FicWad

Chapter Four: Kindred Spirits



As the afternoon light slowly faded into twilight, a figure cloaked and masked as a Death Eater Apparated on the path that led to Slytherin manor. The path allowed those watching from the manor to have warning of company and time enough to inform their Dark Lord of it as well.

The Death Eater stopped on the path a moment and pulled off his mask. His beady black eyes squinted in the last light of the day as he rubbed his forehead. Judging by the action and the unpleasant look on his face, his head was pounding fiercely.

Snape started to put his mask back over his face, but hesitated as he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his gaze to the forest that lined the path and held his breath. Something shrouded in black lay on the ground just beyond the line of trees. It seemed to be a person... or possibly a body. Carefully, he edged towards it, leaving the path. He leaned over the figure and was surprised and relieved at what he saw.

It was a person, a young girl in fact, and she was alive and aware. Large blue eyes stared up past him at the sky from a too thin face. Those eyes turned to him momentarily, but she said nothing to acknowledge him.

Snape looked down at her, perplexed. "What are you looking at?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"The sky," was her quiet response.

Snape blinked, glanced up at the sky, and then back down at her. "Why?"

The corners of the girl's mouth twitched into an almost smile. "If you had spent most of your life in a cell, you wouldn't have to ask me that," she replied in a slightly sing-song voice.

That certainly raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" Then he recalled why he had been sent for by the Dark Lord. "Would you happen to be Raven?" he asked.

With a slightly surprised look in her eyes, the girl nodded. "Who are you?"

"Severus Snape," he replied, bowing his head slightly.

"Oh. You're name sounds familiar," Raven murmured, sitting up and looking at him.

"Well, I'm a teacher at Hogwarts," Snape said, offering his hand to help her up. "Does that explain it?"

"I don't think so," Raven said, staring at the offered hand without moving. "You're from Hogwarts?"

"Yes." Snape patiently kept his hand still as she stared at it in contemplation. For a moment, he was reminded of a young doe watching the girl. /Any sudden movements/, he thought to himself, and she'll take off running.

Very slowly, Raven reached up and took his hand, allowing him to pull her to her feet. She released his hand immediately and stepped back from him. She never took her eyes off of him, though she also never looked directly into his eyes.

"One of the tasks that the Dark Lord has asked of me is to infiltrate Hogwarts," she said softly. "Are you to be my guide or my keeper?"

"Knowing the Dark Lord?" Snape smirked, "probably a bit of both. You've leaves in your hair, Raven."

Raven blinked at the sudden observation. Then she reached both hands into her tangled mane of hair and began picking away the leaves and twigs that had become entwined while she'd lain on the ground. Snape caught sight of something else in the tangled locks. Without thinking, he reached over to pluck it out.

Raven flinched the moment he raised his hand, her eyes wide and fearful. Determined to show that he wouldn't hurt her, he continued his reach anyhow. Carefully, he plucked a small black feather from her hair and showed it to her. "You seem to be molting," he said with a small ironic smile.

She smiled as well, though Snape could practically hear her heart still beating with fear. "It's not a raven's feather," she commented, taking the feather from him. "It's too small."

"True," Snape admitted. Raven was looking down past the feather to the hand that still held his Death Eater's mask. Snape saw this and tucked the mask into his robes. "I have to meet with the Dark Lord at the manor," he said, offering his hand again. "Would you care to accompany me? I'm sure that the Dark Lord will want to speak to both of us about his plans for you and Hogwarts."

Raven twisted the feather between her fingers and bit her lip. Then she shook her head and abruptly sat back down. "The Dark Lord will call when he needs me," she said quietly, touching the silver charm at her collar.

"Ah," Snape said, lowering his hand. "Very well then. Do you plan on spending the night out here?"

Raven shrugged, a small smile on her lips again. "Maybe," she said. "I like being outside."

"I suppose that's to be expected, considering."

But something made him hesitate to leave. At the first mention of Voldemort, this girl-child had closed up completely. That didn't fit with what Lucius had told him about their meeting in Azkaban last night. The strange creature Malfoy has described taunted and challenged the Dark Lord. Now...the change was certainly something to think on. The most likely explanation that Snape could think of was that perhaps Raven had bitten off more than she could chew when it came to Lord Voldemort.

Raven glanced at the hem of his robe when she realized he wasn't leaving. There was a wariness in her eyes and Snape saw her shoulders tense in apprehension. Deciding not to press his luck with the girl, he murmured another farewell and turned on his heel. He stepped back onto the path, forcing himself to not even glance backwards. He'd had plenty of time to try and figure Raven out. If the Dark Lord wanted what Snape thought he did, Raven would soon be spending a great deal of time in the halls of Hogwarts.


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As night fell around the manor, Raven felt the charm around her neck burn against her skin. Reluctantly, she lifted herself from the ground and dusted the leaves from her shoulders and back.

She could smell burning wood in the air as she neared the manor, and a heavy sense of foreboding settling on her shoulders like a cloak. The cruel laughter and cheers she heard, along with the cries of pain, solidified the cloak of dread so much that she found herself frozen on the path.

The heat emanating from the silver charm at her throat began to feel like burning iron the longer she remained still. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to take a step...and then another and another until she was safely inside the manor.

Using the varying temperatures of the charm, she found her way to the Dark Lord's study in the north tower of the manor. He was waiting there, along with Snape, for her arrival. When she entered the room, their eyes locked onto her, almost making her wince.

"My lord," she murmured softly, bowing her head to Voldemort .

"Have a seat, Raven," he ordered, gesturing to the chair beside Snape's.

Raven glanced at Snape before settling herself into the large chair.

"Severus informs me that the two of you met earlier," Voldemort said, twisting the hilt of a knife in his fingertips, the blade tip digging into the arm of his throne-like chair. Snape didn't miss the fact that Raven's eyes were so focused on the knife that her vision blurred. "He also mentioned that you've guessed at my plans for you."

"You want me at Hogwarts, I'd imagine," she said, her voice quiet.

"Correct," Voldemort said. "The school year is soon to start. You will enter Hogwarts as a student. Severus will assist you."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Your resistance to magic presents untold opportunities," he told her. "I simply want you /there/. I want you to search Hogwarts top to bottom and report on anything you think would please me. Also," he said, holding the knife between two hands. "This shadow trick of yours may be useful as well. We would have to put it to test, but I have a suspicion that you would remain unseen even in the face of Alastor Moody's magic eye."

"Alastor Moody? The auror?" Raven sat up a little straighter, "But he isn't at Hogwarts this year, is he?"

"You've heard of him then?"

Raven hide the contempt in her gaze by lower her eyes to the floor. "My lord, I lived in Azkaban. There aren't many aurors I haven't heard of. Moody is just the most...spoken of."

Voldemort smirked at her tone, very much aware of the suppressed insolence. She was learning. "You have two months before September begins, you will need this time to practice."

"Practice what?" Raven asked, frowning.

Now it was Voldemort's turn to speak with contempt. "Child, you will have to pass yourself off as a witch. You have just begun to discover all you can do. This is why I've called Severus here now. He's here to be your teacher, to help you mimic a witch's powers. You will listen to him, let him help you, what he has to teach you is important. Understand?"

Raven nodded, her eyes locked on the knife again.

"Say it."

"I understand," Raven said, "My lord."

"Good girl," Voldemort murmured. "You're dismissed," he said, nodding to both of them. The two stood, bowed, and walked out of the room, though Raven's step was much faster than Snape's.


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The Death Eaters' 'celebration' was still raging when Raven and Snape left the Dark Lord's tower. The pair passed by a window that overlooked the bonfires and Raven paused to gaze down at the flames and their creators. Snape stopped as well, interested in the strange incensed look upon the girl's face. He stood at the window as well, to see what was making her look like that.

Down below in the courtyard was a gathering of about ten or so Death Eaters. There were two large bonfires lighting the yard and illuminating the five Muggles floating dangerously close to the flames. The Muggles were very much aware of their surroundings, judging by the looks on their faces and the cries of pain that came every time they touched the fire.

"A favorite pastime of our fellow Death Eaters," Snape said softly, half on eye on Raven's face. "The torture of Muggles. They are no doubt celebrating their freedom tonight."

"I don't like torture." Raven's voice was quiet, but deadly sharp. Memories flashed across her vision, a pale white hand twitching in a pool of blood.

Snape turned his full attention to her now. "An odd thing for a follower of the Dark Lord to say. Are you saying there is no use for torture?"

"I didn't say that torture didn't have it uses," Raven snapped, turning away from the window and starting back down the dark hall. "I just said I didn't like it. I don't like the Dark Lord much either, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have his uses too."

Snape reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "Do not say such dangerous things, Raven," he whispered harshly. "The Dark Lord has ears everywhere." His eyes met nothing but cold and dispassionate crystal, but he wasn't deterred. "Drop the act, /little girl/. You're terrified of the Dark Lord."

That ice cracked a little as her arm suddenly tensed under his hold. She opened her mouth to speak, but fell silent as footsteps came towards them from down the hall. Raven pulled herself free and turned to the stranger.

He was dressed as all Death Eaters' did, with his mask hanging at his belt. His dark hair was disheveled and streaked with gold, his pale face accented by a small beard and mustache. He looked to be slightly younger than Snape, and twice as sure of himself. He smirked, his dark eyes glittering with malice as he looked over the both of them. He walked past them without saying a word, seemingly on his way to the Dark Lord's tower.

Once he had passed, Snape turned back to Raven. To his surprise, the girl was staring at the stranger's back as he walked out of sight, her lips twisted down into a small frown. "Raven?"

The girl blinked and shook her head. "Do you know him?" she asked.

Snape hesitated. "No."

Raven suddenly turned away again. "I don't think I like him," she murmured distractedly.

Snape followed her. "Well, thankfully we are not required to like our fellow Death Eaters, just to follow the Dark Lord's every order. A good thing really, or Bellatrix and I would be in a great deal of trouble."

Raven glanced at him, smiling slightly. "Oh really?"

"I did hear word of your encounter with the Lady Lestrange," Snape said. "Believe me, she's had plenty to say about you, my girl."

"I'd imagine so," Raven replied. "So why doesn't she like you?"

"She doesn't trust me."

"I guess it's the same with me," she said.

They shared a look and Snape suddenly realized Raven was opening up to him. There was a friendly glint to those crystal eyes now. She didn't seem as closed in on herself as before.

Ah, he thought, smiling. Progress.