Chapter 4: What a
Lady!
'And what about
Harry Potter?' she asked, innocently.
He turned round and an authomatical
expression of hatred filled his face.
'I-can't-stand-him!',
he said.
'Well, he's a Gryffindor,
but he's not that bad, is he? I mean, if he has confronted the Dark Lord, he
must be brave'.
'You wouldn't
understand...I don't like him and his friends, and that's all. Ask no further'.
Stella realized that Snape kept some
secrets and she shut up. "He's full of bitterness", she thought;
"how could I help him? When I close my eyes, I feel that this room is full
of loneliness. I bet he hasn't smiled for ages".
'It's a bit cold
here', she said. 'May I lighten the fireplace?'
'If you want'.
She took her wand out of a hidden
pocket in his robes and pointed at the empty fireplace.
'Chimsus!', she
said, and there burnt a bright fire with beautiful purple flames.
The witch stretched her arms above
her head and looked at Snape, who was reading something in a huge book. She
didn't dare to ask him to stop and sit and talk with her. When the studied at
Hogwarts, he would sit for hours in a corner of their common room and read
strange volumes, which he surely borrowed from the restricted section of the library.
He was a very intelligent boy, but he only had a few friends. No girl had ever
dared to approach him -they were scared-, and he hated the Gryffindor-James'
Potter's gang more than anything in the world. Now, in the present, did he
still loath people that much?
Later that night, Severus lay on his
bed, looking at the sleeping bird on the green cushion. She asked too much, he
thought, but she was not an unpleasant company. In fact, her presence gave him
some kind of comfort. It was really cold
in the dungeon, and it occurred to him that it would be a good idea to make a
bed for her to spend the nights.
* * * (Next
day...)
'I think there is
something really weird about that bird', said Hermione, at the end of Transfiguration
class. 'It's like it's very fond of Snape'.
'That's because it
may not know him well enough', said Harry bitterly; 'otherwise, it would hate
him'.
Ron agreed and Hermione gave a deep
sigh. The other students didn't suspect the raven.
'I want to find it
out', she said. 'Listen, this evening we will investigate'.
'Ok', said the
boys.
The night came and they hadn't found
anything out, though they had been chasing Snape for an hour and ten points had
been taken from Gryffindor in consequence.
Stella felt that she needed to
breath fresh air and she left Snape for a while. She knew that students weren't
allowed to go out of the castle after
Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind
her and sat up, panicked. There was nobody there but someone spoke.
'Please, don't
transform again. I won't say anything'.
The Invisibility Cloak fell on the
grass and Harry stared at her in astonishment.
'Oh', he said. 'I'm
sorry, I was coming back from Hagrid's cottage and I saw...the raven,
well...you. Who are you?'
'I can't tell you
my true name. I'm a friend of Snape', she said in a low voice.
Harry's eyes were wide open. How
could Snape had a friend like that. She was beautiful!
'Er...I'm Harry
Potter'.
'I know. Listen, no
Slytherin should know that I am here; don't say anything, please'.
'I won't. Does
Dumbledore know you are here?'.
'Yes', she sighed.
She stood up and the moonlight drew
her beautiful silhouette in the darkness. Harry was still shocked.
'I can't stay out here,
he'll worry', she said. ' You should go into the castle, Harry; it's the safest
place to stay'.
She turned into a raven again and
flew towards a window. Harry ran to the Gryffindor common room.
'Listen, it's a
woman!', he told Ron and Hermione, who were about to kiss.
'What?!', said Ron,
making sure that nobody else was near.
'The raven is not a
raven, it's a *lady raven*!'
'Do you mean she's
an animagus?', asked Hermione fascinated.
'I've met her...by
the lake...I saw her transfiguration'.
'What is she like?'
asked Ron.
'She's pretty.
She's dressed in black and has grey eyes and long, very dark hair. She didn't
tell me her name. No Slytherin can know she's here, she told me. I guess she's
hidden in the dungeons'.
'Perhaps she's
Snape's girlfriend', Hermione said.
'Please, Hermione,
don't make me laugh!', Ron grinned.
Harry calmed down.
'Let's keep the
secret', he said. 'We may find out sooner or later'.
'Lady Raven', said
Hermione. 'It sounds good'.
* * *
'Where have you
been?', Snape asked when she entered the dungeon.
'I'm sorry. I have
been in the open air, I needed it'.
'Here you have
something for dinner', he said. 'And I thought you would prefer to sleep on a
bed, so...'
She looked at the new bed which was
at one side of the bedroom, not very far from Snape's.
'Thank you very
much! But you don't mind that I sleep in the same...?'
'I don't mind. Now
eat something, girl'.
Stella ate everything and with a
simple spell she changed her black robes into a green nightdress which made her
look younger. She fell asleep quickly, but her peaceful dream didn't last.
At
'Lumos!', he said,
approaching Stella's bed.
'Severus, it
hurts!!', she cried.
He lightened a torch and sat next to
her.
'What, your arm?'
She shown him her left arm, where
the dark mark shone black and more horrible than ever.
'They have found
me! They know I am alive'.
'Calm down, you're
safe here', he said.
'I'm not going', she
said, cleaning her eyes out of tears. 'I will only go when I go to fight them'.
Neither of them managed to sleep.
They remained there, sitting on a bed, thinking about their own fears.
* * *
Note: I'm glad that
some of you like this, though I'd be happier with more reviews ahem ahem.
Thanks a lot to MK and my Ginger. Oh and if you can beta-read this for me,
please e-mail me (note: a beta-reader is a native-speaker, in this case
of English, who can check the mistakes and spelling of a non-native English
speaker , as I am for example). Kizzes to you all!