Harry collected himself as he and Ron made their way off the train. Discovering you're a wizard and a man taking you from your not work much of a home jostled his mind. He changed into his robes and got off with Ron, the cars behind them unloading with an array of students varying in age. Glancing to his left as he got off, he saw a blonde boy following an older girl before breaking off. He drew his attention back towards Hagrid as they made their way off the platform.

The mists blanketed the ground as the boats made their way across the lake. The first years climb out and follow Hagrid to the castle. Fire from the neatly placed torches around crackles as they meet McGonagall at the top of the stairs. Harry and his newfound friends gained attention after the blond addressed him, introducing himself as Draco Malfoy. Already finding trouble in a sense, they followed McGonagall through the corridors to the Great Hall.

Harry looks around as they head towards the front, seeing the same girl again at one of the long tables. With hair as black as coal in waves, a slight white streak to it, and half pulled back. Ron nudged him to get his attention again as Dumbledore began his introduction speech. One by one, approaching the hat they went. Watching as they got their sorted houses.

The sorting hat didn't get a chance to touch Draco's head before shouting "Slytherin!". Cheers and applause echoed as a grin tugged at his lips and he bound off towards the same table. Harry and Ron watched as the girl jumped up from her seat and hugged him before they sat around their housemates.

"Bloody hell…" Ron whispered.

"Who is that? I saw her get off the train with him." Harry asked.

Before Ron could answer, the boy who grabbed the toad on the staircase frowned deeply. A level of disgust in his voice as he spoke.

"You're not the only famous one here, Harry." He looked over his shoulder back at the table.

Harry looked at him confused for a moment before back at McGonagall and the hat. One by one they were sorted into their houses before being able to eat. Harry noticed the girl about jump up out of her seat when she heard the boy's name being called,

"Neville Longbottom."

Draco's head snapped towards the front as well, placing a hand on her shoulder easing her back in place. Catching the eyes of the man Harry also took notice of at the head table. The girl rolled her eyes at them both and sat back down, continuing to watch as Draco whispers something to her.

After they were able to converse and eat, Harry looked at Percy before speaking low.

"Who's the man talking to Professor Quill?"

"That's Professor Snape, head of Slytherin house."

"What does he teach?"

"Potions, but the Dark Arts is what he fancies. He's wanted Quill's job for years."

Harry nods before glancing over his shoulder again.

"And- the one by Malfoy? Why did she jump when they said Neville's name for the hat?"

Percy stopped eating for a moment, looking at Fred and George as they avoided eye contact with him on the subject. He sighed before looking at Harry and leaning closer.

"That's one you need to stay away from, Harry. You think Malfoy is horrid, his relatives are worse." His eyes darted away for a second before back to the table and continuing to eat. "That's his cousin, and that's all I'm telling you."

Harry frowned and looked over at Ron, who shrugged just as confused as he was before they were told to return to their dorms. They all stood and prepared to leave. Harry looked up as Ron nudged his arm and nodded toward the Slytherin table. The girl walked with Draco towards the doors, both of them looking over at them with a smirk before he left to follow the prefect and she went towards the dungeons followed by two others from their house.

Settling in took a bit for Harry, and getting used to going to class and finding their way around was an even bigger challenge for him and Ron in the massive castle. After traversing the corridors a bit, it almost became natural. After figuring out their way around the grounds, now they began asking more and more questions about things. Mainly about Snape and that girl they had seen. It became clear right off that she was going to be a problem, more so than Malfoy was. They had asked around time and time again, but no one would tell them exactly who the girl was or how she was related to Malfoy. Heeding warnings to them as they went to stop asking questions they didn't want to know answers to or to stay as far away as possible from them. After coming to a dead end, Hermione sat down with them in the common room with a grin on her face.

"It took you this long to get nowhere?"

"Oi, if it's so easy why don't you do it?" Ron snapped back.

"Already did. Her name's Ravena, she's a third-year Slytherin and apparently, her parents are in Azkaban."

Harry sat forward in the chair he was sitting in. "That's all? No last name or who her parents are?"

"No one wants to talk about it that much. But clearly, she and Malfoy are close."

"We got that bit, but if her parents are in Azkaban then who is she living with?" Ron piped.

"Are you that stupid? She has to be living with the Malfoys."

"What's Azkaban?" Harry asked.

"Apparently it's a prison for highly dangerous witches and wizards," Hermione whispered.

"Bloody hell, wonder what they did." Ron sat back in his chair as he munched on a piece of ham from dinner.

"Does it matter? You have a student walking the castle who could be a danger to all of us. And the fact that Snape is watching over her like a hawk just as much as everyone else doesn't give either good graces." Hermione frowned and looked at them both.

"Dumbledore wouldn't let her in if she was going to be able to do anything, Hermione. Even if she did she would be expelled so fast it would make her head spin."

Hermione shook her head and sat back on the couch as the boys looked at each other before shrugging. At this point, they had more to worry about, but their curiosity was getting the better of them. Harry thought a moment before remembering what Snape had said in potions class that day.

"Our newest celebrity…"

Was he referring to the fact that the girl was the one everyone talked about before him? He knew his existence was important. Defying something such as death was a big deal, but being in school when your parents were sent away for something horrible was about as close as that. And why was Snape so interested in possibly either of them? After drawing his attention and drilling him in front of the whole class made him wonder even more. He shook his head as his thoughts came back to reality. After a moment of pondering, he shook his head gathering his things before heading off with the others to the great hall to meet up with their house to study.

They sat at the long tables as they worked, assisting and asking one another questions about certain subjects. Seamus attempted to turn water into rum before having it explode in his face unsuccessfully. Screeching and small chittering could be heard before they all smiled.

"Mail's here." Ron smiled as the various birds swooped in from the windows, carrying letters and boxes full of gifts to each student. Having his own drop off a load of mail, Ron handed Harry the paper while he sorted through the various letters they received. Harry grabbed the paper and looked through it, the front page grabbing his attention. He read the first paragraph to his friends about the break-in of Gringotts and suspected dark wizards or witches, as well as the vault being cleared out and the goblins realizing nothing was taken due to this,

"That's the vault Hagrid and I went to." He mumbled looking at Ron and Hermione. They looked at each other confused for a moment before going back to what they were doing. Harry glanced back towards the Slytherin table again, seeing the girl with a few other students as she worked on opening her mail. The bird beside her, a falcon, grabbed a piece of meat from her before taking off again. She started opening a letter before catching his gaze, frowning and raising an eyebrow as she handed a letter to Malfoy, causing Harry to turn back around again quickly.

The rest of the day resulted in either attempting to get in trouble or almost being killed. Running upon the third floor and into a door being guarded by a three-headed dog wasn't how the trio wanted to end their night. Harry tried to sleep before practice with Oliver Wood the next morning. McGonagall pulling him from flying class only telling him he was becoming the house Seeker was the highlight of the events.

Charms wasn't any more eventful than the next day. Hermione makes the feather levitate and show up Ron, and Seamus makes his own explode again. He, Ron, Seamus, and another first-year made their way across the courtyard toward their next class. Ron made fun of Hermione the whole time, unaware she was behind them.

The great hall was decorated with pumpkins and candles for Halloween. Ron and Harry are sitting with the others at their table when they notice Hermione is not there with them. Having realized they upset her during dinner after Neville told them she had been in the bathroom crying all afternoon. Ron shrugged and buried his face into his plate again. Harry looked around to see if she had come in yet, his eyes glazing over the Slytherin table again and seeing Malfoy with his cousin and a few of their friends. Small presents covered the table in front of them.

"Imagine having a birthday on Halloween and being away from home, dreadful," Ron mumbled.

"Her birthday is Halloween?" Harry asked.

Neville frowned deeply and nodded. "October 31st, 1979. Two years older and still about as mad as her parents."

"What's the deal with you and Malfoy's cousin, Neville? Clearly, you have an issue." Ron chimed in.

Neville shook his head and looked down at the table. He acted angry but scared at the same time. "Don't want to talk about it. But I'll tell you now, she so much as raises her wand at me she gets expelled, same goes for me. Dumbledore already said he had eyes on us both more now than ever when I wasn't here."

Ron and Harry looked even more confused now. They attempted to go about their business and enjoy their meal before the doors burst open and Quill came running through. Screaming about a Troll in the dungeons. Alarming everyone before he passed out in the middle of the floor. Students jumped up and scrambled before Dumbledore announced to not panic, and for the prefects to take their house students back to their dorms while the professors handled the situation. Gathering up books and handfuls of candy, the children rushed back toward their common rooms.

Draco made his way with the other first years back to the common room, seeing as though the troll had ventured out of the dungeons. Crabbe and Goyle carried some of the gifts as they entered and set them on the table. Settling down into a chair by the fire, Draco looked up and half smirked as his cousin came down the stairs from the girls' dormitory.

"Might be best we don't open whatever it is with people watching."

Ravena raised an eyebrow at him as she sat down across from him in the other chair, one leg tucked up under her as she pulled out of the pile of gifts randomly.

"You act like they let someone send poison as a bloody birthday present." looking over the table and shaking her head. "Half of these people I don't even know. Why are they sending me things when I've never met them."

"It's not that you know them, Rave," Draco said softly after looking around to make sure no one was listening. Ravena pulled on the ribbon of the gift before looking up at him, eyes half piercing through his skull and it made Crabbe and Goyle shiver slightly. He looked right back at her as he popped a candy in his mouth, smiling. She went through each box, throwing the wrapping paper in the fire as she went. Some were simple things like sweets or trinkets, some even had gold in them. Each one she handed off to Crabbe or Goyle to put into her bag on the couch. Draco looked at the last gift on the table before back at his cousin. She met his gaze before back down at the table, picking up

"Like always, Aunt Cissy. Last one, what've you got this time," she mumbled. Tearing the paper and ribbon off slower than the rest. The box was a decent size, fitting in her hand yet bigger than the previous ones. She opened the top to see a dark green and purple painted one inside. Confused, Ravena pulled it out and set it on the table before realizing what it was. A wide smile crept across her lips and she glanced up at Draco as he sat forward in the chair.

"The hell is that?" he looked at the box and then up at her, curious now as it piqued his cousin's interest.

"A music box, one I've asked for for years. I didn't think she could do it," she spoke softly as she opened the lid to the box, the small figurine of a bird popping up and beginning to turn as the music played. She looked up and smiled more as Crabbe and Goyle began to yawn and their eyes got heavy.

"What's it supposed to do…." Draco trailed off as he yawned before realizing what song it was playing, and what it was doing. "Wait…"

"An enchanted one. It plays the song she used to sing." Ravena looked up at him and laughed, soft but almost dark as she snapped the lid shut. "Oh, that'll be fun to use if we need it."

Draco smiled up at her as she picked up the box, then went over to get her bag and threw it over her shoulder. He knew she had trouble sleeping sometimes, especially when away from the manor. Although the underlying use of the music box was a plus, now maybe she could get some actual rest for once. After making sure to say good night and that she was actually off to her dorm, he and his friends also retired for the night.

As time went by, the trio continued to find themselves diving deeper into the mystery of what was being hidden within the castle. Snow began to fall and blanket the ground as students started to make their way toward Hogsmeade to the train. Draco found his way to the train car where his cousin sat and sat on the other side of her near the aisle. She looked up at him and smiled as Crabbe and Goyle sat across from them.

"What're you smiling about?" Draco asked as she sat back and propped a foot up on the rail of the car. Ravena looked over at him before holding up a glass ball and grinned.

"His own parents can't even remember who he is, so he's just as forgetful as they are now."

Draco laughed as she handed it to him, settling back into the seat and stuffing the remembrall into his bag. Ravena sighed deeply as the train began to move, she looked out the window before back at him.

"From here on out it's going to be different for us."

"What's got you thinking that?"

"Just do, that's all." She pulled a blanket from under the seats and wrapped it around her legs before sitting up and they all started chatting for the rest of the ride. Things were in fact changing, whether it was for the better was an understatement. But little did they know it was going to be drastic indeed.