Raven

Raven

Chapter 4

Raven looked up again when she heard the voice of one of the boys who was with the rabbit-eyed girl, the one with the glasses.
"Raven. The bad man's gone. We made him go away. You can come out now."
Raven shook her head, still scared. "Bad man found Raven. He come back later. Hurt Raven."
"We won't let the bad man hurt you, Raven."
She looked up, seeing green eyes through the slightly open door. "How?"
"I used to live with a bad man. I got away, and I won't let any bad man near you." He smiled at her. "I promise."
Raven held his eyes a moment, before crawling out, and curling up in his lap. "Scared. Bad man hurt Raven, and mummy."
"The bad man won't hurt you again, I promise, Raven." The boy held her as she cried herself to sleep.

"Mummy! Mummy!" Raven struggled to get away from the bad man, screaming for her mummy. The belt came down again, and she shrieked in pain.
"What are you doing?!" Her mummy pulled her away from the bad man.
"She spilled her juice all over the carpet."
"SheÕs only three!" Her mummy held her close, and Raven sobbed into her shoulder. "Let her be!"
The bad man growled, and Raven ducked, curling into a tighter ball, as his fist crashed into her mummy's face. She screamed in fright, shaking....

"Raven. Raven, wake up." Remus had been woken up by Raven whimpering. "Raven..."
"Mummy!" She woke with a choked sob, and Remus pulled her into his lap, rocking her, and stroking her hair.
"It's all right, Raven. It was a bad dream, but you're awake now, it's all right."
Raven's tears slowed, and she hiccuped, curling into his arms. "I want mummy."
"I don't know where your mummy is." Remus paused, looking down at her sad expression. "But we'll find your mummy."
"Bad man hurt mummy, bad man hurt mummy bad. Mummy is where the bad man is. Don't want the bad man to find Raven, he hurt Raven again."
"Would it be all right if I left you with McGonagall, while I go find your mummy?"
Raven frowned. "The lady in green?" Remus nodded, and she tilted her head. "You find mummy, and bring mummy here, away from the bad man?"
"I'll find your mummy, and bring her here if I can, I promise."
"If bad man hurt mummy very bad, will you be able to help mummy?"
"If the bad man didn't kill her."
Raven's eyes widened. "Bad man kill mummy?"
"I hope not."
"What if bad man hurt you? Or bad man kill you?" Raven clung tighter.
"If I take someone else with me, the bad man can't hurt us both. And the bad man can't kill us both. Or one of us."
"Will the green-eyed boy go with you?"
"Maybe. Probably not. Dumbledore isn't likely to let him."
"But the lady in green can't go with you, and Raven can't go with you, and no one else will go with you, because they're all busy."
"I will ask."
"And the rabbit-eyed girl? Can Raven stay with her?"
Remus nodded. "Yes, you can stay with Hermione."
Raven smiled, and she soon fell back asleep, with Remus hoping she wouldn't have anymore nightmares that night.

"So, where are we going?" Harry and Ron were looking back and forth between Remus and Dumbledore, who seemed inclined to let them go on this expedition.
"To find Raven's parents." Remus grinned sheepishly. "She had a nightmare last night, and I promised her I'd find her mother. And I'm fairly certain the 'bad man' is her father."
"And why are we going?"
"Raven doesn't want me to go alone, and she asked if Harry would go with me..."
Harry nodded, interrupting Remus. "Sure." His expression was grim. "I told her I wouldn't let the bad man hurt her again. If that means...." He trailed off at Remus's look.
"The full moon's in three days. Will we be able to find her parents in that time?" Ron looked worried.
"If not, we can start looking again after the full moon." Harry shrugged.
"Then it's settled. You can start looking today." Dumbledore smiled at the three of them. "I will have someone else teach DADA in your absence, Remus, and I will excuse you two boys from your classes for the duration."