The next morning, Raven awoke to find the dormitory empty except for herself and Pix. Wondering where everyone had disappeared to, she quickly dressed in her school uniform, put Pix on her shoulder and went down to the common room. She scanned the vast room but couldn't see her roommates anywhere. In fact, there were barely any students left, bar a few groups of seventh years and first-years, who either weren't going to eat any breakfast at all or were not bothered about being late to the Great Hall.
Noah spotted her looking around curiously and walked over to her, his deep blue Prefects badge glistening in the morning light.
"You alright, Raven?" He asked, his green eyes filled with concern.
Raven had to tilt her head up slightly to look directly into his eyes. He was perhaps a few feet taller than her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. You haven't seen Nellie, Tessa and Cassie have you?"
Noah gave her a small smile and she very nearly melted right there. "Yes, I have actually. They asked me to tell you that they went to the Great Hall early for breakfast. Apparently, they tried to wake you up but you were still fast asleep."
Raven almost died of embarrassment.
"Thanks." She said quietly.
"How was your first day of classes?" Noah asked.
Raven thought back on yesterday. It had been a rollercoaster of emotions, that was for sure.
"It was... good. It's definitely a lot different from Beauxbatons."
Noah nodded understandingly. "So what's your first lesson today?"
"Transfiguration, I think," Raven replied.
"Me too." Noah ran a hand through his short, light brown curls. "I guess I'll see you there."
He gave her another sweet smile and made his way over to a first-year who was sat by herself in the corner of the room. She had pulled her dainty legs to her chest protectively and her small body was shaking as she cried. She looked homesick and Raven knew how she felt.
During the first few months at Beauxbatons, eleven-year-old Raven had cried multiple times, missing her home and, even more, her twin brother. Just before the Christmas holidays that year, Raven had been huddled up in the library reading Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them for the twentieth time, when a boy with dark brown, almost black, hair had approached her and sat in the chair next to her. She had looked up at him with tears in her eyes and, instead of asking her what was wrong, he asked what she was reading.
At first, Raven had thought he didn't care that she was upset and missing her family, but she soon realised that he was trying to distract her from her thoughts. He had asked her questions about many of the creatures in her book, and Raven had eagerly answered. Draco had never shared her interest in magical beasts, so having someone to talk to about them was incredibly refreshing. Felix and Raven had hung out constantly after that and whenever she was feeling sad, he would talk to her about mermaids or dragons to make her feel better.
Now, Raven watched Noah comfort the teary-eyed girl. He pulled her into a hug and whispered something to her. Raven found herself feeling jealous of the first year. She wished she was on the receiving end of Noah's embrace.
Raven shook her head.
'No.' She thought. 'I do not fancy him.'
A wave of guilt washed over her. She felt like she was betraying Felix. It had been three months since he was killed and, even though she knew she had to move on eventually, Felix still meant so much to her. Despite this, Raven couldn't stop her heart from pounding when she caught sight of Noah.
Soon, the remaining students were filing out of the common room and Raven followed after them, still not quite sure of the way to the Great Hall. Hogwarts was huge and she was sure she would very easily get lost if there was no one else around.
In the Great Hall, Raven found her roommates at the Ravenclaw table, happily eating their breakfast. She walked over to them and sat down next to Tessa, yawning as she piled some food onto her plate.
"Good morning sleepyhead!" Cassie said cheerfully.
Raven mumbled a reply and the girls giggled.
"Not a morning person then?" Nellie said with a grin.
Raven glared playfully at her and took a huge bite from a piece of toast. "I need food."
The Ravenclaws finished up their breakfast and all four of them headed to their first lesson of the day: Transfiguration.
As she was walking into the classroom, Raven saw Noah wave at her with one of his charming smiles. Nellie noticed and nudged her arm, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Raven blushed a deep red and smiled back at Noah.
Transfiguration went by quickly and soon Raven was walking down to Snape's office for her first Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson with him.
She knocked on the office door but received no reply. That was odd. Snape always opened the door, even if it was to send someone away straight afterwards. Maybe he wasn't in his office yet, or he had gotten held up by a student.
Deciding to wait for him inside, Raven pushed open the door and stepped into the dark, gloomy room. She turned to close the door but as soon as he was facing the door, a spell hit her and she fell to the floor with a shriek. Ropes appeared out of nowhere and twined themselves around her hands and feet. Moments later, a wand was pressed against her neck.
"Lesson number one: always be on your guard." Snape's voice echoed around the room.
"Was that really necessary?" Raven asked as she rolled her eyes.
"Clearly, you still have a lot to learn if you think it wasn't necessary."
Her hands and feet were beginning to hurt against the tightness of the ropes.
"Can you untie me now?" She asked the Potions Master.
He looked down at her with a smirk and said, "As tempting as it is to leave you like that, I suppose it might look like I was holding you captive if someone were to walk in."
With a flick of his wand, the ropes disappeared and Raven shot to her feet, her own wand now held firmly in her hand. She glared at Snape's back as he made his way over to his desk and sat behind it.
She felt something poking at her leg and she looked down to see Pix desperately tapping her skin. The Bowtruckle must have fallen off Raven's shoulder when she fell to the ground.
Raven picked Pix up and strode over to Snape.
"You could have killed Pix!" She exclaimed.
Snape's eyes flicked over to Pix and for a millisecond, Raven swore she saw concern in his eyes before he returned his gaze to a pile of essays on his desk.
"She seems fine to me."
Pix stuck her tongue out at the Potions Master and he raised an eyebrow at her.
"She's very impertinent." He said matter of factly. "Much like someone else I know."
Raven humphed and made to sit in a chair but before she could, Snape abruptly stood up and strode to the door.
"Come on."
"Where are we going?" asked Raven.
"Somewhere more suitable for duelling."
Hurrying out of the office, Raven followed Snape through the castle and up several sets of stairs before they came to a stop in front of a blank wall.
"Uhh?"
"Shh!" Snape said and Raven looked at him confused.
He stared at the wall and moments later, a door began to form in the stone. Snape pulled the door open and they walked inside. The room was fairly large and was equipped with everything needed to teach Defence. On one wall a set of dummies were lined up and on another, there were benches and a table with a jug of water.
"What... where are we?"
"This is the Room of Requirement." Snape drawled out. "It's a secret, unplottable room which shapes itself according to the occupant's needs."
Raven looked highly confused. "So, you... thought this room into existence?"
Snape gave a curt "yes" and strode over to the table. He took his infamous black robe off and placed it on the back of a chair, turning to face Raven and motioning for her to do the same. Raven discarded her robe and placed Pix on the table so she could watch the lesson far away from any spells that might be fired.
Returning to the middle of the room, both pointing their wands at each other, the Potions Master began speaking.
"Considering I was easily able to detain you in my office earlier, it is evident that your reflexes are something that needs improvement. But first, I need to evaluate your combat and duelling skills."
Without a moment's hesitation, Snape sent a hex flying at Raven. She wasn't expecting him to suddenly shoot at her but she blocked it with a quick shielding spell. Looking at the Potions Master questioningly, Raven made to ask why he didn't wait till the count of three to cast like she was taught to do during a wizard's duel, but Snape cut her off.
"In the real world, if someone or something is trying to cause you harm, they are not going to wait until you are ready to begin firing all manner of curses at you. That is why you must learn to always be alert. Never go anywhere without your wand and ensure that it is stored in a place where you can easily access it if need be." Snape paced around her in a circle as he spoke.
"Understand?" He said as he came to stand directly in front of her.
"Yep," Raven replied.
"Yes, sir." Snape levelled her with a glare that would scare the wits out of anyone else. Anyone else, except Raven. Growing up with the Potions Master around most of the time meant that she was used to his fear-inducing glares and she also knew that his bark was worse than his bite. Well, most of the time that was the case.
"Urghh, you're so formal at school! What happened to the fun, sarcastic Severus Snape?" Raven said as she blocked another spell coming her way and sent a few back herself.
Snape looked utterly appalled at the word fun. "I am not, nor have I ever been fun." He sneered but the smirk tugging at the sides of his mouth said otherwise.
Raven smirked in return. "Sure you are. Don't you remember mine and Draco's eighth birthday?"
Snape's scowl deepened. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Raven let out a laugh while dodging a stinging hex. She aimed her wand at Snape and said "Flipendo", hoping it would knock him back slightly, but he merely sidestepped it and smirked at her, before sending hex after hex her way.
"Sure you do. I was in the back garden reading the new book that you bought me about magical creatures and Draco was flying around on his broomstick. I distinctly remember you joining us outside and charming the pictures of the animals in my book to jump out of the page and start playing with me."
Snape said nothing. A small smile crossed his features at the memory. He remembered the delight on eight-year-old Raven's face when he had made the magical creatures come to life. She had laughed and beamed up at him, then started chasing the fake Zouwu around the garden. The feline beasts were known for being monstrously large and incredibly fast, and even though the picture in the book had been of a baby Zouwu, it was still too fast for Raven to catch. So, Snape had cast a freezing charm on the big kitten-like animal and Raven ran up to it, launching herself onto its back and nuzzling her face in its scraggly mane.
Now, Raven put in as much effort as she could muster into the duel. There were times when she thought she had the edge over Snape and that she was winning, but he would quickly outsmart and disarm her within seconds. That was the thing about Severus Snape. No matter how smart you thought he was, he was always smarter. His secret weapon was the element of surprise.
A prime example of this was when Raven was six years old and her parents had been away in London for the weekend, leaving the Potions Master to look after her and Draco. After Snape had put them both to bed, Raven had tossed and turned, unable to get to sleep. She had tried everything, but she was still wide awake. It had reached about eleven o'clock at night when Raven decided to get up and walk about the house. She was careful not to make too much noise; sneaking about the house after bedtime would most likely end up in punishments like not being able to play with her brother and Theo when the Nott boy was at Malfoy Manor, or, Merlin forbid, being forbidden to read her books about magical beasts.
So, she had tiptoed through the corridors of the Manor until she reached the door to the lounge. She saw the glow of candles and peeked her head inside. Snape was sat on one of the sofas reading what looked like a potions journal under the candlelight. Not wanting to get caught out of bed, Raven took a step back but the floor creaked under the weight of her foot. Snape's head snapped in her direction and Raven made a run for it.
"Raven." Snape had said sternly and stood up to follow six-year-old Raven around the house.
He easily caught up to her; her little legs were no match for his long strides. She squealed when he picked her up by the waist and threw her over his shoulder, carrying her back to the lounge and placing her on a sofa. Raven crossed her arms defiantly and refused to talk when Snape had asked her what she was doing awake and out of her bedroom. He then proceeded to use his harsh professor voice to tell her off, which had made tears well up in Raven's eyes.
With a sigh, Snape had sat down next to Raven and pulled her to his side, wrapping an arm around her as she cried. The six-year-old began apologising profusely and Snape stroked her hair comfortingly until she stopped muttering unintelligible words and fell asleep curled up at his side.
The most surprising thing was that the Potions Master didn't give her a punishment the next morning. And when her parents had returned from London and asked if the twins had behaved, he didn't mention the incident at all.
From then on, Raven knew to expect the unexpected when it came to Severus Snape.
The duel between Raven and Snape finally ended a few minutes before the hour was up. Unsurprisingly Snape had won. He returned Raven's wand to her and walked over to the table to grab a drink of water and put his robes back on. Raven followed his lead, picking Pix up off the table and patting her head affectionately.
They both exited the Room of Requirement and Snape informed her to meet him there from then on, rather than going down to his office first.
"Okay." She chirped and with a wave, she walked off to find her friends who would be able to show her where the library was, so she could get some of her homework done in peace during her free period next.
The rest of the day passed rather uneventfully. Raven spent her time in the library with Tessa, who mostly just goggled at Pix the entire hour, and she managed to complete some of her homework that she had been set the day before. After lunch, she had a Care of Magical Creatures class but it was less exciting than the day before's as it was held in the classroom and Bowtruckle theory-based. A lot of the students in the class had kept glancing over at Pix during the lesson and some even asked to hold the Bowtruckle, at which Pix had blanched and hidden in Raven's platinum blonde hair.
Raven went to bed early that day, utterly exhausted from the magical exertion during her Defence lesson with Snape. She dreamt of the Zouwu that she had chased around the garden at Malfoy Manor when she was eight, and when she awoke early the next morning with a huge smile on her face, her roommates looked at her incredulously. She was actually awake in time to go down to breakfast with the three other Ravenclaws.
A/N Reviews, Follows and Favourites are very much appreciated and I'd love to hear how I can improve my story!