Wow. Sorry it took so long to get this out. I'll be working on this story more often from now on. It's funny how many people guessed what was going on with Ravenand they were all wrong! OK, here it is, Chapter Two of Song of the Phoenix.
Chapter Two: Secrets
Harry stared at Lupin unbelievingly. "She's your niece?" he asked, his voice rising.
Lupin glanced about the room somewhat nervously. He whispered something to Raven, then motioned for her to sit down. She looked at him strangely for a moment, shook her head, then chuckled to herself quietly as she trudged to her seat.
"Now," said Lupin, clearing his throat. "I suppose you are wondering why I've never told you I had a niece, Harry, but that is not important. What is important," he said as he directed his attention to the entire class, "Is that we are here to learn as much as we possibly can. I will tell you one thing. I have been let back into this school as a sort of, uh, protection. Death Eaters and werewolves do not get alongand your parents have been assured that no harm will come to any of you during my stay here."
Neville looked a bit queasy at these words, but his eyes had a twinkle of pure delight. He was very proud of his achievements under Lupin's teachings in his third year.
"This term, we shall be working with some of the dangerous curses Death Eaters and the like use. We'll learn how to identify Dark curses, how to avoid them, and how to counter them," Lupin explained. The classroom buzzed with excitement, and even Harry couldn't keep down the building feeling his stomach.
But extremely suddenly, the class fell silent and the nine heads snapped to the front of the room. A green orb the size of a crystal ball was floating between Remus Lupin's outstretched hands.
The strange ball reflected in the mesmerized eyes of every student in the room. Harry noticed something about the glowing sphere. Inside were at about 10 tiny green worm-like creatures, wriggling around madly as if they were swimming.
"Can anyone tell me what this is?" asked Professor Lupin gingerly, as if speaking too loudly would cause the object to explode.
Even Hermione's hand lay still at her side. No one had ever seen anything like this at all. But Harry saw an odd, glazed-over look in Raven's eyes as she turned to look away from the orb, focusing her eyes at something outside through the window.
"It is a Spellorb," Lupin explained, still speaking softly, "And I am glad none of you know what it is. It is a very old and dangerous magic that has been brought back through the Dark Arts. Spellorbs are extremely difficult to create, needing meticulous planning and a strong will. They are constructed and controlled by the mind and energy from the hands, as you see me doing right now. A wand is useless when using a Spellorb."
Hermione timidly raised a hand. "Professor Lupin, what are the little worms inside?" she asked tentatively.
Lupin smiled at her. "Good girl. Those are not worms. They are spells. Hundreds of spells can be placed inside a single Orb. That is why they are so destructive. I believe there are only about 13 in this one here, but they are all simple, harmless spells. The only curses that cannot be placed inside a Spellorb are the Unforgivable Curses, which Dumbledore has so kindly informed me you already know about," he added. "Now, there are ways to dodge and even block a Spellorb, but it is very difficult to do so. That is why I have brought this today."
He looked over the expectant students for a moment, his eyes slightly resting on Raven, then moving on.
"Harry and Ron first," Lupin finally decided. The rest of the class moaned. "You'll all get your turns!" he assured them as Harry and Ron cast glances at each other and walked down the isle to the front of the classroom.
"Now Ron's going to control the Orb and Harry will be hit with the spells," said the Professor slyly. Ron grinned while Harry felt a sickening wave ripple through his stomach, which had already moved up to somewhere near the ceiling. He knew he would look foolish in front of Raven, being hit with a bunch of silly spells.
As Lupin taught Ron how to use control the Orb (making sure he never touched it, as that would result in the spells hitting him instead) Harry could only watch helplessly. Soon Ron's little lesson was finished and the class fixed their attention on Harry.
"Harry, first, I don't want you to try and dodge it. Just stand and take it. But then we'll try a second one and you have to fight back the orb with your mind, no body at all."
That's easy for you to say, thought Harry. Ron sent an encouraging grin over to him from the other side of the room and Harry couldn't help but smile back. The Spellorb now glowed green between Ron's hands, faltering a bit as it floated.
"Go!" Lupin shouted enthusiastically to Ron, and the ball slowly left his hands as he tried hard to focus. The orb moved at an inconsistent pace, speeding up and slowing down as Ron's brain involuntarily took rests. Unfortunately, the ball hit Harry at one of its faster paces.
A strange feeling passed through Harry's body. It felt as if the tiny wriggling worms were traveling all inside him, doing their strange swimming dance. Then, all at once, Harry was dancing too. He blinked, sneezed, belched, shuffled his feet, flailed his arms, and shook his head, all at the same time. The 13 different spells each took their course, and when the last spell finally left him (which, might I say, left a very bad smell in the room), he felt very dizzy.
Several minutes later, Harry was watching the floating orb travel towards him again, this time a little faster and steadier. When Lupin told him to, he began to fight back with his mind, willing the Orb back to Ron. Ron did the same, directing the ball towards Harry, until it was locked in between them, floating in midair.
"Excellent!" shouted Lupin, the class politely applauding behind him. "Accio Spellorb," Professor Lupin said again, stopping the Orb before it could reach his hands.
Soon, the entire class was out of their seats, trying to stop their partners' oncoming Orb. Some failed and they were dancing, singing, winking, or pretending they were a La-Z-Boy Recliner (Actually they really weren't pretending to be La-Z-Boy recliners, I just thought we needed a bit of humor here.). Laughter echoed about the room, and Harry couldn't deny himself that it would be a great year in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"I can't believe he's your uncle!" exclaimed Hermione as she, Ron, Harry, and Raven exited the classroom later that morning.
"Well, uh, we don't see each other that often, really. Oh, I've got to go. Draco's waiting," Raven hastily answered as she rushed by to catch up with Malfoy in the hall. Her hand brushed against Harry's as she pushed through the queue of students in the hall. He noticed that it was strangely hot, almost feverish. "Raven!" he called out, but there was no answer.
"I can't believe she can stand to be around that greasy git for more than a minute. She actually seems to like him!" Ron cried in digust.
Harry watched Raven through the crowd and sighed.
"D'you ever have the feeling that she's keeping some thing from us?" Hermione asked thoughtfully.
"Yeah," Harry answered, losing sight of the pale, beautiful girl in the hall. "Yeah, I do."