Raven's seventh year
" Raven - wake up! Look who finally came!?" Ginny exclaimed! I opened my eyes, slowly and unwillingly. I quickly glanced at my watch before reacting to her question. My watch read 12:30 a.m, it was there that I completely registered what Ginny had said. Sitting up on the couch, I glanced around the room and saw the one person I had been dying to see all summer, my half brother Harry Potter. Jumping from the couch, I half walked, half jogged to engulf him in bone-crushing hug.
"Harry! I'm so excited to see you!" I pulled back to a get a proper look at him and the most notable change had been his shaggy hair. " Your hair it grew and it's all messy and you grew a few inches since the last few months!" I pointed out happily. Harry smiled back at me while mimicking the actions that I did to him.
"You look good too Rave! So how's the hunt for your father?" he questioned. His second year I mentioned to him that I found out that my father had been alive and I intended to tell them but I just couldn't and still haven't. My face dimmed a little bit but it resumed its excited expression when Hermione walked through the door, I tackled her next. We were both talking at once about how each other looked and how much we grew over the summer.
"So are you having any luck at all finding your father?" she asked, brightly, again my face dimmed a little bit. I hated lying to my brother and his best friends and everyone who was taking care of me but no one really liked Snape and I didn't want anyone to think differently of me.
"Um, no but I'm going to keep trying," I lied. We all paused to look at one another then I told them that I was going to bed. Molly informed us that Hermione and I were to share a room so she followed me to our room.
While going up the stairs we bade everyone a goodnight and I decided to tell Hermione the truth and if she handled it well then I would tell the others and hopefully she would give me an idea on how to tell the others. We both climbed into bed and turned out the light and in the darkness I found the courage to speak my truth.
"Hey Hermione, if I told you an absolute hush – hush secret would you swear on your life never to tell anyone?" I asked, feeling nervous. My heart beat against my chest, it was so loud I could barely hear her response.
"Absolutely," she replied groggily. I inhaled then slowly exhaled imagining all the things Hermione was about to say to me.
"I've been lying to everyone for years," I admitted. Hermione remained silent for a moment then replied more alert than before.
"About what?" This is it.. no going back now.. Taking in a breath I opened my mouth, ready for everything to spill out.
"About my father and who he is," I confessed, the more I spoke the more light I felt. I didn't let Hermione speak, I needed to continue before I didn't want to anymore. "My father is Severus Snape and I'm sorry that I didn't tell you!" I revealed quickly. The light went on and Hermione had a glare that could kill anything that looked at it.
"What?" She asked icily. "How long have you known?" she snapped.
"I found out when my Grandparents died, my grandpa told me in the last letter that they sent to me," I answered, sitting up in bed. Now Hermione actually removed herself from her bed and got in my face.
"Why wouldn't you tell us?" she demanded, harshness reaching the depths of her voice, suddenly all my words were gone, I had no answers that would come out.
"B – be – because I – I was – " I stuttered.
"You were what? Tell me now!" she growled horridly. I clamped my hands to my forehead, feeling a headache erupting through my head.
"Because I was scared!" I yelped in a loud whisper. Hermione's tight face started to loosen a little bit. "I was scared that you and Harry and Ron would treat me differently because I know how you guys feel about him and I didn't want you guys thinking that I was an exact image of him because I'm not!" I defended. Tears threatened to spill but I did my best to keep them contained. Hermione's face softened to compassion and she wrapped an arm around me.
"I'm sorry I was mean, are you going to tell everyone else?" she asked, once I got control of my emotions. I leaned into Hermione and shook my head.
"Not yet, I'll tell them when the time is right I really don't want my brother to hate me because of my father and because I didn't tell him, I'm just really scared right now Hermione and I want you to swear that you won't tell them but you'll let me when I'm ready okay?"
"Okay, I promise but you'd better hurry, the longer you wait the harder it's going to be," Hermione cautioned. I knew she was right and I could feel my heart ache because I wanted to tell the truth but my brain told me about every reason that I'm not.
"I know but I'm glad that I told you, it feels better to get that off of my chest," I admitted, relieved. A small sympathetic smile the corners of both of our mouths.
"I'm glad you told me, we'd better get to bed we have to wake up early tomorrow for the Quidditch match," she said softly. I stretched my arms out and yawned during the process, agreeing with her. I turned out the light with my wand.
"You know, I kind of see it, I mean you two do look a lot like. I should've guessed it," Hermione pointed out. I smiled and let out a breathy laugh.
"I know, that's what Grace said when I told her," I responded.
"You told Grace?" she asked. "Who else knows?" she inquired, her voice getting heavy with sleep.
"I've only told Grace and you but I'm willing to bet Dumbledore knows - that man knows everything," I sighed. We each fell quiet and eventually I let myself be taken by what I thought to be a sleepless slumber.
"Mum? Where are you? Mummy? I'm scared, I don't know where you are!" I heard my younger self cry out. I looked around and I felt arms around me, the arms were cradling me, and holding me close. I noticed that my face was coated in old and new tears. I needed answers but all I could think about was my mother and what had happened. The scene changed and I was now in some other person's arms, I could tell that it was a woman because I felt her breasts against my body, I heard a man's voice who had despair in his voice.
"I would take care of her myself but there are things in my world that prevent me from doing so, I'm begging you to take care of her, Lily would have wanted it." The voice had been Snape's I could recognize it anywhere, even if it sounded different, the low baritone was signal enough.
"I'm sure that if Lily were still with us then she would want you to take care of your child and not her parent's," it was my grandmother's voice, who for so long I had yearned to hear her voice again, it almost made me cry.
"Then why didn't she tell me about her?!" Snape's voice demanded, painfully. I felt myself moving to another side of the my grandmother. She was mute for a long minute before she finally spoke while shaking her head.
"I don't know why Lily didn't tell you or any of us, she must have had a reason for it all but since this child – what's her name?" grandmother asked softly. The only thing you could hear was the cricket playing for its friends for a the longest time until a single word escaped his mouth.
" Raven," and like a flash of lighting, he was gone and my grandmother didn't have time to argue with the name. She gently patted my head and took me inside the house and I felt my body falling and turning into nothingness.
"Raven, come on wake up! You're going to make us late for the match!" Fred and George complained together. My eyes flung open and I sat upright in my bed without hitting either of the twins.
"What time is it?" I yawned, stretching my arms out until they popped then I looked back at the twins.
"It's time for you to get up!" George exclaimed, urgently. I looked at them, shook my head then plumped my head back down on the pillow and shut my eyes. I had just barely closed my eyes when a feeling of tickling came at me from all different angles. I bursted out laughing and yelling at them to stop but they continued to tickle me.
"Okay, okay! I'm up!" I screamed at them, the tickling ceased and I dragged myself out of bed and into the bathroom to put on my Irish colors on. I rooted for the Irish Quidditch team as did Fred and George. I stormed downstairs and followed the Weasley's outside and joined up with Fred and George.
"Where are we going? I thought the match didn't start until tonight?" I asked aloud for anyone to answer but no one did.
"Hey Dad where are we going?" Ron demanded loudly with a hint of grumpiness in his voice.
"Keep up!" was his reply. I hung back with Fred and George and listened to their debate about who was the greatest Quidditch player on the Irish team until we came to an abrupt stop. I looked ahead of me and saw an older man talking with Mr. Weasley then out of nowhere a boy jumped out of a tree. It was Cedric Diggory. My heart skipped a few beats at the very sight of him but I remained to keep my cool but on the inside I hoped he noticed that I was with them too. We had been writing during the summers since I was 13 and I always assumed it's because of what happened to me when I found out about my grandparents. Of course I wanted it to be more but didn't push it. I passed by him and gave a little smile and glance then walked on until he stepped beside me. Fred and George went ahead giving me quick little knowing grins.
"Hey, how was your summer?" he asked, in his knee – buckling voice. I looked at him with my mouth open then closed it then opened it again.
"Um it was good an – and yours?" I asked, just barely making contact with him.
"It was fine, thank you. I know I keep asking you in the letters but how are you actually doing? I mean with your grandparents and all," he clarified. It kind of baffled me that he still asked after them.
"Um I'm fine, I still miss them of course but I wish you'd stop asking me stuff like that. It makes me feel like you only care about me because of what happened - not that you do care about me but you know it feels like my mental sanity is the only thing that worries you - like I'm going to relapse in a comatose state," I rambled. Cedric stepped in front of me, still walking with confusion and a hint of anger dwindling in the eyes.
"How could I not care about you, Raven? I've cared about you since our first year at Hogwarts. Secretly, I've always been watching out for you, even though it didn't ever feel like I was. I didn't want to impose because of Weasley and all," he drawled.
I stopped walking and peered at him with the utmost flabbergasted expression I could muster.
"What do you mean 'me and Weasley'?" I quizzed, placing my hands on my hips.
"Aren't you two like a thing?" he asked, unsure.
"I don't have thing with any of the Weasley's. The twins have been my best friends since their first year. Molly and Arthur let me stay with them during the summer and have shown me the greatest kindness but other than that I have no idea what you're talking about," I explained.
Cedric's expression became unreadable and stoic. He blinked and I started to feel uncomfortable so I continued walking leaving him behind. It didn't take him long to catch up and grab my forearm and pull me to a stop. "Cedric we're going to lose track of the others," I murmured. My heart rate was beating so fast that I thought that I had to remind myself that I wasn't running a marathon but just standing still with Cedric.
"I know where they're going, they won't leave without us but I just - Raven don't you understand what I've been saying?" he asked.
"No, no I haven't. The only thing I understand from you is that you thought that my and one of the Weasley twins were together and for some reason that prevented you from doing...something? Am I close?" It had been clear from Cedric's rolling eyes that I hadn't gotten the point. "What Cedric? I'm not a wizard not a legilimen," I snapped.
"No but you can be rather thick sometimes," he responded curtly and without another word he planted his lips onto my own. I couldn't believe that this fantasy had come true. Obviously I pictured it differently and it had surprised me but when I gathered my thoughts I started to kiss him back before he retracted and I was left standing on my tippy toes.
"I've waited to do that for nearly seven years," Cedric admitted. My voice ran away from me when Cedric kissed me, my body was exploding with happiness. My silence made Cedric feel like kissing wasn't the best idea. "Sorry, I shouldn't have done that," he apologized. I bit my bottom lip trying to contain the biggest smile that ever spread across my face in four years.
"No, it was perfect, I've wanted to kiss you since we were 12," I confessed, while my cheeks turned blood red, I quickly glanced at him and saw that he was smiling too. "I just never thought you cared, you never came to see me when I was in the hospital wing," I pointed out. Cedric moved his hands from my jaw to my hands and I allowed his fingers to intertwine with mine.
"I did actually, but you were asleep. I stayed with you for as long as I could but being 13 and unsure of the feelings I had I wanted to put some distance between us, which is why I only wrote to you during summer and then I thought you were with George Weasley and if I had known that you liked me at 12 years old we could have developed our relationship and - and maybe losing your grandparents wouldn't have been so isolating."
"I think it still would've been isolating but I don't want to focus on the 'what if' especially if we are...going to be uh... entering into a - uh romantic - uh kind of -erm relationship," I staggered through the best I could but it didn't make it any less uncomfortable.
"I like the sound of that," he mused. Blushing, I looked away from him before Cedric released one of my hands and caressed one side of my face.
"I do too," I could feel the blood pulsing beneath my face. "We better catch up," I whispered. Cedric took his eyes off of me and nodded; hand in had we raced to catch up an old boot that I assumed was a Portkey. We all gathered around it and held onto it until we were in the air, transporting.
"Okay let go!" Mr. Weasley hollered over the roaring wind in the air.
"What?" yelled Hermione.
"Let go!" Amos Diggory yelled. Harry had been the first to let go so everyone else followed and fell towards the ground while Cedric and I walked down the air along with Cedric's father and Mr. Weasley. I released Cedric's hand to go help Hermione up and he did the same to Harry.
"Are you and Cedric Diggory together?" Hermione asked, her voice kind of low. I nodded, sheepishly. Hermione shrieked and embraced me but I pushed her off to shush her, I wasn't ready for everyone to know just quite yet.
"Why didn't you tell me that last night?" asked Hermione in a whisper.
"Because it happened literally five minutes ago," I answered her with the same quiet voice.
"I'm so happy that you found someone to make you happy, you really do deserve it after all you've been through," Hermione commented.
"Thanks Hermione, we'd better be catching up with everyone else," I suggested. Hermione walked up ahead while Cedric laced his hand with me and together we continued up a hill to see the Quidditch stadium standing with pride and firmness.
Brooms were flying everywhere, and people were talking a million miles an hour. Cedric moved his hand to my waist, pulling me closer to him as we continued walking to the campgrounds and stadium. The all kinds of different soups, and potions filled my nostrils, didn't know what kind of potions but they were potions nonetheless. We stopped in the middle of an aisle and this is where we had to split off in our different directions.
"I'll see you after the match!" I spoke loudly over the crowd but Cedric didn't seem to hear me.
"What?" he asked, loudly. I brought his ear closer to me so he could hear me.
"I'll see you after the match!" I repeated but added a kiss on his cheek.
" Okay!" he kissed me on the forehead softly then caught up with his father and I caught up with the rest of the Weasley's. I saw Harry stop at the entrance, with a puzzled expression sprawled across his face.
"Well come on," I urged, I wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled him in with me. I looked inside and saw all the colors splash altogether and hit me in the face. The ceiling was a burnt orange with intricate designs on it. The walls were a Rosy pink that had flowers embroidered in them, four pale green arm chairs were set up near a small stove that had a long and crooked neck. I had never seen anything so amazing before, it was truly breathtaking.
The match was simply fascinating, we sat at the very top and we could see everything perfectly clear. The Weasley's, Harry, Hermione and I retired back to the tent where Ron was preaching about how great Viktor Krum was and the twins were teasing him about it. Suddenly I heard a boom go off outside, naturally I ignored it thinking it was one of the Quidditch teams but soon after it went off Mr. Weasley came in told everyone to get back to portkey in a hurried tone. I ran outside of the tent and my eyes beheld fire roaring in other people's tents and campsites, I also saw men in black cloaks wearing skulls on half of their faces. Immediately I thought of Cedric and started to run in the direction of his tent, which had been towards the men in black. I knew I was being incredibly stupid but I needed to know that he was okay and safe. I couldn't let him die, not yet, not when we just got together. I slammed into some people but one person grabbed my shoulders, I was about to kick the stranger in the shin but the stranger actually turned out to be Cedric. Relief swept over me like an ocean wave that goes over the shore.
"What are you trying to do get yourself killed?" he yelled with all his might, his eyebrows bushed together.
"I was worried that you were hurt but now that I see you aren't let's get out of here!" I suggested loudly. I turned around and started to run with the crowd but I saw Harry running against the ground like I had been doing. I shifted my body towards Harry, trying to grab him but I slipped so I turned my whole body and started to go after Harry but Cedric pulled me along with him.
"No Cedric! Stop! I have to go back!" I yelled, panic filled me while I struggled to get free but Cedric's grasp on me was to tight for me to struggle free so I just started to scream Harry's name in hopes that he would hear me. Cedric had successfully brought me back to the portkey along with everyone else except Harry. Tears were spilling over my eyes for horrors had entered my mind about what might happen to Harry my only brother in the world. Ron and Hermione ran up to Cedric and me, demanding the whereabouts of Harry.
"I don't know," I cried. "I saw him running past me and I tried to grab him but he slipped through my fingers and he kept on running," whimpering I continued. "I tried to run after him but Cedric kept pulling me away and I don't know if he's dead or alive," I sobbed. I wanted to fall on knees but Cedric still had me in his arms so I slumped against him and put my head in my hands.
"Why do you care about Potter so much?" Cedric asked, bewildered. I turned in his grip so that I faced him with puffy eyes.
"Harry's my half brother, we share the same mother," I answered after I contained the rest of my tears.
"I'm sorry Raven, but even if I'd known I wouldn't have let you go back for him, I just got you," Cedric apologized. I nodded, I would've done the same. Cedric's father forced Cedric to go back home and I promised that I wouldn't do anything stupid and with a quick kiss he left. After a while the fires died down and everything had been quiet.
"Let's go find Harry, it looks like the whoever they were are gone. Who were those people anyway?" I asked.
"They're you-know-who's followers, Death Eaters," Hermione responded. Anger surged through me and my breathing increased, those monsters killed my grandparents.
"We need to stay here and wait for the Aurors to take action," Mr. Weasley responded. Never before had been so filled with anger that I would lose my smarts but if even one Death Eater had been down there. I needed to take my chance and avenge my grandparents. I took my wand out of my pocket and bolted back towards the grounds with voices beckoning me to come back, I only pushed myself faster and harder.
I screamed Harry's name as I searched the grounds, if any of the Death Eaters touched Harry there wouldn't be a soul on earth that could stop me from tracking every single one of them down. Just then, west of me at about 300 yards away from me, a burst of light went up into the sky and a cloud design with a snake coming out a skull took place.
"Harry!" I screamed in the direction of the light. Getting closer, I saw him, Ron, Hermione and a group of wizards surrounding them. I ran harder and pushed through the group and grabbed Harry.
"Don't you ever do that to me again! I nearly lost you for the hundredth time in a row," I snapped at him.
"I'm sorry I was looking for you! I didn't want my sister to die before she could find out who her father is," Harry apologized. I hugged him tightly for a long while and he hugged me back. Everyone was safe and happy... for now at least...