Magical Little Raven

Voldemort had a hard time. Barty tried his best and was one of his most loyal servants, but the lack of a good night's sleep began to break down the young man. Due to fatigue, the creation of a homunculus had already failed several times. Voldemort himself could not dream, there was not enough human in him left for that. What in his case didn't help was Death, who would show up every now and then and cause him to panic. No, not panic. Lord Voldemort did not panic. But to say he was having a blast…no. Couldn't that bitch just leave him alone?

Ever since the orphanage and the war he had to endure because of that old busybody, death had terrified him. He would never forget the impact of the bombs, the screaming, the blood and debris. How the smaller children had clung to him, begging him to help them. Now wizards and witches tended to live quite a bit longer than Muggles, but there was so much he wanted to accomplish. One lifetime was not enough. All those years ago he had found the solution. Making a soul container. A Horcrux. Then it seemed like a good idea. But now that he had been a shadow of himself for more than 10 years, hopelessness set in.

That faithful day he had come to kill the threat that the little girl posed to him, he lost everything. Even after all these years, he could not comprehend why his curse had backfired. No one could survive the Killing Curse, no one! And yet…he was defeated by the 15-month-old child. Stirring him from his musings, Barty came to him. He had once again made the preparations for the homunculus and started the spell. Both of them could not believe it, when the spell took place and Voldemort’s consciousness was implanted in the homunculus. He cackled. Lord Voldemort had a body once again. ‘My wand, Barty.’ He demanded. The minute that he touched his wand, a warm spark went through him and he cackled once again. ‘We must cloak ourselves. From that…thing…’ he sounded weak. This form was a necessity, one he would sone trade for a better one. Together, he and Barty put up wards and Barty used his own blood to paint several sigils on the walls of their cave. For now, that would do…

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The older students sat down at their tables and looked curiously up at the main table. There was a new professor, someone they had only known from the news until now. Sirius Black. Excited murmurs echoed through the room. Remus waved to some of the students who called hello to him, and Lucius gave a friendly nod to the prefects elected this year. Severus was talking to Reggie. ‘How was it at the train station?’ Reggie was perched on his shoulder, with Sirius on her left side.

‘Awesome! So many people and Isis was there too. Dream let me on the train and it was so much fun and I met a really sweet girl and...’

‘Take a breath!’ he scolded her.

‘Oh sorry, yeah and Draco was there, and Theo and Blaise and...’

‘So you've met a lot of people?’

‘No, just a few. Dream only allowed me to stay in that one compartment.’ It sounded a little aggrieved and Severus suppressed a laugh. Sirius listened in. ‘Who was the very sweet girl?’ he asked.

Reggie turned to him and described Hermione. ‘And then there was this very unkind boy. And..uhm…’

Both Severus and Sirius looked at her. It was Sirius who egged her on. ‘Well?’ Reggie puffed her feathers and mumbled something. ‘Didn’t quite catch that Pumpkin.’
‘He started shouting that she was stupid because she was a Muggleborn and the boys...he called them Mini Death Eaters.’

‘I see.’ Severus saw that Lucius had heard the last statement. Lucius nodded and Severus knew he would address this with Filius. If the boy felt this strongly, how would he react to being taught by a former Death Eater?

At that moment Minerva opened the doors to the Great Hall and walked in front of the new first years. ‘Were we once this…for a better word, tiny?’ Sirius mused, much to the amusement of his colleagues. The Sorting Hat was placed on the little stool and everyone waited patiently for it to start his song. When it was done, everyone applauded and Minerva started calling out names.

Some students were not a surprise. Their entire families had been in Slytherin House, so Vince and Greg both went there. Susan Bones was the first Hufflepuff and the first Gryffindor was a boy named Seamus Finnegan. When Hermione Granger was called, the Hat took a long time. It didn’t happen very often, that the Hat was considering more options. The last one was at least ten years ago. Hermione turned out to be a Hat Stal. Severus had thought she was one of the lions, but after nearly five minutes, the Hat called out Ravenclaw. A very relieved Hermione went over to her new house who clapped loudly and was welcomed by the prefect girl.

Neville was next. Severus looked at the plump boy. Old resentment came over him. The prophesy could just as easily apply to the boy…The hat took about 30 seconds to place him at Gryffindor, causing that table to clap and cheer.

‘Draco Malfoy!’ Lucius sat a bit straighter and winked at his son, who walked over with confidence and sat down. Nothing…after a minute…still nothing. This was strange. All the Malfoys and for that matter, almost all the Blacks, had always been Slytherins. Lucius swallowed thickly and Remus placed a hand on his shoulder. Another Hat Stal.

‘RAVENCLAW!’

The table erupted in cheers, and a very confused Draco gave back the hat to Minerva. He swallowed and looked over at the Slytherin table, where a confused-looking Greg and Vince stared at him. Draco didn’t want to look over to his father, for he was sure that he would be severely disappointed in him. He was the first Malfoy to not go to Slytherin…but, he held his head high and walked over to his new House. He sat down beside Hermione, who smiled at him. ‘Are you okay, Draco?’ Her new friend was pale and looked very uncomfortable. ‘Can you…erm, can you see my father?’ Hermione looked over at the head table and saw a man with long blond hair and an aristocratic face. ‘Uhm, yes. I mean, uhm, I think it’s him.’

‘Does he, erm,’ Draco swallowed thickly. ‘Does he look mad?’ Lucius saw the girl with the bushy curls look at him. The girl that was talking to his son. His only son, who probably thought he was angry, or disappointed in him. Lucius looked at Filius. Without having to utter the question, Filius nodded and Lucius rose from his seat. The entire Great Hall was silent. His footsteps echoed through the Hall. He saw his son stiffen. Damn it…he had tried so hard to become a better father. He did not want his own son to fear him. Not like he himself had feared Abraxas. Reaching the Ravenclaw table, he marched over to Draco and very gently placed his hand on his son’s shoulder. Lucius crouched down.

‘I am very, very proud of you, my Dragon.’ Draco looked over in shock. His mouth was opened and he wanted to speak, but words would not form. ‘It does not matter to me. I am very sure you will make your House proud. You are smart and I love you very much.’ With those words Lucius stood straight, squeezed his son's shoulder in comfort, and nodded at the other students before turning around and walking back to his own seat.

Minerva beamed at him and continued her sorting. Pansy Parkinson was another Slytherin, Millicent Bulstrode also and Theo Nott was sorted into Slytherin as well. Two boys remained. The redheaded boy and Blaise.

‘Ronald Weasley!’

Ron walked over with an ugly sneer on his face. He plopped down with very little grace and Minerva set the Hat down on his head. ‘Gryffindor!’

The lions once again cheered loudly and Reggie saw that the twins were also lions. ‘Is his entire family placed there?’ she asked Severus. ‘Unfortunately, yes.’ Came the deadpan reply. ‘Bunch of menaces.’ She giggled.

Now that everyone was sorted, Filius held his opening speech, introduced Sirius, explained the rules, and called forth the House Elves so the food would appear. Reggie munched on some berries, while Severus was lost in thought. Ronald Weasley…the behavior of this boy baffled him. His older brothers got along with almost everybody. They pranked people, which he abhorred, but they pranked people from all the houses and not only the snakes. And he never caught them bullying. Trouble they were, but compared to the Marauders, they were angels. He looked at the table in front of him and observed the boy. He seemed to be talking to the Finnegan boy and Severus noticed that his older brother, Percy, was looking over at the boy too, with a frown on his face. Percy was a little arsekisser, Severus was sure that he would even report his own parents if they did something that was forbidden.

When dinner was over, the prefects led the children to their houses. Severus nodded to Lucius, Sirius, and Remus. It was time. The four men, along with Minerva and Filius, had shared a secret with each other in recent weeks. Reggie didn't know anything, but she was going to get a surprise tonight.

Severus stood and left the Great Hall. He walked leisurely to the exit and looked up at the starlit sky. There was a gentle breeze blowing and the temperature was still pleasant for the time of year. ‘Are we not going to the dungeons? You said you always give a welcome speech,’ Reggie inquired. ‘We are, but not right now. The speech will be held tomorrow. It’s a Saturday, so no rush. I thought it would be nice to introduce you to some…friends…of mine if you would like that?’
‘Sure.’ Reggie sounded excited and looked around her. ‘They are not here…we will have to go to them.’

‘Oh okay. Can I fly?’ Severus shook his head. ‘In this case, it will be better if you remain close to me.’ As Severus walked over to the Forbidden Forest, back in the castle, the final preparations were made for Reggie's surprise. When they were completed, a procession of people left the castle, under cover of darkness.

The Forbidden Forest was dark, dense, and quiet. No sound of insects, almost no starlight, it was downright creepy and Reggie was very happy to be sitting on Severus' shoulder. She hadn't been here before. Both Dream, Isis, and Severus had forbidden her to enter the forest by herself and she had never felt the need to go against that. ‘Uhm…why are we here?’ Her voice had a slight tremor, so Severus immediately realized that she found this quite exciting.
‘You’ll have to wait and see, little bird.’

In the distance the path Severus walked on ended. It was almost invisible, but Severus had been here before and when he got to the end he stopped and got down on one knee. Reggie wanted to ask him something, but Severus shushed her, and she remained quiet. After a few moments, the man and the raven heard something snap in front of them. It looked like something big was coming through the trees towards them. Reggie had good eyesight as a raven, but she couldn't see what was coming and she found it creepy. ‘Sev!’

‘It’s all right. Trust me.’ More sounds were heard and Reggie thought she heard an animal with hooves. Would they see unicorns? That would be fun and something she really wanted. But why would Severus be on his knee? It was suddenly very quiet around them again and Reggie had the feeling they were being watched.

‘Potions Master.’ A very deep voice spoke. Startled, Reggie squeaked, flapped her wings frantically, and made a panic connection with Dream. She did not want to be here, thank you very much. Dream felt the connection and smiled. He was already in the Forest and sent a reassuring wave through the bond. ‘Relax Reggie. All is well. I will see you soon, stay with Severus.’

Making herself smaller, Reggie almost disappeared in Severus' hair. ‘Good Evening, Magorian.’ Severus' smooth baritone voice sounded in the night. ‘Welcome, child of prophecy.’ Reggie let out another squeak and Severus chuckled. ‘Rise, Potions Master.’

Severus stood and extended his hand. The being that spoke became visible when he stepped out from the bushes. A muscular upper body, long dark hair, and a shaggy beard. The body stopped at the pelvis and became that of a horse. Muscular long legs, ending in hooves. The horse part was jet black with an equally black tail, which swished back and forth. Reggie blinked a few times and peeked her head out a little further. A centaur. Said centaur looked stern and she gulped when he looked directly at her. Magorian accepted the outstretched hand and more centaurs became visible. Reggie could see at least five of them. Different colors, all looking stern and serious.

Behind them, Sirius, Remus, Lucius, Minerva, and Filius walked over. A small sigh of relief escaped Reggie. ‘Did we miss anything,’ Sirius joked, causing Minerva to smack him on the back of his head. ‘Behave!’ ‘Yes ma’am.’ Severus shook his head and looked apologetic to the herd. ‘Welcome, wixen. Mars shines brightly tonight. All that has been requested is ready. Follow us. Do not stray from the path.’

The group remained silent and followed the centaurs through the forest until they came to a clearing. The forest was not as dense here. Fewer trees, a fire burned in a pit, creating shadows in the air around it. More and more centaurs came into view. Reggie saw some old centaurs, some females, and some children. She looked around and saw a man standing behind the fire. ‘Dream!’ she cried. Dream held out his arm. ‘Come.’

Reggie flew towards him, over the fire. 'What's happening, Dream?’
He smiled at her and stroked her wings. ‘I have a surprise for you. But we have to wait a little longer.’ Dream sat down on a fallen tree stump and together with Reggie he watched as the others, working with the group of centaurs, drew symbols in the sand and on trees. Severus gave instructions and Filius used a spell that caused the signs to light up.

After about half an hour everyone was ready and the people stood in a circle, with the centaurs in between. There was magic in the air. A bright flash of lightning and a clap of thunder suddenly illuminated the forest briefly, and Reggie saw a shape appear near the fire. Death had come.

Death looked like she always looked, but she wasn't alone this time. James and Lily appeared next to her and Reggie wanted to fly to them. She spread her wings and was suddenly plucked from the sky. ‘Wait a minute, little one. We're not done yet.’

‘But they're my parents, I just wanted to say hello.’

‘I know, but if you're just patient, you'll get that chance. Come sit down for a moment.’ She didn't understand anything but did what Dream asked of her. Death smiled at her and James and Lily waved. Her dad winked at her and then looked intently at the flames. It was time.