Hi, my name is Curlz. This story started after a dream that I had two years ago after watching Goblet of Fire. I originally posted this on Dissendium and got pretty far. This story starts out in the third year and is basically, as the title explains, the story that the books didn't tell. I try to incorporate as much canon as I can without interfering too much. As I said, this story is a two year work-in-progress. This is a story of a girl named Raven. I wish I could tell you more but then I would take the fun out of reading the story.

Enjoy and be kind! Please.

And I guess I should throw in here that JK's characters belong to her. I do not own them.


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The Story You Haven't Heard
Chapter 1

The inn and pub at the Leaky Cauldron had been especially busy the week before term began at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Many parents and students passed through the pub to make the journey to King’s Cross station a little easier, especially if they lived far away and didn’t want to use the Floo Network. Sometimes they would just stop by for some tea before returning home.

Up the creaky stairs, down the long, narrow corridor, a housekeeper stepped out of one of the rooms. She was fairly tall with long auburn hair, tied into a messy ponytail. Her pale complexion didn’t hide her fatigue, and her rolling eyes didn’t hide her frustration with the manner in which the rooms were kept during their occupation.

The woman stepped up to a door, her last room of the day. This was either going to be easy or quite hard. The guest had been staying at the inn for a week and never let anyone inside. The guest, a young girl, would leave for a couple of hours in the day, but would request no cleaning. Anytime the housekeeper knocked, the guest would open the door, hand the housekeeper two towels and ask for two more. Although the housekeeper hoped that the routine wouldn’t change this particular day, she was curious to know how the room was being kept up. She always wondered how much work she was going to have to do once the guest left.

The housekeeper knocked on the door and heard shuffling of footsteps on the other side. As usual, the girl opened the door and gave the housekeeper two towels and asked for two more. As the transaction was being made, the housekeeper stretched her neck over the young girls head to get an idea of the order of the room. The young guest noticed this and immediately grabbed the towels from the housekeeper’s hands and slammed the door.

“You’re welcome,” said the housekeeper sarcastically.

The housekeeper knew very little about the girl staying in that room. She knew she was around fifteen and getting ready to start her first year at Hogwarts. She grew up with her father in the United States and now lives with her uncle. The maid found it particularly odd that this girl arrived with no adult supervision and has had no visitors all week. The maid tried to press Tom, the barkeeper at the Leaky Cauldron, for information but Tom would offer none.

The housekeeper arrived downstairs and put the dirty towels in the basket.

“Melinda,” said Tom to the housekeeper, “have you finished your duties for the day?”

“I have. But that girl was awfully rude to me. Snatched the towels right out of my hand and slammed the door on me.”

“She’s a sweet girl. What did you do?”

“I only tried to stake out the room to see how disorderly it had become. It was nothing that would cause her to have that reaction.”

“I think your curiosity got the better of you,” Tom smiled and helped Melinda lift the basket on a counter. “You just leave her be until tomorrow. She’ll be gone then.”

Melinda rolled her eyes and prepared the linens for washing.

“I’ll need your help with dinner service tonight,” said Tom. “We are going to have a full house. The Weasley family will be joining us.”

“Oh, I hope those twins don’t try anything funny. It took me weeks to get the tables in their room off the ceiling the last time they were here.”

Meanwhile, upstairs, the young girl sat in a chair reading a book. Occasionally, she would look out the window and get lost in the sky. But her eyes would always turn to her half-packed trunk and her bed which was strewn with clothes. She debated as to whether or not she should finish packing. “I don’t have time in the morning, but I can’t stand doing it now.”

After a few moments, she finally got up and started folding her clothes. “It’s not like I have anything better to do.”

Just then, there was another knock on her door. She slammed the shirt she was holding, down onto her trunk out of frustration. Thinking it was the housekeeper, she marched to the door and threw it open.

“Oh, Harry,” she said quite relieved, “I though you were that nosey maid. Come in.”

Harry was a young man that she had met while staying at the Leaky Cauldron. They hung out a little here and there, mainly trying to keep each other company. He seemed shocked that she didn’t know who he was, apparently she was supposed to. At first she thought that it seemed arrogant of him to assume she knew who he was, but after careful explanation from him, she realized why.

Apparently, this boy survived an attack from the dark wizard, Voldemort. Voldemort had killed his parents and then tried to kill him. He miraculously survived and became somewhat of a celebrity, something he never felt real comfortable with. She was actually quite shocked that she had never heard his story before.

Harry came in and only took a few steps into her room. “Hi Raven. How are you?”

“Okay. Just doing some packing and preparing for school. What are you up to?”

“I was heading out to Diagon Alley to see if I might be able to find my friends. Maybe you can come with me and meet them.

Raven looked over at her unpacked trunk. “I really have a lot to do before tomorrow. Besides, I‘ve spent enough time and money in Diagon Alley. I hope you don’t mind but I think I’m just going to stay here and get some stuff done.”

“Are you sure? I mean, you won’t get bored hanging around here all day?”

“I’ll be fine. As you can see, I am nowhere near packed. I need to think about that before I do anything else today.”

“That’s fine. I’ll catch you later, then.”

“Bye and have fun!”

Harry left and Raven locked the door behind him. She plopped onto her bed and sat momentarily thinking about school. She really didn’t want to go. She never had a formal wizarding education. Her father taught her everything. Once he died and she was sent to live with her uncle, she was forced to attend Hogwarts. At first that seemed like no big deal, until it was decided she would start out as a third year, instead of fifth. It was explained to her and it had something to do with the lack of preparation for some kind of test that fifth years take. People never clearly explained it to her, they just told her how it was going to be. No matter how she looked at it, she was going to be the oldest third year ever, and she felt embarrassed.

Later that day, Raven finally finished her packing and started rummaging around the room to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. She happened to glance out the window and noticed the sun had already begun to set. Her stomach started to rumble with hunger. The day was starting to escape her. She decided it was time to go downstairs and eat some dinner.

“I wonder where she is?” asked Harry.

“Who?” asked his friend Ron.

“Raven, she’s this girl that’s been staying here for the last week. She’s nice, although I don’t know hardly anything about her.”

“You’ve had all week to talk to her and you don’t know anything about her?” inquired his other friend Hermione.

“She keeps a lot to herself.” Harry took a drink of his pumpkin juice. “She didn’t even know who I was.”

“How is that possible?” asked Ron. “Everyone knows you.”

“Well she didn’t.” Melinda, the housekeeper, brought the three young wizards their food. “She was raised in the States by her father. And by talking to her, you would never know she was raised there by her accent. However, she’s not like any witch you’ll see here. She’s different.”

“What do you mean ‘different’?” Ron looked at Hermione confused.

“I can’t really explain it. She just doesn’t look like a witch. She looks like-”

Mid-sentence, Harry looked toward the stairs and saw Raven coming down. She didn’t look like any other young witch the three had ever seen. She had long, black hair with blue and red highlights. Her fair skin brought out her dark blue eyes, which almost seemed to peer into the depths of a person’s soul. Her attire is what really got the three’s attention. She was wearing baggy black pants, and a pale blue t-shirt which had the word “freak” in bold black letters. She had a way of making the room take notice without doing anything. Most of the Leaky Cauldron stared at her in silence. Not only was she beautiful but no one could tell if she was a witch or a muggle who lost her way.

“-a muggle,” Harry finished.

Raven walked over to the table where Harry was seated. “Hi Harry. Sorry I’m late. Time got away from me.”

Raven sat next to Harry and waved at Tom to bring her some dinner.

“That’s okay. We only just got our food. Raven, these are my friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.”

Raven shook their hands. It’s nice to finally meet you. Harry has told me so much about you.”

Harry pointed to another table, “The young girl with the red hair is Ron’s sister Ginny and the guy sitting next to her is Percy, Ron’s brother. He’s going to be Head Boy at Hogwarts this year.”

Raven only shook her head. She had no clue what that meant.

“Sitting in the corner,” Harry continued, “looking as though they are plotting something are Ron’s twin brothers Fred and George. If there is a prank at school, it’s likely they were behind it.”

Raven looked over at the corner where the twins were seated. One of the twins, she couldn’t tell who was which, was looking at her. The other one realized this and nudged him to get his attention. Raven smiled softly and turned back to her new friends.

“So, Raven, Harry has told us so little about you. Where are you from?” asked Hermione.

“I was born here but raised in the States.” Tom placed a plate of food in front of Raven.

“You’re starting Hogwarts this year?” Hermione asked again.

“Yes. To answer your next question, I should be a fifth year. And to answer your next question, I will start out as a third year. As a follow-up answer, I don’t know why, I just am.”

“Hermione, what’s with the interrogation?” asked Ron. “Let the girl eat.”

“It’s okay, Ron. She’s just inquisitive. I’m new and it’s natural to be curious.” Raven gave Hermione a reassuring smile.

“How can they make you start out school in a year younger than your own?” Hermione inquired.

“Something about an owl,” Raven shrugged, “or a test about an owl. I don‘t know.”

Ron, Harry and Hermione laughed. “Sorry, we’re not laughing at you. It’s called the Ordinary Wizarding Levels examination or O.W.L.’s. It’s a test you take in your fifth year.” Hermione explained.

“Oh, I guess that would explain everything.” Raven shrugged it off. “They wanted me to have years to prepare for it. Guess it’s pretty important.”

Hermione explained more about the O.W.L.’s but Raven really didn’t give the appearance that she cared any. The four continued to talk more, Hermione still attempting to get more information out of Raven. Harry, Ron and Hermione couldn’t understand why she wasn’t divulging much about herself.

“Well, it’s getting late and I have to get some sleep.” Raven got up from the table and gathered her dishes. “I’ll see you all in the morning. It was good meeting all of you.”

Harry, Ron and Hermione watched as Raven took her dishes over to Tom. She looked at the three friends and gave a small smile. Raven then looked over to the corner where the twins were still seated. The one twin looked back at her and when their eyes met, they both smiled broadly. As she went out of sight the three friends looked dumbfounded.

The curious twin, George, walked over to the trio. “Who was she?”

Ron looked over at his two friends, who still didn’t know exactly what to say. “We have no idea.”


Chapter 2

HI!
I'm Gissel
I just read this...it's great!
I really like it and I can't wait to read more

Now that im allowed to post....*hemhem*

Curlz, i love how you write. It reminds me so much of JKR.
I love this story and i will continued to read untill it kills me! lol


i love you bunches...and be patient....if you post, they will come.


sorry had to get all "field of dreams" on ya...lol

Wow!

Ive just found this and all I can say is...wow!

You are a great writer!

I love to stalk the FF thread, but I usually dont find storys that are worth commenting on. I mean I know we are all learners here I guess you can say, but you writing is really good. You have great grammer, paragraph structures and an interesting plot. I tried to find a mistake somewhere, but I didnt find one anywhere.

Raven is described with great detail. I can see her in my head. And when the reader can see what you can see, you did an awesome job. You also did good canon wise. Well except the fact that Raven is there. But that is what the story is about

I will for sure be stalking this FF

Cant wait for your next entry.

*Steph*

Hi. Thought I'd check this out.

Definitely interesting. The mystery has drawn me in.

And I know I didn't really read many of the FFs on Diss, but I wish I had found this one before I got too drawn away by SS. But now I can read it here.

Heather or should I say Curlz.,
Why do I not remember reading
This on D.com??
It is awesome.
Love ya
Jamie!!!

Wow! Thank you all for your sweet comments. I really appreciate it.

I'm nearly finished working on the next chapter. I hope to have it up in a day or two.

Thank you all for your support!

*Sets up a Tent.*
I will be here waiting.

*waiting very impatiently*

Join me for in the camp Suzy
s'more?

Chapter 2

The next evening, Raven stood outside the Great Hall waiting to be sorted with the other first years. However, before she arrived, she was given instructions not to go in with them but wait until she was called. She stood a little farther away from them, not only to observe their nervous movements and uneasy smiles, but didn‘t want to stand out considering how much taller she was than them.

The first years were soon lined up, and then ushered inside. There was long, creepy silence in the castle around her. She took a moment to look at her surroundings. It was a beautiful castle, just as her father had said. The dim lights and the stone walls reminded her of stories she read as a child. Her father read her stories of princesses trapped in castles by trolls and a brave prince coming to her rescue. She wished, at that moment, her prince would come because she did not want to be there.

It wasn’t that she hated Hogwarts. It was the fact that she was forced to do something that she didn’t have to do. Her uncle deemed it necessary because of a certain murderer that escaped from Azkaban prison named Sirius Black. Her uncle felt that she would be safer behind the walls of Hogwarts Castle instead of his defenseless home. For most of the summer, she fought with her uncle and nearly drove him mad with her arguments. In the end, he won and part of her hated him for it.

Raven walked over to the Great Hall doors and listened. She could hear the cheers of students when the sorter called their house. When it was explained to her how she would be sorted, she stopped paying attention after, “you will get up in front of the school.” As far as how she was going to be sorted, she had no idea.

Once the cheers subsided, she heard a voice say, “We have one more student to sort. She is a new student to us at Hogwarts and will be starting as a third year.”

Suddenly, the doors to the Great Hall opened again. Raven walked up to the edge of the doorway and started to feel the butterflies swirl around her stomach.

The voice called out, “Raven Snape, please come forward.”

Raven closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. Walking through the hall, she could hear the many whispers about her identity. She knew many of the students did not like her uncle. If only they knew, she had more in common with them than what they think. She looked off to the right and saw Ron, then spotted George and Fred a little further down the row. She gave them all brief smiles but continued walking toward the front of the room.

As she neared the stage, she spotted her uncle. Her straight face, and glaring eyes were only for him. She never took her eyes off him until she sat down on the stool on the stage. When she looked out to the crowd of students, she lightened her face, only a little, and waited what was next.

Suddenly, a hat was put upon her head. Raven looked up with her eyes but could only see the brim. From what she could tell, the thing was ugly. Then it started to speak.

“Not a clear cut choice for this one. A very difficult choice. You possess all the characteristics for Slytherin, yet I see all of the qualities for Gryffindor. There is great power in this mind. I guess there is no other choice: GRYFFINDOR!”

There was an eruption of cheers from the Gryffindor table. The hat was removed, and then Raven stood up and joined her house table. When she sat down, she looked back at her uncle who seemed more than displeased by her house placement. She returned with a menacing grin then turned to look at the congratulating house mates. Raven then looked further down the table and couldn’t find Harry or Hermione, but located Ron and the twins, gave them all a smile then a little wave.

After the feast, Raven rushed over to where Ron was seated. By that time, Harry and Hermione were there. They were all very excited to see Raven at the Gryffindor table. All of them made their way to the Gryffindor common room, where all of them spoke briefly before going to bed.

“So, you’re related to Snape?” asked Ron.

“I was wondering when someone was going to ask.” Raven smiled. “Unfortunately, I am.”

“Don’t like him much?” asked Harry.

“We are just two people on opposite ends of the earth. Maybe we haven’t got used to each other yet or maybe he’s just a jerk and will always be that way.”

“Bet he doesn’t like you being in Gryffindor,” said Ron.

“It’s killing him! He wants me in Slytherin to keep a better eye on me. I had different plans.”

“Don’t tell me you manipulated the Sorting Hat!” Hermione seemed like she was going to choke.

“No,” Raven gave her friends an awkwardly innocent smile. “I didn’t ‘manipulate’ the Sorting Hat. I know I belong in Gryffindor. I have heart where the Slytherin crowd isn’t known for their kindness, if you know what I mean. I just had to make the hat see that, although I may possess Slytherin-like qualities, my ability for love separates me from them.”

Hermione looked at Harry and Ron appalled. “Although I see your point about Slytherin, the rest of that just doesn’t sit well with me.”

“I know it sounds bad, but I didn’t lie or anything. I just wanted the hat to get past the Slytherin qualities and see that I possess more of the Gryffindor. I know I am nothing like them!”

Hermione still didn’t look comforted by what Raven had said. Harry and Ron seemed the most reassured.

“Well, I’m happy you’re in Gryffindor, however you got in here.” Ron smiled at Raven.

By looking at Ron and Harry, Raven knew they were fine with what had transpired during the sorting. Raven certainly wanted Hermione to accept her into Gryffindor but more importantly, as a friend.

“Hermione, c’mon,” Harry said. “Can you honestly say that you think she belongs with people like Malfoy? Can you honestly say that she’s a true Slytherin?”

Hermione stared at Raven pondering what her friend said. Raven could see Hermione struggling.

“Okay, fine.” Hermione looked as if this was such a struggle for her to say. “You don’t strike me as the Slytherin type. You didn’t lie, although you did cheat a little. Welcome to Gryffindor, Raven. Let me show you to the common room.”

Raven put her hand on Hermione’s shoulder and thanked her. She then thanked Ron and Harry. On their way to the staircase, Raven noticed one of the twins eyeing her again.

“Hang on a quick moment, Hermione.” Raven walked over to the twin, who quickly looked away trying not to be caught. “Hi.”

“Oh, hello.” He pretended to be surprised when he saw her standing there.

Raven couldn’t help but smile. She looked at his twin and another boy who seemed very curious about the pending conversation. “Which one are you? I mean, what’s your name?”

He didn’t say anything. He looked dumbstruck.

“George,” said the other twin noticing his brother’s nervousness. “His name is George, mine’s Fred and this is Lee, our best mate. So, you’re related to Snape. How did you manage that?”

Raven smiled but never took her eyes off George. “The planets were out of whack that day. I tried to line them back up, but the Snape curse had already set in.”
Raven managed to get a smile out of George. He looked up at her, but still seemed a little nervous. “Yeah, I’m George. Welcome to Gryffindor.”

Raven could tell he wasn’t feeling comfortable in the situation. She felt it was time to end his suffering. ‘It’s nice to meet you, George. Same to you, Fred and Lee. Well, I’m off. See you all in morning.”

Raven turned and walked toward Hermione. Before she went up the stairs, she turned back to George, who was now looking at her. She smiled at him one more time before heading into the girl’s dormitory.

The next morning at breakfast, Raven plopped down next to Harry, Ron and Hermione. She had a look of disgust and fatigue on her face.

“Is there any particular reason we can’t sleep in for just one more hour?” she asked. “It’s not like we have anywhere else to go.”

“Not used to getting up early?” asked Ron.

“My goodness, no,” she replied with a yawn.

Raven glanced at George who was sitting near the group. His disposition changed from chipper to nervous.

“Good morning, George,” Raven said, trying to get George to be less shy around her.

“Morning,” said George nervously, looking down at the table.

Raven looked around the Great Hall and happened to glance upon a familiar face. He was not one that she was hoping to see, but knew running into him would be inevitable.

“Is that Draco Malfoy?” Raven asked.

“You know him?” asked Harry.

“Yeah,” she said looking back at her friends. “I heard you mention the name Malfoy last night but I really wasn’t paying attention to it. Let’s see, he would be a third year, too?”

“Same as all of us. How do you know him?” asked Ron.

“From a long time ago. When we were little. And that’s really as far as I want to go with this.” Raven wanted out of that room before Draco had a chance to talk to her. “Umm…okay. I guess I should be off. I need to try to figure out where my classes are. See you all later,” Raven said as she got up from the table.

She almost seemed disappointed, as she hoped George would say something else to her. The look of disappointment quickly changed. She placed her hand on George’s shoulder and leaned in close to his hear. “You don’t have to be so shy around me. It’s not like you to be bashful.”

Raven gave George a very encouraging smile. He looked at her surprised and his cheeks turned a bright pink. Once she left the Great Hall, everyone stared wide-eyed at George.

“You love her!” blurted out Ron.

“No I don’t,” George said, all of a sudden looking busy arranging cups and silverware on the table.

“You are so full of it,” exclaimed Fred. “All night last night and the night before, you would not shut up about her.”

“I just think she’s interesting,” said George really trying hard to defend himself. “And okay, so I think she’s pretty.”

“No, mate. Your exact words were ‘she’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen‘,” said Fred. Once again, all eyes were on George. Hermione could tell it was embarrassing to George the way his twin was carrying on.

“Thanks, Fred,” George said sarcastically.

“You know, Fred?“ said Hermione quite irritated. “At least all of this shows that one of you is capable of more than just pulling pranks!”

“I can do more than create joke items,” said Fred defensively.

“Getting into trouble every other day doesn‘t count!” snapped Hermione.

“Thanks, Hermione,” said George. “I know what you’re trying to do but you are forgetting one important detail. To get anywhere near her, like that, I have to get through Snape. I am not on his list of favorite people.”

“She doesn’t strike me as the type to get Snape’s permission for anything,” interjected Ron.

“True, but I just don’t see it happening, that’s all,” George looked disappointed. “We seem worlds apart from each other.”

Hermione clearly felt for the troubled twin. “George, don’t stop your chances with Raven before you have had a chance to start. It’s obvious she likes you and you like her. Give it a chance.”

Chapter 3

Awwww! Raven and George.

Just felt like saying that.

The other thought I had was whether Hermione knew that Harry had basically "manipulated" the Sorting Hat. In a way. Because that could have changed her point of view on what Raven had done.

Great job! Keep it up!

It was worth the tiny wait.

Its amazing curlzy. My favorite parts are when she whispers to George that its not like him to be bashful, and when Fred gets all defensive because of Hermione. I love it! I cant wait for your next chapter!


love ya!


Suzy

Hi! New reader!

This is really, really good. It's like reading one of the books. Steph's right: it's flawless as well, which is a nice change! I can't wait for you to post more. Raven is quite a mystery. I want to know what happened with her and Draco when they were kids.
And poor George, aww. He's all bashful.

NEW READER!

Wow, I love this story so much! I love Raven! She's so mysterious. And, I love George in this story too! I've never once read him as a bashful lad! I love it! PAMS!

Jess

Thanks and welcome Krysta and Jess!! Welcome to the wild, weird world that is my story. I wish I could fill you in on some of the mystery surrounding Raven but that would give too much away.

I'm currently working on the next entry. I'm hoping it will be up soon! Thanks for popping in though!!!

I love it!! Heather you are an awesome writer!!
Jamie

I know im kind of late,sorry
BUT...
It was great!!!
Raven and George,how cute! lol
I'm hooked! lol
I'll be waiting

Chapter 3

Raven’s first two classes, Divination and Transfiguration, came and went. After Transfiguration, she joined the rest of the students in heading to the Great Hall for lunch. She was surprised how quick the morning had gone. It had seemed like only a couple of hours had passed since breakfast.

Shortly down the hall, she bumped into Fred and George. George immediately shied away from her. Fred, realizing his brothers’ bashfulness, instigated the conversation.

“How’d first classes go?” he asked.

“Well, where should I start?” Raven placed one finger over her mouth and thought for a moment. “Would you like me to give you the honest version or the over-eager, first year student version?”

“Like we care about the classes here,” Fred said with a chuckle. “Trust me. It’s not going to hurt our feelings if you’re honest.”

“Okay,” she said, smiling, “if you insist. Divination was first and let me say that I think Trelawney is a quack most of the time. I do believe that she is somewhat a Seer, but most of the time she has no clue what’s going on. Transfiguration was better. McGonagall knows what she’s doing and I actually felt like I was in a class. All in all, maybe this experience won’t be so bad. I mean, I’ve actually made some friends, right?”

Fred nudged George to get him to say something. George shrugged his shoulders, not knowing exactly what to say.

“Well, we are glad you’re here.” Fred was still giving George the insisting eye, but George wasn’t budging. “Are you heading to lunch?”

Raven was watching every one of Fred’s cues to George. She couldn’t stop slightly smiling and couldn’t take her eyes off the timid twin. “Yeah, I have to eat sometime.”

“Well, since my brother has apparently lost his voice, I’ve decided to speak for him. Will you eat lunch with him today?”

Just as he finished that question, Raven’s eyes drifted in between the twins. Draco Malfoy was headed her direction and she could tell his intent was to speak with her. Raven had to jolt herself out of thought for a moment and answer Fred’s question.

“I would love to have lunch with your brother today. I‘ll meet you down there. Something just came up that I have to deal with.”

“Then he will see you shortly.” Fred grabbed his brother’s arm. George’s eyes looked as though they would pop out if they got any wider. If he had a loss for words before, they had miraculously returned. Raven could hear the two yelling at each other as they walked away.

“Well, if it isn’t my old friend Raven Snape.” Draco said as he waved off he two friends to leave. “I was told I may see you here.”

“How soon after my father died were you alerted to the fact that I was returning to England?” Raven asked.

“A couple of days. Father told me.”

“Then I should have asked a different question. When did your father find out about the death of mine?”

“The day after if happened. And let me just give you my condolences.” Draco put his hand on her arm. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Raven took a step back to get his arm off of hers. “I’m surprised your father didn’t find out the moment my father drew his last breath. And don’t give me your sympathy, Draco. It means nothing to me after the stunt your father pulled.”

“How can you say that, Raven? All my father and I have ever wanted is what’s best for you. Come on, we have such a history together. If you‘re still mad about that one thing, you need to get over it. I‘ve forgiven you.”

Raven could feel her anger and annoyance at Draco building. “Do you remember what I did to you the last time you told me to ‘get over it‘? I’m a lot stronger now and I can do much worse.”

“We’re not in the United States anymore. You’re in England now. My father holds power in the Ministry. You pull the same stunt you did five years ago and I doubt my father and the Ministry will be so forgiving.”

By this time, the halls had cleared off. Draco and Raven were the only two standing there, staring each other down as if they were about to duel.

Using this to her advantage, Raven grabbed Draco by the front of his shirt and pushed him against the wall. “Do me a favor Draco, don’t make threats your feeble, weak minded body can’t cash. You forget who you’re talking to!”

Raven let go and started to walk away. Unfortunately, Draco wasn’t finished.

“I know exactly who I’m talking to! I know exactly what you’re capable of! And I also know you can’t do anything to me here! I have nothing to worry about. If anything, you should be the one that‘s scared.”

Raven stopped and turned slowly toward Draco. “I have an idea. Let’s replay what happened five years ago. You made a comment, like you did just now, that didn’t sit right with me. And I believe I reacted something like this!”

Raven marched swiftly up to Draco, pulling her wand out as she went. She backed Draco up against the same wall as a moment ago and pointed her wand between his eyes. Draco was dripping with fear. She stared him down while his eyes looked as though they were pleading for life.

After a moment of this, she started to smile. “Just as I thought. The same weak-minded, daddy’s boy you always were. Don’t think I don’t come through on my threats Draco. You should know as well as anyone in this world that my warnings mean something. Just stay away from me. That’s all you have to do. Just stay away!”

No other words between the two were spoken. As soon as Raven rounded the corner, and was out of range of Draco, she ducked behind a pillar to catch her breath. The last thing she wanted to do was start off the year with a confrontation. However, considering the bad blood between them, some sort of conversation was inevitable. Realizing George was waiting for her in the Great Hall, she decided not to give Draco any more thought and ran off to lunch.

When she got there, she noticed George sitting at the table with one spot open next to him. He looked more nervous than before. She felt bad that he was put on the spot by his brother. As she walked to him, she made it her mission to get him to say more than a few words to her. The closer she got to him, her smile became bigger and her heart pounded a bit harder.

“Is this seat for me?” she asked.

George nodded.

After a few minutes of silence and awkward looks around the room, Raven finally broke.

“Okay so the whole school knows you’re not shy. I know you’re not shy. I promise you don’t have to be this bashful around me. I know that’s not who you are.”

George looked at her and her broad smile, and it was as if all of his fear of talking to her had faded. “How do you know any of this? I mean, I haven’t been exactly forthcoming with any information about me.”

“True, but I can tell. You and your brother are known as the school jokesters. Anyone with a reputation like that can’t be shy.”

George chuckled. “I guess you’re right. I suppose I should apologize then.”

“There is nothing to apologize for. As long as you’re talking now, I don’t have to try so hard to get you to open up.”

The two sat for a while and talked about a variety of subjects. They really seemed to enjoy each others company. Smiles never left their faces.

At one point, in between bites of food, George looked out across the Great Hall and noticed Draco looking over at the two of them.

“So tell me how you know Draco?” George asked. “That can’t be a pleasant acquaintance.”

Raven rolled her eyes and finished chewing her food. “How do I put this? I hate him? Is that too forward?”

“No,” laughed George. “I’m not too fond of him myself. So how do you know him?”

“Every summer from the time I was three years old till I was ten, him and his father would spend a few weeks on our farm. Things were okay until that last summer. Before then, we got along fine. Finally that last summer, his fathers influence on him was as clear as crystal and after that my feelings for him, as a childhood friend, did a complete one-eighty.”

“What happened?”

“Oh, George, sometimes a girls’ life is deep well of secrets. Most are comfortable spilling them out and leaving nothing to mystery. I’m not that kind of girl.”

George seemed a little disappointed and a little frightened off.

“I tell you what. I’ll scrape the surface for you.” Raven turned in her seat to face him and took a deep breath. “When I was ten, I found out that Lucius had an ulterior motive for his visits for the previous seven years. He wanted something out of my father.”

“That’s Lucius alright. He never does any thing without some benefit to him.”

“Yes, but my father and I didn’t know that at the time. We had our suspicions but didn’t have a reason to act on them. He had never done anything until that last summer.”

“What did he do?”

“Like I said, Lucius wanted something out of my dad. Lucius is a man of words and threats, and his threats, if worded correctly, can persuade even the strongest willed person to submit. I protested the deal they came up with. I threw a massive fit and my father sent me and Draco outside while they finished with business.”

“Was Draco part of it?”

“Draco really didn’t know what was going on. He was too young to understand. All he knew was that his daddy wanted this deal to work out. And what daddy says goes. When he and I went outside, we fought and his father’s personality came out in him. He turned. He was vicious. Of course, I always had a counterattack.

Things got so heated between him and me, that after one particular comment, I used every bit of strength I had and threw him into a nearby tree.”

George was taking a sip of his drink at the time and choked. He caught his breath and wiped his mouth. “You did what?”

“You heard me. I waved my hand and he slammed into a tree.”

“Did you hurt him?”

“He broke something. Maybe a rib or his arm. I can’t remember. All I really remember is Lucius not being angry.”

“Lucius wasn’t mad? Someone looks at him cross-eyed and he’s demanding a year in Azkaban for that person!”

“Yeah, that was a big shock to me, too. But while his son was rolling around in pain, Lucius simply said it was not a problem. Draco would get better and all will be fine. He said that no harm was really done.”

“That doesn’t sound like Lucius.”

“Or does it? Remember he wanted something out of my father. What better way to ensure that the deal with my dad would go through? Forgive and forget what I had done to his son. If he was mad and lashed out at me, my father would never have accepted Lucius‘ offer.”

“So what is it that Lucius wanted? It had to be big if he was willing to let that one go.”

“Ah,” Raven smiled, “you thought you were going to get me. This is one secret I can’t let go of yet. One day I will be able to let it slip, but until that day I’m just going to have to leave you guessing.”

“You’re a mystery. How intriguing!” George looked at her as if trying to guess what she’s hiding. “Maybe if I use my charm, I can sway you to tell me your darkest secrets.”

“Hmm,” Raven turned back to face the table and a broad smile came to her face, “I’m thinking if you are going to use your charm on me for something, I would rather it be put to better use.”

Chapter 4

Wow. Curls Wow.
This was a great
Chapter. I so cant
wait for more!!!
Jamie

That right there is why i love raven. She has gumption, shes a leading lady......sorry quiting the holiday....but its true...i love this character and i always will!


good job hunny! I cant wait till the next chapter!


PAMS!



Suzy

Hey, sorry I haven't read this sooner. But it's very good.

I'm sick with fever right now, so forgive me I'm a bit out of it. lol. But from what I get of the story it's very good.

PAMS!!

Great chapter. The confrontation with Draco was hilarious, he so had it coming.

I'm with everyone else. I want to know more about Raven's secrets.

Hey! Wonderful post, you write so well! I'm completely intrigued. I am glad that George is talking again, though. He's much more fun when he's talking. Can't wait to see what happens next!

PAMS

This is really great.
Good foreshadowing, the charactars seem like themselves.
Well Written, Bravo!!!