I decided to take a break from the Raven/George/Draco situation. I don't want to say this but I'm going to. What happens here is important for the future. Not just this year but in the years following. You think the contract is bad....
Enjoy!
Chapter 30
When Raven arrived in the common room, the first person to head her off was Hermione.
"George told us that you broke up. Are you crazy? That will just give Draco more fuel to pursue you."
"Hermione, there is nothing to worry about. I’ve got it taken care of.”
"I just hope you haven't backed yourself into a corner." Hermione stopped Raven and put her hands on her shoulders. “Do you have any kind of plan?
Raven put her hands on Hermione‘s shoulders. The two looked like they were about to dance. "I have a plan. Just don’t get too upset if you see Draco and I more friendly with each other.”
"Then I‘ll ask again. Are you crazy?"
"Completely. But I have back some control. It‘s okay."
"I just hope you know what you're doing."
Raven laughed. “I don‘t. But won‘t the ride be fun?" Raven gave Hermione a confident, reassuring smile, hoping to ease her friend’s worries.
Raven went up to her bed and grabbed her books to begin her mountain of homework that she had to do over break. She also remembered that she needed to make up her Transfiguration test with McGonagall and turn in her antidote for Potions. At dinner, when she saw Professors McGonagall and Snape, she made arrangements with them to do the work that she missed for the next day, which made Raven realize she had a long night of studying ahead of her.
The next day, Raven took her Transfiguration test and did quite well on it considering she really didn't remember going over half of the information on it. When she got to the Potions classroom, she was hoping just to turn in her antidote and leave but Snape wanted to talk.
Raven and her uncle had reached a point in their relationship where they could tolerate each other. They could speak and have conversations without a lot of dissention and sarcastic remarks. Of course, they both knew what line they could cross to change the mood of the conversation. The more they were around each other, they realized more and more how alike they were.
"I noticed you and Draco playing nice,” Snape said, shifting papers on his desk. “I see you took my advice."
"The advice I received came from George. You were only mentioned once or twice." Raven messed with a few trinkets on a shelf.
"But if I hadn't talked to him before--"
"Oh save it! This is the last thing I want to talk about today."
Snape was about to respond to her when a knock came at the door. "Enter," he said, annoyed by the interruption.
The door opened and it was Professor Moody. There was something about Moody that Raven didn't like. She always thought that he was as mad as his name states, Mad-Eye Moody. But she always got the feeling that there was more to him than what he really let on. She knew he was an ex-Auror and has seen many dark things in his life but she always got the feeling that underneath the crazy, creepy exterior, there was evil.
"I see you're busy. I'll come back later." Moody even had a strange look about him.
"Its okay, Professor. I was just leaving." Raven picked up her bag and turned toward the door.
"We'll talk about this later," Snape bellowed from behind her.
"Doubt it." she said smiling.
"I'm glad to see that your feeling better, Miss Snape," said Professor Moody. "Your uncle tells me you have a predicament on your hands. Literally."
"Funny," said Raven sarcastically, not liking his little joke at all. “Didn’t know you were such a comedian.”
"May I see the ring?"
Raven looked over at her uncle who was now making his way towards the door where she and Moody were standing. She hesitantly held out her hand and the moment he touched it, she got a flash of someone which made her jump back.
"Is everything okay, Miss Snape?" Moody asked.
"Um…sure. Everything's fine. I really have to be going, Professor. I have a lot of make-up work to finish."
"Raven, are you okay?" Snape asked immediately.
"Oh, sure, Uncle. Yeah, I'm fine. Need to run." With those words Raven bolted out of the Potions classroom. Once she rounded a corridor, she stopped to think about what she just saw.
Although it was only a flash, she saw a man with straw colored hair. It was someone she had never seen before. All she could tell was the he was a tormented soul. He was very dark, probably a follower of Voldemort. Is this someone that Moody may have captured or even killed?
"Miss Snape?"
Professor Moody startled her out of thought. "Yes, professor?"
"You ran out of there fast. Is everything okay?"
"I'm fine, Professor." Raven knew that she couldn’t tell him what she saw.
"I didn't get a chance to look at your ring.”
"Ah, well, it's no big deal, really. You've seen one ring, you've seen them all."
"Maybe I can figure out the mystery for you. After all, I have seen many dark and powerful items in my day."
"Really, it's okay."
"No, let me take a look." And before Raven could walk away, he grabbed her hand and she immediately had the same vision of the same person. Only this time he was in Azkaban, screaming violently. Then it showed him talking to an old witch and them drinking a potion. After that, it quickly went into him talking, Raven assumed, with Voldemort.
"What are you thinking about?" Moody's voice made Raven lurch out of the vision.
"I just saw someone when you touched my hand." Raven was still so deep in thought that she forgot who she was talking to. She rolled her eyes at herself for opening her mouth.
"Do you know who?" Moody changed from seemingly worried about Raven's behavior to paranoid. Raven couldn't explain why. She had yet not been able to completely recover her Legilimency powers and couldn't tell what he was thinking.
"No, actually, I don't. But I haven't lived in England very long. I don't know a lot of people."
"If you were to see him again, would you recognize him?"
"Probably." Raven stopped for a moment and realized what he said. "How did you know it was a man?"
"I just assumed. I don't know many women."
"Hm...well, it's probably someone you knew a long time ago.” Raven had a very hard time believing him. “Maybe it was someone you captured during your days as an Auror. Likely no big deal."
"I heard voices." Snape came around the corner. "Raven, you're still here. Can we finish our conversation now?"
Raven didn‘t want to talk. "I don't really--"
"It's okay, I was leaving," said Moody. "Miss Snape, if you ever figure out who you saw let me know." Raven nodded and Moody walked away.
"What?" Raven said to Snape, responding to his puzzled expression. "We were just talking."
"What did he mean by that?"
"He touched my hand and I saw something. Twice." Raven walked back to the Potions classroom as if what happened was no big deal.
"What do you mean you saw something?"
"I saw someone. I don't know who he is or where he's from. It was just a man. Probably a Death Eater that Moody caught."
"And you don't find that odd?"
"Not really. A lot of wizards have visions all the time. We are surrounded by magic everyday. It’s bound to happen at some point, isn't it?"
"What exactly did you see?"
"You are going to press this issue into the ground, aren't you?" When Raven realized he was not going to let up, she continued. "I saw a man in Azkaban. He was evil. He drank a potion and talked to Voldemort. That's it."
"Did you tell Moody what you saw?"
"I only told him that I saw someone. You heard the rest."
Snape seemed taken aback by what she just said. He looked surprised, puzzled and worried.
"Look Uncle, it's no big-"
"Raven, we can have our conversation another day. It's nearly dinner and I have some things I need to do."
"Right. Talk to you later." That was painless. Almost too painless.
The moment Raven left thoughts of her vision came back to her. She lied to her uncle. She found it terribly odd that she had a vision. The thought made her nervous to think about for too long. She didn't know if the spell was causing her to see things or if her illness made her susceptible to such things. One thing she was not going to do was think about it much further. The last thing she needed was something else weighing her down.
Chapter 31