Author's Note: Year 2 is finally here! If you haven't read Modern Day Magic, I highly suggest you do! Other then that, please enjoy!

Chapter One

Lost Alice

Darkness surrounded her as she sat on a grassy cliff. The only thing she could see was ahead of her, the sunset over water. Raven held her knees against her chest as she sat watching the beautiful sight, the sun sinking lower and lower until her eyes saw nothing but the darkness the rest of the area was left in. A frowned lined her face when her sight failed her, but she could still hear the water lapping against the bottom of the cliff. If she moved the opposite way of the sound, she could find her way off the cliff without falling off it hopefully.

Raven pushed herself to a stand, dusting off her pants and adjusting her sweater. Standing, she faced her back to the sound of the water and began to walk away from it. She only managed to get a few steps in when a cold wind blew at the back of her neck. It whipped her hair about her face and into the jet stream it created, causing her to reaching out to try and pull the platinum blonde hair back behind her head. She turned herself to face where the wind blew from, her eyes growing wide at the sight growing before her.

Raging waves of water were rising up to meet the cliff where she stood. Water rises to meet Earth, Fire dances with Wind. Each of us needs the other to balance life again... The wind what had been whipping about her body seemed to whisper those words, but there was more then one voice. Four voices spoke the words, two of them in a slightly gruff tone, men voices. The voice that echoed within the Water was a feminine tone, but the last voice what the one that disturbed her the most.

The voice of the Earth she stood on which vibrated up was her own voice. Her mouth was closed and yet her voice spoke to her. Raven backed away, not sure where she was going since she couldn't see in the darkness. The water crashed against the cliff, flooding down over the grass and pushing Raven down. She yelped out, water dragging her towards the edge of the cliff as it receded back to the ocean it came from. Her fingers dug into the dirt as she hung off the cliff, gritting her teeth as she hung on for dear life.

"S-Someone help!" she cried out, closing her eyes tightly. It felt like the water was tugging at her ankles, trying to pull her down into it. Harder and harder it pulled until her fingers slipped free from the dirt and she plummeted down. Raven screamed, reaching up as she fell, nothing but the darkness until a bright light like the sun burst out through the pitch black. She tried reaching up for it but gasped out when she felt impact when she hit something.

"OOF!" she sputtered out, fighting with her blankets as she tried to sit up. Her body sprung forward as she pushed the comforter aside, looking about at her room while she sat on the floor. Raven gave a small sigh of relief, it was just a bad dream. What an odd dream, she wondered if it meant anything. Of course it probably did, seeing as things in the magical world always meant something. She gave a large yawn, searching for her glasses under her pillow when she stood up and moved to her laptop, opening it up before turning it on. Her eyes wandered to the calender while she waited for the machine to warm up.

It was the middle of July, summer vacation didn't seem very long when you went to a school like Hogwarts. Raven collapsed back into her computer chair, picking up her phone as she touched the screen, looking through the notifications. Her eyes lit up a little as she saw a message from Oliver, she scrambling with her phone to open it up.

Message From: Oliver

Alice wants us 2 come over 2 her house.

Says she has a surprise & needs help.

Raven stared hard at the message. Why couldn't people just use the word 'to' instead of the number? It took the same amount of effort to type the number as it would the word. She was going to have to have a talk with Oliver when she saw him. Come to think of it she had not seen either of them since she had come home from Hogwarts. It would be nice to pay them a visit when they didn't have to worry about what was next on the agenda for school.

Letting her fingers grace the keyboard on the screen, Raven wrote back, telling Oliver she would ask and if so she'd see him there. Setting her phone down on her desk she gave another long yawn, getting up from her chair and heading out of her room. She wasn't sure what time it was, but judging by the smells coming from the kitchen it was some time in the afternoon. Raven stepped down the stairs, holding onto the railing for support before wandering into the kitchen.

"Well well, look who finally got up." said David, smirking at her while stirring something in a pot.

"Yeah..." said Raven, running her hand through her messy bed hair. Sitting at the table in the other room was Tobias, two bowls on it while the orange tabby cat sat in a chair elevated by a few of Raven's school books. She looked around her father at the scene, her eyes darting between the two.

"Making food for the cat?" she asked. David blinked behind the lenses of his glasses, then laughed as he brought up the fork he was stirring with, ramen noodles dangling from the prongs.

"It's for Ramen! Not you! Don't ask for any!" shouted Tobias from the dining room.

"I don't want any of your cat's weird food!" she shouted back. "And get him off my books! I need them for school!"

"You're not in school right now!"

"Tobias." said David, leaning back in the doorway to look at his son. The boy gave a disgruntled stare at his father and sister before sliding out of his chair, picking up his cat and setting him on the floor before pulling out the books that belonged to his sister. David returned to the stove, Raven watching him a little while he stirred in the seasoning by hand.

"Why don't you just make it using magic dad?" she asked.

"Hmm?" he said, looking at her from the corner of his eye. "Oh, well … I guess I've been doing things normally for so long I seem to have forgotten I could. Not to mention I'm trying not to use too much magic around your mum, ya know?"

"Does she still not like it?"

"Well, she certainly isn't opposed to it much anymore, but I don't want to set her off."

"You blew something up again, didn't you?" said Raven, starting to wander around the room and looking in the cupboards for what he was hiding.

"W-What? No!" gasped David, turning the stove off and standing in front of the oven. Raven caught him moving to stand there, she quickly moving over and starting to shove him out of the way to see it.

"Move." she demanded, continuing to push him.

"Huh? Come on now!"

"I said move." she responded, jabbing him in the side. Her father squealed out, reeling off to the side with laughter which gave Raven the opportunity to open the oven. As soon as she opened it she was hit in the face with smoke and a horrible smell. She stumbled backwards, coughing and waving her hand in front of her face as she tried to see what it was. It looked like the remains of a cake, charred and more so in the shape of a small rock.

"Bloody hell dad! What did you do?" she coughed out, looking around the kitchen for pot holders.

"First, you watch your mouth. Second I didn't do anything. Just … tried to speed up the cooking time." said David with a sigh.

Raven pulled the remains out of the oven, setting the tray on the counter while to two looked down at the black charcoal that was once a cake. She glanced up at her father, her eyes half open as she stared at him. He returned the stare, Tobias looking in the doorway at the both of them as he wondered what was taking so long.

"I tell you what. I'll help you clean this up and won't tell mum if you let me go to Alice's house." she said, already getting the scouring pads out from under the sink.

"Sounds like a plan." said David, grinning down at his daughter while he took one of the pads she handed to him.

Alice lived far from the city as Raven had expected. An hour drive away, David pulled into the grand driveway that led to a large house. Her eyes went wide at the size of the building, she knew Alice had money and she was very old fashioned, but never knew she lived in a house so big. Her father stopped the car in front of the house, smiling at her a little as he put it in park.

"Her grandfather was pretty loaded, it's all inherited." said David. Raven looked back to him then back to the house, slowly pushing the door to the car open. She shut the door once she stepped out, still staring up at the large house but turned back when the window to the car rolled down.

"I'll be back to get you at eight, alright?"

"Okay Dad." she said, nodding to him. He blew her a kiss and drove off through the drive around driveway, leaving Raven to her own devices once he pulled out onto the road. Slowly she walked up the steps, reaching up and grabbing the knocker before hitting it hard. It took a few moments and a couple unsure knocks but finally the door opened, Alice's mom on the side and greeting her with a warm smile.

"Raven! So glad you could make it! Alice and Oliver are in the study." she said, shutting the door behind Raven as she entered.

"Thank you Professor Carinana." said Raven out of habit, blushing a little when she realized her mistake.

"Ah, no need to call me that here, Mrs. Carinana will be fine."

"R-Right, sorry." she said with a laugh and quickly headed farther into the house. Alice's mother followed her, leading her to the study where Alice and Oliver were huddled over a book. Both of them looked up when they heard Raven in the doorway, Oliver quickly slamming the book shut.

"Raven!" exclaimed Alice, quickly getting up and rushing to hug her. Oliver got up and rushed to her as well, both hugging her tightly.

"You should really get some kind of other communication line beside owl." said Raven with a small laugh.

"Actually, that's why I wanted you here!" said Alice, leading her and Oliver off through the house.

It felt like there were a hundred different sets of stairs that they had to go up, finally reaching the floor that Alice's room was on. She seemed really excited about whatever her surprise was. Raven looked over at Oliver, who seemed to just shrug back at her. He had no idea what this was either, the entire time he was here Alice had kept him down in the study. When they reached her room she pushed the door open, ushering them in and shutting the door behind her.

Inside her room was much different then Raven had expected. While it wasn't too colorful, she still had the necessities a girl would need which included a vanity mirror, a closet of clothes, and a large, out of place box. Alice moved to this box, pulling it out and setting it in front of Raven. As she placed it down in front of her Raven just stared down at, wondering if Alice expected her to know what as in it already.

"What is it?" said Oliver finally.

"It's a computer!" said Alice, opening the box. She wasn't lying, in fact Raven already knew it was the best money could buy.

"You got a computer?" asked Raven. "What for? I thought you didn't care for much technology."

"I bought it so I could talk with you easier Raven."

"Really?" she said, touched by her words.

"Yeah, you have terrible hand writing." said Alice, starting to open the computer box and pulling out the different things. Raven blinked, then glared as she crossed her arms, grumbling 'No I don't...' to herself. Oliver couldn't help but snicker at the statement, getting a punch in his shoulder from Raven.

"Okay so … I don't really know anything about these things so can you set it up?" asked Alice. She held up the monitor, looking it over with a confused look. Raven sighed, giving a light smile and taking it from her.

It didn't take long to set the computer up, Alice sat in the chair at her desk where it was placed, watching as Raven leaned over her shoulder and turned it on. She leaned back, watching as the screen lit up and went through the start up. When it got to where she had to set it up Raven remained behind her, waiting for her to do something. Alice didn't make a move, staring at the screen with her her head tilted a little while she watched it like a TV.

"Well?" said Raven.

"Well what?"

"Oh right you don't really know what to do with it." she sighed. "Okay, first grab the mouse and move it up to the typing area."

"Alright." said Alice with a blank look.

Alice reached out, grabbing the mouse in both hands and picked it up off the table, moving it about in the air as she tried to get the arrow on the screen to move. Oliver burst into laughter, nearly falling over from it while Raven just stared down blankly at her It was an odd sight to see the girl who nearly knew everything about magic and potions not able to understand the basics for using a computer.

"N-No wait, you have to-" began Raven, reaching out for the mouse.

"No I'll get it!" said Alice in a stern tone. She kept it just out of Raven's reach, hands darting left and right to continue trying to move the arrow on the screen. Every time Raven swiped at it she moved it away, and Oliver continued laughing, now rolling around in a heap on the floor.

"You have to put the mouse on the table and then slide it on this little pad, see?" instructed Raven, catching the mouse finally and forcing it down onto the desk. "Move it on here!"

"Oh shut up Oliver!" spat Alice over her shoulder. The boy continued to roar out in laughter even after Alice's protests, the young witch simply growling a little under her breath and following Raven's movement. Oliver finally sobered, wiping his eyes of laughter tears and moving to the other side of Alice's chair.

The rest of the afternoon was spent teaching Alice how to use her computer and what to do and where to do it. It took thorough explanation and hundreds of examples, but the Slytherin girl finally got the hang of it. Alice's mother invited Oliver and Raven to stay for dinner and after the meal, Alice and Oliver seemed to be talking among themselves, causing Raven to stare between them for a moment.

"I think she should know now, she has the right since she's a part of it." said Alice.

"But everything she's been through..." sighed Oliver.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Raven, walking towards them. Oliver stood ridged, looking to Alice for some kind of answer.

"Raven, come with us. I think it's time you know." said Alice and motioned for them both to follow her back to the study. Raven followed, confused as to what the two had been talking about. Alice pushed open the study door, the book they had been looking at before lay on the table. Immediately Raven recognized it, it was the book that she and Oliver had taken from Marywin.

"It's that book … with no title." said Raven, pausing as she tried to remember if that book even had one.

"Oliver and I have been looking it over, in order to better understand what's going on with you, and some of the last pages have been filled out. We know who the second vessel is." said Alice. She held her hand out to the book, Raven looking between the two before stepping up to the book and opening it to look within it's pages.

Printed on the old pages was a photo of a girl about their age, long hair black with a single red section and she wore dark clothing, a pair of pants with legs that seemed way to big and chains hooked to them. What an odd fashion sense. Raven read on, taking in all the information she could.

Name: Ruby Lovell

Date of Birth: November 12th, 2006

Location: Salem, Massachusetts, United States of America

Vessel of: Water

"America? How are we supposed to protect her from all the way across the world?" said Raven, looking up to Alice and Oliver.

"She goes to Salem Institute, Thornwood was thinking of sending a letter to her parents, requesting she transfer to Hogwarts so she can keep better eye on her closer to home." said Oliver. "She also wants her come here so you can help her. We're pretty sure she doesn't know she's a vessel yet. Just like you didn't until someone explained it to you."

"That's a pretty bad idea don't you think?" said Raven with a frown. "It's not like I know a lot about what all this is."

"But you know more then she does." said Alice, shutting the book. "Thornwood is going to allow my family to keep this book in our library as long as we keep her informed with what is going on within it."

"I still don't think it's good idea..."

"It's not really, but we need to do what the Headmistress says." said Alice, taking the book and placing it by its self on a shelf.

That night Raven sat at her desk, staring at her computer screen in the dark. She wondered if this girl had the same problems she did. Did they have the same problems in America? Curiosity struck her while she used her mouse to scroll down a page. Raven leaned up in her seat, opening a search engine and typing in the girl's name.

Various websites popped up, she knew most of them weren't about her but there was one that she found that looked like it might have belonged to this girl. Raven clicked on the link, it taking her to a blog that was filled with the brim with stories about some video games that she played. She clicked the information tab and smiled brightly when she saw the picture looked just like the girl from the book. Quickly she skimmed the page until she found an e-mail address, hovering the mouse over it she waited, contemplating if she should send a message to her. Perhaps she should read over the blog, become interested in whatever it was she wrote about so she didn't seem like some kind of stalker.

Raven spent the rest of the night reading up on he subjects Ruby wrote on. What she wrote the most about was a game called World of Warcraft, a pretty old game but surprisingly was still going strong. There were some other games she wrote about but most of it was about he aforementioned game. So much information, Raven was starting to drift off to sleep at her computer, her head lowered into her arms, she spent the night sleeping at her desk, dreaming of orcs and humans at war and something called a Murloc that made gargling sounds.