Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of The Owl. Chapter 12 Highland Shorts
DISCLAIMER: Daria is the creation of Glen Eichler and is the property of MTV Viacom. Harry Potter is the creation of JK Rowling and is the property of JK Rowling, Wizarding World, and Warner Brothers. I own neither franchise, nor do I deserve any sort of financial reward for this work of fiction. This work of fiction was written for entertainment purposes only.
Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl*Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl*Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl
Rodeo
Daria did not want to go to the rodeo. She and Farrah still weren't speaking to each other and the last place that she wanted to be was someplace that reminded her of her former friend. The rodeo made her think of Farrah, of their ruptured friendship, and of Laura Penrick. She wanted nothing to do with it and she would have stayed away if she could. However, the Gonzalez family and the Benavides had family participating this year, and despite the fact that she didn't see herself as a rah-rah girl for anybody, she decided that it was probably politic to go. A not-so-subtle nudge from her Mother helped her make up her mind.
"Daria, I know you're not close to the Gonzalezes or the Benavideses, but they've gone out of their way to befriend you and they know most of your secrets," said Helen. "I think you ought to go. Besides, you might have fun in spite of yourself."
Daria grumpily agreed and Lisa Huerta came by on Friday evening to pick up Daria. They'd met before when Lisa had dropped off her grandmother to guide Daria and Jake over to Mr. Sandoz's so she could buy her wand. They found a parking space in the middle lot near the arena, got out, went up to the ticket booth, and entered the rodeo grounds.
The walk to the arena was physically much the same as it had been when Daria came to the Rodeo with Farrah and Mr. Skein. Daria saw the outbuilding which held the animals for the livestock competition. She wondered how Laura was doing and if she was there. She doubted it, and stuck close to Lisa.
Lisa walked over to where her family was sitting and, not surprisingly, most of the Latino students from Daria's potion class were seated there along with the rest of their families.
The Rodeo started much the same as it did in previous years: with a parade around the Arena, cowgirls dressed in glamorous costumes galloping around on horseback with US and Texas flags, the singing of the national anthem, and a prayer by one of the local ministers. Someone had gotten the Methodist minister from West Camp to do the honors.
Evian Gonzalez was the first member of the extended Gonzalez—Benavides clan to ride out into the arena. He had gone out for steer roping. He and his partner dashed out on horseback, managed to rope the steer with both ropes, threw it to the ground, and took second place, to the cheers and applause of his family and friends.
One of the Benavides girls, Lourdes, had gone out for barrel racing. She was trying to break out from Howard County into the regional competition. The Benavides, the Gonzalezes and those Ocampos stood up and cheered as Lourdes trotted out and began circling the barrels. Lourdes gave it her best shot but only scored 18.5 seconds, taking third place in this evening's competition.
To her bemusement, Daria stayed put for the rest of the barrel-racing competition, even cheering and applauding when it looked like some cowgirl hopeful galloped back to the gate to try to make the shortest time. One of the other riders had a surname that Daria thought she'd heard before: one of Laura's cousins, she wondered?
When it came time for the Calf Pull, Daria got up and walked to the concession area. The Calf Pull made her think too much about Farrah and she didn't want any reminders. She didn't think that Farrah would be here tonight: tonight had a Mexican-American theme and the evening's concert was a tribute band playing old Norteño favorites, a genre that neither she nor Farrah liked. In spite of that, she thought she saw a familiar form and hair style and ducked behind a rack of souvenir tees so she wouldn't be seen.
Her round of the vendors' stalls was quicker than usual. She had already found out that Hogwarts students wore uniforms and that she'd as likely as not be wearing one until Christmas, wherever she'd spend it.
Another round of vendor's tables to go before she reached the food vendors' stands, she thought. This row mostly had service organizations like Friends of the Rodeo, the Cowboy Heritage Association, and the Future Farmers of America. She slowed down to look over the FFA's table then stopped. A jar with a photograph caught her attention.
The photograph was of Laura Penrick, taken in happier times. There was an information sheet saying that Laura had been a member of the FFA for years, that she was ill, and that the local FFA was raising money to help with her medical expenses. The jar was about a quarter full; most of the bills were ones and fives. Daria could give more than that. Grandma Barksdale had sent her $200 in cash along with a note telling her to buy something nice. She still had it in her purse.
Daria thought about Farrah and the fact that she only knew Laura because she was Farrah's cousin—otherwise they'd never have met. She was still on the outs with Farrah, but not with Laura.
Damnit, she's my friend too, she thought. I'm not going to let my quarrel with Farrah get in the way. She opened her purse and fished for the bills. So much for bling this year, she thought sardonically. She took the bills, folded them in half, then dropped them through the slot someone had cut in the middle of the jar lid.
The woman working the table saw Daria push the bills through the slot. "Thank you, honey," she said, then did a double-take when she saw the denominations. "Excuse me, but do you want a tax receipt?" she said. "Who do I say gave them?"
"Daria, just Daria," said Daria. "The rest doesn't matter."
She turned away and walked to the refreshment stand to buy herself a soda and some tacos.
-(((O-O)))—
Graduation
James Ferguson Elementary held a graduation ceremony for its sixth-graders in June. Daria's class was the first class to participate. Daria thought the very idea was stupid: how dumb did you have to be not to pass sixth grade? She donned her blue gown, gritted her teeth at the prayer, listened to Principal Trimble's insipid speech, and pretended to sing the stupid graduation song some idiot had composed. She walked up on stage like she was supposed to, took her diploma, a rolled-up sheet of thick white paper, rejoined the rest of her classmates and thanked God it was over.
-(((O-O)))—
The Birds and the Bees
"Daria, I think you ought to take this class before you go," said Helen. "Let's get it out of the way now before things get really hectic." "Ought to" sounded too much like "you will" to Daria, but she acquiesced.
On Monday evening she found herself seated on a plastic chair in a non-descript classroom at a family planning clinic. Someone had written Welcome to Sexual Education on the board with a marker pen.
An older girl, maybe thirteen or fourteen, took a seat and looked at her. "Aren't you a little young to be taking this class?" she asked.
"This is Highland," she replied. "I'm probably not."
-(((O-O)))—
Veronica's Fifth Birthday Party
Veronica turned five a week or so later. Mom threw a birthday party for her, just like she had for both Daria and Quinn.
Ronnie's friends swarmed the living room and Daria had a revelation: the June Bug was getting to be a big girl. Not only was her youngest sister growing up, but that she didn't know who even half these kids were.
Ronnie's friends overran the living room and spilled out onto the patio and into the back yard even with her mother's and her friend's supervision, and Ronnie entertained and played games with vigor, the way she'd started doing sometime while Daria wasn't taking notice.
Has she always been this way, Daria wondered, or did she come into her own sometime during the last year and a half? She was embarrassed to say that she couldn't answer.
One of Ronnie's friends, a girl Daria was certain that she didn't know, looked at her, then turned to Ronnie and said "Who's she?".
"That's my big sister Daria," Ronnie replied. "She's cool."
Daria's heart filled with pride at her sister's response.
-(((O-O)))-
Clothing the Schoolgirl
Despite the fact that it was only mid-June, Helen Morgendorffer realized that she and Daria would get to work if Daria expected to have a complete set of Hogwarts uniforms ready for school in September. Fortunately, the list of school suppliers also contained the name and address of the firm that supplied Hogwarts' school uniforms, and the list provided telephone numbers and a postal address complete with postal codes for those parents lacking access to owl mail. Daria would still have to buy her robes and hat in Britain, but she could order the rest of her uniform by mail from Britain.
Helen had heard that the British magical community was particularly resistant to adopting the tools and techniques of telecommunication adopted by the non-magical world since the mid-nineteenth century. There was only one way to find out if the uniform supplier had decided to move with the times: she awoke early one weekday morning and made a trans-Atlantic telephone call to see whether or not the telephone number listed on the form worked and if they indeed still dealt with Hogwarts. She gave a sigh of relief when the woman at the other end of the line said that they indeed dealt with Hogwarts, and that they had an American affiliate who could handle Helen's order.
It was all Helen could do to avoid jumping up in the air and whooping with joy. She called the affiliate from work and learned to her considerable relief that they had fax machines and took credit cards. All Helen would have to do is send them Daria's measurements and they would order and tailor a uniform for her daughter. Helen could then either pay by credit card over the phone or use a money order deliverable either by owl or the US Postal Service.
The affiliate sent them a Hogwarts uniform order form. Helen then made an appointment with a dress-maker in Midland and had them take her daughter's measurements. The seamstress clucked her tongue as she took Daria's measurements. "You haven't reached puberty yet, have you, Miss?"
"No, Ma'am," Daria replied.
"Well, that blouse and jacket you're ordering might be a little tight when you do," said the seamstress.
Daria swallowed. Puberty was not something she wanted to think about, particularly having it hit while she was away from home.
Measurements in hand, Daria and her Mom filled out the order form, Helen proof-reading before sending the form back to affiliate in Springfield. Daria grumbled about all the fuss and bother.
"Well, it's not something you can order off the rack, Sweetie," Helen replied. "That's the way they do things. It would be a bigger hassle if we had to order direct from Britain."
Helen sent them the completed form, along with her credit card information the next day. They sent a return reply by fax an hour later. After that there was little to do except wait.
Daria's uniform arrived four weeks later. It was in a handsome charcoal gray and both Helen and Jake thought Daria looked very attractive in it. Her necktie was basic black, showing the Hogwarts crest Daria had trouble knotting the necktie and Jake promised to show her how to do it properly.
Daria secretly approved of her outfit but wondered if the shade of gray might be a little too dark?
-(((O-O)))—
Author's Notes: Readers might be interested as to why Daria Ravenclaw: The Highland Years and this sequel have so many Mexican-American characters. Well, it's partially due to the fact that most of the witches and wizards in the Highland (Real-life Big Spring, Texas) and Howard County are Latinos. Also, during the last several decades, more of the residents of Howard County and other parts of South and West Texas are Latinos, as often by not, if not more so, through birth rather than migration. In this respect this fiction follows real life.
Some readers might wonder about the whereabouts of Beavis and Butthead. They're still at James Ferguson Elementary School. Unlike this AU Daria, who jumped a grade, the boys still have to complete sixth grade before they're passed on to Middle School. And no, the boys AREN'T wizards.
About Daria's mail-order Hogwarts uniform: I used the first Harry Potter movie as a template for the school uniform Hogwarts students wear under their cloaks. Yes, somebody goofed up when assembling Daria's uniform.