The next morning, Raven woke up to a beam of sunlight coming through the window in the dormitory. A smile spread across her face at the pretty patterns it made on the walls; this was something she could get used to waking up to.

Raven sat up in her bed and her smile faltered. Her parents knew. Last night Snape would have told them about the sorting and soon she would probably be receiving a letter telling her how much of a disappointment she was. Raven contemplated staying in bed for the rest of her life but her stomach rumbled loudly in protest.

Yesterday evening she had been so caught up in her thoughts that she had forgotten to go to dinner. But to her great relief, a house-elf had shown up with a plate of cookies and a cup of coffee which Raven had devoured in minutes.

There was a tap at the window and Raven darted over to let the small barn owl inside. She took the letter from its beak and rummaged through her trunk, trying to find the owl some treats. She eventually gave up rummaging and accioed the bag of food. When the bird caught sight of said bag, it flapped its wings in excitement and Raven let out a small laugh. She gave it several treats and stroked its brown feathers while it ate. The moment it had finished crunching up the food, it flew back out the window with a hoot.

The letter that the owl had delivered was laying on the bed. Raven moved towards it and hesitantly picked it up. Before she could lose her nerve, Raven hurriedly opened it. But it was a letter from her parents as she had expected. Rather, it was from Professor Flitwick. He requested to see her in his office after breakfast to discuss Raven's subject choices and had given her directions to the Great Hall in case she got lost on her way there.

Dressing quickly in a par of black jeans, a plain white top and her beloved khaki-coloured jacket, Raven left the common room in search of the Great Hall. She had to check Flitwick's directions a few times but apart from that, she found the hall fairly easily.

The Great Hall was huge and had four long tables where students of each House sat during the day and at mealtimes. The staff table was at the front, and there was a throne-like chair in the centre of the table where Dumbledore sat. The ceiling of the Great Hall was covered with candles and it was enchanted to look like the sky above, much like the Ravenclaw Common Room's ceiling.

When she entered through the huge door, Raven noticed that most of the teachers were already there but about five of the seats at the High Table were empty. Raven felt all of their eyes on her as she walked in between the tables towards them.

"Good morning Miss Malfoy!" Dumbledore greeted cheerfully. Raven smiled in reply, silently wondering how anyone could be so overly happy in the morning.

"Come and take a seat next to Professor Snape. We don't want you eating by yourself." He gestured to the empty seat between Snape and Professor McGonagall.

Raven sat down and food instantly appeared on a plate on the table in front of her. She had just finished eating when she heard the familiar sound of wings nearing. The owls arrived with the day's post and Raven froze when she spotted her parents' owl heading straight towards her. It dropped the letter where her plate was a few seconds ago and flew off without waiting for a response; Raven took that to mean it wasn't good news. Her parents would have expected her to reply instantly if it was good news, but the owl had gone so they obviously thought it would take her a while to digest whatever they had said.

Raven stared at the letter for several moments.

"Are you just going to stare at that or are you going to actually open it while we're all still alive?" Snape drawled from beside her.

Raven shot him a glare and picked up the letter with shaky hands, swallowing a lump in her throat. She tore at the envelope and read the words her mother had written.

Dear Raven,

Severus informed your father and I of your sorting and we want you to know that whilst it isn't exactly what we hoped, there is no need for you to be distressed. I know you probably don't think it yet but Ravenclaw is where you're meant to be and the sorting hat never makes a mistake.

I'm sure your father doesn't approve of me telling you this but I was very nearly placed in Ravenclaw when I was a student at Hogwarts. The sorting hat must have picked up on that part of you that resembles me and seen more Ravenclaw in you than you may believe there is.

I told Draco yesterday evening and he is still sulking but don't be discouraged by his reaction. I believe he only wanted you to be in the same house as him so he could get away with messing around more easily, although I'm sure Severus is going to be dissuading that behaviour soon enough since both Draco and you have started your N.E.W.T.s this year and there is no time to joke around, despite what you may have done at Beauxbatons. (However, a bit of fun every now and again won't hurt you!)

Study hard and enjoy your time at Hogwarts Raven.

Your loving mother,

Narcissa Malfoy

Raven fell back in her chair, her lips parting and a small smile crept across her face. They weren't angry, they weren't upset, they weren't even disappointed. Raven laughed quietly to herself in relief.

"You would have found out sooner if you had Flooed them yourself." Snape murmured.

Raven turned to the right to face him.

"It doesn't matter when I found out, I am aware of their reaction now, aren't I? You know, there's no need to be petty Severus."

The Potions Master narrowed his eyes at the Ravenclaw.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot it's Professor Snape now." Raven said sarcastically.

She grinned at his infuriated expression and pushed her chair back when she saw Professor Flitwick heading out of the Great Hall.

"And where exactly are you going?" Snape asked.

"I have a meeting if you must know. Now, excuse me or I'll end up being late."

Raven strode off without giving him a chance to reply and quickened her pace once she was out of the Great Hall, trying to catch up to Professor Flitwick. For a short man, he was a fast walker!

She finally caught up with the Charms professor and followed him through the castle to the seventh floor where his office was located. The office was bright and warm, despite the cold temperature outside, and held a desk and several bookcases filled with book mainly on the subject of charms.

Raven sat opposite Professor Flitwick and waited for him to begin.