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This chapter takes place the same night of the bonding ceremony
"So what now?" asked Ron as walked out of the room with Hermione at his side. His girlfriend sighed. "I'm not sure."
Deirdre followed them with her sister and her soon to be brother-in-law behind her. "I will continue to train her. After that, all we can do is wait for Umbridge to make her move."
The Room of Requirement was empty now. The Weasleys had already left with Mrs. Weasley hugging her son and telling him that they she would see them during the winter break.
Several minutes later Ron and Hermione politely took their leave, though Deirdre smirked at the quickened pace they adopted as they neared the staircases.
As she walked her sister and Viktor to the entrance hall, Deirdre spied Draco and Luna sharing a good bye kiss .
Though Luna had been in the inner circle and had every right to be at the ceremony, she'd politely declined, saying that she wanted to help Draco keep watch.
Seeing such a display of affection made a part of Deirdre's heart twinge. She did her best to ignore it and instead walked past them and out the front door.
But Aine didn't miss much and this night was no exception.
"Viktor, would you mind giving Deirdre and I a minute alone?"
Viktor smiled at her and kissed her gently on the lips. "I vill be vaiting for you when you get home."
He then quickly headed to the Apparition zone, turned on the spot and disappeared a minute later.
Aine stood in front of her sister and put a loving hand on her shoulder. "You may be the tougher sister, but I am the one with the eye for detail. I can read you like a book. And I know something is bothering you. Care to spill the beans?"
Deirdre frowned. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with me. And if there is something I need to discuss, I know where to find you."
Aine didn't look convinced. Deirdre schooled her features and looked at her sister with a smile. "Now, if you don't mind, I am really tired and I have a house to be head of."
"Okay then, I'll not pry anymore. Do not lose heart, sister, I am sure you will find the wizard of your dreams soon enough."
That last sentence unexpectedly struck a chord and she inwardly flinched. But she quickly squashed her emotions and looked at her sister steadily.
"Of course, Aine. I am sure I will too. Please don't worry about me. I will see you at the next full moon. I am sure Quinn will be happy to see you and Viktor."
Aine smiled at her and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek and then walked the rest of the way to the zone and disappeared.
With her sister gone, Deirdre allowed her features to relax. She closed her eyes. After taking several deep breathes she turned and walked back into the castle.
She frowned at Draco and Luna, who were still snogging. She cleared her throat. The two broke apart slightly embarrassed.
"Professor Sullivan."
"I hate to break up this sweet little display of affection but I will have to close up for the night."
"Yes, Madam." Draco said with respect and kissed Luna once more. "I'll see you tomorrow." They kissed once more and then Draco walked out the doors. The two witches watched him walk to the edge of the land and when he was gone she shut the doors.
"Off to bed with you, Miss Lovegood. I'll see you tomorrow."
Luna smiled her dream-like smile and sauntered up the stairs.
When she was alone again she made her way to the tower and on the way she stopped by the first year boy's dormitory and checked in on Tristan. The boy was fast asleep. She allowed herself a small smile and waved her wand, casting a charm on the boy that would alert her if he started having nightmares.
It was a charm she had created and set up the night he first had the nightmares. She renewed it every night and this time was no different. After making her nightly rounds she headed up to her own quarters.
After changing out of her ceremonial robes and into her nightgown she went to her private trunk and pulled out a bottle of sparkling grape wine. Once she cast a chilling charm on the bottle she proceeded to pour herself a glass.
As she sat in her comfy chair she took a few sips and closed her eyes, allowing her thoughts to come forward.
Whether it was the effects of the alcohol or her weariness, all her thoughts seemed to come at her all at once. But she did nothing to stop them.
This was something new to her. She had always prided herself on her ability to control her emotions. That was a skill she had honed again and again over the years but tonight she just didn't care. She let them flow out and consequences be damned.
Over the years she had kept her feelings and emotions bottled up in the depths of her being but now she let them flow out in the form of hot tears. Once or twice she felt sobs escape her and she let them.
She saw in her mind's eye all of those heartless men. All those who had tried to take advantage of her. One even tried to force her into bed. And like all the rest she had beaten him soundly and chased him away.
Once the tears ceased, she drained her glass and then charmed the bottle to fill her glass some more.
She took a sip and relished the feel of the chilled liquid going down her throat.
"I do hope you remembered to brew some hangover relief potion. With all that alcohol you're digesting, you'll need it."
Deirdre knew the voice. She looked up to see a ghostly form gliding to her. It was Professor Snape.
"Of course I did. I'm not an idiot," she said defensively.
"I never said you were. I was merely asking if you had acquired it," he said as he floated to the chair across from her.
Deirdre took another sip.
"I couldn't help but notice that you seemed rather troubled once your sister left," the ghost said.
"It's nothing. I am completely in control of my faculties." This time a hiccup betrayed her.
Snape raised an eyebrow as he watched her sip at her alcohol.
"Permit me, Madam Sullivan, to inquire after what has caused you to seek an alcoholic remedy?"
Deirdre took another sip as she considered the question. "I hate having to admit this……but I am lonely. Everyone here seems quite content……except for Moaning Myrtle and of course me."
She took another sip.
"You mean that you feel left out."
Deirdre took another sip. "Yes. Of course I do…… and that's the problem. I came to this castle for three reasons. Young Jacqueline needed me, Quinn needs a guardian, and to clear my father's name. And now Lady Ember has given me the task of training Ginny so that she can take down Umbridge. I have more than enough to keep me busy. Romantic desire should not even be an issue."
Deirdre drained her glass again and poured herself another. She was starting to get more than a little tipsy.
"Yet you desire it all the same." asked Snape.
"Yes." Deirdre said biting her lip." She took another sip. "But I know that is not possible. I know what I am. Men consider me dangerous. I guess that men prefer women who cower before them." Deirdre felt her anger boil up and suddenly her anger and bitterness came flowing out of her.
"I guess they can't handle a witch that can out duel them. So what if I win a duel or two or three? This is what I am, Severus! They just can't handle a woman such as me. They run from me."
She looked at Snape who hadn't moved and took another sip.
"Madame, if I may say so, your skills are remarkable. But it's your unbreakable spirit and fire that make you stand out. In fact Madame, I once knew a woman that was very much like you."
"Who?"
"Her name was Roselyn Nightwing. She was my lover as well as Tristan's mother. She had legendary wand skills and a fiery spirit. That's what I loved about her. She was a lot like you."
Deirdre was listening intently.
"She was a lively vivacious witch. Her eyes were so green and her hair was so dark. I used to call her my Angel of the Night. At first she wouldn't let me near her. It was then I found out how wounded and scarred she was. It took a long time to convince her to let me into her heart. I never wanted a woman so badly as I did her. But it took me along time."
Severus paused. He looked at Deirdre and continued.
"When we finally made love for the first time it was the single happiest night of my life."
Snape looked at her again. "The reason I am telling you all this is because I see a lot of fire in you. All those wizards who ran from you were not worthy of you."
Deirdre looked at her drink and then back at the ghost.
"Thank you. That means a lot to me."
"My pleasure, Madame. I am nowhere near a matchmaker nor am I a seer. I'll leave that up to Lady Ember but promise me that you won't lose hope. It would be a tragedy to see a fire such as yours to go out."
Deirdre felt warm.
"What happened to her?" Deirdre asked……then she realized her mistake. "I'm sorry, Professor……you don't have-"
"I am not a professor anymore nor am I offended as it seems that the alcohol as gotten to you."
He paused.
"My Angel of the Night died in a fire that burned the house down. I am surprised that my son survived at all. I got him out just in time. I am led to believe that she died in a duel before the fire started. I wasn't there to save her. When I arrived home…….the house was in flames and the Dark Mark was over the house. By then my angel was dead and for some reason my son was blissfully asleep. He is all I have left of her."
"Did you ever find out who did it?"
Severus shook his head. "All I know is that a Death Eater did it. Even though I was in the Dark Lord's inner circle, I didn't dare ask about it."
There was silence for the space of a few moments.
"I hate the fact that I was never able to avenge my Angel before my death." Severus looked paler then he usually did. He looked at his listener. "If you would permit me Madame, I would take my leave of you now."
"I am grateful for you words, professor. They give me much to think about. I would also take my leave. I need to sleep off this alcohol."
"Of course, Madame Sullivan. Sleep well," said the ghost as he departed.
Severus also had much to think about. As he floated through the walls he thought more about his Angel's murder. He now found himself hovering over his son's bed. He smiled as he saw his son sleeping quite peacefully.
Severus now had another destination in mind and he left in a hurry and headed to Umbridge's house. He had not spied on her in some time.
Umbridge's cottage
The little cottage was dark, the inhabitants had long gone off to bed. In the shadows of a great oak there was a dark form huddled at the base of the trunk.
His brown eyes glinted as he digested all he had learned. That man he had been hunting for was there……but so was the woman he had only heard of in the news papers. And she was just as vile as the man he had been following ever since he turned 17.
He was a young adult, no older than 23. He had hair as black as night that hung just below his shoulders. Which was almost covered by the hood of his cloak. His eyes were the deepest shade of brown possible. But this night they seemed to gleam with absolute hatred and anger.
He couldn't believe that the monster who had massacred his entire family was still walking free.
He had been hunting the wizard called Rafe Wilmington for a long time. After the murder of his parents he had disappeared from the wizarding world completely changing his name and his appearance. His former self was gone forever replaced by the wanderer known as Raven.
For the last 7 years he had lived by his wits and his wand. He lived out in the open sleeping under the stars at night. He went into town maybe once a week to find a decent shower and to stock up on supplies. And he never stayed in one place for long.
But he had been following this man for what seemed like forever. He had made one hell of an enemy of this man as he had done everything possible to thwart every attack this man had planned.
The last encounter with this man had almost killed him. He had kidnapped a young mother and her child. The bastard had kept them tied up in the basement of a run down building back in Scotland.
Raven had intervened that same night and barely succeeded in rescuing them. He got them out just in time. But Rafe followed him and two days later had attacked him, almost killing him. Raven had run for all he was worth and managed to Apparate just as the man fired off the killing curse.
Because of the attack Raven had been forced to retreat into the shadows again while tending to his wounds and nursing himself back to health.
Once he was sufficiently healed he had gone back on the trail……to find it had gone cold.
And just now, he had found the bastard again. All he could do was sit back and study his enemy. He would not make himself so vulnerable again. This time he would not be thwarted again. He would kill the man and then he would have his revenge!
Raven was snapped out of his silent fuming when he felt an eerie presence. He looked all around him but found nothing. The hair on the back of his head stood on end. And he backed away slowly.
Severus Snape was intrigued by this lone man. He floated at a safe distance as the man in black backed away. The ghost made himself invisible as he followed the man back to his tent.
Raven felt no safer as he reached his tent. He turned around his wand pointed in front of him.
"If there is someone around here beside myself I demand that you make yourself known."
A disembodied voice answered him. "I mean you no harm, young man. I am not here to attack you nor could I since I am dead."
"You're a ghost."
"Obviously. I will reveal myself if you promise me that you will not scream like a scared child and run away."
"A child I am not. Show yourself, sir."
"Very well." And a second later Raven was treated to his first ghost sighting in years.
"I am Severus Snape. A former Potions Master at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I mean you no harm. May I ask who you are?"
"I am Raven. I am a vigilante. That is all I am willing to tell you."
Severus regarded him for a second. "Indeed. I gather that you are hunting down one of the occupants of that cottage?"
Raven regarded the ghost with a skeptical look.
"Before my untimely death I was a man just like you. And now that I am dead I too am spying on this cottage. Madame Umbridge is the one I am after. I have never seen you here before. May I hazard a guess and say that you are after the other occupant of the house. I believe that would be a Mr. Rafe Wilmington?"
Raven looked at the ghost who floated before him and then expelled a breath. "It would seem, sir, that you have me pegged. I have been after that monster--" here he jabbed his wand in the direction of the cottage "--for years. He murdered my family and now I will not rest until I avenge them."
Snape was quiet. "If I may say so, Raven, you are a bit young to have such passionate hatred in your heart. How long have you been hunting him down?"
Raven looked at him then pulled out his wand and cast a muffling and disillusionment charm around his camp. Then he looked at the ghost again.
"I have been hunting the bastard down for 7 years. Ever since I became a man I have been following him."
Snape regarded the man again. "May I ask who your family was?"
The young man regarded him again. "My parents were Idelia and Oberon Nightwing."
Severus gaped at the man. This was something he had not expected. But he kept silent.
"Go on."
"I was only 15 when they were killed. It happened when I was in my 5th year at Durmstrang. During the school year, they were attacked and killed. I-"
Raven looked at the ghost. "What?"
If Severus had a heart it would have been hammering madly against his ribcage. "Would you be Engel Nightwing then?"
Raven looked shocked but quickly recovered.
"I don't go by that name anymore." He lowered his eyes to the ground at his feet. "I left that life behind a long time ago."
He looked back at the ghost. "Who I was doesn't matter anymore. I am Raven now. I can't rest until I have killed that man. He stole everything from me."
Severus floated closer to him. "It would seem that we both have vendettas against that bastard then. Permit me, if I may, to ask you what you have found out about this man."
"He is very hard to keep an eye on. He is hardly a man. He is the very devil himself. He cares nothing about his victims. Whether they be women, children, infants, Muggle or Magic kind, it matters nothing to him. He victimizes them all. The atrocities I have witnessed would make your blood run cold. More than once I have emptied my stomach because of him."
Immediately Severus was reminded of another dark necromancer.
"I used to spy on Voldemort. I can assure you that I know exactly what you mean."
Raven nodded and closed his eyes. "I have done my best to thwart him. Our last encounter nearly killed me. I only just got away. All I know is that he stole every precious treasure I ever held dear. He must pay."
Severus frowned. "I think it is my turn to fill you in. Rafe is in league with Madame Umbridge. He has much blood on his hands. Rafe and Umbridge are two of a kind. Together they have slaughtered individuals that I knew personally. Two of them were students of my own house. I saw them grow up and now they are dead. If I could but wield a wand again I would see to their deaths personally."
Raven stood up. "I say we not waste anymore time. They are both asleep."
Severus put out a hand. "That is not possible. Umbridge is forbidden territory. She has been marked the prey of another. And Rafe is never far from Umbridge. If you attack Rafe, Umbridge will kill you."
"I don't care as long as I take Rafe with me."
Severus sighed. "It is obvious that I am not making things clear enough."
Damn it all
"I would not see you dead." Severus began.
"Why would I care? Rafe destroyed all I held dear. I have no more reason to live than to take Rafe with me."
Severus looked at the young wizard. "I am well aware of how forward of me this sounds. But what if I could give you two reasons to not go charging in that house with wands blazing and getting your self killed?"
Raven snorted. "I doubt there is anything that you could say to stop me."
"Just shut up and listen to me."
Raven shot the ghost a shocked look but did as he was told.
"As I said before I can give you two good reasons to not get yourself killed. One, your sister would not want you dead. And two, you would be doing your nephew a great disservice by dying before you can meet him. He is all alone in the world. Other than me, his godfather is all he has."
Raven looked shocked. "How? Roselyn is dead."
"Indeed. But what you don't know is that while we were both alive……we were lovers."
Raven almost fell over. Before he could ask, Severus proceeded to tell him everything that had happened. The whole time the younger wizard listened in stunned silence.
"So you see, you have not lost everything. Tristan is my legacy as well as yours. The worst thing is that he is right in the thick of all this business. I hate it but there is nothing I can do about it. With all the tripe his is going through I know that it would mean the world to my son to know that he has family other than me and his godfather."
Raven was quiet. All this was new to him. He looked back at the ghost.
"It seems that I owe you and his godfather much. I would like to meet them both."
"It is too late tonight. But tomorrow I can take you to meet them both. It's the weekend, so Tristan should be out of class and as far as I know Draco should be there also."
Raven looked thoughtful. "Where is the nearest wizarding village?"
"London. It's called Diagon Alley. May I suggest taking the Knight Bus?"
"I think not. I've heard much about that bloody hell ride. I would feel much safer on my broom."
Severus smirked. "I will show you the way."
Raven waved his wand and in a matter of moments his tent and belongings were shrunk and packed into knapsack and they were on their way.
As they flew, Raven listened to all the ghost had to say but in his heart he knew one hard and cold truth.
Rafe is mine. I will not be satisfied till his blood pools around his corpse.
Up next: Raven is introduced to Hogwarts and more importantly to his nephew that he didn't know about.