Come again?? Excellent. First things first. There are thousands of story on ff.net and I unfortunately have been unable to read them all. If my story bears any resemblance to another story, it's coincidental because I believe this fic is original. Thanx!

*sigh*

I don't own Snape or any of the other Harry Potter characters…I am only using them for my dark little pleasures. I do own Raven Darkmoon *laughs evilly*...yes, well anyway…that's all folks.

Thank you's:

Cranberry13: Thank you, I'm glad I've got your attention. Does this help *rips off shirt*? *glances down to see another shirt * Awww dang it… Jk!!

Mage Kitty: Black is the best color. Yea, H/S stories can be good. But most of the time, they are so expected, you know?? He is old enough!! I'm thinking I am gonna make Raven older somehow…Thank you for your review!!

LilPurplFlwr: *shakes head* Lets not go into you eh deary?? Longest? I find that hard to believe…..the horrible part…yea that's believable…but only cuz I know you too well…Thanx babe!!

Alittlenarcissistic: Hahaha??? Really she does?? Its not like I meant her to be like you..hehe *starts sweating* ofcourse not…I dun't even know you. Yea, she is like me…..R u my long lost sister??? * looks hopeful* heehee, THANK YOU!!!

Okay, enough chit chatting…here's the chappie!!! R&R!!!

Chapter Three: Company

With a sigh of content and an overloaded mind, Raven fell onto her bed. As tired as she was, she still took care to enjoy the cool silkiness of the shiny black sheets against her smooth hot skin. The windows were popped open to let the chilly night air and numerous sounds fill her room to make her feel as though she was outside among her friends. She could never be far from Nature. She felt stifled if she was. Rustle. The tree just beyond the pane of the window shook violently, bit it didn't scare Raven. And when a clawed paw appeared over the pane and a whole body ensued, Raven lay still and smiled. She had visitors every night. Animals came to draw comfort from her presence or share with her their latest adventure. Her visitor tonight was a large ferocious-looking cat who climbed delicately into Raven's bed and curled up against her muscled stomach. Raven absent-mindedly stroked the feline's head and soon the whole bed shook with purrs.

Raven loved her friends' visits as much as they did. She loved falling asleep with a warm body against hers. But this night, no sleep would come to her, and she knew it. She was so worried…

~Flashback~

"Make sure everyone, to bring your wands to class tomorrow. We will be starting on our first spells. Class dismissed."

Raven sighed in resignation. She knew that the day would come, she had just hoped that it magically wouldn't. She decided maybe she could work on whatever the spell was tonight. She ran up to Professor Mcgonagall and asked what spell they would be using.

"Oh, hello Ms. Darkmoon. I am planning on starting our wand lessons with a simple light spell. Given that you are older than all of the students in my classes, it should be a piece of cake for you. Now, you have another class to get to, so run along. And don't forget your wand."

Great, just great, Raven kept thinking over and over again. Now what was she to do? Maybe, maybe the spell would work just this once. She doubted it, but she could still hope. Older than everyone. There was a reason for that. She was eighteen. She should be in her graduating year, but instead, she was in her first. There was always a reason like trying to get rid of her magic, or trying to conceal it. Ever since the first time she had received the Hogwarts acceptance letter, she had been passed around from relative to relative, running a way, then coming back…all to escape from the grasps of the school. But finally, when a friend had been severely injured in an accident caused by her lack of wand knowledge, she was forced to come here, to Hogwarts. She had been accepted but only after a myriad of lies was set up and fake names and such.

But, come on…a light spell? It was the easiest spell possible, but she knew she couldn't do it.

~end Flashback~

Raven opened her eyes to a gentle light in the sky. She supposed she must have dosed off. Her mind kept wandering back to earlier today, No, wait, it must be yesterday judging from the light. Yesterday when her happy life had ended. Today was the day wand work began. There was only one thing to do.

Raven hopped out of bed and stretched her muscles yawning like a cat. Speaking of which, her last night's visitor gently jumped from the bed and now stood at her feet, mewing indignantly for a meal.

"Fine, fine, I'll feed you, but then you had better be off. I don't think you'll be wanting to see what I am going to do." She poured a cup of milk and set some dried bread out on the floor, all from a hidden supply of stolen foods for her friends. She sat on her bed heavily, wishing that cat would hurry and leave yet hoping it would stay a little longer. At last, the large feline mewed a thanks, rubbed against Raven's leg in affection and in one giant leap, landed on the windowsill than disappeared out into the night. Raven followed it to close the windows and lock them.

Sighing, she dragged her feet over to her closet and dug through into the very back. Taking out a small black box, she took off a velvety lid and looked through all that she had inside. Pictures and memorabilia of a past life that no longer existed. Some money and…there it was, what she was looking for. An old razorblade with a dulled edge. Raven took it out of the box and replaced the black object back where she had gotten it from. Heaving herself to her feet, she walked into the small bathroom.

Not wanting to soil her clothing, she removed her gowns, and undergarments then stood before the mirror to look at herself. She looked at her ribs that showed through her pale skin. Slash marks were upon each rib, and always burned when she had a certain dream about suffocating in water, than suddenly being able to breath again. Her eyes flowed up to the U shaped mark right in the dip of the collarbone that glowed deep blue whenever danger was nearby. Continuing their journey up her body, her eyes finally came to rest on the small tear droplet that lay in the inner corner of each eye, tattooed on in black. A sign of many deaths and misfortune. Raven sighed, thinking of how much concealer she had to use for school to cover the teardrops up. Turning around, she ran a delicate finger along the black line that run from her butt crack into her long black hair. A mark for all the experiments she did to see if she could remove her magic. Than magically sealed in an obsidian paste that would never allow her back to be opened again. Yes opened… She remembered. Raven rushed to push her mind away from that thought. Running one hand along the opposite arm, she felt the familiar bumps of the V shaped tattoos that lay one inside the other with the point towards her fingers. And then she felt other marks all too familiar.

Placing her clothes in a neat pile beside her, she picked up the dulled razorblade in shaking hands and took several deep breaths. She gently placed it against her wrist, and then, pulled hard and fast- hard enough to bleed severely not hard enough to kill herself- again and again over her wrists. Finally, she could not stand it anymore and fell to the floor, blood and vomit spilling around her. Her mind went numb as did all her senses and she didn't feel so bad. Kind of like floating in the air, she thought right before she fell into the grasps of darkness and fainted.