A/N: Now I'm going to do a very lazy trick. I'm sorry for it, but I can't
help it. How else can I make the time go faster?
Chapter 4: Hogsmeade weekend
Hours became days, days became weeks. Time passed quickly at Hogwarts. Everyone got used to the student with the tail, and only the Slytherin students kept making lame jokes about it. Raven was not an extraordinary brilliant student. Her grades were high enough to have no teacher worrying about her. She took 7 subjects, just like most of the students. In her case it was: Potions, Arithmancy, Divination (which was a class now which only girls attended), Care of Magical creatures, Charms, Transfiguration and Defence against the Dark Arts (she had missed the first lesson because she had misread the timetable). This last subject was the only subject she shined out everyone, even Harry, who had always been the best in DADA.
The only weird thing was their teacher of that subject, Jekyll. Just like Mad-Eye Moody, she only drank from her own bottle, and they rarely saw her eat something, but then, maybe she ate at in her own room, because she seldom showed up in the Great Hall at breakfast, lunch or dinner.
It was the weekend before Halloween, traditionally the weekend that third years and above with a permission form, signed by one of the parents, were allowed to go to Hogsmeade.
'Did you have to hand in a form too?' Ron asked Raven, on the Friday before the wizard village visit.
'No, I didn't. Did I ever mention I'm 18 already? So I'm not an underage witch anymore, which means I don't need permission', she answered, with a bit superior look on her face.
'I see', Harry said, 'you senior citizen!'
'Am not!'
'Are too!'
'Am not!'
'Stop quarrelling, you two!' Hermione yelled, 'I don't know what got into you two. Is it the fact Gryffindor won the Quidditch match against Slytherin last weekend? Or. . .'
'YEAH!' Raven, Ron and Harry , and they started to make a victory dance, singing: 'We're proud to be in Gryffindor'
Hermione didn't pay attention to them, and finished her sentence: ' . . . did the fact that you three lost almost all the points for the house cup, we had won in the Quidditch match, in the next few hours made you best friends?'
The dancing stopped.
'It was very stupid to do what we did', Raven said.
'Yeah, we lost 50 points each, but the looks on the face of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. . . I would almost say it was worth it', Harry said.
'It was worth it. Hexing idiots in the way we did, is always worth losing points', Ron added.
'Ow, you. . . !' Hermione said, she tried to sound irritated, but you could see the smile in her eyes. It had been very funny indeed. After the Quidditch match, the three most annoying Slytherins had been angry with Harry, because he had caught the snitch right before the nose of Draco Malfoy. So they called him names, as always, and they surrounded Ron, Raven and Harry, but just when Crabbe and Goyle wanted to beat them up (on Malfoys orders, of course), they did a charm. Luckily they all did the same one, so they effect was even stronger. It caused the three other students to grow hair at all places but their head. They burst out of their clothes because of all the hair, which made them look like they had dressed like teddy bears, but they had forgotten the masks. Everyone had who seen it, had laughed. The teachers had only smiled behind their hands, because you were not allowed to hex a fellow student, but it looked so funny. Snape had cut the points, and decided they would get detention, so every following evening they had been polishing the big house tables. Thursday evening had been the last. They had finally, at half past 12 in the morning, finished all the tables.
'But anyway, you're coming with us, when we go to Hogsmeade, right?' Harry said.
'Sure I am. I really need to get some new candy. I would die for some good chocolate. And some butterbeer would taste good too.'
'So that's settled than.'
'My dad is going to be in Hogsmeade', they heard Malfoy say, as he was walking pas them, with his usual gang, 'I'd love to see the face of the mutant when she sees him. Maybe she will be so shocked she. . .'
Raven turned white when she heard him use the word mutant. 'Shut up, little ignorant dragon', she said.
Draco stopped, turned around, and took a few steps till he was face to face with her.
'You are not telling me they don't know your little secret. . . Are you afraid they will abandon you? But they won't. They already hang out with half-giants, weirdo's who are afraid of their own shadow and even werewolves. A mutant would only fit in their list of friends.'
'Don't you ever call me a mutant again, you stupid Slytherin. I don't know what you think you know, but if I were you I would keep it to yourself, or that werewolf you spoke about will rip you into pieces.'
'I'll keep my mouth shut, don't worry. Just be sure the Dark Lord keeps his mouth shut too. . .' and after those words, Malfoy walked away.
'What did he mean?' Harry asked when the four of them stood in a corner of the Gryffindor common room, 'A mutant? The Dark Lord? Do you know Voldemort?'
Raven was the only one who didn't flinch when he said the name of You-Know- Who.
'I can't tell you! There's nothing between me and him. Look at my arm!' She pulled her sleeve up to show them the spot were Death Eaters usually had the Dark Mark. 'I don't have the sign, so I'm not one of them, are you sure now?'
'I. . . I didn't mean to offend you. I just. . . Malfoy seems to know something we don't know, and I was just curious.'
'He knows nothing. Absolutely nothing. He thinks he found my weak spot, but I'll show him. . .' she said, more to herself than to her friends. 'I'm sorry, I'm going to bed. See you in the morning.' She walked away to her own room.
-*-*-
The next morning everyone met at breakfast.
'Good morning, everyone', Dumbledore said, as every morning, 'I hope you all slept well. As you all know the students who are allowed can go to Hogsmeade today. Raven, I'd like to see you before you go, because of your permission form. Now have a nice breakfast everyone.'
Ron ate as much as he could. Harry and Hermione kept it to a full English breakfast with scrambled eggs, sausages, tomatoes, and toast. Raven only ate a small piece of bread with cheese.
'I'm not hungry', she said when the others were almost finished, and asked when she didn't eat more. She stood up. 'I have to see Dumbledore now, will you wait at the gate for me?'
Half an hour later they saw her running to the gate.
'Sorry I'm so late guys', she said. She looked a lot happier than she had looked in the morning.
'Dumbledore just asked me if my parents had signed the form. I told him they didn't want to have to do anything with this school, and that they were just happy I was gone for the whole year. And he understood! He really is the best!'
'Told ya', Ron said, and they walked to Hogsmeade. The weather was dry but cloudy, and it seemed like there was a big chance there would be rain today.
The little village had already been overflowed with students from Hogwarts. They first went to Honeydukes, and Raven bought about ten of the largest pieces of chocolate she could find. Milk chocolate with little pieces of sugar in it. Chocolate with the taste of coffee. Creamy white chocolate which glowed in the dark. And, of course, the usual bag with every flavour beans.
'I think that's enough', she said, when she walked out the shop, with a heavy bag, just like the other three.
'Shall we go for some butterbeer now?' Ron asked, 'It's pretty chilly out here.'
'Yeah,, come on. I hope we can still get a place', Hermione said.
It was busy in the 'Three Broomsticks', but somewhere in the back was still a little table left. Harry went to get their drinks, and the others observed the other guests. A lot of students, a few teachers, but a lot of others too.
'Look, over there, isn't that Lucius Malfoy? And those others? They must be the fathers of Crabbe and Goyle. A little meeting of olds evil friends, it seems to me', Hermione said.
Raven just stared at them. Harry came back with three mugs of hot butterbeer, and he said: 'You're right, Ron. And they're talking about you, Raven.'
'Are they?' she said, looking very pale.
'You sure you're all right, girl, drink something. It'll make you feel better', Harry said, while handing one of the mugs over to her. She took it, and emptied it with one long draught.
'Thanks, Harry, I do feel better now. I don't know what those guys are saying but it can't be good. For me, I mean. I guess the little Malfoy really knows too much for his own good. It would be unfair not to tell you, and now that Dumbledore told me it was fine I told you who I am, what I am, I suppose I can.'
'What are you talking about?'
'About this. Listen, I'm only going to tell you this story once. . .'
-*-*-
A/N: A cliffy, again. I really hope you want to know who Raven really is, and that you'll wait for the next chapter. I spend a lot of thinking on her background, so I hope you're going to like it. But that's of later worries, now please review this chapter!
Chapter 4: Hogsmeade weekend
Hours became days, days became weeks. Time passed quickly at Hogwarts. Everyone got used to the student with the tail, and only the Slytherin students kept making lame jokes about it. Raven was not an extraordinary brilliant student. Her grades were high enough to have no teacher worrying about her. She took 7 subjects, just like most of the students. In her case it was: Potions, Arithmancy, Divination (which was a class now which only girls attended), Care of Magical creatures, Charms, Transfiguration and Defence against the Dark Arts (she had missed the first lesson because she had misread the timetable). This last subject was the only subject she shined out everyone, even Harry, who had always been the best in DADA.
The only weird thing was their teacher of that subject, Jekyll. Just like Mad-Eye Moody, she only drank from her own bottle, and they rarely saw her eat something, but then, maybe she ate at in her own room, because she seldom showed up in the Great Hall at breakfast, lunch or dinner.
It was the weekend before Halloween, traditionally the weekend that third years and above with a permission form, signed by one of the parents, were allowed to go to Hogsmeade.
'Did you have to hand in a form too?' Ron asked Raven, on the Friday before the wizard village visit.
'No, I didn't. Did I ever mention I'm 18 already? So I'm not an underage witch anymore, which means I don't need permission', she answered, with a bit superior look on her face.
'I see', Harry said, 'you senior citizen!'
'Am not!'
'Are too!'
'Am not!'
'Stop quarrelling, you two!' Hermione yelled, 'I don't know what got into you two. Is it the fact Gryffindor won the Quidditch match against Slytherin last weekend? Or. . .'
'YEAH!' Raven, Ron and Harry , and they started to make a victory dance, singing: 'We're proud to be in Gryffindor'
Hermione didn't pay attention to them, and finished her sentence: ' . . . did the fact that you three lost almost all the points for the house cup, we had won in the Quidditch match, in the next few hours made you best friends?'
The dancing stopped.
'It was very stupid to do what we did', Raven said.
'Yeah, we lost 50 points each, but the looks on the face of Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. . . I would almost say it was worth it', Harry said.
'It was worth it. Hexing idiots in the way we did, is always worth losing points', Ron added.
'Ow, you. . . !' Hermione said, she tried to sound irritated, but you could see the smile in her eyes. It had been very funny indeed. After the Quidditch match, the three most annoying Slytherins had been angry with Harry, because he had caught the snitch right before the nose of Draco Malfoy. So they called him names, as always, and they surrounded Ron, Raven and Harry, but just when Crabbe and Goyle wanted to beat them up (on Malfoys orders, of course), they did a charm. Luckily they all did the same one, so they effect was even stronger. It caused the three other students to grow hair at all places but their head. They burst out of their clothes because of all the hair, which made them look like they had dressed like teddy bears, but they had forgotten the masks. Everyone had who seen it, had laughed. The teachers had only smiled behind their hands, because you were not allowed to hex a fellow student, but it looked so funny. Snape had cut the points, and decided they would get detention, so every following evening they had been polishing the big house tables. Thursday evening had been the last. They had finally, at half past 12 in the morning, finished all the tables.
'But anyway, you're coming with us, when we go to Hogsmeade, right?' Harry said.
'Sure I am. I really need to get some new candy. I would die for some good chocolate. And some butterbeer would taste good too.'
'So that's settled than.'
'My dad is going to be in Hogsmeade', they heard Malfoy say, as he was walking pas them, with his usual gang, 'I'd love to see the face of the mutant when she sees him. Maybe she will be so shocked she. . .'
Raven turned white when she heard him use the word mutant. 'Shut up, little ignorant dragon', she said.
Draco stopped, turned around, and took a few steps till he was face to face with her.
'You are not telling me they don't know your little secret. . . Are you afraid they will abandon you? But they won't. They already hang out with half-giants, weirdo's who are afraid of their own shadow and even werewolves. A mutant would only fit in their list of friends.'
'Don't you ever call me a mutant again, you stupid Slytherin. I don't know what you think you know, but if I were you I would keep it to yourself, or that werewolf you spoke about will rip you into pieces.'
'I'll keep my mouth shut, don't worry. Just be sure the Dark Lord keeps his mouth shut too. . .' and after those words, Malfoy walked away.
'What did he mean?' Harry asked when the four of them stood in a corner of the Gryffindor common room, 'A mutant? The Dark Lord? Do you know Voldemort?'
Raven was the only one who didn't flinch when he said the name of You-Know- Who.
'I can't tell you! There's nothing between me and him. Look at my arm!' She pulled her sleeve up to show them the spot were Death Eaters usually had the Dark Mark. 'I don't have the sign, so I'm not one of them, are you sure now?'
'I. . . I didn't mean to offend you. I just. . . Malfoy seems to know something we don't know, and I was just curious.'
'He knows nothing. Absolutely nothing. He thinks he found my weak spot, but I'll show him. . .' she said, more to herself than to her friends. 'I'm sorry, I'm going to bed. See you in the morning.' She walked away to her own room.
-*-*-
The next morning everyone met at breakfast.
'Good morning, everyone', Dumbledore said, as every morning, 'I hope you all slept well. As you all know the students who are allowed can go to Hogsmeade today. Raven, I'd like to see you before you go, because of your permission form. Now have a nice breakfast everyone.'
Ron ate as much as he could. Harry and Hermione kept it to a full English breakfast with scrambled eggs, sausages, tomatoes, and toast. Raven only ate a small piece of bread with cheese.
'I'm not hungry', she said when the others were almost finished, and asked when she didn't eat more. She stood up. 'I have to see Dumbledore now, will you wait at the gate for me?'
Half an hour later they saw her running to the gate.
'Sorry I'm so late guys', she said. She looked a lot happier than she had looked in the morning.
'Dumbledore just asked me if my parents had signed the form. I told him they didn't want to have to do anything with this school, and that they were just happy I was gone for the whole year. And he understood! He really is the best!'
'Told ya', Ron said, and they walked to Hogsmeade. The weather was dry but cloudy, and it seemed like there was a big chance there would be rain today.
The little village had already been overflowed with students from Hogwarts. They first went to Honeydukes, and Raven bought about ten of the largest pieces of chocolate she could find. Milk chocolate with little pieces of sugar in it. Chocolate with the taste of coffee. Creamy white chocolate which glowed in the dark. And, of course, the usual bag with every flavour beans.
'I think that's enough', she said, when she walked out the shop, with a heavy bag, just like the other three.
'Shall we go for some butterbeer now?' Ron asked, 'It's pretty chilly out here.'
'Yeah,, come on. I hope we can still get a place', Hermione said.
It was busy in the 'Three Broomsticks', but somewhere in the back was still a little table left. Harry went to get their drinks, and the others observed the other guests. A lot of students, a few teachers, but a lot of others too.
'Look, over there, isn't that Lucius Malfoy? And those others? They must be the fathers of Crabbe and Goyle. A little meeting of olds evil friends, it seems to me', Hermione said.
Raven just stared at them. Harry came back with three mugs of hot butterbeer, and he said: 'You're right, Ron. And they're talking about you, Raven.'
'Are they?' she said, looking very pale.
'You sure you're all right, girl, drink something. It'll make you feel better', Harry said, while handing one of the mugs over to her. She took it, and emptied it with one long draught.
'Thanks, Harry, I do feel better now. I don't know what those guys are saying but it can't be good. For me, I mean. I guess the little Malfoy really knows too much for his own good. It would be unfair not to tell you, and now that Dumbledore told me it was fine I told you who I am, what I am, I suppose I can.'
'What are you talking about?'
'About this. Listen, I'm only going to tell you this story once. . .'
-*-*-
A/N: A cliffy, again. I really hope you want to know who Raven really is, and that you'll wait for the next chapter. I spend a lot of thinking on her background, so I hope you're going to like it. But that's of later worries, now please review this chapter!