. As she put on her shoes she thought, quite seriously about not going to Hogwarts. She had plenty of money and thought she should just cash out her account at Gringott’s and leave the country. As tempting as that sounded though, it would hurt George and if she was going to get herself out of this situation with Lucius Malfoy she was going to have to stick around and fight.

When she got to Kings Cross station and Platform 9 ¾, she realized that she got there extremely early. Raven sat on a bench and wanted to wait until the last possible moment to get on the train. As the crowd got heavier, she noticed all of the happy students saying goodbye to their families, and wanted to be that happy. For Raven, there was no smile on her face, no anticipation for going to school, no motivation to get on that train and no one to say goodbye to. She sat on the bench and looked up and down the platform for what seemed like forever, till her eyes caught the most wonderful sight: George.

He was surrounded by his family, Harry and Hermione. Mrs. Weasley was hugging every single one of them to death. The sight brought a small smile to Raven’s face. She wanted to join in so bad, but her uncle warned her not to be seen with George. The possibility was there for Draco or Lucius to do something to her or him. She couldn’t risk hurting George; she already felt bad enough hurting him on her own. He started to walk over to her, and just as her heart jumped for joy, his mother grabbed him and began hugging him once again.

“There, there,” said a familiar, unpleasant voice, “don’t frown. Today is not a total loss. Look, Draco is here to comfort you.”

“If I wanted comfort from Draco, I would have asked for it” she said looking up to see Lucius with a smug grin on his face. She immediately grabbed her carry-on bag and got up. “As you can see I didn’t ask. Now excuse me I have a train to catch,” Lucius then stepped in front of her and would not allow her to pass.

“You have plenty of time,” he said sternly. He had a cold look on his face. For a moment Raven feared him. “I have been patient long enough for you to come around. I had to resort to certain…measures to make sure that you hold up your father’s end to our bargain. There is no getting out of it now and there is nothing that you, Severus, or your precious Weasley boy can do to get you out,” he said pointing over to George and his family. Raven looked directly at George who was furious. Hermione was talking to him but he looked as though he wasn’t paying attention. “They can’t give you all you need. We can.”

“All I need is for you to let me pass,” she said trying not to get too snappy.

“Yes. It is time for you to be boarding the train. Until we meet again,” he said grabbing her hand with the ring on it and kissing it. Raven started to feel dizzy and tried to shake it off like nothing happened. “Draco, did you even say hello to your future bride? I forgot that this is your first meeting since…well you know.”

“I haven’t had a chance father but now that I do…” he said grabbing her hand and doing exactly as his father did, he kissed the ring, “I do.” With those words, Raven’s dizziness became stronger and she couldn’t stand anymore. Her knees gave out and fell into Draco’s arms. When she realized what she did, she stood back up and grabbed her bag that fell on the ground. She looked over at George who now apparently ignored whatever it was that Hermione was telling him and was being held back by Fred, Ron and Harry.

“Now, Draco. Why would you say something like that? It is a little early for those words,” Lucius said stepping out of Raven’s path. “Now that I have…well…you know…you won’t be losing her.”

“Why? What? What do I know?” Raven asked finally getting up some courage to be herself. “You talk in riddles and I don’t know what the in the world your talking about. Tell me what I know so I am not out of the loop when I don’t know.”

Raven’s anger was apparent and Lucius was fuming. She thought for a moment that he was going to kill her but she didn’t really care. She would rather die than marry Draco. “What you don’t know; won’t hurt you,” he said, “At least, if you don’t let it.”

“What are you going on about?” she asked.

“Just don’t stray too far, your soul may not be able to take the strain,” he said. He gave her a grin that made Raven still curious as to what he was talking about. “I think my wife said it best when she told you that we were watching you. Remember those words, they could save you.”

With those words, Lucius turned Draco around and both of them walked away. Raven was speechless. There was nothing witty or even normal that she could come up with to say. She was just as confused now as she was the moment she began the conversation with them, probably more so. She sat back down on the bench and tried to regroup. Her head was still spinning from her near fainting. She would have rather fallen to the ground than to let herself fall into Draco’s arms. Raven wanted to know, now more than ever, what was going on with this ring. When they both kissed it, as when she put it on, she felt as though something in her was being taken away. Like her life was being taken from her. But she knew that Lucius did not want her dead, but very much alive. Somehow she knew that the ring was connected to more than just the contract, but what?

The train conductor let out the final boarding call for the train. She still did not want to board. She stood but her head was still spinning and had to sit again. The train was starting to move. She jumped up and ran towards the train, but by the time she got to it, it was already moving pretty fast. She was running as fast as she could. The platform was about to end and she jumped, hoping she would make it. After a bit of a slip she landed on the train but on the floor. She stood and brushed herself off. Raven realized she was toward the end of the train with one section to go before the luggage compartment. She didn’t want to sit with Draco, and couldn’t sit with George like she wanted. To sit with Harry, Ron and Hermione would mean talking about the situation and she didn’t want to do that either. Walking through the last section, she hoped to find an empty compartment, with no luck. Instead of walking up and down the train to find a place to sit, she decided to sit in the luggage compartment. There was no one in there and no one to talk to.

When she got in there, trunks were piled high and she was worried she wouldn’t be able to find a place to sit. She walked through the first row of trunks and saw that there was enough of a gap and a trunk sticking out far enough so she could sit and actually be quite comfortable.

She sat and reflected on the conversations that she has had with everyone this week. From Molly Weasley to the entire Malfoy family, every person that she has talked to had made an impact. Some not as well as others. She looked around and happened to notice that directly in front of her was a trunk that had the initials D.M. on the side. She got up to check it out more closely and noticed that it was in fact Draco’s because it had his family’s crest on the top. She couldn’t help but smile and pull out her wand.

“You know I never use you unless it’s an emergency,” she said to her wand as though it would talk back to her. “At this moment, it’s an extreme emergency.”

She flicked her wand and a thin wisp of flame shot out from the end. Next to the M in Draco’s initials she put the letter B. Then inserted a small “u” in between the “D” and the “M” in case he didn’t get it. Now reading D.uM.B., she couldn’t help but laugh and think to herself “Draco is dumb if he thinks I am going to marry him.” She decided to take it a step further and decided to write “I AM” above his initials. Then, she topped it off with a smiley face. She was about to write a few more choice words but she heard the door to the luggage compartment open.

“Rave? You in here?” said the most comforting voice. “It’s me. George. You here?”

“George? I’m back here,” she said, excited that he was there.

When they saw each other, there were no words. They stared at each other for a moment, then came closer and were soon locked in an embrace. It was as though they had not seen each other for months. If her world was going to go downhill after this moment she wouldn’t care. She felt strong again. Being in George’s arms, made her realize what she is fighting so hard to save: “true love”.

“George, you can’t be here,” she said pulling away. Raven didn’t want to let go, but she had a feeling that at some point Draco would come looking for her. Draco would never take his anger out on her, but would George. To her it didn’t matter who stood the better chance, she didn’t want to see him in that situation. “Draco could find me in here. And if you’re here…”

“If I’m here, I’ll deal with it,” he said.

They both sat down and George looked at Draco’s trunk and laughed. “Nice work! Brilliant!”

“I thought so,” she said smiling. She didn’t know what to talk about. There was only so much she could say about Draco’s trunk. She wanted to talk about what has happened but she had no idea where to start. “George, I am so sorry for worrying you to death last week. I should have told you I was leaving the world cup. I had to leave to speak with my uncle. It was a bit of an emergency.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said grabbing her hand. “I understand.”

“I know you’re upset about this whole mess, but I…” she said but George cut her off.

“I’m not too upset, because I know that when it’s over, I’m the one that will be with you. Not him.”

“In the meantime, I know you’ll be upset,” she said.

“Yes. I’ll admit what I saw on the platform was not what I ever wanted to see,” he said standing up and walking toward the back of the compartment. “But if I am going to keep you safe, I know that I have to stay away from him. No matter how bad Fred and I want to pull a nasty trick on him and get him expelled.”

“I won’t tell it was you if you ever make it happen,” she said walking over towards him. “Whatever this spell is, I don’t think I have seen the extent of its power. Snape doesn’t even know what it is. I know that part of me has felt empty, ever since I put this stupid thing on. You saw me nearly pass out at the station right?”

“Yeah, I couldn’t help but want to kill him,” he said with a slight grin.

“I noticed that,” she said returning the smile. “Anyway I think this ring is connected to more than just the contract. I think it connects me to Draco, somehow.”

“That’s encouraging,” he said sarcastically.

“George,” what she was about to say was going to be the hardest she has ever had to tell anyone. With her courage starting to fade, she had to take the opportunity now before it was gone. “You have already done too much for me. But what I am about to ask of you is not going to be easy. I need you to trust me.”

“I don’t think I am going to like the sound of this,” he said.

“In order for me to get out of this, I need you to stay clear of me. At least, in public. I have a feeling when I am not around him he will somehow be keeping an eye on me through this” she said looking at the ring. “Maybe I’m wrong, and we can secretly still be together. I don’t know but whatever happens I just need you to stay strong and not do anything foolish to him. That includes Fred or anyone for that matter.”

“What is this thing?” he said grabbing her ring hand. “How will he know what you’re doing?”

“I have no idea,” she said. “This curse has me so confused.”

“I will do what I have to do,” he said not wanting to, but knowing it’s for the best. “You have to remember one thing, though.”

“Anything,” she said.

“Remember that I will always love you and this doesn’t change a thing,” he said gently brushing his fingers against her cheek.

She gave him another hug and said, “I love you, too.”

They let go and gave each other a tender gaze. It was like they were saying goodbye for a long while and wanted to get one last look. Soon they couldn’t help themselves and began to kiss. It was the longest kiss they had ever shared and the most passionate. To let go would mean the end of their time together.

“Well, Raven,” someone said. When George and Raven jumped back they realized that Draco was standing there with Crabbe and Goyle. They didn’t even hear them come in. “You just don’t listen, do you?”

Raven was speechless. George on the other hand wasn’t. “We were just talking, Draco.”

“Oh sure,” he said sarcastically. “You mouths were moving but I didn’t hear any words.”

“Draco, we were just saying goodbye,” said Raven, who for the first time was actually frightened of Draco, not for herself, but what he could do to George. Draco had an extremely evil look in his eye directed right at George.

“Didn’t look that way to me,” he said. “Did it look that way to you, boys?”

Crabbe and Goyle agreed with Draco, because disagreeing with him would be a bad decision on their part.

“Raven, let’s go!” said Draco, holding out his hand.

“I would much rather stay here,” she said defiantly.

“You are not staying here with him!” he said. His eyes caught a glimpse of his trunk. His pale face turned dark red. “Who did this to my trunk? Was it you Weasley?”

“It was me,” she said looking at George and giving him an innocent smile. “I was bored and let’s face it, you deserve it.” After her words, she realized she probably shouldn’t have said that. George, on the other hand, thought it was funny. She nudged his side with her elbow and he stopped laughing.

“You haven’t realized the kind of power I have over you now, I can make things painful for you,” he said, taking a few steps closer to the two.

“You do and I’ll…” George said but was interrupted. First interruption came with Raven grabbing his arm and the second by Draco.

“You’ll what, Weasley? Hurt me? You’re too busy making jokes to become a real wizard. Why don’t we see what you’ve got? I want to see what pathetic wizards come up with when they duel real ones.”

In a flash, the two stretched out their wands but no one said anything. The two were visibly angry. If either of them were to cast a spell, someone was going to get hurt. Raven stepped in the middle of the two. She stretched her hands out to the two boys and their wands were magically forced back into their pockets.

“Now both of you calm down! I am not going to witness this. If you two want to take each other out, do it on your own time!” she walked over to George, who looked like he was going to snap out of his shell. She grabbed both of his upper arms and whispered. “Cutie, calm down.”

“Stay away from him!” shouted Draco, who seemed more upset that Raven used her power against him.

“You trust me right?” she whispered once again to George. He nodded but never took his eyes off of Draco.

She shook him a little so he would look at her. When he did, she mouthed the words “I love you.”

Raven gave George a wink, and then turned around to Draco, whose face was so red; she thought he was going to pop a vein. “Draco, I will stay away from George and do whatever you want on one condition.” Draco nodded and she continued. “You and your friends stay away from George and all of my friends.”

“Whatever I want?” he said after a short pause, his face finally returning to his normal color.

“Whatever…but you have to promise,” she said, swallowing her words like they were probably going to haunt her later.

“That seems fair,” he said. “Now come, I want to introduce you to some friends and we have some catching up to do. It has been years since we had a decent conversation. I need to leave here, I can’t stand being around filth,” he said giving a horrible look to George.

Raven leaned over to get her bag and looked at George. She gave him a smile and took in one last good look at the man she loved. He looked back at Draco and his eyes got wide. As if it were happening in slow motion, Raven turned and saw Draco with his wand out getting ready to cast a spell on George.

“EXPELLIARMUS!” shouted Draco. Still in slow motion, Raven saw that the spell was going to hit George and half way through Draco saying the spell, she stepped in front of George to stop it from hitting him.

“Raven! Rave!” said a frantic George.

It was as though she was in a dream. The voices were muffled and she could hear Draco and George bickering at each other. All she could make out was George saying her name and Draco yelling at him to move away.

“Rave! Wake up!” George said again.

“What happened?” she said opening and closing her eyes trying to come to, but having slight difficulty. Her head was throbbing and her chest hurt terribly.

“Draco tried to attack me and got you instead,” George said. “Are you okay?”

Raven finally opened her eyes and saw George holding her. She gave him a gentle smile and asked, “How long have I been out?”

“About 10 minutes. Are you okay?”

“Don’t know,” she said rubbing her head. She pulled her hand away and noticed blood on it. The side of her head above her cheekbone was bleeding. George told her that a trunk fell on her head. She slowly got up and her chest felt as though she was stuck with a large stick. She held onto George‘s hand to keep her balance, seeing as though she could have possibly had a slight concussion. “You made me bleed you selfish git!” she snapped at Draco.

“Rave, I didn’t mean…,” Draco said, looking genuinely struck by what he did. Raven figured that if his father found out what he did to her, he’d get in a bit of trouble.

“DO NOT…call me Rave! My name is Raven to you. You have not and will not earn the right to call me Rave!” she snapped at Draco before he could finish apologizing. “I have to go. Bye George!” she said hesitantly letting go of his hand.

Raven grabbed her bag and started to head out of the luggage compartment with a handkerchief on her head to stop the bleeding. She noticed though that Draco was not behind her.

“DRACO! I’m leaving now!” she said with a snap and a point of her finger. Draco gave a menacing look to George and soon left with her.

As she was walking down the train to Draco’s compartment, she noticed that people were looking at her. When she passed Harry, Ron and Hermione’s compartment they all looked at her concerned. She tried to give them a reassuring smile, but due to her head injury, it hurt to any facial expression.

Raven made it to Draco’s compartment and sat quietly next to the window. She was in a lot of pain and just wanted to get to Hogwarts and go to bed. Fortunately, Draco never spoke to her the rest of the train ride, which made the rest of the trip halfway enjoyable. As she stared at the passing landscapes out of the window she thought about George, this spell, and how this ring could be connected to her and Draco. She looked at Draco through the reflection of the window and he seemed awfully proud of his behavior in the luggage compartment. He was making jokes about George and his family. Raven thought if she wasn’t hurting physically and mentally right now, she would have another war of words with him. But as she sat there and listened to him, though, she was having a hard time trying to find her usual extreme dislike for him. Although she didn’t like him, she realized she didn’t hate him anymore. After searching within herself for the rest of the train ride, the immense detest she had for him was gone. The effects of the spell were starting to be realized.

Chapter 20