((This chapter is short, but has the same amount of words my chapters tend to have which is typically between 3000 and 4000 words, you'll understand why when you read it. I have a few pre-written scenes for chapters 7 and 8, plus a huge list detailing each month for the fanfic itself.))

((Anyway, enjoy the chapter.))

- -Chapter 6: Spells and Anxiety- -

- -Raven's POV- -Saturday, December 21, 1996- -

A few days have passed since we came to my manor. Draco has been getting along with my brothers quite well. My father has gotten Draco to laugh a lot, which has improved his mood quite a bit. I managed to finish all of my schoolwork so I can now relax for the rest of the break.

Draco had agreed to let me train him in Defense Against the Dark Arts. My family would aid me if needed. We were all in the dining room having breakfast, Draco and I were talking about the training and figuring out what to do during these sessions. Since Draco was already very skilled in the subject, all we had to do was test him and aid him in any spells that need work.

Once breakfast ended, Draco and I both went up the stairs, down a few hallways and into a large room that was designed for dueling and practicing spells.

"Ok Draco, we already went over what we'd do here during breakfast. Now, some training sessions will be monitored by either my brothers or my parents for some of the more tricky or dangerous spells like defeating a Boggart." I explained as we stood in the Dueling Room.

Draco nodded and pulled his wand out. "What spell will you have me cast first Raven?" he asked. I thought for a moment, pulling out my wand as well. "Hmmm, well let's try the Knockback Jinx. You can hit the dummy with it." I said and he nodded, aiming his wand at the dummy I pointed out to. "Flipendo!" Draco shouted and a blue light shot out of his wand and hit it hard, knocking it back a few feet onto the ground.

I smiled and flicked my wand at the dummy and it moved back into place. "Excellent Draco." I said and stood back, looking at him with a grin. "Let's try another spell." Draco nodded and I tested him out with many more spells. He did quite well with them. He already showed the skills of a Mancer, which made me smile.

After a few hours, we took a long break to have lunch and talk for a good hour and a half before continuing upon Draco's request. As we walked back to the dueling room, I realized something and looked at Draco. "Draco, can you cast a Patronus?" I asked. He shook his head. "I never learned how to cast one." he replied.

I hummed softly in thought as we entered the Dueling Room. "Hmmm, well maybe I can teach you how." I said. Draco looked at me, his eyes wide. "Can you even cast one Raven?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yes, I can. Expecto Patronum!" I yelled and waved my wand. A black rabbit shot out and hopped around both of us. Draco's eyebrows shot up as his eyes widened even more, watching the rabbit hop around and then fade. "Well I'll be damned Raven. Why don't you teach me then." he said in amazement.

I smiled and told him the basics of what a Patronus is and stuff. "Now that you know, think of your happiness memory as you get ready to cast the spell. Now understand that you may not get the spell cast the first time as this is very advanced magic so don't be disappointed." I said and stood back.

Draco closed his eyes, thinking of a happy memory. It took a few minutes before he opened his eyes and pointed his wand up. "Expecto Patronum!" he shouted, but only a white wisp of magic came out of the tip. He frowned and tried again. "Expecto Patronum!" Same result, but a bit more came out.

He tried a few more times, but nothing happened other than a few white wisps. I could see the frustration and decided that enough was enough. "Ok Draco, time for you to stop. We can get to this spell at a different time ok. I don't want you to overwork yourself." I cautioned.

Draco shook his head stubbornly. "I know I can do this Raven. Just let me try again!" he said desperately, attempting yet again, but to no avail. I stomped my foot down hard and glared at him. "DRACO MALFOY! PUT YOUR WAND DOWN THIS INSTANT!" I demanded. Draco jumped at the sudden yell and did so.

I sighed and looked at him, putting my hands on my hips. "Look Draco, I understand that you want to cast a Patronus, but it won't happen the first time. As I said before, it's advanced magic. Let's get back to this spell in a few days ok?" I suggested. Draco sighed and nodded.

"Do you want to stop for the day or continue?" I asked.

"We can continue. Maybe have a practice duel?" He asked, looking at me. I shrugged and pulled my wand out. "Sure, but we will take a break after that for the rest of the day alright?" I said and he nodded.

We both got into dueling position and started casting spells at each other. It was a lot of fun, Draco was proving to be a worthy opponent as I blocked his spells and shot my own back at him. We kept dueling until we were both out of breath and sitting on the floor panting. Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I stood up and looked at Draco. "Let's go get something to drink. My room is nearby and I have a magic powered cooler that I store pumpkin juice and water in in case I get thirsty while studying or in the middle of the night." I suggested.

Draco nodded and stood up as well and we both left the dueling room. "I could use a shower. I feel gross." he mumbled as we passed Leo's room. "You could use Raven's shower and shower with her." call Leo jokingly. I blushed heavily, the thought of such a thing flooding my mind: Draco naked, soap bubbles running down his body... Dear god, that is not what I expected to ever hear. Shaking my head, I called back at Leo. "Hell no!" he laughed in response.

Draco shook his head, grinning in amusement, a faint blush on his cheeks. "I'll use the shower in my room." I nodded, giggling softly. "Ignore him, Leo likes to mess around with me." I said.

We both entered my room and I walked over to the cooler and opened it, grabbing a bottle of pumpkin juice. "What do you want to drink Draco?" I asked. "Hmm.. Water." he answered. I tossed a bottle of water to him and he caught it. I sat down on my bed and took a long swig of my pumpkin juice.

Draco drank half of the water bottle and set it down. "I'm going to take a shower, I'll be back in a bit." he said and left the room.

About twenty minutes later, I was drawing a picture when Draco entered my room. "Hey Raven." he greeted and walked to me.

I looked up at him and grinned. "Feel better?" I asked. "Yes." he replied, sitting on my bed. "I'm almost done with a picture, so give me about fifteen minutes and we can do something." I said and got back to work, the only sound heard being my quill scrapping along the parchment.

I sighed once I finished the picture and set my quill down, stretching my stiff body from sitting. "Ok, Draco, I'm all done." I said and turned to look at him only to see that he had fallen asleep on my bed. I cooed softly and walked to him. He looked so peaceful, his face was relaxed and his chest rose and fell softly.

It had been a long day so I decided not to wake him. As I gazed at him, I noticed bags under his eyes, something I hadn't noticed before. I frowned, wondering why he had bags under his eyes.

I reached down and gently ran my fingers through his soft hair, watching the blonde strands slip through my fingers and fall back in place. He hummed contently and nuzzled my hand. I smiled and sat down comfortably and gently pulled Draco closer, letting his head rest on my lap.

About an hour passed before Draco woke up. I was starting to doze off when I felt him move to stretch and heard a groan come from him. Opening my eyes, I looked down at him and smiled as he smiled back at me. "Have a nice nap Draco?" I asked.

"Yes, it was the best I've had for a while. How long was I asleep?" he asked, yawning.

I looked at my clock. "About an hour. Dinner is in a few hours so we have time to do something."

"What could we do?" he asked, sitting up and straightening his clothes.

"Hmm, well, we could go outside and play in the snow." I suggested.

Draco narrowed his eyes slightly. "What are we, children?" he scoffed.

I laughed in response. "Draco, we had a pillow fight the day we came here."

"Touché." he mumbled.

"Besides, playing in the snow is for all ages. C'mon, it's fun." I urged and got up.

He sighed and got up as well. "Fine, but I don't like the cold so don't expect me to hang out there for very long." he grumbled and we both got our winter clothes on. I led Draco to the backyard and opened the door. It was snowing lightly, gently landing on the snow covered ground.

I smiled and walked around the yard, Draco followed along side me, although he looked annoyed. Frowning, I scooped up some snow and threw it at his chest. "Hey!" he yelped. I giggled and threw another snowball, this time hitting his face. "Pfffft! Raven, I will get you for that!" He warned and grabbed snow.

I squealed and ran. He began chasing me and pelting me with snowballs. I scooped up snow as I ran and hit him back. We kept this up until Draco tackled me to the ground, pinning my arms above my head. He was on top of me, both of us panting from running and our eyes were locked.

I grinned and blew a small raspberry at him. His head jerked back a bit and a mischievous grin formed on his face. He let go of my arms and his hands shot to my sides and under my coat, he began tickling me mercilessly.

I squirmed and squealed in laughter. "Nooo Draco, I'm ticklish there!" I cried. Draco laughed, his hands raking along my sides. "That's what you get for bringing me out into this cold and throwing snow at me." he purred, pulling me up and tickling me even more.

My laughter grew louder and I squirmed even more, moving my body until my back was against his stomach. He was laughing and held me against himself, he suddenly buried his face into my neck and mock-biting my neck playfully while making weird biting sounds.

I laughed harder. "Draco, stop it! Someone might see!" I squealed, trying to break free of Draco's hold. My cheeks reddened as I realized what this looks like with Draco having his face in my neck like that.

He finally stopped, his cheeks were dark red from laughing and the cold. "Wanna go inside now?" I asked, panting from laughing and squirming. Draco nodded and got up, letting me go. We both went inside and enjoyed the rest of the day.

- -Tuesday, December 24, 1996- -

Draco and I were standing out on the deck watching the snow fall gently as the last bit of light in the sky disappeared. I sighed contently and rest my chin on my hand. "It's beautiful tonight." I mumbled. Draco hummed in agreement.

We continued to watch the snow fall until the cold became too much and we both went inside to warm up. "Brrrrr." I shivered, pulling my coat tighter around myself. "Maybe hot cocoa will warm you up Raven." Draco suggested. "Mmm, hot cocoa sounds good. Let's go to the Drawing Room and have it in there."

We left my room and walked to the Drawing Room and sat down on the sofa. My mother, father, brothers and Narcissa were all in here as well. They greeted us and Pinky gave us both a large mug hot cocoa. I happily sipped mine and felt the warmth flow through me. I suddenly felt Draco wrap an arm around me, effectively pulling me closer so that our sides touched.

Crow chuckled softly. "You two are getting particularly cozy tonight. Did something happen?"

I shrugged. "We're just close friends. Nothing wrong with us being this close together."

Leo grinned, his eyes suddenly looking above us. "Are you sure you two are close friends?" he asked.

My brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?" I asked. Draco looked confused as well.

Mother and Narcissa began whispering to each other, while father pointed at something above us. "Maybe that will answer your question." he informed, a grin on his face.

Draco and I both looked up, our eyes widened and a blush formed on our cheeks at what we saw: A mistletoe was above us. We looked at each other, shrugged and leaned in, kissing each other on the cheek.

The mistletoe disappeared after that. We all had a nice conversation for a few more hours before heading to bed. The only thing on my mind as I drifted to sleep was how I wished that I could've kissed Draco on the lips. I had no idea that he was thinking the same thing.

- -Wednesday, December 25, 1996- -

It was Christmas morning and I woke up to Draco shaking my shoulder softly. "Raven, wake up! Everyone is in the drawing room ready to open presents." he said and I groaned softly, sitting up. After stretching my stiff muscles, I slid out of bed and smoothed out my nightgown. I looked at Draco and noticed that he was still wearing his night clothes and his platinum blonde hair was slightly messy.

I giggled softly. "I think we'll all be in our night clothes as we open presents." I stated and Draco chuckled. "Maybe. Let's go meet everyone and open presents." he replied and we both left my room and went to the drawing room.

Leo grinned as we came in and sat on the sofa. "Took you long enough Raven." he teased. I rolled my eyes, smiling. The Christmas tree was beautiful, adorned with all kinds of decorative balls and crystals and candles. There were a lot of presents around it as well.

All of us began opening our presents. I handed Draco the one I got for him excitedly. He looked at me curiously and removed the dark green wrapping. It was a black jewelry box. He raised a pale eyebrow and opened it, his eyes widening. Inside was a pure silver snake with emerald eyes. "This is beautiful Raven." he said and pulled it out. It shivered a bit and came to life, it slithered onto his left wrist and curled around before stopping.

I smiled. "It's charmed so that only you can take it off. I also got you this." I said, grinning as I grabbed a large bag filled with chocolate. Draco's jaw dropped and he grabbed it. "Are you trying to give me cavities Raven?" he teased, staring at the bag and grabbing a chocolate bar. I knew he had a huge sweet tooth and it was amusing to see him drool over a bar of chocolate.

My mother was smiling and snapped a photo of us. I groaned, she always did this. "Mother! Not now, please!" I whined. Draco snickered as he placed a quick kiss to my cheek. I stiffened and blushed heavily. Mother cooed and Leo whistled at us. "Just get together already you two lovebirds." said Leo playfully.

My face reddened even more. "Shut it Leo!" I squeaked as Draco snickered quietly and nudged my arm softly. "Raven, I got you something as well." he said and i looked at him. He was holding a black jewelry box as well.

I smiled and grabbed it. I opened it and gasped softly. It was a black silk choker. In the middle was a square emerald with silver around the edges. "I love it Draco." I beamed, smiling. Mother came over to look and smiled. "You really know what she likes Draco." she said fondly.

Draco smiled as well. "I spend a lot of time with Raven so it's simple for me to know what she likes to wear." he boasted. I rolled my eyes in amusement at his proudness for knowing what I liked.

I looked at everyone else as they opened their presents, all of us got wand care kits while everyone else got stuff they've been wanting for a while. Draco ate a chocolate bar while this went on and Narcissa scolded him for spoiling his appetite before breakfast even started. I giggled quietly as they bickered over this.

The day went by quickly and the Christmas Dinner soon came. All kinds of food appeared on the table and delicious smell filled the dining room. All of us dug in and ate happily. Draco snuck in bites of his chocolate, which annoyed Narcissa and amused me. She kept telling him to stop, but he only bit into a another piece just to mess with her.

I was shaking with silent laughter at this. Draco noticed and smiled at me. "Who said you could laugh Raven?" he teased. I laughed harder silently, my shoulders shaking. He nudged me playfully. "Stop laughing Raven." he teased again. I broke and laughed loudly.

Everyone else except Narcissa (who was still annoyed with Draco eating chocolate during dinner) began laughing as well. Needless to say, Christmas was fun and seeing Draco actually mess with his mother, which is quite risky, was amusing to watch.

I spent the rest of the night in my room with Draco, who was laying on my bed with full intention of sleeping there. I was not letting him do that so I backed up a bit and ran towards my bed and jumped onto it, launching him into the air. He let out a shriek, a high pitched one at that, and landed back on the bed.

I clutched my stomach in laughter. He got up, grabbed me and tickled me until I begged for him to stop. He smiled down at me and ran his fingers through my sleek black hair. We pretty much just relaxed and talked until he had to go to bed and left my room after saying "Goodnight." I got into my nightgown, brushed my teeth and went to bed and fell asleep quickly and peacefully.

- -Monday, December 30, 1996- -

Not much has happened since Christmas. Just doing whatever we felt like and I continued training Draco.

We were in the dueling room after I had a meeting with my family on our protection for Narcissa and Draco. Once again, Draco was attempting to cast a Patronus. He was still struggling so I walked over to him. "You're doing good Draco, but maybe think of a happier memory." I suggested.

He sighed and nodded and closed his eyes in thought for a minute and then opened them with a smile. "Expecto Patronum!" he yelled and to my surprise, a hawk came out and flew around. Draco laughed in shock, a huge smile on his face as the hawk flew around the room, squawking proudly.

I laughed and watched the hawk fly. "You did it Draco!" I beamed as he watched his Patronus fly around the room. He looked at me and pulled me into hug, picking me up in the process. I squeaked in response and hugged him back, resting my head on his shoulder. The smell of green apples, vanilla and cologne hitting my nose.

I blushed at the realization as I remembered this scent from my first potions class: The Amortentia, it smelled like this to me. Did I really develop feelings for Draco that quickly without even knowing it?

I felt Draco put me down and we both sat. I began giggling, confusing Draco. "What's so funny?" he asked. I looked at him, still giggling. "What's funny is that your Patronus is a hawk, a predatory animal, while mine is a black rabbit, a prey animal, one of the animals a hawk hunts for."

Draco snorted and laughed. "Good point. Can you tell what kind of hawk my Patronus was?" he asked. I shook my head. "No, I couldn't. I know there's a way to find out what kind of hawk it is, but I can't remember at the moment."

He nodded and sighed softly. "Well, I'm ready for a break." he said.

"I'm not surprised, you did just perform a difficult spell. So, I'm curious, what was that happy memory you thought of that allowed you to cast the Patronus?" I asked.

A blush spread on Draco's cheeks and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Umm, I'll tell you some other time." he replied nervously. I raised an eyebrow, but didn't question him. Both of our stomachs growled in sync.

"I guess it's lunch time." I giggled. He laughed and we got up and left the dueling room. While walking down the hallway, I pulled out my wand and twirled it in my hand lazily, occasionally rubbing the ornate details carved into the handle with my thumb.

I could hear music being played in Leo's room and laughed softly, he was most likely either dancing or studying. I heard Crow bang on the wall in his own room and yell at him to turn the music down, only making me laugh more loudly in amusement. Draco shook his head in amusement.

As we got to the stairs, I decided to have a bit of fun and ran down them and jumped off the last three steps, only for my mother to catch me doing so. She absolutely hates it when me or Leo do this. "Raven Mancer! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that!" she scolded, her hands on her hips.

I froze in place, gulping silently. She was scary when angry. "S-sorry, mother." I stuttered. Draco stood on the stairs behind me. He had stopped once my mother caught me. "If I catch you again Raven, you will be punished!" she warned and left the room. I exhaled in relief and walked to the dining room. Draco followed behind. "Damn, your mother is scary." he said.

I hummed in agreement and called for Pinky. She appeared with a loud crack. "You called Pinky, Miss Mancer?" she inquired.

I nodded. "Yes. Can you get Draco and me some lunch please?"

Pinky disappeared and reappeared in a matter of seconds with some lunch. A couple of sandwiches and goblets of pumpkin juice were on a tray and she placed them on the table. "Does Miss Mancer and Mr. Malfoy require anything else?" she asked. We both shook our heads and sat down. I thanked Pinky and she disappeared with a loud crack.

Both of us ate and talked for a bit on the matter of school. "So Draco, we're going back to Hogwarts in a few days. Are you gonna be alright with this?" I asked, taking a drink of my pumpkin juice. Draco lowered his gaze and shrugged. "Honestly, I feel unsure, but at the same time, I feel uncomfortable just thinking about going back there." he replied, his voice lowered.

I put my hand on his shoulder softly. "What's bothering you about it?" I asked. He sighed and put his food down. "I don't know how to explain it, there's just so much bothering me that I can't find the words." he explained.

"Oh." was all I could say. If Draco was feeling like this from just thinking about going back to Hogwarts, then something was wrong. I know how difficult things will be for us now, but I don't think the plans I have will do much for him in terms of easing his anxiety.

Lunch went by slowly and quietly and when night came, Draco was looking ragged and scared. He was paler than usual and he was sweating. I did my best to comfort him, but only a few hours after going to bed, I woke up to noises coming from Draco's room. I threw my blanket off my body and grabbed my wand.

I left my room quickly and entered Draco's. After lighting a few candles, I was greeted to the sight of Draco thrashing in his bed and crying out in fear. He was suffering a nightmare. I ran to him and attempted to wake him up, but he lashed out and punched me. I fell to the floor with a red mark on my right cheek and to my relief, Leo and Crow had heard the commotion and helped me by holding Draco down.

I managed to wake up him and he let out a scream before turning to the side and vomited onto the floor. I winced and cleaned the mess with a flick of my wand. Draco coughed and sat up fully, tears now running down his face. Leo and Crow looked at each other with concerned looks.

I motioned for Leo and Crow to wait outside the room while I spoke to Draco. I sat down next to him. "Draco, what happened?" I asked softly, rubbing his back gently. He merely coughed in response due to the stomach acid burning his throat. I looked over at Crow. "Crow, grab a bottle of water from my cooler now." I urged and he did so quickly and came back, handing it to me and left with Leo to their rooms. I opened it and held to Draco. "Drink, it'll clear your throat."

He took the bottle and drank the entire thing in seconds. He then answered my question after clearing his throat. "I-I was at Hogwarts with you. We were in the hallway g-going to our next class when D-Death Eaters came in out of nowhere and attacked us. O-one of them was my father and he... Oh god... He fought you and you fought back, but he cast the killing curse at you. H-he k-killed you Raven. I wasn't a-able to do anything and I h-had watched you fall to the floor...d-dead.. I-I'm scared Raven.." he explained, his voice shaking and tears flowing down his face freely.

I was horrified to hear this. I tried to say something, but nothing came out. Finding no way to speak, I scooted closer to Draco and pulled him into a tight embrace. Tears welled up in my eyes at the mere thought that Draco suffered a nightmare like this. I felt him shake as sobs started racking through his body.

I held him as he sobbed for a while. He did eventually stop, but when he looked at me, I could see the pain in his eyes and the bags under them were more prominent now. "Draco, how long have you been suffering from nightmares?" I asked worryingly.

"Since before we came here. They never got this bad, but I've been losing sleep because of them." he answered, his gaze at the floor. "I-I don't think I can sleep now." he muttered, pulling himself out of my arms. I frowned and thought for a moment and then looked at Draco. "Do you want me to stay in here tonight?" I asked

He looked up at me and nodded. "Just lay here." he muttered and laid down. I looked at him in confusion. "What do you mean?" I asked. He looked at me and grabbed my arm and pulled me down. He grabbed the blanket and threw it over us. I felt a blush form on my face, he wanted me to lay in bed with him. "Please don't leave me Raven.." he mumbled, his eyes closed. I looked at him, frowning and scooted closer to him in an attempt to comfort him. He responded by enveloping me in a bear hug.

I was shocked for a moment, but then melted into the hug and sighed contently. I wrapped my arms around Draco as well and felt him relax. All rational thought at how awkward this was left my mind and all I cared about was making Draco comfortable. We both fell asleep in each others arms and sleep the entire night peacefully.

((Any reviews are appreciated.))