Chapter 28

The next day, Raven awoke to Draco sitting by her bed. She rolled over and rolled her eyes. Why he was there, so early in the morning, was beyond her reasoning. Instead of waking up on the wrong side of the bed, she woke up to something wrong on the side of the bed. It was irritating.

She sat up and rubbed her face. “You couldn’t wait till later to bother me with your presence?”

Draco looked down and rubbed his hands together. “No.”

He was acting peculiar. Raven sensed he was feeling regret. “What’s wrong with you?” she asked.

“We need to talk.” His tone was quiet and calm; very un-Draco like.

“About? Why are you acting so strange?”

Draco stood up. He walked over to the end of the bed and leaned over the railing. “After your collapse, I immediately contacted my father. I convinced him to leave you alone, at least, for a while.”

Raven wondered who the person was that was in front of her. He was being…nice. “I don’t know what to say, Draco. ‘Thanks’ would be a partial lie because the final part is irritating. ‘For a while?’ How long is ‘a while’ in your family?” Raven realized that she could very well be setting herself up for a catastrophic argument if she didn’t shut up soon. “At the same time, I appreciate the restful sleep that I’ve had for the last few days. May I ask what brought on this sudden, if only temporary, change of heart?”

Draco stood up and Raven could tell his over-confidence was starting to come back. He folded his arms and raised his eyebrows. “I reasoned with my dad and told him that if I am to marry you one day, I can’t do it if you’re dead.”

“And you were doing so well. Remind me to send you a gift basket when I get out as a way of saying thanks. What do you prefer? A basket of fine bubble baths made from acid? Or perhaps you’d like one full of disease-ridden rats?”

“Look! I thought you would appreciate the break!” Draco was clearly angry, but Raven sensed more frustration than anything.

Raven looked over at the window, then back at him. “Alright!” she shouted. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist! I do appreciate the break. But come on, Draco. If the roles were reversed, how would you feel? What would you do?”

“You forget! I’m bound, too! Do you think I wanted…”

Raven noticed immediately that he trailed off and didn’t finish. “Draco?”

Draco walked off to one side of the room and came back. He went from frustrated to frantic in a matter of seconds. “Look. I didn’t mean…I mean...I know that I’m bound to this contract but…”

“Draco, if you don’t want-”

“YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT I WANT!”

Raven’s eyes were wide open. Madame Pomfrey immediately stormed through the doors.

“Is everything alright? Mr. Malfoy? Miss Snape?”

Raven and Draco just stared at each other. Both very surprised at what just happened.

“Yeah,” Raven said. “Everything is fine. I just have this bad habit of upsetting him, that’s all. It’s my fault.”

“Very well. Mr. Malfoy, do not make me regret letting you in here. I suggest you keep your voice down.”

The two teenagers never took their eyes off each other. “We’re sorry,” said Raven. “I’m sure the subject is dropped anyway.”

Madame Pomfrey pursed her lips together and left the room. There was still a strange silence between the two. Raven realized that Draco was as much an unwilling party to all of this as she was. But that only opened up a flood of questions. However, she knew that they would have to wait another day.

“I’m leaving.” Draco started to leave then turned back around. The look on his face was familiar. The Draco she knew had returned. “One last thing, go to the Yule Ball with Weasley. But don’t get too excited. My dad will continue to back off through the night of the ball. After that, I suggest you stay away from him. My father and I won’t be so lenient anymore.”

Before Raven could say a word, Draco left. What just happened? If Draco didn’t want to marry Raven, why would he push just as hard as his dad? Why was he suddenly “allowing” her to go to the Yule Ball with George? More importantly, where was George so she could tell him the news?

The day of the ball arrived and Raven couldn’t be anymore thrilled. She was released by Madame Pomfrey that morning and immediately went up to her dormitory to figure out what she was going wear. She never had time to shop and didn’t have anyone to write home to like the other girls. She couldn’t imagine asking Snape to go get her something. How awkward would that have been?

When she got to her dormitory, she noticed a big box lying on her bed. Hermione mentioned that the box had been there for a few days. She opened the note and immediately clasped her hand on her mouth and sat on the bed.

Raven,
I knew you would want to go, despite my better judgment.”
Severus

Raven looked up at Hermione and was at a loss for words.

Hermione grabbed the letter and sat down next to her confused friend. “Snape asked me to order something for you. Can you imagine what he would have picked out? Anyway, he knew before you woke up that you would want to go. He cornered me one day while I was visiting you. He does really care for you. It’s sort of…odd.”

Raven immediately turned around and started ripping off the wrapping on the box. She opened the box and gasped. “Hermione, it’s beautiful!”

“It’s you.”

All of the girls spent most of the day preparing for the ball. Most of them made it the event of their lives. They all made sure that every detail in their appearance was perfect. Raven, not being a normal girl by any means, was no exception. This was going to be her last night with George for a while and they both knew it. Earlier in the day, her and George sat down and talked about what the evening meant for them.

“It’s going to be hard for us after tonight,” Raven said quietly. The two were sitting on the couch, Raven nestled at his side.

“I know,” he said calmly. “We’ll just have to make tonight count that much more.”

“I just hate having Lucius’ ’permission’ to do what I want to do. Why does any of this matter now? Draco and I, both, are much too young for marriage. If he’s going to pursue this why can’t he wait till after Draco has left Hogwarts?”

“Because he knows what you’ll do the minute you leave.”

“What? Marry someone just to spite him?”

George shifted and looked at Raven. “Someone? Who’s ’someone?’”

“You’re not suggesting…” Raven sat up and smiled curiously at George.

“Well, of course if we’re still together, why not?”

Raven got comfortable again at George’s side. “Well, I guess if we’re still together we can. But what makes you think that we’ll still be together?”

Raven was joking of course. George decided to give it right back. “You’re right. I’m a very desirable man. I’ve got girls lining up.”

“Lining up, huh?” Raven sat up and looked behind the two. “You’re mistaken. They’re lining up for some Puking Pastilles.”

“Oh yeah?” George immediately started tickling Raven. “I’ll show you!”

The two continued to wrestle each other and laughing until Fred interrupted them. “You two, seriously, make me want to puke.” The comment only made George and Raven laugh more.

Raven finished getting ready and heard Hermione knocking on the bathroom door. “Raven, come on! Let’s go! Quit fidgeting with your dress. I bet you look fine.” Hermione was just as anxious as Raven. She was asked to go to the ball by Viktor Krum, though Raven was the only one who knew besides Viktor, of course. She wanted to keep it a secret, rightfully so. The girls would have given her a hard time. Viktor was the most liked guy at the school at the moment. Even though he was a visitor, the girls followed him around like a piece of fresh meat.

Raven finally opened the door and Hermione’s mouth fell wide open. “George is going to melt! You look fantastic!”

“Thanks. You look great, too.” Raven did feel a little uncomfortable all dressed up. She kept fidgeting with her outfit.

The two left the common room and made their way toward the Great Hall. Hermione kept grabbing Raven’s hands to stop her from messing with her dress. Hermione stopped to speak to someone and Raven continued on. She stood at the top of the stairs and there, at the bottom, was George looking very dapper. He turned to see her and a broad smile came to his face. She immediately stopped fidgeting.

Raven was wearing a long silk black dress with a chiffon overlay under the empire waist line. She also wore a very long, form fitting velvet robe with long bell sleeves. The coat had a bit of a train on it and when she walked it billowed out like a black cloud. Her hair was pulled up into a wavy ponytail with part of her hair draped to her side while the rest stayed in the back. Her long bangs framed her face in a part to the side and the purple and blue highlights stood out more so than ever. She wore a black choker with a black and silver pendant resembling a dragon’s eye.

Raven carried herself like a lady. She was confident and strong. Her posture was straight and she had a look of dignity and calm on her face.

The moment they clasped hands, the two knew this night would be unforgettable. Smiles never left their face. They made their way into the Great Hall and slowly walked over to Fred and Angelina Johnson.

“You’re beautiful,” George whispered. It was the first words spoken by the two since they laid eyes on each other.

“You are looking quite handsome yourself.”

George stopped and turned to Raven. He bent down and kissed her cheek. Before rising up, he whispered, “I love you.”

Raven smiled and returned her feelings. They made their way to Fred and his date.

“Wow, Rave! Who knew you could get all fancy?” Fred said.

“Thanks, Fred. You guys look amazing, too,” said Raven.

As the four were talking, she noticed Snape standing toward the front of the room. She excused herself and made her way over to him.

He didn’t notice her standing there at first. “I just wanted to come over and say thanks. I won’t make you regret this.”

Snape turned to her and Raven noticed that Snape had an ever so slight smile trying to emerge. “You look nice.” It was all he could manage, but for him, that was a huge compliment.

Raven put her hand on Snape’s arm and smiled. No other words were spoken but everything was understood. The two were finally starting to connect and understand each other. The two nodded to one another and Raven made her way back to George.

“Everything alright?” George asked.

Raven smiled. “Everything is perfect.”

Chapter 29