Okay for starters I am horrible at this sort of thing lol that's why my summary is bad! ::sigh:: how I envy your writing ability Raie!!

Disclaimer: Raie Black and Vera Nethers. There will be more new characters later on but I honestly have no idea who they are yet :-D the rest are that of J.K. Rowling (brilliant young lassie now isn't she?)

Oh yeah and I kinda quote part of a line from Christina Aguilera's song "I'm Okay". C'mon. she has some pretty good lyrics!

Just an FYI: Vera's name is pronounced Vee-Ra and Raie's name is pronounced Ray. Someone didn't know how to pronounce Vera's name and I didn't know if you guys would, so there ya go! Enjoy :-D

If you have any questions review or send me an email

Rating: PG-13

INTRO

Vera Nethers sat at the end of her four-poster bed, hugging her knees, and rocking back and forth. Her head was resting on her arms and she stared fixedly out the window. The sky was becoming a blue black, and the stars were very bright.

It was her first night at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and here she was at 1:37 in the morning, wide awake. She looked over at her best friend Raie Black, who was sound asleep in the bed next to hers, hidden inside the silk hangings of her canopy bed. Vera and Raie had both transferred from Durmstrang Institute, and they were in their 5th year.

Wake up, Raie. Vera thought. A disgruntled "Mmm." issued from Raie's bed and Vera could hear her turning over under the covers. Pleeease. She thought. There was more shuffling heard from Raie's bed and then her head popped out from between the hangings, eyes squinted. Raie took a look at the clock by her bedside and rolled her eyes.

"C'mon Vera go to sleep." She said groggily. Vera put a finger to her lips and in her mind said "Shhh."

They had been able to do this since they first met. When they were younger, Vera and Raie were skipping rocks in a nearby pond and hadn't noticed that they were answering each other's thoughts. They carried on a silent conversation until they looked up and realized that neither of their mouths was moving. Since then they've been inseparable, and no one knows their secret.

Raie narrowed her eyes, pursed her lips and sent a very rude thought to Vera before pulling the hangings shut and lying back down to sleep. Vera sighed. Fine, she thought, I love you too.

She resumed her position at the end of the bed and closed her eyes, thinking about her 4 years at Durmstrang. thinking about David.

He was always in her thoughts, always haunting her like a nightmare that won't end. She could feel him over her, hear his voice, feel the bruises and blood and pain. She tried to shake the thoughts away but it was too much. She began to shake all over. Squeezing her eyes shut tight, she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. Why did he have to stay with her like this? Bruises fade, but the pain remains the same. She hated him for stealing away her innocence, and she hated him for making her feel so ashamed.

Vera heard the hangings slide open, and Raie stepped out of bed. She sat down next to Vera and wrapped her arms around her. She'd dealt with these relapses many times before this and knew what to do. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and ran her fingers through Vera's hair. She sent her happy memories and the shaking began to stop.

Raie was the only one who truly knew Vera. No one but her knew the pain Vera hid from the world. No one but her knew how to quiet that pain when it came to the surface.

"Go to sleep, Vera. We can pray together if you want." she whispered.

"No. I'll be fine. Thanks, Raie. You can go back to bed now." Vera whispered back in a shaky voice. No matter how great the pain, she would not cry.

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And so begins my story : ) Read on.