Raven (Fred x oc)

59. Bewitched

With a gasp, I shot up out of bed, looking around me in shock. Breathing sporadically, I looked around the room. It was still dark as if no time had really passed. Okay, so it wasn't a dream so then...

Someone knocked on the door. After a few moments, Dad opened it and stepped inside. He opened his mouth to speak and I held my hand up, looking at him hard for a moment. "You're here to try and convince me to give her the ring, aren't you?" I said, still confused.

"Well..." he began. I opened my mouth to retort, but something else caught my attention. His eyes, for the briefest moment, seemed to brighten before going back to their usual color. I caught myself and shut my mouth again. "What?" he said, seeing my hesitation.

Still staring at him hard, I stuttered, "N-Nothing. I'll think about it."

"That's all I ask," he replied. Without another word, he left. The moment he was gone, I pressed my thumb into my stone ring. Instantly, Khadija, feeling the pulse of energy I sent her way, came towards me from where she'd been checking on her living family members.

"What's up?" she asked, noting my concerned state.

"I need you to fetch a spirit for me," I said. "And help me with something else too."

"Okay," she agreed. "Is everything all right?"

"I'll explain when you come back," I replied. She left and soon returned with the spirit of a tall man. "Hi," I said. "What's your name?"

"Jóse," he replied.

"José, I will let you pass on if you will do something for me," I promised. Instantly, he peeked up. I had caught his interest.

"What do I need to do?" he asked, determination in his eye. 

"I think my mother is bewitching my dad to try and get me to give her ring back," I explained. "So I need you two to watch both of them. José, I need you to watch my mother. Khadija, watch Dad." Turning to my bed, I took up one of the pictures and showed it to José. "This is my mother. See if you can find her and report back to me. She's supposedly sick and was just scared. Let me know what you find out." 

He nodded and left. Turning to Khadija, I added, "Dad's downstairs." She nodded and soon I was left alone in the room. 

......................................................................................

Over the next several days, José maintained an absence while Khadija also kept her distance. She stayed with Dad at all hours as I had told her to wait until the end of the week to report back to me. It wasn't until one night when I was sitting moodily at dinner when the light atmosphere of the room suddenly tensed. 

"I've ironed your best clothes for tomorrow morning, Harry," Mrs. Weasley said. "and I want you to wash your hair tonight too. A good first impression can work wonders." I moodily stabbed into my food, not bothering to look up. 

"How am I getting there?" Harry asked when everyone apart from myself tensed. 

"Arthur's taking you to work with him," Mrs. Weasley explained. 

"You'll wait in my office until it's time for the hearing," Mr. Weasley said. I tuned them out, choosing to focus instead on moving my dinner around my plate and anywhere other than my mouth. I had been so busy being moody, I didn't even notice everyone else leaving the room after dinner. 

"Valerie." I didn't bother to look up. Remus sat down beside me, watching me as I stared intently at the table and fiddled with my wooden ring. Every moment or so I'd see flashes of the past and what I could only assume was the future, but it, unfortunately, didn't block out Remus' voice. 

"I want to talk to you," he said. "About your mother." When I made no answer, he glanced back at the empty room and admitted quietly, "You shouldn't give her the ring." I looked up, surprised at someone finally agreeing with me. 

"Why?" I asked. "I mean, I agree with you, but what's your reasoning?" 

After a moment of thinking hard, he finally admitted, "I think she's done something to Sirius." 

"You don't say," I replied sarcastically. 

"You noticed?" 

I glared at him. 

"Of course I bloody noticed," I snapped back. "What do you take me for? Remus, he told me he still loves her." 

"What?" Remus replied, brows furrowed. 

"Or, he would have," I corrected. "I saw the conversation before it happened and I changed how it started. But don't worry, I have people on it." 

"Who?" Remus asked. 

"Just some spirits," I replied. "They've been watching both my parents for almost a week. They're set to report back to me tonight. I'll let you know what they say." He nodded and got up to leave. 

Once he was gone, Khadija appeared. "So I've been watching him," she said. 

"And?" 

"I think you're right," she admitted. "It's the way he's acting. During the day he mutters to himself about how much he wants to see her. At night he...he has these horrid nightmares about it. He wakes up and for a few moments he's himself before his eyes flash and he's back to the way he was." 

"So this isn't a regular love potion," I concluded. 

"No," she agreed. "This is something entirely different." 

José came in next and quickly began his report. "I found her at a flat in London. She had spelled herself to look sick, but she's perfectly fine." 

"Brilliant," I muttered. "Anything else?" 

"She was always writing on this piece of parchment, but I don't know what it is," he admitted. "It was in German." I nodded. 

"Thank you, José," I said finally. "You've done what you can." I held up my hand and with a relieved smile, he stepped towards me, his hand extended towards mine. Next moment, I fell to the ground with a scream. Sometimes, if a person's death was particularly gruesome, passing on is a more painful process. 

My scream stopped and I lay my head on the ground, drawing in deep breaths. "Val, are you okay?" Fred cried, running towards me. I only groaned in response. When I was beginning to feel better, I sat up, wincing. Fred helped me up, concern in his eyes. 

"I'm fine," I said. "It was just someone passing through. Whenever they have a painful death, it's more painful to me." 

After a pause, Fred asked, "Are you okay?"

Irritated, I snapped, "I just-"

"No, I mean like, are you okay as in how are you doing?" he explained. "You've seemed really closed off." 

"Well," I said, shifting to sit against the wall. "My mom's alive." Fred started in shock, but said nothing, knowing I needed to get it out while I was already talking. "She showed up and claimed that she was dying and needed her ring back.

"I refused and went back upstairs. As it turned out...Dad seemed to think, not only that I should give her the ring, but that he's still in love with her. I had Khadija and another spirit watched both Dad and my mom. Turns out that she bewitched him and I have no idea how to fix it." 

"Bewitched him how?" Fred asked. 

"Into loving her," I replied. "Into trying to make me give up the ring." 

"You can't," Fred said. 

"I know," I replied. "I just wish I knew how to fix it." 

"Well if he truly loved her, or what infatuated with her, more like, wouldn't he try to make you give up the ring anyway?" Fred asked. I thought a moment. 

"Fred," I said. "You are a genius. And to create the level of infatuation he's got going on, I know exactly what potion it is." Glancing over at him, I asked, "How do you feel about a late night?"