Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl Chapter 49: Fimbulwinter

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, Warner Brothers, and Wizarding World. I own neither franchise and neither seek nor deserve any financial reward for this work of fiction. I am writing for my own personal amusement and for ego gratification.

Reviews are appreciated.

Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl*Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl*Daria Ravenclaw: The Year of the Owl

What surprised Daria was how easily she was able to slide back into the rhythms of student life at Hogwarts. The Great Hall was ready and waiting for them after they'd crossed the lake. Headmaster Dumbledore welcomed them back from their Christmas holidays, then made a few announcements. There were study sessions for Fifth-Year students facing their OWL exams and for Seventh-Year students facings their NEWTS. The returning students that learned that the next Quidditch match was to be held in three weeks, and were reminded students that the hillside with the megaliths was proscribed for skiing and sledding.

The next day school began and lessons resumed in earnest. Daria had fretted a little about not remembering where she was supposed to go when and what she was supposed to be doing, but her subconscious remembered her schedule and assignments. Granted, coming up on First Year Potions the morning after the train brought her back to Hogwarts was a little rough, but she and Tabitha were able to carry on and receive an "A" for their efforts. Daria and Anahita got "Es" for their Transfiguration essays: they might have started late, but they'd worked hard on them after Christmas. The following week, Daria's History of Magic essay came back with an "E" from Professor Binns, making her smile. Getting an "Exceeds Expectations" grade was pretty good: despite his droning, sleep-inducing voice, Professor Binns didn't hand out O's and E's like Christmas candy.

Daria was still enough of a Highland girl to know that cold weather might be unpleasant but its recollection could be pleasurable when the late summer turned hot on the South Plains. Daria made a trip to visit the critters at the pens that Saturday, despite the fact that the cold of January. Thus far, most of the large critters seemed to be dealing with the cold: even the Thestrals, which Daria thought might be in danger of dying from hypothermia. Hagrid was glad to see her and said that he hoped that she had a pleasant holiday. He was disappointed to learn that she hadn't flown back to Texas but was pleased to learn that she'd spent the holidays with the Warings.

Despite the war clouds on the horizon in the Middle East, by her second weekend, Daria thought that the spring semester looked to be snowy, chilly, but generally uneventful, at least compared to some of the hair-raising events she'd heard about back in Highland. Two days she woke up from a nightmare where she was piloting a jet fighter-bomber and instants away from firing air to ground attack missiles on someone in what she guessed was somewhere in the Middle East. The visions bothered her enough during Transfiguration Class that she mentioned them to Professor McGonagall, who sent her on to Madam Pomfrey.

There was a small crowd waiting to see Madam Pomfrey when she got there: three other students and an adult who Daria guessed must be on the staff.

"Ah, another student," said Madam Pomfrey. "And you are?"

"Daria Morgendorffer," said Daria. "First year."

"And what brings you here?" said Madam Pomfrey.

"Nightmares that hit me harder than most," said Daria. "Professor McGonagall sent me over here. I think it's got something to with what's going on over in the Middle East."

Her Texas accent drew stares from a couple of the other students waiting to see Madam Pomfrey. One of them glared at her and said "You're the girl from Texas." Daria thought that the girl's accent sounded like a mixture of English and—something else.

"I'm from Texas," Daria replied.

"George Bush…," said the older girl.

"Doesn't talk to eleven-year-old girls about matters of state and I doubt he'd take my advice," Daria replied.

One of the other students edged over to the girl who'd been talking to Daria and quietly said something in a language Daria didn't know that sounded like Arabic.

"Your pardon," said the other girl. "Noor's family is from Iraq."

"I hope your folks come through this safe," said Daria. She might be young but she wasn't someone who believed that being magical gave anyone that much safety during wartime.

Their conversation attracted the attention of the adult patient. The woman's appearance was wild, even by what Daria understood as wizarding standards: she wore a long dress with a shawl and multiple amulets topped by a thick, bushy mane of curly brown hair barely kept away from her face by a headband, coke-bottle eyeglasses.

"Excuse me, my child but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," said the wild-looking woman. "Are you a new student?"

"Yes, ma'am, I'm a first-year," said Daria. The older woman stared at Daria for a moment, then reached out and put her hand on Daria's cheek. Daria glared at her for infringing on her personal space.

"And do you have the Sight, Miss Black?" said the older woman.

"Morgendorffer, my name is Morgendorffer," said Daria, giving the older woman another glare. Daria, not possessing Legilimency, did not see her hair darken to brunette and her Barksdale features shift and sharpen to those of a pureblooded witch in the woman's mind before shifting back.

The adult stared at her a few moments longer, then said "Oh, I was mistaken, my dear," she said, reaching out and clasping one of Daria's hands. "I am Professor Sybil Trelawny, and I teach Divination here at Hogwarts and I am sure that I'll be seeing you in a couple of years."

Daria's eyes widened. So this was the famous Professor Trelawny. She'd heard that she'd probably have to take divination in a couple of years and this was the woman who taught it. Her first meeting did not give her a lot of confidence about her professor or her subject.

Daria waited a bit longer in line until it was her turn. Madam Pomfrey handed her a calming draught, then told her to drink it on an empty stomach. When she went back to her dorm she followed directions and wondered if she was taking it just because of her vision or because of her meeting Professor Trelawny, or both.

-(((O-O)))—

Later that day, Daria sought out Cuthbert Fink-Nottle.

"Hey, Cuthbert," she said. "How's it going?"

"Well enough," said Cuthbert. Daria could tell that something was bothering him.

"Is it that thing in the Middle East?" said Daria.

"You heard about that," said Cuthbert.

"Word gets around," said Daria. "One of the people in my dorm has a wizarding wireless. There was a mention in a news report." She decided not to mention her vision of the attack jet's cockpit.

"One of my Mum's cousins is a pilot in the RAF," said Cuthbert. "I'm worried about him."

"Yeah," said Daria. She knew that US Air Force and Navy pilots were flying in the air war. She wondered briefly about the Luftwaffe pilots who trained at the base near Highland. Were they flying too? She didn't know. She couldn't think of anything else to do, so she gave Cuthbert a hug.

-(((O-O)))—

Author's notes: I would like to remind my readers that Daria enrolled at Hogwarts the year before Harry Potter became a student. I am also following JK Rowling's canon timeline: the events in the Harry Potter books took place in the 1980's and 1990's.

Daria's vision of the insides of a fighter jet's cockpit is also an indirect reference to Panzerfaust 150's Night Witches, a fan fiction where an alternate-universe Daria Morgendorffer did become a fighter-bomber pilot. It is posted elsewhere at this site.