The Raven

Disclaimer: I do not own HP or anything in it. That privilege goes to JKR.

The Raven

By: Bree McGregor

Chapter 2

Severus Snape was cold, very cold…

‘Well, I’m not in hell,’ was his first coherent thought, as morbid as it was. He struggled to open one eye. He saw that he was surrounded by snow, and for the life of him, he couldn’t remember where he was. His mind was too foggy, and his body was in excruciating pain. He tried to move but couldn’t. The last thing he remembered was dodging curses from Pettigrew.

‘I’m lucky he’s a lousy shot!’ he thought. But then again, Pettigrew came close enough to hurt him this badly. Snape knew he was still alive, for the pain was too severe for him to be dead. He laid there for a long time, listening to the students returning from their trip to Hogsmeade, wishing someone would notice him.

The cold was becoming too much. He felt his wings stiffen and the blood from his wounds turn to ice.

‘So this is how it ends...’ he thought, as he again succumbed to his morbid reflections. ‘It’s not by fighting the Dark Lord, or saving bloody Harry Potter. No salvation, no redemption... this is how it ends.’

As he laid there on the ground in his Animagus form, waiting for the end to come, he felt a soft warm glow of a spell wash over him. Slowly, his mind began coming back to consciousness, as he felt a soft warm fabric surround him and gently lift him out of the freezing snow. He tried to speak even though he was still a bird; he wanted the person to know he was still alive. The sound he made was weak and he hated to sound like that, so he didn’t make it again.

Then he heard *her* voice.“Is “Is Hagrid back yet?”

“No,” came two muffled male voices.

‘Oh, this is just great! Saved by the dream team… just put me back now! Let me die alone and with dignity!’ thought Snape.

He felt darkness again, but it was not like the last time; now he could feel and hear, but not see. He thought she must have tucked him inside of her cloak to keep him warm. He could feel her graceful steps as she walked though the snow, and was grateful for the welcoming warmth of the blanket. He was glad she was thoughtful enough to put a warming spell on it. He liked the softness of her body, and knew he was nestled against the underside of one of her breasts.

‘Yes, very nice and soft indeed!’ he thought. ‘And her scent — she smells like cinnamon and spices, like the smell on a cold fall day or Halloween.’ He always loved Halloween; it was the only holiday he really liked.

Then Snape started to hear other muffled voices. A chill moved through his body when she pulled back her cloak. He clearly heard the anger in Mr. Weasley’s voice, but couldn’t quite hear what they were saying; the Potions Master got the impression the boy’s angry words were directed at Miss Granger. Snape would have to deal with that later.

Covered again, he felt the quick graceful steps that took him to the hospital wing. He heard Poppy refuse to treat him, and was about to cry out in protest, when Miss Granger put him down on a small high table.

He looked into her eyes and was amazed at what he saw. There was no arrogance, no selfishness, no fear or anger — only deep compassion. All her carefully created walls and masks were gone. He was seeing the true Hermione Granger. Then the realization hit him, that her walls were as strong and high as his own. Little Miss Know-It-All was just a facade! It was a shield from the cruelties of life, just as the Bastard Greasy Git was his own facade.

He felt her fingers stroke his feathered head as she spoke calmly to him, “Hello there… don’t worry, we'll have you up and flying again in no time.”

Her smile was as genuine as her eyes; he felt his walls come crashing down, looking at her as openly as she was looking at him. He felt Poppy examine him. He knew the medi-witch would eventually agree; no one refused Albus Dumbledore! Snape didn’t pay Poppy much attention; he was too busy being caught up in those liquid cinnamon eyes.

That blissful state lasted until Poppy pulled a primary feather and pain shot through him, making him squeak loudly. Typically, he wouldn’t have made a sound but Poppy’s move caught him by surprise, and that girl’s cinnamon eyes had everything to do with it!

‘Okay,’ he thought. ‘I will NOT look at her again!’ He flapped his wings angrily, trying his best to look anywhere else.

“Shhh...” He heard her coo softly to him, as she calmly stroked his head, making him look at her again.

‘I’M DOOMED,’ he thought as he was caught once again in her entrancing eyes.

~*~*~*~*~

“Well, that’s the best I can do. Time will heal the rest,” Poppy said to Dumbledore after about forty-five minutes of spell casting.

Severus broke eye contact with the girl and looked over at his two colleagues. Albus met his gaze.

“How long with that take?” the Headmaster asked Poppy.

“I don’t know. I don’t treat animals, but I do know that the joint in his right wing is severely damaged. He must NOT fly or do anything else that will hurt or deform the wing, or there will be permanent damage to it.”

“SQUEAK!” yelled the bird.

Albus looked over at Hermione. “Miss Granger, would you be so kind as to fetch Professor McGonagall and bring her here?”

“Of course. Will the bird be okay?” she asked as she headed toward the door.

“Oh, I’m sure he will be just fine.” Albus waited until the young woman left before he turned to the raven. “Severus?”

The bird bowed his head to the Headmaster.

“Thank Merlin you're alive. You heard Poppy?”

Again another bow, but this time it was slower, as if he didn’t want to admit it.

“So you know you must stay in this form until you compcompletely healed. Now, where to put you?” Albus paced a bit as he thought, then stopped and looked hopefully at Poppy.

“Oh no, Albus!” objected the medi-witch. “I’m not good with animals, even Animagi.”

Dumbledore sighed heavily. “Well, before Miss Granger returns, I need some information, Severus.”

The bird stood straighter, as the man always would when he was about to give one of his spy reports. This made Dumbledore smile a bit; it was good to know that the Potions Master was still in there.

“I take it the meeting did not go well.”

The bird nodded, and started pacing back and forth on the table.

“Please don’t tell me that you have been found out.”

The bird stopped his pacing and gave Dumbledore a blatant stare, then slowly nodded his head.

Dumbledore sighed heavily. “Do they know you’re an Animagus?”

The bird rocked back and forth, from one foot to the other.

“Not sure, hmmm… this is not good... Does Lord Voldemort know?” Dumbledore asked, ignoring the gasp that came from Madam Pomfrey on his use of Voldemort's name.

The bird shook his feathers as a negative.

“Fine, I’ll have some of the others get back and find out what they can. But in the meantime we need to put you somewhere safe to be looked after.”

The bird gave him another blatant stare.

Just then, Professor McGonagall came into the hospital wing followed by Hermione. Dumbledore’s eyes began to twinkle insanely. ‘Why not keep him hidden in plain view?’ he thought.

“Miss Granger!” he called out excitedly.

“Yes, Professor?” She knew something was up; she recognized the voice change.

“Since you have bonded so well with this poor unfortunate bird,” Albus said as he took her hands in his, ignoring the evil glare the bird in question was giving him. “Would you mind adopting him, until he is well enough to fly?”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Thanks again June beta extraordinaire!