A/N: Sorry about the delay! I've MAJOR had writer's block. Also, Snape is not associated with Voldemort. He's seems nice in this chapter because students are dying, and anyone not associated with Voldemort would be upset about that.

Disclaimer: I don't own TT or HP.

Previously on Teen Titans:

Suddenly, Professor McGonagall ran in, disregarding Dick and Kori making out in the corner, Ron and Hermione's bright faces, and Hagrid's laughter. "Raven, Hagrid," she said catching her breath. Her face was wet with tears. "Dean is…dead!"

Chapter 12: Archaic Incantation

Due to the quarantine, Dean's family was not permitted to attend their child's funeral. Dean was not buried either, instead his body was burned so as to not spread the disease to others.

Harry stood next to Raven, his arm around her shoulders, as their former peer burned before their eyes. The fire raged over the casket, burning away their friend and hopefully the disease that plagued him. Raven turned her face away, closing her eyes tightly to stem the water collecting in her eyes. The fire reminded her of books she had read about the Black Plague. She half expected a group of girls to dance around the flames, singing a nursery rhyme and throwing posies upon the ashes. Tears broke from her eyes and cascaded down her cheeks. Would this disease escalate to that? Would this disease do that much damage? Could it be stopped?

Harry, seeing the tears running down Raven's face, quickly wiped them away and whispered, "It will be okay, Raven. It wasn't your fault. It was almost as if the disease wasn't there to be found." At these words, Raven's eyes snapped open.

"What did you say?" she gasped, staring at Harry in amazement.

"It was almost as if the disease wasn't there to be found?" Harry repeated tentatively.

"That's it," Raven whispered, more to herself than to Harry. Then she addressed him, "Harry, I want you to get the professors, Ron, Hermione, and the Titans in Professor Dumbledore's office. I'll meet you there in an hour." With that said, Raven teleported to her room, completely disregarding the odd looks she received.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, the Titans, the professors, and the healer McAllister waited in Dumbledore's office impatiently for Raven. After fifteen minutes of waiting, they were all startled as Raven burst into Dumbledore's office carrying a large volume. Raven walked right over to Dumbledore's desk and slammed the tome on his desk. "I know what the disease is," she announced triumphantly.

"Seriously?" asked Snape hopefully.

"Yes."

"Well, what is it?" McAllister asked.

"It's not so much a disease. It's a spell," Raven explained.

"Please elaborate," Professor Dumbledore coaxed.

Raven took a deep breath before beginning. "Earlier Harry said, 'It was almost as if the disease wasn't there to be found,' which reminded me of something. I grew up in the dimension of Azarath, and as most of you know, Azarath is known for its records. I studied much of these records, and today I remembered a reference to a disease that once plagued Ancient Egypt, long before it was an empire or the pyramids were built." Raven opened to a marked page in the large book she had brought with her. She translated, "'The curse swept over the land like a dark cloud, burning from the inside, until Death was the only inhabitant of the land.'"

"What the hell does that mean?" Ron asked loudly.

"It means," Raven answered, closing the book, "that the disease caused people to have such a high fever that they died, and no one survived it."

"Wait," McAllister interrupted, "you said this wasn't a disease, but a spell?"

Raven sighed, and continued to explain, "It was created by some idiotic daemons, an easy way to rid the land of those pesky mortals. They created it by tainted blood; I have no idea what that is, but that's how the story goes. But, once they'd created it, they couldn't contain it. It killed humans and daemons by the thousands each day. So humans and daemons decided to work together to stop it. A group of humans and daemons found the cure."

"What's the cure?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"I don't know-"

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"Well after they cured the people, they destroyed everything about it, and the daemons took the records of the disease and the cure to depths of hell, so that no one would try to recreate it. They probably don't even exist anymore."

"Well, someone figured it out." Lupin sighed. "It all makes sense now," He commented dejectedly.

"What makes sense?"

Lupin explained, "The Macabrel daemon, Raven said it was usually used as a servant, right?" Raven nodded. "Well, it was here to deliver the disease. The dementors were sent to get rid of Raven because she was the only one who could figure out what this was."

Everyone sat in silence a moment contemplating this before Dick suggested, "Maybe we can come up with our own cure. What is this spell exactly?"

Raven answered, "Like I said, it's not a disease but a spell. It affects the mind, convinces it that it's ill, even though it's not. The mind causes the body to fight a disease that isn't there. Thus the vomiting, the coughing, and the fever. The fever eventually kills the person. The body burns itself to death."

"Are there any spells to counteract that?" Hermione asked.

"Not that I know of," said Lupin.

Professor Flitwick spoke up, "Would a counter curse work?"

"Of course not," Snape snapped. "That would be too easy."

The teachers continued to bicker for a few minutes before Raven spoke up. "I think I have an idea."

"Yes, deary?" Professor Spout said.

Raven said two words: "The Watchers."

Everyone except Ron, Harry, and the Titans gasped. "Raven," Hermoine said astounded, "that's conjuring! You can't do that!"

"What's the watchers?" Ron asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes before explaining, "The Watchers are the spirits that watch the world and remember. It's very dangerous to conjure a spirit; that's why it's not taught at Hogwarts."

"As hard as it is for me to say this, Hermione's right," said Snape, "it's too dangerous."

"I can do it!" Raven insisted.

"Professor Dumbledore, convince her that she can't do this!" Lupin said, turning to the Headmaster.

Dumbledore studied Raven for a moment. Her eyes pleaded with him to allow her to do this. "I believe," he said in his wise and frail voice, "it is the only option."

Lupin ground his teeth. "Fine, but we're going to be there."

That night, Raven, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Snape, Lupin, Dumbledore, and the Titans were sitting in a circle (a large circle) and were all holding hands. Professor McGonagall was guarding the door so that no one would interrupt the spell. Kori and (much to Harry's dismay) Hermione were sitting on either side of Raven, and Dumbledore sat directly across from her. He was going to talk to the spirit. The room they were in was an old classroom. The curtains on the windows were drawn back so that bright shafts of moonlight reflected on the floor and walls and the anxious faces in the room. A circle of candles enclosed the group and with a wave of Dumbledore's wand, they were lit.

"Is everyone ready?" Raven asked. A wave of nervous nods passed through the group. Raven nodded herself, signaling that she was going to begin. Raven closed her eyes and the rest of the group did the same. Raven began to speak in a language that only Starfire recognized for Raven had begun to teach her Azarathean. The words vibrated through the room, and Raven's voice became louder. A feeling of electricity and energy charged the room, filling each person. A gasp was heard from Ron, and Harry, Dick, Vic, Gar, and Kori opened their eyes. The candles and the entire circle of people were floating about a foot off the ground. They gasped again as the candles around them began to move counterclockwise around the circle. The candles sped up, and so did Raven's words. Raven's speech became rapid, and the candles spun faster and faster around the group. Inexplicably, they were also still lit. The candles became a glowing blur until, all of the sudden, they stopped. Raven's words ceased as well. The candles blew out as a large gust of wind swirled through the room, chilling each person.

Raven rolled her head forward, exhaling deeply. By that time, all eyes were open and on her. Raven slowly lifted her head. Her eyes had become bright gold orbs shining through the gloom, and her breathing was loud and labored. Her face had changed as well. Not a drastic change, just a small one. There was an almost ghostly hint of other features, a tiny glimpse as to the true form of whatever was inside of her. It made most of the group want to run out of that room as fast as their legs could carry them, but none did, mostly because their hands were gripped tightly by the person next to them.

Then, Raven spoke, or rather, the thing inside Raven spoke. Its voice was the crunching of dead leaves mixed with the sound of wind whistling past tombstones. "Hogwarts Castle. I remember when it was built, and I will be here when it crumbles."

Dumbledore ignored this comment and said, "I know you see what is in our castle, and you were at the spell's creation."

Raven/the spirit let out a wheeze that was probably meant as a laugh. "I was there. I see now. I see everything; I do not get involved."

"Tell us the cure," Dumbledore demanded.

"The cure?" the spirit asked mockingly. "The cure need not be known. Empires rise. Empires fall. Yours and the Riddle's are no different."

"Tell us the cure," Dumbledore repeated determinedly.

A new gust of wind swept over the group, almost knocking them from their precarious position in the air, as the spirit screeched, "We do not involve ourselves in the aging worlds. We watch and only watch."

"We don't want you to get involved!" Dumbledore yelled over the howling wind. "We just want information! What is the cure!"

In an instant, the wind stopped. Humor was evident in the spirit's golden eyes. "Information? You need the pure ingredient. That is the cure." After the word cure, the wind kicked up again knocking the circle of people (except for Raven) to the ground. Raven rose farther into the air and her entire body began to glow a golden hue. With a screech worse than a banshee's, the golden light exited Raven's body and dispersed into the air. Raven fell to the ground, unconscious.

A/N: Finally. Sorry about the delay, but like I said, writer's block. The next chapter will come much sooner. I promise.