A/N: To put it simply, I got tired of writing in drabbles (which are stories, or fragments of stories, that are exactly 100 words each). I felt too restricted and tethered, so I changed to a normal chapter outline. This way I can add more detail and go deeper without the fear of going over 100 words. I'm sorry if I've confused you with all these changes! But for the sake of sanity, I refrained from deleting and rewriting all of the previous chapters in favor of just starting now.


Chapter 6 - Dark Phoenix

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At the Headmaster's request, Raven resumed her seat before his desk, and Snape took the armchair next to her. What followed was an hour of Raven explaining her heritage and position. She was sure to omit accounts that would turn even Dumbledore's mouth dry and she left out many details, leaving them both with a vague and general overview of her life.

The dark girl had hesitated when Professor Dumbledore motioned her to a chair with a grave sweep of his arm, before silently gliding over and lowering herself cautiously. She watched in her peripheral vision as Severus Snape also sat in an armchair beside her, his arms making a dramatic show of rearranging his coattails before settling himself. Raven then lost sight of his face when he tilted his head down, causing a curtain of greasy black hair to obstruct her view, hiding everything but his nose. She was curious about him. Ever since she sensed him behind her in the shadows near the Great Hall, she had been aware of several emotions deep within him, most of which were not unlike her own...when she allowed herself to acknowledge she felt anything, naturally. But what caught her attention the most was the essence of absolute and thorough despair that consumed him. Raven could also identify several distinct feelings that intermingled with that core. The ones she could at hand give name to were bitterness, severe regret, fear, pain, hopelessness, and overwhelming self-hatred. There were more present that she wasn't able to label, and she didn't have the chance to study them further, for at that moment, Albus Dumbledore had begun to speak.

"Miss Roth, I feel that there are some matters that need to be explained to me. I had felt that there was more to you than what you described in your letter, and this incident with the Sorting Hat has now confirmed my suspicions." The Headmaster was gazing at her over his half-moon spectacles, and his fingers were pressed together under his chin with his elbows resting on his desk.

"In short," Snape interjected shortly, "Though I must admit I'm not entirely upset that I'll no longer be hearing those songs each Welcoming Feast, explain why you saw fit to destroy our only Sorting device."

"Severus, there is a time for your candid remarks, and I assure you that now is not one of them," Dumbledore stated with a pointed look toward the stiff man sitting next to Raven. "I was the one who insisted that she lower her mind barriers if I recall. Miss Roth seeks asylum here at Hogwarts, and expressed her concerns over her presence near the students. It was at my own discretion that I allowed her to come, with full intention of finding out more about her and more about why she seeks refuge here." At this, his gaze was directed back to Raven. "That is what I plan will happen now. You stated in your letter that your father had plans of world domination and destruction; that he was very close to achieving both; that he had enough power to destroy the earth, and that you, seeing no other alternative, managed to killed him."

A snort was heard from the shadowy man beside her. "If this is so, then why haven't we even heard of this man?"

"If he is a man at all," Dumbledore murmured quietly.

Severus raised his head sharply. "Are you saying that you think the Dark Lord is her father?" he asked shrewdly, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"The thought had crossed my mind," the old wizard admitted absently. "It certainly seemed a possibility from the way she described her situation."

The Potions Master sneered nastily. "As you know, Headmaster, the minute he is dead, everyone with the Mark will also die. So I seem disinclined to believe that a mere girl as this could have killed him without the notice of me."

Throughout this conversation, Raven had decided to remain silent. After all, she learned more things by listening. And this Dark Lord Professor Snape had mentioned seemed to be a point of particular stress for the younger wizard sitting next to her, it seemed. When he mentioned the title, she could feel a sense of fear and dread seep through his gangly body. She also took note that he expertly kept any of those emotions out of his face, voice, and body language. Raven also did not miss the fact that Snape had been marked by this Dark Lord, and that he was tied to him for life, and ultimately, his death.

Apparently actually questioning Raven herself whether or not her father was this Dark Lord had not crossed either of their minds, and they continued to have a verbal tennis game over whether it was plausible or not for the Dark Lord to have a daughter. And so it was with an irritated tone Raven interrupted their sparring match (which had now turned to whether or not the Dark Lord was even physically capable of mating). "If you two don't mind, I'll just sit here in the background while you argue over who my own father is."

Their rapt attention to each other was abruptly broken, and it was Snape who first addressed her. "Yes, Headmaster, let's get this cleared up from the source of our troubles. Who is your father?"

"Or rather, what is my father, you mean?" she replied testily.

Albus leaned over his desk slightly and spoke slowly. "He wouldn't happen to be a reptilian figure named Tom Riddle...or Voldemort-" Snape visibly cringed "-would he?"

"No," Raven said plainly. "My father was named Trigon. He was a powerful demon who sadistically and self-servingly ruled over millions of worlds in his dimension."

Silence met her admission, and she didn't care to remove her steadfast gaze on the floor to find out what expressions were currently on their faces. She didn't need to see them.

"I think it would be best if I started at the beginning," she said quietly, folding her legs beneath her in the chair. Raven began speaking in a dry monotone, her eyes cast downward. "My mother was raped by Trigon with the intent of conceiving a portal for him to reach Earth. And before she committed suicide, she was brought to another dimension called Azarath. It was there I was born...raised by the pacifist monks who raised and taught me to control the demonic side of me. Because of my demonic heritage I possess supernatural powers that include empathy, psychokinesis, rapid healing, flight, teleportation, soul-self, and soul-self metamorphosis. I came to Earth after..." here Raven hesitated only a moment, quickly deciding to omit this traumatic memory, "...after I reached the age of twelve. I was befriended by a group of teenagers who also had unique...abilities...and we formed a small band of do-gooders. We called ourselves the Teen Titans, and acted as a club of super heroes who defended the city from criminals and other villains.

"Even though I was in another world, surrounded by people my own age, I never forgot who...or more appropriately, what I was. I wasn't human. I wasn't demon. I wasn't even a daughter. I was an object...a gem...a gateway...a thing. Nothing but a thing. I could never let anyone get close to me...to find out what I was, or what I would someday become. I was dangerous. My powers are controlled by emotion, and the more emotion I allow to slip past my defenses, the closer I am to losing control. And if I lose control, then I become my lesser half. I become what I fear and hate...I become like my father."

Raven looked up suddenly, but nor did she make eye contact with either of the two men listening intently to her story. She smiled sadly as she continued.

"My life has been filled with dread, fear, and mistakes, and perhaps I should have ended it myself when I realized what I truly was. I was conceived for one objective: I was born for the sole purpose to bring terror, destruction, hatred and pain to Earth...to bring about the end of the world. I knew this and yet I tried to escape my destiny by running to Earth. How very foolish I was...how very stupid..."

She trailed off pensively, her violet eyes laid bare to the pain-ridden memories she was reliving in her mind. She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes. Again, she picked up where she had left off, her eyes still shut, but her voice was oddly louder and stronger than before.

"But I served my purpose. I released the monster to murder, ravage, and destroy this place I had come to call home. I should have killed myself...should have simply walked off a cliff, but instead I was a coward. I allowed the beast to use me as he had intended all along. He worked his evil through me as a means to his own ends, just as before..." she stopped before revealing the fate of her beloved Azarath. Raven's eyes hardened. "In the end, I served my purpose, and thus I no longer existed as a thing but became nothing...absolutely nothing."

At this, she did leave off with several minutes of silence following her pause. Raven continued to stare at the front of Dumbledore's desk, though she could see and feel both pairs of eyes upon her, one transmitting the expected dismayed horror and sympathy, and the other...understanding? Acceptance? Empathy? Raven glanced at the man who was looking at her as though he was just now seeing her for the first time. He was unconsciously rubbing his left forearm as he gazed at her with black eyes that involuntarily said he knew exactly what it was like to be her.

But once Severus registered that she was looking back at him, he quickly averted his staring to the floor in front of him. If she hadn't spoken about herself with such detail, such unreadable emotion...such accuracy...he never would have believed her. Not in a million years. But her depiction of her life and how she viewed herself mirrored what he felt about his own self. He could never have imagined such a raw description of what real despair feels like was even able to be put into words...much less faked. He then realized he had been rubbing his left forearm this entire time, and he quickly stopped.

Raven began to speak again, capturing the attention of her listeners once more in somber silence. "I ensured that my friends would survive the destruction of the world, if only for a brief time. And it was them who found me after my purpose was fulfilled. They encouraged me, and gave me hope, though I now see it was because they saw no other way for them to have a chance at restoring the world and not because they cared for me. But at the time I didn't care because I, too, was concerned about defeating my father. I somehow found the strength within me to bring him down for good. The death of Trigon reversed all effect he had on Earth, and all was returned to normal...including the memories of every mortal, and the time lapse that had been created. No one was the wiser, save for me and my friends.

"One might think that after such an ordeal as this, friendships would grow stronger...I certainly did. But that was not to be the case. Shortly after the downfall of my father, I realized that I still felt his presence within me. Though all the dimensions of this universe are safe, I am still not free of him. His blood is in me, as is a piece of his soul. I still find myself chained to his memory, his self. With this revelation, my friends became frightened of me again. Everyone seemed to be walking on eggshells around me, and they were always terrified when I entered the room. I tried to live with it, but it seemed as though again I wouldn't have the privilege to leave them on my own terms. They came to me and shared their thoughts and feelings...namely, that I was too dangerous to the team and needed to leave for their safety and peace of mind.

"So now I am here," she stated matter-of-factly. She pressed on in a hushed tone, her eyes lowering with unexpressed pleading. "I seek asylum and a place where I can do no harm or inflict fear. A place where I could be free to exercise my abilities without drawing attention to myself, and a place I can have peace to meditate and keep parts of me under control at all times. A place where I am accepted. If I am turned away, I don't know what I will do."

At this conclusion, Raven bowed her head and folded her hands in her lap, waiting for an answer from the Headmaster. For this answer, she waited quietly and still for at least three or more minutes before there was any indication Dumbledore had the intention of replying.

"My dear," he said softly, "You are, and will always be welcome at Hogwarts."

She looked up and stared back into Dumbledore's warm eyes. And though she fought hard to retain them, her eyes watered, and she silently thanked him.

"My dear Raven," Dumbledore continued, "You have not outlived your usefulness, nor have you completed your purpose. Your purpose is only finished when you give up, and your usefulness is outlived only when one stops trying. You could be of great importance to me and our cause. I have plans for you, my dear. You are far too young, too useful, and far too powerful to give up on life. You have seen horrors that few have ever had to endure, and yet retained your innocence. You have the darkness within you and you have touched the face of evil, yet you remain pure." As her eyes closed in disbelief, Dumbledore smiled as he reached across and pulled Raven's hands into his own, squeezing them gently until she opened them again and looked back into his sincere eyes. "Virtue is an inner light that can prevail in every soul...even yours. It just takes the willingness of others, and even yourself, to see it."

Against her entire self-will, a tear escaped and fell down her face. As Albus Dumbledore wiped it away with a tender finger, he spoke again. "Raven, will you endeavor to work for the Light against all Darkness?"

Without the capability of speaking, Raven could only nod her acceptance as another tear rolled down her cheek.

"Welcome home, my dear."


A/N: Much thanks to finalitylife for allowing me to use some of his wonderful parts from his fantastic Raven fic "I Served My Purpose". I highly recommend you go and read it right this very instant!