After I had moved all of my things from my room to outside through my window, I waited impatiently for Nusaeross to come back. All I needed was to see a small black speck to show up in the sky, fly towards the window and land in my room, then turn into Ross. So I waited. I knew it was only about fifteen minutes, but it felt like days. When the bird came into view after what felt like those many days, I stepped back and I gave the bird room to morph into his human self. And there he was. The black hair and black eyes. He walked around and turned his back to me.
"I never realized how hot it can be to fly for so long. It sure does work up a sweat." Ross said, taking off his leather jacket, followed by his black tee shirt.
My eyes landed on the artwork on his back. The black design of feathered wings that travelled from the center of his back to his elbows.
"Your wings." I said to him.
He turned and looked at me, confused.
"I'm human, I don't have wings." He said.
I rolled my eyes and walked over to him. I grabbed his hands and dragged him to my vanity. I turned his back to the mirror.
"Look, Ross." I told him.
He looked back at the mirror and became immediately obsessed with the giant wings on his back. I heard a snap come from outside my window.
"Narcissa." I whispered.
I ran to my window and there was the woman in a black dress standing in front of my house.
"Cissy!" I called only quiet enough so my mother wouldn't be able to hear form downstairs.
Narcissa looked up at me and waved.
"Hello darling. Are you ready to go?" She asked me.
I quickly nodded and left the window.
"Get your clothes back on, we're leaving." I told Ross.
He nodded and put on his tee shirt and leather jacket. We walked out of my room and downstairs.
"Mother, Ross and I are going outside for a little bit." I told my mother, who was now in the lounge reading a book.
"What will you be doing?" She asked me.
I had to think quickly.
"I brought my wizards chess board. I thought we could get some fresh air and play some chess." Ross told my mother.
I looked at him, and sure enough, he was holding a chess board.
"Alright, just be back in for dinner." Mother nodded.
We walked over to the front door. I put on my black flats.
"Ross, where did you get the board?" I asked him.
"I found it on a side table on our way downstairs." He said, placing it on the ground.
We walked outside and quickly over to Narcissa. I threw my arms around the woman who was the closest I had ever had to a mother. I let go of her and he studied my face.
"You grew, you look older than you did the last time I saw you." She told me.
"I thought you looked a little shorter." I joked.
She looked over at Nusaeross and looked back at me.
"I didn't know I was traveling with two people." She said.
Nusaeross held his hand out to her.
"Ross, I'm Raven's messenger." He introduced himself.
"The bird?" She asked, shaking his hand.
"Yes, remarkable, isn't it?" I asked her.
"Indeed," She smiled, "well, we must be off. Don't want to get caught now, would we?"
I grabbed my trunk and Ross' cage and trudged them over. Ross morphed into a bird again and flew into the open cage. I let go of my trunk and closed his cage, then grabbed my trunk again. Narcissa held her hand out to my trunk. I gave it to her, then she held out her other hand to my now free one. I took it and in a split second, I felt the world spin away from me. I felt like I was being squeezed through a narrow tube before landing on solid ground again. My eyes were shut tight. I couldn't look at my surroundings. I knew they wouldn't be real. I could tell by the lack of wind that we were inside a house. I knew the house immediately.
"It isn't real." I whispered.
Narcissa let go of my hand and walked away. I could hear her walk up stairs and talk to someone, although her words were inaudible. There sparked a new conversation.
"Mother, what is it? You never have surprises for me." A familiar boy's voice said.
My eyes shot open. I was welcomed by the large, dark, front foyer of the Malfoy manor. I heard footsteps come from the stairs across the room from me. I watched as black shoes emerged from the stairs, then black pants, then a black button up shirt. And then the face I was most excited to see. My feet were frozen in my place. I couldn't move. And by the looks of it, when he saw me, he had the inability to move as well. But for him it was only for a minute because the next thing I saw was him running towards me. His arms wrapped around my waist. I wrapped mine around his neck as he lifted me and spun me around. The only way I knew this was the real him was his smell was just as I had remembered; apples and expensive cologne. He placed me down and separated just enough to be able to look me in the eyes.
"You're actually here." He said.
"You're actually real this time."
He pulled me back into a hug. His forehead resting on my shoulder. As I began to get used to being back in his arms, he let go of me.
"We need to get your things upstairs. If your father knows your here, he wont be very happy." He told me.
"Didn't you say that he needed me back?" I asked him.
"Well, yes, but not now. He's in a meeting with the dark lord with my father. They're going to be finishing soon." Draco explained.
"The dark lord is here?" I asked.
He nodded. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at my things. He casted the levitation charm on them and began to take them upstairs. I followed him to my room which was right across the hall from his. I looked at the white walls, the black curtains on the windows and the black silk sheets on the four poster bed.
"What is your father seeing Raven? You and him are portal into the meeting." Draco asked me.
I pulled out my Hogwarts wand from my pocket. I flicked it at my side. The vision that I got was blurry and disorientated, but the words were very clear.
"Severus, you have a visitor. I sense their presence. Wormtail, go find Narcissa and tell her to find the visitor and bring them to me." The dark lord's voice said.
It was almost recognisable, as he always whispered when he talked to me.
"Y-y-yes master." A small voice stuttered.
I needed to hear no more of the meeting, as I would soon be the subject of it.
"The dark lord knows a visitor is here. He wished to see me." I told Draco.
"Raven, he'll hurt you. You can't go." Draco said.
"I'm not afraid of the dark lord, Draco. He has been expecting me home any day now." I told him.
"The dark lord has been expecting you?" He asked.
"I just said that, didn't I? Now I mustn't keep him waiting. I will talk to you after the meeting." I told him.
I walked out of the room and down the stairs. I began to make my way toward the meeting room.
"You!" A voice called, "Who are you?"
I turned to see a man with large teeth and a small twittch in his nose.
"I am the visitor the dark lord wishes to see, Raven Snape. Who are you?" I introduced.
"No time, come." He said.
He walked over to me and took my wrist. Disgusted, I yanked my hand away before bringing it back to hit his away from me.
"No need for restraint you filthy rat." I snapped.
He flinched and nodded. He lead me past the lounge and down a small corridor. The small man opened the door and walked inside. I followed the man into the fire-lit room. There was a long table in the centre of the room. My eyes landed on the few men in the room, first Lucius, then my father, then a man with skin almost a cold white complexion, he had no hair, no eye brows, he had blue eyes and no nose. I nodded my head at the man dressed in black.
"Good evening, my lord." I said, my head still bowed to him.
"My dear, I'm glad you could join us." The mans voice said happily.
I lifted my head and smiled at him.
"Lily, what are you doing here?"
My head turned to my father, who looked more then upset that I was here.
"Aren't you happy to be reunited with your only daughter, Father?" I asked him.
"You should be with your mother."
"She was boring, perky, kind and perfect." I said in disgust.
"Sounds like a torturous situation you placed her in, Severus." The dark lord told my father.
The dark lord looked back at me and smiled.
"But you made it home, you completed your task. Now as I have offered. Your reward to sit next to me and be my second in command." He told me, offering me the chair diagonal to him, which happened to be next to my father. I walked over to the chair and sat.
"Now as I was saying before we were graced by the presence of young Raven," The dark lord said, "I plan on traveling to Azkaban to release my followers. I would assign this as a task for one of you, but neither of you have proven your worthiness of such task." The dark lord said.
"Pardon me, my lord, but you are going to release Death Eaters? Will this include Bellatrix, Dolohov and Rookwood?" I asked.
"Them and many more you will learn to befriend." the dark lord replied.
My stomach turned over itself and I couldn't think straight or hear the meeting over my own thoughts. After all these years of waiting, Auntie Trix will be brought home with Dolohov and Rookwood.
"This meeting has come to an end. I must talk to Raven alone." The dark lord announced.
Lucius and Wormtail left the room. My father was a little more hesitant, but he left. I stood up with the dark lord.
"Yes, my lord?"
He walked over to the window and looked out into the grey sky.
"You may only attend the meetings and be assigned tasks if you are officially one of my faithful followers." He told me.
"I must become an official Death Eater?" I asked him.
"Yes! Yes!" He exclaimed, turning to me.
"It would be an honour to become one of your followers. I have waited my whole life for events to lead up to this moment." I told him.
He smiled menacingly over at me.
"I knew you would. You're the daughter of darkness. Born to be just as good as your father, and better. That is why I expect you to be a better follower than him." He told me.
"I will be. Give me any task you wish for me to do. I will perform it to the greatest of my abilities." I told him.
"Do not make promises you can not keep." He told me sternly.
"I make this promise and I will keep it until my heart stops beating. Even if it risks my death, I will fight to keep that promise until the end." I told him.
"If only all of my followers were as faithful as you." He said.
"Cowards."
"I agree."
The dark lord pulled out his wand and walked over to me.
"Hold out your left arm." He ordered.
I did as he said and pulled my cloak off of my left arm, rolled up my sleeve and held it out to him. He held my wrist in one hand while the other nearly stabbed his wand into my arm. Within seconds, my arm began to sting. I knew better than to flinch, but I had an enormous urge to let out a yelp in pain. The sting turned into a burning sensation. I had never concentrated so hard in my life to think about anything but the pain. My legs felt as if they were about to give out any moment, but I forced them to buckle so they wouldn't fold under me. I looked at my arm to see there was a black mark on my arm. The Dark Mark. The dark lord pulled his wand away and the burning stopped. I rolled my sleeve back down and I hid my arm back inside my cloak.
"Not many have the capabilities of staying silent and standing through the entire process. I applaud you, my youngest follower. Go now." The dark lord told me.
I nodded and walked out of the room. I found my way back up to my room. I walked in and was surprised to see Ross sitting on the floor and Draco on my bed.
"Ross, how did you get out of your cage?" I asked the boy on the floor.
"The bird told me he wanted out of the cage, so I opened it. He flew out and turned into a person." Draco explained.
"And you haven't killed each other yet?" I asked him.
"He's not my favorite person, but he's made me very aware of his commitment to you. He's a faithful messenger and will protect you as much as he is capable. I mean, he's a raven. He has no magical abilities except for the one you gave him. What can he really do?" Draco explained to me.
"Well you don't need to be rude about it." Ross said.
"Come on, you remember how all the Slytherins are. This is him being nice." I reminded Ross.
He mumbled something to himself and stood up. He walked over to my bed and opened the window right above it. He took off his leather jacket and his black tee. I stared at the wings on his back. I had to admit; they were mesmerizing. He turned around and smiled at me.
"I'm going for a fly. I would like to re-coordinate myself." He told me.
I nodded and watched as he transformed into a bird and flew out of the window.
"Was him taking off his shirt necessary?" Draco asked, looking disgusted.
I scoffed and sat next to him.
"He was just showing off his wings," I reassured him, "He's proud of them. And it's a bird thing to show off his wings. It's their most precious asset about themselves."
"Or he likes you and he's trying to impress you." He told me.
I sighed and placed my head on his shoulder.
"Are you jealous?" I asked him.
"Me? Jealous? Never. I just don't want him making any moves on you now that he can be human." He told me.
"So you're jealous that he might have the ability to take my attention from you?" I asked him.
"Not jealous, just worried. I've already lost you once. Now that you're back, I would want you to be totally here and not thinking about him all the time." He told me.
"Draco, I was in a whole other country and could hardly ever stop thinking of you. Now that I can actually see you everyday, you're never going to leave my mind." I told him.
I heard him sigh with relief. He placed a kiss on the top of my head and rested his own head on mine. It felt so right to be back. It this moment, it was like I never left. It had forgotten about mother, I had forgotten about Ilvermorny and America. I had forgotten about the Thunderbirds. I had forgotten about Vexx. But maybe, not off the top of my head, but subconciously, I may have been thanking America. If it weren't for my trip to America, I would probably be at home, arguing with Auzilen, taking my anger out on her instead of ever taking it out on Beth. I did thank my father for sending me away. How else would I find out how awful my mother really was? Leaving made me feel so much closer to Draco now. And while I was gone, I had a lot to learn from spell books during free time, which was between classes and during Potions and Charms class. A squawk from a bird came from my window as a black bird flew into my room and transformed into a boy as it landed. I stopped leaning on Draco and stood up.
"Miss me?" Ross asked me.
I scoffed and walked over to him.
"I need you to fly to Hogwarts for me." I told him.
I walked over the vanity and sat down. I took some parchment, ink and a quill and began to write.
Dear Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore,
I apologise for contacting you over the Christmas break, but I'm aware that some students stay for the Christmas break and you have to stay at the school. I would like to set up a meeting some time to discuss me returning to Hogwarts to continue my academics here, instead of at Ilvermorny. I have permanently moved back to Britain and I continue to have the need for learning, as I am only in my fifth year. Please write back soon.
I hope you will consider my return to Hogwarts,
Raven Lily Celestia Snape
I rolled up the parchment and walked over to Ross. I held it out to him. He looked at me and sighed.
"I just got back." He complained.
"You're my messenger. It's your job. You never complained as a bird." I told him.
"I know, but don't you like seeing me?" He asked.
"Nusaeross, I brought you into this Human world and I can take you out of it very quickly, I dare you to test me." I warned him.
He bowed his head to me. I sighed. My eyes landed to the lines reaching his elbows from his wings. The parchment fell from my hands. Mymind went blank as my right hand reached out for his arm. My left index finger followed the outlines of the feathers. I could feel Ross smirking at me.
"Ahem."
Draco cleared his throat, tearing me from my small trance. I quickly let go of Ross' arm and backed away from him. I picked the parchment up from the ground and held it out to Ross. He rolled his eyes, then transformed into his bird self again. He took the parchment and flew back out the window.
"What was that?" Draco asked me.
I turned to look at him.
"What?" I asked him.
"You were tracing his markings. It was weird and not something you would normally do." He told me.
"I dont know what's coming over me." I told him.
"Well you better snap out of it. If the dark lord know about you being easily distracted because of your bird, he won't be happy. And besides, you never act like his. It's not you. I don't like it and I would appreciate it if you got that kid's transfiguration rate to stay at a minimum." He explained to me.
As much as I didn't like him to be right, he was right. I had to snap out of it.
In that moment, there was a knock at the door. Narcissa walked in.
"Your father wants to talk to you. He's in the foyer." She said.
I nodded and stood up. I left Draco and made my way to the front foyer. I met my father's cold glare.
"You requested me?" I asked him.
"I did," He said, "Are you staying?"
"Father," I sighed, "Even the dark Lord agrees that it is torturous over there. He didn't even have to live with her. You can't be telling me that I should go back." I told him.
"That is not what I meant, stupid girl. Are you staying with the Malfoys?" He asked, irritated.
I thought for a minute. Where else would I go?
"Is coming home an option? Because I would much rather sleep in my own room." I asked.
"If you have to."
My heart raced with happiness. My father was allowing me to come home.
"I'll go get my things then." I told him.
I ran upstairs and barged into my room, where Draco sat, waiting.
"I'm leaving with Father. When Nusaeross comes back, can you get your mother to apparate him to Spinners End?" I asked him.
"You're leaving already?" He asked sadly.
"Yes, I have to. Who knows if my father will offer me to come home again." I said.
He sighed and stood up. I approached him and wrapped my arms around his neck. His arms snaked around my waist.
"I missed you, Rava." He whispered.
"I missed you more, Drakie."
We let go of each other. I grabbed my trunk and walked out of the room, Draco walked close behind me. We reached the front foyer. I approached my father, who held out his arm. I gave Draco a quick goodbye and linked my arm with my father's. In an instant, my father and I were being squeezed through a tight tube, landing us in the alley right beside the house. My father lead us around the corner and into the house I grew up in. It was exactly how I remembered. The small entrance with a cloak holder and a mat for our shoes. I removed my cloak and hung it on the cloak rack and removed my flats, placing them neatly on the mat.
"Master Snape, I have cleaned greatly since you have been gone." A feminine voice said.
I looked around my father to see Zimsey, the house elf that has been a great help to my father in my younger years.
"Hello, Zimsey. It has been a while." I smiled at her.
Zimsey's face brightened when she saw me.
"Miss Snape! Oh how I have missed your presence!" Zimsey exclaimed running over and hugging my leg.
"Father, are you home?" A girl's voice asked.
A girl in black leggings and skirt, matched with a deep blue long sleeved top and Ravenclaw scarf walked around the corner. I could not ignore how she had copied my look, minus the scarf.
"Ah, I see Stainface Scarfneck is still here." I said, disgusted.
"Raven, you're back! Why didn't you tell us you were coming? I could have arranged a party for your arrival!" The girl smiled.
"Ugh, you're just like your mother." I groaned.
I pushed past my father and supposed sister and walked to the lounge. The room where my father and I would drink our tea in the morning as he read the paper and told me that my Auntie Trix wasn't out of Azkaban. The room where I read every single book that I have read until I started school. I wandered into the kitchen, where I found Haltak, making dinner.
"Haltak! You're still here!" I exclaimed.
"Miss Snape! I'm greatly overjoyed by your return!" Haltak exclaimed as water boiled over the sides of a pot.
I laughed as he rushed to fix the problem.
"I'm surprised that Father hasn't freed you. He's been ready to sack you any day now since I was little." I told him.
"I know he does not like me, Miss, but he kept me in memory of you. His words said that if it weren't for you, I would be freed. I am only being here because you would not be accepting of my freedom." He told me.
"My father said that?" I asked him.
He nodded vigorously. I thanked him and walked out of the kitchen, into dining room. Not a piece of decoration or furnisher had been changed. I wandered over to the stairs and climbed them, counting every step. I counted the same nine steps that I have been counting for years. I reached the top and walk to a closed dark oak door that was the barrier between myself and my room. I turned the handle of the door and pushed it open. I loved the view. The bed standing across from where I stood. The window to the left instead of at the head of the bed. My vanity was now to my left and my wardrobe to my right. It was my room. I was home. This all felt like a dream. Any minute now I would wake up and be in that prison in America. I heard a pop from behind me. I turned around and saw Zimsey with my trunk. I took it from her and set it at the foot of my bed.
"Would you like some help unpacking, Miss Snape?" Zimsey asked.
I nodded and allowed her to open my trunk. She took my clothes and put them in my wardrobe exactly how I liked my things organized. I took my vanity knick-knacks to my vanity and placed them in the right drawers.
"Miss Snape?" Zimsey called to me.
I turned and saw that she was picking up a wand. One with runes on it.
"That, my loyal elf, is my Ilvermorny wand. They made me get a new one when I got there. It was like they were trying to strip every bit of Hogwarts away from me. I always preferred this one and used it as much as I could out of class." I explained to her.
"Why would they do that to you? You can't forget your true home." Zimsey said.
"Which is exactly why I came home as soon as possible. I couldn't stay there any longer. It was more awful than you can imagine." I told her.
I took the wand from her, studying the runes. I placed the wand in a drawer of my vanity. I went back to my trunk and pulled out books upon books all from this year and last.
"Would you like to place these pictures somewhere?" Zimsey asked me.
I looked back at the pictures in her hands. I walked over and took them. Daily Prophet pictures of Dolohov and Rookwood in Azkaban, Auntie Trix in Azkaban, then Auntie Trix with a Ravenclaw woman with brown curly hair and brown eyes. They were laughing. Seeing my Auntie Trix smile was what brightened my day most. Because I knew, in a short while, she would be free and I would have my aunt back. I took the pictures over to my side table and placed them safely in the drawer.
"You kept your Slytherin uniform in your trunk." Zimsey pointed out.
"I did. It was at the bottom of my trunk but I had to keep it." I told her.
I watched as she placed the uniform on a hanger and hung it on the door of my wardrobe. There was nothing left in my trunk. It was officially over. No more America. No more Ilvermorny. No more Mother.
"I will go check on your dinner, miss." Zimsey said to me.
She walked out of my room. I paced around, remembering my life years ago. Before Hogwarts. When I would wake up and open my curtains. I would get changed, then call for Zimsey. She would do my hair. I would count the stairs as I went to the lounge to say good morning to my father and see if there was anything in the Daily Prophet about my aunt. Then we would have breakfast and go to the Malfoys. Those were the good days. Then I grew up. I started school and everything changed.
"Raven?" A girl's voice called from my door, accompanied with a knock.
I turned to see Auzilen.
"Every second that I see you, Stainface, makes my day worse and worse. Get out." I told her.
"Raven, I know you don't like me, but I think that if we actually talk, you could at lease learn that I'm not as terrible as you think. You're aloud to hate me, but at least know that I don't have any awful intentions." She said.
I sighed and walked over to her.
"I just got home. It would be great if you let me have a day to myself in my own home before remembering that I have an intruder of my privacy right across the corridor." I told her.
"What did I do that made you think I invaded your privacy?" She asked me.
"Don't pretend that you had the whole summer living in this house and you didn't think once to enter my room." I scoffed.
"I'm not going to lie, it did cross my mind, but I never acted on it. This is your room. It's your sacred space. I would never do anythining to disrespect it or you." She said.
"Did you know that lying is disrespectful to me?" I asked her, "I said get out."
I grabbed the door and pushed it closed. I sighed and walked over to my wardrobe. I pulled my cloak off of me and hung it. I changed my long sleeve shirt into a short sleeve of the same color. I looked down at the new print on my left arm. The reminder that my life goal has been met. I was better than my father. I had completed a task given by the dark lord and was given a rank higher than my father. I was the dark lord's second in command. I was trusted.
"Miss Snape?" Zimsey's voice called from outside my door, "It is time for dinner."
I walked over to the door and opened it. I looked down at Zimsey and smiled. I walked out of my room and alongside Zimsey as we walked down to the dinning room. I walked into the dining room, where my fatehr was nowhere to be seen, but Auzilen sat between where father and I sat, on the long side of the table.
"Where is father?" I asked the girl.
"In his office. He has some school papers to attend to." She answered.
"Typical." I mumbled, sitting in my seat.
Haltak entered the room with two identical plates of dinner.
"Your favorite, Miss Snape." He said, setting the plates in front of Auzilen and myself.
"It's your favorite?" Auzilen asked me.
I glared over at her.
"What do you mean?" I asked her, looking down at the salad casserole.
"I mean, I've eaten this a countless number of times over the summer. Father requested it to Haltak almost every night and almost everyday for his lunch. I can tell why it's your favorite. It's a really odd, yet delicious take on a salad mixed with a casserole." She told me.
"Father requested this? He has never showed a liking to it." I told her.
"What can I say, he missed you." Auzilen shrugged.
Something about that sentence made me click. It made fists clench and my jaw lock.
"Stop." I told her.
"What? What did I say?" She asked.
"Father didn't miss me. Everyone needs to stop saying that." I said.
I stood up, took my plate and walked out of the dining room. I walked into the lounge and sat in my chair. I began to eat the hot salad containing of quinoa, spicy peanut sauce, purple cabbage, carrots, peanuts and peas. I had to admit, when you listed the ingrediants, it sounded exceedingly strange, but all the flavours tied perfectly. I wished that my mother knew about this recipe, but I refused to talk to her more than I had to.
I devoured my dinner and set my plate on the table next to me. Just as I set the plate there was a knock on the front door. I watched as Zimsey ran to the door and opened it.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"I'm Ross. I'm here for Raven." A boy's voice said.
I stood up and joined Zimsey at the door.
"Finally!" I told him, "What are you doing outside, get in here!"
He walked in and the door closed behind him. Zimsey ran off and left Ross and me alone.
"Do you have Dumbledore's answer?" I asked him.
He reached into his leather jacket pocket and held the note out to me. I took it and walked back over to my chair in the lounge. I opened the letter.
Raven Snape,
As happy as I am to hear from you, I am also surprised. As headmaster, I have thought about it and decided that there is no meeting necessary. The Ministry will be notified about your return and we will be happy to have you back at Hogwarts. I hope your time in America did you well and I would be glad to hear about it upon your arrival.
Professor Dumbledore
I sighed with relief. That was so much easier than I thought it would be. I folded the letter and stood up.
"My room." I told Ross.
I lead him to the stairs and went up to my room. When we got there, we walked in and I closed the door behind us. I walked over to my left hand side table and put the letter in the drawer. I sighed and sat on my bed.
"Is something bothering you?" Ross asked me.
I looked up at him.
"Bothering me? No. Why?" I asked him.
"You look off." He said.
"I'm fine." I told him.
"I know you, Raven. I know when something is wrong."
"Nothing is wrong!" I yelled.
He crossed his arms and walked over to me. He kneeled at the side of my bed, where I sat.
"Are you done, Fire Bird?" He asked me.
"This is not the time for nicknames, Ross." I said.
"Are you done?" He repeated.
I sighed and nodded. My eyes landed on his black shirt and leather jacket.
"Can I see them again?" I asked him.
He tilted his head.
"See my wings?" He asked back.
I nodded. He smirked and stood up. He took off his leather jacket and threw at the foot of my bed. Then he took off his shirt and threw it with his jacket. He turned around and showed me the beautiful design on his back. I felt a lump form in my throat and my stomach turn inside out at the view. My hands reached for his back. I traced the lines that outlined the feathers. It was like some kind of trance. I felt like if they were gone, the world would fall out from under me. I followed the lines from his spine, all the way out to his shoulder blades, then his whoulders, then down his arms, then back up the way they came.
Ross looked over his shoulder, smirking down at me. I looked up at his midnight black eyes. I smiled at him and looked back at his wings.
"Raven," He said, turning back to face me.
My smile faded and I looked back up at him.
"But I was looking! Why did you turn aorund?" I complained.
"You've had a long day. You should get some sleep." He told me.
I looked behind me, out the window. It was pitch back outside.
"Where did the day go?" I asked him.
"We're in a different time zone so we're currently five hours ahead of what you're used to. But you should get to bed." He told me.
I sighed and nodded. I walked over to my wardrobe and pulled out a knee length, silk, black nightgown. I looked over at Ross.
"Turn around." I told him.
"I've seen you change multiple times as a bird, how is this different?" He asked.
"Because you're not a bird anymore! You're a human boy! Turn around!" I exclaimed.
He sighed and turned around. I pulled off my clothes and quickly pulled on my nightgown. I threw my clothes into the hamper next to my wardrobe. I looked back at Ross.
"You can turn around now." I told him.
I walked over to my vanity and took my hair down from a high ponytail. I ran my fingers through my hair to get out all of the main knots. Ross walked up behind me and watched as I got ready for bed. I adjusted the necklace Draco got me in second year, moving the clamp to the back of my neck. I stood up and walked over to my bed. I crawled under the sheets. I looked up at Ross, who now stood at the foot of my bed.
"You know, you don't have to turn into a bird at night." I told him.
"It's more comfortable for me to sleep on a perch than on the floor." He said.
"Who says you have to sleep on the floor?" I asked, smiling at him, "Just sleep next to me."
"Are- Are you sure? I-I don't want things to get weird or anything." He stuttered.
"Why are you getting so flustered? Nothings going to happen! I just offered you a bed to sleep in." I scoffed.
"I- yeah, I mean, like,"
"Ross, just shut up and get over here." I told him.
He nodded and walked over to the other side of the bed and got under the sheets.
"Now that wasn't too bad, was it?" I asked him.
"Shut up." He laughed.
I turned onto my side to face him. I reached for his arm, where I could see the edge of his wings. I began to outline the feathers again.
"Raven." Ross whispered.
I looked up at him. He shook his head and smiled.
"What?" I asked.
"You need sleep."
I shook my head And reached over to the lamp behind me and turned it off. I moved closer to Ross. I placed my head on his chest and felt as he wrapped his arm around me. I sighed and relaxed into the boy. I closed my eyes and fell asleep to the sound of the boy's beating heart.
***
I sat at the meeting table with all of the Death Eaters that happened to avoid being sent to Azkaban. I sat next to my father and the dark lord.
"Now it has come to my attention," the dark lord started, "the ministry refuses to believe that I am alive."
He stood up and moved to behind my seat.
"Let them continue to think this." The said.
I looked back at him, almost confused.
"Allow them to think you are still dead? How are we supposed to strike fear into the hearts of all those people?" I asked him.
"We can grow our army while they are still clueless, my dear." He told me.
I nodded, understanding exactly the point.
"Now I have one goal for you, Raven," He said, moving back to his place at the head of the table, "your father told me there is a particular professor that not many people like, and uses medieval practices for disciplinary action. I need you to get on her good side. Agree with all being said and encourage her actions. Do what she says."
I looked at him, curiously.
"What good is that?" I asked him.
"To get to Potter and his troublemaking friends. Make sure no one believes that I am back. Aggravate Potter, make him feel like no one is on his side."
"Dolls on strings." I whispered, "What I do best."
"Exactly." He smiled at me.
"What's in it for me?" I asked him.
His smile faded.
"What do you desire?" He asked.
I thought for a minute. What did I want more than what I already got from him? Being his left hand was all I really wanted and I got it. So it should be something that I can decide on later.
"Think of it as an IOU. I'll figure it out later." I smirked.
"Of course." He nodded.
We continued the meeting, discussing the release of the Death Eaters in two nights, even though Draco and I would be returning to Hogwarts tomorrow and starting classes the next day; the day of the release. There had been a lot of thought put into the release of the death eaters and we were still a little worried about them being unable to leave due to the dementors, but I knew the dark lord knew what he was doing and I had all the faith in the world that he could pull it off.
"Now, Raven, you have an early start to tomorrow, so I suggest you leave the meeting early and get some sleep. I will be in touch." The dark lord told me.
I nodded and stood up. I bowed my head to the dark lord and walked out of the room and toward my bedroom in the Malfoy manor. As I approached my room, I heard talking inside and I took a minute to listen before walking in.
"I know you have some sort of feelings for Raven. You've got her in some sort of trance and I need you to stop changing her and making her soft." Draco's voice said.
"I'm not doing anything. It's all her, I just show up." Ross said.
"Listen very closely, Bird. She's my best friend. She is my Raven. She was mine long before you showed up. I don't need you getting in the way of everything. You're her messenger. That's all you are to her." Draco snapped.
"She's not an object you can possess. And it isn't my fault if she chooses me over you."
I quickly barged in, just in time to push Draco back onto the side of my bed.
"That's enough, both of you." I told them, "Ross, go take a fly and come back with less of an ego."
Ross sighed and nodded. I watched as he shifted into his Raven self and flew out my open window. I turned to Draco and shook my head.
"You heard everything?" He asked me.
"It was hard no to hear everything," I told him, taking a seat next to him.
"So you heard the last thing I said to him?" He asked.
"Draco, I know you didn't mean it like I'm an object for you to have a possession of. I know what you meant. But Draco, I need you to know that this isn't a competition. I will always be yours. Yes, I'll give Ross my attention and I hate when I lose myself when I'm around him. But that isn't me. The real me is when I'm around you. You make sure that I am me. And you keep me on the ground. Drakie, I'm yours. I'm home when I'm with you. And now that I'm back with you, I promise I will never leave again. I will always be here for you before anyone else." I explained.
His face told me that he worried that he was going to lose me. I couldn't have him think that.
Then,
For the first time in my life,
I felt something.
My heart felt like it was being squeezed and twisted in my chest, then being lunged into my throat. My body suddenly felt like fire was being pumped through my veins instead of blood, but it wasn't in anger. I felt like I had just woken up from a year long nap and chugged ten mugs of coffee.
What was this feeling? I never felt like this before.
Wait,
It can't be...
Can it?
A/n
Word count: 7312
Guysssss!!! Another chapter is done!!! Raven is home!!! This is exciting! Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Question, how do you feel about Ross and his effect on Raven?
Another question, what do you think this feeling is? (though it may be obvious by her saying that it's a new feeling)
Luvz, Spade