The Heart of the Raven

Chapter 5: The Raven Sings

There were some hurt feelings the next morning when Tonks broke the news to the others that they couldn't all go to the show. Luna seemed to be the most upset, but Ron also had a few harsh words about Tonks. He kept complaining constantly to anyone who would listen, right up until the night of the concert.

"Typical that she'd pick him," Ron muttered darkly to Hermione. Harry wasn't sure if Ron was referring to himself or Remus. "I would've liked to see the show too."

"Don't be daft Ron, we couldn't all go," Hermione responded reasonably, brushing the issue aside. "Just get over it already!" she added, sounding slightly exasperated.

"Yeah, but she's just playing favourites now!" Ron exclaimed indignantly. "It's not fair!" he added.

"Honestly Ronald, I don't know what you expected..." Hermione began to retort.

Harry left the drawing room to get away from his friends' incessant bickering. He wished that Ron and Hermione would just admit that they fancied each other. They already fought like an old married couple, so why not make it official? It would cause a lot less grief if they would.

Harry met Luna and Neville on his way up the stairs and nodded a greeting their way before heading up to the third floor to see what was keeping Tonks. After a quick search, he found her in the bathroom putting the finishing touches on her makeup.

"Wotcher, Harry." Tonks grinned at him as he entered. "Ready to do this thing?" she asked him expectantly.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Harry said. "Can we run through the plan again?" he asked Tonks, who was standing by the bathroom mirror carefully applying some black eyeliner. She was dressed in Muggle clothes including a short black dress with a wide belt around her waist, tattered fishnet tights, and a pair of rather dangerous pointy-toed boots with stiletto heels. Harry wondered if it was entirely wise for the notoriously clumsy young woman to be wearing such fatal looking footwear, but he wasn't sure how he would bring it up without risking injury.

"After the show, I go up to Raven and ask for her autograph," Tonks said to Harry's refection in the mirror as she put the cap back on her eyeliner and picked up a tube of bright red lipstick. "While I'm doing that you and Remus will be waiting off to the side, out of sight," she elaborated. "There's a nice little alleyway round the backside of the club that'll be a perfect hiding place. When I drop my pen, that will be your cue." She began to apply her lipstick with a practiced flair, still watching Harry intently in the mirror.

"So that's when I sneak up and stupefy her," Harry concluded. "Then Remus comes over and replaces the tiara..."

"...And modifies her memory," Tonks finished up. "It should all work out smoothly, as long as no one slips up. With any luck, Raven will never even know what happened." Tonks put the cap on her lipstick and dropped it into her purse.

"I sure hope so," Harry murmured. He felt a bit unsettled about the stealing and he knew Tonks and the others did too. Harry felt bad for Raven because she liked her tiara so much. Harry knew that if someone took something so personal from him, he'd be ready to jinx them to jelly. It's a good thing this Raven girl is a Muggle, he thought to himself. Otherwise I'd be worried about being hexed.

Tonks turned around to face Harry. "How's my hair?" she asked him nervously, fluffing up her locks. That night her hair was jet black and layered, with red streaks throughout. She looked at him expectantly, awaiting his response.

"It looks... interesting," Harry managed to choke. Somehow he preferred her usual shade of bubblegum pink hair, but he felt it best not to say anything. Tonks was certainly creative when it came to her hairstyles and outfits.

"Is that what you're wearing?" Tonks scrutinized Harry, frowning at him.

"Yeah," he responded defensively, wondering what could possibly be wrong with his jumper, jeans and Converse trainers.

"No offence Harry, but if you want to fit in at a rock concert you're going to need to look a lot edgier than that," Tonks informed him. Harry stared blankly at her. "Come with me." She motioned for Harry to follow her back to the room that she and Remus shared. Confused, Harry followed her. He paused awkwardly in the doorway, feeling as though he was intruding on the couple's private domain.

"Try this on for size," Tonks instructed, tossing him a studded black jacket with buckles and zippers. Wordlessly, Harry took the garment and slipped it on over his jumper. It fit him perfectly and actually looked pretty cool. Harry was forced to grudgingly admit that Tonks might have been right.

"Much better." Tonks nodded her approval. "Let's try this belt as well," she added, handing him a black belt with spikes.

Harry sighed, annoyed. "Are you sure this is absolutely necessary, Tonks?"

"Yes," she insisted. "You need to look the part, Harry. We need to make this believable. Hurry up and put it on, we need to get going," she added. She put her hands on her hips and began to tap her foot impatiently.

Harry quickly slipped the belt through the loops in his jeans, trying not to let Tonks see the exasperated look on his face.

"Great." Tonks nodded again when he'd finished. "Now we'd better get going..."

Tonks and Harry went back downstairs to the kitchen where the others were waiting for them. Remus was looking rather uncomfortable in a leather biker jacket and distressed jeans, but greeted them both happily with a smile for Harry and a hug for Tonks.

"Shall we be off, then?" Remus asked, looking at them both expectantly.

"Yeah let's go," Harry agreed. "We'll see you all later," he added to the others. They still seemed rather dejected not to be included, but they put on smiles anyway as they bid Harry, Tonks and Remus good-night and good luck.

As they stepped out into the chilly night air, Harry once again felt like a third wheel. He walked a little ways behind Tonks and Remus, who were talking and holding hands. He was beginning to wish they wouldn't, because it made him miss his Ginny even more. Her hand had always fit so perfectly in his.

Tonks and Remus are a true case of that old saying about how opposites attract, Harry thought to himself. How else would a werewolf and a metamorphmagus end up together? There's Remus, Mr. Straight-Laced Professor... and then Tonks, the fun young auror with the crazy hairstyles and wild outfits. And yet they're both really intelligent. And they're both different. They both understand what it's like to be an outsider. I guess that's what brought them together. That's the only thing I can think of anyway, how else would they have gotten together?

They took the bus downtown to Club Black Cat, the venue where the concert was to be held. Tonks gave Harry and Remus their tickets and they got in line with a bunch of excited concert-goers. Thanks to Tonks's fashion help, Harry and Remus did indeed look like many of the other male Club Black Cat patrons.

"It looks like we missed the opening band, but isn't this exciting?" Tonks asked Harry as they entered the club. With her latest hairstyle and outfit, she too fit right in with the rest of the crowd.

"Yeah... exciting," Harry muttered, as a couple of tall rockers with long hair and tattoos shoved their way past him. He glared after them, trying to resist the urge to rebel.

"Don't worry Harry, it'll all be over soon," Remus reassured him. Tonks shot both of them a withering look.

"Oh, you love it," she teased, winking at Remus.

"I love you," he amended, putting his arm around her again and pulling her close. Tonks grinned and leaned closer to him. Harry pointedly looked away again as they shared a tender kiss, his gaze falling instead on a large poster with the band's official logo on it: the outline of a large raven in flight with the silhouettes of the band members superimposed over it in model-like poses. He had to admit, all the raven symbolism was starting to bother him. Why were there suddenly so many ravens in his path? Even the lead singer's name was Raven!

It's almost as if this Raven girl knows something, Harry thought to himself. There's been nothing but ravens around us since the Room of Requirement. But she can't possibly be in on it, she's a Muggle. It's all just an ironic coincidence. And Remus is right, it'll all be over soon, and then we'll be back at Grimmauld place trying to figure a way to destroy this bloody thing. We might as well enjoy ourselves while we can, because destroying horcruxes is no picnic. It's been pure chance that we've been managing to take care of them so far, and I reckon this one will be a lot more challenging.

I will enjoy this concert, Harry instructed himself. He glanced over at Tonks and Remus, who most certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves. This is almost like a date for those two, Harry thought bitterly. They must not get out very much with their jobs. I should be happy for them. But since when did Remus turn into such a sap? A few years ago, he never would have behaved like this in public. And why do they have to be snogging and carrying on all the time? They're adults, for crying out loud! He was my professor! Professors shouldn't be snogging, not ever!

Suddenly, the lights in the club dimmed. Harry turned his gaze back towards the lavishly decorated stage where a thick fog was beginning to form. A rainbow of coloured lights flashed over the microphone stands, amplifiers and drums, casting long shadows in their wake. The band slowly filed out onto the stage slowly and dramatically before taking up their places behind their instruments.

As they took their places, Harry was finally able to get a better look at them all. The band's drummer Magical Millie was tall and thin with wavy purple hair. Harry also noticed that she also had a tattoo on her upper arm. She was clad in a head-to-toe black ensemble, and was wearing boots similar to the ones Tonks had on. The lead guitarist was Lady Lex, whom Luna had admired. She was much shorter than Millie, with choppy blonde layers and shockingly blue eyes. The bass player was nicknamed Mr. Moonlight: a tall, pale boy with deep blue hair that hung into his eyes. And the blonde rhythm guitarist known as Bookish Bastian was also male, a bit shorter and rather surly looking. But it was the pretty lead singer, The Raven, who really caught Harry's eye.

She was neither tall nor short, but a medium height. Her long dark hair hung in layers down her back, and sure enough the tiara was perched on her head like it was meant to be there. Harry guessed that she was two or three years older than himself. As the lights came fully up on the stage casting the band into sharp focus, Harry gasped.

She wasn't as tall, or as pale. Her eyes were brown rather than blue, and her nose was different. But the girl on the stage looked remarkably like Rowena Ravenclaw: her face was the same shape, her eyes were the same distance apart, and her eyebrows arched in exactly the same way as the woman in the portrait in the Room of Requirement and the lady in Harry's dream.

Harry turned back to see what Tonks and Remus were thinking. By the looks on their faces, they'd caught the uncanny resemblance between Raven and Rowena as well. Tonks's eyes were wide and Remus was looking rather wary. Harry could see Tonks's mouth moving: she was saying something urgent to Remus but the cheers of the audience were drowning her out.

As Harry turned back towards the stage, the band was launching into their first song. The guitarists revved up with a series of power chords and the drummer let loose with an energetic solo. The girl named Raven strutted and tossed her hair, showing off for the audience before raising the microphone to her mouth and beginning to sing in a loud clear voice:

You've gone and done it again, old friend

Let loose the tragedy, it's a travesty

Why oh why did it end this way?

You've lost the game, it was foul play

Hey!

We'll get carried away

On the wings of midnight

So far away,

Just beyond sight

Carried away

On the wings of midnight

As the stars shine bright

Every single person in the club was on their feet, rocking along with Raven and the band. Harry snuck another glance at Tonks and Remus. He was surprised to see the bookish former professor nodding his head to the beat along with Tonks, who was dancing as enthusiastically as her high-heeled boots would permit her to. That Raven certainly knows how to work a crowd, Harry thought. Her strong clear voice rang out in an almost siren-like manner, filling the entire atmosphere with its haunting song. Harry was forcibly reminded of his most recent dream again.

"She rocks!" Harry heard Tonks exclaim to Remus. "I can't believe we're about to steal from her," she added in an undertone that only Harry and Remus could hear.

Harry couldn't quite believe he was about to steal from Raven either. He tried to block the inevitability out and enjoy the concert, but a lump seemed to keep rising in his throat. His stomach was in knots and his head was pounding. The weight of their upcoming mission was hindering Harry's ability to enjoy the rest of the show. He actually found himself wishing it would be over soon, so they could finally accomplish what they'd come to do.

The concert seemed to drag on forever. The band played their hearts out, to wild applause and shouts of delight from their audience of adoring fans. Just when Harry thought it was finally over, the fans called them back for an encore.

"You guys want one more song?" Raven called to the excited audience. They roared back their approval and Raven beamed. "Let's do it!" she called to the band

The band's final song was a high energy duet between Raven and the bass player, Mr. Moonlight. Their strong voices blended beautifully together, harmonizing and complimenting each other very effectively. They enthused the audience to a whole new level with their teamwork.

After what seemed like an agonizing eternity, the concert was over. Harry breathed a sigh of relief as the band left the stage after their final bow. Harry, Tonks and Remus vacated Club Black Cat and took up their positions just outside the venue in a back alleyway near a side door. All the other fans seemed to be waiting around the front entrance of the club. The rest of the band was already there signing autographs and posing for pictures. But Raven alone slipped out the side door a short while later all by herself, wearing a leather jacket over her concert outfit. She was also still wearing the tiara. It was time to pounce.

"Raven?" Tonks called out, approaching the young singer with caution. Tonks had been stepping rather carefully all evening in an attempt to avoid any fatal injury in those dangerous boots of hers.

"Hey," the girl called Raven said in a crisp Canadian accent. She smiled widely.

"Your show was so amazing tonight!" Tonks gushed. "I've been looking forward to seeing you guys live for so long! You wouldn't mind signing my ticket, would you?" She waved it in the air excitedly.

"Oh, sure!" Raven smiled. "I'd be happy to. I really like your hair, by the way," she added to Tonks, who smiled as well. Raven looked awfully cheerful for someone who was about to be robbed, Harry thought from his hiding place in the shadows. He glanced at Remus and noticed that he looked as apprehensive as Harry felt.

Tonks pulled a pen out of her pocket and made to hand it to Raven, but she allowed it to slip theatrically through her outstretched fingers. The pen seemed to fall in slow motion to the ground.

"Oh bugger, I'm so clumsy," Tonks murmured dejectedly, biting her lip as she bent to retrieve the fallen pen. She certainly was putting on a good show adding her natural-born clumsiness into the act, Harry thought. He noticed that Remus was gazing at her with a look of pride in his eyes.

"Don't worry about it, I've got an extra pen in my purse," Raven waved Tonks' apology off and began to rummage around in a large leather bag that was slung over her shoulder. "If I could only find it," Raven muttered, still searching for the elusive pen. "I know I've got one in here somewhere..."

Tonks glanced up at Harry over Raven's bent head, and he knew it was now or never. He stepped out from the shadows, his wand ready at his side, preparing to use the stunning spell on the unsuspecting young singer. He kept his approach as silent as he could manage, his footsteps not making a sound.

I'm sorry Raven, he thought to himself. I'm really, really sorry about this. I can only hope you'd understand if you knew...

But just as Harry raised his wand to cast a non-verbal spell, Raven seemed to snap to attention. Her head jerked up as if she was sensing the attack and she drew from the depths of her purse not a pen, but a wand of her own. She whipped around to face Harry with fire in her eyes.

"Nice try," Raven said between clenched teeth, as she trained her wand on Harry's heart. "But you won't get to me that easily."