Donna stepped back as the school owl winged away with the last of her orders. She was well on time for her Christmas gifts, December had only just started, but she didn't want to leave it too late and risk not having anything to give, since she didn't know how long these owl orders usually took to arrive. She hadn't even known they were a possibility, except she'd been thinking about what to give people, and eventually had asked Fred what to do, since first years weren't supposed to leave the castle until Christmas break.

Together with Hermione, Lavender and Parvati, she'd perused the catalogs, the four of them lying on one bed in various more or less comfortable poses, discussing what they might buy for this or that person. Donna was glad enough with her roommates – sure, it was clear that the friendships were mostly herself and Hermione on one hand, and Lavender and Parvati on the other, and she wouldn't be telling the other two her secret any time soon, but they were always game for a fun girl's evening. Even Hermione was starting to enjoy them, provided she didn't have to give up too many of her library nights. The situation could have been much worse.

She knew that Harry had also followed her example, although she wasn't aware how far he was with ordering everything. Neville, on the other hand, was planning on getting his grandmother to help. Donna guessed she could have asked Archie, but this way was fun too. It felt a bit like internet shopping, except different.

When she turned to go downstairs from the owlery, she nearly bumped into another student, avoiding the collision only by an awkward little skip to the side.

"Woops! Sorry, didn't see you there."

The other person looked up, saw the crest on her robes, and took a step back, watching her with a wary look on her face.

"That's quite alright," was the answer.

Donna was taken aback for a moment by the girl's reaction. She vaguely recognised her from some shared classes, so she was a first year, and – a quick glance – a Slytherin. For the life of her, she couldn't remember enough interaction with her to warrant that much caution. She wracked her brain for the girl's name, landing (after what felt like an embarrasingly long time) on the right one.

"Greengrass, right?" she asked.

The girl nodded curtly. "Daphne. And you are..."

"Donna Noble," she said, although she had the distinct impression Daphne already knew. She seemed like the type of person who didn't miss much.

"I'm sorry, miss Greengrass, did I hurt you in any way in the past two months?" See, she could do the polite talk with the best of them. Unless addressing an issue head-on was just not done, but then she did tell the Sorting Hat she was too direct for Slytherin. Besides, nobody had ever accused her of a lack of curiosity. If she wanted to know, she was damn well going to ask, and nobody could stop her.

"You're a Gryffindor," Daphne answered.

It took all of Donna's considerable willpower not to give a sarcastic reply to that, opting instead for a bland "Yes, I am."

"And I'm a Slytherin."

"So I gathered."

"It has been known for these types of encounters to evolve into hexing and jinxing."

"And you're afraid I will hex and/or jinx you without the slightest provocation?"

Daphne shrugged. "It wouldn't be the first time. There are Gryffindors for whom 'being a Slytherin' is more than enough provocation."

"What, because of that whole Slytherins are evil nonsense?"

Daphne nodded, a bit jerkily.

"Well then, miss Greengrass, let me ask you something. I'm sure you're aware of my... blood status," God, even saying the word left a nasty taste in her mouth, "because I haven't exactly been keeping it a secret. Would you hex or jinx me for being muggleborn?"

"Of course not, I'm not a savage."

"Then I won't attack you for being a Slytherin. This whole 'House' business is divisive enough as it is. I will defend myself and my friends, though, just so you know. I'm sure that in these encounters you mentioned, the first hex doesn't always come from the Gryffindor's wand. What with the rhetoric coming from one Draco Malfoy's mouth, I'm not sure all of your housemates feel the same way as you about my origins."

"Yes, he's a git. A lot of hot air, if you ask me, but we have to keep a civil tongue, his father's got the Minister's ear. I wouldn't worry too much about getting attacked by him."

"I'll remember that. In any case, miss Greengrass, I will let you continue with your errand. I will talk to you later, if you are so inclined."

Daphne nodded and threw her a little quirk of the mouth that might be called, with the right lighting, a smile.

"Likewise, miss Noble."

***DNMCY1***

In the days that followed, she would exchange some words with Daphne whenever they passed in the hallways. Usually it was no more than some pleasantries to wish each other a good day, but it did not go unnoticed by her classmates. It was Ron who brought it up one day at dinner. The redheaded boy had been watching the friendships Harry was forming from the sidelines, but it seemed to Donna as if he was jealous. She just hadn't figured out yet if he was jealous of Harry for having more than one friend, or jealous of Donna, Neville and Hermione for being that close to the Boy-Who-Lived.

For her own part, she was glad enough the friendship between Harry and Ron had cooled down. It wasn't that she disliked the boy as such, but compared to the friends she'd made, he was just so typically 11 that she had trouble containing her exasparation any time they spent time in close proximity.

Case in point, the question he asked when he saw her nodding at Daphne.

"Why are you friendly with her?" he asked, with a rude jerk of his head to indicate who he meant.

Donna regarded him for a long moment, until he gradually turned red.

"Is there a problem with that?" she eventually asked.

"Well, she's a Slytherin!"

"I'd noticed, funnily enough. I still don't see the problem."

"They're evil!"

"Oh, really? Evil, you say? Ok, what has Daphne done that is so evil?"

Ron flushed an even brighter red. She didn't know what he had thought would happen, even if he had been closer to her she wouldn't have let him get away with a question like that.

"Well... I don't know. But everybody knows all Slytherins were Death Eaters!"

Donna raised her eyebrows. "All of them? There was not even one Slytherin who didn't follow him, or who actively opposed him even? I suppose you know every single Slytherin that ever passed through Hogwarts then, that you can say that so categorically. Oh, and of course the other houses are so very virtuous, and there was not one Claw or Puff or Gryf who followed Voldemort."

She ignored the collective flinch from everyone within earshot.

"And even if that was the case, which I have a hard time believing, that still doesn't make Daphne evil, or a Death Eater. I might be very much mistaken, but I do believe the Dark Wanker got offed at some point in her first or second year of life, depending on when she was born. Unless you're going to tell me that he initiated newborn children there's no way she, or any of the current first year Slytherins, are Death Eaters."

"Then what about Draco Malfoy?" he asked triumphantly, as if that was somehow a winning argument.

"Draco Malfoy is a git and a spoiled brat, he's an annoyance at best. In terms of evilness, he ranks at about the level of a gnat. For god's sake, he's 11! He might be a brainwashed little shit, kid can't help who his parents are. I'm not saying he definitely won't turn evil at some point down the line, I can't predict the future, but for the moment..."

Ron opened his mouth a few times, but no more words came out. She hoped he would at least think about her words, although she was afraid more arguments would have to happen before he could start to reconsider his prejudice.

"Anyway, that being said," Donna continued, "you don't get to tell me who I should spend time with. Even IF Slytherin equaled evil, it'd still be my choice whether or not I want to associate with them. Your righteousness is not appreciated. I'm going for a walk."

She needed a breath of fresh air after that. She wasn't terribly angry at Ron, who was after all only 11 and still had time to grow out of prejudices, she was just disappointed that no matter which group of people got together, prejudice was an issue at all. Of course she knew that people feared what they did not know, but it was just all so damn tiring. If it wasn't immigrants or aliens, it was muggleborns or Slytherins. Instead of getting to know other people and other groups, they just defined a random set of parameters and anyone who fell outside that was automatically labelled inferior in some way.

She hadn't gone far into the Entrance Hall when she heard footsteps behind her. Shortly after, her friends surrounded her, Neville on one side and Harry and Hermione on the other.

"You ok?" Neville asked.

She sighed. "Sure. I just have a very low tolerance for bullshit. We humans, magical or otherwise, can do so much better, we could be so much more, and instead we try to find reasons to put down anyone who's not like us. I wish it could be different."

"Do you want to go to the couch room?" asked Hermione.

Not long after, they were sprawled over several couches. Harry hesitated for a moment, but then he took a breath and told Donna, "Thanks for what you said back there. I'm glad somebody said something."

She tilted her head a bit to the side, considering the boy. "You're welcome. Any reason you're so glad?"

"The Sorting Hat nearly put me in Slytherin."

She thought that was a confession he would not lightly have made if he'd stayed friends with Ron. She smiled. "Good for you. What made it choose Gryffindor instead?"

"Oh, er... I asked it. 'Not Slytherin' I said, so it chose Gryffindor instead."

"I was nearly a Hufflepuff," she volunteered. "We had a bit of a discussion and the Hat decided Gryffindor was the best choice, but I do value many of the same virtues, like loyalty and fair play."

"Ravenclaw," was Hermione's contribution.

Donna snorted. "No, really? Who'd've thunk?"

Hermione sniffed, but a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, so she wasn't actually offended.

"Also Hufflepuff," Neville said. "I asked for Gryffindor, though, 'cause my Gran was expecting that – it... it was my father's house. I wonder if maybe it made a mistake, though... I don't feel very brave, most of the time."

Donna laughed. "If any of us had any doubts about your bravery, Neville Longbottom, the troll incident put paid to that. I'll tell you something, if you want. It's a bit of a cliché, but true nevertheless. Bravery, my friend, is not a feeling. It's feeling afraid but choosing to do the right thing anyway. Recklessness, lack of fear... they're not the same thing as bravery. Some of these Gryffindors just haven't received the memo. You're plenty brave, all you lack is a bit of self-confidence."

Neville blushed a bit, but smiled at her. "Thanks, Donna."