Oh I can't wait

Chapter 29

George and Raven spent the next couple of hours of the Yule Ball wrapped in each other’s arms, each of them wishing the night would never end. At one point, George asked if Raven wanted to sit and rest. Raven knew he really wanted to talk. And she knew what the conversation would be about.

George went off and got something to drink and brought it back. He sat it on the table and then pulled his chair closer to Raven. He put one arm around her and kissed her head. He looked nervous. He sat in a brief silence and stared blankly at the crowd.

“George? What’s wrong?” Raven asked.

George spoke something but was facing away from Raven. She couldn’t hear what he said because of the background noise.

“George?” When he didn’t respond, he grabbed his chin and turned his head to face her. “George, what’d you say?”

He looked down and then back up. He was clearly upset by something. “The night is almost over. There isn’t enough time.”

Raven took in a deep breath and looked out on the crowd. “I know. But if we try not to think about it, we can make it last longer.”

“How can I not think about it? I feel like I’m about to turn you over to the devil.”

“Please don’t think like that. It’s not going to do either one of us any good.”

George removed his arm from Raven and leaned over in his chair. With his elbows on his knees, he clasped his hands together and rubbed them together. He then ran his hands through his hair and turned to face Raven. “Don’t hate me for this.”

Raven smiled and gave him a curious look. “Don’t hate you for what?”

George shot up out of his chair and walked toward a window. He just stood there, staring up at the moonlight. Raven walked up behind him and put her hands on his shoulders.

“I know you want to tell me something. Please, talk to me.”

“Raven, there is something that I need to tell you,” said George, grabbing her arms and sitting her down in a nearby chair. “Snape pulled me into his office yesterday and wanted to speak to me about you.”

“And what did he say?” At that moment, Raven thought, and Snape finally got on my good side.

“We both agree with Lucius and Draco. No sneaking around. Our meetings have to stop for a while. It‘s probably best if we just break up…for now.”

Raven’s heart felt like it stopped. “Excuse me?”

“Just until you get out of this contract. If we have a reason to be apart then they will have no reason to attack you.”

“So, just like that, it‘s over? Even if it’s only temporary, we have to break up for this? We are in the same house. How are we not going to see each other and leave each other alone?”

“I love you more than you’ll ever know.” He grabbed her hands tightly. “But fighting this can kill you and I would rather see you submit to this spell than dead. We will end up together. But until we find a way out of this, I can‘t be half responsible for anything that happens to you.”

Raven stared at George, hoping that this was a terrible joke. Tears began to well up in her eyes. She looked into his eyes and could see that his words were destroying him. Raven got up and walked over to the window. After thinking for a moment, she realized that he and Snape were right. In order to have a clear head to find a way out of this contract, it may be better to break it off. Just the thought of not being with George was hard to imagine. Now, at least for a while, it was going to have to be reality.

“You’re right." Raven turned around to face George. "I guess we have no choice.”

The moonlight from outside shined brightly into the dimly lit room. George stared wide-eyed at Raven as the light cast a faint white aura around her. George immediately went to Raven and they locked in an embrace. “You know this is killing me, right?”

“I know.” A single tear ran down Raven's face and stopped halfway down her cheek, almost as if it didn't want to let go either.

“I love you, Rave.” George leaned in and kissed her cheek. As he pulled back, his lips met hers. Their kiss was different than any other kiss they ever shared. She could feel the love, the compassion, the heart, the soul, and the pain. It lasted for what felt like an eternity and Raven wanted it no other way. At this moment, their love was stronger and Raven now found the strength she needed to keep their love alive. She also found the uneasy confidence needed to get through what was lying ahead.

"I will never forget what you looked like tonight. You are beautiful. We will get through this. I can stay strong if you can." George wiped the lone tear from Raven's cheek.

"Is this goodbye?" she asked, grabbing his hand.

"Not tonight,“ he said quietly. But yes, for now. Not forever."

Raven gave him another hug and the two enjoyed what was left of the night.

The next day, Raven was on a mission: give Draco exactly what he wants without giving up her dignity. She went down to the Great Hall where they were serving lunch. She stood at the entrance and looked around the room. Looking over at the Slytherin table, she noticed that Draco was sitting with Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy and a few other Slytherins. Raven let out a huge sigh, swallowed her pride and decided she would go sit with them.

As she approached, Pansy gave her a hideous glare. Raven gave her a sarcastic smile and looked over at Draco.

"Draco?"

"Oh, Raven. Have a seat. I was going to find you after lunch but I see I don‘t have to." Draco wiped his mouth and made room for Raven to sit next to him.

"Draco!" Pansy nudged Draco and wrinkled her nose as if to say, ‘I don't want her sitting with us.’ Draco whispered something in her ear and her face turned red with anger. Pansy immediately stood up. "Fine! You've made your choice and I've made mine. Goodbye, Draco!"

"Has she not figured this out by now?" Raven watched as Pansy walked away with a few of her friends. Pansy turned to Raven before she left the hall and gave her a dirty look. Raven smiled at her and the girl stormed away.

"This is an inconvenience for her. She hates this contract just as much as you do. But she'll get over it. She'll find some first year to bother and she'll be fine. She'll forget you exist, for a while anyway."

"Glad there is no hard feelings then." Raven thought to herself how people could be so ridiculous, but jerked out of thought when she remembered why she was there. She looked over at Crabbe and Goyle who were shoving a disgusting amount of food in their mouths, which made her feel a little sick just watching them. "Draco, can I speak to you? Privately?"

Draco gave her a questionable look and put his napkin down. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, of course. I had something I wanted to talk to you about and this is not the appropriate place."

"Sure."

Draco wiped his mouth again and the two headed out of the Great Hall and began to walk around the grounds. Words were not spoken until they reached the lake where they sat on a rock and, for a moment, stared out in the distance.

“You win, Draco,” she said, never looking at him but stared at the ground. Her heart began to sink with these words. In order for her to get stronger, she was going to have to start by trying to convince Draco that she was giving up the fight against him and submitting to the contract. The trick was trying to convince him she was telling the truth.

“I win? What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. George and I agreed that seeing each other would be detrimental to my health. Therefore, you win.” These were the last words she ever thought to hear herself say. They didn’t sit well. "Before you get excited, there is a catch."

"A catch?"

"Well, not so much a catch but an understanding. We are not going to dive into a relationship. Especially when we have feelings for other people."

"Other people?" Draco was livid when he heard these words. "You still have feelings for Weasley?"

"If you're angry at me for that, then I should be angry with you for still having feelings for Pansy."

"But I--"

"Don't deny it." Raven felt herself start to get angry. She took another deep breath and held back harsh words that were begging to come out. "Look, Draco, I think that we need to be friends. We have done so well lately, talking to each other without threats or hateful words. We need to learn to get along. Do you agree?"

"I agree but--"

"There are no 'buts' about it. Establishing ourselves as friends would benefit our relationship in the long run. Or do you want us to dive into something and kill each other in the process."

"No, but--"

"Draco, please. It's going to be hard enough just let our feelings go for other people and we need time to get over them. You have to agree that they are too much of a distraction."

"Weasley is a distraction."

"And Pansy isn't? You can't be with one person and in love with someone else at the same time. It's done all the time and doesn't work. Draco, I'm just saying that I am willing to give you the effort if you will give me the same effort in return."

"You want to be with me, then?"

"Why do you have to word it like that? I am pleading to you to see my side of things. We, each, stay away from those certain other people. I’ve made that first step on my end. And we work on being friends and see what happens.”

"I guess it would help if we were friends before getting together. But whatever happens, the contract is solid. When I‘m of age, we will be married."

“Let’s not go there.” Raven was irritated. He was doing everything he could to work marriage into the conversation.

"I'm going to have to talk to Pansy." Draco looked like he was thinking real hard. Raven could see the steam coming out of his ears. “She’s going to be furious.”

Draco stared out over the lake and looked as though the deep thoughts were almost painful. There was an eerie silence. The wind stopped blowing and the trees seemed to stop rustling. The lake seemed to stop splashing water up against the shore. The silence made Raven nervous. She couldn't help but wonder if he saw through her plan and on to her ultimate goal.

"I suppose you're right." Draco finally broke the silence, much to Raven's relief.

"I know I am,” Raven tried to joke with him. It was a weird feeling. “Me being right is something you’re going to have to get used to. It’s a gift.”

"At least you’re back to making jokes.”

Raven got up and threw a rock into the lake just to make a noise. She started to walk away but stopped just short of being behind Draco. “Who said I was joking?”

The two got up and walked towards the castle. Raven's nerves were finally settled and she could rest easy knowing that she and Draco finally came to an understanding.

Chapter 30

I Love this story, It's a pity with the break up whit George and Raven. But it is for the greater good. But I hope they make it back together soon because they are pretty together

I hope the next chapter comes soon

Okay, Raven and George breaking up just breaks my heart. I want them to get back together. *nods* I hope they figure out a way to get her out of the contract.

*smites Lucius, etc*

What!? NO!!
Awe, I love George. He's so sweet.
I LOVED this bit. Period.
So how come Draco doesn't try to fight this contract so he can be with Pansy. That's what should happen--Draco and Raven should pair up and fight off Lucius and this stupid contract so they can be with the ones they truly love.
Ooooohhh, Can I help?

Great chappie! Amazing as always PLEASE PAMS!!

I really looking forward to read the new chapter
You are a really good writer I think that you can write books

I decided to take a break from the Raven/George/Draco situation. I don't want to say this but I'm going to. What happens here is important for the future. Not just this year but in the years following. You think the contract is bad....

Enjoy!

Chapter 30

When Raven arrived in the common room, the first person to head her off was Hermione.

"George told us that you broke up. Are you crazy? That will just give Draco more fuel to pursue you."

"Hermione, there is nothing to worry about. I’ve got it taken care of.”

"I just hope you haven't backed yourself into a corner." Hermione stopped Raven and put her hands on her shoulders. “Do you have any kind of plan?

Raven put her hands on Hermione‘s shoulders. The two looked like they were about to dance. "I have a plan. Just don’t get too upset if you see Draco and I more friendly with each other.”

"Then I‘ll ask again. Are you crazy?"

"Completely. But I have back some control. It‘s okay."

"I just hope you know what you're doing."

Raven laughed. “I don‘t. But won‘t the ride be fun?" Raven gave Hermione a confident, reassuring smile, hoping to ease her friend’s worries.

Raven went up to her bed and grabbed her books to begin her mountain of homework that she had to do over break. She also remembered that she needed to make up her Transfiguration test with McGonagall and turn in her antidote for Potions. At dinner, when she saw Professors McGonagall and Snape, she made arrangements with them to do the work that she missed for the next day, which made Raven realize she had a long night of studying ahead of her.

The next day, Raven took her Transfiguration test and did quite well on it considering she really didn't remember going over half of the information on it. When she got to the Potions classroom, she was hoping just to turn in her antidote and leave but Snape wanted to talk.

Raven and her uncle had reached a point in their relationship where they could tolerate each other. They could speak and have conversations without a lot of dissention and sarcastic remarks. Of course, they both knew what line they could cross to change the mood of the conversation. The more they were around each other, they realized more and more how alike they were.

"I noticed you and Draco playing nice,” Snape said, shifting papers on his desk. “I see you took my advice."

"The advice I received came from George. You were only mentioned once or twice." Raven messed with a few trinkets on a shelf.

"But if I hadn't talked to him before--"

"Oh save it! This is the last thing I want to talk about today."

Snape was about to respond to her when a knock came at the door. "Enter," he said, annoyed by the interruption.

The door opened and it was Professor Moody. There was something about Moody that Raven didn't like. She always thought that he was as mad as his name states, Mad-Eye Moody. But she always got the feeling that there was more to him than what he really let on. She knew he was an ex-Auror and has seen many dark things in his life but she always got the feeling that underneath the crazy, creepy exterior, there was evil.

"I see you're busy. I'll come back later." Moody even had a strange look about him.

"Its okay, Professor. I was just leaving." Raven picked up her bag and turned toward the door.

"We'll talk about this later," Snape bellowed from behind her.

"Doubt it." she said smiling.

"I'm glad to see that your feeling better, Miss Snape," said Professor Moody. "Your uncle tells me you have a predicament on your hands. Literally."

"Funny," said Raven sarcastically, not liking his little joke at all. “Didn’t know you were such a comedian.”

"May I see the ring?"

Raven looked over at her uncle who was now making his way towards the door where she and Moody were standing. She hesitantly held out her hand and the moment he touched it, she got a flash of someone which made her jump back.

"Is everything okay, Miss Snape?" Moody asked.

"Um…sure. Everything's fine. I really have to be going, Professor. I have a lot of make-up work to finish."

"Raven, are you okay?" Snape asked immediately.

"Oh, sure, Uncle. Yeah, I'm fine. Need to run." With those words Raven bolted out of the Potions classroom. Once she rounded a corridor, she stopped to think about what she just saw.

Although it was only a flash, she saw a man with straw colored hair. It was someone she had never seen before. All she could tell was the he was a tormented soul. He was very dark, probably a follower of Voldemort. Is this someone that Moody may have captured or even killed?

"Miss Snape?"

Professor Moody startled her out of thought. "Yes, professor?"

"You ran out of there fast. Is everything okay?"

"I'm fine, Professor." Raven knew that she couldn’t tell him what she saw.

"I didn't get a chance to look at your ring.”

"Ah, well, it's no big deal, really. You've seen one ring, you've seen them all."

"Maybe I can figure out the mystery for you. After all, I have seen many dark and powerful items in my day."

"Really, it's okay."

"No, let me take a look." And before Raven could walk away, he grabbed her hand and she immediately had the same vision of the same person. Only this time he was in Azkaban, screaming violently. Then it showed him talking to an old witch and them drinking a potion. After that, it quickly went into him talking, Raven assumed, with Voldemort.

"What are you thinking about?" Moody's voice made Raven lurch out of the vision.

"I just saw someone when you touched my hand." Raven was still so deep in thought that she forgot who she was talking to. She rolled her eyes at herself for opening her mouth.

"Do you know who?" Moody changed from seemingly worried about Raven's behavior to paranoid. Raven couldn't explain why. She had yet not been able to completely recover her Legilimency powers and couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"No, actually, I don't. But I haven't lived in England very long. I don't know a lot of people."

"If you were to see him again, would you recognize him?"

"Probably." Raven stopped for a moment and realized what he said. "How did you know it was a man?"

"I just assumed. I don't know many women."

"Hm...well, it's probably someone you knew a long time ago.” Raven had a very hard time believing him. “Maybe it was someone you captured during your days as an Auror. Likely no big deal."

"I heard voices." Snape came around the corner. "Raven, you're still here. Can we finish our conversation now?"

Raven didn‘t want to talk. "I don't really--"

"It's okay, I was leaving," said Moody. "Miss Snape, if you ever figure out who you saw let me know." Raven nodded and Moody walked away.

"What?" Raven said to Snape, responding to his puzzled expression. "We were just talking."

"What did he mean by that?"

"He touched my hand and I saw something. Twice." Raven walked back to the Potions classroom as if what happened was no big deal.

"What do you mean you saw something?"

"I saw someone. I don't know who he is or where he's from. It was just a man. Probably a Death Eater that Moody caught."

"And you don't find that odd?"

"Not really. A lot of wizards have visions all the time. We are surrounded by magic everyday. It’s bound to happen at some point, isn't it?"

"What exactly did you see?"

"You are going to press this issue into the ground, aren't you?" When Raven realized he was not going to let up, she continued. "I saw a man in Azkaban. He was evil. He drank a potion and talked to Voldemort. That's it."

"Did you tell Moody what you saw?"

"I only told him that I saw someone. You heard the rest."

Snape seemed taken aback by what she just said. He looked surprised, puzzled and worried.

"Look Uncle, it's no big-"

"Raven, we can have our conversation another day. It's nearly dinner and I have some things I need to do."

"Right. Talk to you later." That was painless. Almost too painless.

The moment Raven left thoughts of her vision came back to her. She lied to her uncle. She found it terribly odd that she had a vision. The thought made her nervous to think about for too long. She didn't know if the spell was causing her to see things or if her illness made her susceptible to such things. One thing she was not going to do was think about it much further. The last thing she needed was something else weighing her down.

Chapter 31

So Raven can see past Polyjuice Potion . . . Interesting.

or at least that's my theory. And her with Hermione made me giggle.

*waits for what's next, and makes s'mores*

PAMS

Really nice

Wow, really interesting... I wonder what it is about that ring that when he touches it, she sees stuff... Hmmmm. It was a great post! Can't wait for more! PLEASE PAMS!!

Great post! PAMS!

Here's a long one.

Chapter 31

A few days later, Raven received an owl from Lucius. He was going to be in Hogsmeade on their next visit. He had a gift to give her and Draco. Raven didn’t like Lucius’ gifts. They always involved doing something she didn’t want to do.

Her friends are still quite concerned about her decision. The days since her conversation with Draco have been good. The two were getting along. Strange but true. Her friends weren‘t convinced though that it was a good decision on Raven‘s part.

"Has Draco made his move yet?" Ron asked when Raven entered the common room later that day.

"No. Should he?" Raven gave Ron a wink and a smile. "Things have been pleasant. There haven’t been any reasons for me to regret the choice I made.”

"So nothing has happened?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing. He’s making every attempt to try and be friends.” Raven noticed some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans sitting next to Harry and grabbed a couple.

"Draco? Making an effort to be nice?" Ron looked as though his question took some effort to come out.

"Yes. Is it so hard to believe that there is no good in him at all? Granted his track record isn‘t good but I believe that within all of us, there is that chance the opposite is there. Within me, there‘s evil and within Draco is good." Raven snatched a few more of Harry's candy. "If I don’t make some kind of effort, it could hurt me. I may as well start trying now.”

"Are you sure you know what you're doing by giving in to him?" Hermione seemed concerned for Raven. Raven understood her friends’ reasoning for being apprehensive about her decision to go along with the Malfoys and the contract.

"Hermione, I am confident that this is the right thing. I am just going to have to make the best of it. So far so good."

"I think the idea is disgusting. George has been dealing with this well too. I don't know how you guys can do it." Ron took some of Harry's beans as well. Raven noticed that Harry slid them out of everyone's reach shortly after.

"We have to do what we have to do Ron. Right now there is no getting around it." Raven stood up and straightened her jeans. "I'm going upstairs to freshen up for dinner. I'll talk to you all later."

"Raven?" asked Harry. Raven turned to face him. "We know you made the right decision. We’re just worried about you. You know that, right?"

"I know, Harry. Don't you have other things to worry about? You still have the second task ahead of you. You worry about that and leave the worrying about me up to me. I can handle myself, especially now that I am healthy. Trust me."

Harry nodded and Raven then turned to head upstairs. She washed her face and changed her clothes for dinner. As she looked in the mirror, she thought of her plan and if it was going to work.

I don't think you know what you are doing. What if you fall in love with Draco? Raven's conscience was trying to get the best of her; as if trying to get her to doubt her plan.

"I'll just have to trust George and Snape to get me out of this. If I fall too deep, they'll catch me," she muttered to herself.

What if they don't catch you?

"Then Lucius wins."

As Raven walked to the Great Hall, a quick flash of an event made her stop in the middle of the hallway. She had a vision of Peeves swinging from a chandelier in a nearby corridor. He had his eye fixed on Pansy and her group of Slytherin girls who were talking below. In his hand was a water bomb. When he threw it and the water exploded all over the girls, the girls' hair quickly turned a bright shade of pink. Raven came back to focus and realized that Peeves was about to play a prank on Pansy, then ran towards the foreseen corridor.

When she got there, she saw the same thing that came to her in her vision. The unsuspecting girls were directly below Peeves the Poltergeist, who was flying around the chandelier. In his hand was the water bomb. Raven thought he must have put some kind of hair dying potion into the water. Although she would have loved to see Peeves do something horrible to Pansy, she could not just stand by and let it happen. If Draco were to find out that she was there and did nothing, he would likely be upset.

As Peeves reached his hand back to throw the water bomb, Raven thought fast. She noticed that there was an open window behind the girls. Peeves threw the bomb and Raven stretched out her arm and stopped the bomb right before it landed on Pansy's head. Raven noticed immediately that her non-verbal spells were working again. A shrill from Peeves alerted the girls to his presence and to what was about to happen. Raven guided the bomb over to the window and let it fall to the ground outside.

"What are you doing?" Peeves shouted to Raven from above.

"Stopping you from making a big mistake."

"What happened?" asked Pansy. "What was that?"

"That was a great trick. Why did you stop it?" Peeves swirled around all of the girls.

"I may not like Miss Parkinson here, but I am not going to allow you to do something so foul to her. A girl's hair should not be messed with and well, pink just wouldn't suit her at all."

"How did you know?" Peeves was angry now that his trick on the girls did not work.

"I'm good like that. Now you had better go. I saw the Bloody Baron nearby and he won't like to hear that you nearly played a trick on a Slytherin."

Peeves quickly disappeared and the girls stared at Raven in shock.

"Why did you stop him? I figured you would have been happy to watch," Pansy asked, walking to Raven.

"It would have been nice to watch, of course. Nevertheless, you would have ran to Draco and told him that I did nothing and that would have ruined our understanding. At the same time, I'm not cruel. Where you would have let him do that to me, I decided to be the bigger person. Be thankful for once, Pansy. It might be good for you."

Raven walked away from Pansy and turned towards the Great Hall. She wondered how quick it would be before Draco found out what happened with Peeves. She also wondered how much of the truth Pansy would tell him. It would only be a matter of time before Draco would confront her.

The day of the second task arrived and the entire school was happy to see it arrive. The only people apprehensive about the task, of course, were Harry and the other champions. Harry spent most of the night before preparing for the task. Raven did not get a chance to speak with Harry to see if he knew what was ahead of him. At one point, she tried to find Ron and Hermione but was unable to. Figuring they were in the library, Raven went to bed hoping to see Harry before he was to compete.

The next morning arrived and Raven still could not find Ron or Hermione. They were probably giving Harry some last minute tips somewhere. As she was heading out of the castle towards the lake, Draco stopped her.

"Want to watch the task with us?" Draco was followed by Crabbe and Goyle who always seemed to have vacant expressions, in Raven's opinion.

"I guess so." Raven gave one last glance around to see if she could see Ron or Hermione. With no sign of them, she continued walking with Draco.

When they arrived at the lake, most of the students were already there. Since the first task, almost everyone got rid of his or her "Potter Stinks" badges. Seeing the first task changed their minds about Harry since he gave a brilliant performance with the Horntail. Once Raven and Draco found a place to watch the task, she looked over and saw the twins taking bets. Pulling out a few Galleons, she looked over at Draco, who seemed to know what she was going to do.

"You're betting again?" he asked.

"Why not? It's all in the spirit of the games."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Are you betting on Potter again?"

"I'm not real sure." She glanced over at Fred and George and thought deeply about who she was going to place a bet on. "Fred!"

Fred heard her call and came over knowing she was going to bet. "So, who is it going to be today?"

Raven looked down and saw that she had eight Galleons and six Sickles in her hand. She looked out over the lake and thought hard about her decision. As she stared at the dark water, she saw Cedric come out of the water, followed shortly by Viktor. She looked over at the bank and saw that Fleur was already standing there, wrapped in a towel. Looking back toward the lake, she became worried for Harry. Then she saw three heads pop out of the water. It was Harry, with Ron and Fleur's sister, Gabrielle.

"Raven?" Draco's voice made her snap out of thought.

"Raven, are you going to bet anything? The task is about to start," said Fred.

She realized that everything she just saw was another vision. In her vision, she saw that Cedric was the first to come out of the water and decided he was going to be the safest bet. "All of this on Cedric. Same deal as last time. Either way, you keep the money."

"Okay, thanks! Draco, placing a bet this time?" Fred said, writing down Raven's bet in his log.

"No." It was obvious Draco did not want to have any type of conversation with Fred, but was willing to act decent for Raven's sake.

Fred walked away to attend another gambler and Raven popped a quick look at Draco, then back out to the lake. "You know it wouldn't kill you to be nice."

"What happened a minute ago? You looked as though you were in a daze."

"I was making an important financial decision. I had to really think about it."

Draco just nodded. "Why didn't you bet on Potter?"

"Just a hunch." Raven remained tight-lipped on the visions she had been having. They seemed to come on sporadically. Since her vision with Moody, her visions were becoming stronger. All of it worried her, but she was not going to let it bother her. However, she did want to learn how to control them if they ever seemed to get out of hand.

During the task, while all the competitors were in the water, Raven became nervous. Fleur was the first to come out of the water but she failed to bring up her hostage; therefore she would end up in last place. When she arrived at the bank, Fleur was surrounded by several Beauxbatons and Madame Maxime who, no doubt, questioned her about her performance. Several long and trying moments later Cedric came out of the water with his girlfriend, Cho.

"You won," said Draco.

Raven half-nodded and continued staring at the lake. Soon the rest of her vision came true. Everything that she saw happened. She could not help but stare at the lake in disbelief. Her heart was racing. She had no explanation for her visions and the uncertainty of where they are coming from made her question the spell that she had been under with the ring.

The task was completed and Cedric was indeed the winner. Harry came in second for his "moral fiber." He arrived at the destination and rescued Ron but when he saw that Fleur was nowhere insight to rescue her sister, he rescued Gabrielle as well. Raven walked back to the common room and barely spoke a word to anyone. The only person she spoke to was Harry and she congratulated him. The rest of the night she spent in her bed, mulling over exactly what happened, and trying to come up with some kind of explanation for it all. A few days after the task, Raven was in the library working on her History of Magic essay; quite possibly the most annoying class Raven has to take. She has to write a two-foot essay on the causes and repercussions of the first two Goblin Clan Wars of the 1200's. After the night of the second task, she never gave much more thought to her vision, but she never let it escape the back of her mind.

She was studying with Harry, Ron and Hermione and Raven realized that Madam Pince was putting the one book she needed back on a shelf. As she walked over to the shelf, Draco came up behind her.

"Hey, Raven."

"Hi, Draco. Sorry I haven't talked to you lately. This homework is killing me."

"I know. I just wanted to remind you that Father will be in Hogsmeade the next time we go."

"That's right. I almost forgot." Raven was lying. She couldn't forget the mystery of this gift. "Do you have any idea what he wants to give us?"

"I'm in the dark on that one. He told me that any kind of hint would spoil the surprise."

"Let's just hope it's not another ring." Raven pretended to be serious and when she saw that Draco didn't like her comment, she gave him a nudge and smiled at him. "I'm joking, Draco. You are more fun when you take a joke."

Draco gave a tense laugh and the two gave each other a nervous stare. Raven knew that the spell was pushing the two together but she also knew that they had not fallen in love with each other just yet. However, she realized that their friendship was getting stronger and found they were developing a fondness for one another.

"Pansy told me what happened with Peeves."

"I couldn't let him do that to her."

"Why? You don't like her."

"I know I don't. However, if I didn't you would have been angry and it would have ruined all the progress we have made by getting along. Besides, you would have done something to George and I couldn't let that happen."

"Still thinking of him?"

"And you're still thinking of her."

There was a bit of a pause and Raven turned to look at the books on the shelf. Draco started to chuckle.

"What?" Raven gave him a confused look. "What's so funny?"

"I just pictured Pansy with pink hair. Would have looked pretty bad."

The two laughed and made little jokes about Pansy with dyed hair. After the laughing subsided, the two looked at each other briefly. Then Draco's eyes drifted to the top of Raven's head. "You have something in your hair."

Raven ran her hand over the top of her head. "Did I get it?"

"No. Here." Draco moved in closer to her and gently took his thumb and index finger and removed a small piece of lint from her hair. Once he let the small piece of fuzz go, they both realized that they were quite close to each other.

Draco leaned in closer to Raven. She held her panic quite well. He is going to kiss me! I want to. Ew! No I don't! What do I do? Should I?

Raven frantically turned and grabbed the book she was looking for and fumbled with it a few times. When she finally had a hold of the book, she looked edgy and rushed.

"Thank you for reminding me about that Draco. I really need to go and get this essay done. Talk to you later?" Before Draco could even respond, she turned and walked quickly to the table where, fortunately, her friends didn't know she was gone.

"Look what I got. This should help." Raven nervously opened The Goblin Wars of the 1200's. "This should speed things along."

"What was the name of that one goblin that started the first war?" asked Harry.

"I don't know. All of their names sound like gurgles to me," said Ron.

Hermione shook her head at the two boys while Raven thumbed through the book. "Honestly Ron, maybe if you paid attention in class you would know how important the clan wars are to us."

"And how did the goblins affect Quidditch? Because that is important to me," said Ron, rolling his eyes to Harry who gave a little laugh. Raven smiled at them and looked over at Hermione who looked frustrated.

"I think sometimes that if there was a Quidditch class you two would be in heaven," said Hermione, continuing to write her essay.

"I'd be happy just to play again," remarked Harry. Harry was the happiest when he was on the Quidditch pitch. Raven could tell that he missed it terribly.

After another hour working on their essays, the four packed their things and decided to head to dinner. Relieved that her essay was finished, Raven couldn't stop thinking about her near kiss with Draco. What was scarier for her was that she almost wanted to kiss him. At the same time, she didn't want their relationship to get to that point just yet. She liked just being friends with him. When he was not being nasty, he was actually tolerable.

The day of the Hogsmeade trip was stressful for Raven. Finding out what this mysterious gift was from Lucius made her nervous. Since that day at the library, she and Draco did not speak to each other. It was not that they didn't want to, but every time they got within feet of each other, they became anxious and would walk away.

While she was getting ready, she tried on ten different outfits before deciding on one that worked for her: red t-shirt, black pants, black boots and her long black coat. She thought she looked quite conservative, which she thought may be appropriate considering she wasn't going there to make a statement. Normally, if she knew she would be talking to Lucius, she would try to dress to not impress. She would wear something as loud as she could. Today was different. First of all, her mood was not there and second, she did not want to give him the opportunity to say anything about her choice of attire. The less he said to her, the better. She wanted to find out what this gift was and be done with the conversation.

Raven met up with Draco in the courtyard at Hogwarts and the two shared awkward glances. Not much was said on the way to Hogsmeade. She could tell that Draco was just as nervous to find out what this gift was.

"Where are we meeting him?" Raven asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Hogs Head Inn. Not many students go in there so he feels we wouldn't be interrupted as much." Draco was fidgeting as he spoke these words.

"Why are you so nervous?"

"I could ask you the same question and get the same response. I don't like my father's surprises. Last time he surprised me, he told me I was betrothed to you."

"So, his surprises aren't good? That worries me. And here I thought he was just going to give us a nice house warming present for when we do get married." Raven smiled at Draco, hoping to relieve his tension.

"You're not worried?"

"Of course I'm worried. Last time he surprised me, I got this ring on my finger. If this surprise is for the both of us, I can't begin to imagine what it could be."

The two approached Hogs Head Inn and stood at the entrance, hesitating to go in. After swallowing her pride, Raven grabbed Draco's hand and gave him a small smile. "Let's just get this over with."

Draco nodded and the two entered the building. Raven hated this place. It was dirty and many questionable people hung around there. As they walked around looking for Lucius, they kept receiving curious glares from the patrons. At the back of the room was Lucius. He stood and pulled out a chair for Raven which she accepted and sat gracefully. All of the nervousness she felt was masked by confidence. Draco on the other hand did not appear to be shaking off his anxiety at all.

"I took the liberty of ordering you butterbeers. I hope you don't mind," Lucius said, waving the bartender over to their table. "Don't worry, I brought my own glasses."

Since Hogs Head was such a filthy environment, it was not uncommon for people to bring their own cups. The barkeepers actually advise it.

The bartender came over with two glasses and sat them down in front of Raven and Draco.

"You're not drinking anything, Father?" asked Draco.

"I'm not thirsty, Draco. Perhaps later." Lucius gave the two an approving look. "I am not sensing any tension between the two of you. Could it be that you are finally happy together?"

Raven glanced over at Draco who looked as though he was going to be sick. "We are happy hanging out together. But we are not together if that is what you are getting at."

Raven and Draco picked up their glasses and began to drink, exchanging fleeting looks at one another.

"That's very good to hear. Before I tell you about your gift, I want to tell you my reasoning behind it." Raven and Draco finished their drinks and sat them down. "Would you like more?"

The two nodded and Lucius once again waved the bartender over. The man took their glasses and went back to the bar.

"Draco, I know you spent the Yule Ball with Pansy. And Raven, I know you spent that evening with Mr. Weasley." Draco snapped his head to look at Raven. Apparently, Lucius did not know.

"You told me he knew. That he approved this.” Raven whispered, staring curiously at Draco. Why would he let her go with George and how did he get around not telling his dad.

"We‘ll talk later," Draco whispered.

"We‘ll talk later? You didn‘t think this would come up in conversation with your father?" Raven looked over at Lucius to see that he seemed quite annoyed at their side conversation. She then turned back to Draco, “Oh we are so going to talk later."

Lucius straightened his black robes and adjusted himself in his chair. "As I was saying, I know that you two spent the evening with your former significant others that night and let's just say it won't happen again."

"We know, Lucius. Draco and I have already had this discussion with each other and our ‘former significant others.’" This conversation was flustering Raven. If he would just get to the point, I could at least attempt to be on my best behavior.

"You see, I need insurance that you two will get married."

"I don‘t think insurance companies deal with dark wedding contracts." Raven loved playing stupid, especially with Lucius. The steam coming out of his ears made it all worth it.

"Not that kind of insurance!" Lucius slammed his hand down on the table. The patrons in the bar turned their heads in reaction to the outburst. Lucius turned his head and smiled at the customers and held his hand up to apologize. He pulled his long blonde hair back away from his face, clearly trying to hide his frustration with Raven. "I need to know that all of my hard work getting you two together is going to pay off. I need to make sure that whatever happens, when Draco is of age, you will be married."

"You still have three and a half years before that day comes. Why can't you just let us get together in our own time?" Draco asked.

"Draco, at the beginning of all of this, I told you my reasoning for acting quickly. I will not repeat myself."

"Well, repeat yourself to me because I have no idea what you are blabbering about." Raven was upset with Draco for hiding this from her. That was one of her many questions. What was the big rush?

"My dear, you are of age much sooner than Draco. I can't have you running off and getting married while you are under contract to marry my son." Lucius' condescending tone in his voice rubbed Raven the wrong way. She felt a chill go down her spine.

The bartender returned with their drinks. As Raven took a sip of her drink, she had another vision. She was having an intense conversation with Draco but couldn't hear any words. In another flash, she saw herself kissing Draco outside of the castle.

She snapped out of her vision when she realized she spilled some of her drink on her pants. "When are you going to stop with all of the stupid chit chat and give us this gift you are obviously so excited about?" Raven's anger spilled over and her frustration was obvious. Lucius and Draco didn't seem to notice that she had a vision. She figured they happen too quickly for anyone to really notice. As she wiped her pants, Lucius grabbed her and Draco’s arm.

"My dear, it has already been given."

Chapter 32

Haha, poor Harry. Funny though
She had better NOT fall in love with Draco Malfoy!!!!
Awe man! Why'd she have to stop it?!? That would have been funny, but it was nice of her...
Ugh, thank God she thought quick and got the book instead of kissing him!
Oh dear. When I was reading about the drink thing, I was like I think he put something in it or something... That is what he did, right? What happens???
Great chappie! PLEASE PAMS!!

Okay, ew to kissing Draco. And Lucius just proves to be more evil as things go along. *pokes him*

The visions are interesting to me, though. Especially since now I can't figure out if that has anything to do with evil Lucius or not.

PAMS *keeps munching s'mores*

Quote:

Originally Posted by emilyblack

She had better NOT fall in love with Draco Malfoy!!!!

I TOALLY agree with Emily here... Bad Raven! Very bad Raven!

Quote:

Originally Posted by emilyblack

Oh dear. When I was reading about the drink thing, I was like I think he put something in it or something... That is what he did, right? What happens???

OMG! I thought the same! You need to tell us! Poor Raven and - I'm ashamed to say it - poor Draco...

ILY

Abi... xox

You guys are so funny. I smile whenever I read your comments. I know I don't respond to your comments. My probelm is I want to give stuff away and that would take the fun out of reading for you. So I choose to refrain, for your sake. I just want you to know how much I love every comment I receive. That being said, I have a question. I really should make a poll and I may still but, I need to know how frequent you would like me to post a chapter. Pretty much the rest of this school year is done, it just needs to be tweaked here and there. I could post one every day if you wanted.

The reason I ask is because I'm anxious to get this year done. Starting 5th year to the end, things get crazy and I'm anxious to get it out on paper and out to you. I've been working on this story for 3-4 years and it should be finished by now.

Any feedback would be very much appreciated. I love all of you and I want your take on this. Oh and just to let you know...the chapters will be long like the previous one. It's hard for me to cut them off like I did for a while. According to my save files, I just posted chapter 24 but here, I just posted Chapter 31.

Thanks for the love, guys. Thanks for the continued support. It's really keeping me going.

He put something in the butterbeers I just know it!!! Ugh! I hate lucius although Draco does seem to be getting a BIT nicer...kinda :|



EDIT: one a day? that'd be awesome I love this story and don't want it to end but at the same time I NEED to know what will happen in the end PAMS!

haha, one a day would be pretty awesome, but it's really up to you. This is one of my favorite fanfics. It's creative and has this whole new story line. Though I don't want it to end, I too want to know what's going to happen.

Intresting intresting Wonder what he gave him xD

I'll post the new chapter either later tonight or tomorrow. I've been celebrating my anniversary the last two days and it's been chaotic. Thanks for your patience!

This chapter irritated me. For some reason, the last line made me want to vomit and laugh. Which is a strange sensation.

Chapter 32

Raven and Draco looked at each other with blank stares. Raven grabbed her cup of butterbeer and got it to her lips when it hit her.

"Our cups are laced with potion." Raven muttered quietly then looked at Lucius, who seemed quite pleased with himself. Nothing before this moment seemed out of the ordinary. When Lucius mentioned buying drinks for Raven and Draco, she never thought that he would have done something to the cups.

"You are very smart. Your sense of intuition is remarkable. But do you know what kind of potion?"

"If my sense of intuition were remarkable then I would know. But seeing as I don't, then I guess my intuition isn't as remarkable as you say."

"It's a love potion," mumbled Draco, his eyes never leaving the sight of his glass. After Raven and Lucius looked at him for a moment, he looked up at his father and was livid. "You gave us a love potion so we would fall for each other. Things were going so well between her and me. Why did you do this?"

Draco's tone shocked Raven. Frustration and fear were apparent in his voice. She had never heard him stand up to his father. From the expression on Lucius' face, talking back seemed like something Draco did not do that often, at least without any consequence. Raven was proud of him.

"Draco! How dare you speak to me in such a tone!" Lucius was trying not to cause too much of a scene, but his rage was starting to cause some whispers at the tables around them.

"Well, let me do it for him." Raven did not care about causing a commotion. She wanted to tell the world how horrible Lucius Malfoy was. "Are you as dim-witted as you are blonde? If I am bound to a contract, then I can't just run off and marry someone. First, you would never let me live through the ceremony. Second, well, I don't know a number two. Draco and I were doing just fine before all of this. Now you are going to make us fall in love? Love spells don't work. They only cause more problems."

"This one is full proof. Oh, and don't bother asking the name of it, Miss Snape. To tell the niece of a potions master what the potion is would undermine everything I have worked so hard to achieve. Don't try looking for the potion in the school's library, either. This is old magic. You won't find it there."

"No doubt it’s dark magic knowing you.”

Lucius gave an eerie laugh. "My dear, nothing you say will anger me any more. You see, I've won."

"You haven't won till Draco and I say our 'I do's.'"

Lucius put his hand under Raven's chin. "Oh, but I have won." He then grabbed Raven's hand with the ring and looked over it. "With this ring and this potion, you will wed my son. Once the potion starts taking effect, you will see what I'm talking about."

Raven pulled her hand away from Lucius, and knew, without seeing herself in a mirror, that she had murder in her eyes. She turned her head over to Draco, his anger never leaving his face.

"I must be off. I have other engagements I must attend to." Lucius stood, grabbed the glasses and poured the rest of the contents onto the floor. "The way I figure, you two have a couple of hours before this spell takes full effect. Oh, and Raven, tell your uncle I said hello."

Draco and Raven never said a word as Lucius walked away. All they could do was stare at the table and try to chew over what just happened.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew his reasoning for pushing us together so quickly?" Raven asked. "That is something I would have liked to have known before now."

"Father told me not to. He has been obsessed with all of this since he heard of your father's death and that you would be coming back here to live with your uncle."

"Why me? Why can't he just let you be happy with Pansy?"

"He adores Pansy. Of course, the contract was made before I knew her. Actually it was made before I could walk. Can I be honest with you?"

"Since we are sharing this moment of honesty, go ahead."

"I don't want any of this. I don't want to get married, at least not to you. You're beautiful and smart, cunning and talented, but I don't want to marry you. I don't want to be promised to anyone and I certainly don't want to be under a love potion. I really like Pansy. ."

For a moment, Draco's words comforted Raven. She was relieved to know that he did not want to marry her. Her senses told her that he was scared about the contract. She realized he was the victim in this as much as she was. Then questions loomed around Raven and her blood began to boil once again.

"Why did you try to kiss me in the library? And why did you seem to take such pleasure in torturing me during the beginning of the year?"

"Well, I do like you. And let's face it; we have been getting along quite well the past few months. I wondered if I shouldn't give it a shot by kissing you; without force this time."

"Then why did you treat me so badly in the beginning of all of this?"

"Dad convinced me that it was important. He thought that if we put our foot down early, you would be more willing to concede to the contract. At the same time, I had hoped that you would have found a way out of it. This has gone way too far now."

"I really wish I knew this a long time ago. Then I wouldn't have tried to kill you or fought so hard in the beginning."

"I'm sorry, Raven. I tried to tell my father I didn't want this but he was insistent. The only thing I can ever say around him is how much I can't wait to be married to you. Otherwise, well, you saw how he acted when I was angry with him a moment ago."

Draco made sense to Raven. “You know, I could still hate you for this. But I know it wasn’t completely your fault. However, tell me about the ring. What does it do?”

He looked down and scratched his head. “I can’t tell you everything. He hasn’t told me the finer details. But what I do know, is what, I’m sure, you suspected. He keeps your emotions in check. It’s almost like a deterrent for any bad feelings toward him and me.”

“Like electro-shock therapy,” Raven mumbled. Raven cupped her hands over her eyes and rested her arms on the table.

“What?”

“Muggles use it in the same way. They believe that sending electric shocks through someone’s body will stop any negative behavior. It’s horribly gruesome and terribly excessive, if you ask me.” Raven lowered her arms and looked over at Draco. He meant what he said; he didn’t want to marry Raven. "For the first time, Draco, I have some respect for you. I appreciate your honesty.

"But it's too late now, isn't it?"

"Maybe. In the meantime, we need to tell Pansy and George about this potion."

"I agree. This will probably be one of the last conversations we have with them."

"We don't know that. But we have to work fast. We don't know how much longer we have before this potion kicks in."

The two got up and rushed out the door of the inn. Draco took off in the direction of The Three Broomsticks and Raven in the opposite direction. Walking through Hogsmeade, her head was shuffling to the left and right trying to look for George. Standing in front of Honeydukes, she saw Angelina Johnson talking with Lee.

"Angelina, have you seen George? I need to find him, now!"

"Haven't seen them since breakfast. I don't even know if they came."

"They didn't. Said they had something to work on. They asked me to get something for them at Zonko's," said Lee.

Raven was disappointed but she had another plan. "Do you know where Ron is?"

"Haven't seen him either. I know he's here because I saw him with Hermione and Harry earlier," Angelina said.

"Thanks, guys. Talk to you later." Raven turned and walked slowly through the village, being bumped by people as she walked. Where is Ron? If I can tell him what's going on, he'll tell George.

After an hour, Raven gave up looking for Ron and sat on a bench out side of Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop. She was about to lose all hope when she saw Hermione and Ron coming up the street. Raven barreled through all of the people and ran to Ron. She immediately grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled him off the street into a side alley.

"What's going on?" Ron's eyes were wide and he looked frightened of Raven.

"Sorry to scare you Ron, but I have something important to tell you." Hermione walked up, followed by Harry. "Hi guys. You can hear this too."

Raven began telling them about what happened at the Hogs Head Inn with Lucius. After telling them about the “gift,” Hermione put her hand on Raven's shoulder and Ron and Harry exchanged worried glances.

"Listen, Ron, I need you to tell George what happened. I don't know if I will be able to, seeing as I will be too infatuated with Draco to do anything." Raven backed up a few steps until she hit a wall. She put her hands over her face and rubbed it hard. "I don't know how much longer I have my sense. Hermione, I know both you and Harry will be there when Ron relays this information to George. I need you to tell him that I do still love him, and we have to hope that this is a minor setback. That will sound better coming from you."

“You can hardly call this ‘minor,’” said Ron.

"Raven, you know this potion can't work. Love potions don't work," said Harry.

"Lucius is convinced it is and coming from him, I can't doubt it. I have a feeling this is no ordinary love potion. He went to great lengths to concoct this one." Raven bent over and put her hands on her knees then popped back up. "Is it warm around here to you all?"

"No, Raven. It's February. It's cold," said Ron, giving Harry another look as if Raven were crazy.

"It's so hot all of a sudden." Raven took off her jacket and fanned herself with her hand.

"The potion is starting to work, Raven. Put your jacket back on. It's freezing out here." Hermione grabbed Raven's jacket and helped her put it back on.

"You all don't mind doing this for me?" Raven asked still fanning herself.

"Of course not," said Hermione.

The temperature seemed to be rising inside of Raven's body. The sweat was pouring off her face. She looked over into the crowd of people shuffling by on the street and began to drift off into the bustle of students and townsfolk. Everything seemed to be moving at light speed while she felt as though she was moving in slow motion. Her surroundings began to swirl but she wasn't dizzy. Snow began to lightly fall from the sky. She looked up and would blink when her eyes caught some of the falling flakes.

"Raven? Raven, are you alright?" Hermione put her hand on Raven's shoulder. Raven jumped around and gave her a distressed look. "Raven, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Hermione. Nothing." Raven walked toward the bench by Scrivenshaft's and wiped snow off of the seat to sit down. She never lost the vacant expression on her face. Hermione sat next to her and again put her hand on her shoulder.

"It's starting to take effect isn't it?"

“What is starting to take effect?" Raven and her group of friends looked up to see Snape standing over them. "What is going on here?"

"What are you doing here?" Raven asked her uncle.

"I do occasionally like getting out of the castle every once in a while. But I don't think that where I go should be any concern of yours."

Raven glared at her uncle then stood and looked at her friends. "Thanks guys. Talk to you later."

Raven and Snape walked to a quiet place on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. He was asking her all kinds of questions on the way, but Raven remained silent. The only sound she made was her footsteps as they trudged through the snow. She had a strange sense of peace. Like she could take on the world with a cool head on her shoulders. Finally, Snape had enough of Raven ignoring his questions.

"Stop and tell me what happened!" he bellowed.

"Lucius gave Draco and me a gift." Raven never turned around to face Snape. She spoke in an eerie, monotone voice.

"What kind of gift?"

Raven kept walking, and kept the strange tone in her voice. She couldn‘t help it. Her mood was out of her control. On the inside she was screaming and wished Snape could hear her. "He laced our cups with a love potion, one that cannot be found in the Hogwarts library. He said it was old magic and no doubt dark as well. Lucius wouldn't even give me the name of it in fear that you would find the antidote."

Raven waited a moment to continue while he processed the information that she just gave him. When she finally turned, she saw the expressionless look of a stone on her uncle's face fade away to reveal clear and present concern.

"Has it taken effect?" Snape asked.

"Not quite. But it won‘t be long now."

"It's out of my hands now. Perhaps if I knew the name of it, or how it worked, I could find something in my private library. There are many different types of love potions. They all do different things. There's nothing I can do if I don't know what the potion is."

"What do you mean there is nothing you can do?" her tone was still calm and subdued.

"If I don't know the name of it, I can't make the antidote. I can do some research, but most of these types of potions are dark, and then there are those that wear off quickly. It's hard to determine at this point what it is or what it does."

Whatever was keeping Raven calm was run over with rage. "Well, talk to Lucius and make him tell you!"

Snape was taken aback by Raven‘s change in personality. "Do you honestly think he will tell me? I don't have a lot of room to work anymore. For the moment, Lucius has won."

"NO! NO! I will not buy that!” Raven marched up to her uncle and began beating him on the chest. This potion was tearing up her emotions. She couldn’t help going from one extreme to another. It took Snape a moment to restrain her. “You can still get me out of the contract! You can still fight for me!"

Raven started to squirm again and to keep her from hitting him more, Snape turned her around. He then held his arms around hers to keep her immobile. "I will continue doing what I can until the day you say ‘I do.’. You need to calm down. You have to realize that this process is going to be harder.”

There was a long silence between the two. Raven broke free from her uncle. She then walked over to the edge of the woods, picked up a fallen tree branch and threw it. Her faith in everything right and fair was dismissed. It seemed now that the world revolved around deceit and cruelty.

"Maybe another vision will show me what to do because I'm fresh out of ideas." Raven walked over to a large rock, sat down and covered her face with her hands.

"You have been having more visions?" Snape now looked at her with curiosity.

Raven let out a heavy sigh. "I have them quite frequently. They are mainly about random things. I never know when I'm going to have one. They just happen."

"When was the last one you had?"

"Today. Right before Lucius gave Draco and I the news. Maybe another vision will help me in getting out of this contract."

"Maybe." Snape seemed to be deep in thought. "I have to go. I will see you at dinner this evening."

"How come you always end the conversation when we talk about my visions? You did the same thing when I had that one with Moody."

"No reason. But I must be going." He immediately turned and walked away. Snape's odd behavior all of a sudden bothered Raven. He seemed rushed and nervous.

"What are you hiding from me?" she said, walking up behind him. She then grabbed his arm and made him turn around.

"I'm not hiding anything. However, I do have to go. I forgot I had a meeting with the Headmaster."

"You never forget about your meetings with Professor Dumbledore. What's going on with you?"

"Whatever it is, just know that it is all in an effort to help you."

His words made Raven stop. She let go of his arm and let him walk away. What's he up to?

Raven started to feel heat rush through her body again and began to feel dizzy. She walked over to a rock and sat down. The spell had taken over. Thoughts of Draco rushed through her mind, while all thoughts of George washed away. Getting out of the contract escaped her mind, and memories of the recent incident in Hogs Head Inn were no more. Her spirit began to be uplifted and she began to smile. She looked at the falling snow and thought to herself how beautiful it was and how she longed to share this moment with Draco. No more did she finish this thought when she saw a figure moving towards her from the direction of Hogsmeade. It was Snape again. Her heart sank. She had hoped it would have been Draco.

“It’s time to go back. Are you coming?” he asked.

“Uncle Snape. Oh, my dear Uncle Snape. You’re back.” She smiled broadly at him and grabbed his arm to turn him around. She linked their arms and the two started walking back to Hogsmeade.

“It’s taken affect, hasn’t it?” he asked, making a face as though he felt very uncomfortable in the current situation.

“Have you been sniffing too many potion fumes again? Because I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

Snape immediately stopped and grabbed hold of her shoulders. He peered deep into her mind and, surprisingly, Raven let him.

“You really have no idea what I’m talking about?” his tone seemed forceful.

“You’re paranoid.” Raven released herself from her Snape and continued walking.

Soon after they arrived back in the village, Professor McGonagall was the first person they saw. She was rounding up students to head back to Hogwarts. Snape whispered something into her ear.

“Miss Snape, I want you to walk with me,” she said, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and gently pulling her along the way.

Soon Draco came walking up. “Raven, I’ve been looking for you.”

“Draco!“ Raven started to break free from McGonagall but the professor pulled her back.

Soon Snape was doing the same thing to Draco. The two professors were trying very hard to keep the two apart.

“SNAPE!” Raven tried to get her uncle’s attention but he was too busy keeping the now love-sick Draco away from Raven. She then looked up at McGonagall who looked concerned and confused. “Professor? What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure, Miss Snape. You need to speak to your uncle when you arrive back at the castle. In the meantime, both Snape and I believe it’s best for you and Mr. Malfoy to keep your distance.”

Raven didn’t understand what she was hearing. Why would she need to stay away from Draco? She strained her neck to catch a glimpse of him but Snape had pushed him too far away. Finally, she gave up. She knew she would see him later. Hogwarts may be huge but it’s also very small. There was no way they could get around not seeing each other. They had classes together. There was no way the school would keep her away from her love, her Draco.

Chapter 33

Okay . . . I have a new respect for Draco. And Snape. My loathing of Lucius hasn't changed though.

And I see your point about the last line. I kinda felt a bit sick as well, although it was amusing. And I'm curious how Raven'll get out of this mess.

Keep up the good work!

Wow... Now I really feel sorry for them both...

There HAS to be way out! There just had to be!

ILY

Abi... xox

I don't like lucius

This is a great chapter keepon going

Oh, wow! I really loved this post! And I understand what you meant by the last line. It was extremely sickening, but hilarious. Great post!
PLEASE PAMS!!