Ch. 7
AN: Hey guys! Sorry for the gap in updates and for any spelling or grammar mistakes. I unfortunately have come down with the Kung Flu and I'm currently in the hospital. I'm doing my writing and school work whenever I can but ultimately I'm doing well, feeling okay. I hope everyone out there is feeling good and staying safe! Now onto the chapter. Hopefully, I can crank the next one out quickly!
The cabin rocked gently and Daniel grinned behind his clasped hands as he watched Terry struggle to decide how to move. Terry's eyes went side to side and he had a thin film of sweat over his forehead.
"Come on Terry," Daniel said quietly. "It's staring you in the face."
"Shut up," Terry hissed.
He moved his hand up and wrapped his fingers around the black wooden bishop. His eyes went up to gauge Daniel's reaction. He released the bishop and grabbed the knight, but looked up once more, and saw Daniel's eyebrow raised. He let it go and settled on the bishop moving it and taking Daniel's rook before leaning back and smiling satisfyingly.
"Nice," Daniel coughed and winced at the stinging in his throat. He grabbed his knight and moved it forward, cornering Terry's King. "But you should have moved your own rook. Checkmate."
Terry shot forward and analyzed the board. He moved his eyes quickly and shook his head before leaning back again.
"How!"
Daniel chuckled and began to move the pieces back. "You were focused on attacking me rather than defending your own King. It's a rookie mistake."
Terry rolled his eyes at Daniel's pun and reached for his coin pouch digging out four silver sickles. He slid them across the table and Daniel grinned as he pocketed the small silver coins.
Daniel asked the boy if he wanted another game to which he received a scoff and a few choice words as to where he could put the pieces.
Rolling his eyes Daniel put the board away and pulled out his potions book. He began reading as the sounds around him began to fade until he could only hear the sound of the train rolling on the tracks and the page flipping. He moved his eyes over each letter and absorbed the knowledge before him until he was snapped out of it when the door to the cabin opened.
Daniel looked up over the book and saw a small girl, perhaps reaching just above his elbow when he stood up, standing in the doorway. She had her Hogwarts robes on, a large brand-new trunk set down at her feet, and the fact that there were no house markings signified that she was a first year.
"Hello," she said quietly, her voice having a dreamy quality to it. "Would you mind if I joined you?"
Luna, the name popped into Daniel's mind. He felt several vague memories fill his head slowly. The sudden flow of random and somewhat incomprehensible memories made his temples throb. He took a breath, biting his teeth to keep himself from groaning. He smiled forcefully and nodded his head slowly.
"Come on in," he ground out releasing the pressure on his lip and wincing at the rattling pain in his throat.
The girl, Luna as he suspected, entered the cabin. Daniel and Terry rose from their seats to grab the trunk and lift it onto the luggage rack. The three sat and a brief silence fell before the girl smiled softly and began to speak.
"Hello, I'm Luna Lovegood," she reached into the pockets in her robe and pulled out a small jar. She was quick at unscrewing it before pulling out a black tablet and offering it. "Brick tea?"
Daniel raised an eyebrow at the offering. The jar held several blocks of black tablets. Daniel grabbed one and pulled it out, sniffing it cautiously.
"This is tea?" He asked warily.
"Yes. You're supposed to shave off small bits of it into water, but I enjoy eating it this way," Luna took the tablet and bit into it breaking off a small chunk with an audible click. She chewed, the loud crunching filling the cabin, and smiled at the boys motioning for them to try it.
Shrugging, and ignoring the worried look from Terry, Daniel bit into the block. Taking a few moments, he managed to take a chunk from the block, though his jaw hurt and he felt a few of his teeth briefly go loose in his skull. He crunched the hard "tea" between his teeth and nodded at the chalky yet slightly okay taste.
"Is it good?" Terry asked, a wide amused smile on his face.
"Surprisingly okay," Daniel commented before swallowing.
"One of Daddy's friends sent it to him as a birthday present. He thought I could bring some with me so I could try and make friends," Luna took another bite from the tablet and smiled.
"Oh, where are my manners," Daniel said before putting out his hand. "Daniel Lovage, good to meet you, Luna."
Luna took it and shook his hand gently. "Lovage. That's funny. It's almost like Lovegood. But not quite."
"Maybe it means we should be friends," Daniel laughed.
Luna, however, beamed at the statement and nodded her head vigorously. "Yes, I suppose it might mean that."
Daniel looked over at Terry and let go of Luna's hand. "This is my friend Terry Boot."
Terry shook Luna's hand as well, though Daniel could tell he was a bit hesitant. He still eyed the tea bricks she had offered with some skepticism. But he was still polite and introduced himself.
"So, tell us, Luna, are you excited for Hogwarts?"
She nodded her head and smiled. "Yes, daddy told me a lot about Hogwarts from his time there. He said that it's such a wonderful place.
"It can be," Daniel said, "Just don't get wrapped up in any business where you have to deal with possessed teachers."
Luna sat still for a moment and nodded thoughtfully. "I'll do my best. It doesn't sound pleasant.
Daniel laughed for a moment before smirking to himself and looking back at Terry.
"So, Terry. How about a rematch?"
"No!" Terry shook his head and dived headfirst into his book. "No. No. No. No. I'm done losing to you! You cheat!"
"I do not," Daniel insisted smirking at the accusation. He really didn't cheat, Terry was simply awful at Chess. "You just don't know how to play."
Terry scoffed and simply continued reading. Daniel shook his head at the boy and looked over to Luna.
"Luna, would you like to play a game of chess, to help pass the time?"
Luna gave a half-smile and nodded her head. Daniel grinned and reached back into his trunk pulling out the board and quickly setting up the pieces. He took black giving Luna the first move.
She grabbed her pawn and picked it up holding it close to her eye and laughing. She tapped the round top of the piece and then set it down before moving to the next pawn and repeating the process.
She went down the line and touched all eight pawns, in random order, before she began with her more mobile pieces.
"This looks like my house," she said holding the rook out for Daniel to take.
Finding her behavior rather pleasant, Daniel took the piece and observed the white-painted bit of wood before giving it back.
"You live in a house that looks like a rook?"
"I do, except it looks more like the ones on your end. Daddy said that having a house painted black drives off the Heliopaths since they think they've already been through. Heliopaths are fire spirits you see. They don't mean to burn everything they come across down, but," Luna leaned forward and whispered looking worried as if she was about to share secret information, "it tends to happen when you're made of fire."
"I suppose that does make sense," Daniel nodded. "Where do Heliopaths tend to live through?"
He heard Terry snort and looked over to the boy. Terry saw Daniel glance over and shook his head. He could see his friend mouth the word, Loony.
Daniel scowled but remained silent.
"Well, most Heliopaths live in close communities at the bottom of Volcanoes. There aren't many of them left you see. So, the ones that are left need to stick together otherwise they could go extinct." Luna stood up and climbed onto her seat. She managed to open her trunk and dug through for a moment before returning to her seat, a purple magazine in her hand. "This issue of The Quibbler has a great article on Heliopaths. But if you have more questions you can always ask me."
Daniel took the magazine and flipped through quickly before placing it beside him. "I'll be sure to do that Luna. But first, I do believe we have a game to play."
"You're an ass!" Terry fumed as he rushed through the halls of the Express and down onto the Hogsmeade Platform. After Daniel had defeated Luna, he managed to goad Terry into another four losses. Terry had finally flipped the board and began swearing that Daniel was cheating.
"Terry it's not my fault you can't strategize," Daniel said meeting him on the platform. The two began following the mass movements of students to the carriages. "Besides, just know that all your losses go to the fund of an orphan in need."
Terry rolled his eyes and playfully shoved Daniel. "Yeah sure. I'll beat you one of these days."
Daniel shook his head as the herd of students began to thin.
They neared the carriages and Daniel nearly froze where he stood when he saw them. The large skeletal horses, supposed to be invisible to the human eye. Unless they had seen death that was. Daniel gasped as the realization hit him. He chuckled to himself, he had been touched by death he supposed. He had in fact died.
The mass of students began to disappear as each carriage left. Terry and Daniel stood silently together waiting for their turn to climb aboard when they heard someone speak.
"The threastles are magnificent, aren't they?" Both Terry and Daniel jumped, Daniel screaming and grasping at his throat. They both turned, looking and seeing Luna standing behind them.
"What the hell?" Daniel exclaimed again before scrunching his eyes closed in pain and bringing his hand to his throat.
"Luna, what are you doing here?" Terry asked looking behind her towards the platform, but neither Hagrid nor the other first years were there.
"Oh well I was having fun so I decided to follow the two of you," Luna explained bouncing back and forth on the balls of her feet. "Why?"
"Luna," Daniel croaked out, feeling a trickle of blood running down his throat. He knew he would need to see Madam Pomfrey. "Luna you were supposed to go with Hagrid."
"Oh," was all she said. "Well, can I go with you to the castle?"
Daniel looked at the empty carriage that was waiting for them and shrugged.
The three of them climbed into the last empty carriage before it began rocking forward. Daniel kept his hand on his throat massaging the skin trying to rub the pain away.
He had been told by Pomfrey that he would never be able to speak loudly or yell ever again, else he would hurt his throat and he would bleed, and continue to bleed until he died or was healed. He hadn't been sure if she had been telling the truth, but as he swallowed his latest mouthful of warm coppery fluid, he decided that the healer had not been lying.
The Great Hall was alive with chatter when the three friends entered. Most of the tables were filled and many people were moving to their tables leaving their friends from different houses.
Daniel, Terry, and Luna walked through the center of the hall, between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, toward the head table. Daniel could feel the eyes on them as they moved. He looked to his right and spotted Hermione. He smiled and gave a small wave which she returned. He did a quick search for Harry and Ron but when he couldn't find them his eyes went wide and he nearly stopped walking.
I knew I forgot something, he said in his mind, chastising himself but still walking.
He made it to the head table and motioned for Terry to take Luna to Dumbledore while he went and saw Pomfrey. He moved down the table and waved at Professor Flitwick. The Professor greeting him, but when he tried to reply he could only gurgle as he felt the blood in his mouth welling up.
He quickly walked off and made a dash to Pomfrey who he found sitting next to Sprout talking amicably about some plant or another with healing properties. He stopped in front of Pomfrey and the woman looked over wearing a confused smile.
"Can I help you, dear?" She asked.
Daniel nodded and tried to speak but fell into the same repulsing gurgling noise that he had directed to Flitwick. He blinked trying to figure out how to convey what he needed to. He looked over to the center of the table but Terry and Luna were being led off by Dumbledore.
He made motioning gestures to his throat and moved his eyebrows trying to convey anything.
Pomfrey furrowed her brows and sat up in her chair. "Is your throat bothering you dear?"
Daniel snapped his fingers and nodded his head while pointing to his throat. Pomfrey nodded and walked around the table motioning for him to follow her. They walked through the center of the hall again drawing eyes. Grimacing at the attention he tried to duck his head.
"Hey Lovage, already mucked up a spell?" Daniel turned his head and saw Michael Corner standing up at the Ravenclaw table trying to get a good look at him. The boy was chuckling to himself and more eyes from the Ravenclaws were now drawn to him. Daniel felt his cheeks light up and turned his head quickly following Pomfrey and getting away from the hall.
He spat into the bucket Pomfrey had supplied him with before leaning back on the bed. Pomfrey had left an hour ago to sleep, but not before she had chastised him for shouting and causing his throat to tear. She had told him that it would be at least two weeks before it would be safe for him to speak.
So, he sat in silence spitting the last bits of blood infused spit into the bucket. It took him ten minutes to realize that he was absolutely bored by himself. He had requested if he could at least have a few books brought from his trunk to help with the boredom and Pomfrey had granted the request, though she insisted that he get plenty of rest.
But as luck would have it, his mind was alight with activity and refused to shut down for even a second of sleep. So, he sat in his bed twirling his wand in his left hand and digging through his bookbag with his right. He sighed as he read over the titles and sighed when none of them caught his eye.
He rubbed his eyes and threw his head back into the pillow. He couldn't feel his body crave sleep any more than it had five minutes ago. He looked back to the book bag and he gave it another glance over.
Transfiguration, Year Two Charms, Daniel rolled his eyes and nearly groaned at the mound of second-hand Lockhart books. He shoved those aside and paused as he saw the black leather-bound journal he had brought with him. He chuckled realizing that he wouldn't get the chance to hand it over to Dumbledore on the first day. He would have to wait at least two weeks, he at least wanted to talk and be able to explain properly how he had "discovered" that the journal wrote back and wanted him to do bad things.
But as he touched the Journal a small dangerous part of his mind felt curious. He laughed and shook his head letting go of the Journal and setting the bag on the floor. He couldn't believe that for a moment he had actually considered writing in the Journal.
But maybe, the dangerous part of his mind whispered, I know that its dangerous. What could be the harm of writing in it if I know it's dangerous?
Scoffing at the sheer hubris he turned away from his book bag and closed his eyes, not any closer to being tired.
Daniel arrived in the hall with dark circles under his eyes and an ache in his neck. He suppressed a yawn and dragged his feet into the hall wiping his eyes and looking down the Ravenclaw table. He sniffed and smiled when he spotted Terry talking amicably with Stephen Cornfoot.
He walked over and slid into the seat beside Terry and nodded to both of them.
"You're back," Terry exclaimed when Daniel sat down. "We'd thought you'd died!"
Daniel flipped his middle finger up and chuckled to himself.
"Ah, come on now," Terry laughed before he poured Daniel a glass of water. "We knew Madam Pomfrey would have you up and running in no time. And we were right, weren't we?"
"Indeed, we were," Stephen said. "Terry filled me in. You got scared of a first-year?"
Daniel flipped Terry off again and shook his head. It seemed Terry enjoyed exaggerating tales after he had lost games in chess, as well as some of his money.
But the mention of Luna caused Daniel to look around. He looked from table to table and spotted the girl sitting with the other first years, however, the other first years seemed to already be keeping their distance.
Daniel nudged Terry and motioned over to Luna and shrugged his shoulders.
"What?" Terry asked furrowing his eyebrows. Daniel sighed and pointed over to Luna and gestured from her to the seat next to him then shrugged. "I don't understand you. Did you forget how to use your words?"
Daniel grunted with frustration and dug into his backpack and dug out a roll of parchment. He scribbled down the words, Why isn't she sitting with us?
Terry read the words and laughed. "I don't know. I figured first years hang out with first years."
But she's alone, Daniel wrote out.
Indeed, around her the other first years seemed to leave a small, but noticeable, distance between Luna.
Terry looked again and shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know. I mean, come on mate, she is a bit, ya know," Terry nodded his head and motioned over to Luna, who was holding a copy of the Quibbler upside down, "she's kinda strange."
Daniel rolled his eyes and got up from his seat.
"Oh, come on mate," Terry groaned. "Just leave her."
Daniel walked down the table, ignoring Terry's shouts for him to come back. He tuned out the chattering first years and slid into the seat beside Luna, making the conversation amongst the first years die down for a moment.
Luna, however, was too engrossed in her upside-down magazine to realize that he had slipped into the seat next to her. Daniel chuckled at her obliviousness and instead began to pile small amounts of food onto his plate. Glancing down the table he spotted Terry glancing over at him warily and Stephen Cornfoot suppressing chuckles behind his scarred hands.
Daniel waved them over and he could see Stephen bump Terry's elbow. He spoke to him and motioned with his hand, but all Terry did was get red-faced and shake his head vehemently as if he was trying to prove a point.
Stephen shrugged and stood up. He glanced down at Terry once more and then shook before walking over. Daniel smiled triumphantly and patted the seat beside him.
Daniel so wished he could speak, but instead scribbled in all capital letters "WELCOME STEVEN!"
Stephen laughed and took the card shaking his head. He slid into the seat next to Daniel and looked down at Luna who was still reading her Quibbler.
"My name is spelled with a PH." Daniel laughed softly and gave the boy a look that said, you think I don't know? Stephen rolled his eyes and looked down at Luna again. He cleared his throat loudly and waited for Luna to look over.
The blonde-haired girl flipped the page of her Quibbler but remained silently enthralled in the purple pages. Daniel chuckled to himself and gently tapped her shoulder. Luna made a hmmm noise and bent the corner of her page and closed the Quibbler placing it on her lap.
She turned her head and smiled, "Oh hello Daniel, it's good to see that you're okay. You were spitting a lot of blood last night."
Daniel shrugged and quickly wrote on a card. Pomfrey fixed me up. I just can't speak for a week.
"Oh, well at least you're okay."
"Agreed," Stephen cut in. He held out his hand for her to shake, "Stephen Cornfoot, pleasure to meet you."
"Luna Lovegood," she said taking his hand gently. "My, I have to say, I've never seen someone so free of Wackspurts. Do you clear your head with a Pipply whistle?"
Stephen blinked and was taken aback for a moment. He opened his mouth to say something but his words came up short and he cleared his throat.
"I, well I can't say that I have Luna."
She hummed to herself and shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well. I suppose I'll find out your secret eventually."
"If I knew my secret to staying, uhh, free of those creatures, then I would share it."
"Not necessarily," Luna said turning back to her plate of food. "Some people have secrets that they don't know. And you don't know how you keep the wackspurts away. So, it's a secret from everyone and you."
Stephen glanced from Luna to Daniel, confused. He looked back to Terry who was wearing an I told ya' so smile and shaking his head.
Stephen looked back to Daniel and Luna and nodded to himself.
"Well," he began, "I guess we'll just have to figure it out."
Daniel hacked out another clump of thick gooey blood from his throat and winced at the feeling in his throat. He rubbed it and took a shallow breath. Every time he had to expel the leftover from his throat it felt like he was swallowing razor blades.
He sighed and exited the stall moving to the sink. He splashed the cool water on his face and looked up to the mirror.
He jumped, forcing himself to not scream.
A boy stood behind him in the mirror. He was tall, definitely at least a sixth year. His hair was in the neatest comb-over he had ever seen, not a single hair out of place. Not to mention his uniform was pressed, completely wrinkle free, the creases exactly where they needed to be. But what had frightened Daniel, was the recognition he had felt when he saw the boy.
When he saw, Tom Marvolo Riddle.
He pulled his wand from his robe and spun on his heel bringing his wand up. His arm trembled and he was wide-eyed, he had no way of casting spells without damaging his throat. Not to mention he didn't know if his spells could even damage whatever was before him.
But when he faced where Tom was in the reflection, he saw nothing but an empty bathroom. He let out a heavy breath and slowly lowered his trembling arm. He felt tears well up in his eyes but quickly blinked them away.
Daniel took a step back and felt the sink behind him. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself.
He's still in the diary. He can't get out. I won't let him out. I just need to wait until I can speak.
"Lockhart's an idiot!" Stephen exclaimed, not even bothering to hide his distaste for the "teacher". "That quiz had nothing to do with magic. Only him!"
"My dad always thought he was full of it," Terry scoffed. "Merlin, who's bloody idea was it to hire that idiot?"
"Whoever it was needs to be fired." Stephen insisted.
Daniel simply nodded along with the two. It was the only thing he could do. He remembered vaguely that Lockhart had been a fraud to some degree. But with what he had been shown he was now sure that Lockhart was an idiot. He only wished he could say so.
He was a week into his two weeks ban on speaking. He wasn't spitting blood up anymore and his throat didn't hurt as much. But Pomfrey wanted him silent for a little while longer, Just in case.
"We don't even have an actual textbook. Just a bunch of his novels," Stephen scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Alright, I'm going off. I'll be in the library. I need to read something to get the idiocy of Lockhart from my mind."
"Same. Michael said he would teach me some chess so I could beat you eventually Daniel," Terry laughed and rushed off to the common room while Stephen went off in the opposite direction.
Daniel sighed and adjusted his backpack. He checked his watch and saw that there was at least an hour before Luna got out of her classes. Another two before Harry, Hermione, and Ron were out from double potions.
Groaning inwardly, Daniel began to walk. He moved through the castle, avoiding the large clumps of students, and making a dash towards the staircase. He smiled and stepped onto a random staircase feeling the stone rumble underneath him.
He looked around and wished that there was somewhere he could go to alleviate the boredom of nothing.
His eyes went wide and he thanked himself on the head as a flash of a memory hit him lighting his mind up like a Christmas tree. The Room of Requirement. He cursed himself as he realized that he could have gone there all the previous year. He ran through his mind and tried to remember how to get to the Room.
He knew it was on the seventh floor and required (he laughed at the phrasing) the person searching to pace back and forth three times. But, he couldn't pinpoint exactly where it was. But he knew it had to do with trolls and ballet.
He rushed to the seventh floor and began to scour the floor in search of trolls and ballet. He passed a painting of a group of wizards pointing their wands at a muggle with a camera, another where a Hippogriff was nuzzling its beak with a Threastle. He rushed around the corridors and worked up a sweat from excitement and running around the entire seventh floor.
He groaned and kicked a wall, wincing at the pain that solid stone could have on a foot. He kept going, with a limp for about five minutes until the throbbing stopped, and looked at the tapestries and paintings.
He was close to calling it quits until he found himself standing before a large tapestry of a curly-haired mustachioed wizard with a gaggle of trolls before him wearing tutus. A thin smile crept on his face and Daniel nodded to himself.
He took a step back and closed his eyes before beginning to pace.
I need a place to… he paused and opened his eyes. What did he need? He chuckled. I suppose that's my answer. I need to place to figure out what I need.
He closed his eyes and began to pace.
I need to place to figure out what I need.
I need to place to figure out what I need.
I need to place to figure out what I need.
There was a rumbling of stone and creaking of rusted steel, but Daniel knew that he had done it. He opened his eyes and saw the large stone doors of the Room before him. He moved forward and pushed it open, the door weighing far less than he imagined.
He stepped in.
The room was warm, and brightly lit, but he couldn't tell where the light was coming from. He took a few steps in and the door closed behind him. A desk was all he could see before him. It was simple in its design.
A large dark oak desk, pens, and pencils were set on the top of the desk, but no paper was present. He walked forward and set his backpack down before taking a seat. The words, Plan, were carved at the top of the desk.
What? Daniel asked in his mind.
Remember, the carvings changed. The wood remolding and spelling out different letters. Remember and plan.
Daniel laughed to himself and dug into his bag. He pulled out a roll of parchment and reached for a pen.
He had planning to do.
Okay, big points. What do you remember?
Daniel scribbled out several words. Basilisk, Triwizard Tournament, Umbridge.
He paused and tapped the pen against his face. He felt like a large point was staring him in the face. He could remember that there was something else yet his mind got foggy every time he almost got close to remembering. It was like his fingers were scratching the surface, but the moment he would finally grasp whatever it was, so much would come tumbling down over him.
He groaned and began to move on. He wrote what he knew to be true.
Voldemort's name is Tom Riddle. I have Tom's Diary. Tom's Diary can possess people. Tom comes back in fourth year…. He paused and crinkled his eyebrows. He was sure that it was the fourth year, but he was sure that it also happened during the Triwizard Tournament. But that's the third year—isn't it?
He groaned and slammed his fist on the desk. He regretted not trying to remember earlier. But being treated like a baby for years and years screwed with his mind. He had forgotten so much. Sometimes he had nearly forgotten the faces and names from before he had arrived, let alone the Harry Potter books. It was like there were wedges in his mind trying to keep him from remembering.
He sighed and looked back to the paper. He grabbed it and read over the lines over and over until he had it memorized before he crumpled it in his hand. He tossed it over his shoulder and picked up his bag before leaving the room.
Daniel screamed as he tripped over his feet. He crawled on his knees for a moment before regaining his balance and dashing forward.
"You can't hide!" a voice boomed behind him. Daniel whimpered as he heard the voice shake the hall and make him stumble. But he didn't dare look back. "Get back here!"
Daniel saw a door at the end of the hall and pushed his legs harder. He could hear heavy footsteps and a sinister laugh approaching. Daniel maneuvered through the small hall and came to the door.
He grasped the handle and twisted. The door refused to budge and Daniel whimpered again thrusting his shoulder against the thick oak door. He could hear the footsteps get closer and moved frantically against the door shouting and begging for it to be opened.
"There you are."
Daniel froze. He could hear the footsteps stop behind him. He felt a lump in his throat and tried to force it down. He let go of the doorknob and turned slowly. He kept his eyes on the ground and felt his body trembling as the man before him gave him a predatory look.
"Hello Daniel," Voldemort said, his eyes glowing red.
Daniel looked up and watched as Voldemort's arm rose. The man's mouth opened and flashed rows of sharp teeth.
"Avada—"
There was no shooting up from bed, nor did he wake up screaming waking up the entire dorm.
Daniel simply opened his eyes. He glanced around the room and looked to his nightstand. Grabbing his wand, he whispered Tempus and saw that it was a little after five o'clock in the morning.
Getting out of bed Daniel made his way to the showers. He let the hot water wash over him and closed his eyes as he went over the dream in his mind.
It wasn't the first time he had found himself running down a cramped hallway trying to escape Voldemort. But it was the first time that the nose less Monster had caught him.
Despite the heat of the water he shivered at the memory of Voldemort aiming his wand at him, the killing curse on his lips, his eyes glowing red with glee. He shut the water off and climbed out of the stall, a towel wrapped around his body.
"Fucking Voldemort," he whispered his voice gravely. After dressing in his robes, he made it back to the dorm where the boys were still sleeping. He grabbed his backpack and left for the common room, envisioning the large blue sofa that he would be able to stretch out on. Ever since the dreams had started, the common room couch was a place he could count on to be able to catch up on his sleep.
As he adjusted himself and leaned back into the sofa he dug through his bag. He tossed aside the charms book, he was more than caught up already. He shoved all of Lockhart's books aside and rolled his eyes at the large picture of himself that the egomaniac had placed on the covers. He paused at the potions book, but ultimately moved on, as he didn't feel like trying to figure out what plants would kill him or blow up if he stirred one too many times.
He dug around a bit more and paused.
Tom Riddles Diary would have smiled smugly if it had a face. Daniel looked around and clenched his fist. He had been able to speak for a week and a half. He had said that he would deliver the book to Dumbledore once he could speak. And yet he was avoiding it. He would say he was busy with school, that he needed to help Terry and Luna with Charms.
He had been making reasons to not give the book off to Dumbledore. Yet he didn't know why. Or he did but didn't want to admit it.
The book was toying with him. He grabbed the Diary and stared at the leather binding. He flipped through the blank pages and sighed heavily.
He wasn't doing anything now. He could go to Dumbledore. Give him the Diary and be done with it. But even as he thought he felt a pull not to. He felt a pull to write in the diary.
Daniel shook his head and shoved the diary into the bag. No book was going to manipulate him.
"The Nargles have made you heavy."
Daniel glanced over at Luna and raised an eyebrow. Terry looked up from his plate and rolled his eyes. Terry was still hesitant about hanging out with Luna. The other boys in their year had given them some lip and made a few snide comments, but Daniel had brushed them off as best as he could. Terry was another story.
He had laughed with the boys when they made their jokes at Luna's expense. He laughed "with" Michael and the others when they would poke fun and Daniel and him, as they rarely ever poked fun at Stephen Cornfoot. Daniel had seen it before at the home. Kids getting swept along with groupthink.
"Are you calling me fat Luna?" Daniel asked, smiling softly. He knew she wasn't of course. He glanced down at his scrawny frame and sighed. He was skinnier than when he had first arrived if nothing else.
"Not your body," Luna continued. She reached out and grabbed an apple from a nearby plate of fruit. Grabbing one of the knives on the table she began cutting into it humming to herself. "The Nargles grabbed onto you. It's strange."
Terry snorted and rolled his eyes at Luna. Daniel turned and glared at the boy kicking him under the table.
"Oh no Terry it's no laughing matter," Luna mused. She set the knife down and held up the apple, now cored. He could see the center of the apple and three seeds cramped into the center. "It's the Nargles. You're heavy."
Daniel took the apple and smirked to himself, looking down at the core. He placed it on the plate and nodded his head.
"It's nothing Luna. Trust me."
AN: I hope it's okay for all of you. I tried to make it longer so I hope the length was to your liking. From what I've been planning I think you guys will really like it, or you'll really hate it I'm honestly not sure. I liked it and thought it was fun but only time will tell when you finally do read it. Anyway, I hope you all liked it and I'll see you all soon enough! Please Review and stay safe! ~Pacco1
