Chapter Twenty-Five: Corruption

"Damn him!" Ravenna screamed as she swooped to the side of her fallen Charms teacher, sliding her hand beneath her Professor's head. The winged witch knew immediately that Grindelwald had cast a nasty curse, but to make matters worse, Moltrov had suffered a concussion. Ravenna's finger searched for her teacher's pulse…but when she tilted her head down for a listen, Ravenna horrified herself.

Her right middle finger…was no longer a finger. It still had the same musculature of a human finger…but it had turned completely black, the nail now replaced by the same kind of claw a raven would have. Ravenna wondered how such a thing could be…but then, she could feel her teacher moving.

"Ra…venna," Moltrov said weakly. "Come…here."

The mere sound of her teacher's voice shocked Ravenna…it sounded weak, like a rattle in her throat. Ravenna knew that everything that Millicent Moltrov had ever loved or tried to love had most likely died here in this graveyard…and Ravenna immediately feared the worst case scenario, a medical term she'd learned from her muther's nursing career.

Cardial myopathy: broken heart syndrome.

Her beloved Charms teacher…would die of a broken heart.

"Professor, please don't go!" Ravenna begged, bitter tears in her eyes. This, if it came to pass, would be the second death she had seen in as many years…and she couldn't stand this death because, unlike the death of Desmond McArthur, this was the death of someone close to her…someone she'd actually been able to trust. "We need you at Hogwarts…you still have a reason to be here! Please, don't leave us!"

"Do…you think…I vould ever truly veave you if I die?" Moltrov replied, raising her hand to touch Ravenna's chest. "No vhon…ever tru-vy dies in vhis vorld…not as vong as vhose who remain cher-vish our memory. I vill never veave you, dear Venna."

At this moment, Albus Dumbledore knelt beside the two, taking the Charms teacher's free hand. "Millicent, please…hold on. We'll get you to the hospital wing as quickly as possible."

"Vhank you…Albus," Millicent gasped. "Please…Venna…become an Animagus. Become the vitch vou have al-vays vanted to be. And…above all…vive vith vhe vight."

Millicent then closed her eyes. Ravenna looked at her Transfiguration teacher…but now, she was looking at him with different eyes. What attachment had he once had with Gellert Grindelwald? Was he still on the side of that Dark Wizard now? And…if not, did he have a means by which Ravenna could defeat him?

Dumbledore could see the young student's eyes boring into him. "You know, Miss Royston," he said coolly. "I really do not like it when you and your friends choose to cook up schemes behind our backs. You could very well have been killed tonight."

"A lot of people could have been killed tonight," Ravenna admitted. "At least, for her part, Bathilda Bagshot got a photo that will go down in history…forever."

And go down in history that photo did. By the time Ravenna, Tom, and Abraxas made it back to Hogwarts, the photo of Gellert Grindelwald being strangled by a noose made of hair had been splashed across the front page of The Daily Prophet.

"GRINDELWALD HUMILIATED BY SECOND-YEAR HOGWARTS STUDENT!" the headline screamed. However, Ravenna was in no mood to deal with this sudden blast of publicity – all that mattered to her was making sure that Millicent Moltrov survived the night.

And unfortunately…it did not appear that that was going to be the case. Millicent Moltrov simply refused to awaken, and Madame Melina, Hogwarts healer, could find no way to bring her out of her coma.

"Madame Melina?" Ravenna asked during her brief visit to Moltrov after her return. "Is she…going to be okay?"

Melina shook her head. "I don't know," the elderly woman said. "She suffered a bad concussion, and Grindelwald caused heavy damage to her insides. However…you may be right. She can live through the injuries…but the broken heart could very well kill her."

"What are her chances?"

"Fifty-fifty," Melina replied somberly. "She either makes it or she doesn't. She's fought like a warrior all this time…she may just surprise you."

"Well…fifty-fifty's all the chance anyone ever has," Ravenna said quietly, trying to stomach down her tears. "I'll be back later; Headmaster Dippet has summoned me to his office."

When Ravenna entered the office of Headmaster Dippet, she was shocked to see Joe Devotti staring down the Headmaster. "You get this through your head, you arse, you!" he yelled at Dippet. "This is the second blasted time my kid's been under attack, and not only you, but Dumbledore were BOTH LATE TO THE SHOW! Had Millie and Venna not come ta me, they'd both be dead or imprisoned right now – and I'm thinkin' Millie'll be dead anyway! The only reason those two are still breathin' right now is 'cuz of me!"

"Millicent Moltrov is one of our best teachers!" Dippet shouted back. "She should have trusted us!"

"YOU'D HAVE HAD HER THROWN IN AZKABAN FOR USING THE KILLING CURSE SEVEN TIMES!" Devotti roared. "She broke her deal with the Wizarding community and went to Russia to save someone she loved – there was nowhere else for her to turn even if she wanted to! So, she turns to me and my family!"

"And what of Ravenna?" Dumbledore said in the same cool tone he had used the night before. "What in Merlin's beard is she doing in your criminal organization?"

Devotti snorted. "Criminal, Professor Dumbledore?" he said snarkily. "You, a former Grindelwald supporter tryin' ta call me out for bein' criminal when you obviously didn't fully disclose your past sins either? Grindelwald was walkin' into that graveyard last night with ammo – and, if Ravenna didn't have half the brain she does right now, she may have fallen for it and sided with him! As for her being a "criminal," Devotti added, pausing to catch his breath.

"Let me put it this way: Grindelwald don't play by the rules – and that's what's giving him his advantage. This is war, Dumbledore – and if ya don't start playing the game like he does, you'll lose every time. I ask you: do you want to defeat that sub-human piece of trash, or do you want him having yet another chance to grab ahold of the most dangerous witch we have ever seen? I'm not tryin' ta make Venna a criminal – I'm tryin' to show her how Grindelwald plays this game, and how to beat him at it."

With that, Devotti stormed out of the room, and the Headmaster and Transfiguration teacher were staring straight at Ravenna. She knew that they could easily turn her over to the Ministry – and Azkaban. She knew what they were thinking – that she was on the path to becoming a career criminal, out to destroy lives.

"You know what?" Ravenna thought to herself. "Screw them. The Ministry has no idea what to do with me, Dumbledore was once in bed with Grindelwald, and…I don't know what to think of these people. They fear me because of what I could be…if I'm going to be the bogeywoman, so be it."

"Ravenna?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Miss Royston…you're headed down a very dangerous road," he continued. "The life of a criminal is no picnic. You know the punishment, do you not?"

"They were out to punish me even without a crime, Professor; you know that," Ravenna said quietly. "I…if I'm being blunt, I'm not sure I trust the Ministry…or even you, for that matter. What were you doing with Grindelwald…and why were you keeping it from me?"

The two Hogwarts administrators traded semi-shocked expressions. "She's not going to let you off the hook on this one, Albus; I've heard of how persistent she can be when she has her mind on something she wants. Come clean with it."

Dumbledore sighed. "Miss Royston, that story is a story that was born out of my own personal arrogance and greed. Would you be willing to sit with us a while…and if you are willing to listen to my ramblings…would you be willing to trust me? I can promise you; I am no longer in league with Grindelwald, and I will never be again, so long as you live."

"That's about eighty percent of what I needed to hear, Professor."

As Ravenna returned to the hospital wing (class was not set to restart for three more days) the words of Albus Dumbledore were still ringing in her ears. How could Dumbledore sacrifice his own brother and sister – the only family he had had in the world – for something so…blatantly stupid? The whole story…none of it made sense. To Ravenna, family was everything…the Mafia included. To give them up for one's own self-interest – one's own greed – was unthinkable.

Then, her mind went back to the words of her ailing teacher: become an Animagus. The idea – albeit an extremely difficult bit of magic – had always interested her. Now, with this being what could become her teacher's dying wish – was something she was desperate to try. She knew the ingredients she would have to gather before leaving Hogwarts…and wondered if Moltrov had been an unregistered Animagus herself.

Or maybe she was just trying to protect her even after death. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she made it to the hospital wing – only to see Madame Melina and Tom Riddle standing in front of the door, a dead lioness lying at their feet.

"Madame Melina?" Ravenna asked. "Tom? Is that-?"

"Yes," Melina said, the tears obvious on her face. "Moltrov woke up…and was desperate to find you. She took on an Animagus form…and when she did, she tore some of her organs…and died of internal bleeding. She's gone, Ravenna…she's gone."

The tears came to Ravenna's eyes before she knew what was happening, and soon, she was sobbing over the corpse of her favorite teacher…her very best friend. Remini Moltrov was right to get the punishment he received.

And as the tears slipped down Ravenna's face, she swore bloody vengeance on Gellert Grindelwald. The next time they met…and it didn't matter where – she would make sure he didn't get away alive.

"Ravenna? Ravenna!" Tom's voice snapped into her thoughts. "What in Merlin's beard is wrong with your middle finger?"