Phoenix Phantom

by R.tistiC

Challenge response. Danny and Danielle are in England and happen to witness an introduction to a world they never knew existed when they see Harry Potter face Dementors in an alleyway of Little Whinging. When the Order of the Phoenix finds out that the Phantoms could somehow also see dementors, despite being muggles, secrets of the Wizarding World and their upcoming war unravel.

10. On the Hogwarts Express

Finally, a new chapter! Updated in the summer, just as promised. And an extra long one to boot. Sorry for the wait. However, for some reason, my spell-checker hasn't been working right lately in picking up errors I knew for sure there were. I'd deliberately spell something wrong to test it out and absolutely nothing happened. So there may be even more typos than usual in this chapter. If you find any, please let me know where they are and how to fix them in a PM and DON'T draw attention to them in reviews.

Now, in this chapter both Danielle and Danny are going to be introduced to a couple of new characters from Harry Potter's world as Danielle is off to Hogwarts. Further, Danielle's going to find out more about the different houses and what kind of traits they have; for good or bad.

Hope you enjoy. ^_^

Disclaimer:I do NOT own Danny Phantom (Except my design of the older version of Danielle) or any of the Harry Potter books or movies.

Chapter 10: On the Hogwarts Express

Danielle had a very troubled night's sleep. The Vlad Plasmius imitation the boggart had taken shape of wove in and out of her mind no matter how hard she tried to think of anything else. Even her recent dementor encounter and knowing what they could do didn't compare to the horrors that had reawakened since seeing a solid, extremely realistic, and even interactive form of Vlad in that drawing room.

In all honesty, Danielle felt rather foolish that she was still allowing herself to be so bothered by events that happened years ago. After everything she had gone through since those times and all the ways her new family had been helping her for the past year, Danielle kept feeling she should have been over it by now. She already had the stress of events that might happen at a new school and the wonder of how well she'd be able to keep her identity a secret burdening her. Why now, of all times, did a rude awakening of those awful memories of that man have to remind her that she really wasn't completely over it after all.

Danielle awoke at a quarter after seven the next morning, finding Danny still sleeping soundly in the next bed. The train she and the other Hogwarts students were to take to the castle wouldn't be leaving the station until eleven o'clock. Regardless, Danielle resorted to getting out of bed to get ready for the day, finding it useless to try to get any more sleep. Not with all that her head kept spinning through; Vlad-related or otherwise.

Danielle was packing up the spell books she had left out for late-night reading when Danny stirred awake at last.

"Morning," Danny said with a cheerful yawn as he sat up.

"Hey," Danielle replied halfheartedly as she tried to organize her belongings into the new school trunk Dumbledore had provided for her. As she did so, she sincerely hoped Danny wouldn't bring up the boggart.

"Dani?"

Danielle almost cringed in hearing the concern in her cousin's voice.

"About last night..."

"...I'm okay..." said Danielle quietly and quickly.

After a moment of silence, Danielle couldn't help looking towards Danny. The uncertainty on his face indicated that he must have been nervous in bringing up the subject. All the same, he was staring at her suspiciously.

"Really," added Danielle, a bit more defensively than she intended.

"...You sure?"

"—Yeah..."

Danielle turned back to her trunk. It wasn't really a lie. The image of Vlad still dwelt in the back of her mind, but it was just a cheap knock-off after all. With all that was about to happen, she felt sure she'd get over it by the end of the day.

Another moment of silence occurred between the two cousins in which Danielle hoped Danny would say nothing more on the matter.

"Well...okay then," said Danny, still sounding a bit unconvinced. Danielle heard a rustling behind her before she caught a metallic cylindrical shape appearing from over her shoulder out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see that the cylinder had green outlines and instantly recognized the Fenton Thermos Danny was presenting her with.

"Seriously, Danny?" said Danielle forcefully, nearly knocking the Thermos out of Danny's hand in pushing it away as though it offended her. "You think I'm that paranoid?"

"I wasn't meaning—" Danny stuttered, surprised. "I was gonna give it to you anyway."

Danielle folded her arms raising a skeptical eyebrow. "You really think I'm afraid Vlad will come out from under my bed at night and attack me while I'm at an unknown magic school?"

"Of course not," said Danny instantly, giving her a stern look as if thinking she was the one being ridiculous. "I've always known you could take him on anyway."

Danielle felt admittedly lighter in understanding Danny's confidence in her, but she didn't allow it to sate her exasperation with his overprotectiveness. She shook her head, turning once again to her trunk and ignoring the Thermos her cousin was offering.

Danny let out a frustrated sigh, letting the Thermos swing down to his side.

"Dani, I swear, this isn't about Vlad."

"Uh-huh."

"We don't know much about this world. There might be other things around here that use some form of ecto-energy that would still need to be kept under control. This can help with that—Just in case," Danny added with a defensive shrug when Danielle rolled her eyes towards him again.

"Hogwarts: A History says electronics don't work within the castle grounds and Hermione says the kinds of ghosts they have there aren't anywhere near dangerous."

"This doesn't run on normal electricity," Danny replied tirelessly, holding the Thermos up again and shaking it a little. "I just want to see if it would still work there. It could be a good learning experience for the both of us."

The two cousins fell silent and quite still: Danny extending the Fenton Thermos towards Danielle and Danielle folding her arms defiantly, frowning at her cousin. They stared at each other for a long moment as though testing each other's wills to see who would give out first, giving each other the same insistent expression. It was a long moment before either one of them even moved.

"Fine," Danielle gave up grudgingly, still glaring at Danny. She snatched the Fenton Thermos from his hand and tossed it unceremoniously into her trunk before snapping it closed. Danny had won this round...this time. However, as Danny was retreating into the closet with a change of clothes, Danielle couldn't help feeling a bit guilty for biting his head off the way she did. Even if he was concerned about her worrying about Vlad, all Danny had ever done was try to help. If Jazz had been here, Danielle had little doubt she'd say something like, 'I know you're stressed and all, but did you really have to pick a fight so early in the morning?'

Apart from this, as Danielle thought of it, she did notice that she somehow did feel safer upon receiving the Fenton Thermos. Even if there wasn't anything new that she could use the Thermos on at the school, there were still a few ghosts from Amity Park that did like giving them a hard time wherever they went; Ghosts that may have even followed them overseas and just hadn't struck yet. Perhaps Danny was right. The Thermos just might come in handy while she was at Hogwarts.

Five minutes later, Danny emerged from the closet, fully dressed and ready to go as Danielle headed for the bedroom door with her head drooping down in thought. In doing so, she nearly walked right into Hermione who was just about to knock on the door when Danielle had suddenly opened it. They started laughing instantly after.

"Best not to do that in the future, Hermione," said Danny from his bedside, smiling, as he was putting on his sneakers. "She'd have blown you off your feet in other circumstances."

After the girls had stopped laughing, Hermione's gaze fell on the trunk Danielle was wheeling behind her.

"Oh, good. I was just about to ask if you were getting packed yet," said Hermione. "Mrs. Weasley says to bring all the luggage downstairs as soon as possible."

Danielle nodded and followed Hermione into the hall and headed downstairs, dragging her trunk with her and glad to not have to be badgered by her older cousin for a time. On the ground floor, she found Mrs. Weasley talking to Mad-Eye Moody about something Danielle didn't quite catch when she set her trunk down and headed back upstairs to run one last sweep of her room for anything she might have forgotten. She saw Ginny stumbling with her own belongings at the top just as Danielle herself was passing the first landing.

Suddenly, Danielle gasped in seeing two trunks flying from the other end of the hall straight at Ginny who was dangerously close to the stairs.

"Look out!" cried Danielle urgently as she threw herself across the last few steps and grabbed Ginny's ankle.

Ginny let out a short yelp as she tensed for the impact of the trunks...that had already started toppling down the stairs behind her. The trunks hit the first landing with a crash that was sure to have sounded throughout the whole house. Sure enough, Mrs. Weasley came into view, taking a short glance at the trunks sprawled on the landing.

"FRED! GEORGE!" she bellowed angrily up the stairs.

"SORRY!" the voices of Fred and George called back in unison.

By that time, Ginny noticed that Danielle had a hold of her ankle.

"What are you doing? Get off me," Ginny said in irritated surprise. She practically kicked Danielle's hand off her leg as though it insulted her.

"You're welcome," Danielle said moodily under her breath. She wasn't about to tell Ginny that she had just turned her intangible to prevent her from getting knocked down the stairs. Not if she was going to behave that way about it.

"We were just trying to save ourselves the trouble of having to carry them," George called down the stairs apologetically.

"YOU COULD HAVE DONE SOMEONE A SERIOUS INJURY YOU IDIOTS!" screamed Mrs. Weasley at the top of her voice. She continued raging for another minute before Mad-Eye called up from the foot of the staircase.

"Molly! We still have some business to discuss before we leave, if you recall!"

Mrs. Weasley let out a perturbed growl. "We won't be leaving any time soon if people don't stop fooling around..." she grumbled as she stomped back down the stairs.

"Saved by the Mad-Eye," whispered Fred with a relieved whistle as his mother disappeared beyond sight. No one seemed to notice that the trunks had gone right through Ginny on their way down the stairs; to Danielle's relief. Though she couldn't have cut it any closer, especially with Fred and George always being so curious about her powers.

In all the chaos, no one noticed that Danny had taken an intangible shortcut to the ground floor after realizing the stairs had been thoroughly blocked by bodies that were being yelled at by Mrs. Weasley. He landed out of sight on the ground floor in time to overhear Mrs. Weasley talking to Mad-Eye Moody.

"...Alastar, for heaven's sake, the children are going to miss the train!" said Mrs. Weasley, sounding as frustrated as she had been all morning.

"And if we leave without Podmore, the guard will be one short," Moody protested.

"What guard?" interjected Danny curiously, stepping up to the two adults. He specifically eyed Moody, having not known he was in the house. He wondered if his magical eye had caught sight of him coming down through the ceiling just now.

"Oh, just a guard for Harry in case Death Eaters for some reason decided to attack him in the middle of a public setting," said Mrs. Weasley, giving Moody a look that clearly read that she thought the very idea was ridiculous.

"Safety first, Molly," said Moody firmly. "You never know what could happen."

"Um...hello! New Order member right here," said Danny, waving his hands in indication to himself. "If numbers are the issue, I can fill in."

Moody and Mrs. Weasley stared at him for a moment. Moody's giant electric-blue eye swiveled up and down Danny's skinny figure.

"You think you're bodyguard material, boy?" Moody said skeptically.

Danny folded his arms, knowing Moody thought he didn't look capable of much. Then again, neither had Dash Baxter.

"I've done it before," said Danny confidently. This was true. Ever since being designated the worldwide hero of the Muggles, he had been requested as protection for several important people on just as many occasions. The mayor of Amity Park most of all. Frankly, Tucker Foley trusted none else better than his lifelong best friend for such a job.

"Really?" said Mrs. Weasley surprised, as well as a bit puzzled.

Danny's confidence seemed to leave an impression on Moody. His magical eye shifted around again as he took another analytical look at Danny with what seemed to be more consideration this time.

"Hmm. Well, I suppose you would be capable of more than your appearance would let on if Dumbledore would recruit you," he concluded before his eye continued its constant swerving around at everything else. "What have you got, boy?"

Danny's eyes shifted from side to side, making sure no one else was looking before he smirked.

"Stealth," he said.

He turned invisible, seeing Mrs. Weasley jump with a small startled squeak. Moody's magical eye flew frantically all over the room in search of the boy who had vanished before his eyes.

"Not to mention..." —Danny's voice came from behind Mrs. Weasley, giving her a start— "…The element of surprise," Danny reappeared as he came out through the door from the dining room, closing the door behind him with a snap and leaning casually against it, crossing his legs and folding his arms.

He couldn't help grinning at the bewilderment on even Moody's face. Evidently his magical eye couldn't see Danny while he was invisible. While it could see what was solid under devices such as invisibility cloaks and see through walls, Danny's whole being became imperceptible whenever he used that particular power. It wasn't just a layer he put around himself that cloaked him only from the outside. Danny made a mental note of this as Moody quickly shook off his surprise.

"Huh...It really is good Dumbledore picked you up before Voldemort did" —Mrs. Weasley flinched at the mention of the name— "All right. I suppose you'll do."

Danny scoffed shaking his head at the 'you'll do'.

"Still, can't help but wonder where Podmore's gone off to..." said Moody thoughtfully, scratching the back of his head.

Mrs. Weasley was still looking between the point Danny had started from, to the corner of the room where she had then heard his voice, to where he was now standing at the dining room door, as though wondering how he had gotten between all these points so fast without being detected of the slightest movement. Danny was starting to think perhaps he had overdone it a bit in showing off to Moody before Mrs. Weasley finally shook off her own surprise. She looked at her watch, being reminded of how much in a hurry they were all in.

"WILL YOU LOT GET DOWN HERE NOW, PLEASE!" she called impatiently up the stairs as though Danny had done absolutely nothing bizarre just now. For this, Danny was grateful.

Danielle was the first to make it down, followed soon after by Hermione and then Harry.

"Harry, you're to come with me and Tonks," said Mrs. Weasley over the heads of everyone else that was starting to crowd the entry hall. "Leave your trunk and your owl, Alastor's going to deal with the luggage...Oh, for heaven's sake Sirius, Dumbledore said no!"

A bearlike black dog with long scruffy fir had appeared at Harry's side as he was clambering over the various trunks cluttering the hall to get to Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh honestly..." said Mrs. Weasley despairingly, "Well, on your own head be it!"

She wrenched open the front door and stepped into the weak September sunlight. Harry and the dog, that was evidently Sirius in disguise, followed her before the door was slammed behind them.

"We're supposed to go in shifts to avoid attracting too much attention. This is a Muggle neighborhood after all," Danny explained to Danielle when he stopped her from following them out the door.

Danielle didn't complain. She was more interested in lagging behind to ask Hermione a question anyway.

"So Sirius is a shape-shifter?"

"Well, an Animagus," Hermione corrected, looking like she also disapproved Sirius going outside, shaped like a dog or not. "If they choose, witches and wizards can learn to change into a specific animal at will. Sirius chose a dog."

"So, not all of you guys can turn into animals?" asked Danny from over Danielle's shoulder.

"Very few actually," said Hermione. "Learning to be an Animagus is very difficult. It took Sirius three years to master. In fact, there have only been seven—no wait, actually..." —she counted on her fingers for a moment—"...eleven this century. Oh! By the way, I should probably mention; outside of headquarters, Sirius is supposed to be referred to as Snuffles."

"Gotcha," Danielle nodded, agreeing that this was indeed an important thing to know. "Anyone else that uses a codename?"

"Not that I know of. But we'll probably need to be careful what we put in writing."

Danielle looked around, seeing Ron was rather uncomfortable with Hermione sharing this information with Danielle at all. Figures.

The next group left Grimmauld Place about five minutes after Harry's. This time, the Fentons went with Hermione, Ron and Mr. Weasley. Danny made sure he was out of sight before turning invisible to silently and secretly walk alongside them and keep a lookout for anything suspicious.

It took them twenty minutes to reach King's Cross Station by foot. Once inside the station, they lingered casually beside the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

"Oh, Danielle, I almost forgot to give you this," Mr. Weasley said, handing her a train ticket. On it read, September first; Platform nine and three-quarters.

Danielle squinted, thinking she must have misread the platform number before reading it again to confirm. She looked up at the barrier that separated platforms nine and ten. There was nothing there but brick wall that Harry was leaning against...before he vanished.

Danielle blinked in surprise, finding Harry nowhere in sight. Nor did she see Mrs. Weasley or the giant black dog, now that she thought of it. Thankful that Hermione was in her group, Danielle nudged her, eying the brick wall Harry seemed to have disappeared through.

"What's going on?"

"That's the gateway to platform nine and three-quarters," Hermione explained in a bit of an undertone as some people were walking by to platform ten. "You're supposed to walk straight at the wall."

Danielle rolled her eyes remembering how number twelve Grimmauld Place had been hidden between numbers eleven and thirteen. She should have known that a train bound for a secret magic school would be hidden in the same fashion.

"You need to make sure you don't stop as you're going through the barrier. And don't be scared or you'll crash into it," Hermione continued.

Mr. Weasley soon motioned that it was Danielle's turn to go through the barrier.

"Don't be nervous," Mr. Weasley reassured, trying to look as casual as possible with all the people around. "It's usually a good idea to do it at a run for your first time, though."

Danielle took her place next to the solid-looking brick wall of the barrier, thinking perhaps she'd go intangible to avoid any mishaps. Just in case. Once Mr. Weasley gave the word that the coast was clear, Danielle sidestepped through the brick wall, turning intangible just before doing so. Once on the other side, Danielle looked around, finding nothing had really changed. She looked back at the barrier she had passed through, finding that she still couldn't find any plastic nine and three-quarters label between the nine and ten.

"Danielle?"

Danielle looked around seeing a very confused Mr. Weasley looking at her from around the other side of the barrier. That was when Danielle realized all she had done was walk through the wall to the other side of the same platform she had started.

"Did you just go straight through the wall?" said Mr. Weasley blinking in surprise.

Danielle circled back around to where Mr. Weasley, Hermione, and Ron were scratching their heads in confusion.

"I thought that's what the idea was," Danielle shrugged, trying hard not to look too awkward in front of either the Muggles or the magic-folk. Thankfully, no one had been on the other side of the wall, watching.

"Yeah but...you're supposed to disappear into the wall. Not turn up on the other side of it," said Hermione, staring at the barrier.

"The barrier must not fancy you," said Ron from behind Hermione. He looked a bit too happy with his teasing, as though hoping Danielle's failure to cross through the barrier meant she couldn't go to Hogwarts with them after all.

"Ron, why don't you try next," Mr. Weasley suggested, still looking confused.

Ron stared at his father wide-eyed. Then, glancing warily at the barrier, he started walking towards it. It seemed like he was afraid Danielle had infected the wall somehow and was afraid she'd broken it; that he'd crash into it. But he went straight through, just as Harry had. The barrier worked just fine.

"Strange," said Hermione quietly.

Maybe it doesn't work if you're not solid. Danielle heard Danny's telepathic voice in her head. He must have realized from wherever he was hiding, invisible, that she had applied her ghost-powers to try and go through the barrier. Danielle had also been considering this.

"Let me try again," Danielle said, stepping up to the barrier once more, feeling a little more nervous this time. She had never gone straight at any solid object without knowing she'd be intentionally going intangible before hitting it. Then again, the worst thing that could happen would be hitting her face on the wall. She had endured worse injuries than just a broken nose before.

Danielle looked at the barrier, hoping it wasn't spelled to sense whether or not she really had the same kind of magic the people that normally used it had. If it did, hopefully, like with Dumbledore's wand, it would think she had magic through her ghost-powers and allow her passage to the train she was supposed to board.

"You want to go together?" Hermione offered helpfully.

Danielle took a deep breath and shook her head. "No, I think I'm okay," she replied, but giving Hermione a thankful smile.

Mr. Weasley gave the word and Danielle, once again, leaned casually against the barrier, staying solid this time as she still fell right through. This time, the next sight she took in was drastically different. A scarlet train had appeared out of nowhere belching sooty steam over a platform packed with departing students and their families. Overhead, she spotted a sign that said Hogwarts Express. Behind her, she saw a wrought-iron archway where the brick wall had been with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it. Not far off, she saw Harry and Mrs. Weasley talking with a tall boy with dreadlocks who was admiring the giant dog that was Sirius. Now she knew for sure that she had done it.

Before Danielle could take any time to admire the scenery much, Hermione had come up through the barrier behind her, nearly running straight into her for the second time that morning. Not long after, Moody suddenly came limping up behind them through the barrier pushing a large cart full of their trunks. A porter's cap was pulled down over his mismatched eyes. Danielle and Hermione both had to hurriedly move over towards Harry and Mrs. Weasley to avoid getting hit by the cart.

"All okay," Moody muttered to Mrs. Weasley and Tonks, who had used her Metamorphmagus magic to give herself tightly curled gray hair and was wearing a purple hat shaped like a porkpie today. "Don't think we were followed..."

Seconds later, Mr. Weasley emerged onto the platform. Danny soon came from behind a large bin being fully visible again to help with the trunks. They had almost unloaded Moody's luggage cart when Fred and George and Ginny turned up with Lupin.

"No trouble?" growled Moody.

"Nothing," said Lupin.

"I'll still be reporting Stirgis to Dumbledore," said Moody. "That's the second time he's not turned up in a week. Getting as unreliable as Mundungus."

The Order members, the Weasley family, Harry and Hermione started exchanging farewells and final cautionary warnings when Danny noticed Danielle had wandered away from the crowd with her own trunk, staring at the scarlet train. She had her back towards him, so he couldn't read her face. Feeling there was something amiss, he approached her.

"Well, this is it," Danny said casually, coming up from behind Danielle. Danielle turned to face him upon his advance, allowing Danny to see the uncertainty reflecting off the expression on her face. Still, he remembered how defensive she had become back at Grimmauld Place when he tried to give her the Fenton Thermos, so he tried to act like he hadn't noticed: At least for now. "…Magic school…I can hardly believe it still..."

Danielle said nothing as she looked down at her feet: The expression on her face unchanging.

"You okay?" asked Danny in spite of himself.

Danielle glanced up at Danny for a moment. Danny thought for a split second that she was about to get mad again. She didn't seem to be though. In fact, she didn't seem to be trying to hide her nervousness at all this time.

"This...this is the first time I'll be going to school without you," she finally said quietly.

Danny stared for a moment, having not expected this response. Then again, how could he not have thought of this before? Danielle had always been nervous being around people in school back at home, but at least back in Amity Park, Danny was always within the same building. This time, that would not be the case. Danny was going to be needed elsewhere for the majority of the time she was doing undercover work at Hogwarts.

"You'll be fine. It's just another mission," he said with a shrug, smiling as encouragingly as possible.

"A whole year long one at a place where I won't have anyone to relate to," said Danielle looking down at her trunk and rubbing her arm.

"I don't know about that," Danny shook his head, thinking of Hermione.

Danielle's head drooped, unconvinced.

Danny sighed. "Tell you what though. If you'd like, I'll check in now and then as you start off."

A smile tugged at the corners of Danielle's mouth at the mention of this. She seemed in a much more accepting mood than she had been earlier that morning. "That would help. Thanks."

Danny shrugged, smiling. "That's what family's for."

Danielle gave a genuine smile this time before rushing at Danny for a tight hug that he returned without hesitation, glad she seemed to be back to her old self since the boggart incident.

That was just before a snide voice came from behind them.

"Well, would you look at that. The nutter Potter's actually managed to find himself a—" —The Fenton cousins parted from their embrace to see who was addressing them so rudely—"…girl...friend…?"

A blond boy with a pale pointed face lost the confidence in the last of his sentence once Danny had turned to face him. He stared at Danny for a moment in surprised confusion. Two thickset boys that had the same expressions on their faces in seeing Danny facing them accompanied the blond. Aside from the confusion on their faces, the two other boys looked very mean and could very well have been bodyguards to the pale boy.

"You got something against my cousin, Blondie?" Danielle challenged the boy, putting her hands to her hips and glaring at him in outrage.

"No, of course not!" the pale boy said apologetically at once after shaking off his perplexity. "I just thought he was...someone else…"

Danny and Danielle shared a glance.

"Nice to know you like judging people based on the backs of their heads," said Danielle testily.

"And I do apologize for that," the boy said with a slight bow of his head. Then he glanced down at Danielle's trunk. "Er...would you like some help?"

Danielle continued her frown. "Not from you, thank you."

"I insist. Let me make it up to you," the boy said respectfully.

Danielle still felt a bit peeved by the boy's first introduction and she distinctly remembered that he had mistaken Danny as the "nutter Potter." Clearly this kid had been believing every word the Daily Prophet had been saying about him and wasn't afraid to show it. Her eyes shifted in Danny's direction as though asking his opinion. Danny simply shrugged his head towards the boy and his two friends.

"Fine," said Danielle, rolling her eyes.

The pale boy looked relieved by Danielle's response. He turned towards his two friends, giving them a visual cue. Instantly, they each took an end of Danielle's trunk and easily lifted it off the ground.

"Why have I never seen you before?" asked the blond boy as all five of the teens made their way to the closest carriage door.

"Probably cause I've never been here before," replied Danielle, not really feeling that she wanted to talk to this boy much. "Exchange student."

"Oh, that explains it. Where from?" the boy asked with interest.

"USA. North America," Danny answered for her.

"I had noticed the accent," the boy nodded, looking proud of his lucky mental guess.

The two brawny boys lifted Danielle's trunk through the door and onto the train when their leader turned to face Danielle directly.

"My name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy at your service," the boy introduced, holding out his hand for Danielle to shake.

Danny piqued an eyebrow, warily eying all three of the boys as Danielle hesitantly shook Draco Malfoy's hand.

"This is Vincent Crabb and Gregory Goyle," Malfoy indicated his two friends who nodded in turn to Danielle as they were introduced.

"Danielle Fenton," said Danielle with a nod in returned greeting. The frown on her face unchanged. "And this is my cousin, Danny."

"Pleasure," said Danny, taking his own turn to shake Malfoy's hand but still staring at him distrustfully. "When not being mistaken for a..."nutter" that is."

"Again; My apologies," Malfoy reassured.

Out of boredom and just wanting this conversation with the boy to end, Danielle happened to glance over to where she saw the Weasleys saying their last goodbyes before boarding the train. She noticed the giant black dog had reared up on its hind legs, putting its front paws on Harry's shoulders in an oddly human-like manner. Seconds later, she realized Ron and Ginny were looking in her direction with disconcerting looks just before they disappeared from sight.

Before Danielle could think much more on this, the train whistle sounded.

"We should board now. The train's about to leave," said Malfoy, gesturing Danielle to go first through the door where Crabb and Goyle waited with her trunk. Before doing so, Danielle turned to Danny to give him one last hug.

"Bye, Danny," she said as she tightly squeezed her cousin. At least this time, Malfoy had the courtesy to not say anything.

"Bye, Dani," Danny replied back before pulling her away to look in her face, smiling. "You'll be fine." Then he added telepathically in a more cautionary tone, Be careful though. I recognize this kid's last name. And it's not on the 'nice' list.

Danielle nodded in response (both to the telepathic and verbal message) before stepping onto the train. She felt a bit uncomfortable having the blond kid enter directly behind her as she reclaimed her trunk from his two brawny minions. She managed to wave goodbye to her cousin one last time before the train door was closed behind them. Soon after, she felt the train begin to move.

As she was making her way down the corridor with the three boys following close behind, she found it difficult finding a compartment that wasn't already filled with unfamiliar faces. She came to an eventual halt in the middle of the corridor wondering where she was supposed to go and whether or not there was a special place she was supposed to put her trunk.

"Would you like to sit with us, Fenton?" the voice of Malfoy offered politely, interrupting Danielle's thoughts.

"Uh..." Danielle had not counted on the three boys still following her at this point. Thankfully, she was saved the trouble of having to answer Malfoy's question for the moment when a girl came down the corridor towards them.

"Hurry, Draco. We have to get to the prefects carriage," she stopped suddenly in noticing Danielle. "Who's she?"

"New student, my dear Pansy," Malfoy answered her, looking delighted to see her. "Transferring from the United States this year."

"The States, eh," the girl named Pansy looked up and down Danielle, obviously disapproving of her messy hairstyle. "And her name?"

"Danielle Fenton," Danielle intervened. She didn't much like being addressed by the girl as though she wasn't there.

"I see," said Pansy, disinterested. "Well, Draco, we have to get going," she said, taking Malfoy's arm and attempting to pull him away.

"What's going on?" asked Danielle curiously.

Draco gently took his arm from Pansy before explaining, "Well. As new prefects, it's mandatory for us to go to the prefects carriage for instructions."

So this snooty blond kid and his girlfriend were prefects too. Danielle thought. This could really mean trouble.

"However, you're welcome to share a compartment with us once we return," Malfoy continued. Pansy looked suspiciously between Danielle and Malfoy upon this suggestion. "Crabb and Goyle are very good at finding seats. It shouldn't take long."

"The prefect meeting or finding seats?" asked Danielle as she eyed the two boys that had to be twice any normal person's size.

"Draco, there's no need to baby-sit the foreigner," Pansy whispered to Malfoy pressingly; again, talking about Danielle as though she were nothing important.

"I'm simply trying to be a good host, Pansy," Draco insisted, looking as though he was starting to get annoyed by the girl.

"I think I can find my own way around, actually," said Danielle, maneuvering her trunk to pull it after her. She was starting to feel rather claustrophobic in the narrow aisle of the train car and it was a perfect opportunity to get some distance from the boy anyway. "Wouldn't want to make you late for your meeting."

"Oh, don't be absurd," Malfoy protested as Danielle was taking a step down the corridor. "As a Slytherin prefect, I can't allow one unfamiliar with the customs of a new country to wander off and mingle with questionable strangers."

Danielle opened her mouth to speak when a familiar voice came from the other end of the corridor.

"And who would be any more questionable or stranger than you, Malfoy?"

It was Fred. He and George came up behind Danielle and stood on either side of her, just as Crabb and Goyle seemed to always be behind Malfoy. Danielle looked at the pale boy, noticing that his face had taken on a self-important expression as he narrowed his eyes at the Weasley twins.

"I can name a fair few people you keep for company, Weasley," Malfoy said arrogantly to Fred.

"These kids bothering you, Dani?" asked George to Danielle.

"No, not at all," said Danielle sarcastically. She felt quite satisfied in catching the look of surprise on the three boys' faces in seeing her talking to the Weasleys like she knew them well. "Just getting to know each other." Her gaze turned to Malfoy specifically and she glared at him disapprovingly.

Malfoy looked between Danielle and the redheaded boys with a raised eyebrow. "You know of the blood-traitor Weasley's, then?" asked Malfoy slowly, looking at her as though the very sight of the new girl with the family he evidently found inferior to himself was shameful.

"Yes. I do," said Danielle boldly, folding her arms for emphasis. "And that's the second time in the last twenty minutes that you've straight-up insulted someone I know."

Pansy sneered at Danielle as though this had confirmed that her precious Draco shouldn't be conversing with this new girl. Malfoy himself was looking rather disappointed in Danielle. After a moment he scoffed, shaking his head.

"See, this is exactly the sort of thing I was afraid would happen, Fenton," he said, indicating the two Weasleys. "You really ought to be more careful of the kind of people you associate with."

Fred and George snorted, looking at each other with piqued eyebrows before Fred turned to address Malfoy again. "Well, good thing the Sorting Hat's already decided last week that she shouldn't be associated with your lot, then, because that's a Hufflepuff you're flirting with, Malfoy."

Danielle shot a look at the twins. She hadn't wanted to reveal what house she was in yet until she had gathered a bit more political information. She did however enjoy seeing Draco's eyes grow to the size of dinner plates at what Fred and George had just revealed. Crabb and Goyle's jaws dropped and Pansy gasped staring at Malfoy in bewilderment.

"I know," George put in, seeing the looks on their faces. "Seeing how she already hates you, she ought to be in Gryffindor."

Compartment doors were slowly opening around them with curious student faces peaking from behind them to see what all the fuss in the corridor was about. Most gave Malfoy either fearful or disgusted looks when seeing he was also accompanied by the enormous Crabb and Goyle. Some glanced curiously at Danielle, whom they had never seen before, accompanied by the fun-loving carefree Weasley twins.

"You've already been Sorted?" Malfoy asked, staring dumbfounded at Danielle. "And...you're not in Slytherin?"

"You're the one who never asked," Danielle shrugged. Then added rather curiously, "Do I look like one to you?"

"Well..." Malfoy hesitated at first, becoming conscious of all the people that were beginning to stare at him. "Yes, actually."

Danielle and the Weasley twins gave Malfoy a questioning look that asked him where in the world he had picked up any such thought.

"Well—there was this—an air of…mystery about you and—and your general attitude when we were first introduced—"

"You insulted my FAMILY, what did you expect?" retorted Danielle, throwing her hands in the air and shaking her head in disappointment. "I would have thought that mix-up you made with my cousin earlier would have already taught you not to judge from the outside," Then, even after Malfoy looked like he had been slapped in the face, Danielle grinned triumphantly, patting the top of her trunk. "Thanks for helping me with my luggage anyway, though."

"WHAT?" gasped Pansy, gaping at Malfoy as his, Crabb's and Goyle's faces suddenly turned red.

"Oooooooooooooooooooooooooh," Fred and George chorused in unison, looking at each other and ending with an amused laugh. Any compartment door that wasn't already opened in the carriage was certainly open now at the sound of Pansy's outburst. caught bits of murmurings coming from the students in the surrounding compartments saying things such as...

"What was that all about?"

"Who's that girl?"

"Never seen her before."

"Malfoy helped a Hufflepuff?"

"He flirted with a Hufflepuff?"

"He got schooled by a Hufflepuff!"

Danielle, her work with the Slytherins done, spun on her heal, hauling her trunk off through the corridor with her head held high and the Weasleys proudly falling into step behind her. As she crossed the threshold to the next carriage, over the collective chatter of the surrounding crowd, Danielle heard Pansy asking Draco in a stunned voice, "Draco, is this true?"

"No I—!" Malfoy stammered, looking between Danielle, Pansy and all the staring students. "She was—it's just…I thought—She just looked—!"

Danielle doubted he was able to come up with any reasonable excuse for his association with the Hufflepuff exchange student by the time she had reached the next train car. Once Danielle was sure they were a safe distance from the multitude that had thankfully stuck mainly around Malfoy, she turned to the twins with relief.

"Thanks, you guys. That kid was starting to give me the creeps. And that's saying something," Danielle added the last bit in an undertone.

"No problem. He does that," said George, looking in the direction they had left Malfoy with disgust.

"Although, I've never seen anyone new to Malfoy deal with him that handily before," said Fred, looking rather impressed with Danielle.

"Yeah, that was brilliant!" commented George with a smile.

"Um...thanks..." replied Danielle shyly, letting her long dark bangs fall over her eyes in feeling her cheeks getting a bit hot. It was nothing really. She had witty banter exchanges at home while fighting wayward ghosts all the time. Having arguments with her cousin who was just as good at cutting to the quick with enemies also gave her plenty of practice.

"Come on, Dani," said Fred, patting her on the shoulder as he passed to the front of her. "We'll guide you to a group of people that would be far more to your liking: Even if not as fun as we are."

Danielle was rather hesitant as Fred took the lead in showing the way down the corridor. She felt she'd rather just sit by herself. As she thought it over, however, sitting with strangers the Weasley's recommended was likely better than sitting with the Slytherin snobs she had to deal with only moments ago. For that, she was definitely appreciative. As they proceeded further down the train, she noticed that all the compartments seemed to already be full anyway. Any compartment doors that were left opened as she passed allowed students within them to get a curious glimpse at her as she walked by.

Fred reached a certain compartment in the very last carriage and slid open the door.

"Hey kids! We found a friend for you in case you were getting lonely," he called cheerfully into the compartment. He guided Danielle along and nudged her inside. Danielle then realized that this one actually contained some people she knew. Harry Potter sat in the corner (for some reason holding a toad in his lap) and Ginny Weasley sat opposite a boy Danielle had not seen before. He had a round face and was holding a potted plant that looked like a small gray cactus, except it was covered with what looked like boils rather than spines. By the window, sitting opposite Harry, there was someone else whose face was hidden behind a magazine.

"See you all later," George waved inside the compartment after Danielle was inside with her trunk. "We've got some business to attend to with Lee Jordan."

With that, they gave Danielle a final wink and closed the compartment door, leaving Danielle standing there and being stared at by Harry, Ginny and the new boy. The girl hiding behind the magazine barely even moved.

"You're not going to sit with the new friend you met on the platform?" Ginny sneered at Danielle suspiciously.

Danielle assumed she was talking about Malfoy and remembered that she and Ron had both seen her talking with the pale-faced bully and his oversized bodyguards. The Malfoys and the Weasleys must really have had it in for each other if Ginny found it so wrong for Danielle to just talk to him. It wasn't like she enjoyed it in the slightest degree.

Danielle didn't really feel like explaining herself if Ginny was just going to look at her like that, though. Instead, Danielle looked around the compartment, trying not to look too out-of-place.

"Uh...Where's Hermione? And Ron?" she asked.

"Prefects carriage," Harry replied rather miserably.

"Oh…right," Danielle slapped a hand on her forehead in remembering how they were both made prefects. Malfoy had mentioned that they were going to be in a separate carriage for a time. "Will they be back soon?"

"They said so," said Harry.

At that moment, Danielle realized that the plant the round-faced boy carried was actually one she recognized from one of the books Hermione had lent her. In an effort to avoid awkward silences, she bent down, pretending to take a particular interest in the plant.

"Hey. Is that a...mah...meh...mim..." she stumbled with her sentence as her mind slipped on what the plant was called. Something rather complicated and started with an 'M'. "...Oh, what's the name..." she whispered in frustration, snapping her fingers by her temple, hoping a memory would spark.

"Mimbulus Mimbletonia?" the boy said with a hopeful glint in his eye.

"Yeah! That's the one! They're supposed to be really rare, aren't they?"

The boy looked to be getting excited that Danielle was showing any interest in his plant at all. "Yeah. I got it for my birthday over the summer. You know about them?"

"I've read about them at least," Danielle shrugged, feeling that Danny would be proud in seeing that she had struck this conversation herself. She bent down again, trying to look at the plant at a few different angles. "Those are the ones that can shoot really smelly sap stuff right? One about this size could squirt to about a ten-foot radius."

Suddenly the boy's face turned red as he looked guiltily in Harry and Ginny's direction.

"Nowsomeone tells us," Danielle heard Harry say under his breath as he stared out the window, looking mildly irritated. In also seeing Ginny slump in her seat, Danielle decided this probably wasn't the best time to ask if their reactions meant they had already witnessed the Mimbulus Mimbletonia's defense mechanism firsthand.

"That's pretty cool," was all Danielle thought to say next to the boy as she straightened up again.

"Thanks," the boy said beaming. "I'm Neville by the way. Neville Longbottom. I'm a Gryffindor."

He thrust his hand out excitedly and Danielle shook it gratefully, feeling successful that she had made a good first impression. Once Neville had released her hand, he gestured to the others.

"This is Harry Potter and Gi—"

"—We're acquainted, Neville," Ginny said lazily and not really looking at Danielle. "This is Danielle Fenton. She's transferring from The United States this year and in Hufflepuff."

"Oh. I had noticed the accent," said Neville with even more fascination.

Danielle let out a nervous laugh as she stowed her trunk into the luggage rack next to the other kids' luggage. "Yeah. I've been noticing that's a bit of a giveaway around here." She then sat herself by the door opposite the boy with the Mimbulus Mimbletonia, feeling confident that he at least wasn't about to kick her out of the compartment for being weird. "Nice to meet you, Neville."

"Likewise," Neville smiled, sitting back in his seat with a decisive expression that he was going to like this new kid.

"You're from America?" said a dreamy voice from the corner.

Danielle looked to see that the girl opposite Harry had come out from behind her magazine. She had straggly, waist-length, dirty-blond hair, very pale eyebrows, and stared at Danielle with protuberant eyes that gave her a permanent surprised look. Based on the awkward glances that Harry and Neville seemed to be giving her, Danielle could tell that even among wizard kind, this girl was considered rather strange. Danielle definitely detected an aura of distinct dottiness coming from the girl. Perhaps it was the fact that she had stuck her wand behind her left ear for safekeeping, or that she had chosen to wear a necklace of butterbeer caps, or that she was reading her magazine upside-down (Danielle noted that it was called The Quibbler).

"Uh..." Danielle suddenly remembered that the girl had asked her a question. "Yeah. Yeah, I am." It seemed just being from a different country was making her stand out more than she had hoped.

"I've never been there. I hear it's nice," the girl said in her dreamy voice, looking at Danielle with curiosity. "Are there Crumple-Horned Snorkacks?"

Danielle couldn't help raising her eyebrows at just the sound of the name. She looked at the others for help, but they didn't seem to know what the heck the girl was talking about either.

"Um...not that I know of," Danielle decided to say. "But I do like it there."

She suddenly became lost in thoughts of her Uncle Jack and Aunt Maddie back home. She also wondered how her cousin Jazz would react if she was ever told that she was attending a school from a completely different world other than the human world or Ghost Zone.

"Do you miss it?" the girl with the magazine asked with a trace of pity in her otherwise wistful voice. She must have caught Danielle daydreaming.

"Well..." Danielle hesitated at first before realizing that Harry and Neville were now looking at her expectantly. Ginny even glanced at her curiously, even if she was still frowning. "It's definitely different here," Danielle finally said. "I can't deny I'm still getting used to it."

The girl smiled in understanding. "Luna Lovegood; Ravenclaw," she simply said. Then she raised her upside-down magazine high enough to hide her face and fell silent.

"Charmed..." replied Danielle uncertainly, looking at the boys, who simply shrugged, not knowing what to make of Luna Lovegood themselves. Ginny, on the other hand, suppressed a giggle.

The train rattled onward, speeding them out into open country. It was an odd, unsettled sort of day. One moment the carriage was filled with sunlight and the next they were passing beneath ominously gray clouds. What didn't exactly help was that by the time the snack trolley had gone by, Danielle found out that the train ride to the school was going to take a lot longer than she had expected.

"I'm not really hungry right now," Danielle tried to say when the boys realized that she didn't get anything from the trolley and she hadn't brought any lunch from Grimmauld Place.

"You will be before we get there. The train doesn't arrive at the castle until after nightfall," Harry explained as he and Neville both offered a few of the snacks they had purchased from the trolley.

Danielle did find the Pumpkin Pasties and Licorice Wands fascinating, but the thought of staying in the compartment all the way until nightfall was almost unbearable. She managed to find some form of entertainment when Harry, Ginny and Neville started swapping collecting-cards they had gotten from the packages of the Chocolate Frogs from the trolley. They handed Danielle a few extras to start her own collection if she wanted. Danielle was more interested in just reading the descriptions of famous witches and wizards the cards were of and watching the pictures of them move.

This distraction didn't last long. More than once, Danielle felt tempted to escape the confines of the compartment, find a place to Go Ghost, and take a flight alongside the train outside. She never liked being in small cramped spaces. It reminded her of...terrible things. In fact, she felt the train was going so slow she could have just used her Plasma Rocket to follow the tracks and have probably already been there by now. However, she couldn't take her trunk with her without getting weird looks from everyone in the compartment. For all she knew, there was some special barrier protecting the school and that could only make it seen or at all accessible by train. How would she know what to do once she got to Hogwarts anyway? If any of the teachers saw her there, how would she explain how she had arrived several hours before the Hogwarts Express had? What would she do in all the time she'd have to wait for the train with the other students to arrive?

Danielle was pulled out of her thoughts about an hour later when the compartment door slid open. She was relieved to see Hermione walk in, even if followed directly by Ron. They were accompanied by Crookshanks and Ron's tiny, shrilly hooting owl named Pigwigeon in his cage.

"I'm starving," said Ron, stowing Pigwigeon next to Harry's owl Hedwig, grabbing a Chocolate Frog from Harry and throwing himself in the seat next to him. Suddenly his eyes popped upon noticing Danielle. "What are you doing here?"

"Is there a problem?" asked Danielle, giving Ron a defensive look in feeling like she was being accused of something. Neville seemed quite taken aback by Ron's reaction.

"Ron!" scolded Hermione before turning to Danielle with an intentionally lighter tone, as though apologizing for Ron's behavior. "Hello, Danielle. Having a good trip?"

"Met some new people," Danielle nodded towards Neville who had put away his Mimbulus Mimbletonia to keep a hold of Trevor, his pet toad. She had found out earlier that Harry had just been holding him for Neville to present his wonderful plant.

"Hello, Neville," Hermione greeted before turning back to Danielle. "Anyone from Hufflepuff?"

"Well, no. Not yet."

Ron ripped open the wrapper of his Chocolate Frog. "You seemed to have gotten a good start with a few people in certain other houses, though," he said in a very fake cheerful tone as he bit off the frog's head, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at Danielle. It was clear to her now that he thought she had been getting too friendly with Malfoy for his liking. Wondering if all redheads always held grudges, Danielle folded her arms, remaining silent and trying to ignore Ron for the moment.

"Well, there are two new fifth-year prefects in each house," said Hermione, looking thoroughly disgruntled as she took her seat. "Boy and girl from each."

"And guess who's a Slytherin prefect?" said Ron, leaning back with his eyes closed as though he had had a very exhausting morning.

"Malfoy," replied Harry at once, looking like his worst fear had been confirmed. Neville also looked completely hopeless in hearing this news.

" 'Course," said Ron bitterly, stuffing the rest of the frog into his mouth and taking another. He was also giving Danielle an uncertain look, as though wondering if it was safe to talk about Malfoy in such a way in front of her.

"And that complete cow Pansy Parkinsen," said Hermione viciously. "How she got to be a prefect when she's thicker than a concussed troll..."

"Who's Hufflepuff?" asked Harry.

"Ernie Macmillon and Hannah Abbot," said Ron thickly.

"And Anthony Goldstien and Padma Patil for Ravenclaw," said Hermione.

"You went to the Yule Ball with Padma Patil," said a vague voice. Everyone turned to look at Luna Lovegood, who was gazing unblinkingly at Ron over the top of The Quibbler. He swallowed his mouth full of frog.

"Yeah, I know I did," he said, looking mildly surprised.

"She didn't enjoy it very much," Luna informed him. "She doesn't think you treated her very well because you wouldn't dance with her. I don't think I'd have minded," she added thoughtfully, "I don't like dancing very much."

She retreated behind The Quibbleragain. Ron stared at the cover with his mouth hanging open for a few seconds, then looked around at Ginny for some kind of explanation, but Ginny had stuffed her knuckles in her mouth to stop herself giggling.

"This sounds like an interesting story," said Danielle, giving Ron a vengeful smile.

"Oh, the best part isn't even the dance," said Ginny, grinning madly and seeming to forget that she wasn't supposed to like Danielle for the moment. "You should hear what happened before he even decided to take Padma Patil."

"Anyway," Ron interrupted loudly and checking his watch. "We're supposed to patrol the corridors every so often. And we can give out punishments if people are misbehaving," he told Harry and Neville. He then shot a warning look to Danielle as though the 'misbehaving' applied to her specifically. "I can't wait to get Crabb and Goyle for something..."

"You're not supposed to abuse your position, Ron!" said Hermione, sharply.

"Yeah, right, because Malfoy won't abuse it at all," said Ron sarcastically.

"So you're going to descend to his level?"

"No. I'm just going to make sure I get his mates before he gets mine." Again, he looked directly at Danielle as he said this.

"Oh for heaven's sake, Ron—"

"I'll make Goyle do lines, it'll kill him, he hates writing," said Ron happily. He lowered his voice to Goyle's low grunt and, screwing up his face in a look of pained concentration, mimed writing in midair, "...I...must...not...look...like...a...baboon's...backside..."

Everyone laughed, including Danielle. Who knew with all the negative gossip Ron had been sharing about herself and her cousin, he actually had a sense of humor? However, no one laughed harder than Luna Lovegood. She let out a scream of mirth that caused Hedwig to wake up and flap her wings indignantly and Crookshanks to leap up into the luggage rack, hissing. She laughed so hard that her magazine slipped out of her grasp, slid down her legs and onto the floor.

"That was funny."

Her prominent eyes swam with tears as she gasped for breath, staring at Ron. Utterly nonplussed, he looked around at the others, who were now laughing at the expression on Ron's face and at the ludicrously prolonged laughter of Luna Lovegood, who was rocking back and forth, clutching her sides.

"Are you taking the mickey?" said Ron, frowning at her.

"Baboon's...backside!" she choked, holding her ribs.

Danielle felt relieved that she wasn't considered the only oddball in the compartment now. At that moment, she noticed Harry had taken an interest in the magazine that was now on the floor. He picked it up, staring at a page that made his face screw in amazed confusion.

"Can I have a look at this?" Harry asked Luna eagerly.

Luna nodded, still gazing at Ron, breathless with laughter.

Harry sat back down and opened the magazine. Danielle watched him curiously as he fanned through the pages. The look on his face became more and more bewildered the further he scanned through it.

"Anything good in there?" asked Ron after Harry closed the magazine.

"Of course not," said Hermione scathingly, before Harry could answer. "The Quibbler's rubbish, everyone knows that."

"Excuse me," said Luna; her voice had suddenly lost its dreamy quality. "My father's the editor."

"I—oh," said Hermione, looking embarrassed. "Well...it's got some interesting...I mean it's quite..."

"I'll have it back, thank you," said Luna coldly, and leaning forward she snatched it out of Harry's hands. Riffling through it to the page she was on, she turned it resolutely upside down again and disappeared behind it.

"That was tactful," said Danielle, folding her arms as she gave Hermione a disapproving look.

Just then, the compartment door opened once again. Everyone looked around at the sight of Draco Malfoy smirking at Harry from between his two cronies Crabb and Goyle. Based on the looks of utmost loathing coming from most of the people in the compartment, Danielle had the instant feeling that there were about to be fireworks.

"What?" Harry said aggressively before Malfoy could open his mouth.

"Manners Potter, or I'll give you a detention," drawled Malfoy. "You see, I, unlike you, have been made a prefect, which means, I, unlike you, have the power to hand out punishments."

"Yeah," said Harry. "But you unlike me are a git so get out and leave us alone.

Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Neville laughed. Danielle smiled in seeing Malfoy's lip curl. She could tell that this battle must have been raging for years already between these two groups.

"Tell me, how does it feel being second-best to Weasley, Potter?" Malfoy asked.

"Shut up, Malfoy," said Hermione sharply.

"I seem to have touched a nerve," said Malfoy smirking. "Well, just watch yourself Potter, because I'll be dogging your footsteps in case you step out of line."

Danielle piqued an eyebrow, seeing Harry and Hermione's faces.

"Get out!" said Hermione standing up.

"Oh, don't be so hard on him, Hermione," Danielle quickly said in a fake sympathetic voice. "He can be a gentleman when he wants to be."

"WHAT?" All in the compartment cried out, (except Luna) staring at Danielle in complete disbelief. Malfoy looked at her as though he had only just noticed she was there and now regretting having entered the compartment at all.

"And how do you figure that?" Ron asked Danielle accusingly.

"He had his friends help me with my luggage earlier," said Danielle before directing a sly smile in Malfoy's direction. "It was so kind of him."

"Really," said Hermione, seeming to catch the drift that this fact was actually disturbing Malfoy. "You?"

"That was a misunderstanding!" Malfoy scathed after noticing the looks he was getting.

Danielle continued to smile mischievously as she proceeded to push Malfoy's buttons. "What? You mean you don't want anyone to know how chivalrous you can really be?"

Harry leaned back in his seat, giving Malfoy a devious look. "Never thought you were capable of any sort of decency, Malfoy, let alone to a Muggle-born."

"Not to anyone I know is associated with—!" Malfoy stopped dead and shot a stunned look at Danielle. "Wait...you're Muggle-born?"

"Which I'm guessing is what you're worried about reaching certain ears," Danielle folded her arms triumphantly in seeing Malfoy's already pale face go even paler. "So, before you make yourself even more of a laughing-stalk than that look on your face, I highly suggest you clam up and move out. Because you, my friend, are already on some pretty thin ice from where I'm standing."

Danielle knew she was right; and she knew Malfoy knew it. He had already had a bad first impression in insulting her cousin and then insulting the Weasley twins. Now he was picking on the people who were her guide through the Wizarding World. Further, if by the word "dogging", he had meant Sirius back on the platform, he'd have to be careful in not letting it slip to anyone else. The pale bully may have had an authoritative position that he was bragging about earlier, but Danielle now held his reputation in the palm of her hand.

Harry leaned back in his seat, putting his hands behind his head, giving Malfoy a very satisfied look that clearly said, 'sounds like you'd better be watching your own step, Malfoy.'

Malfoy looked around the compartment, finding he had lost his upper hand. He growled, slamming the compartment door shut, but not before Danielle let out a cheerful, but still teasing "bye" to Malfoy as he was doing so.

Being closest to the door, Danielle strained her ears, hearing Malfoy saying to his flunkies in a harsh whisper, "Not a word about this to my father—Or anyone—You hear!"He sounded so frustrated his intentionally cryptic message was still heard through the door by all others in the compartment with Danielle.

"Wow. That rattled his cage," said Harry, looking amazed at Danielle.

"I think I like you," said Luna, who had come out from behind her magazine for a moment to see Malfoy go in such disarray.

"Thanks, Danielle," said Hermione with relief. Meanwhile, Ron was looking at Danielle with the utmost perplexity.

"But...you were talking to him outside the train before we left the station..." he said slowly, pointing between Danielle and the door behind which Malfoy had just disappeared.

Danielle rolled her eyes, having had about enough of Ron's prejudgments by now. "Oh, please! You think just because I'm new here, I'm not smart enough to know a pig when I see one?"

Ron's ears turned as red as his hair and Hermione gave him a "told you so" look. Ginny seemed satisfied that Danielle was all right as well, now that she understood where the new student and the old bully really stood in their relationship.

"Are you sure you're not in Gryffindor?" asked Neville, looking even more impressed with Danielle by the minute.

To this, Danielle couldn't help but ask, "Why? Do Gryffindors have something against Hufflepuff too?

"No," Neville said at once, surprised. "It's just...you seem to have a lot more in common with Gryffindors; what with how you dealt with Malfoy and all."

"What does that matter?" Danielle asked with a shrug, feeling like she was missing something. "Why is it such a big deal what house I'm in?"

"It's not, Danielle," said Hermione.

Danielle folded her arms skeptically. "Some tension I've observed just now" —she jerked her head towards the door— "has led me to believe otherwise."

Silence fell over the congregation and Danielle noticed the kids exchanging uncertain looks, as though not knowing how to answer her. Hermione was the first to finally speak. She was the one who was most comfortable talking with Danielle after all.

"Well, at Hogwarts, there's this competition throughout the year between the houses. Depending on how well a student does, they earn points towards the house cup that's awarded at the end of the year to whichever house has the most points."

"So I've heard," Danielle said dismissively, remembering Professor McGonagall's explanation perfectly well. "Does this House Cup contain a magic potion or something else special?"

"No, nothing like that. It's just about bragging rights, really."

"Then why all the hype?"

Everyone just gave Danielle confused looks.

"This rivalry, to me, seems to be a bit extreme to be just over an empty cup," said Danielle

"Well, the rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor in particular has always run fairly deep. Slytherins are known for their ambition, but sometimes use...questionable methods...to get what they want," Hermione explained.

"That house is also known for producing the most Dark Wizards in history," Ron piped in, looking as though this was the most reasonable explanation in the world.

Danielle had to disagree. "People are judged in those houses based on its history?"

"It's not just history, Danielle, it's happening now," Hermione quickly put in. "You've met Malfoy. And that's just a sample of how unpleasant he can really be to anyone that's...not like him."

Danielle sighed heavily, rolling her eyes.

"A lot of them come from families that supported You-Know-Who back before Harry stopped him," said Neville seriously.

Danielle shook her head in disgust. "That doesn't mean they're all like that!"

"You wanna bet?" said Ron, starting to look like he was having second guesses about Danielle all over again.

"Well, I've noticed that not all Gryffindors are judgmental hotheads." Danielle retorted back to Ron.

"Hey!" Ron complained heatedly.

"I rest my case." Danielle confirmed as Ginny held in a snort.

As another silence fell in which everyone exchanged looks, Danielle couldn't help but feel disappointed in the direction this conversation was going. It seemed that prejudice was an even bigger problem in the Wizarding community than it was between the ghost and human worlds.

"Well, Griffindor's are generally known for their courage," said Hermione. "Ravenclaw is known for intelligence," she indicated Luna who lowered her magazine once more to recite, "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure,"before raising it up again.

Danielle couldn't help raising an eyebrow in realizing that the different houses seemed to have specific stereotypes they were labeled with. "Okay...well...what about Hufflepuff? What are they known for?" she asked curiously.

For some reason, everyone seemed to be having trouble answering this question. Luna was the one who piped in from behind her magazine. "Hufflepuff never really had much going for them before Cedric Diggery died in the tri-wizard tournament last year, did they."

Everyone stared as Danielle took this in with a bit of surprise. "So, according to you guys, I'm in the house that doesn't really matter?"

"No!" Hermione said at once. "That's not how we think of you at all, Danielle!"

"Yeah, because I noticed everyone thinks I should be in Gryffindor," Danielle's tone became a bit harsh as she shot accusatory looks at everyone in the compartment.

"Not because we think Hufflepuff is worthless," Neville said with a hint of regret.

"Then what else can you tell me about the house I'm in, aside from being misfits?" Danielle challenged, folding her arms once again.

"Loyalty," Luna replied dreamily.

"Huh?" Danielle was slightly taken aback by how fast her question was answered, despite the first go around.

"Hufflepuff is known for its loyalty," said Ginny, looking a bit relieved. "They're also generally hard-working."

Everyone nodded in confirmation. No one seemed uncertain by this statement, so Danielle gathered that it really was a trait of the house she had been Sorted into. It just took them a while to think of it for some reason.

"A lot of the good friends we have at Hogwarts are in Hufflepuff, Danielle," Hermione reassured. "They may not get the most praise, but none in that house are ashamed to be a part of it. You shouldn't be either. In fact, being in Hufflepuff, I think it means you'll fit right in: As the exchange student. If you know what I mean."

Hermione gave Danielle a knowing look in adding the last part. Danielle nodded thoughtfully, knowing Hermione did have a point about being able to blend in better while in Hufflepuff. That was the main thing Danielle had been worried about when the Sorting Hat had put her in that house. She really had no right to complain in that regard.

Loyalty. Danielle remembered the Sorting Hat had pointed that out as a good trait she had, but she never really dwelt on it as a trait that would set her apart so distinctly. Danielle had mainly thought she was put in Hufflepuff for the sake of staying undercover.

All in all, Danielle felt better for the remainder of the train ride.

Note: If you catch spelling or grammatical errors in this chapter or in any of the others, please refrain from putting them in the reviews and send them to me by PM instead.

So. Think Danny's idea of giving Dani the Fenton Thermos as a good one? What did you think of the introduction to Draco Malfoy: Introduction to Luna and Neville? What about when Fred and George came to Danielle's rescue? And when Danielle saved Ginny from the trunk hitting her down the stairs? Do the characters personalities seem accurate enough or do I have some revising to do? What did you guys think overall? Any points you'd like to highlight? I feel like the last paragraph could use some revising to help wrap it up better.

I can't say when I'll be able to update again. I still have a lot of figuring out to do for the next chapter and I've become busier than ever in recently becoming the director of this short animated film I'm making at school. Really, the only thing that motivated me to finish this one was that I promised you guys I'd update by the summer. Now I have no idea what to do for the next chapter and I've got a lot of things on my plate in trying to get my animation career going. I Hope you'll still be around when I update again because at the rate things are going, it may take a whole year before I'm able to pick this up again.

In the meantime, I hope you at least enjoyed this chapter and will leave reviews of your thoughts and suggestions on how to make the whole story better. Remember. Leave grammar and spelling errors in PMs. Not the reviews.

See ya next time. ^_^