Disclaimer: Anything that you recognize is JKR's and everything else is mine (except for a couple of the names i stole from Game of Thrones hehe)

Hi guys! So this is a companion to Feel Again but because it takes place earlier it also can stand alone. This and Feel Again are simultaneously in the works depending on if I'm feeling like writing teenagers or adults.

Pick one, pick both, but either way I hope you like it as much as I like writing it!

Read, Review, and Enjoy,

Stars.

It's a different kind of danger
And the bells are ringing out
And I'm calling for my mother
As I pull the pillars down
It's a different kind of danger
And my feet are spinning around
Never knew I was a dancer
'till Delilah showed me how

~Delilah, Florence + The Machine

Danilynn Masters loved hiding her identity. Her brother disapproved that she turned her hair brown every morning before she got out of bed, but she didn't care. She was so diligent that none of her friends had ever seen her with her natural hair color; sure, her face and hair were in the papers during summer, but everyone who saw her at school was starting to wonder if the pictures were altered and she wasn't a true Masters, after all. Not once had anyone seen her true color in person because every morning she would tap her head with her wand, mutter a spell, wait a moment for it to settle into a dark brown, and get out of bed.

The truth of it, she thought as she got ready next to Lily, was that she was tired of standing out. She wanted to at least pretend to be normal and not have her hair acting like a beacon saying, "Please look at me". She had managed it for about two and a half years now; half way through their Third Year and she had kept up the charade flawlessly since day one. Lily smiled at her as she put on her shoes.

"Dan, did you hear Professor McGonagall say when the next Hogsmeade trip is? I have a real Butterbeer craving." Lily said to her best friend. Dany shrugged.

"I don't know if she said…hey Marles! You know when the next Hogsmeade trip is?" Dany called out another of their dorm mates. Marlene McKinnon poked her head out of the bathroom.

"Not sure…I don't really pay much attention though, so I'm probably not the best source…do you know, Al?" Marlene called back into the bathroom. There was an indistinct voice that sounded rather negative, "Al doesn't know either. Maybe the boys will know? If anyone would, it's them." Marlene suggested. Dany nodded and leaned up against her dresser.

"True. I don't remember a time Sirius and James have missed an opportunity to stock up on Zonko's jokes." Dany responded. Lily wrinkled her nose in distaste at the mention of James Potter and Sirius Black.

"Yeah, but Marley, that would require me to talk to Potter or Black. I think I'd rather have a chronic condition." She snipped and Dany rolled her eyes at Alice Prewett (their fourth room mate) and Marlene as they all left their dorm. On their way down to the Great Hall, Dany felt her head start to itch. She idly scratched her head, nails digging into her scalp. By the time they sat down at the Gryffindor table, it felt like someone had put itching powder in her hair while she slept. She was seated between Marlene and James and they were discussing Hogsmeade (which was apparently the next weekend) when all of a sudden the itching stopped. Dany sighed in relief only to notice Lily, Remus, and Sirius were all staring at her from across the table, mouths slightly ajar.

"What? Do I have something on my face? Seriously, you guys my table manners aren't that bad. No need to look like I've just solved the great mysteries of the universe." She said jokingly. James and Marlene stopped talking and Frank and Alice both looked up from next to James. Lily was the only one who could seemingly form words.

"Dan…your hair…it's not brown. It's…well, it's white." Lils said slowly to her best friend. Dany pulled part of her hair into her field of vision and sure enough, it was the silvery color that her brother's hair was, which was easily identifiable farther down the table where he was sitting with the other Sixth Years. Dany felt her stomach drop to her feet. What had happened? The spell always worked. Slowly people began to take notice and someone elbowed Rae and gestured to his sister, who met his eyes frantically. He smiled sympathetically but couldn't say much from halfway down the table. Slowly, the other tables started to stare and soon even the teachers had taken notice. James looked around casually and slung an arm around her shoulders.

"Well we all know you're a real Masters now, Dan. There's been some talk, but there's no arguing with that hair, eh?" He chuckled and she smiled at him gratefully. James Potter was officially her favorite person. Some of the Gryffindors laughed too and Rae winked at her quickly as if to say, 'it'll be okay Little Sister'. Quickly people went back to their breakfasts but the conversation about Hogsmeade had been dropped. Lily smiled kindly at her.

"I think you look better this way, Dan. You're a pretty girl no matter your hair color but this looks more like you." She said thoughtfully. Dany smiled back at her thankful for the comment. Alice wrinkled her nose.

"I don't know why you'd want to be a boring brunette like me. It's not very much fun. Everyone and their second cousin is a brunette. You know your brother has some killer hair but I've gotta say, it looks pretty amazing that long." Alice commented as she ate her toast. Dany felt her heart warm. No one questioned why she had done it, they had all just moved on. She vaguely noticed that none of the guys had commented, despite that fact that Sirius, Remus, and Frank were all staring intently. James didn't care; they had grown up together and he had known the entire time, truth be told.

"You have something to say boys?" She asked them mildly. Frank and Sirius both looked down quickly, embarrassed to get caught staring she guessed. Remus on the other hand didn't look away and pretend that nothing happened.

"It really is exceptional, Dan. But you know we still love you for you, right?" He said gently. Dany started that the bluntness of the statement, but wasn't very surprised. Remus had a way of cutting down to the truth quicker than most people could imagine. He had called her reasons out almost immediately. Everyone looked up and nodded. The girls all grinned and said something along the lines of "we're sisters, remember?" James and the rest of the guys just smiled at her and like that they all went back to what they had been doing.

Dany never told anyone just how much that had meant to her. She never told anyone that she went back to the dorm that night and cried because she had finally found people that cared for her purely for her.

Lily Evans was in awe of her best friend. There had always been rumors, rumors that Dany Masters wasn't actually blood of the Minister; her hair was different and that never happened, not with Masters blood. Lily had seen it happen. Dany had been itching her head like it was going out of style when all of a sudden, the roots of her brown hair turned blonde, so blonde it was silver. It spread down her long hair quickly until it reached the tips, leaving her with a crown of silver hair. Dany had no idea and she had looked so embarrassed when it had happened; she had looked down the table at her brother and he had looked sympathetic to her situation but very little could be done from fifteen feet away.

Marlene and Alice had gone to the bathroom and the boys wouldn't bother slowing up until thirty seconds before class actually started; so Lily and Dany were walking alone into the dungeons. Lily glanced at her companion and thought that it was striking how different she looked with her real hair color. She was a pretty girl but she looked different, otherworldly almost, with the silver hair signature to her family Lily thought to herself. Dany caught her looking and grinned.

"So I guess neither of us have exactly normal hair, huh?" She said wryly. Lily laughed and tugged on her red hair.

"I guess not…we're quite the pair." Lily said as they entered the dungeons.

"We are indeed, Lils. We are indeed." Dany quietly replied as they pushed open the door to Slughorn's classroom. A couple of kids in the half-full class stared but they had all been at breakfast; they had all seen the charm give out. Professor Slughorn, on the other hand, had not been in the Great Hall this morning and his potions ingredients nearly fell to the floor as the two girls walked in.

"Miss. Evans…Miss. Masters may I asked what happened to your hair?" He asked, flustered by this sudden change in appearance.

"Just letting my hair be free, Professor. I assume that's not a problem?" Dany said lightly. Everyone knew the answer to her question; of course it wasn't a problem. Now that it was obvious that Masters blood was in her veins, Sluggy would try to "collect" her to add her to the shelf of the well known and powerful, as he had her brother, who had gone along with this (albeit begrudgingly and coaxed by their father).

Unlike her brother, Rhaegar needed as many contacts as he could get, Dany had the luxury of declining his "generous" offer. Rae would probably succeed their father as Minister (as the Masters always have), and as such needed as many friends in as many places as possible; Dany would not become Minister. She would enter the Ministry, or maybe even a curse-breaker for Gringotts, but her place would be by her brother's side, or in another department of the Ministry. She would not lead their people and so she was allowed to occasionally offend people. Lily smiled into her hand as Slughorn looked even more flustered.

"No, no problem. I was just…intrigued by the sudden change. I must say, with two heads of that hair floating around, my head will be spinning." He said, trying to hide his rude exclamation. Dany smiled.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be able to keep us straight. I am a tad bit shorter, in case you've never noticed." She said sweetly and gestured to herself. Lily had to hand it to her; she was very short, especially compared to her brother who, at sixteen, was already over 6 feet tall. Lily had passed her up in height earlier this year and Marlene had done so over a year ago. Alice was the only one who was still shorter than her, but Lily supposed that was only a matter of time, too. Slughorn, for his part, had the decency to look embarrassed by this entire conversation and said no more.

Lily and Dany took their seats and soon Marlene and Alice joined them at their table. The boys were situated behind them; actually it was just Potter and Sirius because Frank and Peter were at another table where Remus could coach them through the class. Sirius and Potter shared the table with two Ravenclaw boys, Thomas and Josh, who were both rather good at potions, leaving the entire table plenty of time to talk. Lily found herself chatting with Dany, whose hair she found less distracting with each minute, about the Yule Ball.

"I wish I could go, honestly this entire thing about having to be a Fourth Year is just absurd." Lily complained. Dany nodded.

"I know…hmm, maybe I could ask Rae to get us in. We can go as long as we're someone's date, you know." Dany said thoughtfully. Lily seemed quite excited by this prospect.

"Oh, I didn't know that! Do you think he would mind?" Lily asked carefully. As much as she liked Dany's older brother, he kind of scared her sometimes; Lily thought it was his height and the fact he was slated to be the most powerful wizard in England by the time he was 30. Dany shrugged.

"I don't think so…I mean from what I hear, the Yule Ball isn't all its talked up to be anyways; if you want a real party, you should spend part of Christmas with me and mine." She told the redhead with a wink. Lily raised her eyebrows.

"Are you being serious?"

"Course I am. You're more than welcome anytime, Lils; you know that." Dany responded simply, "I can write Mom and Dad, see if they'd be cool with that. They probably will be. I can't remember the last time Rae spent an entire holiday just with the family. I mean, I'm sure that you want to spend Christmas with your folks, but we have a wicked New Years party. Your parents can come too, if they want." Lily nodded and Sirius and Potter turned around.

"Oi, Masters, did I hear word of the legendary Masters New Years party?" Potter asked, turning around in his chair. Dany rolled her eyes,

"Yes, James. And you'll be invited with your parents. Just like you always are. Every year." Lily snorted and even Sirius chuckled. Dany moved her eyes to Sirius and Lily saw something flicker in them; compassion, she thought. It was gone quick though and she casually said, "You spending anytime at the Potters, Sirius? I'd be surprised if anyone can tear you two lovebirds apart." She slipped the joke in but Lily knew it was a legitimate question. She knew that Dany had encountered the Black clan before and was less than impressed; she worried for him, they all did, and hearing that he would be spending his time under the Potter's roof would be a relief. Unfortunately luck was not on their side.

"I wish. My parents are making me stay home all break for some unexplainable reason. It's a damn shame too; even a night out of that house would keep me sane." James exchanged a dark look with Dany. Lily decided that she'd rather never meet the Blacks. Ever. He said with a frown.

"Oh, that's too bad. I don't know how James will manage without you." She said softly. James whacked his Godsister over her head.

"Hey! I can function very much on my own, Danilynn; thank you very much." He huffed. And like that, the tension broke and they all resumed their potions. Dany glanced at Sirius and Lily thought to herself that that boy better be damn grateful for her; even if he didn't know it, she had purposely baited James to stop things from getting too moody.

Potions finished relatively uneventfully (Peter only scalded his hands once) and the group was off to Transfiguration. On their way there, they ran into Rhaegar. He said hello to his sister and waved to her friends, but before he could get much farther, Dany dragged him away from his friends, out of hearing range of all of them. The Sixth Years and Third Years exchanged awkward glances and stood there waiting for the siblings to finish their conversation. Rhaegar appeared not to like what he was hearing and was shaking his head. Dany grabbed his arm and said something softly, apparently pleading. Lily was reading her lips and saw the word "please" on at least five different occasions. Rhaegar appeared not to be convinced and seemed like he was going to tell his sister off but his eyes suddenly narrowed and he looked at her face closer. He apparently didn't like what he saw and when Dany met her brother's eyes, he finally nodded. She smiled at him and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, resting his chin on her head, not caring that she was totally killing his image right now. Lily clearly saw him say, "You're welcome" as she continued to cling onto him for another moment longer. The siblings broke apart and Rhaegar kissed his sister on the forehead before leaving with his friends. He passed by the Third Years and looked at them closer than he ever had before. Lily could have sworn he was scrutinizing Sirius so hard that she thought Sirius might break into from the intensity of his stare.

That night, Lily went to turn the light off next to Dany's bed when she saw the letter that was finished but still drying. She saw her name and couldn't stop herself from reading the whole thing.

Daddy,

I hope you and Mom are both okay and I hope that it hasn't been too quiet without Rae and me there! It's getting colder here and even though it's been snowing for about two weeks, the temperature is still dropping daily. I was wondering if Lily and her parents could possibly come to the New Years Ball, she was very disappointed that we couldn't go to the Yule Ball so I thought that this would make up for it. I also have something else to ask, and I don't think you're going to like it very much at all.

Sirius' parents aren't letting him leave the house over break and you know just how bad the Blacks are. I'm worried for him and I was wondering if you would be willing to let them come as well. James is worried too, I can tell, and we'd both feel a lot better knowing that nothing horrible has happened to him. I talked to Rae today and he said he was okay with it, even though he only agreed when I told him the truth.

Daddy, they hurt him. You must have guessed by now but James says that every time he goes home he comes back with a couple new scars. We worry that he may not come back every time we say goodbye to him. The others don't know it, but when we get off the train, "goodbye" might be the last goodbye you get to say to him. I fear the day that we board the Hogwarts Express and he isn't there. I also fear that that day may not be very far away.

What is wrong with the world? Why does a good person (alright, he's a bit of a horse's ass to Lily but whatever) have to be in so much pain? This doesn't seem fair and it hurts me to think about. Is this what the war is? Is this what we're fighting against? Sometimes it all feels so dark that I think it's a miracle that the world is still in one piece. If this is what evil is then I know for certain that I am not evil because these are the actions not of people, but of monsters.

Tell Mom that I'm safe and please reply soon, Daddy.

Stay safe and with all my love,

Dany

When Lily finished reading the letter, she felt sick with herself. She had only been mentioned once and the rest of the letter had been deeply personal. She shouldn't have read it. No one but her father should have read that.

Dany was worried about Sirius, and she was deeply worried about the war, that much was obvious. It was haunting, Lily thought, to see her inner thoughts. It was even more haunting that her best friend sounded far older than fourteen in some ways and in others still sounded like a child; she was being forced into growing up exponentially faster than most and Lily supposed it was because of her family's position in the Ministry. The war was always spun to be rather optimistic at school and seeing that school was the only place she ever heard about it, she had just assumed they were telling the relatively unbiased truth. The way Dany had been talking, this wasn't a crusade against evil, it was a struggle to survive. As Minister, her father and his family were left exposed as a very public target; Dany was worried about her parents, her friends, and at this rate, it was a miracle she could even get up in the morning at this rate.

Lily placed the letter back where she had found it and glanced at her best friend, practically her sister, sleeping peacefully. She looked like a child still, Lily thought, they all still do. Lilly finally blew the candle out next the Dany's bed and crawled into her bed for a night of sleep that was not nearly as restful as the girl with the silver hair in the bed next to her own.

Sirius Black woke up the next morning feeling sleep deprived but overall relatively normal. They had been working on the map almost all night, and while Peter and Frank had the luxury of falling asleep, he, Remus, and James did not, as they were the ones actually creating the map. He pulled himself out of bed and shoved James onto the floor on his way to the bathroom, as a form of wake-up call. James hit the floor with a solid thud and made a groaning sound that sounded like a nonverbal, yet very clear, "fuck you". Sirius went into the bathroom and as he brushed his teeth, counted how many days until they had to leave school. Four days, he thought, four days until he had to go back to that hellhole. He had seen James' look of sympathy and to his surprise Dany had also looked rather empathetic to his problem.

He didn't know what she knew about his home life, but he suspected it was more than she let on; he doubted that James had told her much, if anything, but her father knew his parents and it would only take him to rant once at the dinner table for her to guess the rest. Then again, it seemed like her father knew everyone on a personal level. Sirius had always admired the man, despite only ever seeing him in person once when he was a little kid. He was strong, with unbreakable courage and a backbone of steel. The Masters were known for that, of course, but it didn't make it any less striking when you see it in person for the first time. Rhaegar was the same way, although he hadn't fully grown into himself yet. Dany didn't seem to be as bold and strong as her brother and father, but perhaps that was because he knew her as a person and not as some larger-than-life public figure, besides, he thought, we're only thirteen, well Dany was fourteen (her birthday had been a few weeks ago).

Twenty minutes later Sirius went down to the common room to with Frank to wait for the others; if they didn't leave soon, Sirius suspected that they would be witness to James having a fight with Remus for hiding all his pants except for the ones that he had charmed bubblegum pink. As they were coming down the stairs, he heard voices that he easily picked out a crowd.

"…Have time to send it? I saw it on your bed stand last night." Lily.

"I realized this morning that the invitations go out today so I Flooed it home instead of owl post so it would get there in time." Dany. They were undoubtedly talking about the famous Masters' New Years party that James and his family attended every year, along with every other witch and wizard that was a benefactor of the Ministry or a family friend of the Masters clan. Not shockingly, the Blacks had never been invited, as they most certainly would not be considered proper company for the Minister of Magic, the man at the helm of the war against Voldemort, to keep. Sirius suspected that it was also company the Minister had no interest in keeping.

Sirius finally picked Lily and Dany out of the people in the common room after tracking down Lily's read hair. Once he reached them he realized that his tactic had been quite stupid. There were other redheads in their house; there was no one but Rhaegar and his sister who had the silver hair that had been standing next to Lily. Dany and Lily both looked up and smiled, Dany more so than her friend.

"Hey, Sirius. Hey, Frank." Lily said. Dany greeted them too with smiles.

"Hey you two. Are you hiding from your roommates too?" They both nodded.

"Remus turned James' pants pink. He's about to have a stroke, honestly. When we left, Peter was trying to mediate but that mainly consisted of ducking jinxes." Frank said. Lily laughed and Dany snorted into her hand. "Why are you two hiding?" He asked. Dany shrugged at the same time Lily spoke.

"Same as always, Marlene and Alice are fighting over a pair of shoes or something. I'm not really sure to be honest; as soon as it starts up we haul ass." Lily said with another laugh.

"You all just want to go down to breakfast without them, then? Honestly they could be forever. All of them." Dany said. The four of them got along (well Lily only got along with Sirius when James wasn't around) so apparently she wasn't worried about another battle breaking out, like the two upstairs had. They all nodded and left Gryffindor Tower together. They all easily talked to each other and reached the Great Hall without incident. Twenty minutes later, James, Remus, Peter, Marlene, and Alice all appeared. James' pants were back to their normal color, everything on Remus' face was in the right position, Peter no longer looked like he felt the need to hide, and both of the girls looked unharmed; it was like nothing ever happened. The five of them sat down and breakfast continued on peacefully until the post arrived.

The number of owls today was incredible, and Sirius knew why. He had overheard Dany saying that invitations were going out today and typically, an invitation was sent to the home and another would be sent to the child in school, if there was a child in school. These were the kids' invitations floating about, and unsurprisingly, one landed in front of James almost immediately. James thanked the majestic looking bird and it flew away almost immediately. Another landed in front of Lily and she thanked the bird as well before it flew back off to carry out more work for the Minister. A smaller, friendlier bird landed in front of Dany and she smiled and touched its head. She removed the letter and the bird nipped her finger affectionately.

"Alright, alright, you can have it." She said and let the bird grab the piece of bacon out of her hand. The owl hooted at her once more before taking off like the others. The birds kept coming and soon a great number at the Gryffindor table had a letter in front of them. There were two owls still circling, trying to find the people their letters were addressed to. Finally, one of them dropped down towards the Gryffindor table and landed in front of Sirius, almost directly on his plate. Dany and James snorted as he hastily moved his plate out of the way to untie the letter. The bird left and by the time he looked up again, the other bird that had been searching had also left. Dany glanced at the handwriting on her letter and shoved it deep into her bag. They all finally looked down at what they had in their hands. Lily, James, and Sirius all had one. Lily looked at Dany and she winked quickly. Sirius looked at the envelope and realized it was written in calligraphy.

Sirius Orion Black III

The Great Hall

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

He opened it, having absolutely no idea who it was from. He supposed that the others were the party invitations, but there was no way that the Blacks were going to be invited so he quickly dismissed this idea. He pulled out the paper in it and he was surprised to see there was a letter waiting for him. It wasn't in the beautiful calligraphy that the envelope was.

Sirius,

My daughter wrote to me last night; she worries for you greatly and I fear that she has every reason to. I have no particular fondness of your family, but from what she has said to her mother and myself, you are not like them. Your house says that on its own. Know that there is always a way out of the darkness and that if you should ever need help, it is closer than you think. I do believe that seeing your friends halfway through break would be a great assurance to them.

See you on the 31st

Daniel Masters

Sirius read name signed at the bottom at least three times before it sank in that it truly was Dany's father who had written it. He folded it back up and looked at Dany, who was listening to Lily talk excitedly about what dress she should buy. Dany looked up, feeling his stare and when he raised an eyebrow at her, she smiled a little and winked so fast he wasn't sure it happened. She went back to listening to Lily, this time responding and making her own comments. Sirius looked back down at the envelope and realized there was something else in there. He pulled out a piece of thick stationary and realized that he had, in fact, gotten the same notice as everyone else. This was like the envelope in the calligraphy and clearly was not personalized at all, unlike the letter that had been folded in with it.

Daniel and Rhea Masters

Along with their children Rhaegar Nathaniel and Danilynn Charlotte

Cordially invite you to the 47th annual New Years Party

The night of 31 December 1972

The event is formal, so please wear your best attire

Upon confirming your presence, you will be sent an owl with the address

Muggle formal attire is encouraged

He almost laughed about the Muggle clothes. His parents were going to have a bleeding fit so large that it might just be unparalleled.

Sirius glanced at James who looked at him curious, eyes flipping to the envelope. Sirius shrugged and James smiled. He glanced down the table at his Godsister who looked up at him and he smiled at her. She nodded back slightly with a suppressed smile and Sirius could have sworn that he saw James mouth 'thank you' to her.

James Potter was sitting next to his best friend on the Hogwarts Express. Instead of the excitement and relief that he felt en route to Hogwarts, all he could feel now was the sensation close to someone painfully twisting his insides around as they came closer and closer to London. He was worried. Sirius was always worse for wear after any kind of time around his parents. His only consolation was that the Blacks would be at the Masters' party. Even though that had been neither confirmed nor denied, they weren't foolish enough to deny a direct invitation by the Minister of Magic. So, in this way, his attendance went unsaid and that lifted some of the weight off of James' thirteen-year-old shoulders.

He knew that no one would be particularly thrilled with the Black's presence, everyone would relieved to see their eldest son alive and well. Because he would be alive and well. Walburga and Orion Black wouldn't risk appearing with a battered and broken heir. No one would be able to touch Sirius, not for the first two weeks of break. That alone left James almost ecstatic; Sirius didn't deserve any of the shit he got from them and if James had the chance, he knew that he'd kill them without a second thought. He suspected that he'd have to get in line behind his parents for that, though.

Dany and Lily were sitting on the floor of their compartment, laughing at some joke Remus was telling. Marlene was pressed up against the window because Alice and Frank were talking and she appeared to want to get as far away from the happy 'couple' as possible. Sirius was squished between James and Remus. Peter had taken a portkey directly from school because his family was leaving the country for break. Everyone looked relatively relaxed but if James looked close enough at the set of Remus' shoulders and the way Frank was clenching his hands, it was obvious that several people there were not as relaxed as they appeared at first glance. Sirius, for his part, looked like the picture of ease except for the ways his eyes kept flicking from the window to the door.

"…Okay? James?" James looked down to see Dany was eyeing him, looking concerned for his well-being.

"Huh? Yeah I'm fine Dan." She nodded but still looked unconvinced by this.

"Alright, if you're sure…what are you doing over break?" She said, quickly changing the subject. James shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm going to have to go get a tux at some point because mine from last year doesn't fit. And I hate getting tuxedos." James grumbled. Lily raised an eyebrow.

"You know Potter, only babies whine like that." Lily dryly pointed out. Everyone in the compartment laughed at this. James ignored the statement.

"What about you, little Godsister?" He asked her.

"I'm going to have to go dress shopping…it's always a struggle. You think tuxedos are bad? At least you can only get one kind." James had to give that to her. Dress shopping with a fourteen-year-old girl didn't sound very fun, "And now I'm old enough that I have to wear a floor length dress, which just sounds like a horror to try to walk in. And don't even get me started on the heels." She said with a groan. James looked at her and had a hard time seeing anything but the little girl that he had grown up with; he could barely see the young woman she was becoming. Lily looked up at this.

"Dan! We should go dress shopping together!" Lily said excitedly. Dany laughed at this.

"Sure, I mean my mom needs a new one, but I guess your mom does too. Make it a girls' day?" Dany said, giving Lily what she wanted. It was cute to see, James thought; they became excited over opposite things and they always humored each other, although occasionally they would have to pull each other back to Earth. They balanced each other out almost perfectly. It was when they both became excited over a single thing was when things became dicey.

Sirius and James exchanged a look. Sirius mouthed to him, 'they're crazy' with a grin. James snickered and nodded. Remus caught his eye and smiled too.

Their smiles quickly slid away when they noticed they were in London. James stopped laughing, Remus' smile turned into the expression one would wear at funeral of a distant acquaintance, and the girls all glanced at each other like they no longer were very concerned about dresses at all. Sirius tensed but tried to blow it off.

"Wow you guys, who died?" He tried to joke but no one found it particularly funny, given the situation. They neared King's Cross and people were starting to move around outside their door. None of them moved. Lily was staring straight ahead absently, Remus was trying to read but James was 90% sure his eyes hadn't moved in at least 10 minutes, Alice and Frank had stopped talking, Marlene was staring mournfully out the window, Dany was looking at her hands folded in her lap, and Sirius was staring at Dany rather unabashedly. James watched him watch his Godsister. It wasn't a gooey love-struck look but he looked like he was very much trying to figure her out. James resigned himself to the rest of the ride in silence.

Not much later, the Hogwarts Express started to slow down. Dany suddenly looked up from her death stare at her hands only to catch Sirius staring at her. Lily sighed and Marlene helped her up. They all started to slowly move around the crammed compartment to find their things and not for the first time, James dearly wished that he could take Sirius and just adopt him into the Potter's family. Marlene, Alice, and Frank all left almost immediately with an exclamation of, "Shit! We're late. My parents are going to kill me, and they're Apparating these two home so they're coming with me" from Alice.

Sirius, Lily, Dany, and James all got off the train together. Lily saw her parents first; she hugged Dan tightly and said "we'll talk later about that girls' day", she said goodbye to James (who was very excited by this), and quickly hugged Sirius with the parting statement "See you on New Years". The three of them watched the ginger disappear in the crowd with her parents. James saw his parents, but pretended he didn't. He wasn't going to leave Sirius alone to be reunited with his hellish parents all by himself. He also caught sight of the Ministry driver set to take Dany and her brother home (the Masters didn't come to the platform, as much as they wanted to it was no longer safe to see their children off). She apparently had seen the Ministry worker too because when he opened his mouth to mention it, she silenced him with a look. Walburga and Orion Black got to them before James' parents saw them, with Regulus in tow.

The Blacks were all very tall, Orion far over 6 foot and his wife not far behind. This made the task of looking down their noses at everyone that much easier.

"Sirius. Who are these two?" Walburga sniffed, looking very imperious. James was surprised that she didn't recognize Dany. Maybe she did but was pretending that she didn't. Sirius looked like he didn't want to answer but was going to anyways (possibly with a lie) when Dany jumped into the conversation.

"I'm Danilynn Masters. This is James Potter. You must be Sirius and Regulus' parents." She said sweetly and James raised his eyebrows in surprise. She had commiserated on several occasions with him on wanted to strangle these two and now she was acting like she loved them. Walburga Black seemed taken off guard by this too.

"The Minister's daughter? It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss. Masters." Dany ignored this as if to say 'yes, the pleasure is yours because it certainly isn't mine'. She still held onto the cheery voice and bubbly attitude.

"My father said that you'd be attending our New Years party for the first time this year; it's a fun party, I promise. Besides, my parents are very excited to meet Sirius; they've met all of my friends except for him. Everyone of notable importance will be there so rest assured that it's well protected. None of this Death Eater nonsense will permitted. Aurors will be protecting the guests the entire night. I'm sorry, but I have to go. My brother is waving me over." She shook hands with Sirius' mother, who pulled her hand back abruptly. James didn't miss the red marks on the back of her hand where Dany had dug her nails in. She nodded at Orion Black and tightly said, "Regulus" to the youngest Black. She hugged Sirius hard and James heard her breathe "stay safe" into his ear before she let him go. She hugged James too and as she walked away said, "See you all on New Years!"

James smiled a little and shook his head. She had played the Minister's daughter perfectly: sweet, unassuming, but confident all the same. She had simultaneously told the Blacks that they were not only obligated to go but that there was no way that any of their Death Eater pals were getting in. She also had made it crystal clear that their son was now under the immediate protection of the Minster and if he looked harmed in any way, Daniel Masters would be taking a personal interest.

James and the Blacks watched her leave and on her way out with her brother, a woman stopped her. She paused and nodding, pulled something from her bag that caught the light with a gold flash. Money. She handed it to the woman, who threw her arms around her. Dany leaned down to speak to the child briefly and then she left the platform with her brother, the woman and her child, and their driver. James gave Sirius the guy equivalent of a hug.

"See you soon, Brother. I'll tell the folks you say hey." Sirius nodded and hugged him back quickly.

"Yeah, tell Dorea that I want that casserole next time I'm at your place. That stuff is wicked good. See you soon, James." Sirius said tightly. James nodded and with nothing else to do, walked off with everyone of his instincts telling him not to leave Sirius with those people.