CHAPTER 22 - Arm Me, Audacity

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Muggle Studies class was just as terribly exciting as she'd imagined it'd be, although the professor did produce some manner of amusement, albeit unintentionally. Raven would have thought it would only make sense to have a Muggle (or at the very least a Muggleborn) teach the course, but the headmaster in all his wisdom - she couldn't withhold a snort - assigned the position to a Magically-raised wizard. While detrimental to the students' education on the outside world, it did provide the sorceress with entertainment in what would have otherwise been an utter waste of time.

The memory of her sarcastic correction in the first five minutes of class still made the professor flush in embarrassment. So how was HE supposed to know condoms weren't water storage containers? Throughout the interminable two hours, he now ignored her judgmental eye rolls and barely-muffled coughs almost desperately. Raven smirked each time Professor Higgleberry quickly looked away after each accidental eye contact with her. She wished Severus had been there to see it.

Raven growled at herself.

Herbology was dreadfully boring with no observable silver linings. The Demoness seriously considered ducking out and taking a zero for the course, but chose to last through at least one full class. Her class partner, a Gryffindor boy named Longbottom, seemed competent enough, if terribly insecure and shy. A naturally quiet girl paired with a nervous and shy teenage boy made for many an awkward moment.

Halfway through the lesson, Raven suddenly jerked violently out of her seat and furiously clawed at an inside pocket in panic. The students stared in wonderment as the sorceress sat back down in humiliation, wondering what on earth had possessed the strange girl.

The Demoness wished the ground would swallow her up as she palmed the hot gold Galleon beneath her robes, cursing herself for reacting so foolishly to the sudden burning sensation against her thigh. She'd forgotten it was there. Cautiously peeking beneath the table, she tried to read the time, struggling to see it due to the shadow.

"Seven o'clock," said a voice next to her.

Raven looked sharply to her left at her Herbology partner.

Neville attempted a nervous smile, holding a similar Galleon in his hand. "The meeting. I-I can take you there if you like. It's sort of difficult to find."

The sorceress slowly nodded, her face blank.

Once classes were finished, she had just enough time to eat dinner in the Great Hall before going to the common room to meet her escort. She had speculated over what the Dumbledore's Army meeting would entail most of the day, and at last she could put her imagination to rest.

Unsurprisingly, Neville was already in the common room, and presumably had been there for quite a while before the prearranged time. Raven could sense the teen's nervousness and underlying awe and his terror of upsetting her in any way. She allowed a small smile to herself.

"Ah excellent!" Neville stood up overly-hasty, "I can show you the way now!"

She forced the smile to come to the surface. Best to appear cordial. "Then let us go."

The walk to the Room of Requirement, the name of which Neville Longbottom had informed her quite enthusiastically, was terribly boring and long. Raven typically enjoyed exercise, but not when it involved walking with someone even more socially awkward than herself.

Neville was a good lad, she could tell, and hiding a tragic past. That seemed to be almost common in the Wizarding World, she realized. And it all stemmed back to Voldemort.

Tom Riddle. Damn it.

That would be the first thing she would try to instill in these students. Obviously the reason why would need to be concealed, but she couldn't allow them to continue using The Dark Lord's name around Severus. Or anyone else, for that matter. Who knew how many students had already taken the Mark.

Upon the final pace that Neville made in front of a bare castle wall, Raven was startled when a towering wooden door emerged into existence. How many more times would the wonders of Magic leave her marveled and breathless?

They were a little late to the party, it seemed. Since the group of around thirty students turned to stare at them as they entered. Harry was there with Ron and Hermione, as well as some other students Raven recognized. She was pleased to see students from every House there, though it was unsurprising how many Gryffindors were present.

As soon as he saw Raven and Neville, Harry beamed with joy and immediately began pushing his way through the gathering toward them. "Raven! So glad you made it! I was really hoping you'd come and I'm so stoked you'll join us." He briefly turned to Neville. "Thanks mate. I appreciate you getting her here." Back to Raven. Boldly reaching out and grabbing her wrist, Harry began to pull her forward to the small crowd which had parted for them and now stared in silence and anticipation. "Come on, I want to introduce you to the gang."

Raven awkwardly followed him through the student body, past them, and up onto a small raised stage to face them. She was immensely grateful she'd thought to raise her hood before she entered the room, because now it hid the embarrassed blush in her cheeks. She may or may not have a chronic fear of being on stage.

"Everyone! This is Raven Roth! She's not just your average Witch. She has some incredible powers and abilities that Magic cannot explain, and I want you all to treat her with respect and to listen to what she has to say. We are here to learn from her tonight."

Raven's eyes widened in fear as she jerked her head toward the Boy Who Lived. "What?"

Harry Potter smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry, I'll be here the whole time! I just want your input and advice and any sort of wisdom you can give us."

"I don't know how to teach a class."

If there had been crickets in the room, they would be chirping full-blast.

Harry covered his faux paux expertly. "No worries! I had some exercises we were going to run through tonight anyway, so just join in and feel free to ask questions!" He turned to the group. "All right, you know the drill! Form into pairs and practice attack and deflection!"

The sorceress watched with interest as the students immediately formed two parallel lines facing each other and began the well-rehearsed back-and-forth exercise.

"Expelliarmus!"

"Protego!"

They went on and on, while Harry walked around the group, observing.

After around five minutes of this, Raven approached Harry. "Mr. Potter," she inquired.

"Oh gods, you sound like Snape!" Harry reacted in disgust.

"Harry," she corrected herself. Only slightly irritated. "Why aren't they-"

But she was cut off by the Gryffindor himself. "HEY EVERYBODY! LISTEN UP! RAVEN'S GOT SOMETHING TO SAY!" He turned back to her expectantly.

Her mouth suddenly felt dry. She soldiered on. "The enemies you will encounter know all these spells already. And I guarantee you they are better than you at all of them."

Righteous indignation mixed with shock or offence met her proclamation.

"Let me ask you all a question," she continued. "In a fight, what is a Witch or Wizard's most valuable possession?"

Hermione's hand shot into the air, but several other students simply called out loud "Their wand!" With an annoyed glare, Hermione lowered her hand.

Raven nodded. "Their wand. Now let me ask you this. In a fight, what is a Muggle's most valuable possession?"

Nobody shouted out an answer this time. Even Hermione appeared to be thinking hard.

After a moment for consideration, the Sorceress answered her own question. "Themselves. They make weapons to make themselves more dangerous and more capable than their opponent, but take all that away, and what's left to them? Their hands. Their feet. Their teeth." Raven began to feel more confident in front of the crowd. She began to walk among them, letting the acoustics of the room carry her voice. "The enemies you will fight do not respect Muggles. Their lack of respect for something they feel is beneath them is pride and that is their weakness."

As she finished her statement, the Empath turned to the nearest student - a Slytherin boy she didn't recognize - and commanded him: "Attack me."

The Slytherin looked nervous and glanced to Harry, who only gave him a supportive nod. The boy turned back to Raven and raised his wand. "Petrificus To-"

He was cut off by the wind being knocked out of him as Raven swiftly shot forward, trapped his wand-arm, and flung him over her shoulder. His body smacked against the cushioned mat below and she seized the wand from his hand. Raven followed up the disarmament with a fake-stomp to the face with the heel of her boot.

The rest of the students stared on in shock.

"Their lack of respect for Muggles have caused them to ignore their skill and resourcefulness. I'm not telling you to abandon Magic. Just sample the many different forms of defense and offense around the globe and incorporate what you can into your own personal arsenal. Focus on techniques and methods your enemies don't know and won't expect."

The teenagers began whispering among themselves, but quieted again once Raven resumed speaking.

"Here's something else you should take away. As much as there is power in what your enemy doesn't know, so too is the knowledge that your enemy may know things that you don't. I understand that many of you openly refer to the Dark Lord by his name."

"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself!" Hermione interjected.

Raven bowed her head in acknowledgement. "What if I told you the Dark Lord knows you know that? Do you really think he feels slighted or upset when you call him by name? Tom Riddle is a very smart person. He is a very clever Wizard. He knows that only those brave enough to use his name openly are those he should concern himself with."

The group looked between themselves with growing concern.

"Tell me. What do you know of the Dark Mark?"

Nobody dared speak.

She continued, holding up the DA coin Harry gave her. "If you believe it acts just like your little gold Galleons here, you're wrong. It is not simply a one-way communication device from the Dark Lord to his Death Eaters. It's two-way. And every time someone says Tom Riddle's new name within earshot of anyone with the Mark, the Dark Lord knows and will eavesdrop. It is for your own safety and the safety of those around you that you don't give into your Gryffindor pride to appear brave."

Even Harry appeared mollified. Worried. He'd been unknowingly reckless and possibly endangered his friends without even realizing it.

The rest of the night was subdued, and focused mostly on Muggle street-fighting techniques Raven could easily teach them.


Friday morning. And with it came History of Magic.

Raven made it all the way to the classroom's door frame before seizing up. Her body just wouldn't allow another three hours of sitting. She'd already absorbed all the textbook material as it was, and she highly doubted there was any fresh insight Professor Binns could impart.

She teleported on the spot.

The day was beautiful for Scottish weather. There were clouds in the sky, and yes it might drizzle in a few hours, but to Raven it was perfectly brisk with minimal wind. She couldn't have asked for better running weather.

She undid her clasp and placed her sloppily folded midnight-blue cloak on a bench next to the Black Lake. The Demoness used the wooden bench to stretch her legs. It had been far too long since she'd gone for a run.

Raven recalled a time in her late-teen years back at Titan Tower when she never exercised. After all, why should she? She could fly, teleport, and fight villains with her mind - why should it matter if she could do a pull-up or run three miles? Her health had steadily declined. Her mental and emotional health were already a done deal, and it took time before she realized she could put effort into improving her physical health. One out of three was the least she could do.

The Empath began her morning with a brisk jog, headed counter-clockwise around the large lake. Although she could see the other side, she estimated the entire thing to be at least two miles in circumference.

As she passed the quarter mile mark, the castle seemed safe enough behind her to avoid the eyes of the class she'd ditched and she felt a renewed sense of freedom and peace. With the familiar breathing pattern returning to her, Raven fell into a harmonious rhythm with her body and the nature around her. She felt the slight pain in her legs and the burning in her lungs, but she relished in them.

At the halfway point, she looked to her left across the lake to see the small speck of the bench she'd left behind. Except now, there was a dark figure sitting on it next to her cloak. She knew who it was, and was indescribably torn between wanting to speed up and meet him sooner, or slow down to prolong the wait.

Half a mile left, and Raven was sweating. Both from exertion, and over the pending encounter with the Potions Master.

At last, she couldn't avoid it any longer. Rounding the gentle turn in the pathway around the lake, Raven sped up to a run to finish the lap strong.

Severus Snape rose as she ran up, grabbing her cape and extending it to her.

"Might I inquire what you are running from?"

Raven accepted her cloak, though she didn't put it on and simply walked in circles around the bench as she panted to regain her breath. "A sedentary life."

His eyebrows narrowed. "Explain."

The Sorceress raised her own at him. "Explain?"

"Why were you running? I observed you when you passed the castle and became concerned when I didn't see what was pursuing you."

Raven couldn't help herself from rolling her eyes with a slight smile. "Wizards," she chuckled slightly as she used her cloak to pat off some forehead sweat. "I run for exercise. It's good for the body. It builds strength, endurance, and immunity."

"There's a spell for that."

"I'm sure there is," Raven whipped the cloak around her shoulders. "But I will not be using it. Physical fitness and health needs to be earned the old fashioned way, otherwise it's not natural and not authentic."

Severus paused as he looked down at the shorter girl. Raising his wand, he said nothing but passed it over her body.

Raven's hair fluttered a little as she realized that neither she nor her clothes were sweaty or dirty. She popped a smirk. "Although that little spell I'll definitely be remembering."

The Potions Master adopted a mirroring expression as he regarded her stoically. "Come," he initiated. "Professor Binns will be relieved to know you're unharmed."

As he turned to return to the castle, Raven suddenly felt an impulse. "Professor..."

The tall figure stopped and he looked over his shoulder with an inquisitive face.

Damn it. No self control at all. "Would you care for lunch?"

An indeterminable expression flashed over his eyes for an instant. "I generally eat in the Great Hall at the staff table, if that's what you're asking."

Damn damn damn damn. "You know that's not what I'm asking."

Severus finally turned to face her fully. "What, exactly, were you thinking?"

"Mostly how this is our last opportunity to have some time together before Dumbledore's big game play tomorrow."

Severus took a step forward into her personal space. Intimidation tactic? Or something else...?

His silky voice did a number on her innards: "You know that's not what I'm asking."

What have you done, Raven? What have you done? "The Room of Requirement. We can't exactly go down to the Three Broomsticks for a pint."

Snape said nothing. He merely inclined his head and turned to allow her to lead the way. Which she did.