~~ Chapter Two: The Magic of Music ~~

"Now, who can tell me what the traditional time signature for a waltz is?"

Alina Terringer, Professor of Musical Enchantment at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, ran her eyes up and down the rows of students in her lecture hall, looking for someone's hand to shoot up, requesting permission to volunteer an answer.  The first hand she saw in the air belonged to Hermione Granger.  Hermione almost always had an answer.  Alina didn't like to call on just one student all the time, but since Hermione was the only one who had her hand raised, she called on her.  "Yes, Hermione?"

"Three four," Hermione answered.

"Excellent," Alina said.  "Would someone else tell the class what the three and the four stand for?"  Her eyes fell upon a light-haired boy from Slytherin.  "What about you, Draco?"

Draco Malfoy had been dozing, but once he heard his name, he snapped to attention.  "What?" he asked.

"Pay attention next time, Mr. Malfoy, and you would know," she said.  She saw another hand in the air, and called on that student.  "Harry?"

"The three means there's three beats per measure, and the four means quarter notes get one beat," answered Harry Potter.  On either side of him, his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger smiled approvingly at their friend's knowledge.

"Correct."  Alina had only been at Hogwarts for a week, but she was already noticing a pattern among the students, particularly the rivalry among those from Gryffindor and Slytherin.  On average, the students from Gryffindor were hard working and honest, while those from Slytherin were conceited and lazy.  Two of them stood out more than any other – Harry Potter from Gryffindor and Draco Malfoy from Slytherin.  She suspected they had a history, but what that history was didn't matter right now.  She had a music class to teach.

"And now, class, the uses of music."  She walked down the aisle that split her class in half, glancing from side to side as she went.  "Why is music important to wizards and witches?  Someone besides Hermione, please."

A soft giggle ran through the room as Hermione lowered her hand.  The professor had her back to the student when she spoke her comment, and the others found it amusing that she knew Hermione would have her hand raised.

Alina reached the end of the aisle, turned around, and walked back to the front.  "Anybody?"

Su Li from Ravenclaw raised her hand.  The instructor called on her, and Su spoke an answer.  "Music can have the same effects as some kinds of potions," she said.

"That's one," Alina said.  "By using nothing more than a simple melody, you can produce effects upon your listeners identical to those that result from some potions, such as Confusion Concoction, Love Potion, Sleeping Potion, and Truth Serum.  Music does not replace potions, though; you must still attend Professor Snape's class."

The students giggled again.  Another student, Michael Corner from Hufflepuff, raised his hand.  "It can give you power over other creatures," he said.

"That too," Alina said.  "Very good, Michael.  One must be quite advanced to exert significant control over a period of time longer than a few seconds, but sometimes, just a few words can docilize say, a pixie for about a minute."  She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again.  "We are out of time for today.  Hurry along to your next class and don't forget to study for tomorrow's quiz."

As the students gathered their things and headed for the exit, Alina made her way over to Draco Malfoy.  "Your lack of motivation is troublesome, Mr. Malfoy," she told him.  "If I do not see more incentive from you soon, you will fail this class.  Consider yourself warned."

Draco waited until her back was turned to glare at her.  His two sidekicks, Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe, were waiting for him by the exit.  "Don't mind her," Draco said as the three boys left the Music room.  "She won't fail me."

Alina heard Draco's comment, but she didn't have time to bother with him right now.  Madam Pince, the librarian, had just entered the room and was walking up to her.  "Can I help you, Madam Pince?" Alina asked.

"Headmaster Dumbledore would like to see you, Professor Terringer," Madam Pince answered.  "He's in his study."

"Thank you, Madam Pince," Alina said.  "I'll go right away."

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was pouring over some old texts when a knock on the door to his study brought his thoughts away from research.  "Come in," he called.

The door opened.  Dumbledore pulled his glasses down to the bridge of his crooked nose and looked up.  "Ah, Professor Terringer," he said.  "Glad you could come so quickly."

"Is something wrong, sir?" Alina asked.  Dumbledore's pet phoenix, Fawkes, let out a chirp.  "Hello, Fawkes," she said to the bird, smoothing the feathers on top of its head.

Dumbledore smiled when he saw her pet Fawkes.  "Fawkes seems to have taken a liking to you," he commented.

Fawkes squawked.  Alina smiled and stroked the bird's back.  "I've always had a connection with magical animals," she said, drawing her hand away from Fawkes and walking over to Dumbledore's desk.

"I could tell.  Fawkes has never taken to anyone like he has to you."

"But that's not why you wanted to see me, is it?"

"No, it's not.  I needed to ask you about your classes.  How are the students?  Are they cooperating with you?"

"Yes, for the most part," she answered.  "There are a few problems, but as a whole, my classes are very productive and cooperative."

"Musical Enchantment is a department we have wanted to bring to Hogwarts for a long time," Dumbledore said, "but the shortage of experts in the field has made that task difficult.  I'm afraid some of the students might not understand the significance of what you do."

A smile played at the corners of her mouth.  It was true that Musical Enchantment was a very complex, mysterious discipline, and few people attained the level of aptitude that was required to teach it.  The end result was worth all the difficulty required to get there, though; someone with her skill rarely had to turn to other forms of magic.  "I've only been here a week, sir," she said.  "They have to know the basics of music before they can begin to fathom its importance."

Dumbledore brought his hand up to his forehead and gave it a gentle tap.  "Of course, of course.  This is your field.  I'm just… excited, I guess you could say.  I've always had some personal interest in Musical Enchantment, but this is the first time in Hogwarts history that we've had it.  It's very exciting."

The two of them talked for about ten minutes.  Topics of discussion ranged from the origins of Musical Enchantment to how it could be put to practical use here at Hogwarts.  Alina then said she had things to attend to, and excused herself.  Once she was gone, Dumbledore looked at his phoenix and said, "You know, Fawkes, I really think we have ourselves a winner in that one."

Fawkes squawked.

Dumbledore laughed.  "My thoughts exactly," he said, and he turned his attention back to his book.

A few minutes passed, and there was a knock on his door.  Dumbledore was puzzled.  He didn't recall any appointments he might have made, and since it was during the day, most of the teachers would be instructing class.  "Come in," he said.

The door opened, and although Dumbledore immediately recognized the dark-clothed, fair-haired, grey-eyed man standing in the doorway, he found it hard to believe that it was actually him.  "Malfoy?  What brings you here?"

Lucius Malfoy took a deep breath and crossed the room over to Dumbledore's desk.  "This is going to sound strange," he said, "but I need your help."