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CLAWS
OF A RAVEN
by Tyde
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Chapter Twenty Two
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It had been several weeks since Hogwarts had closed and as Sorora climbed the stairs up to the second floor to go to bed she felt the chill from the snow blanketing the ground outside and wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm. Dumbledore, herself, Hagrid and Filch had just had their Christmas dinner. She had told Julian the night before that he should come, all the other ghosts had been invited, but he'd declined. He said something about not being able to face the reality of it all. "When we're together, I don't feel dead, you make me feel alive again" Which had set her off on a fresh bunch of tears. She sniffled and entered her quarters.
Sorora was surprised to see a small table set with a candle and a small sprig of rosemary resting in a little jar. Julian stood off to the side and smiled at her, a sad smile.
"How did you-?"
"Peeves"
Her eyebrows flew up in shock. "You let him in here?"
"He didn't hear the password, I made him block his ears"
"And he was willing to help you?" There was something in his eyes that she couldn't read.
"He said you were no fun to taunt anymore, wanted me to cheer you up so he could scare the dickens out of you again"
"Typical Peeves"
"Sit down, love" He gestured with his hand at the only chair.
She sat down and felt the coldness of the chair through her robes. "What is it Julian? Something is wrong isn't it? You could never hide your emotions from me, your face shows too much"
"I found you for a reason Sor. There's something horrible that I have to tell you. I've been putting it off because I didn't want to hurt you again"
"Sweetie, whatever it is, you can tell me. I have you here now. You can make everything okay"
He seemed to shuffle his feet like he was nervous. "It has to do with my death"
She pressed her lips together hard and blinked, trying to control her emotions. If only he hadn't brought it up now, I was doing okay. I could almost forget sometimes, if I closed my eyes. Almost. "He didn't torture you did he?" her voice cracked a little and she wanted to slap herself.
"No, no," and then he seemed to think better of that answer. "Not physically, mentally"
"Oh sweetie" she wanted to pull him towards her but she knew her hands would just pass through thin air. "We'll get him and we'll make him pay. Dumbledore will find that bastard and he'll lock him up and then everyone will get a chance to spit on him and torture him as payback"
"What?" he looked confused. "But he's already locked up!"
"How? Who got him?" her heart was racing and her eyes were flickering all over the room as if trying to find the reason on the walls. "Dumbledore would have said at dinner. Who brought him in? Who is the one that bettered You Know How?"
His face fell at her outburst. "Sorora love, no. It wasn't the Dark Lord" He ran his hands over his dark blue hair and looked at the stone floor for a few moments before taking a deep breath in.
"Severus murdered me. Your brother is the one responsible for this"
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At first numbness hit her. She looked straight ahead at the wall of her bedroom and didn't blink for ages. Julian had stood there, letting her be engulfed by her own silence. It was ages before either of them uttered a word.
"Sor?"
She blinked and looked down at her hands. A forefinger rubbed itself over the knuckle of her wedding ring finger. Circling round and round, the fingernail digging in lightly at times. "Sev?" her voice strangled itself as she spoke. Her emotions were so conflicted she didn't know what to think.
"Yes"
She frowned deeply and then stood up. The move was so quick he almost didn't see it. Her arm scooped under the tabletop and flung it against the opposite wall. It clanged loudly and broke into several pieces. Julian jumped rather ungracefully out of the way as a metal leg came flying at him. Sorora dropped to her knees suddenly and screamed out so loudly that the windows rattled. The shriek sounded like a wounded Hippogriff.
"Sor?"
"It's never enough for him. He won't stop until I'm in my own personal hell. What gives him the right? I'm his sister. Why does he do this?"
"He's a bad man"
"Not for very much longer"
"Darling?"
"The Ministry gave me permission to see him for Christmas. Family visitation rights they said" She started gathering a few things and dumping them into a bag. "Oh I'll visit him all right. It'll be a day late and he's not going to be happy to see me"
"What are you saying?"
"My brother just ran out of chances"
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There was a small inn on the Norwegian coast at Mo-I-Rana. It had only 8 rooms and all of them were decorated with a tasteful and expensive looking nautical theme. She fumbled with the kroner notes in her hand as the owner waited patiently. Obviously the inn did a fair bit of business from relatives and friends of those in wizard prison, but the Muggle owners had no idea why. A lot of boats were also hired and they assumed that it had to do with deep sea fishing. Oddly enough none of their customers ever returned with fish.
She booked herself in for one night. Julian would be joining her later. She wasn't quite sure how ghosts travelled so she had Apparated out to London first, then Calais, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and finally onto Mo which was the larger town in proximity to Mo-I-Rana. Sorora had never been good with continental Apparating and by the time she settled into her room she was exhausted. It was early afternoon when she came out of the shower and found Julian standing next to the bed.
"Have you rented the boat?"
"Yes. We can leave in a few minutes" A weird smile overtook her face. "I've never looked so forward to anything in my entire life"
Julian smiled weakly. "Darling, I cannot come to Azkaban with you"
She spun around to face him, some hair falling from the plait she was weaving. "Why not?" it was an accusing and cranky tone.
"The Dementors have their own brand of magic – it prevents ghosts and poltergeists entering"
"But, you won't witness it. You'll miss your vindication"
"I will know my darling. The moment he dies, I will feel it in here" he put a hand over his heart. "Now go. I'll be with you in spirit"
As she pulled the door closed behind her Julian made his way over to the bed and sat down on it, his form making an impression on the mattress. He reached over to the decanter on the side table and poured himself a slug of scotch which he gulped down gratefully. Fingers plucked at the cord that held his unseen cloak together and it pooled at his feet. Julian no longer appeared in shades of blue and transparent. He was solid; he was flesh.
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Author's note: Two chapters today, I just couldn't help myself. Is it wrong to love your own story? Finally after twenty or so chapters the things I have been planning since the beginning are finally making an appearance. Snape next chapter. Promise.
I took a bit of artistic licence with Mo-I-Rana, I don't know if it's strictly a coastal town. It's smallish though.
Sárince – do you still like Julian? :oP I've been planning this part since chapter one and it's been killing me not to say anything. I'm a bit of a spoiler whore. Just wait until the confrontation between Sorora and Julian when she discovers the truth. It's a doozy. And there is of course one more surprise! When it rains, it fricking pours!
