I don't own anything related to or owned by J.K.Rowling.
I know you must hate being told what to do, but please review. By the way, there is a swear word/s in this that 'moral bitches' won't be in favor of.
'Just one note could make me choke one note that's not a lie,
Just one note could cut my throat one note could make me die.'
Aeroplane
The Red Hot Chili Peppers
For the supposed drowsiness the potion was supposed to induce, Daniel wasn't really sleepy at all. She pulled back the curtain around her bed. Draco was lying on his better side, snoring slightly. She tried to get out of bed, but she immediately felt the wound on her shoulder split open again. "Shit!" she hissed, and almost at once Draco was sitting bolt upÂright in his bed.
"I swear I didn't do anything!" he cried sleepily, his eyes still half-closed.
"I didn't say you did." she replied in a puzzled whisper.
"Must've been dreaming or something." he said quietly, his face turning red. "Where're you going?"
"For a walk." pulling open the door to the Hospital Wing, she was greeted by Madam Pomfrey wearing a dressing gown and slippers, carrying a oil lamp.
"And where do you think you're going?" she said suspiciously.
"She's going for a walk." answered Draco from his bed.
"Oh no you're not. Back to bed." Daniel turned around to walk back over to her bed. "Wait, wait, you're bleeding." Madam Pomfrey said in a slightly scolding voice. She got fresh bandages from the sideboard in her office, and walked briskly back. Draco got out of bed and walked awkwardly around to Madam Pomfrey. "What're you doing?" Madam Pomfrey asked him.
"I want to see what all the fuss is about." he replied innocently. When Madam Pomfrey removed the old bandages, she and Draco gave simultaneous gasps. If anything, the bite had got worse. It was very red now, and two semicircles of teeth marks were raised higher than the night before. Daniel caught a glance of it over her shoulder.
"Oh great Malfoy, you've given me rabies." she said sarcastically.
Madam Pomfrey looked very shocked at this.
"You bit her?!" As she generally tended not to ask too many questions, the entire ferret episode was still new to her. After they explained, she looked happier. "Well, if you had said it was a ferret bite..."
"Would that have made a difference?" asked Draco.
"Oh yes, a ferret's mouth is full of diseases." she replied, grinning at him. She poked the bite thoughtfully.
"Ow." said Daniel pointedly. She fetched a bottle from her sideboard and shook it roughly. Something yelped inside the bottle. Daniel and Draco looked at each other worriedly.
"Right." Madam Pomfrey said, about to open the bottle, "This will hurt. Stand back Draco." she moved back as well, and opened the bottle at arms length. A blob of metallic blue stuff blobbed out onto Daniel's shoulder. It quivered slightly, before splitting into ten little silvers. Each silver slithered towards a puncture mark in Daniel's shoulder, before squeezing through. She clenched her jaw. Then, the perforations began to close up, the swelling began to subside, and Draco's hand, which Daniel was squeezing to try and alleviate the pain, cracked three times. He squeaked. Madam Pomfrey tsked tsked and went to get the Skele-Grow, which was, strangely, more effective at healing bones than replacing them.
Next morning, Madam Pomfrey woke them at seven o'clock. "Why are we up so early?" whinged Draco, squinting in the sunlight. His hand was in full working order, as well as his ribs. Daniel patted her shoulder gently. She tried craning her neck around to see the bite, but to no avail. Draco walked sleepily behind her.
"It's gone." said Draco simply, poking her shoulder. She ran her hand over her shoulder again. No pain. No little bumps. They both pulled the curtains their respective beds and got into their robes, which Madam Pomfrey had ordered Blaise to bring up.
"How're your ribs?" Daniel called, just loud enough so he could hear her.
"Fine." she heard him reply, before the door of the Hospital Wing swung open. She pulled back the curtain swiftly, and walked over to get her bag, which was on a small stool by the door. Draco's curtain swished open behind her and he came over to get his bag as well. She picked it up and threw it gently at him. Catching it with a grin, he opened the door. "Where are you two going?" Snape emerged from Madam Pomfrey's office, closely followed by Madam Pomfrey.
"Breakfast." said Daniel. "We have Potions first thing, so I don't think you'll want us to be late."
"How are you both?" he added , saying it very quickly, as if it embarrassed him.
"Alright." Draco replied quietly.
"Yes, we're fine. Just hungry." Daniel snapped. Snape winced. She glared at him, and walked out the door.
The Potions lesson passed without incident. Unless you counted Neville melting a cauldron and being made to disembowel a barrel of Horned Toads. After being told the Triwizard Competition was being held at Hogwarts, the entire school was buzzing with the rumors of who was entering. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang on the 30th October. Teachers withheld all information about these schools, and with most teachers, you could tell they were excited about it all too.
Thursday, at lunchtime, the Slytherin fourth years were anticipating Mad-Eye Moody's first class. They joined the Gryffindors waiting outside his classroom. Daniel sat on the floor away from the main throng of pupils, reading the textbook on Defense Against the Dark Arts. If she knew Moody, he wouldn't use it at all. He knew more about the Dark Arts than most Death Eaters. As the bell rang, she took a seat at the front of the class, among the five lined up in front of his desk. Draco and Hermione immediately took the seats on either side of her, and Harry and Ron took the other two.
After a pause, Moody's uneven footsteps came clunking down the corridor. Taking his place at the desk at the front of the class, he took the register and made sure everyone was there. He paused slightly on Ron's name, and again on hers. Draco avoided his magical eye, the pain of being bounced around the corridor still fresh in his mind.
"Right." he said sharply, "Today we will be learning about the Unforgivable Curses. Can anyone tell me the one of them?" Hermione's hand shot straight into the air, nearly taking Daniels head off. "Yes, Miss, Granger." he said, consulting his register.
"The Imperius Curse." she said, confident in her own intelligence.
"Ah yes. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble that one, years back. Some job, sorting out who was acting of their free will and who was being controlled. " he bent down behind his desk and lifted up a large jar. Three huge black spiders were scurrying about inside. Ron cringed slightly. He lifted one out, and pointed his wand at it. Immediately, the spider began tap-dancing, back-flipping, and running about on two legs. Nearly the entire class laughed. Draco glanced at Daniel. She was paler than normal, and was staring avidly at her table, avoiding the acrobatic arachnid. Moody, perhaps noticing this, said sternly, "Would you like it if I did it to you?" the laughter subsided quickly. Putting the spider back in the jar, he said, "Any others?"
Neville put his hand up cautiously. "Yes, Neville?" he asked, somewhat softer than before.
"The Cruciatus Curse." he said very quietly. His magical eye flitted over Neville briefly. Reaching into the jar for another spider, he set it carefully on the desk. "Hmm. Needs to be bigger." he said, more to himself than anyone else. "Engorgio." he hissed, pointing his wand at the spider, which promptly swelled to twice it's size. Ron scooted his chair back as far as it would go. "Crucio!" The spider's legs folded in on it's body, and began twitching in a way that made everyone feel nauseous watching it. It rolled over onto it's back, and rocked from side to side. Moody's face showed no emotion. He kept his wand fixed on the spider, and it jerked more violently.
"Stop it!" cried Hermione suddenly. Harry followed her gaze. Daniel was covering her mouth with her hand, as though she were going to be sick. Her face had turned a truly unnatural shade of white, and her eyes were shut tightly, trying to block out the spider twitching and writhing in pain on Moody's desk. Moody stopped. Lifting the spider back into the jar, he looked slightly subdued.
"Any others?" he said, too brightly for the atmosphere in the room. Hermione raised her hand a third time. "Yes?" he asked, looking at her with both eyes.
"Avada Kedavra." she replied quietly. Daniel looked up at Moody in quiet disbelief. Moody lifted the last spider out of the jar. Setting it on his desk, he lifted his wand and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!" a flash of green light blinded them for a few seconds, and rush of cold air swept through the room, and when their eyes could focus properly again, the spider was lying on it's back, unmarked, but definitely dead. "The killing curse. There's no protection, and the only person who has survived it is sitting in front of me." Harry looked extremely uncomfortable.
"Maintain CONSTANT VIGILANCE!!!" he roared, making the class jump. For the rest of the lesson, they took notes on the Unforgivable Curses. The class exploded into conversation when the bell rang. The pupils were talking as though it had been some sort of circus, but Daniel didn't find it very entertaining. Neither, it seemed, did Harry. When Moody was explaining the Avada Kedavra curse, Harry had seemed miles away. Of course, she couldn't blame him.
"Did you see the spider doing the tap dance?" said Ron excitedly, his arachnophobia fading briefly. "And when he put the Cruciatus curse on it, it started twitching and jerking around?" nothing seemed to please Ron more than seeing a spider in pain.
"Shh Ron!" hissed Hermione, motioning up a side passage. Daniel was standing with her back leaning against the wall, staring blankly at the stone opposite. They walked up to her quietly. "Daniel?" said Hermione softly. She didn't seem to realize they were there. "Daniel?" she repeated, louder this time. Harry walked in front of her. She just stared right through him. Her eyes had the same look as Sirius' had in the Shrieking Shack. As though shutters had closed behind them, lifeless and dead. Hermione shook her shoulder gently. Daniel's head snapped round.
"What?!" she sounded as though she had disturbed from deep thought.
"Are you o.k.?" Ron asked her carefully. He didn't want to provoke her near a stone wall.
"Why wouldn't I be?" she said, beginning to walk away from them.
"Just asking." Hermione said quietly, her attention grabbed briefly as Moody and Neville walked past them to his office.
During the next few weeks, the castle was scoured in preparation for the arrival of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. Filch was becoming more and more serious about the manacles in his office, threatening everyone who didn't wipe their feet with an amateur castration.
On the morning of the thirtieth, the excitement was palatable.
That evening, the Heads of the Houses sorted the pupils into single file, and led them to the grassy area in front of the castle. They were organized into rows, with first-years in front. Daniel stood talking to Snape at the end of the fourth year row. "How're they getting here?" she asked him quietly.
"Dunno. Broomsticks, maybe." he replied, surveying the starry sky.
"From France? Maybe the train." said Draco from beside her.
"There they are!" shouted a fifth year behind her, pointing over the forest. Indeed, a huge black shape was skimming over the tops of the trees. It landed smoothly on the lawn, and the light from the castle windows hit it. A huge powder blue carriage pulled by twelve winged horses came to a graceful stop in front of the school. The door opened, and boy in blue robes sprung out and unfolded a set of golden steps from the bottom of the door. Standing beside the door like a footman, he waited respectfully as a absolutely huge woman stepped out. She was wearing an excess of opal-studded jewelry. Dressed completely in black satin, and with shiny black hair, she looked very exotic, even though she was only from France.
"Madame Maxime." whispered Snape.
"She's the Headmistress, I take it?" Daniel replied. Snape nodded.
Dumbledore greeted her and her students, and they waited patiently for Durmstrang to arrive.
Suddenly, Lee Jordan shouted, "Look at the lake!" A huge whirlpool had begun in the centre of the lake, and a long, black mast was rising up from the depths of the murky water. Soon, the whole ship emerged, and was gliding slowly towards the bank.
"Isn't Ivor Karkaroff the headmaster of Durmstrang?" Daniel asked Snape quietly, who made a noise of disgust in reply. She smiled. "I forgot how much you hate him." she said amiably. They watched the pupils from Durmstrang follow Karkaroff towards Dumbledore. The two headmasters shook hands and walked inside the castle. Soon, directed by the teachers, the rest of the school filed into the Great Hall.
The teachers took their place at the top table, and Filch busied himself setting out four chairs.
"Who else is coming?" said Draco, while motioning frantically for the Durmstrang pupils to sit at the Slytherin Table. When they did, he sat down, very pleased with himself.
"Don't know." she said quietly, poking a big plate of slimy stuff with her fork, which promptly got sucked into it. Draco ignored her response and introduced himself to Viktor Krum. Krum wasn't listening to Draco praising the Wronksi Feint he preformed at the World Cup.
"Who is that?" he said in an almost incomprehensible accent, pointing at Daniel, whose fork had apparently dissolved into the slimy stuff.
"Oh, " he exclaimed, taken aback that Krum hadn't been listening to a word he was saying. "That's Daniel. Daniel Snape." he replied quickly.
"Hello Daniel." Krum said, extending his hand over the table.
"Hello." she responded dejectedly, shaking his hand briefly.
"Why are you so sad?" he asked, grinning slightly. Daniel frowned.
"I hate Halloween." she replied moodily. Krum looked confused.
"Halloween?" he said slowly, pronouncing the word carefully. Draco gestured around him at the pumpkins and skeletons.
"Excuse for Muggles to dress up as things that scare them and eat lots of sweets. Used by wizards as an excuse to get off school and work." he explained simply. Krum nodded.
"Why do you hate Halloween?" he said, proud of his extended knowledge.
"Muggles have over-commercialized it. Halloween isn't complete without slaughtering Christians." Daniel told them wistfully.
Draco and Krum glanced at each other worriedly. Draco opened his mouth to say something, but his gaze followed a Beauxbatons girl walking over to the Gryffindor table, and returning with a plate of bouillabaisse. Blaise shot a pea into Draco's mouth, nearly choking him.
Krum spooned Borscht onto his plate while Daniel mutilated a croissant. Looking across the Great Hall, she observed a French Bread-Stick Fight the Weasley Twins were currently engaged in. Up at the teachers table, Dumbledore smiled and made the bread explode into crumbs, showering most of the Gryffindor table.
"What're Mr. Crouch and Ludo Bagman doing at the Staff Table?" she asked Draco, who was alright after punching himself in the stomach.
"Aren't they Judges?" he replied hoarsely.
"Maybe." she said thoughtfully. "I thought the principals of the schools were Judges."
"They probably here to represent the Ministry." interrupted Blaise, shoveling Clam Chowder down his throat. "You know, with Ludo Bagman being Head Of Games and all that."
After the last few scraps of food had disappeared from their plates, the desserts arrived on the table. Draco avoided the Chocolate Gateaux, and emptied half a bowl of purple Jelly onto his plate. Grinning at Krum's shocked expression, he began trying to eat it. Magical jelly is notoriously difficult to eat, but stabbing it with your spoon usually stops it jiggling long enough to get a few mouthfuls. There were huge flat meringues the size of plates scattered every few feet along the table. Again, the Weasley Twins took advantage of this to throw the puddings about like Frisbees. One hit the wall behind Pansy and shattered into little sticky pieces.
Up on the platform beside the Staff Table, the caretaker, Argus Filch, had carried in a huge wooden casket studded with jewels. The chattering in the Hall subsided quickly. Even the teachers were staring at it with ill-disguised interest. Dumbledore stood up, and opened the casket. He lifted out a plain wooden Goblet, filled to the brim with blue flames. He began thanking Mr. Crouch and Ludo Bagman for coming and that it was an honor to have the pupils and principals of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang eating with them tonight.
"Due to the amount of deaths in previous competitions, there will be a minimum age of seventeen placed upon entrants. To make sure no-one under that age enters, an Age Line will be placed around the Goblet of Fire. Thank you." The occupants of the Hall clapped and rose noisily to go to bed.
"That's a bitch, that is." said Draco scowling. "I would love to be in the Triwizard Competition." Daniel looked at him patronizingly.
"Like you would last five minutes." she said smiling. Draco frowned.
"Wonder where Durmstrang are sleeping." he asked stupidly.
"On the roof Draco." she replied sarcastically.
The next morning, the pupils from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons had placed their names in the Goblet of Fire. Draco noticed Gryffindors crowding round Angelina, whom he presumed had entered her name.
"Did you hear Warrington put his name in?" he informed Daniel.
"The big chunky senior?" Daniel replied in a noncommittal tone. Draco mm-hmmed a reply and went in to breakfast. The Great Hall seemed crowded, even though there were only a few extra people. The noise level had risen anyway, everyone was looking forward to the Ceremony that night, when the Champions' names will be selected from the Goblet. The folded up piece of Parchment in Daniel's pocket felt like a heavy weight. If she put her name in, and she was selected, how would she explain herself?
Wait a minute. Daniel was a bit shocked with herself. She was thinking logically, the famous, if not infamous Daniel Snape, was considering the consequences of her actions. Grinning, she got up. Making a quick excuse involving a toilet, she walked to the door.
Shutting it gently, she glanced around. The Entrance Hall was empty. Walking quickly over to the golden Age Line, she looked round again, and speedily leaned over to the Goblet of Fire and dropped in the parchment. Exhaling triumphantly, she walked calmly into the Great Hall and resumed her place beside Draco.
"That was quick." he said suspiciously. She smiled at him and began drowning a piece of toast in marmalade. "Shit!" he hissed, looking at his watch, "We were supposed to be at Hagrid's ages ago!"
"Huh? What's going on at Hagrids?" Daniel asked quizzically.
"I need to show you something." he said quickly, getting up. Krum, hearing this, wolf-whistled. Glaring at the grinning Bulgarian, Daniel sighed in weary distaste and followed Draco out of the Hall.
Knocking sharply on the door, Draco stood back and waited. Loud footsteps echoed from inside the wooden hut.
"I'm comin' I'm comin'!" Hagrid shouted. He opened the door. Draco suppressed a gasp. Hagrid had slicked down his hair with thick grease, and was wearing a horrible hairy brown suit with a yellow polka dotted tie. "Ah Draco! Was wonderin' when you'd show up!" Stepping aside to let them in, Draco rushed over to table and pulled out a large box with holes around the top.
"You're going to love this." he said excitedly, taking off the lid. Walking carefully over to the table, she watched as Draco put his hand into the box and began telling whatever was in it that it "was a good boy."
"'S a girl." said Hagrid knowledgeably. Draco promptly apologized to the occupant of the box and motioned for Daniel to come over. Looking gingerly into it, Daniel was greeted with the largest snake she'd seen in her life. Lifting it out, Hagrid let it slither about on the floor for a while, before they fed it some raw chicken. It was a violent green color, with a black diamond of scales in the centre of it's forehead.
"Where did you get it?" she asked Hagrid, who was plucking another chicken.
"Ask him." he replied smiling, nodding at Draco. The snake began coiling around Draco's legs like a cat. Scratching it's head, he answered,
"It's a birthday present for my cousin Serendipity. I asked Father if he could send it here first so I could see it." Throwing the snake some more chicken, he placed a wing on the arm of the sofa he was sitting on. The snake lifted itself up and snatched it away, as though it would disappear if she didn't get it quick enough. Chucking all the feathers in the bin, Hagrid said, "Think it's maybe time to put 'er back in 'er box. A messenger'll be coming for 'er soon."
"Someone's delivering it?" Daniel replied in surprise. It wasn't often parcels were delivered by hand.
"Well you can't have an owl carrying it over the countryside can you?" Draco said incredulously. There was a polite knock on the door. Opening it, Hagrid handed the uniformed man the box, which was Spellotaped shut, and handed the invoice to Draco so he could sign it. Hagrid went to speak, but was interrupted by another knock on the wooden door. Making an impatient noise, Hagrid flung open the door again.
"Oh! 'Ello 'Ermione, Ron, Harry! Thought you'd never come an' see me!" The three Gryffindors entered the hut, avoiding any comments about Hagrid's hairdo. Looks of disgust flashed over their faces when they saw Draco perched on the arm of the sofa, looking quite at home.
"What're you doing here?!" Ron said roughly.
"None of your business Weasley." Draco answered smoothly, standing up and advancing slightly towards him. Ron and Draco were almost the same height, but Ron was higher if he straightened his shoulders.
"Don't be so petty." scowled Daniel from the chair beside the fire. "Neither one of you knows how to fight properly so I wouldn't try it."
Stepping carefully away from each other, never breaking eye contact, Ron and Draco went and sat down on opposite sides of the room.
After the tension faded slightly, they launched into a conversation of the Triwizard Tournament.
"Did Warrington really enter his name in the Goblet?" Hermione asked Draco.
"No. It's an unsubstantiated rumor. He said he was going to but he'd be to afraid to enter in case his name actually came out."
"If you were old enough, would you enter?" Daniel asked Hermione, still sitting in the chair by the fire. "I mean, you'd be smart enough to tackle most of the charms and spells but I don't know if you'd be able to keep your cool running away from a dragon while trying to get the Golden Fleece, y'know what I mean?"
"That's a Greek myth." said Hermione crossly.
"It was also the very first Triwizard Competition." Daniel replied matter-of-factly. "Course, there wasn't really all the Argonauts or the warriors that grew from dragon teeth. Just a very scared Jason. The Greek (A:N/or should it be Grecian?) Ministry of Magic made up the Argonauts and the Sirens and stuff to try and conceal the fact that wizards were roaming the streets of Athens. When Perseus had to go and get the Gorgon Medusa's head, that was one of the more sadistic Triwizard tasks. He succeeded, of course, but the whole rigmarole with the Invisibility Helmet and the shield and the Winged sandals was trying to cover up the fact that he had his wand with him the entire time, and King Polydectes wanting to marry his mother was trying to justify Perseus wandering off into the distance and coming back with a big snakey head. " she finished.
"What happened to the other to competitors?" asked Draco astonished.
"You've seen the two statues outside the entrance to the Ravenclaw Common Room haven't you? The Greek soldiers? Ever wonder why they look slightly surprised?" she replied with an evil little smirk.
"The Gorgon turned them into stone?" Ron exclaimed. Daniel nodded.
Glancing at his watch again, Draco stood up pointedly. "I'd better be going."
"Have you somewhere to be?" Daniel said, also standing up.
"Yeah. That Transfiguration essay McGonagall gave us."
"You haven't started that yet?!" said Hermione in shock. But of course, Hermione had every essay finished within a few hours of being assigned it.
"I have started it Granger, but I need to fine-tune it a bit." Draco snapped.
"As well as finish it." Daniel smirked from behind him. He turned on his heel and swept out of the room. "See you." Daniel said generally, and followed Draco up to the castle.
Entering the Great Hall an hour later, Daniel didn't think she'd ever seen it so clean. Nearly every member of staff was meticulously cleaning every inch of the varnished wood. Even Severus was standing on a chair with a yellow cloth energetically dusting the complex mahogany engravings above the Main Door. Staring at him silently for a while, she refrained from passing comment on the thick layer of dust that had settled on his shoulders as it was removed from the doorframe.
"Y'know, when you're cleaning, you don't remove dirt. You just rearrange it." she said jovially. He ignored her for a few minutes, before replying.
"Doesn't mean you can't make an effort." he said huffily, getting down from his precarious position on the chair. He stood back to admire the dark wood, which was now gleaming dully. Daniel coughed and gestured at his shoulders.
"Oh bugger." he cursed, sweeping the dust dramatically off himself . Despite his general appearance, Severus was quite vain. He never went out of his way, image-wise, but it's not as if there's anyone to show off to in Hogwarts. Daniel grinned mentally. If any of the pupils seen him out in the street, they wouldn't recognize him at all. Even she had a hard time picturing him in his normal clothes. He conjured a stepladder so he could clean the one the three chandeliers hanging along the back of the Hall. Holding it steady for him, she handed him a tin of polish.
"When's the ceremony starting?" she called up at him.
"Uh, in a few hours." he replied awkwardly, as he tried to balance on the stepladder while holding a tin of Brasso and trying not to catch his robes on fire. A few feet away from them, Professors Sinistra and Flitwick were cleaning the other two. Flitwick was hovering beside the second chandelier, his excess of wispy white hair singed in several places. Daniel was being repeatedly pelted with dried candle wax from the chandelier Severus was cleaning, and she got the distinct impression he was doing it on purpose. Ceasing the bombardment with a violent lurch of the ladder she was holding, she left him to his cleaning and returned to the Slytherin Dormitory to get changed for the Announcement of the Champions that night.
Entering the Common Room, she was greeted with an almost overpowering smell of sickly perfume mixed with cheap cologne. Holding her breath, she skirted around the clumps of pupils dressed in their nicest robes and ran up to the girl's Dormitory. Pansy and her entourage were chirpily discussing make-up and boys. Making a frustrated grunting noise, Pansy stood up.
"Daniel, do you have any eye shadow?" she whined, holding an empty box. Inclining an eyebrow, Daniel ignored her and began to get ready. Dragging a brush through her hair, she tried to block out Pansy recounting her first encounter with Draco.
When she pulled the curtains of the four poster open again, Daniel tried to force the laughter back down her throat. Pansy looked like a panda. A very ugly, pug faced Panda with a inch of foundation on. Her mascara was making her eyelashes clump together and the only eyeshadow she could find was bright purple and made her look as if she had been punched in both eyes. She was now applying generous amounts of blue lipstick and frosted pink nail-varnish. Her hair was arranged in a strange sort of knot at the base of her skull.
"What do you think?" she said, obviously expecting positive comment.
"Hmm. Who taught you about make up Pansy?" Daniel asked carefully.
"I learned myself." she said smiling. There was lipstick all over her teeth. Running a hand through her hair, Daniel pulled out the only item of make-up she owned. A well-used black lipstick. Putting it on delicately, she straightened her robes and walked down to the Common Room.
Draco was waiting for her. Well, not waiting for her. Just to see her. He found out quickly he couldn't get through the day without 'accidentally' brushing up against her in the corridor coming out of class, or seeing her without her seeing him, so he could stare as long as he wanted without being asked what the hell he was doing. Footsteps were coming down the stairs. He cursed. Just Blaise. Wait...
She was behind him. She was wearing black lipstick. It was the kind of thing that would suit only her. Her nails were painted black as well. A silver necklace with an ebony pendant fell over the top of her robes. She knew nail varnish and lipstick were forbidden except for weekends. Pansy waddled down behind her. Draco choked on his musings and laughed as she tried to negotiate the stairs in ridiculously high heels. They had to be at least six inches. He hazarded a glance at Daniel's shoes. Her robes covered most of them, but they a steel cap at the front, and the lace went through a hole in the heel and fastened at the other side. She lifted her robes slightly to scratch her leg where the top of the boots were rubbing against them. Six or seven little buckles ran up the leg of the boots, which ended just below her knee. Dropping her robes again, she strode over to a chair by the fireplace, where a plethora of senior boys tried to chat her up.
Slouching back in his chair in frustration. He ignored the colorful presence of Pansy hovering beside him.
"What do you want?" he asked moodily. She gestured towards her make-up. "What?" he said, confused.
"What do you think?" she said, as though this was the obvious answer.
"Hmm." he said vaguely. People began standing up. Draco skirted around Pansy and stood beside Daniel. She glanced at him strangely.
"Are you going to escort me to the Ceremony?" she said, with a trace of a smile.
"If you want." acting as though it wasn't his intention all along. Linking arms with her, he ignored he threats of the seniors who were chatting her up a while ago. He grinned smugly at them and walked on.
"Nice robes." she commented quietly. They had been told to shut up by Snape, who was leading them to the Great Hall in 'a nice, orderly fashion'.
"Got them in Venice last year." he whispered. "Family holiday."
"I can imagine how fun that would be." she replied condescendingly.
"God, it was so boring. You can't imagine how many parties we had to go to with Father's friends. And even then they were all black-tie affairs, with people trying to hook me up with their daughters." he said, as though the thought exhausted him. Snape hissed at them to shut up from the top of the line. All the First Years were looking nervously at each other, uncomfortable in their best robes. They walked up the stairs to the Entrance Hall, and joined the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. All of the Houses were lined up in class order. The Slytherins were quickly moved into their lines. Daniel was getting funny looks from the majority of the school, and Mc Gonagall tutted disapprovingly. She asked Snape something, and he noticed the get-up Daniel was in. He said something to McGonagall and began to walk towards her. The doors of the Great Hall swung open before he could do anything. He had to get back to the start of the line and lead the Slytherins into the Hall. Giving her a look of bloody revenge, he walked in with the other Heads of the Houses.
The Great Hall was looking like new. The wood shone and the decorations did justice to the enormity of the occasion. The pupils stared stupefied at the cleanliness and Snape looked smug.
The feast was finished in record time. The pupils started looking at Dumbledore's plate. It was empty. He nodded at the rest of the teachers. The plates vanished and the lights dimmed. The only light in the room was the Goblet of Fire.
The tension in the room was almost unbearable. Dumbledore got up and walked over to the Goblet. Red sparks flew out of it and a piece of paper shot into the air. He caught it automatically.
"The champion for Beauxbatons," he paused dramatically, "Is Fleur Delacour!"
Shrieks of disappointment did nothing to disguise the cheers of joy from the rest of the Hall. Fleur walked proudly up to the staff table, and into the side chamber.
Dumbledore took the next piece of paper. Never before had silence seemed so noisy. "The champion for Durmstrang, is Viktor Krum!"
One of the Bulgarians, Poliakoff, punched the table angrily. Krum skulked up to the side chamber, wincing from the noise his fans were making. Someone threw a bra at him. He jumped away from it as if it was a grenade. Jogging the rest of the way to the side chamber, he paused only briefly to shake his headmaster's hand.
The Hall silenced quicker than it had done before. The teachers looked at Dumbledore, who had the piece of paper held tightly in his hand. All heads were turned to the top of the Hall. "The champion for Hogwarts is," again he paused. All four tables were bracing themselves to jump up and cheer for their champion. The Heads of the Houses had never looked so nervous. Mc Gonagall's hands were shaking. Snape was biting his thumb. Flitwick was trembling so much he was a blur. Sprout was looking calm and composed, but a small reservoir of drool was collecting silently down the front of her robes.
"The champion for Hogwarts is," he repeated, "is Daniel Snape."
A small explosion of noise nearly deafened the rest of the Hall. Every Slytherin was screaming and shouting. She tried several times to walk to the top of the Hall, but people kept hugging her and holding her back. When she finally got loose, she was able to see clearly the look of shock and resentment on the look of every other pupil in Hogwarts. Gryffindors especially. Ignoring them, she saw Mad-Eye Moody was joining the still-clapping Slytherins. The Slytherins didn't care whether or not their Champion was underage, so long as they had a champion.
She sidled into the side-chamber, and was greeted with a surprised Bulgarian exclamation, which she assumed to be; "Holy Shit!"
She settled herself in a chair by the fire, and listened to the lack of noise coming from the Hall. Fleur was staring at the flames, apparently mesmerized.
"Aren't you too young?" said Krum moodily. He was standing too close to the fire. He moved away from it slowly, still staring at her.
"You don't know what age I am." she said simply, and turned to the door, which had been opened again.
"Harry?!" He looked really nervous. Scared, even. His face was the color of milk.
"Do we have to go back into the Hall?" asked Fleur innocently.
(A/N: I could not be arsed doing the accents. So I won't.)
Daniel snorted. "He's a champion."
"Hogwart's cannot have two Champions!" she screeched. The door swung open again. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Mme. Maxime, Ivor Karkaroff, Mad-Eye Moody, Ludo Bagman and Mr. Crouch came into the room. Fleur immediately went over to her Headmistress and they began conversing in hurried French. Several times Fleur pointed to Daniel, who got angrier as she continued. Then Fleur said something everyone knew was an insult, and both Snapes began shouting at Fleur and Madame Maxime in the same tones of incomprehensible French.
(A/N: I'm a firm believer in the 'Snape is French' ideology.)
Harry watched his Potions teacher get angrier and angrier shrieking at Madame Maxime and at his rival Champion, who was on the verge of snapping Fleur's thin neck. Dumbledore and Karkaroff broke them
up, and tried to calm them down. Snape crossed his arms and looked sarcastically at Mme. Maxime, daring her to retaliate. Dumbledore and the two other Principals quickly engaged in an argument about the two Hogwart's champions. Snape interrupted several times about how it was all Harry's fault. But, when no-one paid any attention to him, he shut up and sulked.
"She thinks we're married." whispered Daniel, while Moody scolded Karkaroff.
"Who?" hissed Snape.
"Fleur." she replied happily. "She's that thick."
"Dumb blonde." he answered giggling.
"I'd never marry you." she said cheerfully. "You're too particular."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he said, mock offended.
"You don't like toast if it's more than half an inch thick, so you carry a ruler about with you to measure it."
"Yeah, and like I'd marry you." he sneered. "'Do this, do that'. That's all I'd ever hear. You'd be the kind of person who'd with-hold sex if I didn't do your every bidding."
"Rightly so." said Krum, who'd been listening the entire time. Snape glared at the chuckling foreigner. Madame Maxime strode out the door, followed by Fleur, who shot a dirty look at Daniel. Snape saw it and yelled an insult at her out the door. Krum went back to the ship with Karkaroff, and the rest went off for their nightcap with Dumbledore. Snape, Harry and Daniel wandered out into the Hall. She could feel the animosity generating off the persons accompanying her to the Entrance Hall. Harry quickly departed, not wanting to be left in the company of two Slytherins, one of whom he'd be competing against in a famous Wizarding Competition.
"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Snape quietly, aware of the invisible presence of the school ghosts.
"Tell you what?" she replied in her normal voice, which seemed far too loud for the echoing dungeon corridors.
"That you entered the Tournament." he clarified, watching Peeves somersault his way along the ceiling.
"I didn't think it important to tell you. I might not have been picked and then it wouldn't matter." He had no reply to this. Snape turned left at a fork in the corridor, and she turned right to go to the Common Room. She stopped at the entrance to the Common Room. The muffled sound of laughter and general party noises coming through the stone wall was eerie to say the least, and suddenly, the last thing she wanted was to have to be cheerful and grateful and to make a big deal out of something she knew she shouldn't have. Sighing wearily, she returned to the Entrance Hall. Opening the heavy doors, she ignored Peeves' threats about telling the Bloody Baron, and walked down towards the lake.
It looked like a big sequin, glittering underneath the moon. The only disturbance was the squid catching bats skimming above the surface. Sitting on the grass, thinking deeply, she didn't notice him coming up behind her. She jumped slightly when he sat down with a quiet hello. He put an arm around her.
They filled each other in on what had been going on during the past months, and shocked each other when they realised it had been over fifteen years since they had said goodbye.
Please review. My hands hurt too much to write any more.