Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl. And She'd Off!
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 and neither expect nor deserve any financial gain for this work of fiction.
Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl* Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl* Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl
Jake got the message on his cellphone while out on a sales call.
"Jake, our travel plans have just been modified," said Helen's voice. She sounded angry yet resigned. "Judge Binkley insists that the Gormley case goes to trial on the 28th. I told Mr. Scales that I needed to be in London before the 30th and asked if someone else could handle the case but he won't budge. I've shouted, I've sworn, but I can't get away."
"There's a chance that I might be able to get away on the 31st if the other side settles, but that's up in the air. I'm stuck in Midland. You and Daria are going to have to set off before me. I'll try to catch up if I can. I'm sorry about this mess."
"I love you."
Jake listened to his wife's message and said "Damnit!". He hit the replay key again to make sure he'd heard Helen's message. He did, then swore again.
-(((O-O)))-
Daria finished packing on Monday evening. She'd had help from her Mom and from Jake. They'd helped her write a checklist beforehand, Daria used it to make sure that everything she was supposed to have packed was packed, except for her toiletries.
She made sure that she said good night to her sisters and to her Mom that evening. She ad her Dad were going to be leaving very early and she didn't know whether they'd be awake when she and her Dad would leave the house.
She kissed her Mom goodnight and said goodnight to both Quinn and Veronica. Despite the fact that she wasn't a huggy person she exchanged hugs with both of her sisters.
"See you guys in June if I don't see you before then," she said.
"Whatever," said Quinn. Quinn was still jealous about Daria going to Hogwarts.
"I'll miss you, Daria!" said Veronica. "June is like forever."
She went to bed and despite the tension and anticipation, she fell asleep in minutes.
-(((O-O)))—
She awoke to her Dad gently shaking her shoulder.
"Hunh? What is it?" Daria said sleepily.
"Daria," said Jake. "It's time to wake up."
Jake left Daria's bedroom when he was sure that she was going to get up and not go back to sleep. There was no slight or sound from his other girls' bedroom. He'd have thought that Quinn would have roused herself enough to say good-bye to Daria for the last time for nearly ten months.
He'd set the coffee-maker on a timer so he'd have some caffeine in his system before he and Daria set off for D-FW Airport, then went back to the bathroom in the master suite to shower, shave, and get dressed.
Daria took a quick shower, then got dressed. She'd be wearing a blouse and jeans instead of her Hogwarts uniform. She'd only worn her uniform once, and that was for a photo shoot that Mrs. Benavides made for parents sending children off to school and hopefully for publication in Tex Arcana. She'd roasted in her woolen clothing.; she wasn't about to start wearing her school uniform until she had to.
Daria had thought that Mom would stay asleep until when she usually woke up. But no, she'd gotten up early and was there in the kitchen when she came in for breakfast.
"Good morning, Sweetie," said Helen.
"Good morning, Mom," said Daria.
"All ready to go?" asked Helen.
"I'm as ready as I'm likely to be," said Daria.
"Did you say goodbye to Quinn?" asked Helen.
"I tried to," said Daria, "but I couldn't wake her up. She's still asleep."
"Ronnie's still sleeping too," said Helen. "I'll tell her goodbye for you."
Ronnie walked into the kitchen that moment, sleepy but awake. "Good morning, Mom," said Veronica. "What time is it?"
She looked at her older sister and saw that she was dressed. "You're going to school now?" she said.
"Yeah," said Daria.
"Yes, I'm off to school," said Daria. She squatted so she could look Veronica in the eye. "And I'd like you to take care of Mom and Dad and Quinn while I'm away," she said. "I'll be back in late June."
"OK," said Ronnie. She started tearing up. "I'll miss you, Daria."
"I'll miss you, too, Ronnie," said Daria. They hugged again. Hugs meant a lot to Ronnie, and Daria wanted to make sure that she had some before she and Dad hit the road.
"Could you say goodbye to Quinn, too?" said Daria. "I tried to say goodbye to her but she never really woke up."
"I'll tell her," said Helen. "Come here. I want a hug, too."
She hugged and kissed her daughter. "Have a good trip, Sweetie," said Helen. "I love you and I hope to catch up with you before you get on the school train. If not, have a good time in Scotland and be safe."
Jake finished a second cup of coffee, kissed Helen good bye, then he and Daria loaded their luggage into his SUV's back, then got in.
"OK, kiddo," he said. "Passports, keys, airline tickets, wallets, money?"
"Check, check, check, check, check," said Daria. She also had a student visa; she made sure she had that.
They were all set.
"WAND?" Daria had a moment of panic. Did she remember to pack her wand? She thought she put it in her suitcase but she needed to be SURE it was there."
"Dad, could you stop the truck?" said Daria. "I need to make sure that I packed my wand."
"Good idea," said Jake. "Let's make sure."
He opened the drive side door, Daria opened the passenger side door and they walked around to the back of Jake's SUV. After opening the tail gate, Daria unzipped her suitcase and felt around to see if it was there. Her fingers felt the unmistakable form of her wand and she let out a sigh of relief. She hadn't screwed up. She'd packed it.
"It's here, Dad," she said. "We can go." Jake closed the hatch, they both walked back to the front and got in. Jake started the truck, then carefully drove onto River Run Cove, then turned right on River Run Road. They were off.
There was little to see this early in the morning as they drove through the darkness. Most of the neighbors were sleeping. They reached the intersection where River Run Road met US Highway 87, waited for the stop light to turn green, then turned north towards Interstate 20. The stoplight was red when Jake reached the intersection where US 87 crossed Interstate 20's eastbound access road. Jake slowed down to a stop. The light changed to green, then Jake turned right. He entered the eastbound on-ramp and started driving towards D—FW Airport.
It was still dark when they drove through Abilene. The sun had risen above the horizon by the time they reached Ranger. They briefly stopped there to refuel and to take potty breaks. The bathroom smelled; Daria hoped that the ones at Hogwarts would be cleaner.
As they got closer to Fort Worth, there were more and more cars and trucks and the traffic got heavier and heavier. Still, they were moving forward, and both Daria and Jake were confident that they'd make their 2:00 flight to London Heathrow. Then traffic slowed to a stop on Loop 820.
Daria's heart sank. This was horrible. There they were, stuck in a traffic jam, and Daria would have bet even money, at least if she had enough money to bet, that they were going to miss their flight and her connection to Hogwarts. She looked around and saw cars and trucks boxing them into their space in a middle lane.
"Damnit!" said Jake. There was little to do except gnash his teeth. He turned on the radio. The news station had several features about the President's diplomatic maneuvers to get Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait and his commencement of an arms build-up in Saudi Arabia. Jake changed the channel several times, passing up a couple of channels of insipid country and western, a channel playing grunge, three religious channels where the preachers were confidently announcing the coming of the End Times, and finally settled on a sports channel.
There was a large tractor-trailer stopped in front of them, with a notice on the back with a telephone number and an invitation to call it if he didn't like its driving. Jake was tempted to call it, but it would be a waste of time. The trucker was as stuck in traffic as he was.
Suddenly, there was movement. The big truck ahead of them started up, blowing a cloud of black smoke in their direction, then drove 200 feet before coming to a stand-still again as the traffic stoppage reformed ahead of it. Daria looked out the front window. The scenery had changed slightly. There was now a tall metal light pole set in the median ahead and to the left of them. Daria looked up the pole and saw a falcon perched on its arm watching the cars stalled in traffic and the antics of their human drivers.
Traffic started moving again and they began to head east from Fort Worth into the northern mid-cities suburbs. D—FW was out there somewhere to the left, although Daria wasn't sure exactly where it was or which exit they were supposed to take.
Traffic was now flowing smoothly if not swiftly, and both Daria and Jake could not only see what was in front of them but also above them. Daria saw a brightly-painted jet slowly descend over the freeway, its landing gear extended, and flew over the freeway. It didn't seem all that big from where she and her Dad were, but the airport had to be somewhere close by, even if they couldn't see it yet.
An exit sign confirmed Dari's deduction. "Here it is," she said. "DFW next exit!" Jake took the exit and turned right onto the road leading to the airport.
Their next problem would be finding a parking place, thought Jake. He planned on using a long-term parking space, driving back to Highland when he or he and Helen returned from London.
He wondered where he could fine one. Kiddo had eyes and attention to spare. "See, there's a sign for a long-term parking lot!" she said.
"Good job, kiddo!" Jake exclaimed, and made his way to the parking lot entrance.
Daria thought that their luck in finding a parking place would be as miserable their luck in finding a speedy way to D—FW Airport through the Dallas—Fort Worth freeway system. But no, there was a gap between a pair of parked cars a couple of rows beyond the entrance. At least it looked like a gap. She hoped that the gap wasn't occupied by someone's motorcycle.
"Hey, Dad," said Daria. "See that car over there? It looks like somebody's leaving."
Jake managed to pull into the space just as a silver BMW turned the corner in hope of filling the same spot. "Shiver me timbers!" said Daria with a smile. "We got it!" The Beamer drove by, its driver shooting a scowl at them en passant.
The schools might act like Summer was ending, but as far as Daria were concerned, they were full of it. It was still late August and it was still brutally hot when they got out of the car with their suitcases and carry-on bags.
They made their way to a shelter to await the arrival of a shuttle to take them to their terminal. A shuttle bus appeared after both Jake and Daria had started sweating.
"How many people?" asked the shuttle bus driver.
"Two," Jake replied.
The shuttle had other passengers. There was a dumpy old woman sitting in one of the other seats. "So where are you going?" asked the old biddy.
"My daughter is going off to school in Scotland," said Jake.
"I say that's a waste of money," said the biddy.
"I don't see the need for any fancy schooling for girls," she pronounced. "The wife should stay at the house and take care of the children."
Daria scowled at her. Pay me a quarter and I'd turn you into a frog, she thought darkly. Maybe I'll know enough magic to do just that when I come back in June.
Jake left the old biddy alone. The shuttle bus filled up with passengers, including a college girl wearing a tank top with a bare midriff and skin-tight pants. The biddy scowled in disapproval. The shuttle bus arrived at the right terminal, Jake and Daria got their large suitcases over to the ticket counter, and set about checking in. The ticket agent peered over the counter and looked at Daria.
They'd cut it really close; they had less than an hour before their flight was due to take off. "Are we going to miss our flight?" Jake asked.
"Your flight has been delayed about an hour with mechanical problems," said the ticket agent. "It's still at the gate. You ought to make it with no problems."
They passed through security and walked up to their gate. Over decade later, Daria marveled at how casual airport security had been in those days. The plane hadn't started boarding yet, and her flight's fellow passengers were still sitting around on benches waiting to board. Daria saw that a lot of them were men and women in uniform.
Whoever-it-was must have set their airplane's problems to rights and their flight started boarding. Daria and Jake gratefully rose from their seats and got in line to board.
Daria and Jake were in the third group to board. The cabin attendants welcomed them aboard and Jake and Daria made their way to their seats. Daria was disappointed with hers; she'd gotten an aisle seat. She really wanted to sit by the window and see the landscape far below her.
The cabin doors were closed, the overhead luggage bins were shut, and the big jet pushed back from the departure gate. The cabin crew had made the safety presentation, then told her and the other passengers to sit back and relax. New York was about three hours away. Daria supposed that they were off—at least if their plane ever got around to taking off.
Daria wondered if there were any other witches and wizards aboard this flight, then doubted it. Most witches and wizards used the floo system to get around the Continental US and Canada, resorting to air travel only to cross salt water.
There were a lot of soldiers on this flight. Their camouflage looked brown and sandy. Daria had no idea as to where they were going but guessed that this had something to do with the US military build-up in Saudi Arabia after the Iraqis invaded Kuwait. She put that thought aside and started reading a traveler's book about the British wizarding community that had been reprinted. Daria wondered how useful it would be: the work was dated, going back to the early 1960's. She wondered how much of it was still accurate.
They did not take off immediately. There was a queue of passenger jets waiting for access to the runways and they'd have to wait. Daria sat in her seat and silently grumbled, trying her best not to show her impatience. Every now and again a jet either took off or got out of the way and their airliner would move forward and then stop. Daria wondered if they'd ever get off the ground.
Their jet moved forward again, but instead of braking to a stop, it turned and then began rolling down the runway, the plane moving faster and faster and faster, the engines roaring louder and louder and louder until finally Daria felt the jet lift into the air.
"We're off, kiddo!" said Jake.
After about an hour, the pilot turned off the Seat Belts sign and passengers began to rise from their seats, some simply to stretch, others to get things out of their carry-on luggage, others to got to the restroom. An older man in in a desert-style camouflage uniform passed them on his way to the restroom. After a while he came out, then stopped in front of Daria's and Jake's row. His mouth opened in surprise.
"God God, it's Shaky Jakey!" said the man.
Daria saw her father flinch.
-(((O-O)))-