Hello, lovely readers! This is my first official attempt at a Harry Potter fanfic, so bear with me. And just know that I do not own anything Harry Potter, that's all J. K. Rowling.
Prologue - Black and Blood
Raven Black opened the door to her home, just getting back from school. She could not wait to share her day with her mum. The teacher discovered Raven's great love of literature and sent a note home to Mrs. Black, asking her permission to put her daughter in a higher-level class. Raven knew her mum would be so proud.
After shutting and locking the door behind her, Raven hung up her coat and set down her bag. She removed the letter from her bookbag, and walked towards the kitchen.
"Mum, I'm home," she called out, wondering why her mum did not call out first. Callia Black had ears like a hawk, and usually greeted her daughter before she stepped inside.
When she reached the kitchen, her mother was nowhere in sight. She set the letter down on the counter and wondered if her mum was still sleeping. Callia sometimes napped while her daughter was at school.
About to make her way upstairs, Raven heard a loud pop from the living room, and opened the door that separated the kitchen from the next room.
"Mum?" Raven froze when she saw an unfamiliar man standing above her seemingly unconscious mother, face-down on the floor. She was too busy staring at the smoking gun in the man's hand to notice the red liquid staining the carpet under her.
The man appeared frozen like Raven, as he stared at Callia's daughter. He did not think about her when he came here.
He saw the small child—no older than six—drag her eyes away from him, and stare at her mother's blood. The initial shock faded from her eyes as understanding and horror took its place.
"Mum?" It was no more than a whisper. He probably would not have noticed she said anything if he did not see her lips move. But with that one word, his shock dissipated, and his own horror replaced it. The girl must have heard the shot fired. Must have known she was seconds away from seeing her mother fall.
And the thought itself nearly killed him.
What did make him place the gun at his head was the guilt he felt at having murdered this poor child's mother.
That one whispered word rang in his ears as he pulled the trigger.
That one shot rang in Raven's ears as she fell beside her mother.
Four days later...
Remus Lupin heard a ringing from the kitchen. He wondered who was calling him, as he left his room to answer the phone. He knew not of many people who had his phone number, let alone would want to talk to him. Anyone who did called by floo.
He picked up on the fourth ring, "Hello?"
"Mr. Lupin?" A woman asked.
"Yes, who is this?"
"This is Mrs. Pine. I work in the office of Brumford Elementary School. You are listed as a secondary contact for Miss Raven Black."
His heart sped up a bit. "Yes?"
"As you may know, a secondary contact is the person the school can contact if the primary contact—Mrs. Callia Black—is unavailable, which she is. Miss Raven has not been at school for three—well today is the fourth—days. We have been trying to get a hold of Mrs. Black for a while, but she has not responded to any of our calls. When a student is absent, their parent or guardian is to inform the school of this; and, up until now, Mrs. Black has not failed to do so. We were wondering if you knew anything about this, or Miss Raven's whereabouts."
Remus frowned, "No, but I will check and inform you of anything I find."
"Thank you, Mr. Lupin. Have a nice day." As if that was possible with all the worry now filling him. He was sure she knew this as she said it. She hung up.
Remus hastily put on his shoes and made his way to the fireplace. He threw a handful of floo powder in the flames, and stepped inside, carefully calling out, "The Nest!"
Remus caught himself before he fell out of the fireplace.
The house was eerily silent, and there was an odd smell in the air.
"Callia?" he called out, looking around the dining room. He made his way to the kitchen, knowing that was Callia's favorite place to spend the day. Second being her art studio. "Raven?"
When he heard no one call back, and saw no one in the kitchen, his stomach dropped. Heart pounding fiercely, he turned towards the door that led to the living room. The odd smell came from behind it. He cautiously opened the door.
What he saw made his heart stop and his stomach twist.
Callia was face down in her own dried blood on the floor. At her feet was a man with barely a head, sprawled on his back, also laying in dried blood. He held a bloody gun in his hand. Beside Callia, was Raven. She sat cross-legged, hands in her lap, and was staring at her mother's dark hand held in her lighter one. Remus felt a bit of relief at seeing her breathing, but that went away as he saw how still the rest of her was.
"Raven?" He uttered softly, not wanting to startle her. The only response was her hand twitching.
Remus knelt beside Raven and gently reached for her hand, the one not holding her mother's. As soon as Remus touched her, her head snapped to him. His heart jumped, but he kept still. Her eyes were red and dry, as if she hadn't blinked for days. Remus feared that was exactly the cause. He looked for tear tracks, but found her face clean and dry, if not pale. What worried him the most was the lack of emotion in her eyes. She almost looked as if under the Imperius Curse... No. She must be in shock, Remus amended.
"Raven," he said again, looking into the blank eyes of his former best friend's and now dead friend's daughter, "do you remember me?"
She just stared. He kept on anyway, in the same gentle tone, "I'm Remus, your m—" he caught himself before he said 'mother's friend'—"The last time I saw you, you were just beginning school. You told me you loved Science and Mathematics, but your favorite class was English." He didn't know why he was saying it, but it was better than the uncomfortable silence. And maybe it would help for her to remember him.
Remus must have said something right, for Raven started blinking for the first time since he found her. Maybe long before that.
"Mum?" she whispered, glancing at her mother. That nearly broke his heart.
"Um, I," his voice broke. He cleared his throat and tried again, "Raven, how long have you been sitting here?"
Some of the life and moisture came back in her eyes. She shrugged, "What day is it?" Her voice was hoarse. He did not know whether from not using it, or from crying, or screaming.
"Friday."
"Then four days," more moisture collected in her eyes, threatening to spill over, "I came home Monday...and..." She tightened her grip on her mother's hand.
"Did you—" Remus was afraid to ask, "did you s-see what happened?" His voice shook. As did his hands.
She shook her head, "I heard when mummy...well..." Remus tightened his grip on her hand, "but I saw when he...did."
Remus held back his tears, and cursed the dead man not far from them. He needed to get Raven away from the monster. Though he didn't know if she would leave her mother just yet.
"Raven, can you stand?"
She stared at her mother's hand for a minute before she tried to stand up. She cried out as her legs could not hold her. He caught her before she fell.
"May I take you to the other room?" She looked up at Remus, then to her mother, and back. She took a deep breath and nodded. He scooped her up into his arms and made his way to the kitchen, where the phone was. He needed to call the police. And maybe a doctor.
Thank you so much for reading! Please check out Chapter 1, and tell me how my story is going so far. (Is it interesting? Stupid? Too vague?)