Chapter 29

George and Raven spent the next couple of hours of the Yule Ball wrapped in each other’s arms, each of them wishing the night would never end. At one point, George asked if Raven wanted to sit and rest. Raven knew he really wanted to talk. And she knew what the conversation would be about.

George went off and got something to drink and brought it back. He sat it on the table and then pulled his chair closer to Raven. He put one arm around her and kissed her head. He looked nervous. He sat in a brief silence and stared blankly at the crowd.

“George? What’s wrong?” Raven asked.

George spoke something but was facing away from Raven. She couldn’t hear what he said because of the background noise.

“George?” When he didn’t respond, he grabbed his chin and turned his head to face her. “George, what’d you say?”

He looked down and then back up. He was clearly upset by something. “The night is almost over. There isn’t enough time.”

Raven took in a deep breath and looked out on the crowd. “I know. But if we try not to think about it, we can make it last longer.”

“How can I not think about it? I feel like I’m about to turn you over to the devil.”

“Please don’t think like that. It’s not going to do either one of us any good.”

George removed his arm from Raven and leaned over in his chair. With his elbows on his knees, he clasped his hands together and rubbed them together. He then ran his hands through his hair and turned to face Raven. “Don’t hate me for this.”

Raven smiled and gave him a curious look. “Don’t hate you for what?”

George shot up out of his chair and walked toward a window. He just stood there, staring up at the moonlight. Raven walked up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders.

“I know you want to tell me something. Please, talk to me.”

“Raven, there is something that I need to tell you,” said George, grabbing her arms and sitting her down in a nearby chair. “Snape pulled me into his office yesterday and wanted to speak to me about you.”

“And what did he say?” At that moment, Raven thought, and Snape finally got on my good side.

“We both agree with Lucius and Draco. No sneaking around. Our meetings have to stop for a while. It‘s probably best if we just break up…for now.”

Raven’s heart felt like it stopped. “Excuse me?”

“Just until you get out of this contract. If we have a reason to be apart then they will have no reason to attack you.”

“So, just like that, it‘s over? Even if it’s only temporary, we have to break up for this? We are in the same house. How are we not going to see each other and leave each other alone?”

“I love you more than you’ll ever know.” He grabbed her hands tightly. “But fighting this can kill you and I would rather see you submit to this spell than dead. We will end up together. But until we find a way out of this, I can‘t be half responsible for anything that happens to you.”

Raven stared at George, hoping that this was a terrible joke. Tears began to well up in her eyes. She looked into his eyes and could see that his words were destroying him. Raven got up and walked over to the window. After thinking for a moment, she realized that he and Snape were right. In order to have a clear head to find a way out of this contract, it may be better to break it off. Just the thought of not being with George was hard to imagine. Now, at least for a while, it was going to have to be reality.

“You’re right." Raven turned around to face George. "I guess we have no choice.”

The moonlight from outside shined brightly into the dimly lit room. George stared wide-eyed at Raven as the light cast a faint white aura around her. George immediately went to Raven and they locked in an embrace. “You know this is killing me, right?”

“I know.” A single tear ran down Raven's face and stopped halfway down her cheek, almost as if it didn't want to let go either.

“I love you, Rave.” George leaned in and kissed her cheek. As he pulled back, his lips met hers. Their kiss was different than any other kiss they ever shared. She could feel the love, the compassion, the heart, the soul, and the pain. It lasted for what felt like an eternity and Raven wanted it no other way. At this moment, their love was stronger and Raven now found the strength she needed to keep their love alive. She also found the uneasy confidence needed to get through what was lying ahead.

"I will never forget what you looked like tonight. You are beautiful. We will get through this. I can stay strong if you can." George wiped the lone tear from Raven's cheek.

"Is this goodbye?" she asked, grabbing his hand.

"Not tonight,“ he said quietly. But yes, for now. Not forever."

Raven gave him another hug and the two enjoyed what was left of the night.

The next day, Raven was on a mission: give Draco exactly what he wants without giving up her dignity. She went down to the Great Hall where they were serving lunch. She stood at the entrance and looked around the room. Looking over at the Slytherin table, she noticed that Draco was sitting with Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy and a few other Slytherins. Raven let out a huge sigh, swallowed her pride and decided she would go sit with them.

As she approached, Pansy gave her a hideous glare. Raven gave her a sarcastic smile and looked over at Draco.

"Draco?"

"Oh, Raven. Have a seat. I was going to find you after lunch but I see I don‘t have to." Draco wiped his mouth and made room for Raven to sit next to him.

"Draco!" Pansy nudged Draco and wrinkled her nose as if to say, ‘I don't want her sitting with us.’ Draco whispered something in her ear and her face turned red with anger. Pansy immediately stood up. "Fine! You've made your choice and I've made mine. Goodbye, Draco!"

"Has she not figured this out by now?" Raven watched as Pansy walked away with a few of her friends. Pansy turned to Raven before she left the hall and gave her a dirty look. Raven smiled at her and the girl stormed away.

"This is an inconvenience for her. She hates this contract just as much as you do. But she'll get over it. She'll find some first year to bother and she'll be fine. She'll forget you exist, for a while anyway."

"Glad there is no hard feelings then." Raven thought to herself how people could be so ridiculous, but jerked out of thought when she remembered why she was there. She looked over at Crabbe and Goyle who were shoving a disgusting amount of food in their mouths, which made her feel a little sick just watching them. "Draco, can I speak to you? Privately?"

Draco gave her a questionable look and put his napkin down. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, of course. I had something I wanted to talk to you about and this is not the appropriate place."

"Sure."

Draco wiped his mouth again and the two headed out of the Great Hall and began to walk around the grounds. Words were not spoken until they reached the lake where they sat on a rock and, for a moment, stared out in the distance.

“You win, Draco,” she said, never looking at him but stared at the ground. Her heart began to sink with these words. In order for her to get stronger, she was going to have to start by trying to convince Draco that she was giving up the fight against him and submitting to the contract. The trick was trying to convince him she was telling the truth.

“I win? What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. George and I agreed that seeing each other would be detrimental to my health. Therefore, you win.” These were the last words she ever thought to hear herself say. They didn’t sit well. "Before you get excited, there is a catch."

"A catch?"

"Well, not so much a catch but an understanding. We are not going to dive into a relationship. Especially when we have feelings for other people."

"Other people?" Draco was livid when he heard these words. "You still have feelings for Weasley?"

"If you're angry at me for that, then I should be angry with you for still having feelings for Pansy."

"But I--"

"Don't deny it." Raven felt herself start to get angry. She took another deep breath and held back harsh words that were begging to come out. "Look, Draco, I think that we need to be friends. We have done so well lately, talking to each other without threats or hateful words. We need to learn to get along. Do you agree?"

"I agree but--"

"There are no 'buts' about it. Establishing ourselves as friends would benefit our relationship in the long run. Or do you want us to dive into something and kill each other in the process."

"No, but--"

"Draco, please. It's going to be hard enough just let our feelings go for other people and we need time to get over them. You have to agree that they are too much of a distraction."

"Weasley is a distraction."

"And Pansy isn't? You can't be with one person and in love with someone else at the same time. It's done all the time and doesn't work. Draco, I'm just saying that I am willing to give you the effort if you will give me the same effort in return."

"You want to be with me, then?"

"Why do you have to word it like that? I am pleading to you to see my side of things. We, each, stay away from those certain other people. I’ve made that first step on my end. And we work on being friends and see what happens.”

"I guess it would help if we were friends before getting together. But whatever happens, the contract is solid. When I‘m of age, we will be married."

“Let’s not go there.” Raven was irritated. He was doing everything he could to work marriage into the conversation.

"I'm going to have to talk to Pansy." Draco looked like he was thinking real hard. Raven could see the steam coming out of his ears. “She’s going to be furious.”

Draco stared out over the lake and looked as though the deep thoughts were almost painful. There was an eerie silence. The wind stopped blowing and the trees seemed to stop rustling. The lake seemed to stop splashing water up against the shore. The silence made Raven nervous. She couldn't help but wonder if he saw through her plan and on to her ultimate goal.

"I suppose you're right." Draco finally broke the silence, much to Raven's relief.

"I know I am,” Raven tried to joke with him. It was a weird feeling. “Me being right is something you’re going to have to get used to. It’s a gift.”

"At least you’re back to making jokes.”

Raven got up and threw a rock into the lake just to make a noise. She started to walk away but stopped just short of being behind Draco. “Who said I was joking?”

The two got up and walked towards the castle. Raven's nerves were finally settled and she could rest easy knowing that she and Draco finally came to an understanding.

Chapter 30