𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘𝐃𝐔𝐊𝐄𝐒.
Another Hogsmeade weekend had been scheduled right before the Christmas break, and Raya had no idea how she was going to manage to get presents for everyone.
Her dad had a game on Christmas again, so she was heading home for the break. Her mom was going to spending the holiday in Godric's Hollow with them.
Because of that, she needed to buy the gifts and send them all off before leaving for the holidays. She'd gotten her dad some nice broom polish and the sugar quills that he's in love with. Her mom was going to get a free spa day at one of the Muggle spas in the area and a SodaStream. She got some candy for most of her friends, along with little gag gifts or jewelry and other small trinkets.
Now, Raya just needed to figure out what to get Luke.
He'd gotten her a beautiful locket last year, and she wasn't sure she was gonna be able to get something as nice as that.
"Oh, fuck it," she muttered, grabbing nearly every candy in the shop.
She still needed to figure out what Luke's main present was going to be, but for now, the candies were okay.
"Meow," Loki stuck his out from her hood.
"Hi bubba," she muttered, rubbing his ears.
"What?" the cashier looked up.
"Oh," Raya blushed. "Sorry, I was talking to my cat."
"Okay," the cashier made a face, but bagged her items.
Raya paid quickly, running out of Honeydukes and into the Three Broomsticks.
Her friends had already finished their Christmas shopping and were waiting for her there. Cierra pushed a basket of chili cheese fries her way, and Raya nodded her thanks.
"You done yet?" Thomas asked her. "Or is there another stop you have to make?"
"Shut up," she muttered. "I'm all done. Well, except for Luke. I think I'm gonna have to go shopping over the break for his present."
"Curfew's coming up," Meredith commented, checking her watch. "We should head out if we don't wanna get stopped by dementors."
Her friends all murmured their agreement, cleaning up and heading out. Elias blew a kiss to Madam Rosmerta on their way out. Raya grabbed his ear as she pulled him along, apologizing to Rosmerta on Elias' behalf.
"Ow, ow, ow!" Elias muttered as Raya dragged him along.
Raya let go of him as they reached the end of the street. Her and her friends walked past the Shrieking Shack and over the hill, through the school entrance and down the halls to the Ravenclaw Tower entrance... where Harry was waiting for them.
"Harry?" Nathaniel asked. "What's up?"
"Uh, I was looking for Raya," he started, "but the door knocker's kind of annoying."
"We call him Saul," Elias said. "And yeah, he's a little brat sometimes. Of course, he's no match for our Thomas here."
Raya blinked at Harry's statement. She didn't realize they were good enough friends to go searching for each other at random times.
"What's up?" she tried for a smile.
"I wanted to talk... um, it's kinda private," he said to Raya's friends as they all tuned in on those words.
"Go inside," Raya told them. "Curfew's been hit, so everyone should be in there already."
They all groaned, but made their way inside once Thomas answered the riddle.
"You want me to take Loki?" Thomas turned back.
"Nah, I'm good," Raya shook her head. "He's already asleep. I don't wanna wake him unnecessarily."
"Okay."
The sound of the door closing echoed in the empty hallway.
"What'd you want to talk about?" Raya asked, smiling lightly.
"You know when you came to Diagon Alley and we met outside the ice cream shop?" Harry asked. "I told you Fudge was paying for my room at the Leaky Cauldron, and you said something about public Wizarding places."
"A public Wizarding place is safer than a residential Muggle area," Raya remembered.
"What'd you mean by that?" he asked, speaking quickly.
Raya shrugged, "Black was on the loose — still is. It's not safe to be in a residential Muggle area. No one would notice, and even if they did, it's not likely that they'll do something. Maybe call the cops. Wizards, at least they could try and get a wand out—"
"—No, no," Harry was shaking his sound, sounding agitated. "You meant it about me, didn't you? Like, it's safer for me to be in a public Wizarding place."
Raya was more confused than ever, "I mean, yeah. Harry, you okay?"
But Harry was shaking his head harder now, "You knew about Black, didn't you?"
"Knew what?" her mind flashed back to the dream.
"That he's after me," Harry said. "You know that he wants to finish me off so You-Know-Who can rise."
"You... didn't know?" Raya tilted her head. "But you would've known. Fudge was paying for your stay, he would've told you all about Black. Didn't he?"
"You know more?" Harry asked.
"What do you know?" Raya asked. He seemed in such a fragile state, Raya didn't want to accidently spill something he didn't know already.
"I know he's after me," Harry said. "I know — I just found out that he was my dad's best friend. My dad trusted him so much, he gave the Secret-Keeper position to him. And Sirius Black betrayed him."
"That's literally all I know," Raya promised. "My dad told me your dad, Sirius Black, and these two other guys were like the best of friends. Pranksters, class clowns, they were occasionally little shits, but they were all best friends. That's all I know."
Harry squeezed his eyes shut, "If they were best friends, why did Black betray him? Was none of it real?"
"Honestly, Harry, I don't know," Raya told him. "There're theories that Black wanted to get back in his family's good graces, or that he was playing double agent all along. I don't know what the truth is, but the way everyone described him and your dad — I don't think their friendship was fake."
"Why couldn't they just tell me this?" Harry muttered, sounding more defeated than anything. "They know so much about him — and they didn't even tell me he was friends with my dad."
"Come here," Raya muttered, pulling him into a hug.
Harry obliged, slumping into her.
Raya didn't know why she spoke. Maybe she just felt so bad, or maybe she just wanted some help in uncovering Black's truth.
"Tell you what," she said to him. "I'm going home for Christmas this year. Our dads grew up in the same village, so I'm sure my dad will know something about Black. He doesn't like talking about him, but I can get him to. Long as you make sure you won't go chasing Black without me, I'll give you whatever information I can find out about him. Okay?"
"You'll do that?" Harry muttered. "I — I appreciate it. I won't go searching for him, not without grabbing you first. I just want to know why he did it."
Raya sighed, "Me too."
Raya smiled at her finished product.
After searching tirelessly for pictures of her and Luke, she managed to find quite a few, ranging from when they first met, to the end of this summer. They didn't have many pictures together during this last summer, but the Stolls had managed to grab a photo of the two of them singing together at the campfire on the last day.
It was pretty adorable.
After working nonstop for about four days, she managed to finish a cute little scrapbook. Luke and Raya had once watched the movie Up, and even though they both cried for three days, they loved it. Luke was in awe of the little adventure book.
So Raya created their own book of adventures, filled with different moments since they met. She just hoped Luke would like it.
"Rosie?" Raya called out for her house elf once she finished wrapping the box.
A crack sounded, and Rosie appeared.
"Hey, could you drop this off at the depot?" Raya asked. "Under super speedy delivery. I need it to reach Luke by Christmas."
"Will do, Miss," Rosie took the box. She hesitated, almost sensing Raya's nervousness, "I'm sure your Luke will appreciate the present."
Raya managed a smile, "Thanks, Rosie."
The house elf bowed her head, disappearing with a crack.
Raya stretched out in her arm chair.
She had taken the Hogwarts Express to come home for the holidays. Two days were already finished. Some of her friends chose to stay in school, while some decided they were going home.
Cierra, Cho, Nathaniel and Elias were staying at Hogwarts, doing their best to catch up on coursework and convince the Weasleys to start a snowball war. Cedric, Meredith, and Thomas were all heading home to see their families.
"Raya!" her mother's voice came from somewhere. "We're making the gingerbread houses!"
Raya got up from her arm chair immediately, rushing down the stairs and into the kitchen. Newbrooke Manor was large, and that's why the walls were enchanted so that you could always hear a person if they were calling you.
"I'm here," she arrived, sliding into the kitchen.
"Good," her mother began opening boxes. "Go mix together the frosting. We need colors. And where's your father? Alphanso! Start separating the candies!"
Raya put the radio on, singing along to Let it Snow, as she began mixing together the frosting.
Her dad slid into the kitchen, singing along, "And the fire is slowly dying, my dear, we're still goodbye-ing."
Raya laughed as her mother threw a pack of candy at his head.
"You're late," she said. "Get sorting."
"Yes, ma'am," he saluted, dutifully separating the candies.
Ever since Raya could remember, her family had always made gingerbread houses during the Christmas holidays. They played old Christmas songs, laughing as Alphanso tried to sing and dance along to them. They melted candy, created different colored frosting, and dusted powdered sugar to give it a freshly snowed look.
"The windows are looking nice this year," Alphanso grinned, fist-bumping Raya.
"The windows wouldn't be possible without the frame," Marybeth, Raya's mother, said.
"Of course," Alphanso agreed, nodding seriously. "That's the most important part."
"Definitely," Raya nodded, speaking in the same tone.
"You're both horrible," her mother narrowed her eyes at them.
"Love you too, mom," Raya kissed her cheek.
Raya's mom pouted, before bursting out into laughter. "Oh, please."
Raya thought the gingerbread house looked really cool that year.
The Christmas holidays were over too quickly.
One day, she was waking up on Christmas morning, the next, she was trying to pay attention in Transfiguration.
Professor McGonagall was teaching them how to transform a guinea fowl into a guinea pig, but Raya was still stuck on Christmas morning.
Luke hadn't gotten her a present.
She'd spent weeks, stressing about what to get him. She spent days and nights perfecting the scrapbook for him. She knew he received it because she'd gotten her receipt. But there was radio-silence from Luke's end. Her siblings all sent her stuff. The Stolls even sent her the star they stole from the tree at Rockefeller Center (or so they claimed).
But Luke hadn't even sent her a letter.
She knew it was stupid, but she couldn't help but be hurt by it. It felt like she was putting more effort in the relationship than he was.
"Who'd like to demonstrate?" Professor McGonagall's eyes fell on Raya's bright grey ones, almost as if she knew Raya wasn't paying attention.
Before she could call her out, Elias stuck his hand in the air.
"Mister Kane," McGonagall turned to him, smiling. She liked him more than the rest of them. "Please, show us how to do this."
Elias pointed his wand at the guinea fowl, muttering the incantation. There was a flash of white, and when it disappeared, a little guinea pig was sitting instead.
"Wonderful," Professor McGonagall smiled. "Ten points to Ravenclaw. Practice this spell. I want the rest of you to master it by next week."
Raya muttered the incantation half-heartedly, not even surprised when her wand refused to cast a spark. She continued for a bit, her mind barely there.
"Raya," Cierra began, "You okay? You seem distracted."
"I'm fine," Raya lied.
She was just a little upset. Everything would be fine in a week.
Everything was not fine in a week.
Raya had been so distracted at Quidditch practice — playing so horribly — that Roger had to bench her.
"Look, I don't know if it's been a rough week, or what," he told her. "But with the way you're playing right now, I can't let you go up there. Even if I could — and believe me, I'm quite tempted to — I have no choice but to bench you. You haven't been playing your best, and if I let you play the game... it doesn't give the right message off to the other kids either."
"I get it," Raya told him, because she did get it.
She hated how she was acting, but she couldn't help it. If she played the game against Slytherin, she couldn't promise that she could stay focused.
Raya deserved to be benched for the game. She was pissy and moody and absolutely depressed over the last week. No matter what was happening in her personal life, she had to stop it from affecting her game.
She stood in the stands, arms crossed as she scrutinized every player on the field.
Students around her were still dressed in clothing with her face on it, quite surprised when it was announced she wouldn't be playing today. Raya's already heard sixteen rumors, each more bizarre than the last.
"You were throwing up slugs all week?" Cedric joked, taking a seat next to her. "Or were you caught trying to sneak out into Hogsmeade after curfew?"
"Neither," Raya deadpanned. "I murdered the idiots that started those rumors."
The kids who were trying to listen in to their conversation flinched, turning away quickly.
She ignored Elias' cheering, Thomas' grumbling, and Cedric's clapping as she focused on each player.
The new Slytherin Keeper was pretty good — but Roger was better. Roger managed to get in every one of his shots, while Rico and Raven got quite a few of theirs as well. Sergio and Liana did an okay job of keeping the Bludgers away from their own players. Jia played excellent in goal.
In fact, the only Slytherin who'd gotten past her was Kayse.
Raya watched him fly, envying how easy he made complicated turns and plays look. He was a Muggleborn — never even touching a broom until he started at Hogwarts. Still, he managed to earn his position as the only Muggleborn on the team, and the youngest one ever. Raya admired him a bit for that.
She made mental notes on some of Slytherin's weak points, and some points Ravenclaw needed to work on as well.
She noted how Jia twitched her leg in the direction she was going to fly. She saw Raven hesitate on many shots she could've made. She caught sight of the Snitch several times, but never once had Draco or Cho looked at it.
She resisted the urge to cry. She brought this on herself.
The game seemed to go on for hours, with Raya catching about forty things Ravenclaw could improve on.
"And the Slytherin Seeker is racing towards something," Lee announced, frantic. "Has he spotted the Snitch?"
"Oh shit," Raya muttered.
Slytherin was currently losing by one hundred and forty points, but if they caught the Snitch...
"They're gonna win," Elias was gripping Raya's arm, shaking her hard.
"Oh shit," she repeated.
She watched as Draco chased behind a small gold ball near the Ravenclaw Keeper's net. Cho chased after him, but with her Cleansweep and his Nimbus 2001, there was really no competition.
Her heart practically broke as Draco held the fluttering gold ball in the air, the Slytherin cheers deafening.
"Hey, you good?" Thomas asked as she stepped back.
"Fine, I'm fine," she said, her words sounding funny to her own ears. "I gotta — I gotta go talk to Roger. Tell him some notes about the teams."
She went down to the field before anyone else could stop her. The Ravenclaw team was looking down, shaking their heads as they went off to the change rooms.
Roger met Raya's eyes, looking beyond upset. "We're not winning again."
"We've got a shot," she told him.
"No we don't," he muttered. "I shouldn't have benched you."
"You had to," Raya reminded him. "I was playing shit, and if you didn't bench me, they'd ask questions. I'm a member of the team like the rest of them. I shouldn't get special treatment for any reason. I'll be back next game. We'll crush Gryffindor."
Roger smiled sadly, "You should become a motivational speaker."
"Did my speech have any effect on you?" she asked.
"It made me feel a little less horrible."
"Barely," she argued.
"Enough," he corrected. "You're gonna do great things, kid. Don't forget me."
"How could I?" she grinned as he walked towards the change room.
Raya looked back at the field, feeling sick at the sight of the Slytherins celebrating. The win was almost Ravenclaw's. Two more goals, it would've been. If Raya was on the field, it would've been.
You didn't deserve to be there, Raya reminded herself.
She shook her head to herself, walking away. She looked up as someone fell into step with her.
She smiled ruefully at Kayse, who was red and a little sweaty, "Here to gloat? To tell me I shouldn't cheer for Ravenclaw? I should've been a Slytherin fan all my life?"
"See, that's your problem," Kayse rolled his eyes. "It's been a year — over a year. I said something stupid, and you can't seem to get over it."
"I'm in a shitty mood," Raya admitted. "I'm... sorry for taking it out on you."
"Apology accepted," he grinned. "I was expecting you to be on the field today. Sucks, 'cause you weren't, and now I might never be able to tell anyone I played against you."
"You're not even a Seeker," Raya reminded him.
"So?" he shrugged. "We're still on opposite teams. It counts."
"You can play me next year," she said.
"Not exactly," he shrugged again. When Raya stared blankly, he pointed to the Slytherin crest on his robes, "Muggleborn, Slytherin. While there's enough of us, we rarely make the Quidditch team. And certainly never in second year, like you did. I'm gonna need to have a word with your captain for benching you. He might've taken away my best bragging right."
"It was my fault," Raya admitted. "I've been playing shit for a while. He couldn't count on me for today's game. Even if he tried to put me in, the rest of the team would've complained. He made the right choice."
"What the hell do you mean you were playing shit?" Kayse asked. "I've seen you play. On that Firebolt, holy crap, you're amazing."
"I've been distracted," she shrugged. "It's stupid, but I can't focus on anything else."
"Does it have to do with someone in particular?"
Raya shrugged, "Yeah. But you don't know him."
"Going off what I know — which isn't much," Kayse said, "whoever you're worrying about — I don't think he's worth it. Clearly, he doesn't give a shit about making you so upset. I don't know why you're worrying. Give people the energy you receive. You'll find yourself able to focus."
Raya blinked at him, "We're not friends."
"No, ew," he agreed. "You just looked really depressed, and haven't been giving much of a reaction when I bother you in class. Do you know how annoying it is when you take the time out of your day to annoy someone and they don't even respond?"
"I wish I knew," Raya answered drily.
Kayse laughed a little, "Glad to have you back. Muggle Studies is gonna be so much fun next week."
Raya flipped him off.
REY WRITES!
thanks for reading!!
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