The Girl Who Lived

Chapter 2

Raven

Raven and her brother sat in silence in their little room. With her back to Harry, she sat as still as possible while her brother attempted to braid her hair. Unlike her brother, who had brown hair and blue eyes, Raven had black hair and green eyes. She could feel him brushing each section of hair carefully, the brush dragging from her scalp to her hips and back again.

She winced when he hit a knot, making him mutter an apology before going back to what he was doing. Very late at night, they could hear paper ripping and the sound of a power drill near their front door. Stopping what they were doing, they peeked their head out of the door to watch their uncle drill screws into a piece of wood over their mail slot.

Things kept getting stranger by the day, and it seemed like uncle Vernon and aunt Petunia were going insane. Raven and Harry hadn't seen any letters since that first day, but it didn't stop Raven from wondering what the letter was about. Then one night Harry pulled her aside and whispered how their uncle was burning their letters.

"What a fine day, Sunday. Do you know what Sunday is the best day of the week?" Uncle Vernon asked his son, Harry serving their uncle a cookie while Raven sat on the floor mending her cousin's jacket.

"Because there's no post on Sunday?" Harry spoke up, their uncle flashing him a rare smile. "Exactly. No blasted letters today!" Vernon rejoiced, the twins glancing at each other with worry. Their uncle was clearly losing his marbles.

It was then, a single letter flew out of the chimney. Looking up, Raven saw that everyone was just as surprised as her. A low rumbling sound broke the stunned silence before hundreds of letters were produced, flooding the room with letters for the twins.

The two jumped into action, running towards the center of the room and attempting to grasp a letter. They grabbed one after a minute before reading the front, and exchanged letters before smiling excitedly.

They attempted to run out of the room, their uncle shouting for them to give him their letters, their protest falling on deaf ears as the entire house was flooded with papers. "That's it! We're moving away! Far away, where they can't find us!"

The next night, they had moved into an old tower in the middle of the sea. Thunder shook the world, little to no light illuminating from the fireplace that Raven and Harry sat in front of. In the dirt, Harry drew a cake, and wrote happy birthday inside before giving Raven a small smile.

"We're eleven now, Harry. Just a few more years." she whispered, laying her head on her brother's shoulder. Just a few more years until they were out of this Hell. "Make a wish, Raven." her brother whispered, and they blew out the little fire that was already dying. With the light gone, they turned to sleep before a bang was heard at the door. Dudley scrambled up from the couch, and the twins stared at the door in fright. "Maybe it was just the wind?" Raven whispered, until another bang was heard. Harry took the chance to hide behind the stones of the fireplace, and Raven squeezed in next to him, clutching on to each other while their aunt and uncle crept down the stairs to investigate.

The door was broken down while everyone except the twins screamed, and Raven could hear footsteps approaching. "Sorry 'bout that." a gruff voice spoke, the wooden door being moved from the floor. "I demand that you leave at once. You are breaking and entering." her uncle ordered, brandishing a gun.

Then a gunshot was heard, but the unknown man was still walking around calmly. Then he started addressing Dudley as her brother. "You're a bit more along than I'd expected, particularly in the middle." the man chuckled. "Now, where's your sister?" Raven looked up at Harry quizzically, but the two didn't move to investigate this newcomer.

"I... I-I'm not... I'm not Harry." Dudley stuttered, and Harry left Raven to confront the man. "I-I am." her brother added, and she peeked out from her hiding place to look up at the man.

"Well of course you are." the man smiled. "I got something for you. I might've sat on it a bit on the way here, but it should still taste the same." he said, pulling out a white box and handing it to Harry. Raven slowly approached to stand next to her brother to see what was inside. "Baked it myself, words and all." the stranger added, and her brother opened it to reveal a cake with pink icing. In blue icing, there were words that said, 'Happy birthday, Kids!'

"T-thank you." the twins chorused, looking up at this person in surprise. This was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for them. "It's not every day your young man and woman turns eleven, now is it?" he spoke while sitting on the couch, making the fire again.

"Excuse me... but who are you?" Harry asked, Raven slowly stepping behind her brother partially. This was still a stranger, after all. "Rubeus Hagrid. Keeper of keys, and graves at Hogwarts." he paused, turning to smile at the twins. "Of course, you know all about Hogwarts."

"Sorry, no..." Raven answered, shaking her head.

"No? Blimey, didn't you ever wonder how your parents learned it all?" the man asked.

"Learn what?" Harry asked. "You're a wizard, Harry. And you're a witch, Raven."

The twins tilted their head. "A what?"

"A witch and wizard, kids. And thumpin' good 'uns I'd wager, as soon as you train up a little."

Harry shook his head. "I'm sorry sir, but I think you've made a mistake. I- we can't be a wizard. Or witch. I'm just Harry. She's just Raven. Just kids."

"Well, 'Just Harry', have either of you ever made anything happen, anything you couldn't explain when asked?"

Raven looked at Harry knowingly, thinking of Dudley's birthday incident. Then the man stood up, and held two letters to Harry. He took them, handing Raven hers, before opening.

"Dear Mr. Potter, We are pleased to tell you that you and your sister have been accepted to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry." her brother read aloud. Her uncle butted in, claiming at they weren't going and that he had tried to put a stop to this. "You knew?" Raven asked, and her aunt chuckled darkly. "Of course we knew."

Her aunt then started on, talking about how 'perfect' their grandparents thought their mother was, and how aunt Petunia saw her as a freak. She knew they'd turn out this way, and that they were landed with the Dursley's when the twins parents were blown up.

"Blow up? You told us they died in a car crash!" Raven yelled. "Car crash?" Hagrid yelled. "We had to say something." their aunt argued.

"They won't be going." Vernon added, making Hagrid chuckle. "Oh, and I suppose a muggle like yourself is going to stop me?"

"Muggle?" Harry spoke, and Raven stood on her toes to whisper in his ear. "I think that's a wizard's way of calling someone an asshole."

"Non-magic folk." Hagrid spoke distractedly before turning back to Vernon and Petunia. Raven shrugged. "Same thing." she whispered again, a small grin tugging at Harry's lips. After a bunch of yelling, Hagrid took a look at his pocketwatch with a frown. "We're a bit behind schedule. Well, let's shove off." he said and turned to open the door. "Unless, you'd rather stay, of course." and with that, he walked outside.

Raven looked up at her brother, who stood only three inches taller. "I won't leave you, Harry. If you go, I go. You stay, I'll stay."

Harry took one look at Raven before he flashed her a grin. "Let's go."