Chapter 17 Muggleborn Adjustment Programme

1895

Seraphina POV

The rest of the holiday passed by without much excitement, I received a pair of emerald green woollen gloves with silver trim and silver pom poms from Albus for Christmas. I boarded the Hogwarts express, for the first time, violin in hand. I can't wait to experiment with casting magic with music. After warding my compartment against intrusions, I took out my violin, and began playing.

Athena POV

I boarded the Hogwarts express eagerly, I can't wait to meet up with Seraphina again. Even after two years of sharing a dorm with her, she continues to impress me almost every single day. She helped me with spells that I never even dreamed that I would be able to do, and helped me see myself in a different light. Thanks to her, I convinced my parents that I should not marry until after I graduate, afterall, my developed talent in charms would make me a much better candidate for important political alliances. It really was such a shame that my family did not have any books on seers or using that ability.

I had just lugged my luggage into an empty compartment on the train when I heard a few musical notes.

Thinking that it might just be my imagination, I sat down and took out a book to read as the train began leaving the station. Then I heard it again.

This time, it was not just a note. The notes followed it, like water droplets forming a waterfall. Oddly beautiful, yet sad. The notes morphed, and the waterfall grew into an ocean, so vast, so powerful and calm. Suddenly, a storm picked up, the ocean, now no longer calm, danced with the lightning, the droplets of water so excited as it embraced its family from far away, laughing and dancing as they met their long lost cousins, finally reunited by the thunderstorm. Oh, so much longing! So much joy! The music reached a crescendo, thunder struck the surface of the water, blasting droplets into the sky! One droplet, desiring for more, flew through the clouds, reaching higher than any had ever reached before! Suddenly, it broke free of the clouds, and all was peaceful, beautiful, and calm. What a beautiful sunset! Such warmth and grace. The blood red sun shining and colouring the droplet scarlet. Elegantly, the droplet danced through the air, twirling like a ballerina as it fell. It fell through the clouds, back into the storm, rushing towards the sea! The music picked up pace, what a rapid chase! Excitedly, the droplet raced others, others who eagerly rushed towards the embrace of their family, when suddenly, silence.

I gasped. The rapid loss of music so beautiful tore at my heart. I yanked open my compartment door to look around. Around me, I saw other people doing the same thing. Everyone was whispering about the music, trying to find the source, except for one compartment…

I approached the compartment, it was odd, I had a strong urge to turn away from it, as if there was a notice-me-not charm on it, but the only people whom I know of that can cast that are powerful wizards, and maybe Seraphina. There was no question that this must be where the music came from. Was this the work of a powerful new student? Because I have never heard Seraphina play a violin in all the years that I shared a dorm with her. Hesitantly, I knocked on the door…

The air in front of me went a few degrees cooler, before the door was suddenly yanked open from the inside. To my surprise, Seraphina's signature head of midnight black hair peaked out.

"Yes?" She asked, clearly annoyed.

"Did you hear the beautiful song?" I asked.

"Of course." She replied, clearly still annoyed.

"It was suddenly cut off, and I wanted to find its source, would you like to join me?" I asked.

Seraphina sighed, opening her door the whole way. I followed her into her compartment. Sitting down. She picked up something from her seat, placing it against the crook of her neck.

"What would you like me to play?"

My brain took a few seconds to process her words, my eyes focusing on what she placed against her neck.

It was a violin.

The violin was unlike any I have seen before, instead of the usual brown, it was a gleaming black, almost blue in the pale daylight. Her bow was also black, the rosin covered strings gleaming white in sharp contrast. My brain finally caught up with her question.

"Um…Anything is fine, I guess."

She picked up her bow, closing her eyes. Once again, a haunting melody filled the train. This time, the song began slowly, with intrigue, it gradually picked up pace, spinning a tale of mystery as the plot thickens. The song reached a passionate crescendo, oh, such drama! The reveal of the source of the mystery! Before mellowing out once more. The gentle conclusion.

"Wow." I breathed. I have never seen music played like this before, it was like the songs I have heard before were dull and lifeless, when they should be filled with emotion!

From the open doorway came a cacophony of claps and cheers. Annoyed, Seraphina waved her hand, and the door closed with a click.

"What was that?" I asked.

"That was a segment of Biber's Mystery Sonata."

"You play so well! How come you've never played at school before?" I asked, intrigued. It is obvious that this level of mastery cannot be achieved over a single Christmas, even if there is magic involved.

Seraphina shrugged, "My violin was…in custody."

My eyebrows rose to my forehead as the implication hit me.

"You are free of the orphanage." I stated in awe.

"Quite right."

"Where will you stay now?"

"I will rent a flat in London for the holidays, I only have this trunk of stuff anyways."

I nodded, glad that she had that taken care of, no witch or wizard deserved to be forced to live with those muggles. My thoughts drifted back to her hauntingly beautiful music. Seraphina must have a plan as to why she was playing on the train. Maybe it was to set up for something later in the term?

"Any plans for this term?" I asked.

She considered my question for a moment, before replying.

"There is a power vacuum for the muggleborns now that Sam Greene is dealt with, and people have stabilised after the shock. I intend to break the muggleborns out of the attitude that they waltz in already knowing everything, that Greene reinforced. I also intend to teach them some etiquette, with the help of other Slytherins. We need to show the muggleborns the way to behave in this world, who else will be more qualified than us who have been here the longest? Music will be what helps draw them in." She replied.

I nodded. Even as a Slytherin, I did not notice the power vacuum, I assumed the muggleborns would just dissipate, back into their own, I guess. But now that Seraphina mentioned it, it seemed like a much better idea. The main problem we had with muggleborns was how arrogant they were, while behaving like a pack of untrained dogs. If Seraphina succeeds, they will become a lot more tolerable, breaking free from the muggle barbarity and finally embracing the magical world.

"What are you going to call it?" I asked.

"The muggleborn adjustment programme." She replied.

We walked into the common room after the feast. Most of the house was already here, since Seraphina managed to call a house meeting during the feast.

As the last person trickled in, the door slammed shut. Seraphina stood up from her armchair, instantly, the room went silent. Everyone looked at her expectantly. Not for the first time, I am awed by how natural this is. Seraphina had truly taken over Slytherin in all but name without most people even realising, without any compromise to herself. She is our true leader, while being the perfect lady.

Now, we eagerly await our leader's speech.

"My fellow Slytherins, I have a preposition to make. One, that will bring Slytherin glory and solve one of our major problems." She paused dramatically. "One that will completely fix our reputation."

"What is the main issue we have with muggleborns? They are loud, rude, and come here like they already own the place." Around us, various purebloods shouted in angry agreement.

"I propose that we fix that." She continued before the room could descend into chaos.

"The muggleborns now lack a leader. They were never an organised group, but with the idiot Sam Greene gone, they are awaiting a leader. I propose that we teach them how to behave, by asserting ourselves as their leader. Let us teach them the etiquette that they should have known when they entered our world. Give them a piece of our culture, so that they may cast off the chains that shackle them to the muggle behaviour, and embrace our world fully. We gain their allegiance, their gratitude, while teaching them what they should have known, and ridding ourselves of the biggest nuance of all. I propose the Muggleborn Adjustment Programme."

The room was silent, everyone was enraptured by her speech. It sounded so logical, so…Slytherin. It was the perfect incentive for us to join. I stood up.

"I'll help."

"Me too."

"Me too."

"Me too."

…

Before long, the entirety of Slytherin joined this cause. With so many people, we quickly divided up the jobs, Seraphina, Arcturus and Sirius will ask Headmaster Black for permission. Each of us will gather the muggleborns in our years to spread the word. For the older years, they will be harder to convince to join, but we are not Slytherins for nothing. We will market it as a course they should have gotten when they arrived, something that will help them tremendously as they try to find jobs in the wizarding world. We slowly hammered out the details, before submitting the proposal in the morning.