One would think Ravenclaw blokes would be much more intelligent on the quidditch pitch than the average male. This was quite the opposite of the truth Danny realized, as she surveyed the position of the Claws' keeper. He listed ever so slightly to the left, an error that left any attempt at a save to the right several seconds slower than acceptable. She scoffed as one of the chasers fumbled the quaffle, noticing that his grip on the large scarlet ball was much too loose, leaving it susceptible to being knocked straight out of his arms from below.
Danny continued to watch the team practice from her spot underneath the bleachers, not daring to move until the captain called his team into the locker rooms. As soon as the last player trudged his way off the pitch, Danny bolted, not daring to stop running until she was half way back to the castle. Steadying her breathing, she smirked to herself. It would be no problem beating the Ravenclaws. Of that she was sure. The Claw's saving grace was their seeker but Al would have no problem snagging the snitch before the dirty Ravenclaws could get their hands on it. And besides, she thought, Scorp was the best keeper Hogwarts had seen since the legendary Oliver Wood. The Ravenclaw chasers, with their weak grip and lazy form, wouldn't put many points on the board with Scorpius at the goalposts.
Strolling lazily towards the Slytherin common room, Danny felt confident in her team's ability to secure the cup for Slytherin once again. Last year, when she had taken over the captain's position, Slytherin had won the cup for the first time since before the War.
Spouting off the password, Danny slipped upstairs to her dormitory intent on drawing up new plays that would take advantage of all the Ravenclaw players' weaknesses. She allowed herself to shrug off her guilt at spying; after all, there was a reason she was sorted into Slytherin and not Gryffindor. Drawing the emerald curtains closed around her bed, she cast several charms to make sure she would not be disturbed as she became lost in the world of quidditch.
Several hours later, Danny roused herself from her quidditch induced stupor just in time for dinner. Her stomach rumbled painfully as she remembered she had skipped breakfast in order to spy on the Claws' practice and then lunch in order to draw up plays while said practice was still fresh in her head. Slipping out into the dungeons, Danny made her way to the Great Hall, where she was sure to find Al and Scorpius.
Elbows leaning against the table, Danny listened to Albus and Scorpius argue, yet again, about whether the Harpies would beat Puddlemere this year. Albus was loyal to the Harpies for the sole reason that his mother had captained the team for several years before giving birth to his older brother, James. Scorpius' obsession with Puddlemere came from the fact that his idol, Oliver Wood, still played for them. Personally, Danny couldn't bring herself to care; anyone with any sense knew that the Tornadoes would take the league this year. And she didn't hesitate to share her opinion with her two best friends.
Al rolled his eyes at her. "Honestly, Danny, I don't understand how you can like the Tornadoes. I mean, your father plays for Puddlemere. Show a bit of family support."
Scorpius nodded, agreeing, "Yeah, Al's right. Merlin, your father is Oliver Wood, only one of the greatest keepers to grace the European league in ages. Show some respect." He nudged her with his elbow, laughing as her arms slipped off the table, her face almost landing in her mashed potatoes. Danny barely caught herself in time. She shot a glare in his direction.
"Bloody hell guys. You know that my father has always encouraged me to form my own opinions on quidditch teams. I will agree that he's a great player, and he's really brought that team out of their own ashes. But the Tornadoes have a brilliant offense and their seeker is bloody fantastic. 'Sides, I don't feel like talking about quidditch much right now. Spent the entire bloody day spying on Ravenclaw." The expression on her best friends' faces worried her. "I hope your ugly mugs don't get stuck in that position, you'll have an even harder time picking up girls than you already do."
Al scowled at her. "For your information Danny, I just had a fantastic snog with Ariana today. Bloody brilliant, that girl. She does this thing with her tongue that just-"
"Stop! Stop! I don't want to know what Ariana does with her tongue!" Danny clapped her hands over her ears for good measure. She had listened to enough stories about Albus' slag of a girlfriend. She did not need to be graced with anymore details.
"I'll just tell Scorp later then," he said dismissively, not noticing the green tinge that came across said friend's face. "It's just bloody strange, you not wanting to talk quidditch, I mean. You always want to talk about it. Completely nutters over the sport, you are."
Scorpius nodded in agreement, his spine straightening suddenly and his shoulders pulling back from their usual slouch. Danny turned around, smiling as Rose plopped down next to her. "Hey Rosie. Surprise seeing you here." Rose Weasley rarely ever sat with Danny and the boys at dinner, choosing to sit next to her Ravenclaw boyfriend instead.
"Yes well, John and I broke up. We just weren't meant to be. Such a shame, he was such a handsome bloke." She waved her hand nonchalantly, brushing it off. Rose went through several different boyfriends a year, break ups weren't a new thing for her. She brightened considerably, twisting her auburn hair, "Guess that means you'll be seeing a lot more of me!" Al looked positively green at this statement, while Scorp looked a tad too enthusiastic.
"Rose, we live in the same dorm. I see you plenty. Every morning in fact. And it isn't a pretty sight," Danny said dryly.
She sniffed indignantly. "I am positively radiant in the mornings. At least I don't drool and ramble on about quaffles and such." Scorpius and Al burst out laughing at her statement, causing Danny to turn a violent shade of red.
"Shove off," she muttered. "I do not drool. I'm not a troll like Nott." Danny got up from the table. "I've got to go meet James, I promised to help him with potions." Danny could still hear their laughter as she walked away. Danny had been tutoring James since the beginning of the year, seeing as he was absolute rubbish at potions. She had always been brilliant at the subject; it was the only class in which she excelled.
She felt nervous. She'd gotten the feeling as of late that James was developing feelings that weren't entirely platonic. There were two things wrong with this.
He was Al's brother.
He was also the captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team.
James and her got along well enough, she supposed, but it would be like dating the enemy. An enemy that could take advantage of her knowledge of the Slytherin quidditch team. Danny stopped dead in the hallway. If he could extract knowledge from her, then couldn't she very well do the same to him?
A plan began to form in the back of Danny's mind.
She could date James and thereby gather inside information on the Gryffindor quidditch team. It wasn't the noblest of plans, but she never claimed to be a Gryffindor. Bloody idiots, the lot of them. Letting something like chivalry and loyalty get in the way of winning.
No, Danny mused, she wouldn't let something so trite as someone else's feelings get in the way of her brilliant scheme.
She would date James, gather information from him, beat Gryffindor, their biggest rivals, and then gently dump him. Bloody fantastic.
Yes, Danny Wood was a Slytherin through and through.