Raven and Narcissa spent the entire next day in London. They went from shop to shop and ventured into Diagon Alley towards the end of the day to buy some of the required textbooks and a new set of robes for Raven. The busy street had taken Raven by surprise; she had to stay close to her mother so she didn't get lost in the crowds of witches and wizards.
Back at Malfoy Manor, Raven added her new things to her trunk and took out her old Beauxbatons uniform, no longer in need of the light blue pieces of fabric. She held it up in front of her and gave a small sigh. It had been a miracle that she had been able to get out the mud intertwined in the fibres of the fabric after the hours she had spent kneeling on the floor of a forest a few months ago, sobbing in agony.
Taking a shaky breath in, she placed the uniform in her wardrobe and closed the doors behind it.
As promised, on January 3rd, Snape promptly arrived at Malfoy Manor to take Raven to Hogwarts. She was in her bedroom, reading a book about magical creatures when she heard her parents talking with the Potion's Master with not-so-hushed voices. She felt like a first-year lugging her heavy trunk down the staircase. She was still slightly too young to be able to perform magic outside of school, having to carry it rather than the preferred option of levitation.
Draco was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs and pulled her into a hug after she had placed her trunk on the floor.
"I wish you could ride the Hogwarts Express with me and my friends," he said quietly into her ear.
"Me too," she whispered back.
Moments later, Snape and her parents walked into the entrance hall and Raven approached them to say goodbye. She gave her mother a quick hug and kissed her father lightly on his cheek.
"Make you sure you write to us, Raven," Narcissa said.
"I will,"
"And behave," added Lucius, a serious expression on his pale face.
"I'll try my best," Raven smirked and grinned at her brother.
She turned and picked up her trunk, walking over to Snape.
"Ready?" he asked, sounding almost bored.
Raven nodded and Snape took hold of her arm. With a final wave at her family, they disapparated into thin air.
Apparation was not a pleasant feeling. Raven felt like her entire body was being squeezed through the tiniest tube and within a blink of an eye, it was over.
The second they landed, Raven's legs gave way and she collapsed onto the ground, feeling on the verge of emptying her entire stomach in front of her. The gravel scratched at her palms as she pressed her hands down to stable herself. She took a few deep breaths and glanced up to see Snape smirking down at her.
"Something funny?" she asked as she shakily stood up, brushing dirt off her clothes.
He ignored her question, tapping one foot on the ground impatiently. The gravel crunched under the weight of his black boot.
"Come along Miss Malfoy. I have other things to do other than wait around for you."
Sometimes Raven wished she could hex the living daylights out of him.
They walked towards the large iron gate surrounding the grounds of Hogwarts, Raven glaring at the Potion Master's black-clad back. Snape flicked his wand and the gate opened just enough to let them pass. The nausea had finally worn off and Raven took in the sight of the castle before her. In her head, she had never picture Hogwarts to be as big as it actually was.
She stared at the stone castle in awe.
It was built of stones of varying sizes and shapes, each one unique, and formed multiple towers and turrets. The whole building looked as if it had been conjured from a storybook. To the west of the castle, there was a deep forest similar to the one she had played in as a child near the Manor and the one in France, where her worst nightmares had come true.
As they travelled up the gravel path, they passed a small wooden cabin that had several creatures living outside it. The creatures looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters, horribly pale and slimy-looking, with legs sticking out in very odd places. They were crawling over one another, bumping blindly into the sides of the boxes in which they were residing. The creatures gave off a very powerful smell of rotting fish when Raven walked past and she screwed her nose up in repulse.
The heavy wooden doors to the castle creaked open when they sensed the approaching presence of the two. It had always struck Raven as odd how magical things reacted to witches and wizards as if the inanimate objects were human themselves.
The intensity of the magic inside the castle engulfed Raven as soon as she placed a single foot inside; it was almost completely overwhelming. Beauxbatons had never felt this magical but Raven supposed that Hogwarts was much older and, of course, the Headmaster was Albus Dumbledore, one of the most powerful wizards of their time.
She followed Snape through the castle's hallways and up several staircases that moved every once in a while until they reached a statue of a gargoyle. Snape spoke quietly to the gargoyle, saying something that sounded a lot like 'Sherbet Lemon'. The statue began to spin, revealing a circular stone staircase. Snape strode up the steps without hesitation and Raven walked up after him, leaving her trunk at the bottom.
There was another door at the top, with intricate designs of stars carved into the wood. Snape paused outside of it and looked down at Raven. She stared back at him blankly, unsure why he wasn't saying anything. Before she could ask, he knocked on the door and pushed it open.
Inside was a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. There were a lot of curious silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were snoozing gently in their frames. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk towards the back of the office, and sitting behind it was an older man with a long white beard, dressed in bright purple robes. He had half-moon spectacles balanced on the end of his nose and underneath them, his eyes were sparkling like stars.
Raven knew he was Albus Dumbledore. He perfectly matched the description her brother had given her of the elderly man.
Standing around the desk, two women and one considerably short man watched her with interest.
"Good afternoon Miss Malfoy! As I am sure you are aware, I am Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and these are some of my colleagues."
"Hello," said Raven in reply.
"This is Professor McGonagall," Dumbledore gestured to the stern-looking woman wearing a set of green robes. "My deputy, the Head of Gryffindor and the Transfiguration Professor."
"Professor Sprout is the Head of Hufflepuff and the Herbology Professor." He pointed to the other woman who had various gardening tools and a pair of gloves attached to her robes.
Finally, he pointed to the short man who smiled at Raven encouragingly.
"And Professor Flitwick is the Charms Professor and the Head of Ravenclaw."
Raven gave them all a small smile and directed her attention back to the headmaster.
"Of course, you are already aware of Professor Snape's roles here so I have no need to remind you of them."
She smirked when she heard Snape huff quietly to himself in displeasure.
"Now then," Dumbledore clapped his ageing hands together. "Let's get you sorted into a house so you can get settled in,"
The elderly wizard lifted one hand slightly and an old hat flew off a nearby shelf and into his hands. He passed it to Professor McGonagall and motioned for Raven to take a seat in the chair opposite him.
Raven's heart suddenly began racing but she approached the chair slowly and sat down, sensing Snape stepping up behind her.
McGonagall gently placed the Sorting Hat on top of Raven's platinum blonde hair and took a few steps back.
Raven flinched slightly at the sudden voice inside her head.
"Ah, another Malfoy! I knew you'd end up at Hogwarts eventually! Your journey here will be interesting but adventures come with a price. You must remember to expect the unexpected. Now, where to put you? Hmm... you are very much like your brother but so different from him as well. Let's see..."
"Ravenclaw!"
Raven's back stiffened and she froze in place.