Harry Potter and the Wyvern's Crown

Chapter 16: Fierce Rebuttal

The news of Raven and Harry's pet-shop get-together had already spread by the time they had gotten back to the common lounge. But this time, Harry was ready for it. He afforded Raven a polite kiss before half of the lounge (before she went to show Andromeda her room) and sat solemnly in his chair, trying to escape the thought that what had transpired between Raven and himself wasn't some sort of fluke. Few people spoke to him directly that evening, but he did hear the occasional murmur of their names paired together. Hawksmoor and Potter. Harry and Raven. Something about that satisfied him greatly. Raven did happen through the common lounge once or twice, but had other matters (of tending to her owl, and some private work for McGonagall) to attend to. Before the night had gotten late enough for him to call his team to their beds, Devin approached him, kneeling at his side (mostly because there were no free chairs nearby).

'So, she finally told you.'

Harry tilted his head, almost not hearing the comment, then realizing what the beater had said, turned towards him, 'She told you?'

Devin laughed, 'Yes and no. Before she linked up with Malfoy, I daresay she had quite the crush on you. And when Mark and I caught you two...I asked her later that day if you were actually involved...and she seemed rather flustered. I figured that you were both holding off for one reason or another...but I guess that's all over now, eh?'

Harry chuckled softly, remembering the exquisite kiss that had not been spontaneous, but had been mutually decided upon. Devin grinned, 'You had better treat her well, Potter, or I daresay, there isn't a Gryffindor in this house that will forgive you.'

Harry looked and saw the jealousy mixed with joy in the other's eyes. He understood the look, and it dawned on him that he had felt it when he had discovered Raven's fling with Draco. Devin had loved Raven from afar, as Harry had. He never pursued her for fear of rejection, so he loved her quietly. Perhaps even more quietly that Harry had.

'I know.'

* * *

It was breakfast during the Monday morning mail drop when Andromeda arrived with her first letter addressed to Raven. She now sat unashamedly beside Harry, and the look on her face at the sight of the bright red envelope was one of depressed irritation.

Those who sat near Raven covered their ears, as was becoming a custom. It had been over a month since Raven had received a howler from her mother (the last major one being about her revelation of her Animagus talents to the school, and during a game of WITCHBALL, no less!) but she seemed confused.

'How is it that she's upset about something?'

'Just open it, Raven,' Ron said, 'It's best if you do before it explodes and yells anyways.'

'But...' she pouted, but resolutely opened the envelope, jamming her fingers into her ears immediately afterwards.

There was a hiss as the Howler prepared its speech.

No one expected the words that came out, however.

'YOU THINK YOUR SPELLS WILL SAVE YOU?

'YOU THINK YOU CAN STAND AGAINST YOUR FATE?

'THINK AGAIN, YOU DIRTY LITTLE GIRL.'

The envelope burst into flames. Everyone was stunned into silence. Most were looking at Raven to see what her reaction would be. Her eyes were hard, and the reason was obvious. The message would have been disturbing to anyone aside from one fact. The voice had been Draco Malfoy's.

Gazing solemnly into the ashes on her plate, and handing a bit of bacon to Andromeda, Raven was quiet as people began to whisper. Harry watched her composure, not sure whether she was angered or depressed by the juvenile act. Trained as she was, her reaction would be taken seriously. But he knew that growing in his own heart was dark bitterness that filled his throat with a sour taste. Was there no protection against that kind of act? And Draco couldn't be accused, as Howlers never had return addresses. He placed his hand over hers and squeezed it comfortingly. It was then that she looked up, towards the Slytherin table, where the vocal level had returned to normal. And there was Draco, his arm around Oriana Marshall's shoulder, looking not at her, but rather at Raven and Harry with a huge smirk on his face.

Raven spoke softly, 'He knows I could be charged with using dangerous magic in a teaching institution if I attacked him,' Draco kissed his girlfriend on the cheek, his eyes not leaving Raven's.

'I wouldn't be.'

'But you shouldn't have to. No. He's proven that he can be an ass. Let's just rise above it,' She was saying this with some confidence, but she wasn't able to hide her tears from Harry. 'We shouldn't have to sink to his level.'

Harry squeezed her hand again, then, with a devilish look towards Malfoy, lifted Raven's chin with his finger, just so. 'Maybe we can do better, hmm?'

Raven's cheeks colored, 'No. Not yet.' Then, with a bit of her old incorrigible self, she winked, 'Not quite yet.'

With that, she stood and stepped over the bench. She looked back towards Harry (who had a pouty, dejected look in his eyes) for a moment, then, she leaned forwards, and with no restraint, kissed him soundly. Then, with a wink and a swish of her robe, she set off, while several of the Gryffindors whistled low. Harry laughed with Ron and the others at the flush now beset on Malfoy's cheeks.

* * *

The second blow that day happened during charms. Professor Flitwick had randomly paired the students in the class, by house, and he was stuck with the ditzy red-head Wade (who's last name, he had discovered, was Jerkins), rather than Raven, who had Cho. He disliked the idea of his current girlfriend discussing him with his ex. And he disliked that Wade, while highly intelligent, and very adept at wandless magic, was rather a touch too shy to actually provide him with an adequate distraction from the soft voices of Cho and Raven. They did seem to be working, but then he couldn't hear them clearly at all.

Finally Wade tapped his shoulder with his wand, 'You dropped this.'

He blinked. He hadn't noticed. 'Thanks.'

Wade smiled, 'Don't worry about Chang, Potter. She isn't going to say anything to Hawksmoor, she's not that kind of person.'

Harry turned now to the freckle-faced girl, 'How can you be so sure?' His question was half in jest. Wade seemed to understand it as such.

'You dated her. I suppose you'd know.'

Harry looked back at the girls, who were still speaking in soft tones. He was still displeased about their being paired, but he had no control over it. He rubbed his eyebrow, searching his memory for the topic at hand. 'So, what were we doing?'

'I was going to show you a hand charm.'

'Aren't we supposed to be studying paired magic?'

Wade rolled her eyes, 'You're one of the best at it, Potter.' She pursed her lips. 'So I was thinking of showing you something I'm good at...unless...unless...'

'Show me,' Harry said, his focus still on Raven and Cho.

'Well, look,' the girl complained softly.

Harry turned his eyes, to see the girl draw points with a fingertip along her left palm. As she did so, a rune formed on her hand, glowing with magic. It shocked him so much he paused in his mental battle. She moved her right hand over it twice, locking it in, apparently, as it hovered there, quiet with a shimmering quality. She drew her right hand before her face.

'Nara, ko ryu, iki,' she whispered softly. She held her right hand up as the rune flashed brightly. Harry was dazzled. Wade pointed towards the paperweight on Flitwick's desk. It was craved in the shape of a dragon, and it sprung to life at her beckoning. It opened it's little wings and flew across the room, only to land in Wade's rune patterned hand. It crooned at Harry softly. He looked up at Wade's grin.

'Jerkins!' Flitwick's high pitched voice snapped, 'We are not practising hand magic this year!'

Wade giggled nervously as she tapped her left wrist three times. It knocked the magic from her hand and dragon reverted to it's former shape. Harry grinned, leaning forwards, 'How does that work?'

'Oh!' Wade looked shocked he would even ask. Harry couldn't help but grin as she explained (haltingly, as though she were being tested) that hand magic is the closest to running magic that could take the place of charms. Once one knew how to activate a rune on their palm, they could learn any rune to perform any charm or transfiguration-like magic, including defensive-type spells (not too unlike the ones that Raven and Lupin had used during their demonstration last year, Harry mused). Her mother had been highly adept at it, and had taught her from a young age.

As class came to a close, Wade gave him a few spells on a piece of parchment to try out (privately, because hand magic wasn't an authorized form at Hogwarts), and Flitwick called them up together. They were to perform a supporting magic together, where the casters would lift each other off the ground as they held hands. If we'd bothered to practice, Harry thought quietly, feeling the lump of the parchment in his pocket like a well of guilt, I don't think I'd be so worried. Between that and Wade's confession to him at the beginning of the class that levi magic never agreed with her, a feeling of utter dread collapsed over him. He and Wade held hands, her worry apparent. They leaned back, and called the spell.

'Nost levimorus, tot spiries, levi, levi, levi!'

Harry let his magic fly free. Wade, in her fear, blocked him. He pushed harder, but without her support, nothing was going to happen, not even if he used up every bit of his strength. He glared at her (though he wasn't supposed to) and she looked back, fear on her face. After a moment, they called the spell together. They began to lift off the ground. Harry wouldn't let her break her eyes away. Then it happened. Wade, with her un-witch-like fear of heights and flying in general, couldn't handle it. She tensed, one of her hands breaking the circle. They fell like a pair of rocks, Harry first, as he was still supporting her when she stopped supporting him, she on top of him. And they landed much the same way. Harry was shocked, a dense smothering weight over his face. He could hear the laughter of the other students. He pushed Wade off of him, and realized exactly what had been over his face. Blushing profusely, he managed to apologise as Flitwick gave him a poor mark with a bitter look in his eyes.

Cho had a dark smirk on her face. Something told him that she had managed to cause this, even though he had no idea why he should think anything of the sort.

* * *

The final straw for Harry came later that week. Draco and his crew, which had grown with the addition of Oriana's Slytherin friends, had a rather heartless way of following Harry and Raven around. They said nothing towards them, but chose to whisper and laugh and watch. Every moment of every day. And it didn't matter where they headed to hide out, unless they were in the Gryffindor common lounge, they were followed. It was after the second Animagus lesson that the hat fell. And even to this day, Harry still isn't sure how things got so out of hand.

The second animagus lesson was interesting. What everyone learned, after practising the 'return' movements for nearly an hour, were the 'adaptation' spells. Each student was to focus on their new form, and examine, in a trance-like state, each part of their body, attempting to change that part of the body into a paw or wing or claw. Some of the students found it painful, but Harry felt relaxed, for all he was to return to his original form if even the slightest change happened. The idea was to give the body a magical flexibility, so when the full change happened, the body wouldn't get stuck. Or that was the hope. Despite the care that was taken, the Hufflepuff 'duck' pushed one his arms a bit too far, and Raven had to help him unflex his wing and relax it back to it's original state. Harry paused in his own exercise to watch her, seeing the care in which she took to calm the frightened boy, and how she worked her magic, freeing his arm magically to return to it's original state.

Her eyes flicked up to him, feral and pleased. She enjoyed this work.

He smiled back, but the clearing of McGonagall's throat broke up their silent conversation. After the class was done, Harry walked with Raven proudly and told her about how he'd managed to alter both of his hands and his nose (a little bit) to a more lionish form. Raven listened with a grin on her face. Harry ran his hands through his eternally mussed hair and chuckled.

'I suppose you think I sound like an utter fool, right?'

'A cute fool,' she told him, as they walked into the great hall. They were met, quite suddenly, by Malfoy and his ranks. Crabbe and Goyle stood to either side of him, Oriana and her friends blocking the rest of the route.

'Excuse us,' Harry muttered, but was given a shove back by Crabbe. Harry touched his wand, giving Malfoy a dark look, 'Let me through.'

Draco grinned brashly, his wand in hand. 'Why? I just wanted to compliment your...girlfriend on her class today.'

'Really?' Raven's voice, deft as it was, curved both sarcastic and curious.

'Really,' Draco grinned hellishly, as though he were desperate to catch this correctly, 'I found that thinking like a crow really has begun to help me understand your situation better.'

Raven's eyes darkened. 'In what way, Malfoy?'

Draco licked his lips. 'That you are indeed, ruled by the males of your murder.'

Raven bit her lip. The situation was charged. She let out a slow breath before speaking again, 'Not by you.'

Draco began to laugh. Harry felt a ferocity leap into his heart. Such an anger he had never felt since his aunt had insulted him in his third year. He took a step forwards, but was held back by the thick hands of Crabbe. Raven was being humiliated, though she was acting like a cat caught in a corner. Her head was low, her eyes filled with such a bitterness they would have frozen anyone else's insides cold. But Draco had no heart, it seemed.

The girls who were Oriana's friends, also began to laugh. Harry was eyeing up Crabbe, and wondering precisely what curse would get him in the least amount of trouble for casting. Then he heard it. Malfoy's voice had reached a pitch that Harry recognised. He was nearly cawing. He was laughing like a crow...only to mock Raven. Something snapped in Harry, and once again as he tried to get at Malfoy, he was grabbed by Crabbe. But something made Harry keep going. His lips bared, his eyes saw nothing but the flush of Raven's cheeks and the hellish laugh on Malfoy's lips. Harry shouted, and he felt himself stop caring about how big Crabbe was, and how many wizards stood by him right now. He was going to knock that smile off of Draco's face if it was the last thing he did.

Harry howled, and gave Crabbe such a shove as to knock the huge boy out of his way. Crabbe toppled. Harry didn't notice as he flung himself at Malfoy, his hands smashing the boy down on the hard stone floor. He snarled. Draco had a frightened look on his face, but it was twisted with hate. A hate that Harry was quite willing to rip off for him. His hand lifted off of Malfoy's robe, claws extended. Harry growled as Malfoy began to scream. Then, like the Slytherin-boy had seen something far off, his head snapped upwards. Before Harry could react, the crow-version of Malfoy had taken wing. Harry roared and bounded after him, giving chase to the unfledged crow, which hopped from table to table, trying to fly, but being wholly unable to figure it out. Harry crashed through the tables after him, trying only to get paw, claw or fang on the beastly bird. There was a sudden explosion of spells around him, even as he pounced at the tired crow. It wouldn't have had time to move. And Harry was unsatisfied as he felt his body fall into a coma-like paralysis, wishing with his whole heart that he had only managed to get his teeth on that bird, only had time to crush it with his mighty jaws.

* * *

He opened his eyes, sickened and terrified. The rotund Hufflepuff Head boy was sitting at his side. 'That foul serpent...' Gregory found his voice rough, it was always thus after he had changed.

Henry gave his friend a cool cloth, 'Thou wast a fool to engage him.'

'I?' Gregory threw off the wool blanket that had covered him. His chest was bare and he sought to find his shirt, 'I? The fool? When he, the crux of the matter, made such bitter tears pour forth from my darling's eyes? He should die for this foul conduct!' His voice had raised to the point of obscenity.

'Aye, dear friend. And when thou rushest into battle, playing the fool as a beast, rather than a man, he nearly spells thee to oblivion!'

The blond boy was charged by his friend's wise words, 'Our father's fathers would have all our heads for this disgrace.'

'Tis true, Gryffindor.' The friendly boy leaned forward. 'You are of luck that he pronounced that darkspell with haste and not care.'

Gregory sighed, finding a robe and sliding it over his shoulders, 'But my darling. What of her pains? What of her concern?'

'Then you must do the only honourable thing due a wizard. You must make to him a challenge.'

The green-eyed Gryffindor seemed saddened, but eventually he looked up with a certain resoluteness. 'I shall. Will you be my second, Hufflepuff?'

'Aye, good sir.'