Bushy brown hair was what Danielle looked for at Platform 9 3/4 the next morning. She searched for Hermione until she only had five minutes to be on the train, hoping that if she found her she could see Harry. Neither of them were seen by her, so she finally decided to put her trunk on the storage car and got on the train. As she walked through the train, Danielle noticed almost every compartment was fully. It was when she finally found one that wasn't full that she found Hermione. She also saw three other guys with her; two looked to be her age while the other, who was sleeping, was much older.
Danielle hesitantly opened the door and stuck her head in. "Hey, Hermione, do you mind if I sit with you? All of the other compartments are full..."
"Of course," Hermione said happily and turned to the others. "You guys, this is Danielle, the girl I told you about last night," she told them as Danielle walked in and sat beside her. Hermione pointed first to the redhead sitting directly across from her. "This one here is Ron, and that's Harry," she then pointed to the black-haired boy across from Danielle.
Danielle waved to them both, "G'day. Who's that?" she asked pointing at the sleepling man.
"That's Professor R.J. Lupin," Hermione answered, and they fell into an uncomfortable silence.
"So tell us about yourself, Danielle." Harry asked.
"Well my name is Danielle Clayton. I'm a third year, and I just transferred here from Kakirra Wizardry School in Sydney, Australia. I live in London with my aunt and uncle," this was said with nearly no emotion.
"What about your parents?" as soon as those words left Ron's mouth, Hermione stomped down hard on his foot to shut him up.
Danielle saw this and gave a ghost of a smile. "It's okay, Hermione. My parents died a few months ago," her face gave away nothing but her eyes showed her nervousness as she looked toward Hermione. "Hermione, could I talk with you outside the compartment?"
The three teenagers all gave her a weird look. "Er sure, Danielle," Hermione answered quietly. The two of them stepped outside the compartment and out into the hall. Hermione was staring curiously at Danielle while said young witch just stared nervously at the floor. "So, what did you need to talk to me about?"
Danielle sighed and looked up at Hermione. "Hermione... there's something I need to tell you..." she began quietly. "My relatives...erm...well they're not the nicest people in the world. They've done horrible things to you and your friends..."
"What are you talking about, Danielle?" Hermione asked, confused. "The only people who've ever done anything horrible to us are the..." realization finally dawned on her. "No, Danielle please tell me you're not related to the Malfoys.."
Danielle sighed once again and looked down at her shoes. "I really wish I could, Hermione. I know they're horrible, and I would understand if you didn't want me anywhere near Harry..."
Hermione stepped closer to Danielle, making her look back up to her wearily. "But you're not like them.."
Danielle laughed cynically. "And how can you be so sure? What if they sent me to get inside information on the great Harry Potter?" she asked angrily.
"Well, I honestly don't think you'd be a good liar to do that," Hermione said calmly.
I wish that were true, Danielle thought as she hung her head. "I just thought you should know.."
Hermione nodded and smiled softly. "I'm glad you trust me enough to tell me. Are you going to tell Ron and Harry?"
"Yes, but not yet. Give me a few weeks to get to know them, okay?" Danielle asked pleadingly.
Hermione nodded and hugged her knew friend. "Come on, lets get back inside. There's no telling what they think we're talking about," she said to lighted the mood. Danielle smiled and nodded before following Hermione back into the compartment. There was an awkward silence as they sat down. It was finally broken when the woman pushing the sweets trolley came by asking them if they would like anything to eat. Harry got up and seemed to by some of everything. When he sat back down, he placed the sweets on the seat beside him, and Ron, Hermione, and he all grabbed something from the large pile. Danielle guessed that this was tradition for them
"Would you like some, Danielle?" Harry offered, gesturing towards the candy.
Danielle looked at him and smiled. "Oh no, that's okay. Please don't take this wrong, but I just don't like it when others buy things for me," that didn't come out right, she thought immediately. "I mean this is a tradition for you, Ron, Hermione--I don't want to intrude on that..."
Hermione covered her mouth as she swallowed a bite of her pumpkin pasty. "Danielle, you know that's no true..."
Danielle smiled sheepishly to the three of them. "I just don't feel right taking it..."
"Just take one, please?" Harry gave her a puppy dog face.
Danielle chuckled at his antics and sighed before picking up a chocolate frog. She made a point of giving him an 'Are you happy now?' look to which he just smiled. They then fell into easy conversation, and although Danielle was glad for this, she hated leaving out important information about herself.
Harry noticed something out of place about Danielle. There was something she was not telling them, and when he caught her gaze, he thought he could see fear flicker through it. She intrigued him, though. There was an air about her that just drew him to her. There was nothing outstandingly beautiful about her; she was actually quite average. Shoulder-length wavy dark blonde hair, athletically built body, not particularly tall or short. Danielle's eyes were what captivated him. They were a smoky hazel that seemed to guard her emotions from everyone, but there were times where they were so clear he could see every emotion running through them. He didn't realize how much he was studying her until she gave him a look that asked 'Why are you staring at me?' He just shrugged and looked out the window for a while, but he was soon stealing glances at her again.
Their easy conversation was cut short when the train lurched to a screeching halt about halfway to Hogwarts. "What's going on? We can't be there yet..." Hermione thought aloud.
"Dunno," Harry responded. "Maybe we've broken down." This appeased them, but they all knew it wasn't true.
There was suddenly another lurch as if something had rammed the train, and the air around them grew freezing cold. Unknown to them, someone had just boarded the train, or rather something. They heard a noise coming from outside their compartment and looked toward the door. Something was coming towards them.
From where she was sitting in their compartment, Danielle could clearly see two figures walking--well more like floating--towards the compartment they were in. Automatically she reached for her wand and prepared herself to face whatever was coming for them. Waiting for them to come closer, she tried to think of a spell to repel the creatures, but first she had to figure out just what they were.
As the figures came closer, Danielle finally got a clear look at what the creatures were. Oh my God. They're dementors! she screamed in her mind. She knew exactly what spell she needed to use. Standing at the door, her wand was at the ready and she was ready to do what she had to.
"Danielle, what do you think you're doing? You can't face these things!" Hermione exclaimed.
Danielle briefly looked at her from over her shoulder. "Watch me," she whispered.
Harry stood and grabbed her wrist. "Don't.."
"I have to, Harry," she said just above a whisper. "Our only other hope of stopping these dementors is in a drunken sleep--judging by how much is gone from that bottle of firewiskey. I'm the only one here who knows the spell to get rid of these things," she said knowingly.
Harry nodded and let go of her while Hermione desperately tried to wake the sleeping professor. Danielle thought of her happiest memory and raised her wand as two dementors entered their compartment. Unknown to her, the professor was finally waking.
Danielle held her memory in her head as leveled her wand toward the dementors. "Expecto Patronum!" she yelled.
The spell immediately drove away the first dementor, but as the second one drew closer, the thought of her parents death entered her mind. This made her spell considerably weak and begin to fade. Most of her happiest memories were of her and her parents. Her Patronus dissipated into nothingness as the second dementor continued to advanced on her. What happened next she couldn't really explain, but it felt as if her soul was being ripped form her body. In reality, that's basically what was happening. The last thing she saw before fainting was Professor Lupin performing the Patronus Charm.
***
While Danielle was unconscious, she had a vision of her parents. "Mum? Dad? Is it really you?"
"Yes, sweety, it's really us," her mother's soothing voice reached her ears.
Danielle choked back a sob as she ran towards her parents' open arms. She hugged them tightly as she sobbed into their shoulders. "I miss you guys so much," Danielle croaked out.
"We miss you too, baby," her dad whispered back.
"But you know, honey," her mother started, pulling back slightly to look at her daughter, "you can't let our death keep you from living your life. Honey, you need to know something."
Danielle looked curiously at her mother. "What is it, Mum?"
Her mother look to her husband for assistance. "Darlin', we know that everything you've ever known has changed in just a few months, but it was our time to go, and we went the way that all parents want to go; protecting their little girl. We'd do it again if we could, darlin', we want you to know that," her dad added.
"And we'll always be with you right here," her mother continued as she put her hand over Danielle's heart, "forever," she added.
"Your mum's right. But d'ya know what you need to do right now?" her father asked to which Danielle shook her head. "You need to wake up and live your life to the fullest."
Danielle chuckled and hugged her father. "You always were so corny, Dad," she said as she hugged her mother as well. She the closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she noticed three things. One: she was back on the train. Two: the train was moving again, that was a good thing. Third: there were four worried faces hovering over her. "Is everyone okay?"
"We're all fine, but are you, Danielle?" Hermione answered.
Danielle nodded and tried to sit up. "Yeah, I'm fine. Did any of you faint?"
"I did," Harry spoke up as he stepped into her view. He helped her sit up when he saw that she was struggling.
Danielle was about to say something when the professor beat her to the punch. "And it could've been worse had you not produced the Patronus Charm. I am Professor Lupin, and I am astounded that you were able to perform that spell."
"Thank you, Professor..." Danielle said, thinking of his name. It was so familiar. Then it hit her. "Lupin, as in Remus Lupin?"
"Yes..." he answered.
"Oh, you're one of my father's friends. You went to school with him. Sam Clayton, do you remember him?" she asked hopefully.
Lupin chuckled and smiled brightly. "How could I forget? He was one of my best friends in school along with Harry's father, James." Professor Lupin couldn't stop that last statement from coming out, and he immediately regretted it.
Harry's head snapped up at the mention of his father. Danielle looked over at him; now she knew why his name sounded familiar. When her parents told her of their school years, they always talked about their best friends James, Lily, and Remus. Her parents nearly always mentioned James and Lily's son as well, who she now remembered was Harry. She suddenly felt sorry for him. She'd known her parents her entire life; he'd never had the chance to do that with his parents.
Professor Lupin noticed the discomfort on the teenagers faces felt responsible. He cleared his throat. "Here, eat this," he handed them both a piece of chocolate. "It will help you feel better." he said before exiting the compartment.
"What were those things?" Ron asked after a moment.
"Dementors," said Danielle absently. "They're guards from Azkaban; horrible creatures. They're drawn to positive human emotions, and they feed on them. If you stay around one for too long, you become just like them--soul-less and evil. They leave you with only your worst experiences."
"If it makes you relive your worst memory, then how come I only heard a woman scream?" a confused Harry asked.
Danielle sighed. "My guess is that it was...erm...that it was your mum....the night she died. You probably didn't see anything because you were too young to remember seeing anything from that event."
Harry was silent for a long time. There was one thing bothering Hermione though. "Where did you learn that spell? From Professor Lupin's reaction, it must be a really advanced spell."
Danielle smiled softly for a moment. "My dad taught it to me. He and my mum would teach me some of the things I would need to know the next school year. Mum would teach me Potions, Transfiguration, and Herbology. Dad taught me to fly, Charms, and Care of Magical Creatures. They both would teach me Defense Against the Dark Arts. A lot of it really hard, but things like flying and Care of Magical Creatures were so much. We usually spent extra time doing those. Well that, and Defense Against the Dark Arts, but they always thought I needed to know more of that. I loved it when they taught me; they made it fun." she smiled at the fond memories.
"Can you teach me that spell?" Harry's question pulled Danielle from her memories.
Danielle laughed sheepishly. "I can try. I can't promise I'd be a very good teacher."
As they got closer to the Hogsmeade train station, they decided to change into their robes. They took a blanket from Hermione's trunk and hung it across the middle of the cabin. The boys waited patiently as the girls changed, and the girls did the same for the boys. After all four teenagers were finished changing and the blanket was back in Hermione's trunk, the train began slowing to a stop. This time it was at the train station in Hogsmeade.
"Come on, Danielle! We don't want to be late for the feast." Hermione exclaimed as they hurried off the train and towards a long row of carriages. As the four teens sat in a carriage together, Hermione was filling Danielle in on all of the classes she could take at Hogwarts. Danielle was only half listening though. She was busy worrying over what house she would be placed in.
The Great Hall was enormous; it was as big as half of her old school. There were four long tables going the length of the room, and she guessed that students in certain houses had to sit at certain tables. "Where should I go?" she asked Hermione.
Hermione looked around. "I dunno. I guess you should just sit with us until Professor Dumbledore calls you to be sorted."
When all the students were seated, Professor Dumbledore stood behind an ornately decorated podium and called for silence. "Before we sort the first years, I'd like to make an announcement. We have been privileged to have a student transfer here from Australia. Come up here and get sorted into your house, Miss Clayton."
Danielle stood and nervously walked up towards the front of the Great Hall. Up there was an aging woman in a forest green cloak holding a battered and wrinkled old hat. "Just stand right there and face the students," she instructed. "I will place the Sorting Hat on your head, and it will place you in your house."
Danielle nodded as the woman placed the old hat on her head. Everything in the hall was quiet for a minute. "You are a difficult one, child," the hat spoke. "You seem to have characteristics that all of the Founding Four would want in their houses. Gryffindor's courage, Ravenclaw's cleverness, Hufflepuff's compassion, and Slytherin's cunning. Your pure blood makes you a fine candidate for Slytherin, but you don't seem to care about blood lines. Hmmm you are difficult, child..." the hat was quiet for a moment. "GRYFFINDOR!!!" it shouted suddenly.
The entire room erupted with applause; most of it was coming from the Gryffindor table. The witch who had put that hat on her in the first place now took it off and smiled. "Welcome to to Hogwarts, Miss Clayton. I am Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor House."
Danielle nodded and headed back to her place beside Hermione, and they fell into an animated conversation. That was until two red-headed boys grabbed Hermione's attention. "Oi, Hermione, is she your cousin?" they asked simultaneously.
Hermione and Danielle look at each other for a moment before bursting into fits of laughter. "No, we only met yesterday. Why do you ask?" Hermione asked through giggles.
"Well, you two do look like you could be related," Harry spoke up.
Danielle smirked at him for a split second before turning to Hermione with a serious look on her face. "Hermione, there's something I need to tell you," Hermione gave her a confused look. "I'm your long lost cousin!"
Everyone around them immediately busted out laughing. Danielle was then put through introductions, and she almost couldn't keep track of who was who. When everyone was full and in good spirits, Professor Dumbledore called for silence again. "Now that we are stuffed by that delectable feast, I'd like to make another announcement. As many of you may have noticed, this year Hogwarts will play host to the dementers of Azkaban. Now, as I myself have been assured, I assure you that these dementers will not interfere with our daily activities. However, I must strongly urge you to stay clear of them because it is not in the nature of a dementer to be forgiving. They will not distinguish between the one they are hunting, and the one that gets in their way. But you know, happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if only one remembers to turn on the light...."
With that riddle in mind, they were all then dismissed to their houses. Danielle followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione up many flights of stairs to Gryffindor's common room. Harry sat in an armchair; Ron and Hermione plopped down on the couch, and Danielle sat on the floor leaning against the couch. They chatted amiably for a while until a boy she'd met at supper came towards them. Neville, she thought his name was.
"Danielle, Malfoy's outside the portrait and he says he wants to talk to you," he told her shyly.
Danielle shared a nervous look with Hermione before sighing and standing up. "Thanks, Neville," she answered before exiting the common room.
"What would Malfoy want with Danielle?" Ron and Hermione shrugged, and Harry didn't catch how Hermione nervously glanced at the portrait hole.
"Maybe we should be there; in case Malfoy tries to make trouble," Hermione suggested. Harry and Ron nodded and they made their way to the portrait hole. They held it open just enough so that they could hear the conversation without being seen.
Danielle and Malfoy were oblivious to their audience as they talked. "What do you want, Draco?" Danielle asked in a frustrated tone.
Malfoy ignored her and glared daggers at her for a moment. His eyes were full of malice and hate. "How could you be placed in Gryffindor House, cousin? You're a disgrace to our family," he hissed.
Danielle scoffed. "Our family? I'm not part of your family, remember? My mum was disowned from your family when she married my dad. I may be biologically related to you, but I am not your family!"
Malfoy strode up to Danielle and lashed out his anger. His fist connected with her face before she had time to register what he was doing. As Danielle fell to the ground, Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran through the portrait toward her. Harry helped her to her feet and inspected the bruise that was quickly forming under her eye while Ron and Hermione stepped in front of them and pointed their wands at Malfoy.
A muttered spell came from behind Ron and Hermione. The next thing Malfoy knew, he was tied up by invisible binds, and his wand was knocked from his hand. Danielle walked towards him with her wand raised at his head. "I'm glad I'm not part of your family. I hate living with you lot; you're nothing but a bunch of show ponies, but when you lay your slimy hands on me, you will suffer. Now you, being the drongo that you are, punched me, so you must really want to live in the hospital wing." she pressed her wand against his cheek to emphasize her point.
Harry placed a hand on her shoulder. "As much as we would love to see that happen to Malfoy, we don't want you expelled on your first day."
Danielle slowly lowered her wand, but the she suddenly shoved her knee into Malfoy's groin. As she lifted the binding spell, she watched in satisfaction as he sank to the floor groaning in pain. Danielle turned around and took a deep breath. She looked at the astonished faces of her three new friends and smiled. "I've been wanting to do that for months."
Ron and Hermione laughed loudly while Harry gave Danielle a wide grin. All four walked back into the common room, leaving a groaning Malfoy on the floor in pain. The smiles were gone when they sat back down by the fire. Harry and Ron were looking to her for answers; Hermione sat beside her, trying to offer some comfort. "I know that you want an explanation," Danielle started.
"You bet we do!" Ron practically yelled. "How are you in Gryffindor if you're a Malfoy?"
"Shush, Ronald," Hermione hissed. "Let her explain."
Ron huffed but stayed silent. Danielle sighed before continuing. "My mum was never like her brother, my uncle. Her parents always resented her being Gryffindor when for centuries, their family had always been in Slytherin. From the time she eleven, they'd always favored her brother, but Mum didn't care about that. She had my dad and the rest of her friends. In their seventh year, my dad asked my mum to marry him, and she said yes. When Voldemort came to power, they were part of the resistance against him. I think it was right after your parents were killed, Harry, that mine left with me to Australia. It was my home for nearly twelve years. I may be a Malfoy, but like my mother, I'm nothing like them."
Danielle didn't look any of them in eye, so Harry sat down in front of her to make her look at him. "I believe you; I knew the first time I met Malfoy that he was trouble, and you're definitely not like him."
Danielle smiled at him. "Thank you, Harry."
Harry smiled back at her; Hermione gave her a one-armed hug. "Well, I think it's time that all get to bed." The other three nodded and they all went of the staircases to their respective dormitories. As Hermione and Danielle got dressed for bed, there was one thing that was still bugging Danielle.
"Er-Hermione, there's one more thing I need to tell you..."
Hermione sat on her bed and looked at Danielle. "Sure, what is it?"
Danielle sat beside her, closed the bed curtains, and performed a silencing charm so that the other girls wouldn't hear them talking. "I told that my parents died while we were camping," Hermione nodded. "That's not really true..."
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Hermione asked.
Danielle sighed shakily. "I told you that my parents fled to Australia after Voldemort killed Harry's parents. I never really knew why they fled, and I didn't know it was because of Voldemort. This summer, he found us; I don't know how. My parents only told two people where they were going, and one of them is dead." Tears bagan to form in Danielle's eyes. "It was June, and we'd actually just got done flying through the bushes. We never had to worry about people seeing us fly because we lived in a rural area. Voldemort and others--I'm sure who they were--broke into our house. He used the Killing Curse on them while I hid in the closet like they told me to. I guess I screamed a little too loud," this was said, dripping with sarcasm, "because he found me next."
The tears were flowing freely down her cheeks as she stared blankly at Hermione's blanket. "These scars aren't from dingos, Hermione. I don't know what spell Voldemort used, but it did all this." Danielle showed Hermione her scars on her arms and legs."
Hermione stared at her as she cried silently. "You lied to me..."
"I know, Hermione, and I'm sorry, but I didn't think you would believe me. I didn't think anyone would," Danielle said vehemently. Hermione said nothing, so Danielle lifted the silencing charm. "I truly hope you can forgive me, you're the first friend I made here," she said before returning to her own bed. That night was met with a fitful night of sleep. Danielle didn't know what would happen between her and Hermione after this night, but she really hoped that everything would be alright.
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I know I haven't updated in a while, but these summer english assignments are killing me! lol well enjoy.
