The next day flew by and before she knew it, it was Thursday and Raven was heading to her first music class at Hogwarts. None of her roommates took the selective subject so at lunch before the lesson began, she asked Noah Cogswell how to get to the classroom. She had remembered his offer from a few days ago to show her where certain classrooms were, and obviously, he had as well because he smiled widely at her and happily agreed.

After finishing their meals, they both left the Great Hall, stopping at the Ravenclaw Common Room to drop Pix off because she was tired and wanted to go sleep on Raven's old jumper. Then, they strolled through the corridors in the direction of the music classroom.

Noah tucked his hands into the pockets of his robe and turned his head to look at Raven as they walked.

"If you're taking Music for N.E.W.T.s, I'm assuming you must be good at it. Not many people study it here because you have to get an Outstanding at O.W.L.s. to continue. Apparently, Professor Begley is really nice though. He's only 39, and his students say that he's pretty chill." He said.

"Well, at least I'm taking one subject that won't stress me out!" Raven replied with a laugh.

Noah's deep chuckle echoed throughout the stone corridor and Raven tried her best to keep her cheeks from burning up but failed miserably. She had no idea what was happening to her. She had never felt so nervous around a boy. Even when she and Felix had first started dating after both confessing that they had more than platonic feelings towards each other, she had never been this out of character. Truth be told, she had never really crushed on anybody other than Felix, and he was already her best friend so there was no need for her to be on edge around him.

"What instrument do you play?"

"Oh, um, I mostly play the piano but I can play the guitar and violin too."

Noah looked impressed. "What about singing? Do you have a good voice?"

Raven somehow managed to blanch and turn red at the same time. "I, uh, I don't usually sing in front of people. I prefer to use instruments that I can physically touch."

Noah smirked and nudged her arm with his elbow. "Nah, I bet you're a great singer!"

The two sixth years turned a corner and began climbing up several sets of stairs. When they arrived on the fifth floor, Noah stopped about halfway down the corridor and took his hands out of his robe.

"This..." He gestured to the old, oak door. "is the Music classroom. There's also another rehearsal room next door with spare instruments if you ever want to practice during a free period."

Noah looked down at his wrist and Raven noticed he had an old-looking silver watch. "I should probably get going to my Potions class now. I definitely do not want to spend my evenings scrubbing cauldrons anytime soon."

Raven let out a small laugh. "Good luck with Professor Snape and thank you for showing me how to get here."

"You're welcome." Noah's green eyes flashed with something that Raven couldn't quite place and he strode off back the way they had come.

With a deep breath to calm her racing heart, Raven opened the door, and, within milliseconds, the sound of multiple instruments being played filled her ears. She smiled happily.

Raven loved music.

If there was one thing, other than her brother, that could calm her down from peak anger or anxiety, it was hearing the soothing melodies that flowed from a wooden string instrument or a sleek, grand piano.

Stepping inside the room, Raven saw that there were only about twenty-four students in the class, some of which looked slightly older than her.

"Hey, you're new right?" asked a girl with flowers intertwined in her bright red hair.

"Yeah, I'm Raven Malfoy."

"I'm Daisy," The girl said and extended her hand for Raven to shake. The little white flowers in her hair made sense now, and by the bright yellow colour of her tie, Raven guessed that she was a Hufflepuff.

Raven shook Daisy's hand and gave her a small smile. She was about to ask about what they had been working on previously in the class but was interrupted by a voice behind them.

"Ah, Miss Hewitt, I see you have met our new music student!" Raven saw a man almost as tall as Snape approach them. He had dark-brown hair that was cut short and his teaching robes were a simple style but had tiny music notes dotted all over the beige fabric.

"Hello Miss Malfoy, I'm Professor Begley. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." He took out a piece of parchment from a pocket in his robe and offered it to Raven.

It was a letter from her old Music teacher in France, informing Professor Begley about her grades and specific skills in this class. Raven wondered if all of her new teachers received similar letters.

"Your old teacher at Beauxbatons told me that you are an excellent musician and I'm eager to see for myself what you are capable of!"

Raven blushed profusely. "I wouldn't say I'm excellent-"

"Nonsense! Any student who obtains Outstandings in every piece of work they do in Music is no doubt excellent."

Raven was too embarrassed to say anything. Luckily, she was saved by Professor Begley asking the class to sit in their seats so he could begin the lesson. Daisy took Raven by the arm and steered her towards a set of chairs near the front of the room.

"Alright class, settle down. Today, I will be announcing your project for this term." Noise filled the classroom as everyone began speculating what the professor would set them.

"This project will be even more exciting than any previous ones, because..." The whole classroom fell silent in anticipation and Professor Begley purposefully waited a few seconds before continuing. "... it is a competition!"

There were several squeals from some of the girls and the boys shared excited looks. Raven didn't know what to think. Competitions meant performing in front of people, and that was not something that she was prepared to do. Certainly not when she barely knew any of the people in this class.

"Either in groups or by yourself, you must come up with a piece of music which will wow me and everyone else into next week. You will be given until April to complete this assignment outside of class and the winner will get to perform their song at Professor Dumbledore's birthday party at the end of that month!"

Professor Begley let the class chatter enthusiastically to each other for a couple of minutes, then held up a hand and everyone quietened down.

"Now, I know you are all excited to begin this project but we must focus on today's lesson."

Raven tried to hide her laugh as groans erupted around the room. She looked over at Daisy who had put her elbows on the table and plonked her chin into her hand with a pout.

The lesson started with some discussions about famous musicians in both the wizarding world and the muggle world, and then they all moved to the numerous instruments that were scattered around the classroom and practised playing pieces from those musicians.

Raven sat down at a black, shiny grand piano and lightly skimmed her fingers over the black and white keys. Out of all the instruments she knew how to play, the piano was by far her favourite. There was a certain elegance that came with it that other instruments couldn't match.

Professor Begley spotted her on the piano and walked over with a smile on his tanned face.

"I'd love to hear you play something, Miss Malfoy." He said earnestly.

"Okay," Raven replied. She knew she sounded hesitant.

Tucking her long hair behind her ears, she began to play one of her favourite pieces: Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven. It was a quiet and delicate composition, with an almost dreamlike feel to it. It reminded her of her little explorations of the forest near Malfoy Manor she had done as a child, and all the times she had spent just sat near the lake there, waiting for any type of magical creature to show up at the surface.

Raven felt her whole body relax as she let her fingers dance over the keys. She played the piece from mere memory; she had played it so many times that it came naturally to her. She closed her eyes and let herself become fully engrossed in the music.

When she finished, Raven opened her eyes and heard applause coming from all around the room. She had not noticed that everyone else in the classroom had stopped what they were doing to hear her play.

Looking to her left where Professor Begley stood, she saw that he was also clapping his hands together in appreciation.

"That was truly wonderful, Miss Malfoy." He said once the applause had ceased and the rest of the students had returned to their own work.

"Thank you."

With a smile, the professor left her to her own devices.

A moment later, Daisy wandered over, twisting her hands in front of her as if she was nervous.

"First of all, you are an amazing pianist and secondly, I was wondering if you would like to work with me for the class project?" Daisy said quickly.

A surprised look spread across Raven's face. She had not expected anyone to ask her to be their partner for the assignment at all.

"Of course!" Raven said, beaming up at the slightly eccentric girl. "I would love to!"

Daisy squealed and rushed over to Raven, who was still sat down at the piano, wrapping her arms around Raven's upper half from behind. Raven chuckled at Daisy's light-heartedness and scooted over on the piano stool to make room for Daisy so they could discuss the project.

For the remaining ten minutes of class, Raven and Daisy exchanged ideas for what they could create. Raven now knew that the Hufflepuff played the flute, violin and was also a brilliant singer.

Daisy had tried to get Raven to sing for her but Raven had adamantly refused.

When Professor Begley announced the end of the lesson, the students filed out of the classroom and Daisy told Raven that she was welcome to join her at the Hufflepuff table during mealtimes if she wanted to talk about the project or anything else. Raven thanked the red-haired girl and made her way to her next class.

Later that evening, Raven sat in the Ravenclaw Common Room with Nellie, Tessa and Cassie, gathered around a fire, trying to block out the winter chill that leaked through the stone of the castle.

"Uhh, I'm so bored!" Raven moaned and flopped her head on the back of the sofa that she was sat on.

Raven had finished all her homework earlier that day and she wasn't in the mood to read a book. At the moment her attention span was about fifteen seconds so concentrating on hundreds of words on paper was not an option.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk." She declared and stood up abruptly, making Tessa jump from the sudden movement next to her.

Nellie looked up from her homework and said, "Make sure you're back by ten. You don't want to be caught out of the common room by Filch after curfew."

Raven rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Nellie. "Yes, mum."

Cassie and Tessa giggled from their seats and Nellie sent Raven a playful glare.

Grabbing her robes from the dormitory, Raven exited the common room and decided to explore some more of Hogwarts. She had only been at the castle for five days and she still didn't know her way around most of the place. She suspected some of the students that had been there a lot longer than she had, didn't know all the passages and rooms in Hogwarts. She had no doubt that the magical castle was probably hiding certain corridors and rooms from people, just like how the moving staircases had a mind of their own and changed whenever they saw fit.

Although the corridors were very nearly empty, as she was walking, Raven felt like someone was following her. The hair on the back of her neck was sticking up and she kept glancing behind her to see if anyone was there, but no one was.

Raven shrugged absentmindedly and turned down a deserted corridor, only to walk straight into a wall of flesh. She was able to steady herself quickly and looked up into the person's eyes. She instantly stepped back and made to walk away but a hand caught her arm and pulled her closer.

"Hello, Raven." Cassius purred.

A/N Reviews, Follows and Favourites are very much appreciated and I'd love to hear how I can improve my story!