The Raven

Disclaimer: I don\'t own the HP universe JKR does the lucky dog! I only do this for fun not money!

The Raven

By: Bree McGregor

Chapter 6

A few hours later Professor McGonagall returned with two redheaded boys in tow. Dumbledore looked sadly at the boys and asked them to sit down. Fred and George Weasley looked at each other, then at their brother Ron.

“What gives, Professor Dumbledore?” asked Fred.

“Yeah, we were working on a new gag at the shop when Professor McGonagall dragged us back here,” George added.

Dumbledore looked at Minerva. “I thought I said to send them an owl.”

“You did,” she replied. “But after reading the message, I figured the sooner we get to the bottom of this, the better. So I delivered the message personally.”

\'Well, I know I wouldn’t like to have her angry with me,\' Dumbledore thought to himself. \'I’m amazed they\'re still in one piece.\'

“I would like to ask you what happened to the treacle fudge you mother entrusted you with delivering to your younger brother?” the Headmaster asked.

“Oh, that!” Fred said, relieved. “Well, we just put in an enhancement potion.”

“Yeah, we knew that Ron had a hard time showing his emotions, so we figured we’ll help him out a little,” added George.

“We knew of his feelings for Hermione, and we also knew that little biddy Ronnie pooh wouldn’t have the guts to tell her.”

“So when Mom told us to send some treacle fudge for him, we thought he would share it with her, and ta-da! Love match!\"

“Humph!” came an angry sound from Professor McGonagall.

“Well, it seems your little trick backfired, dear boys. I will be amazed if she ever speaks to him again,” Professor Dumbledore said sadly.

“Why? What happened?” the twins said in unison, looking at an embarrassed and ashamed Ron.

“Well,” Professor McGonagall cut in. “It seems that your younger brother with the help of the two of you...”

“Minerva! That is enough!” Professor Dumbledore bellowed. “You are not helping this matter!”

The silence weighed heavily in the room.

“Sir,” Ron spoke up for the first time, “May I tell them?”

“As you wish.”

Ron looked over at his brothers and took a deep breath. “Well, it seems that I did something very unforgivable.”

“What’s that, Ron?” George asked confused.

Ron bowed his head in shame and whispered, “I attacked Hermione.”

“What?! No way!” they both yelled in unison.

“It seems that the potion you put into the fudge was a bit strong, and he was already angry before he ate it,” Professor Dumbledore pinned the twins down with a harsh stare. “I will suggest you NOT play around with potions that change people’s basic personality.”

Just then there was a knock at the Headmaster\'s door. But before he could call them to come in, the door opened to reveal Molly Weasley. Professor Dumbledore took notice as all three boys sank deeper into their chairs. ‘Perfect, just what the boys desperately need! And it’s only the tip of the iceberg,’ he thought.

“Albus, I’m sorry, but you got me all wound up!” spoke Mrs. Weasley, who was extremely out of breath. “Now tell me what is going on! You’ve never called me to your office like this before.”

“Well, Molly, it seems that the twins put something in the fudge you had them deliver for you.” He paused as she gave the twins the evil eye, knowing they couldn’t be up to any good. “They put in a potion that makes people react in ways they normally would not have. So as a result, I\'m sorry to say your son Ron attacked a student after eating some of the potion-induced fudge.”

“Oh, my!” she exclaimed, as she then looked at the twins again. “Just you two wait! You would think you would have learned your lesson when you turned Uncle Rupert’s prize boxer pups into a litter of kittens.”

She turned to Professor Dumbledore. \"Who did Ron get in a fight with, Albus?”

“Well, it wasn’t really a fight. He overpowered her easily, but she fought back extremely well.”

Molly had a bad feeling in her gut about this. “What are you telling me, Albus?”

“The twins’ potion enhances emotions. If the emotions were small, they became stronger; if they were strong, they become intense; if they were intense, they grow to overpower the person taking the potion.”

“Who did Ron attack?” she asked again, a bit more strongly this time.

“Someone he had feelings for, for quite some time now.”

“Hermione?” she gasped, and then looked at the boy who had his head shamefully down, not looking at anything.

“Why, Ron?”

“I — I thought if she kissed me it would all work out, but things got out of hand. I didn’t mean to,” Ron said in barely a whisper, but she heard it anyway.

“NO! Don’t tell me you tried to... Hermione?” she was so taken back that it took her a few moments to take it all in. Then her eyes became hard and cold as she looked at all three boys. Professor Dumbledore thought that this would be a good time to set things in motion.

“In his defense, Molly, he had taken a potion that changed his personality. He had been very angry with her since the summer.”

Molly then looked at the twins with an angrier look than she ever gave Ron. Then she exploded like a volcano.

“How could you! I trusted you to send off the fudge to your brother — a simple request! How can I ever trust you two again!”

Professor Dumbledore closed the door behind him, casting a spell as he left so no one could leave and no unwanted spells could be cast. He knew that Molly would never hurt her children, but in this case, Hermione was like a daughter to her, and the boys had hurt her. The Headmaster knew Molly would feel even worse if she knew Ron had hurt Professor Snape, but for now, Severus was still just a raven. He didn’t know how this conversation would work out between Molly and the boys, but he did know he didn’t want to be there for it! He knew that it was going to take hours for her to wind down.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hermione was patrolling the halls on her rounds. It had been a week since the episode with Ron; his mother made him and the twins tell her everything that happened and that they were very sorry. She said she forgave them, but in truth, she was too angry. Just the thought of it made her livid, but she could not bring herself to hate them. She did tell them to keep away from her for a while, since her anger was still fresh in her mind. Not long after their apology, the twins left, and Ron had blessedly kept his distance from her for the past week.

There was only one thing that didn’t add up. Yes, the potion enhanced his emotions, but she had felt tough emotions before, during their first kiss last summer. To her, deep down, the potion just brought out a darker side of Ron; she knew his heart, though, and she prayed this scared him enough to keep it in check.

As she walked the halls, she was so deep in thought that she didn’t notice that Mistoffelees had glided off ahead of her again. He was getting stronger and stronger every day. With the help of Hagrid’s wing exercises, he was coming along rapidly. He would be in full health soon, if not already, and had been showing signs of independence from her.

Hermione noticed a shadow before her as she approached. It was Draco. ‘Great,’ she thought. ‘Just what I need.’

“Go to your house, Draco, or I will take off points,” she said in way of a greeting.

“Mind your own business, Mudblood!” he sneered.

“I’m Head Girl, so it is my business. Just because you didn’t make Head Boy doesn’t mean you can take it out on the entire school.”

“Shut up!” he yelled, as he pulled out his wand. Hermione was faster and had her wand pressed against his windpipe before he even had a chance to draw his wand. Unknownst to the two, the Raven had returned to see why Hermione hadn’t kept up with him; the angry students didn’t notice the small bird standing against the wall.

“Give me a reason, Draco, just give me reason,” she threatened.

“Gods, you sound like Snape.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Well, I wouldn’t… he’s dead, you know, as you will you be.”

“Liar!”

“No, I have it on good authority that my godfather finally has met his maker, and good riddance!” Draco smiled at the shocked look on her face, and then turned, leaving her stunned in the middle of the hallway.

She shook herself and made a run toward the Headmaster’s office. Snape glided silently behind her, wondering why the girl seemed upset. She saw the Headmaster standing in the hall, talking with Professor McGonagall and Hagrid.

“Miss Granger, whatever is the matter?” called out Professor McGonagall as she saw her young student running toward them. Hagrid and Professor Dumbledore turned to look at her as well.

“Sorry to disturb you.” Hermione slowed to a walk then stopped in front of Professor Dumbledore.

“Not at all, dear child.” He took her hands and looked into her eyes. “Are you not well?” he asked gently.

“I had a run-in with Draco. He — he told me that he knew that Professor Snape was… well, he was dead, sir. Is that true?” Albus looked into her eyes and sighed heavily, not sure what to tell her. Then he noticed the Raven watching him.

“I do not know, child. We have not seen him or gotten an owl from him for quite some time. We need him desperately. As you know, the Order is gearing up and so much is riding on his expertise. Not only for his work in potions or as a spy, but we need everyone right now. I fear, my dear, I do not know what to tell you.”

“You think Voldamort killed him, don’t you?” Hermione asked fearfully.

“No, my dear, Professor Snape’s body has not been found. We all know that Tom always leaves a message on where and how he kills.”

“Maybe that is the message, sir.”

“What do you mean, child?”

“Well, think about it. To disappear with no one knowing what happened to you; dying all alone somewhere. I think that is a big message in itself.”

“Yes, it would be if it were a younger member with a family; that would be a very strong message. No, my dear, I think he would have done something worse to Professor Snape and left his body for us to find. Now go on, I believe your shift is over and it looks like you need some sleep.”

She only nodded and started to walk away slowly, when the Raven glided down and landed on her shoulder. She absentmindedly reached up to stroke his feathers.

“Oh, one last thing, Miss Granger. Since Hagrid is here, let him see Mr. Mistoffelees.” Hermione turned to the Headmaster\'s request and sadly walked toward Hagrid.

“Well, ‘Ermione, your bird’s lookin\' like he’s all \'bout healed,” Hagrid said, giving the bird a clean bill of health.

“Wonderful!” called out Dumbledore. He turned to the sad-eyed girl. “Now, I think its time to let him go.”

“What?” she couldn’t believe it! Even the Raven stiffened at that comment.

“Yes, he’s a child of nature and must be returned to it. Meet me at the front door first thing tomorrow morning, now off to bed with you.”

As soon as Hermione was around the corner and none of the professors could see her, she ran to her room, trying to hold back the tears.

~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N All Hail June the best beta in the world!

Thank you all for your kind reviews. Sorry it’s taken me so long to update so I made it a bit longer. Chapter 7 is in progress but I have finals coming up early next month so keep your fingers crossed I can squeeze it in!