Yule Ball

Holly nodded, hoping for the best.
"Shall I.....talk to her to see if that jogs something?"

"You can certainly try." Raven said. "The last thing she seems to remember is our mother's death, which was when we were 5."

Holly was surprised, but coughed and said, "Um....Holly Bristol.....George....we met outside a portrait on the fourth floor....we spend time by the lake a lot...."

Shadow's face was still blank.

"Jamie?" Holly said out of desperation, "Jamie Carton?"

Hayley wondered what would happen to the girl, who although wasn't her friend, she cared about. She had remembered Jamie, so that was a start. "Um...I'm Hayley," she said, feeling a bit stupid. She looked at Raven. "What if she...doesn't remember?" she shivered in the evening cold. Jake again, held her tight.

"Yes, it's safe to come out, scardycat." Shadow said.
"shut up" Jamie smiled "where did we leave off then?" he asked putting his arms around her shoulders and facing her face. Shadow ducked from under his arms, dropping into a low fight stance. She swung her leg round, aiming to take his feet out from beneath him.
"Depends what you mean." She said jokingly.
Shadow frowned, not knowing where that memory had come from.

There was a blank expression on Shadow's face, and Hayley wondered what she was thinking. She quickly stopped, as she remembered Shadow could see her thoughts.

George read the thoughts, and passed them to Holly, who was a little happier Shadow could remember SOME things.
Riley looked from one to the other, unable to see anything.

Shadow shook her head, trying to get rid of the memories flooding her mind. Her magic started to swirl around her and Raven darted forward with a potion. She made Shadow take it, and Shadow fell asleep again.

"Is that good?" Riley asked, shivering in the immense cold of the night.

"Her losing control? No, but I can sense that it was due to too many memories in her mind." Raven said.

Hayley was confused as to what was happening. "Why..." she bit her lip. "Why has she got all the memories...at once?" the question sounded stupid when it cam out, but she had no idea what was going on.

"Our minds are different to your mind." Raven explained. "For example, because of the fact that we can't show emotion, they personify themselves if we want to use them too much. It takes off the pressure. Unfortunately, they can speak, and that's annoying." Raven gave a slight smile. "It is more than possible that Shadow's personified emotion 'Knowledge' has uncovered the records that she's been keeping over the years and is trying to repair the damage to Shadow's memory."

Hayley thought for a while, then said, "I think I understand, it'll take a while to fully know, because," she laughed, "You may have noticed, but I'm not exactly the brightest crayon in the box," she smiled, then looked down at the sleeping figure of Shadow. "Eventually...she'll be okay, will she?"

"As soon as the mess in her mind is sorted out, yes, I think so. Unfortunately, Shadow's the one between us with the medic training." Raven said.

"Good, that she'll be okay, not so good that she's the one with medic training," she smiled. Then an akward question came into her mind. "Will Shadow ever....trust me, or even...like me?" Again, she felt a bit stupid.

"Shadow's always been wary of other people. She was isolated from everyone, including me, almost from birth. She never developed social skills." Raven explained.

"Hmm," said Hayley frowning. "I thought it was something....I had done, or said," she smiled a small smile. "It's good, I suppose, that it's not just me then,"

Raven shook her head.
"She takes a while to trust people, and being half-demon doesn't help."

Natalie, who had dozed off, stir and awoke. She looked at Shadow,and a grin sprounted across her white face.

"Shadow...hey....wait....is she ok?" Natalie asked at the sight of Shadows blank expression.

Raven looked towards Natalie.
"There has been some memory damage." She said.

"Oh...like amnesia," said Natalie, worriedly,but understanding all the same, "how is she now?"

Raven gestured to the unconscious figure of her sister.
"It's not going well."

"What do you mean not going well? Oh Shadow...you have to remember me...Natalie Patterson...third year...Gryffindor...the tide is High...Jane...oh come on...you have to remember," Natalie said urgently, then a idea came to her. She hugged Shadow and said, "I be your friend, no matter what."

Shadow had woken again and was looking at Natalie blankly.

"She...she...she doesn't remember me," said Natalie in a disbelieveing voice.

"As I said before, give her time." Raven said quietly.

Natalie put a hand on Shadow's shoulder.

"We're going to help you through this," said Natalie, "you know...somewhere in your mind...you know Me and Holly and Hayley and all the other people you love."

"I'd go back in, but already two attacks on her mind isn't good." Raven said apologetically.

"You know her best...can you think of anything at all that could stir her memory?" Natalie asked

"There's one thing I learnt about Shadow, and that is that she keeps everything to herself. I've not been there most of her life, but I do have some of her memories that I saw..." Raven trailed off.

"Like what?" asked Natalie, but she immediately regretted asking the question, and went very red.

"Trust me, I have a habit for picking the WRONG moments." Raven said with a smile.

Natalie managed a smile, fake smile...she was too worried about Shadow to smile for real.

"I can sense your emotions Nat, she'll be ok." Raven said gently.

Natalie smiled.

"I knew you'd come when she needed you most," said Natalie.

Raven shook her head.
"When we first met, at the age of 5, at our mother's funeral, we vowed to protect each other. Shadow's always been there, she's saved my butt more times than I count from embarrassment and pain, but when ever she needs me, I'm not there."

"Were you, like separated at birth," said Natalie, sounding shocked, "why?"

"Shadow and I aren't supposed to feel emotion, because it makes it easier for our demonic side to take over. We were separated to minimise the chances of us learning how to show emotion. That's also why Arella had to hand us into the care of the Senate." Raven explained.

"But you'se learned anyway...hence why this happened to Shadow," said Natalie

"It would have happened, emotions or not. Shadow's supposed to join our father at some point in time, but 'dearest daddy' is a bit impatient." Raven said, a look of disgust on her face.

"How come?" Natalie asked, but she had aready guess that it was something bad.

"It's a prophecy." Raven said. "Unfortunately, they tend to come true in our dimension. Shadow carries it on her."

"So...she has it now?" said Natalie, looking at Shadow.

"I don't mean a bit of paper. Shadow's had two run ins with him so far, and this makes it the third." Raven said.

((I have to go back to school soon.))

"Oh...really?" said Natalie, "that sounds like a serious matter."

((lol...I don't have school today...after exam rest leave....have fun at school lol))

((I've got three hours of French today!!! Along with music with a completely POTTY teacher!))

"It is." Raven said.

((Lol...think of it like history of magic and Transfiguration))

Natalie frowned.

Holly watched the talking people, and when they seemed to be done, she voiced, "When do you reckon Shad will be able to remember us again?"
Riley looked down at her.
"Might there be like a particular word that might jog her memory?" he asked.