Shatend went down stairs the next morning with Danah's words echoing
in his head. How could the raven talk to her? Something is very wrong
about this. Only old families have ravens as familiars and even then
usually they don't have ones that can actually communicate with them! He
didn't doubt the bird could talk to the girl, the raven did have the silver
eyes, but he didn't think she had told him everything. Shatend also had
his doubts as to why the bird was with her. Danah didn't act like the
others with old families so he came to believe she wasn't from an old
family.
It would just be another puzzle for him to figure out. The table
designated for Slytherins was almost full of students eager for the up
coming day. The first years talked excitedly while most of the seventh
years looked about nervously, they had Defense Against Dark Arts first with
Ravenclaws. Shatend actually thought it was funny that the seventh years
appeared afraid of a teacher but easily hid it as he past them on his way
to his seat.
Shatend took his seat next to Drake who was talking to Danah in
fluent German. Drake's family had lived in Germany for several years
before they moved here and in the time they had lived in Germany he had
learned how to say just about anything in German. The Slytherin boy shook
his head thinking Danah would be Drake's new project; Drake had made
several girls already fall for his charms.
Suddenly he heard Danah's voice and realized she was talking back to
Drake.in German. Slowly he turned his attention from his breakfast to
Drake and Danah, who seemed to know German better than Drake. Having been
around Drake most of his life Shatend too knew some German and picked up
pieces of their conversation while the rest of the first years looked on.
After catching a few pieces of the conversation Shatend determined they
were talking about where they each had learned to speak the language.
Danah broke off talking to Drake in German when she noticed everyone
watching them. Drake just smirked, he liked attention. The bell rang,
sending the students off to class. The Slytherin seventh years went in
front of the Ravenclaws who all had a sudden lose of memory. The rest of
the school filed out and went their separate ways. Dumbledore watched the
students' uneasiness and laughed to himself. Kids he thought while walking
towards his office. A lone screech sounded above him. Looking up he
spotted a black figure flying overhead. Startled he blinked, and followed
the raven with his eyes, disbelieving the bird had left the girl's side.
Morning Emrys a familiar voice sounded in his head before the bird
disappeared from view. A flame formed in the old wizard's eye when he
heard the voice and memories came back in a rush.
~ * * * ~
The wizard who now claimed the spot of headmaster had only been a boy
back then. The sun had just set and Albus Dumbledore was out when he
shouldn't have been. Trees whispered around him, some in greeting but most
in warning, but not to him. They called warning to their master someone
would die tonight. Young Albus, though, was oblivious to their whispers
and trudged on looking for.something. He hadn't been sure what he was
looking for only that he would find it deep in the forest, surrounded by
danger. Danger had always attracted him. The thrill of the hunt when you
were the hunted, the ecstasy in.the boy stopped sensing eyes around him.
~ * * * ~
"Albus? Are you alright?" a voice belonging to Professor McGonagall said
after seeing the Headmaster standing in the hall for several minutes in a
daze.
"Yes.yes, Minerva I am fine." Dumbledore replied coming out of his
trance. The two teachers departed towards their separate rooms.
~ * * * ~ Danah sat in Herbology taking notes on the behaviors of several water plants, which could do one of two things. They could kill you or cure you depending on how they were grown. Professor Sprout said they wouldn't be using the plants for anything this year but the students would be expected to know all about them for next year. "But professor if we don't have to even use them until next year why are we learning about them now?" A first year Ravenclaw girl asked. "There is much to learn about these plants. I have to fit years of teaching into a year along with everything else I need to teach you students. You will never know all you need to know about them if I didn't start teaching you about them now. Back to the lesson, the fifth one is called." Danah felt Drannor land on her shoulder as several students turned to watch the bird. It was only day two so she could not expect them to already be use to him but she wished they would stop staring at her every time she entered a room or he flew over to her. Several whispered about her. Special privileges they said. Students didn't take their pets with them to class...but she did. Drannor looked over at her parchment and noticed they were talking about the delicate five. Some people said that the five were all a hoax and that no matter what they would kill, for few had seen it heal. The raven was one of those few. Shatend turned with the rest of the class when Drannor appeared by Danah's side. The boy knew eventually they would get use to the bird but for now he seemed to break an unspoken rule. Familiars weren't allowed in the classrooms. Of course since the rule was unspoken no one could say anything about the bird being with Danah but it scared some people and made others jealous. "Can anyone tell me what I mean when I say how the plant is grown determines if it will heal or harm?" The professor asked. No one said anything. They had only heard rumors about the plants. Just recently enough had been discovered about the plants to allow the schools to teach about them, even so little was know about them except to experts. So it surprised everyone, including the professor and Drannor, when Danah raised her hand. Even so the professor nodded to Danah as a signal to answer. "The plants are very hard to grow. They require being in the water as seeds but when they mature they must be out of the water or they will drown. After they have been moved out of the water they must have large amounts of water or they will die. Once they are mature, though, their purpose has already been decided. To determine the purpose of the plant one must look at how it was raised. If the person who planted it was pure of soul and mind the plant will heal, but if the person had a tainted soul or mind the plant will kill. Even if they start out good many become bad when a tainted person takes care of them before they have fully matured. Elves are one of the only races that can successfully raise the plants to heal," Danah said with the air of someone not fully in the room, like ghost, someone who lives in the past. The whole class, including the professor, looked at her dumbstruck. After recovering from the first wave of shock the professor agreed with her and then continued with the lesson. Many of the students watched Danah for a long time before turning their attention to the professor again. When the professor had her back turned Shatend slid over to Danah. "What was that all about?" he asked hiding his wonder but showing a slightly new respect for her. "I am not sure. When she asked the question I began to think about it. It sounded so familiar and I almost reached why, in my mind but then it slipped from me. I thought I was going to faint or something.everything became dark and I couldn't see with my mind. The next thing I knew I was speaking words I didn't even know I had in me!" His mind whispered she had let something slip but he ignored it and spoke to her again. "So you don't know where you learned that? No clue? Maybe you heard it at a bar or from your parents?" "No I haven't the slightest clue. But I can tell you it wasn't from any of the places you mentioned." "Normally I would suggest you might have read it in a book long ago and forgot about it but.not with this." He sighed and tried to concentrate on the lesson, which had shifted to something from their books on basic herbs used in potions. Shatend had his mind on the class after lunch when he noticed Danah wasn't looking at the book to do her work. They were writing an essay on some simple herbs like garlic and basil. Any Muggle could tell you about these herbs but few could tell you their magic properties. Shatend saw Danah wasn't even looking at the book. Then he noticed Drannor looking unblinkingly at the book. So she is using the bird, but why? He thought to himself. The boy considered asking his friend about it, but the bell rang and Danah disappeared in the shuffle to get out. After classes Shatend went straight to the library to work on his homework. He had put off his Transfiguration homework the day before and figured he needed to work on it. Instead he found himself looking through the books, trying to find something to explain why she had a raven familiar. More importantly how the raven could talk to her. Shatend spent the rest of his evening going through books, his homework forgotten, along with dinner. ~ * * * ~ Danah walked out of Herbology in a slight daze. How had I known that? She walked up to the castle but didn't go in.not yet she needed to talk to Drannor, privately. The girl wondered about the grounds for several minutes before spotting the forest by it. Something was summoning her to it. Obediently she followed the voice. Drannor saw the forest from afar and prayed she didn't go by it. He didn't think she would go in it but he didn't want his mistress anywhere near that place. When she turned towards the forest and entered, he panicked. Drannor shifted uncomfortably on her shoulder, his secret warning, but the call was too strong. She continued down the path only she could see. At first the forest was quite, gradually it got louder. Drannor tried to ignore it but finally gave up and took flight, startling Danah out of her trance; Drannor had never left her before. Danah stopped dead in her tracks, something was wrong; she could fell it, now. Turning back the way she came, Danah calmly walked until she realized that she was going in circles. Dread gripped her as she grasped the fact that she was lost. What was worse is Drannor had left her. Betrayal and a great sadness fell upon her as she took a seat against the nearest tree. Eventually she fell asleep. In fact Drannor had fled at first but when he remembered Danah he stopped himself and went back to find her, he couldn't let his past haunt him, scare him from Danah, his mistress. When he found her, even from his height above the trees, he could read the pain and anger she felt. Hovering above the treetops he followed her. Always on the look out for danger to either of them. As Danah settled down by a tree Drannor heard the voices he always heard in the woods. Voices from the trees. Fighting them off for Danah's sake he settled down on a silent tree to keep watch. Danah awoke with a start but was immediately calmed when she felt Drannor's presence by her. It was then she noticed how quiet the forest had become. Instinctively she tensed for an attack, as three figures jumped out from behind surrounding trees. Holding her breath Danah watched them circle her. With a start she realized what they were. Centaurs! The creatures had the body of a horse and the upper torso of a human. All three had black horses but only two of them had the torso of a man. The leader, it seemed, had a woman's torso. "Why have you come to our forest?" One of the males asked. Standing up and looking at all three with what she had learned to be a confident air she said, "I was called" "You were called? Impossible" the other male exclaimed tossing his head. "I was called, but then I got lost." She spoke calmly, not revealing, with her eyes, Drannor, to them. Her efforts were in vain though for the female could sense Drannor, even if she didn't call him the same as Danah. Mentally she called to him. When he refused to answer she threatened to reveal him to the others. Although he didn't like being threatened he knew he had to answer for Danah. When she finished confirming her story about the raven she spoke for the girl, knowing, too, who she was. "She was called" "Pardon?" The first male who had spoken asked. "Look at Venus tonight." The female answered steadily, while eyeing the star. All five looked up. Danah and Drannor didn't see what was so special about the star but the other two centaurs gasped aloud. Glancing at their leader for conformation, at which she nodded, they bowed to Danah and begged her forgiveness. Willingly she gave it to them but wondered what they had seen that she hadn't. "We give you leave of our forest." The female said to the shock of everyone else including the other centaurs that knew Danah's past. The males quickly whipped their faces clean of expressions and turned back to Danah as the female left, quiet as the wind. "Would you like us to escort you, miss?" One of the males asked politely. "Sure" Danah answered expecting to be lead back to Hogwarts. Instead they lead her to a pond. Turing on their heels they took leave of her. "Wait, why was I called? Who called me?" Danah said not understanding she was on the other side of Hogwarts. "Venus is unusually dim tonight, perhaps you should look at it again tomorrow." The second male spoke as the first disappeared from view. "What?" Danah replied, "I don't know how to read the stars" "Andromeda shines very brightly tonight." With a shake of his head the centaur left. Danah looked up at the stars and tried to see what he saw that she didn't. Drannor landed on her shoulder and she looked over at him but didn't say anything. Drannor already knew what he had done and he felt atrocious. With Drannor back she easily found her way to the castle, but she didn't feel like going to the common room and since dinner was over she was hungry. Danah there is a cat headed this way and she looks up to no good perhaps we should go to your dorm room? The raven suggested. "No, I don't want to go back there right now.I need to find out who or what Andromeda is" She replied knowing exactly where she was going. After several back turns Danah found herself in front of a portrait of a fat lady. The lady glanced over at her and then straightened when she saw it was a student. "Wait a minute! You are not a Gryffindor! What are you doing here? Get lost or something?" "Aren't you going to ask me the password?" Danah said irritated "Of course not! Why you are a Slytherin, why should I let you in my common room?" "Well first of all it's not your common room and two I know the password. Butterbur" Danah said sweetly. "What? How? But?" While the Fat Lady was trying to figure out how she knew the password Danah walked into the Gryffindor common room. It had been over a hundred years since a Slytherin had been in the Gryffindor common room. So it was no surprise to Danah when the Gryffindors reacted the way they did. Several glared at her as a group of three approached her. "What are you doing in our common room, filth?" A fifth year asked sneering at Danah. Instead of answering him she walked past as if she hadn't heard. The boy glared at her back and then jogged to catch up to her. "I asked you a question, first year!" The boy yelled. Now the whole common room was watching with interest after recognizing Danah from the night of the sorting ceremony. "And I chose to ignore you" she said evenly, which through the boy off guard. Anger built up in him and he went to grab her arm but was met with a curse that knocked him off his feet. Danah looked down at the boy with pity, then turned and headed to the boys dorm, since she hadn't seen Cole in the common room. At the stairs though she was met with more resistance, but it was not violent like the previous. "Are you in our common room for a reason?" a girl asked calmly. She looked to be a second or third year. "Actually yes I need to talk with Cole McNeal, could you tell me where his room is?" Danah said looking over her shoulder at the rest of the room. "No" the girl said "No? Well then could you move out of my way please?" Danah said smoothly, these Gryffindors were getting on her nerves. "You have caused quite a few problems here so if you could leave, it would be appreciated," the girl answered looking around for backup. Drannor tightened his grip on Danah's shoulder in warning, just as another more familiar voice called out. "What's going on here? Danah why are you in the Gryffindor common room?" Ginny Weasley asked. "I need to speak with Cole, Ginny. It's very important, please?" Danah said glaring at the shadow of the girl who stormed off at the sight of Ginny. Ginny studied the other girls face. She wasn't sure she trusted the girl but the fact that she had done nothing and had been able to get past the Fat Lady gave her a little credit. Just as Ginny was coming to a conclusion a male voice sounded above the group. "Danah? What's wrong?" Cole's voice was filled with anxiety. Danah wouldn't have come in the Gryffindor common room if it wasn't important. He had only known her a few days but trusted her with his life. The rest of the Gryffindors looked up at the concern in his voice for her. What? But she was a Slytherin! Cole sped down the stairs and wrapping an arm around Danah as he had done the day before lead her from the common room and to an empty classroom. The Gryffindors began whispering amongst themselves. Cole was very well liked, one of the most popular first years and yet here he was taking a Slytherin's side. Majority of the Gryffindors went off to bed not sure what to make of the scene they had just witnessed and knowing it would be all over school before lunch, and maybe breakfast. The group of Gryffindors who had been in their first Defense Against Dark Arts remained quiet about the teacher and seemed to be withdrawn form the rest. They would know soon enough.
~ * * * ~ After Cole had seated Danah in a chair he went over to a desk and sat atop it, asking with concern in his eyes, "Danah, what is it?" "I wanted to know if you could tell me about Andromeda. I noticed you were interested in stars and the like." Her answer puzzled him because he knew something else was wrong but he answered anyway, wondering if maybe this had to do with why she wasn't at dinner. Also he couldn't remember ever telling her he enjoyed astrology. "Andromeda was a princess who everyone in her kingdom, including herself, thought she was more beautiful than a race of sea nymphs. The nymphs of this race, the Nereid I think.might have to look that up, anyway they were known for their beauty. When they heard the kingdom's claim they, being bloody jealous and snobby if you ask me, went and complained to the sea god, Poseidon. He wanting to please them, bastard, sent a monster after the kingdom. The king, wanting to save his own hide, sent the innocent girl to be a sacrifice for the sea god; in return that Poseidon would call off his monster. With me so far?" "Yeah I think so.what happened to the girl?" Something was clicking in her head and she didn't like what she saw. "Some show off saved her in exchange to marry her. He saved her the end" "A boy saved her?" "Yeah although some legends say she was injured in the battle" "She was injured?" fear struck through her. "Yeah some say she got her eyes burned out or something.others think she ended up blind." Cole stopped seeing Danah pale. Quickly her crossed the room, "What's wrong? Danah?" "I am fine, do you know anything about Venus?" she requested, trying to appear unfazed. "Not much, I mean she is a good luck type thing for all women. If a girl is born on a certain day she will posses great magic, and Venus is supposedly always watching out for her." He said backing off slightly, recognizing if he wanted the whole story he would have to answer her questions first. Hey, he was getting pretty good at reading her. "Do you know what happens when Venus is dim? Dimmer than usual, I mean?" "Well I have heard rumors that when Venus is very dim one of her prized humans or animals is being protected by someone or something she didn't send for. Also if Venus is really really dim the 'protector' may be evil, or not pure or whatever" he let her digest this before summoning a small meal. Silently the two ate, each pondering his own thoughts. Danah spoke in her mind to Drannor for several minutes, sorting things out before deciding to tell Cole about tonight. "I assume you wondered where I was tonight?" She said softly. His head shot up, all thoughts left behind, attention on her. "Yeah I was wondering where you had gone off to." His voice was steady but Drannor read the excitement in his features and pasted the information to Danah. She sighed before answering. Cole suddenly noticed she did that a lot. Sigh, as if she carried the weight of the whole world on her shoulders. Somehow he would get her to open up to him or someone, she needed to talk, badly by the looks of it. She told Cole what had happened that night, leaving only a few parts out. When she finished he was staring at her. Regaining his composer something occurred to him, "Danah, did you get the centaurs names?" "No, why?" "Well Hagrid might be able to tell us more about them if you knew their names" he said lamely. Danah saw right through his lie but decided not to say anything. "Right well, I am off to bed.Can you find your way to the dungeons from here?" Cole said standing to stretch. Danah nodded and followed his example. Drannor eyed the boy and landed firmly of Danah's arm, he was tired of the boy always getting in his space. Cole saw the gesture and laughed, before leading them out of the room. After they dropped Cole off at the portrait, much to the dismay of the Fat Lady, Danah and Drannor made their way to the dungeons. "What do you think about the stars?" Danah spoke, breaking the silence. I think it is a bunch of non-sense, Stars telling the future? Right. Maybe you're right but it still seems strange. Danah said telepathically, she was getting better at this. What is so strange about it? Aside from the obvious, of course? Drannor shook his head realizing that she spoke to him in sentences now, not fragments. Danah laughed, and then spoke again, And what sir would the obvious be? For one, centaurs are brainless, lying, wannabe-astrol. "Drannor!" Danah shouted in the empty hall. Drannor ruffled his feathers. They continued to the common room in silence. Danah walked mutely into the common room, towards the stairs leading to the girl's dorm. When she noticed a black figure by the fire, hidden in the shadows. Although shocked that she had been able to see the form in this light she bravely approached the outline. Danah looked down at the shadow and saw it was a body, who though? The body appeared to have fallen asleep in the chair. Drannor who is that? She asked I believe it is that Shatend boy. Would you like me to wake him for you? Danah smiled slightly and she her head no as she continued on to her room. 'That Shatend boy' had not really been asleep just relaxing with his eyes closed. Shatend watched the duo go up the stairs and disappear in the shadows. Reflecting over his night he realized how late it must be. What is Danah doing out of bed? Shatend thought to himself before picking up the book beside him to resume his reading. The book, Fascinating Familiars and Their Attributes, had the most information on raven familiars as he could find. Looking down at the page he finished the page.
.are well known to have silver eyes and unusually bluish-black feathers. Raven familiars can be found among the oldest of families.
Unlike house elves ravens stay within a family name and not with a designated house. There are only 63 known raven familiars. Raven familiars are known for their ability to communicate with ones owner. When infact there have only been 10 known cases where the familiars could commune with their masters. There are no known cases of the master being able to commune back, telepathically. Raven familiars have a long through history recorded in the Ministry of Magic's documents. The most advanced ravens have the ability to read or sense a human's emotions and in wizards the ability to tell if they are truly good or bad, along with how effective their spells are or in children will be.
Shatend began to wonder what was so special about Drannor. Minus the fact that he was a raven familiar there was something else about the raven and Danah for that matter. "What if she can talk back to him? Even though the book says it have never happened maybe that is what is so strange about them." Shatend whispered aloud. Although it sounded absurd it could be true. Suddenly he remembered his transfiguration homework and dashed out the door, heading towards the library. In his rush to get back to the common room with his book he had left the rest of his school things by the table. Halfway down the corridor leading to the library Shatend heard voices and swiftly ducked behind the closest suit of armor. "Seriously? I mean you're not kidding me are ya?" a female voice said. "no, I am not kidding you! The bitch was in our common room and bloody cursed me! I thought I was going to die. The agony was almost to much but I stood back up and demanded that she leave." "What did she do?" "the only thing she could, although I think it was pretty stupid, she stood up against me, wand raised and I swear she would have cursed me again if I hadn't been quicker. I pulled out my wand and finished her off with a stunning spell." in the shadows Shatend snickered, the boy who was bragging could be no older than a third year but he talked as if he had almost killed the intruder. Normally Shatend would have just left the two be and moved on but he wanted to see who the intruder was and what they were doing in this guys common room. ".and I dragged her out of the Gryffindor common room and tossed her to the ground and told her never to come back." The male finished. "Wow! That grime actually wanted to battle with us?" the female voice asked having been dragged in to the story. "Yup those damn Slytherins think they are better than the rest of us, probably trying to pull a prank of some vile sort. Can't believe them, so sad really that there are people like that in the world." The male said, forcing sadness into his voice. Shatend's blood boiled at his house being dissed even if he wasn't one for loyalties. "So who did you say the girl was again?" the girl asked seductively. Shatend perked his ears up and strained them to their fullest. "Let me think.oh yes.it was that first year Slytherin girl.ummm.oh yeah that Danah girl, you know the one whose parents are bribing the staff so she can have her death bird with her in class." Fury filled Shatend as he listened to the boy's last words. If it hadn't been so late he would have destroyed the boy for talking about Danah that way but being as it was late and that he was still trying to digest the information he had just heard he settled for a simple magic trick. Shatend conjured a loud bright pink bird over by the boy with just enough magic to last for two days. And just so the boy would know whom he had offended, as well as the rest of the student body, Shatend put a small necklace with the Slytherin snake on its chain around the bird's neck. Reeking with silently laughter Shatend hurried to the library picked up his stuff and practically ran back to the Slytherin common room, so none of the teachers headed towards the loud singing would catch him out of bed. Once safely there he considered going and asking Danah about what the boy had said but decided he could ask her tomorrow and started his homework.
~ * * * ~ Danah sat in Herbology taking notes on the behaviors of several water plants, which could do one of two things. They could kill you or cure you depending on how they were grown. Professor Sprout said they wouldn't be using the plants for anything this year but the students would be expected to know all about them for next year. "But professor if we don't have to even use them until next year why are we learning about them now?" A first year Ravenclaw girl asked. "There is much to learn about these plants. I have to fit years of teaching into a year along with everything else I need to teach you students. You will never know all you need to know about them if I didn't start teaching you about them now. Back to the lesson, the fifth one is called." Danah felt Drannor land on her shoulder as several students turned to watch the bird. It was only day two so she could not expect them to already be use to him but she wished they would stop staring at her every time she entered a room or he flew over to her. Several whispered about her. Special privileges they said. Students didn't take their pets with them to class...but she did. Drannor looked over at her parchment and noticed they were talking about the delicate five. Some people said that the five were all a hoax and that no matter what they would kill, for few had seen it heal. The raven was one of those few. Shatend turned with the rest of the class when Drannor appeared by Danah's side. The boy knew eventually they would get use to the bird but for now he seemed to break an unspoken rule. Familiars weren't allowed in the classrooms. Of course since the rule was unspoken no one could say anything about the bird being with Danah but it scared some people and made others jealous. "Can anyone tell me what I mean when I say how the plant is grown determines if it will heal or harm?" The professor asked. No one said anything. They had only heard rumors about the plants. Just recently enough had been discovered about the plants to allow the schools to teach about them, even so little was know about them except to experts. So it surprised everyone, including the professor and Drannor, when Danah raised her hand. Even so the professor nodded to Danah as a signal to answer. "The plants are very hard to grow. They require being in the water as seeds but when they mature they must be out of the water or they will drown. After they have been moved out of the water they must have large amounts of water or they will die. Once they are mature, though, their purpose has already been decided. To determine the purpose of the plant one must look at how it was raised. If the person who planted it was pure of soul and mind the plant will heal, but if the person had a tainted soul or mind the plant will kill. Even if they start out good many become bad when a tainted person takes care of them before they have fully matured. Elves are one of the only races that can successfully raise the plants to heal," Danah said with the air of someone not fully in the room, like ghost, someone who lives in the past. The whole class, including the professor, looked at her dumbstruck. After recovering from the first wave of shock the professor agreed with her and then continued with the lesson. Many of the students watched Danah for a long time before turning their attention to the professor again. When the professor had her back turned Shatend slid over to Danah. "What was that all about?" he asked hiding his wonder but showing a slightly new respect for her. "I am not sure. When she asked the question I began to think about it. It sounded so familiar and I almost reached why, in my mind but then it slipped from me. I thought I was going to faint or something.everything became dark and I couldn't see with my mind. The next thing I knew I was speaking words I didn't even know I had in me!" His mind whispered she had let something slip but he ignored it and spoke to her again. "So you don't know where you learned that? No clue? Maybe you heard it at a bar or from your parents?" "No I haven't the slightest clue. But I can tell you it wasn't from any of the places you mentioned." "Normally I would suggest you might have read it in a book long ago and forgot about it but.not with this." He sighed and tried to concentrate on the lesson, which had shifted to something from their books on basic herbs used in potions. Shatend had his mind on the class after lunch when he noticed Danah wasn't looking at the book to do her work. They were writing an essay on some simple herbs like garlic and basil. Any Muggle could tell you about these herbs but few could tell you their magic properties. Shatend saw Danah wasn't even looking at the book. Then he noticed Drannor looking unblinkingly at the book. So she is using the bird, but why? He thought to himself. The boy considered asking his friend about it, but the bell rang and Danah disappeared in the shuffle to get out. After classes Shatend went straight to the library to work on his homework. He had put off his Transfiguration homework the day before and figured he needed to work on it. Instead he found himself looking through the books, trying to find something to explain why she had a raven familiar. More importantly how the raven could talk to her. Shatend spent the rest of his evening going through books, his homework forgotten, along with dinner. ~ * * * ~ Danah walked out of Herbology in a slight daze. How had I known that? She walked up to the castle but didn't go in.not yet she needed to talk to Drannor, privately. The girl wondered about the grounds for several minutes before spotting the forest by it. Something was summoning her to it. Obediently she followed the voice. Drannor saw the forest from afar and prayed she didn't go by it. He didn't think she would go in it but he didn't want his mistress anywhere near that place. When she turned towards the forest and entered, he panicked. Drannor shifted uncomfortably on her shoulder, his secret warning, but the call was too strong. She continued down the path only she could see. At first the forest was quite, gradually it got louder. Drannor tried to ignore it but finally gave up and took flight, startling Danah out of her trance; Drannor had never left her before. Danah stopped dead in her tracks, something was wrong; she could fell it, now. Turning back the way she came, Danah calmly walked until she realized that she was going in circles. Dread gripped her as she grasped the fact that she was lost. What was worse is Drannor had left her. Betrayal and a great sadness fell upon her as she took a seat against the nearest tree. Eventually she fell asleep. In fact Drannor had fled at first but when he remembered Danah he stopped himself and went back to find her, he couldn't let his past haunt him, scare him from Danah, his mistress. When he found her, even from his height above the trees, he could read the pain and anger she felt. Hovering above the treetops he followed her. Always on the look out for danger to either of them. As Danah settled down by a tree Drannor heard the voices he always heard in the woods. Voices from the trees. Fighting them off for Danah's sake he settled down on a silent tree to keep watch. Danah awoke with a start but was immediately calmed when she felt Drannor's presence by her. It was then she noticed how quiet the forest had become. Instinctively she tensed for an attack, as three figures jumped out from behind surrounding trees. Holding her breath Danah watched them circle her. With a start she realized what they were. Centaurs! The creatures had the body of a horse and the upper torso of a human. All three had black horses but only two of them had the torso of a man. The leader, it seemed, had a woman's torso. "Why have you come to our forest?" One of the males asked. Standing up and looking at all three with what she had learned to be a confident air she said, "I was called" "You were called? Impossible" the other male exclaimed tossing his head. "I was called, but then I got lost." She spoke calmly, not revealing, with her eyes, Drannor, to them. Her efforts were in vain though for the female could sense Drannor, even if she didn't call him the same as Danah. Mentally she called to him. When he refused to answer she threatened to reveal him to the others. Although he didn't like being threatened he knew he had to answer for Danah. When she finished confirming her story about the raven she spoke for the girl, knowing, too, who she was. "She was called" "Pardon?" The first male who had spoken asked. "Look at Venus tonight." The female answered steadily, while eyeing the star. All five looked up. Danah and Drannor didn't see what was so special about the star but the other two centaurs gasped aloud. Glancing at their leader for conformation, at which she nodded, they bowed to Danah and begged her forgiveness. Willingly she gave it to them but wondered what they had seen that she hadn't. "We give you leave of our forest." The female said to the shock of everyone else including the other centaurs that knew Danah's past. The males quickly whipped their faces clean of expressions and turned back to Danah as the female left, quiet as the wind. "Would you like us to escort you, miss?" One of the males asked politely. "Sure" Danah answered expecting to be lead back to Hogwarts. Instead they lead her to a pond. Turing on their heels they took leave of her. "Wait, why was I called? Who called me?" Danah said not understanding she was on the other side of Hogwarts. "Venus is unusually dim tonight, perhaps you should look at it again tomorrow." The second male spoke as the first disappeared from view. "What?" Danah replied, "I don't know how to read the stars" "Andromeda shines very brightly tonight." With a shake of his head the centaur left. Danah looked up at the stars and tried to see what he saw that she didn't. Drannor landed on her shoulder and she looked over at him but didn't say anything. Drannor already knew what he had done and he felt atrocious. With Drannor back she easily found her way to the castle, but she didn't feel like going to the common room and since dinner was over she was hungry. Danah there is a cat headed this way and she looks up to no good perhaps we should go to your dorm room? The raven suggested. "No, I don't want to go back there right now.I need to find out who or what Andromeda is" She replied knowing exactly where she was going. After several back turns Danah found herself in front of a portrait of a fat lady. The lady glanced over at her and then straightened when she saw it was a student. "Wait a minute! You are not a Gryffindor! What are you doing here? Get lost or something?" "Aren't you going to ask me the password?" Danah said irritated "Of course not! Why you are a Slytherin, why should I let you in my common room?" "Well first of all it's not your common room and two I know the password. Butterbur" Danah said sweetly. "What? How? But?" While the Fat Lady was trying to figure out how she knew the password Danah walked into the Gryffindor common room. It had been over a hundred years since a Slytherin had been in the Gryffindor common room. So it was no surprise to Danah when the Gryffindors reacted the way they did. Several glared at her as a group of three approached her. "What are you doing in our common room, filth?" A fifth year asked sneering at Danah. Instead of answering him she walked past as if she hadn't heard. The boy glared at her back and then jogged to catch up to her. "I asked you a question, first year!" The boy yelled. Now the whole common room was watching with interest after recognizing Danah from the night of the sorting ceremony. "And I chose to ignore you" she said evenly, which through the boy off guard. Anger built up in him and he went to grab her arm but was met with a curse that knocked him off his feet. Danah looked down at the boy with pity, then turned and headed to the boys dorm, since she hadn't seen Cole in the common room. At the stairs though she was met with more resistance, but it was not violent like the previous. "Are you in our common room for a reason?" a girl asked calmly. She looked to be a second or third year. "Actually yes I need to talk with Cole McNeal, could you tell me where his room is?" Danah said looking over her shoulder at the rest of the room. "No" the girl said "No? Well then could you move out of my way please?" Danah said smoothly, these Gryffindors were getting on her nerves. "You have caused quite a few problems here so if you could leave, it would be appreciated," the girl answered looking around for backup. Drannor tightened his grip on Danah's shoulder in warning, just as another more familiar voice called out. "What's going on here? Danah why are you in the Gryffindor common room?" Ginny Weasley asked. "I need to speak with Cole, Ginny. It's very important, please?" Danah said glaring at the shadow of the girl who stormed off at the sight of Ginny. Ginny studied the other girls face. She wasn't sure she trusted the girl but the fact that she had done nothing and had been able to get past the Fat Lady gave her a little credit. Just as Ginny was coming to a conclusion a male voice sounded above the group. "Danah? What's wrong?" Cole's voice was filled with anxiety. Danah wouldn't have come in the Gryffindor common room if it wasn't important. He had only known her a few days but trusted her with his life. The rest of the Gryffindors looked up at the concern in his voice for her. What? But she was a Slytherin! Cole sped down the stairs and wrapping an arm around Danah as he had done the day before lead her from the common room and to an empty classroom. The Gryffindors began whispering amongst themselves. Cole was very well liked, one of the most popular first years and yet here he was taking a Slytherin's side. Majority of the Gryffindors went off to bed not sure what to make of the scene they had just witnessed and knowing it would be all over school before lunch, and maybe breakfast. The group of Gryffindors who had been in their first Defense Against Dark Arts remained quiet about the teacher and seemed to be withdrawn form the rest. They would know soon enough.
~ * * * ~ After Cole had seated Danah in a chair he went over to a desk and sat atop it, asking with concern in his eyes, "Danah, what is it?" "I wanted to know if you could tell me about Andromeda. I noticed you were interested in stars and the like." Her answer puzzled him because he knew something else was wrong but he answered anyway, wondering if maybe this had to do with why she wasn't at dinner. Also he couldn't remember ever telling her he enjoyed astrology. "Andromeda was a princess who everyone in her kingdom, including herself, thought she was more beautiful than a race of sea nymphs. The nymphs of this race, the Nereid I think.might have to look that up, anyway they were known for their beauty. When they heard the kingdom's claim they, being bloody jealous and snobby if you ask me, went and complained to the sea god, Poseidon. He wanting to please them, bastard, sent a monster after the kingdom. The king, wanting to save his own hide, sent the innocent girl to be a sacrifice for the sea god; in return that Poseidon would call off his monster. With me so far?" "Yeah I think so.what happened to the girl?" Something was clicking in her head and she didn't like what she saw. "Some show off saved her in exchange to marry her. He saved her the end" "A boy saved her?" "Yeah although some legends say she was injured in the battle" "She was injured?" fear struck through her. "Yeah some say she got her eyes burned out or something.others think she ended up blind." Cole stopped seeing Danah pale. Quickly her crossed the room, "What's wrong? Danah?" "I am fine, do you know anything about Venus?" she requested, trying to appear unfazed. "Not much, I mean she is a good luck type thing for all women. If a girl is born on a certain day she will posses great magic, and Venus is supposedly always watching out for her." He said backing off slightly, recognizing if he wanted the whole story he would have to answer her questions first. Hey, he was getting pretty good at reading her. "Do you know what happens when Venus is dim? Dimmer than usual, I mean?" "Well I have heard rumors that when Venus is very dim one of her prized humans or animals is being protected by someone or something she didn't send for. Also if Venus is really really dim the 'protector' may be evil, or not pure or whatever" he let her digest this before summoning a small meal. Silently the two ate, each pondering his own thoughts. Danah spoke in her mind to Drannor for several minutes, sorting things out before deciding to tell Cole about tonight. "I assume you wondered where I was tonight?" She said softly. His head shot up, all thoughts left behind, attention on her. "Yeah I was wondering where you had gone off to." His voice was steady but Drannor read the excitement in his features and pasted the information to Danah. She sighed before answering. Cole suddenly noticed she did that a lot. Sigh, as if she carried the weight of the whole world on her shoulders. Somehow he would get her to open up to him or someone, she needed to talk, badly by the looks of it. She told Cole what had happened that night, leaving only a few parts out. When she finished he was staring at her. Regaining his composer something occurred to him, "Danah, did you get the centaurs names?" "No, why?" "Well Hagrid might be able to tell us more about them if you knew their names" he said lamely. Danah saw right through his lie but decided not to say anything. "Right well, I am off to bed.Can you find your way to the dungeons from here?" Cole said standing to stretch. Danah nodded and followed his example. Drannor eyed the boy and landed firmly of Danah's arm, he was tired of the boy always getting in his space. Cole saw the gesture and laughed, before leading them out of the room. After they dropped Cole off at the portrait, much to the dismay of the Fat Lady, Danah and Drannor made their way to the dungeons. "What do you think about the stars?" Danah spoke, breaking the silence. I think it is a bunch of non-sense, Stars telling the future? Right. Maybe you're right but it still seems strange. Danah said telepathically, she was getting better at this. What is so strange about it? Aside from the obvious, of course? Drannor shook his head realizing that she spoke to him in sentences now, not fragments. Danah laughed, and then spoke again, And what sir would the obvious be? For one, centaurs are brainless, lying, wannabe-astrol. "Drannor!" Danah shouted in the empty hall. Drannor ruffled his feathers. They continued to the common room in silence. Danah walked mutely into the common room, towards the stairs leading to the girl's dorm. When she noticed a black figure by the fire, hidden in the shadows. Although shocked that she had been able to see the form in this light she bravely approached the outline. Danah looked down at the shadow and saw it was a body, who though? The body appeared to have fallen asleep in the chair. Drannor who is that? She asked I believe it is that Shatend boy. Would you like me to wake him for you? Danah smiled slightly and she her head no as she continued on to her room. 'That Shatend boy' had not really been asleep just relaxing with his eyes closed. Shatend watched the duo go up the stairs and disappear in the shadows. Reflecting over his night he realized how late it must be. What is Danah doing out of bed? Shatend thought to himself before picking up the book beside him to resume his reading. The book, Fascinating Familiars and Their Attributes, had the most information on raven familiars as he could find. Looking down at the page he finished the page.
.are well known to have silver eyes and unusually bluish-black feathers. Raven familiars can be found among the oldest of families.
Unlike house elves ravens stay within a family name and not with a designated house. There are only 63 known raven familiars. Raven familiars are known for their ability to communicate with ones owner. When infact there have only been 10 known cases where the familiars could commune with their masters. There are no known cases of the master being able to commune back, telepathically. Raven familiars have a long through history recorded in the Ministry of Magic's documents. The most advanced ravens have the ability to read or sense a human's emotions and in wizards the ability to tell if they are truly good or bad, along with how effective their spells are or in children will be.
Shatend began to wonder what was so special about Drannor. Minus the fact that he was a raven familiar there was something else about the raven and Danah for that matter. "What if she can talk back to him? Even though the book says it have never happened maybe that is what is so strange about them." Shatend whispered aloud. Although it sounded absurd it could be true. Suddenly he remembered his transfiguration homework and dashed out the door, heading towards the library. In his rush to get back to the common room with his book he had left the rest of his school things by the table. Halfway down the corridor leading to the library Shatend heard voices and swiftly ducked behind the closest suit of armor. "Seriously? I mean you're not kidding me are ya?" a female voice said. "no, I am not kidding you! The bitch was in our common room and bloody cursed me! I thought I was going to die. The agony was almost to much but I stood back up and demanded that she leave." "What did she do?" "the only thing she could, although I think it was pretty stupid, she stood up against me, wand raised and I swear she would have cursed me again if I hadn't been quicker. I pulled out my wand and finished her off with a stunning spell." in the shadows Shatend snickered, the boy who was bragging could be no older than a third year but he talked as if he had almost killed the intruder. Normally Shatend would have just left the two be and moved on but he wanted to see who the intruder was and what they were doing in this guys common room. ".and I dragged her out of the Gryffindor common room and tossed her to the ground and told her never to come back." The male finished. "Wow! That grime actually wanted to battle with us?" the female voice asked having been dragged in to the story. "Yup those damn Slytherins think they are better than the rest of us, probably trying to pull a prank of some vile sort. Can't believe them, so sad really that there are people like that in the world." The male said, forcing sadness into his voice. Shatend's blood boiled at his house being dissed even if he wasn't one for loyalties. "So who did you say the girl was again?" the girl asked seductively. Shatend perked his ears up and strained them to their fullest. "Let me think.oh yes.it was that first year Slytherin girl.ummm.oh yeah that Danah girl, you know the one whose parents are bribing the staff so she can have her death bird with her in class." Fury filled Shatend as he listened to the boy's last words. If it hadn't been so late he would have destroyed the boy for talking about Danah that way but being as it was late and that he was still trying to digest the information he had just heard he settled for a simple magic trick. Shatend conjured a loud bright pink bird over by the boy with just enough magic to last for two days. And just so the boy would know whom he had offended, as well as the rest of the student body, Shatend put a small necklace with the Slytherin snake on its chain around the bird's neck. Reeking with silently laughter Shatend hurried to the library picked up his stuff and practically ran back to the Slytherin common room, so none of the teachers headed towards the loud singing would catch him out of bed. Once safely there he considered going and asking Danah about what the boy had said but decided he could ask her tomorrow and started his homework.