17th November, 1977
After reviewing Lily's potions notes for a couple hours, everybody went to bed, eager for the day of the Quidditch tryouts to arrive. Cleveley had been down in the dumps by the time they'd left the Quidditch pitch, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stay as part of the main team after the tryouts. Danny had wowed all other team members, and he had to admit that she was a brilliant Chaser. The team had a much better chance of winning with her in it.
Lily had to wake Danny up the next day. The girl had been much more tired that night, and had slept like a log till morning. Lily went ahead without her, Danny assuring her that she could walk to the Great Hall without getting lost and that Remus would be waiting for the redhead in the common room.
Fifteen minutes later, Danny herself was moving downstairs, Sirius and James coming down the boys' dorms just then. Peter was staying in bed, since he didn't have potions, and thus didn't have class until after break. Unlike Remus, the rat preferred to sleep in when he could.
"So, did you tell him?" She whispered to Sirius, nodding toward James.
"Tell me what?" The Head Boy frowned, glancing from one to the other, not liking being left out of the loop.
Danny made sure there was no one around before opening her mouth and showing the boys the leaf under her tongue. She quickly closed it and smiled. "Put it in just after midnight yesterday, with a strong -but reversible - sticking charm for safety and peace of mind. I'll be able to make the potion in 30 more days."
James' eyes widened, but Sirius simply smiled, throwing an arm over her shoulders and squeezing her against his side. "Kitten told me she was becoming a... " He made a waving gesture with his hand to avoid elaborating. "I nicked a couple leaves from the greenhouse yesterday during Herbology, and I'll help her make the potion when it's properly soaked. You're with us, right?" He asked for confirmation, looking very proud of the girl beside him.
"Of… Yeah! Of course!" James burst, impulsively wrapping his arms around Danny and hugging her tightly, even twirling her around a bit before letting her down and placing his hands on her shoulders. "The moment you transform, you will officially be a Marauder, but just so you know, I already consider you one." He smiled widely.
"Me too." Sirius threw his arm back around her shoulders and marched ahead, Danny laughing at his friend's demonstration. "But Moony can't know until after she's transformed, alright?"
"Yeah, yeah." James couldn't stop smiling the whole way.
Danny wondered, once more, what they'd seen before her arrival that had them accepting her so easily.
Slughorn welcomed Danny warmly, despite not being a member of his house. Apparently, the news about her duelling abilities and skills in Defence, Transfigurations and Quidditch had already spread enough to reach him, and he immediately extended an invitation to the Slug Club, making Sirius, beside her, frown deeply.
Lily, instead, was smiling brightly and nodding her head toward Danny to accept. She didn't want to be the only one of her friends in the club. Danny smiled politely and accepted, then lightly bumped her knee against Sirius' under the table to make him stop sulking.
When Slughorn returned to the front of the class, starting the lecture for the day, Danny leant closer to Sirius. "What's got your knickers in a twist?"
"That club is stupid." He grumbled, folding his arms across his chest and looking straight toward the front.
"Try to sound more childish, I dare you." Danny teased, quirking an eyebrow at him.
That made Sirius' lips twitch and his posture relaxed a bit. "My younger brother's in it, as well as Snivellus, and there's been several wannabe Death Eaters in the past. Most of them are probably full-on followers of You-know-who by now."
"Lily is also in the club, Pads. Not everyone in there is evil. And I do need to get on Slughorn's good side if I want to get help from him later on." She sighed and lowered her voice a bit more, leaning closer to the dark haired young man. "There's something I'm going to need special ingredients for. Dumbledore's already agreed to help me, but I will need someone much more knowledgeable in potions to turn to if I want to… succeed in my project." He turned to face her, his face full of questions. "I will tell you about it when I've done more research. I don't want to speak ahead of time."
"How many projects do you have going on right now?" He half-laughed, his body vibrating with repressed amusement.
"Well…" She started counting with her fingers, careful not to attract Slughorn's attention or let James and Remus hear them from their spot in front of the pair. "Catch up in all my subjects, continue my training -can't talk about it, sorry -complete the er… potion" She pointed toward her mouth. "work on my… research and… find a way back home." His face fell at that, but she was looking toward her hand and didn't notice. "So… five in total. Unless you count all the essays and class projects, which would make the list endless."
Slughorn had started writing something on the blackboard, so Danny focused on the book, Sirius copying her soon. They didn't speak much for the rest of the lesson, but Sirius' leg stayed right beside hers, warming the left side of her leg for the whole double period. She thanked his presence in the rafty and cold dungeon, and she found herself leaning toward the left to steal some of his body heat during the lesson. He didn't seem to mind.
Herbology went much the same way as it had the day before. Peter's arm was caught in a Snargaluff stump for a good while; it took James a good ten minutes to help his companion wrench his arm free. Danny watched, internally wishing the branches would rip his hand off and eat it, but simply continued squeezing the juice out of the pods that Sirius and herself had successfully extracted earlier.
Remus was the one to sit beside her in the double desks in Charms, Sirius and James behind them. The werewolf was there early due to his free period, saving a spot for her in class, and smiled when Danny's face brightened when she spotted him.
She always seemed so happy to see him, he couldn't help but feel warm inside.
"Moony! Missed you! It's been too long!" She wrapped her arms around his neck the moment she reached the desk, squeezing him tightly against her chest, making his cheeks turn bright red.
"It's been an hour, Danny." He managed to choke out, both embarrassed, ridiculously happy and flustered by the proximity.
"Too long." She repeated, flopping down in her seat, Sirius and James chuckling behind her.
"I fully expect a greeting like that after your Arithmancy class." Sirius warned her, pointing a threatening finger at her.
Danny smiled and shook her head, but simply proceeded to take her charms textbook and some parchment out.
She felt eyes on her, and recognized the two Ravenclaw girls who'd been glaring at her during dinner the day before. She quirked an eyebrow at them, daring them to say whatever was bothering them to her face, but otherwise ignored them.
Lunch went by quickly and soon Remus, Lily and Danny were making their way to the Advanced Arithmancy classroom on the first floor. Professor Hermann Dirac was much more relaxed looking than Professor Vector had been in Danny's time. He approached her as soon as he caught sight of her sitting beside Remus and told her about the project for the term, as well as the material covered so far, and offered extra lessons if she wished to make use of them. He gladly accepted Remus and Danny's partnership for the project and looked oddly excited about the presence of a new student in their midst.
"Padfoot! Missed you! It's been too long!" She jumped on Sirius' back the moment she got close enough, startling the animagus and almost making him topple over and send them both to the floor.
Danny had approached the trio of Marauders as silently as possible after spotting them near the lake, soaking up the last rays of sunlight for the day.
Sirius managed to straighten up into a sitting position, Danny still flush against his back, her arms around his neck and her chin resting against the crown of his head. "Now, that's a good greeting." He laughed out, his hand finding one of her forearms around his neck. "Let's never be parted again, kitten." He claimed dramatically.
"Until tomorrow's Arithmancy class, you mean?" She chuckled, then ruffled his hair, making him cry out loud for his precious locks.
Peter looked up from the rock he'd been transfigurating, his watery eyes wide. "What? You're going to sleep with him already?" He squeaked, making them all tense and turn to look at him. He hunched over at the glares, lowering his eyes once more.
Danny scoffed and let Sirius go to sit between him and James, her mood soured at the traitor's comment.
"Don't be stupid, Wormtail." Sirius growled, glaring at his friend before shaking his head, letting it go and looking away over the lake.
Pettigrew didn't say another word to Danny, and she spent the rest of the time before dinner reading up on Transfiguration. They had an essay due next week and she was behind on the theory.
"Are you ready for tryouts?" James asked her shortly before dinnertime, glancing at her from his game of Exploding Snaps against Peter.
Danny nodded, but then bit her lip. "James." The boy looked up, his card exploding not a second later. When the smoke had dissipated enough, she continued, lowering her voice and leaning a bit closer, but accepting the fact that Peter could listen to their conversation. "Do you think it's a good idea? The next match won't be until… when? March? I don't even know if I'll be here then."
James frowned, glancing toward Sirius for a moment, the other looking away in silent resignation. "But what if you are?"
"What if I'm not? Won't your time be better spent trying to get Cleveley in shape?"
Sirius sighed, half frustrated and half hopeful. "We have no chance at all of winning the Quidditch cup with him in the team. With you, on the other hand, we have a good shot! If you don't play, it doesn't matter how much training we put Cleveley through, it won't make a difference. With you and Prongs in the team, though... " He looked her in the eye, his expression intense. "Just get in the team, kitten. If you're still here in March, we have a winning chance. If you're not, it won't matter that Cleveley didn't train, he was hopeless anyway."
"That's a bit harsh, Sirius. The boy's only thirteen. He could well be much better by the end of the year."
"But not in time to make a difference in this year's cup." James added. "He'll train, don't worry, he'll stay as substitute chaser and he'll still train with us, but we need you in the team, Danny."
She sighed, knowing they wouldn't let it go. And she did enjoy playing with them. She had no idea how long she'd be there; might as well have fun while she could enjoy their company.
Remus joined them soon, his Ancient Runes class over, with little time to spare before dinner.
Chatter from their right drew everyone's attention. They all recognized the voice as Snape's, explaining something to another boy on his right, Avery, Mulciber, and another boy around them. Danny frowned, her hand moving closer to her thigh, but froze when she got a good view of the boy Snape was talking to.
"Pads" She whispered, not taking her eyes off the group. ", is that your brother?"
The animagus nodded from beside her, watching the group just as carefully. "Yeah. Regulus."
Her hand moved away from her thigh and clasped Sirius' arm, squeezing in a show of support. She couldn't imagine what watching your own younger brother mixing with that kind of people must feel like to him. She couldn't even imagine what she'd feel if it was Harry in Regulus' place.
As if feeling their eyes, Snape shut up and looked their way, narrowing his eyes at the group. Danny narrowed her eyes right back, but simply gathered her stuff and stood up.
"Come on, guys, let's go to dinner." She pretended to ignore the potential Death Eaters, but stayed aware of their presence in her periphery. Constant vigilance.
The boys silently followed her lead, gathering their games and notes and turning to head back to the castle. Just as she made to follow, Danny detected quick movements from the Slytherins and turned just in time to raise her left hand, erecting a quick wandless barrier while her right fished her wand from its holster.
It was Avery once again, but he wasn't aiming at her. His wand was pointed toward Remus, just a couple steps to Danny's left. The Marauders had tensed and taken their wands out at the sound of the spell hitting Danny's shield, while the Slytherins were now all focused on Danny. Snape was analyzing her, his own wand out by then, Mulciber and the other boy a bit behind.
Danny didn't give anyone a chance to turn the situation into a battlefield. Her wand swished quickly and Avery found himself wrapped in chains and petrified, falling face first to the ground. "Does anybody want to join him or are you going to be smart and take him back to the castle with no further provocation?" She hissed at the fallen boy's companions.
There was a moment of silence before Snape replied. "We won't retaliate, if you can leash your attack dogs." His eyes distinctively fell on Remus and it took all of Danny's self-control not to hex him on the spot. "Wilkes, levitate him back to the castle." He ordered the boy beside Mulciber. "Let's go back. This would only be a waste of time." He sneered at them, making Sirius step forward until Danny grabbed his wand arm and forced him to lower it.
Danny's blood boiled at Snape's words. He'd been the one to out Remus. She'd hated him so much since then. She didn't care if he was a member of the Order. He was despicable. She remembered how enraged she'd been when she found out Professor Lupin was leaving because Snape had let everyone know that he was a werewolf. She'd refused to attend his classes the rest of the year and almost thrown dungbombs into his quarters. Dumbledore had stopped her before she could.
They watched the Slytherins leave, making sure none of them turned to follow on Avery's steps, and only when they were a fair distance away did they relax and start walking back to the castle.
"That. Was. Amazing, Danny!" Remus congratulated her when they got in motion.
"I had half a mind to send him flying into the lake, to be honest." She confessed, then looked the werewolf over. "He was aiming at you. I'm guessing he was trying to pay you back for knocking him out yesterday."
"It's not the first time they try to get payback." He frowned, clenching his teeth.
"I'd like to see them try while I'm around." Danny scoffed, then watched the group of Slytherins moving quite a distance ahead of them. Snape was glancing their way. "The overgrown bat seems to have a bit more common sense than Mulciber and Avery, at least."
Sirius and James snorted at the name, while Peter went into full blown hysterics. Remus, though, watched Snape with something akin to fear. Snape knew his secret.
Danny linked her arm through his and held it tightly. The werewolf's eyes turned to her and the reassuring look she was trying to give him. She didn't say a word, and he wasn't totally sure that Danny already knew his secret, but he felt better, nonetheless. He already knew she would accept him, curse and everything.
Danny left the boys at the entrance hall, telling them she had to pick up her gear -Sirius' old gear -from the dorms, and that she could never eat dinner before practice, anyway.
"I can go with you." Remus offered quickly, getting a look from Danny.
"You have to eat dinner. Save me a roll or two for after. Go on, I can find the dorms on my own, you know?"
He shared a look with Sirius, but with some prompting from Peter, who was complaining that he was starving, they went into the Great Hall, Danny climbing the stairs quickly.
That was the first time she was able to roam around the castle alone since she'd gotten to that time. She adored the boys, but she really didn't need an escort everywhere. She'd lived in the castle for six years. She knew the castle almost as well as they did; in fact, there was a place she knew that the Marauders hadn't been able to find.
The Room of Hidden Things was exactly what Danny needed in a time when she had barely more than the basic necessities. She found an old messenger bag she thoroughly cleaned and polished through several spells before using it to get books, downsized rolls of different textiles and a few empty bottles and vials that she'd have to clean really well before using. There was a lot more to go through, but she didn't want the boys to get suspicious of her absence, and she left the room to leave the stuff in her dorm and change into proper Quidditch gear.
She received a couple wolf-whistles when she entered the Great Hall, a teasing voice calling out. "Black, eh? Already got his name on you?"
"Shut up, Davies!" Sirius shouted back from the Gryffindor table, James and Remus also glaring at the Ravenclaw boy.
Danny ignored the sounds and sat in her usual spot, resting her elbow on the table to prop her head up and watching James scarf down a mountain of potatoes and then move on to the pudding.
"Don't you get sick in the air after eating all that?" She wondered out loud, frowning at the boy.
"No. Not at all." He shook his head and continued eating.
Danny sighed and shook her head, looking around the hall while the boys ate. She found Dumbledore looking her way, but the man did nothing but nod and smile lightly at her, raising his goblet toward her in silent salute.
When her eyes reached the Slytherin table, she encountered Regulus' gaze. He was observing her while he ate, the people around him, the gang they'd come across earlier, oblivious. She held his gaze, taking in his resemblance to his brother.
He died very young. Barely out of Hogwarts, from what she remembered Sirius telling them. Probably after trying to retract from the Death Eaters. But it was a lifetime of service or death, as older Padfoot had very well said.
Was he a Death Eater already?
Regulus looked confused when she just stared at him, no malice or hatred in her eyes, no sign of ill intent or resentment towards him. He ended up looking away, pretending to be interested in the conversation between Snape and a younger boy. He glanced her way a few times only to look away again when he realized she was still looking at him.
"Why are you staring at my brother?" Sirius whispered in her ear, bringing her out of her thoughts about Regulus' death.
Danny focused on the eldest Black, who was glancing between the girl and his sibling with knitted brows. "He looks a lot like you, except he's a bit scrawnier." She commented, shrugging. "I can't imagine not getting along with my own siblings."
Peter looked up from his plate, his cheeks stuffed. "Do you have any?" Bits of food flew out of his mouth and he flushed under Danny's disgusted glare. He closed his mouth and swallowed. "Siblings, I mean."
James, Remus and Sirius grew interested in the subject. Even Lily, who had been sitting a few spots down with the other girls heard the question and looked over. For a moment, it looked like half the table was listening to her.
Danny's jaw clenched, her hands fisting on the table, her gaze low. It would be suspicious not to answer, and it wasn't like it would help anyone identify her.
"Yeah." She nodded a bit, eyes on the table. "Two sisters and a brother."
"Where are they?" The rat continued, oblivious to her discomfort.
She glared at him at that, and Pettigrew jumped in his seat -someone had probably kicked him under the table.
"Enough, Peter." Remus ordered roughly, his leg moving closer to Danny's in silent support. Sirius, on her other side, placed a hand on her forearm.
Pettigrew looked confused, his eyes travelling to each of his friends before taking a hold of the situation and hunching over, focusing back on his food. It was obvious she didn't want to talk about that. He saw Lily's face, pity evident, and wondered if he should apologize.
James and Sirius quickly finished their food and rose, Padfoot tugging on Danny's arm to make her move from the table. Remus followed after the girl, Peter scrambling to finish his dinner when he saw everyone leaving.
Tryouts had the expected result. Cleveley stayed in the team as reserve Chaser, and they even got a reserve Keeper, another third year who hadn't dared try out the first time around. By the time the team showered and made their way back to the Gryffindor Common room it was almost nine, and Danny was trying to calculate the time it'd take her to do her readings on Arithmancy and Potions, and then look over her notes on the wolfsbane potion, which had luckily been in her bag at the time of her fall from the seventh floor.
The Marauders, Lily and Danny occupied two of the sofas in the common room, most of them working on either essays, homework, reading from the textbook or taking notes. The atmosphere was much more lighthearted than it had been during dinner, and Danny was feeling warm, Sirius and Remus on either side of her, the werewolf giving her the bread and fruit he'd saved for her earlier. She leant close to Remus, who seemed to emit almost more warmth than the lit fireplace a distance away. Sirius had thrown his outer robe over both Danny's and his lap, and his leg never stayed away from hers.
Peter and James retired around eleven, and Lily announced she was also heading to bed soon after. By half past eleven the common room was nearly empty, but for the trio on the sofa and a few fifth years who looked like they were struggling to get a grasp on their OWL materials.
Once done with the Arithmancy lesson for the day, Danny closed her book and picked up her stuff. "I'm heading up. I'll probably sleep in until Transfigurations tomorrow." She announced, stretching her arms as best she could. "Moony, can we head to the library and start our project after Arithmancy tomorrow?"
"Yeah, we should get started soon if we want to be done before the due date." He nodded, also gathering his stuff. "Good night, Danny."
"Night, guys."
"Night, kitten."
She climbed the stairs to the girls' dorms heavily, tired, but she couldn't sleep yet. The girls seemed to be asleep already, so Danny changed, grabbed her potions textbook and her notes on wolfsbane and worked behind the closed curtains, reading by wandlight and making sure her silencing charm held so she didn't wake the others with the rustling of pages and her low curses when she got something confused.
18th November, 1977
Danny noticed Lily's absence from the dorms as soon as she woke up. Mary was still in bed, but Alice and Lily had already left. Walking down to the common room, the time traveller was glad to find the two black haired boys just making their way down themselves.
"Where's Pettigrew?" She wondered, realizing the pudgy boy wasn't following after them as usual.
"Getting ready still, he'll meet us later." James answered, smiling softly in greeting.
"Kitten" Sirius threw an arm around her shoulders and lowered his voice, smirking, excited about something. ", you're about to be introduced to one of the most wonderful places in all of Hogwarts. A place that not many know about."
She quirked an eyebrow in response. "The kitchens?" When his face fell, his shoulders sagging at the ruined surprise, she chuckled. "I know Hogwarts just as well as you do, guys. Maybe even better." She threw her own arm around James and tugged him closer, lowering her voice even more. "You don't think I don't know about the map, do you?" She grinned like the Chesire cat, taking in the way their eyes widened. "Mischief is my second name, boys." She let go of them and skipped ahead, turning to watch them and walk backwards after jumping out of the portrait hole. "My friends and I even made a business out of being pranksters in our early school years and until they graduated." She waited for them to come closer and lowered her voice again. "And I distinctly remember Hagrid telling us we would have given you a run for your money if we'd come to Hogwarts at the same time." She linked her arms through theirs then, smirking again. "Of course, you're Head Boy now, and Moony's a prefect so…" She batted her eyelashes at Sirius, who was gaping at her. "Wanna be my fellow mischief maker?"
The next second, Sirius had wrapped his arms around her and twirled her in the air, crushing her against his own body. "FINALLY! Prongs and Moony have been such bores I thought I'd have to spend my last year here being good."
"Oi! I'm not a bore!" James complained, pouting at them when Sirius let Danny down, but still held her close.
"Evans' got you whipped, mate." His best friend retorted, making a gesture of 'what can you do?' "Don't worry, Prongs, you can stay a goodie-goodie while kitten here and I liven things up around the castle. Sit back and enjoy the show." He grinned at his friend, who pursed his lips, as if itching to join them, but finally shrugged and started walking again.
Sirius and Danny lagged a bit behind the Head Boy, the first keeping the girl as close as possible. He spoke in her ear, low and intimate. "So, what'll be our first step in this new era of mischief and glory, kitten?"
"Monday during lunch, let's skip, shall we?" She smirked, linking her arm through his to be able to walk easier, but still basically attached to the hip. "We're turning the corridor leading up to Divination into a swamp. The subject is basically useless, anyway."
His grin was filthy and Danny felt her cheeks darken. She had to remind herself this was her brother's father figure/uncle.
After a quick breakfast in the kitchens, to which Peter arrived with barely five minutes to spare, the group went up to their classes. DADA, after break, was a regular classroom once more. The boys kept Danny between them, Remus sharing a desk with her while Sirius and James sat on the desk on her other side, Lily and Alice in front of them, Peter and Mary behind them.
Green taught a theoretical class. She let Lily and Remus answer questions just fine, and Danny didn't even try to raise her hand, keeping her head low and focusing on the material. The professor did put Peter on the spot a couple times, but otherwise left the students alone.
After Arithmancy, as planned, Danny and Remus headed to the library, Lily and Alice with them. The other boys were most probably outside, enjoying the start of the weekend since lunchtime. They'd had no other classes after herbology.
Remus and Danny sat close together, whispering their plans for their common project to each other while writing down schemes and mindmaps. By the time dinner rolled around, they had a half-full numerical chart and were listing out the tasks they'd had to work on to advance their project, and meeting times for that weekend and the following week.
"Okay, Wednesday I have a free period before Transfiguration, but Thursday's packed until after Arithmancy, so we'll have to meet then."
"Er…" Remus shot her a sideways look and scratched the back of his neck. Lily, walking ahead of them, turned a bit to look at Danny, her eyes slightly wide. "Wednesday's fine, but I don't think I'll be able to meet on Thursday. I'll work on it when I can on Friday though, don't worry." He assured her, looking a bit pale.
Danny bit her lip, scribbling in her planner. She'd noticed Lily's reaction, even Remus' uncomfortable answer. It didn't take her long to guess the reason why. She made a quick note at the bottom of Thursday 'gall. coc.', an abbreviated form of Spanish to remind herself of something she'd have to do that night. Remus' furry little problem would mean all the boys would be unavailable that night.
"Alright, then we'll meet Saturday. That's fine, you're brilliant, we'll be done with this in no time." She smiled brightly at him, quickly dispelling any leftover uneasiness and shut her planner.
Lily almost seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at that, but she made sure to look unbothered. Remus, on the other hand, felt increasingly curious. Did Danny know already?
The group stayed up late on Friday night. Remus had prefect rounds, and the group was up and waiting for him to return around eleven. Lily and James were cuddled up on the couch, Alice sitting next to them, leaving some space between herself and the couple. Mary was sitting on the other couch, between Sirius and Peter. She had been trying to get Sirius' attention for a while by the time Remus returned, but the boy just kept joking and fooling around with Peter. Danny was sitting on the floor in front of them, legs crossed, several books and parchments on the coffee table. She was hunched over it, taking part in the conversation around the room while trying to read and take notes. It was taking longer than it usually would, but she was not bothered.
Remus returned with Marlene, the other girl in their dorms. Danny had recognized her the first time she'd seen her at dinner. Marlene McKinnon. Killed two weeks after the photograph of the First Order of the Phoenix was taken, along with her whole family. The girl had barely said two words to Danny so far, but it didn't bother her. Alice and Mary were Lily's usual partners in class. Marlene didn't seem to want to spend too much time with the Marauders, which was why Danny was a bit surprised when she sat down beside Sirius. Remus had taken the only armchair close to the group, on the other side of the coffee table Danny was working on.
After watching Remus and Danny smile at each other as soon as he was seated, Alice leant forward and spoke up. "So, Danielle, what do you think of Hogwarts so far?"
"It's pretty cool." She smiled lightly, looking up from her Herbology textbook. It was open on the page about salamander blood, but none of the people around her would suspect she was studying to figure out how to make her wolfsbane potion work. Good thing none of them could read her mixture of French, English and Spanish abbreviations, since she was basically writing out the process and uses of each ingredient for the potion. She loved being a polyglot in an english-speaking country. English-speakers often forgot the richness that came from speaking different languages.
"What's Beauxbatons like?" Marlene asked, making it the first time she spoke directly to Danny without anyone prompting her to.
"It's very different, but I like both. Beauxbatons is surrounded by gardens and a huge park. Hogwarts is more… natural, in my eyes. While the académie is beautiful, it is very… man made, in a sense. It's a beautiful chateau, don't get me wrong. The palace is breathtaking, and the fountains, which come out of the mountains themselves, are amazing. The salle à manger must be adorned with non-melting ice sculptures already, it's done every year before Christmastime, and wood nymphs serenade the students while we eat." She tried to recall everything Fleur, her mamá and Tante Line had told her through the years, or the pictures she'd seen from their time in the academy. "The uniforms are also very different. Since it's much warmer there, they're made of blue silk, and there are no houses like here, so there are no differentiating features for different groups."
It seemed like everyone was pretty convinced of the truthfulness of her description, even the three who knew she didn't attend Beauxbatons. They seemed to have forgotten themselves, trying to picture her words.
Lily was particularly intrigued by the other institution, being a muggleborn who had a hard enough time believing Hogwarts existed. "What's the headmaster like? Is he like Dumbledore?" She asked, eyes wide.
"Not at all." Danny laughed, shaking her head. "Madame Maxime is… uhm… okay, picture this. Hagrid?" She lifted her left hand up, signalling his height. "Well, he'd look like a regular-sized person beside Madame Maxime." She laughed at their expressions. "She's unbelievably tall. And very elegant and graceful, despite everything. She is very respected by everyone at the acadèmie, and outside. She is a fair educator, she expects a lot from… us" She almost hesitated there, but had to keep up the story that she had attended the school. ", but she's also very kind toward her students."
"Wow." Mary breathed out. "It's hard to imagine someone bigger than Hagrid."
Everyone laughed after that and James started describing a meeting between both half-giants, Sirius and Peter piping in every now and then, sending everyone into fits. Danny alternated between paying attention and focusing on her work, but had fun, after all.
When conversation had dulled and divided into pairs and trios, Danny finally closed her textbooks, crossing out to-do's from her planner. She looked up and was surprised to find Remus frowning at the couch behind Danny, where she knew Sirius, Mary and Marlene to be. She glanced over her shoulder to find Marlene talking in a hushed voice in Sirius' ear, her hand on his thigh.
Danny looked toward Remus again. Did he like Marlene? Was that jealousy she was witnessing?
"Moony" She called, making the boy almost jump. When he looked at her, looking almost guilty, she smiled reassuringly. ", wanna play a game of chess?"
His eyes flickered behind her once more before he nodded. She rose from the floor and moved with him to a small table a short distance away, four chairs around it. They took opposite spots and brought the chess board that was kept down in the common room onto its surface. Danny was surprised to see Sirius move to another one of the chairs, looking a bit gloomy. He shared a meaningful look with Remus, but Danny didn't understand what it was supposed to mean. Instead, she just smiled lightly at him and placed the pieces on the board.
Footsteps and a huff attracted Danny's attention once more before the game started, and she barely caught sight of Marlene stomping up the stairs to the girls' dorm. She looked toward Mary, who just sighed but didn't offer any other explanation.