Chapter 36

Raven was startled to find herself in a maze surrounded by bushes. She felt a sense of urgency and panic rush through her body. She knew she had to find someone and quick, but didn’t know who.

She found herself running as fast as she could, trying to find whatever it is she was supposed to be looking for. When she got further into the maze, she was stopped by a sphinx. It would not let her pass.

“All of the others, who have passed through, have been given a riddle. You have a different purpose than them. Your purpose is greater. The answer to my riddle is spider. Remember this when the time comes.”

“So that’s it? You’re just going to give me the answer.” Raven was confused. What purpose did the sphinx know that she had? More importantly, what was her purpose?

“Yes. You’re purpose will be revealed to you when the time comes. In the meantime, pass through and seek what you are looking for.”

“What am I looking for?”

“You will know.”

The sphinx stepped aside and Raven hesitantly walked through to the next part of the maze. Rounding a few corners, she saw a bright light. She couldn’t explain how she knew, but she knew she had to get to that light and as she got closer she saw two figures standing near it.

They can’t touch the light, she thought. She ran as fast as she could toward the two figures. As Raven got closer, she saw that the two figures were about to touch what was at the center of the light. She screamed out “no” as loud as she could. They didn’t hear her and the light was quickly gone.

Raven walked up slowly to the place where the light came from. She stared at the plinth from where the light emitted. Something told her to touch it. Raven cautiously stretched out her hand and placed her hand upon the platform. At first she felt nothing. The moment she was going to pull her hand away, a surge of emotions swirled around her; confusion, anger, and fear. Then the feeling of death came over her. She tired to pull her hand away in fear but she couldn’t.

“I wanna leave. I wanna leave.”

“Raven! Raven!” called out a voice.

“I wanna leave.”

“Raven!”

Raven quickly opened her eyes. She was startled to find herself in Snape’s office with her uncle kneeling next to her.

“What were you dreaming about?” he asked, helping her up.

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean? Why did you want to leave?”

“I felt death. But I couldn’t leave. They wouldn’t let me leave.”

“Who wouldn’t let you leave?”

“I don’t know.” Raven didn’t know what caused the feeling she was having. All she knew was that she had to remember the answer to the riddle that the sphinx gave her.

Snape walked over to his desk and pulled out a chair for her to sit in. He poured her a glass of water and sat it down on the desk. Raven walked over to the chair and sat. She grabbed the glass of water and took a small sip.

“Why am I here?” she asked.

“I think we should talk about this dream.”

“What is there to talk about?” she couldn’t explain something she didn’t understand herself.

“Was it a vision?” he seemed persistent.

“I don’t know. It could just be a bad dream.”

“Is it the same one you’ve been having all year?”

Raven looked up at him bewildered at his question. “All year? I’ve had this before?”

“I don’t know if it’s the same one. You wouldn’t talk about it before and it looks like you aren’t going to talk about it now.”

Raven wondered why she didn’t talk to him about her dream. But he was right. She wasn’t about to start now.

“I called you in here because I wanted to know what your quarrel with Draco was about.”

Raven’s mind was still on the dream. It took her a minute to remember the argument. “Oh, that. He told me about the contract and the ring. I told him to stay away from me.”

“Can you stay away from him?” Snape was referring to the potion, which Raven caught on to right away.

“Don’t know…haven’t tried. Everything is telling me to stay away but my heart doesn‘t want to.”

There was a small pause between the two of them. Raven’s thoughts drifted from her dream and from Draco, to the conversation with Dumbledore a couple of weeks ago.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about the conversation in Dumbledore’s office.”

Snape only looked at her with a curious expression.

“Did Voldemort know about me?

Snape’s face turned whiter than usual. “Why do you ask?”

“Did he know that one of his Death Eaters married the daughter of the woman to whom he vowed that someone in her bloodline would be his?”

“Yes, he knew that Tobias married your mother.”

Raven didn’t like hearing that answer. “Then he did know about me.”

“He knew the moment that Persephone found out that she was pregnant. He stayed quiet about it until it was close to time for her to give birth.”

“What did he do?”

“He gathered some of his Death Eaters, including me and Lucius. He told us that he had a mission for us to find you and bring you to him. I was torn. I couldn’t let him take you away from my brother. At the same time, I couldn’t betray my master.

“Once I received my mission, I went to my brother and told him what I had to do. I told him he had to flee. He took Persephone who was days away from giving birth and took her to a secluded area in northern England. She gave birth after two days and died hours later. The Ministry came and completed their report on your mother’s death and your birth. The next day, your father took you to America and made me promise not to tell a soul where you were.”

“So, that’s the real reason why we fled.” Raven let what he had to say sink into her thoughts. “Wait. Voldemort is a skilled Legilimens. How were you able to tell him the truth without getting caught? I mean…I know you are an equally skilled Occlumens but, are you that good?”

“He never found your whereabouts, did he? Lucius and I arrived at the house after everyone fled. The Dark Lord was enraged but stuck to his promise. He said that you would be found one day and you would be part of his plans.”

“You disobeyed Voldemort…for me? Why?”

“I was one of his most trusted followers. But I couldn’t let him take you from your father. Especially when I found out days later in a coded letter that your father was grieving the loss of his wife.”

“So you have a heart inside that tough exterior.” Raven couldn’t imagine how hard that choice must have been for Severus. He risked his life for her and her father.

“I care about what happens to you.”

“But if Voldemort returns and finds out that you deceived him, he’ll kill you.”

“I’ll deal with that when the day comes. Right now it’s the least of my worries. At the moment, I’m concerned with getting you out of this predicament.”

Raven nodded. “At least you’re trying.” She stood up and started walking towards the door. Raven opened the door and turned back to her uncle. “I just want to say thanks.”

“For what?”

“All of this. For rescuing me when I was too young to remember. For being there for my father when he needed you the most. You’re helping me now…thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Snape looked as though that was hard to say.

Raven left her uncle’s office and noticed that it was dinner time. She proceeded to head to the Great Hall. So much was coming at her at once; her dream, the ring, the contract, now Voldemort. But there was a small amount of comfort knowing that Snape was actually trying to help her.

She rounded the corner that led to the main staircase when she noticed Professor Moody walking toward her.

“Miss Snape, how are you today?” he asked, his eye looking at her as though it was piercing her soul.

“I’m fine, Professor.” Raven hated being in his class. She hated talking to him even more.

“I was wondering if you have given any more thought to the vision you had when we spoke last.”

“I honestly don’t even remember what you are talking about.” Raven did remember talking with Moody, but with everything that has happened she put it so far into the back of her mind that she barely remembered it.

“You had a vision. You saw someone and I was wondering who it was.”

“If I see someone that you know in a vision, and I don’t know them, how can I know who it is?” Raven tried to walk away, but Moody stopped her.

“Miss Snape, I really need to know who this person is. Maybe if you could describe him to-“

“Look Professor, I’m hungry and had a very hard day. I just want to eat and go to bed.”

“I would like to know.”

Moody grabbed her hand with the ring on it and Raven tried to pull away but before she could get her hand out of his grasp, she had a flash of a man. He had fair hair and his skin was pale. He was speaking to a woman in a cold, dark place. Raven assumed it was Azkaban considering the bars on the windows and the door. Then there was a flash to the same man in a home under an invisibility cloak being cared for by a house elf. Her last flash was the man standing in front of Professor Moody. Nothing was happening. They were just standing there, staring each other down.

Raven jumped out of her vision and walked a few steps back from Moody.

“What? What did you see?” Moody seemed almost frantic.

“I don’t know who this person is. You know him, he has blond-ish hair and he knows someone in Azkaban or is in Azkaban. He’s probably a Death Eater that you nabbed while you were an Auror or just someone who knows him. Why do you want to know so badly?”

“People have a way of turning up when you least expect it.”

“Um…okay.” That statement bothered her. If he was a Death Eater, the last thing she wanted was for him to turn up. She looked at him strangely and started to walk away. “Well, I need to go now. Good evening, Professor.”

“Yes, evening to you. And if you ever figure out who this person is, you’ll let me know, right?”

“You’ll be the only one who’ll care.”

“Exactly.”

Raven did a double take at the professor. She was confused as to why Moody was so eager to find out who this person was.

She finally made it to the Great Hall and just in time. Dinner was just served. George and Fred sat on the other side of the table from her and a few seats down. Every once in a while, George would glance over and Raven. Raven would look over at him casually as to not upset Draco who was sitting on the other side of the hall staring at George with jealousy evident on his face.

Hermione came over and sat next to Harry which was across from Raven. Raven and Hermione looked at each other as though they wanted to break down and apologize to each other for their argument earlier in the day, but were afraid to make the first move.

“Man, Hermione, where have you been? If you had gotten here any later, Ron would have eaten your share,” Raven joked. Hermione looked up at Raven and when Raven gave her a bit of a wink the two smiled and knew at that moment all was forgiven between the two.

After dinner, Hermione and Raven walked out of the Great Hall together with Ron and Harry lingering behind.

“We’re okay now, right?” Raven asked Hermione.

“Yes.” Hermione wrapped her arm around her friend. “You seem like you’re better now?”

“I am. I’ve just had a lot on my mind the past couple of weeks. I shouldn’t have taken my frustrations out on you. I really am sorry.”

“It’s okay. I know you are. Is there…anything you want to talk about?”

“Actually, yes. But we need to go somewhere private. There are too many ears around here.”

Hermione nodded and when the two got to their common room, they went straight to the dormitory. Most of the students went either to the library or stayed down in the common room to study, so they knew that any talk they had wouldn’t be interrupted.

“I can’t go into what all has been happening lately. That’s for another day. But I was wondering if you have ever had any…questions about Professor Moody?”

Hermione gave Raven a perplexed look. “His teaching methods are unorthodox, and it does seem that his name is quite fitting, but I’ve never questioned him. What exactly do you mean?”

“Do you ever get the feeling that there is something about him that isn’t…right? I mean, do you ever get the feeling that he’s hiding something?”

“Can’t say that I have. At the same time, I’m not a Legilimens like you. Why are you asking?”

“I think Moody is hiding a big secret. I can’t make out what it is, but I had a vision with him when he touched my hand tonight before dinner. There was a man, I don’t know who he is, but he was in Azkaban then out of Azkaban and then he was standing face to face with Moody. I haven’t quite got my Seer abilities down, but I’m positive I can’t see memories of someone, if they weren’t around. And it was only in that last flash that Moody was around.”

“Wait…back up. You’re a Seer?”

“Oh, yeah.” Raven forgot that she hadn’t told her friends about her family’s past. “I found out my grandmother was one and I possess the same abilities that she did. Dumbledore wants me to take private lessons from Trelawney next year.”

“You’re kidding! Her? Dumbledore thinks she’s credible enough to give private lessons?”

“I don’t know, but back to the point. I need help with this. Moody is so adamant about figuring out who this person is. I get the feeling of desperation when he talks about it. Like I’m on to him or something, but I’m not. Does that make sense?”

“It does actually. Harry talks to him a lot. Maybe you should talk to him.”

“I would really like to keep this between the two of us, if you don’t mind.”

“Sure.” Hermione didn’t seem too thrilled about keeping things from her friends.

“Thanks, Hermione. I really appreciate it.”

Just then Parvati burst through the door. “Raven! There you are!”

“Where’s the emergency, Parvati? What’s going on?” Raven asked.

“Draco is harassing a bunch of first years outside of the portrait hole. He says he has to speak with you now or he’s going to start hexing them.”

Raven rolled her eyes. “So, Draco is holding a couple of kids hostage and there was nothing you could do? Why didn’t you hex him?”

“Hex Draco? Are you serious?” Parvati looked appalled at the thought.

“Fine, Parvati. Please don’t get your hands dirty, you might break a nail.” Raven sighed and got up; she turned her head slightly to roll her eyes at Hermione in irritation of Parvati’s delicate nature.

Raven went through the portrait hole and saw Draco with his wand pointed at a couple of first years. “Do you have nothing better to do with your time than picking on innocent first years?”

Draco lowered his wand and the first years immediately went through the portrait.

“What is your problem, Draco? Do you see your father’s plan for us to be married slipping away and you want desperately to make amends with me?”

“I think we need to deal with this.” Draco’s face looked angry but Raven sensed that he was heartbroken because they were fighting. “Raven, I still love you.”

“I…love you.” Raven realized what she said and re-gathered her focus. “But Draco, it’s not real. We are under the effects of a potion; a love potion. In reality, we hate each other. This love…it’s not real.”

“How can you say that?” Draco looked as though he had a bombshell dropped on him. But disbelief still surrounded him.

Raven pulled him off to the side and told him what she had learned of the potion. Part of her knew that what she was doing was a mistake, but at the same time, if Draco knew that he was under the effects of a potion, maybe he would leave her alone. At times during their conversation, Draco seemed angry, and then his emotions would turn to heartbreak.

“So what you’re saying is, father wanted to guarantee that we would be married so he put us both under a potion to make us fall madly in love?” Draco looked like he could barely stomach what he was saying.

“Yes.”

Draco grabbed her hands. “And you have no feelings for me at all?”

“I do but I know that I shouldn’t. This is all very hard and confusing for me too.” Raven put her hand on the side of Draco’s face. “We have to face the fact that this love we have is an illusion.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Raven caught a glimpse of George and Fred walking up the stairs. Out of instinct she looked over at them. Immediately after looking their direction, a piercing pain went through her hand. She doubled over and tried to scream but the pain was taking her breath away. Draco was trying to talk to her but Raven couldn’t respond. George, who heard Draco’s voice, ran over to find out what was going on. Raven could see George and Draco’s lips moving but she couldn’t hear their words. The only words she heard were the ones coming from inside her head.

You should have never told him. That mistake will cost you. Raven immediately recognized the voice as that of Lucius.

As quick as the pain came to her, it left. She was able to catch her breath and stand up. George and Draco immediately started fussing over her, asking if she was okay and what happened.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. I need to rest. I’m going to go back to my room.” Raven adjusted her clothes and got the hair out of her face. “Draco, can you do me one favor.”

“Anything.”

“Give your father a message for me.” Raven reached into her pocket, pulled out a Knut and put it in Draco’s hand. “Give him this and tell him that this should cover the cost of my ‘mistake.’”