December eighteenth, last day of the term, one week before the ball and I didn't have a date. I didn't have a dress. I didn't have accessories. I wasn't the only one in this situation too. Draco was without a date. He had his dress robes, but no date. Neither did Krum to be completely honest. He was a triwizard competitor and it was crucial that he had a date to open the ball with him, but he was still alone. If he had asked me, I would say yes, but he hadn't. And it's the same with Draco. If he asked me, I would say yes. As the date gets closer to the ball, I'd admit that I was getting a little nervous that I would have to ask someone. Did people hate me that much? I'm not complaining, but I would like to have someone to go to the ball with me.
I got up and got ready for classes. I changed into my uniform, brushed my teeth, grabbed my green cloak and bag before going downstairs to meet up with Draco.
"Good morning!" I smiled as I approached the tired boy.
"Calm down." He sulked.
"Awe why the pouty face?" I asked in a baby voice, almost mocking him.
"Shut up, Rava. I didn't get a good night's sleep." He sighed.
I laughed and took his hand in mine. I pulled him to follow me and we walked hand in hand to the Great Hall for breakfast. W sat in our usual spot and I got my toast and berries.
"Good morning, Raven." I heard Krum's voice call.
"Good morning, Viktor!" I smiled.
"There's that beautiful smile! I haven't seen it in a while." He exclaimed.
Krum sat down across from Draco and me and dug into some porridge.
"So!" I said, looking between the boys, "Who are you taking to the ball?"
They both looked at me like I had two heads.
"Well as soon as we found out about the ball you came to talk to me about it. I thought that was you pointing out that you would go with me." Krum said awkwardly.
I laughed. Loud.
"You should know that I need a direct asking! I'm not going unless you ask me with a straight forward question." I told him.
He nodded and I turned to Draco.
"Who are you going with?" I asked him.
"Rava, you're my best friend and I'm your best friend. I just thought that would automatically mean that we would be going to the ball together." He said.
"You two just love making assumptions, don't you?" I laughed, "Draco, you've known me for the longest so you should know that you need to ask me these things!"
He mumbled a small 'sorry' and went back to eating. After a couple minutes, Krum broke the silence.
"So, Raven, will you go to the ball with me?" He asked.
I looked up at him and he was giving me one of his charming smiles.
"No, she's going to the ball with me." Draco snapped.
"Let the girl answer for herself." Krum told him.
"So she's just another girl for you to play with like a doll?" Draco scoffed.
"Do not put words into my mouth, Malfoy." Krum said.
"She's a special girl."
"But I got to her first, why?"
"I was going to ask her while doing something special."
"Should have done it sooner."
"But I wasn't the only one who made an assumption. At least mine wasn't through a conversation of if you knew about the ball yet."
The bickering continued, but I wasn't there to listen to it. I stood up and walked over to Davis and Greengrass.
"Is Stainface Scarfneck here?" I asked them.
Davis smirked up at me from across the table.
"Ravenclaw table, closer to the teachers, about ten people in. Wearing a Ravenclaw scarf, talking to Loony Lovegood." She said, without looking back at the girl.
I fixed my cloak around my shoulders, adjusted my bag and tightened my ponytail, making sure it was perfect.
"Can we come?" Greengrass asked excitedly.
I placed my hand on her shoulder and bent over to get to their sitting height.
"Not this time." I told them and stood back up.
I took a sharp turn and strutted toward the Ravenclaw table. It was like everything was in slow motion as I approached the table, almost all the Ravenclaws turned to look at me.
"Hi, Raven." A boy smiled.
I looked at him and scoffed, then looked back to where I was walking. I made my way to the only girl with a scarf around her neck. I approached the girl and looked at the boy beside her.
"Shove over." I told him.
He quickly pushed over and made room for me.
"Hey sis!" I smiled while sitting beside her, leaning my back on the table.
"What is it, Snape?" She asked me.
"I just wanted to apologize." I told her.
"Did Dad put you up to this?" She asked.
"Father. It's fath- You know what? Doesn't matter. No, father did not put me up to this. It is coming straight from the heart. I mean this with all my heart." I smiled kindly.
"Well thank-"
"I'm so sorry that you are the ugliest, most funny looking person I have ever seen! Almost as bad as a Mountain Troll." I told her.
She pulled out her wand and flicked it at me, rolling her eyes. She stood up with Loony Lovegood and began to walk away. I opened my mouth to ask her what she just did, but nothing came out. I tried again. Nothing came out. I got angry. I stood up followed behind her. I tried to yell at her. I caught up to her and smacked the back of her head, trying to continue yelling at her.
"Calm down. I just used a silencing charm. Now people don't have to listen to your awful insults." She said to me, her voice cracking.
I pushed her. If I couldn't cast charms, I'd fight her the muggle way. I pushed her again. She began to run with Lovegood. I ran too. I grabbed the end of her scarf and I pulled. She lurched backward and fell, hitting her head on the floor. She stared up at the ceiling, a look of panic on her face, tears spilling down her face. Her breathing was shaky. In a moment, arms wrapped around me and lead me away from the girl. I knew for a face it was Draco from the pale skin, the bracelet around his wrist that matched mine, and the Slytherin ring. He dragged me out of the Great Hall.
"What the bloody hell was that?" He asked me.
I tried to explain, but was quickly reminded that I couldn't say anything. He looked at me, waiting for the explanation. I sighed and took a piece of parchment out from my bag. I sat on the floor. I took out a quill and ink and wrote: 'That troll casted a silencing charm without saying anything. Now I can't talk.' I showed it to Draco. He read it and sighed.
"Okay, she deserved it." He said.
Davis and Greengrass ran out of the Great Hall and looked around before looking at Draco and then down at me.
"We saw what happened! That was great!" Greengrass exclaimed.
I shrugged and began to put my things back in my bag. Draco gave them the paper I wrote on.
Greengrass gasped and looked down at me.
"Oh no! Did it hurt? How did she do it? Just a flick of a wand? Did she need a wand?" She exclaimed.
"Daphne, calm down, you realize she can't answer those questions?" Davis asked her.
I stood up with my bag and began walking toward first class: History of Magic, one of my least favourite classes. Professor Binns was a ghost who fell asleep during lessons! He'd be talking one minute, finish a sentence and never start the next one. It was a good thing my father made me read all those history books when I was little.
In this class, we were continuing the First Wizarding War.
"Other magical beings such as house-elves and Goblins also suffered under their reign of terror. To inspire yet more terror, the Death Eaters would cast the Dark Mark in the sky over every house or scene that they killed at." Binns explained in monotone before falling asleep.
I stood up to do what I was used to doing. I was going to teach the class. I was going to talk, but then remembered that I couldn't. Instead, I walked up to the chalkboard and drew a group of stick-people and labelled them Death Eaters. Then a large building I labelled the Ministry of Magic. I drew a line from the Death Eaters to the Ministry. Then I wrote 'Strategic positions to attack Ministry'. Then I wrote Rookwood's name.
'Successful network of spying to gain information from the ministry'
I drew a man with a long beard and labelled him as Dumbledore. I drew his team called the Order of the Phoenix.
'Notable Members of OotP (write this down)
Ministry official, Elphias Doge
Aurors: Allistor Moody, Frank and Alice Longbottom'
I also wrote that Dumbledore used the Patronus charm to send secret messages to OotP members. I looked up at the clock and saw that the class was almost over. So I wrote:
'Tomorrow: Height of the First Wizarding War'
I sat back at my table with Draco and Goyle and cleaned up my things.
"I love how you can still teach a class without talking and still be more entertaining than Binns." Draco whispered.
I smiled at him. When the bell went off for next class, Binns woke up and tried to continue the class but everyone was leaving. I walked up to the Professor and pointed at the board.
"Oh thank you, Robin! I fell asleep again didn't I?" He asked me.
I nodded. He always called me Robin. I would correct him like every day if I could talk.
"You're quiet, Robin. Why so?" He asked me.
I sighed and wrote 'Silencing charm' on the board.
"I see. Alright, don't be late for your next class." He told me.
I nodded again and grabbed my bag and left. I caught up with Draco and Goyle. We walked to our Charms class.
"Hey, Raven!" A boy's voice yelled.
I turned to look at where the voice came from. A boy was running toward me. He stopped in front of me.
"My name is Michael Corner. We're in History and Charms together. I saw what Nexxremys did to you. Silencing charm? You can get Professor Flitwick to reverse it for you. Or I can do it? I know the counter-charm." He told me, taking out his wand.
I looked at his wand, then at his smile. I nodded and took a step back. He smiled bigger.
"Oratio." He said and flicked his wand.
My throat began to get scratchy and I coughed. I cleared my throat.
"It worked?" I asked.
I laughed at that. I looked at Draco who smiled down at me. I looked back at Corner who looked proud of himself.
"You did it! It worked!" I said to him.
He rubbed the back of his neck and chuckled.
"I know you're not the type of person to thank people, so I guess your welcome?" He said.
"Corner, you're a good person." I told him.
"Thanks."
I realized how blue his eyes were. They were really blue. And they shone.
"Raven, we have to go." Draco said, taking me away from my daze.
"Right." I said
I turned away from Michael Corner and took Draco's hand. We walked to the charms class with Corner walking directly behind us. When we got there, I sat with Draco and Goyle, across the room from Nexxremys and Loony Lovegood. I saw Corner stand at the bottom of the stairs to the seats, looking from the Ravenclaw girls and my group.
"Michael, come up here before someone takes your seat!" Nexxremys called.
Corner looked back at me, then to Nexxremys. He began to walk toward the Ravenclaws.
"Corner! You can sit with us. I mean, if you want." I yelled to him, adding a small smile.
I looked over at Nexxremys. She was fuming. Probably because the Silencing charm didn't stay.
"Michael, don't do it. Come sit with us. It's your seat!"
"You don't have to sit with us. I just wanted to get to know you more. But it's okay. You go sit with your friends, I guess." I said, making myself look a little disappointed as I looked away from him.
"Michael! Come here!" Nexxremys yelled.
"Raven, I want to get to know you too." I heard his voice say next to me.
I looked over at the boy and smiled.
"You'll give me a chance?" I asked him.
He nodded and sat next to me. We went through the Charms class like a usual class. I helped Michael with the Vermillious charm. Red sparks flew around the room, flying into people's faces, but unharmful to people who got struck by one. I had to help Michael to get started, but he caught on quickly and was shooting red sparks everywhere in no time. Draco and I, on the other hand, got the charm on the first try and enjoyed shooting sparks to the Ravenclaw girls on the other side of the room. Eventually, the bell rang and we all left the room. Draco, Goyle, the others and I all went to the great hall to get lunch. The Slytherin table was quite empty. only fourth and seventh years sat for lunch.
"Incoming!" Davis sang as she sat next to me with Greengrass.
"What do you mean?" I asked her.
She looked over to the Great Hall entrance and sure enough, there was Nexxremys talking to Loony Lovegood and glaring over at me.
"She's talking about me." I said, smirking.
"Don't do anything stupid, Rava." Draco said.
That was his sign for go, just don't make a major scene. So I got up and began walking toward her. I walked with purpose. Loony walked away from Nexxremys and left her alone.
"Hey, Stainface. How was class without a member of your posse?" I called to her.
"You," She said, closing the few steps between us, "You stole one of my friends! He is not your toy! Stay away from him!" She yelled
"Have your temper tantrum, Stainface. He's just a boy." I scoffed.
"Just a boy? So people are just puppets made for your enjoyment?" She continued to yell.
"Well how else am I supposed to have fun?" I laughed.
Her blue eye twitched. I had never seen anyone this mad and it entertained me to see her like this.
"Now you listen here." She started, "You are mean. Have you noticed anything different with your group of friends? Goyle, Crabbe, Parkinson, Bulstrode, they all left you. You're losing friends. They're making new friends and leaving you because you're a bad person. No one likes you, Lily. No one but your little Drakie. If I'm being honest, you're a nobody. Not even Dad likes you. He comes to Mom and me for our birthday. While you're stuck with who? House elves? The Malfoys? Come on. You are alone and no one wants to be your friend. No one loves you."
She was smirking. She wasn't concerned for me. She wanted my reaction.
And she got it. I couldn't stop myself. My bottom lip quivered. My breath got shaky. My eyes began to fill with tears.
I ran.
I ran all the way to the common room. I knocked shoulders with people my height. I slammed anyone in my way against walls. I stopped to throw other student's books across the halls. I did this all the way to the dungeons. There were still kids roaming through the halls while they were on lunch. I threw a Hufflepuff boy against a wall and threw his books as far as I could down the hall.
"What is your problem?" He asked, me looking down the hall at his books and grabbing the back of his head.
I gasped for breath as I had the chance to stop running. Tears streamed down my face. I couldn't take my eyes off the Hufflepuff in front of me. He looked back at me with his blue eyes. It was Macmillan. Ernie Macmillan.
He removed his hand from his head and there was red. Blood. I made him bleed.
"Macmillan. I-I-I'm," I stuttered.
He shook his head.
"It's no problem. I'm fine. What about you? Are you okay?" He asked me.
"I-I hurt you. I m-made you b-bleed. I-I hurt p-people." I cried.
He reluctantly placed a hand on my arm.
"Hey, Snape, calm down. It's okay." He said.
I looked down at his hand, then back at his face of worry.
"I-I s-scare you. Y-you hesitated. You're s-scared. I scare y-you." I said to him.
"No, no, Snape, it's okay. I'm not scared. It's okay. You're panicking." He told me.
I sobbed. I sobbed in front of this stranger. I'm not a crier. I don't cry. But I sobbed. I sobbed in front of Ernest Macmillan.
"I-I want t-to see my f-f-father." I cried.
"I can take you. I just need you to calm down first." He said.
I didn't do what he had said. I tore my arm out of his hand and I ran.
"Snape! I can help you! Raven Snape!"
I ignored him. I just ran. I ran all the way to my father's office. I frantically knocked and barged in without permission. I stopped to see my father on his only break of the week. He glared over at me. I began to sob again and ran to my room. I slammed the door closed behind me. I took my cloak off. Then I took my Slytherin robes off. I just stood in my room with my black skirt, white collared shirt and my grey jumper. I loosened my tie. I took my hair down and threw my favorite elastic at the vanity. I just stood in my room.
And I cried.
I cried for a long time.
I stood and cried. And wiped my tears and cried some more. How long this went for, I didn't know. Time didn't make sense anymore. It was nonexistent.
Then I collapsed. I fell to my knees. I had no tears left to cry. I just felt nothing. I stared at the floor and I just hyperventilated because that's all my body knew how to do besides cry. I felt lightheaded. I just wanted to pass out and have this all over. I wanted it all to pass. But no matter how lightheaded I got, I wouldn't pass out. Then it all stopped. My breathing was normal. Everything was normal except for the world spinning. One problem finished and another began. I lay back and stared up at the ceiling. My eyes burned from the tears. My lungs were tired. I was dizzy. I thought about nothing. I couldn't think about anything.
There was a knock at my door. out of all the times, now I had someone who wanted to see me. Why? Everyone hates me. I hurt people. And I enjoy making a fool of other people. Watching them hurt brought me happiness.
The knocking came again.
"Come in." My voice croaked.
The door opened.
"Raven?" A boy's voice whispered.
I slowly moved my head to see who it was.
"Why are you here, Corner?" I asked.
"You look awful. Are you okay? I just spent and hour looking for you." He told me.
"Stop pretending you like me. I know you hate me. Everyone hates me." I sighed.
He walked over to me and lay beside me.
"I don't hate you. I genuinely like you. You know yourself. You're smart. You're beautiful. No one is perfect. Not you, not Auzilen, not Hermione Granger. No one. You need to see that everyone has their flaws. You? You bottle your emotions and take them out on other people. That's okay. It's not your fault. It's how you were raised. You have Professor Snape as a father. That cant be easy. You're a strong person." He explained.
"I hurt people. I hurt Ernest Macmillan today and he was scared of me. He tried to help me and I ran."
He sighed and looked over at me. I didn't look at him though. I continued looking at the ceiling. He had no idea how much I wanted to disappear. But at the same time, I got mad. I wanted revenge. I wanted to hurt her just like she hurt me and more.
"It's normal to be sad when someone insults you. You start to feel insecure about yourself and-"
"I'm not sad," I said blankly, "I'm not insecure. You should leave."
I stood up and walked over to my door opening it for him. He sat up and looked at me, confused.
"Corner, you need to leave because I'm leaving." I told him.
It was like he looked into my eyes and saw what I was thinking.
"Raven, don't do anything you're going to regret later." He told me, standing.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Leave."
He nodded and walked out of my room. I followed close behind him. We passed my father and I almost walked out of the office.
"Lily." The familiar slow voice said to me, making me and Corner stop in our tracks.
I sighed and turned to my father, who sat at his desk.
"Professor." I said, giving the blank stare back at him.
"Leave us, Corner." My father said.
I looked behind me and watched as Corner hurried away. I closed the door and walked over to the desk where I sat opposite of my father.
"Explain to me why you were weak enough to shed tears." He told me.
"I don't know what came over me." I told him.
"Don't let it happen again." He told me.
I nodded.
"Now tell me the reason why." He told me.
I didn't want to lose it on my father, but my conscience was screaming at me to do it. So I did.
"You see, father, my so-called 'sister' had the nerve to insult me," I started, "She insulted me where she knew I was weakest. She told me I was losing my friends. She reminded me that no one loves me. Only the malfoys. You don't love me. Mother doesn't love me. Crabbe and Goyle hate me. Parkinson and Bulstrode hate me. Everyone is scared of me. I'm alone. No one loves me. No one wants to befriend me. I'm alone."
"Then you need to stop feeling more. Don't care if people are scared of you. You don't need anyone. I care for you. I have been caring for you for your whole life-"
"Don't make me laugh." I interrupted.
"Do not interrupt me." He said.
"No, no, don't make yourself sound like the perfect father. You never cared for me. You never celebrated my birthday with me. You we always with Nexxremys and mother. You were never home because of this stupid school. You don't love me. You love Stainface Scarfneck. I'm the other kid. The kid that can take care of herself because she was raised by servants. I learned to not get attached to people because I couldn't even get attached to my father over to summer. I knew he was going to be gone for another year while I got to spend time with Zimzy and Haltak. I can only make friends with one person and one person only and that's Draco. He is the only human I can really trust. I can't even trust you because you've never given me a chance to form a trust with you." I explained to him.
I made myself very clear. I couldn't have been any clearer.
"But, of course, I don't care. Caring is for the weak. I'm not weak. I can prove it. You will never see a single tear from me. I will make potions alone to prove I'm not stupid because you have made it very clear in the past that you think I'm stupid. I will get top marks in all my classes. And I won't get mad. I will get revenge."
And with that I was done. I stood up and walked out of my father's office. I walked to the common room to find Draco. I was much later than I thought it was and it was almost curfew.
Surely he would be in the common room doing homework. I walked in and everyone in the lounge stared at me. You could hear the water sloshing quietly on the windows and the fireplace crackling.
"Why are you staring at me? Stop." I told them.
Everyone went back to what they were doing. Everyone's voice was at a whisper. I walked over to Draco who was lying on the couches reading a Care of Magical Creatures book.
"Hagrid's making you read?" I asked him at a normal tone.
"It's the most boring class in the world. I don't need to read about what Skrewts like to do for fun! They eat each other. They eat and grow. They do nothing else." He sighed, snapping the book closed and throwing it on the table.
"Sit up a second." I told him.
He did as I said. He sat up and I sat where his head was. He lay back down and placed his head on my lap. He looked up at me and smiled.
"Are you okay?" He asked me.
"I'm fine. I just need revenge. Then I'll be great." I told him.
I began to run my fingers through his blond hair. I sighed and rested my head on the back of the couch, staring over at the fire place.
"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked me.
"I've had a stressful day, Draco. No, I'm not alright. but I will be the sooner you stop asking me that." I told him.
I continued playing with his soft hair. I did until everyone else in the lounge was gone, which was only about ten minutes.
"Draco." I said, not looking down at him.
"Yeah, Rave?" he said.
"I'm alone." I told him.
He sat up and turned to face me.
"What are you talking about? I'm right here?" He asked.
"I'm alone. Since I was little people have walked into my life, then walked right back out." I told him.
"What about me?" He asked, "I'm still here."
"My mother and sister, Auntie Trix, Rookwood, Dolohov, Crabbe and Goyle, now my father. Everyone important is gone." I said, avoiding his question.
"So I'm not important?" He asked me.
I finally made eye contact with him.
"You're not important. You're my home. You're more than important. You're the person who walked in and never walked out. You're the only person I can actually trust. You're the person who makes anywhere feel like home as long as I'm with you." I told him.
He pulled me into a hug. I rested my head on his shoulder. Home. As much as I hated this place, I was with him and he was home. My home. I gave the hundredth sigh of tonight before letting go on him and changing the subject.
"So, have you asked a girl to the ball yet?" I asked him.
He smiled and shook his head.
"No, not yet. I want to make it special." He said.
"Well I was thinking about asking Corner. The Ravenclaw that I talked to today." I told him.
His smile faded.
"A Ravenclaw?' He asked, "Why not a Slytherin? And shouldn't the guy ask the girl?"
"I want to make Stainface mad. And isn't that Beauxbaton champion asking a guy to open the ball with her? I can ask a guy. There's a week left and if I don't ask someone, I'm not going with anyone." I explained.
Draco sighed, "And what if he already has a date? Or he needs to go home for the break?"
"Then, I'm in trouble." I told him.
We soon said our goodnights and went up to our dormitories. I walked into my room and Parkinson's curtains on her bed were closed. Davis and Greengrass were on their beds doing homework. Bulstrode was snoring away without her curtains closed.
"Do you guys have any idea how late it is?" I asked Davis and Greengrass.
"We wanted to see how you were. We saw what happened at lunch. Didn't look good. I wanted to go total banshee on Scarfneck, but Davis stopped me." Greengrass explained, giving Davis a glare.
"I stopped you because it wouldn't have helped anything. Snape had already ran off. It was too late to do anything. I would have let it happen if it was to interrupt Scarfneck, but it wasn't." Davis said.
"Whatever. Go to sleep. I want today to be over." I said, taking off my shoes.
The girls closed their curtains and I got changed before jumping into bed. I drank a bit of the drought I kept in my side table and went to sleep.
***
I woke up with my eyes burning. I rubbed them for about five minutes before they felt better. I got dressed in black leggings and a dark green tee-shirt. I put on my black socks, flats and green cloak before getting up and going to the bathroom to clean up. When I finished, I went down to the lounge and crossed to the other set of stairs that lead to the boy's dormitories. I got many unimpressed looks from boys who were packed and bringing their trunks to the lounge. No one said anything to me though. Me being me, I could get away with just about anything in this common room. I walked over to the fourth year dormitories. Without knocking, I walked in. The boys were awake. All except for Crabbe, but that wouldn't be for long.
"Rave! What are you doing here?" Goyle exclaimed, covering himself with his bedsheets.
And now Crabbe was awake.
"Good morning boys. Christmas break begins. Who's going home?" I asked them.
"Rave, you're lucky none of us were changing." Draco laughed.
"I might as well be, but I don't mind." Zabini said.
I looked over at the boy who was in just his boxers.
"Don't make me vomit, Zabini. Put on a shirt." I said, rolling my eyes.
Draco got up and walked over to me. He was in some loose black pyjama pants.
"You, on the other hand, are allowed to go shirtless." I laughed.
"Why him? I'm much better looking." Zabini asked.
"Funny, mate. Why else would I be allowed to and you're not?" Draco said to him.
"Hey now, you two. It's because I've known Draco for my whole life and I'm more comfortable with him." I said.
"And I'm better looking." He said quietly, looking down at me.
I looked back up at him and smiled.
"Of course you are." I said.
"That's not fair, you're just saying that because he's your boyfriend." Zabini pouted.
"Blaise, it's best friend, not boyfriend." Draco said to Zabini seriously.
"It's fine, Draco. Zabini just needs to find out on his own what happens to people who say things like that." I told him.
"What happens?" Zabini asked me.
"Well you're just going to have to find out." I smiled innocently.
Draco laughed.
"You should let us get changed and I'll meet you down in the lounge." Draco suggested.
I agreed and let them change in peace. I waited in the lounge for them. When they came down from their room, we left for breakfast. The Great Hall was very empty compared to what I was used to. There were only two long tables. The other two seemed to have vanished overnight.
"Where is our table?" I asked.
"Gone." Goyle said
I glared up at him, so badly wanting to slap the smirk off of his face. Lucky for him I kept myself composed. I just sighed and lead the group to one of the tables. We sat down and ate our breakfast.
"So I'm going to the ball alone, then I can dance with whoever I want." Zabini said, trying to spark a conversation.
"I was going to ask Bulstrode, but then I found out she was going home for the holidays. Now I'm just going for the refreshments." Crabbe said.
"I got a Ravenclaw girl to go with me. I had to do a lot of convincing though." Goyle added to the conversation.
"I still dont have a date." Draco said.
"Me too." I said.
"Why dont you two go together?" Zabini asked us.
"Because he hadn't formally asked me yet." I said.
A group of students walked in. A blue cloak caught my eyes and i looked over to see who it was. It was identical to mine, other than the colour. It was Stainface Scarfneck and her friends. Michael Corner walked close behind the group.
"Besides," I said to my group of boys, "I know who I want to ask to the ball, and it isn't Draco. So sorry, Drakie, you're going to have to ask Astoria Greengrass, Daphne Greengrass' sister. I hear she has quite a crush on you." I explained as I stood up.
I told the boys that I'd be back in a minute and walked away. I made my way toward the Ravenclaws.
"Michael!" I exclaimed, approaching him, "they took out two tables! Theres no arrangement by house this christmas! Isn't that infuriating?" I asked.
Nexxremys and Loony Lovegood continued to walk away as they saw me approach Michael.
"Erm, hey Raven, how are you feeling? Better from yesterday, I hope?" He asked me.
"Yeah, about that," I sighed, "I apologise for causing such a scene." I said.
He shrugged, "don't apologize. You had a right to be upset."
"And you are great at comforting people." I told him.
Why was I here again? Oh, I remember!
"Anyway, I'm here to ask you something." I said to him.
"yeah, whats up?" He asked.
I took a deep breath and looked into his blue eyes.
"Would you like to go to the ball with me?"
He looked surprised. His jaw dropped a little and he was awkwardly chuckling. He ran his fingers through his hair and dropped his hand at his side.
"Dang, Raven, i was never expecting this type of a question to come from you. Especially towarded to me!" He said.
"Yes or no, Corner?" I asked.
"Erm yeah, sure!" He said.
"Perfect!" I said, smiling, "I'll talk to you after breakfast!"
"Erm, yeah, sure!"
I turned on my heel and walked back to my group. Their eyes were glued to me, not trying to be discreet about it at all. I sat down beside Draco, who was the only one that took his eyes off of me when I got near.
"Corner? He's a Ravenclaw." Zabini pointed out to me.
"Thank your for that useless information, Zabini." I sighed.
We all finished our breakfast and stood up to leave.
"Where are we going to go? There's nothing to do." Zabini asked.
I rolled my eyes and looked at him.
"We'll go to Hogsmeade. We can go look for accessories for the ball." I said.
All the boys groaned.
"You mean accessories for you. Not for all of us." Goyle said.
"Exactly. I just need all of your inputs." I told them.
No one declined going to Hogsmeade, so that's where I took them. I lead them to the shop that I got my cloak from. We walked into the shop and I looked around the sparkling jewelry and hair pieces.
"Let's get this done and get out of here. I want to go back to the Great Hall. I'm hungry." Crabbe said.
I turned to him, taking a warning step forward and glared at him.
"If you want to leave, then leave. We don't need you here." I said to him.
He took a step back and nodded, but didn't leave.
"Okay then. Let's get started, shall we? So, we're all focusing on me. We need to find a dress and accessories. Everything that you find that you like, bring back to me and I'll tell you yes or no." I explained.
Everyone nodded and separated. I made my way, alone, to a shelf with earrings and necklaces. I looked through the rubies, sapphires and other gems. Every stone was there except for emeralds.
"Hello dear! Do you need help looking for anything?" A woman's voice asked.
I turned to see the woman that sold me my cloak.
"I know you! You gave me this cloak!" I exclaimed, smiling.
"I remember. A size fitting cloak. How are you today Ms Snape?" She asked.
"I'm great. My friends and I are looking for my Yule Ball accessories." I told her.
"Would you like some help?" She asked.
"Oh please! I need something emerald. I think I'm going to wear this necklace, bracelet and this ring that my best friend gave me." I said, showing her my jewellery, "I just feel there needs to be something new that is jaw-dropping. I just can't find any emeralds." I explained.
She nodded and looked around for a minute.
"You know what?" She asked looking back at me, "I think I have a thing or two. Do you have any shoes?" She asked me.
I shook my head. She nodded again and told me to wait one moment. Then she went into a room behind the checkout desk.
"Snape!" I heard one of the boys call.
I turned over to Zabini, who was approaching me.
"What is it? What did you find?" I asked him.
He held out a pair of black flats, lined with silver rhinestones.
"Shoes? And they're not heels? Zabini, I need to have more attention on me than on any of the champions. I'm not going to get that if I have boring flats." I told him.
He muttered a 'sorry' and placed the shoes on a nearby table.
"Ms Snape, I managed to find these." The woman said, coming out of the room.
I looked down at a pair of heels in her hands. They looked boring until she turned them to show me that the heels had snakes going up them and had an emerald on the tops of their heads. The bottom of the heels had a green sole that matched my look perfectly.
"They're gorgeous, I'll take them." I smiled.
She put the shoes on the checkout desk.
"That's not all I found. You're missing a hair accessory so I found this."
She handed me a hair clip. I admired the beauty of the small clip, decorated with small emeralds. It was the most beautiful hair piece I had ever see.
"I'll take this one too." I told her.
She nodded, took the piece back and placed it on her desk. I walked away to find the others. I found Crabbe and Goyle looking through bright dresses.
"All of those are ghastly." I said, disgusted by all of the yellows and bright blues and pinks.
They stepped away from the dresses and looked down at their feet. I rolled my eyes and shook my head, and left to go find Draco. I found him looking at some emerald hearts, more like dormitory decorations than accessories. I stopped a bit away from him.
"You three stay here. I need to talk to him alone. Just go look at some things. Zabini, go pay for those things for me." I said to the boys in a whisper and gave Zabini a pouch of money.
They all, surprisingly, didn't ask any questions and just nodded. I walked over to Draco and stood beside him.
"I was going to ask you." He whispered, not looking away from the decorations.
I looked up at him and smiled.
"I wanted to go with you," I whispered back, "but I think its good for us to do this with other people."
"Why?" he asked, looking down, pain glowing in his eyes.
"Well, we spend so much time together. This is something I'd like to use as an experiment, to see if I can do something as big as this without you." I shrugged.
"But that's the thing. This is big and I don't think I can do this without you." He whispered.
I didn't know what to say.This was something so different than what Draco was usually like. He was so used to thinking that sensitive situations like this make us weak. That feeling emotions like this makes us weak.
"Draco. I-I really don't care about Michael as much as I care about you. You know that." I whispered.
"Then go to the ball with me," He said, desperation in his eyes, "Please, Rava, I don't want to go with anyone else but you. And I don't want you to pay anyone but me that type of attention. I don't want anyone to think that deserve that attention. They don't. No one deserves a whole night of your attention."
"No one but you?" I asked him.
"No one but me. I deserve it from an amazing person like you. I have been by your side for eleven years. No one could be as deserving as that. No one can mean more to you than the guy who has been there since you were two." He said.
"What am I supposed to do? I'd love to go to the ball with you, but I already asked Michael to the ball." I asked him.
"Call it off. Be honest. Break him like you do everyone else and put him in his place. Tell him that he doesn't deserve it. I don't care how you do it, but please, Raven, please do it. I'm begging you."
He looked as if he was about to cry and as a tear slipped from his left eye, I broke. Not only did it break me, but at the same time, I broke him. I lifted my hand and whipped the tear from his cheek, then leaving my hand on his face. I nodded, I was going to go to the ball with Draco instead. He understood my nod and wrapped his arms around my waist. My arms wrapped around his neck and we just stood there for a minute.
"I just feel like nobody wants me. Nobody loves me." He said into my shoulder.
"Don't say that, Draco. You know that's not true." I whispered.
We let go of each other. He shrugged. There was no trace of happiness on his face. I was right- I had broken him.
"Come on, let's get out of here." I said to him.
He nodded. I took his hand and we left, the others following close behind us. We got back to the school and Zabini, Draco and I went to the common room, while Crabbe and Goyle went back to the Great Hall. We hung out in the common room lounge for only a little bit before Zabini left Draco and me alone. We were both quiet, but it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable in anyway. It was peaceful. Like just having the company was all we needed. Memories flooded back to me. Memories from when we were little. When like was just him and I. I was happy. I was truly me. And first year, I was a fiery girl that blew up when something didn't go the way I wanted it to. I was losing my edge. I was losing myself in the weakness of all the emotions I have been feeling lately.
"What happened to us, Drakie?" I asked the boy on the other couch.
He looked over at me.
"What do you mean?" He asked back.
"We're losing ourselves. I used to be a ball of fire, threatening to blow up any second. And you- you were the boy who was sly and wanted to get revenge by snitching and making a fool of others. We're in a rut and we need out. We need to go back to the way things were. We're losing our confidence. We may not be first years, able to get away with everything, but we are still Snape and Malfoy, the most feared duo in this school. People are finding out that we are weak at this moment and they are using that to tear us down more. They are using that to lift their confidence. We can't have that happen, Drakie. They need to know their place on the food chain. They are all below us and they need to know that. We, as the top of the chain, need to act on our places. We need to fight for our spots as people find that this is a weak time for us and they fight for our spots. It's time to show them who is the best. It is time to smarten up and get back to the way things were."
A/n
Word count: 7515
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I guess Rave's New Year resolution is to get her fire back! Can't wait. I was kinda missing the old Raven. She and Draco are mush balls and need to get back on their toes. They're losing their spunk! Cant wait to see them back to themselves.
Question, perfect timing for the yule ball? Leave your thoughts on what you think is gonna happen with Raven and Draco. And more importantly, what is Michael gonna do about the Draco and Raven thing?
Sending love to all of you! Have a happy holiday!
-Spade