Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and all other
characters, events, locations, story concepts, etc. (except Daniel Sharclo
and those concerning him) are the property of J. K. Rowling
Chapter Six: The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters
[99, 10, after 7, new paragraph.] The door slid open again, this time to reveal a tall boy, even slightly taller than Ron. The first thing that came to mind as soon as Harry saw him was the color brown. The boy had dark, rough brown hair that made a thin roof over his forehead, and was wearing a dark, reddish-brown cloak complete with a hood, and Harry could see a sand-colored tunic beneath from the parting in the front, that was fastened by a thick, brown belt from which hung pouches and a stick. There seemed to be another layer of clothes underneath, but it was hard to tell. Wondering why he wore so much when September had barely started, Harry lowered his gaze to the chocolate brown pants that matched the cloak, and finally to the dark brown work boots—they seemed to be made up of leather and cloth—that made no noise as the boy walked.
"Mind if I sit in here? All of the other cars are full," the stranger said with a friendly, somewhat lopsided smile that showed white, flashing teeth.
Harry shrugged. "Go ahead."
With a grunt, the boy set down his trunk near Harry's baggage. On top of the suitcase was, Harry noticed, an owl cage similar to his own. It held a big owl who looked at him with a penetrating gaze.
Turning away from the owl, Harry inspected the newcomer, who sat down next to Ron, across from Harry. He now saw that the boy's warm, friendly eyes were dark, solid brown.
"Hi. I'm Daniel," the boy said cheerfully, "Daniel Sharclo." He extended a hand toward Harry.
Harry took it. Daniel's grip was hard and firm, his hand dry and callused. "I'm Harry Potter." He watched Daniel's face for a reaction.
Daniel looked a little surprised. "Harry Potter with the scar, I presume. Nice to meet you." He turned to Ron and extended the same hand after extracting it from Harry's. "And you are...?"
"Ron Weasley." Ron shook the hand, too.
"Ah. One of the Weasleys. I should've guessed. One of the pure- bloods, I've heard? Pleasure to meet you."
"Are all your family wizards?" Harry asked Ron.
"Er—yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."
"So you must know loads of magic already."
The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about.
"Shoot, just because he's from a wizard family doesn't mean he knows a lot of magic, you know. Of course, it doesn't mean he doesn't," Daniel quickly added. "But I happen to know it's pretty rare for someone to know 'loads' of magic before coming to Hogwarts."
Harry stared at Daniel. He obviously knew what he was talking about.
"He's right, Harry," Ron said. "I don't know a load of magic." He continued to talk to Harry. [c: 99, 18, 1]
[100, 14, a 6, new paragraph.] "So how about your family?" Harry turned to Daniel, not wanting for him to think they were ignoring him. He knew how that felt.
Daniel shrugged and looked out the window, avoiding eye contact. "I'm an orphan, too. I never knew my parents." He looked back at Harry. "Just about the only thing I knew about myself was my name and age."
"So how'd you live?" asked Harry. "Er... I mean, how come—"
Daniel put on a grin that was a bit lopsided at the left. "Don't worry. I know what you mean." His expression grew thoughtful. "Well, actually, I was living out in the streets for a while, but Dumbledore found me and raised me."
Ron's eyes bugged. "Dumbledore raised you?"
Daniel nodded proudly. "Yup."
"But how come no one knew about it?" asked Ron.
"No one asked," Daniel said simply. "And besides, tons of people know me—it's just that they tend not to talk about me that much. I think Dumbledore told them to or something."
Sensing that Daniel was getting uncomfortable, Harry changed the topic. "You know, until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort—" [c: 100, 17, 1]
[100, 26, b 1] "You won't be. I told you that already. Shoot, there's a ton of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quickly. I should know. I've heard a lot about it," said Daniel. "And besides, I think it's silly how people refuse to say Voldemort's name. It's just plain stupid."
"Well, I figure you'd be saying that, seeing as how Dumbledore's against it and all, too," Ron said primly.
"It's true!" Daniel insisted. "I mean, what's the point of having a name if nobody uses it? It's what a name's for, for Pete's sake. And besides, it creates more fear in people."
Harry nodded. Daniel made sense.
Ron scowled. "But still..." He seemed to be searching for words.
Daniel shrugged good-naturedly. "All right. You think what you think, and I'll think what I think, alright?"
"Fine."
Daniel stood up. Harry thought he was going to move seats, since the mood between Daniel and Ron wasn't all that great, but Daniel just opened his trunk, took out a book, and reseated himself next to Ron. He started to read. [c: 100, 28, 1]
[101, 8, a 7] Daniel closed his book and bound after him.
Harry had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver, he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry—but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.
Before he could walk back to the compartment, Daniel gestured him to stop. He added another pile of candy onto Harry's enormous pile and handed ten Sickles to the woman. "Keep the change and thank you very much," he said politely. He opened the door for Harry as he stepped through.
Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto the table between the two rows of seats.
"Hungry, are you?"
"Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.
"Famished," said Daniel, unwrapping a Chocolate Frog. "Why don't you eat with us? Plenty to share, you know." He bit into the frog.
Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "I've already got something to eat." And then, as if talking to himself, he mumbled, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef." [c: 101, 26, 1]
[102, 1, b 1] "Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron and Daniel, eating their way through all Harry and Daniel's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten).
Daniel tossed another package to the edge of the table. Harry stared in surprise. Daniel had already eaten almost as much as Harry and Ron had eaten. It was really no surprise Daniel had paid for so much candy.
"What are these?" Harry asked, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. Daniel was eating a cake, and could not answer. "They're not really frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him. [c: 102, 9, 1]
[102, 20, b 1] "Yup," Daniel said proudly, having finished cramming the cake into his mouth. "That's him. He's the one who raised me. Finest wizard in all the world, you know."
"So you have heard of Dumbledore?" asked Ron.
"Yeah... from Hagrid," Harry replied.
"Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa—thanks—" [c: 102, 22, 1]
[103, 16, a 1. New paragraph.] "Oh, yeah," Daniel said suddenly, digging into his pocket. "Here're some of the Chocolate Frog cards I just got. Need any?" He took them out and spread them onto the table. Ron looked them over. "Hmm... I've got them all."
Daniel shrugged. "Okay, then why don't you have all of them?" He pushed the stack of cards toward Harry.
Harry swallowed the chocolate in his mouth. "Thanks." He turned back to his original card, just in time to see Dumbledore sidle back into the picture and give him a small smile. [c: 103, 18, 8]
[104, 2, a 7, new paragraph.] "Really? Then wouldn't that mean he knows how a real booger tastes like?" Daniel asked innocently, managing to hide his grin.
Harry snorted.
Ron glared at Daniel, but Harry could tell he was straining. Suddenly, Ron broke out in a smile, unable to hide it any longer. "I guess you're right," he admitted. [c: 104, 3, 1]
[104, 9, a 9.] Daniel just plain avoided all of them, preferring the frogs, pasties, and cakes. [c: 104, 10, 1]
[104, 16, a 11, new p.] Ron and Harry shook their heads. "Oh, sure I did," Daniel said, swallowing another frog.
The boy turned to him hopefully. "Really? Where?"
Daniel shrugged nonchalantly. "By a pond, I think. It was a couple of years ago, so I don't remember exactly. Real ugly looking, though."
"That's not what I mean at all!" the boy wailed miserably. "I've lost my pet toad! He keeps on getting away from me!" [c: 104, 19, 1]
[104, 24, a 2, new p.] "Oh. Well, why didn't he say so?" Daniel said, munching on yet another Chocolate Frog, tossing the card to Harry. [c: 104, 25, 1.]
[105, 13, a 9, new p.] "How about introducing yourself first?" Daniel suggested.
"Oh, all right, then," she said impatiently, not even glancing at him. "I'm Hermione Granger. Well?" she turned to Ron. "Are you going to do it or not?" She sat down on the last, remaining seat, to Ron's surprise.
"Er—all right."
He cleared his throat.
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.
"Nice spell," said Daniel sarcastically, not even trying to hide his grin. [c: 105, 21, 1.]
[106, 1, a 3.] –by the way, who are you?"
She said all this very fast.
Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either. Unfortunately, Daniel just looked mildly surprised. Did that mean he had memorized them, too?
"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.
"Daniel Sharclo. Nice to meet you." Daniel stood up and offered his hand to Hermione courteously with a grin. She finally took a good look at him and blushed slightly. It didn't come as a particular surprise to Harry, as Daniel had the sort of face to attract hordes of girls at a time.
"Harry Potter," said Harry.
"Are you really?" said Hermione hastily, ignoring Daniel's hand and turning to Harry. "I know all about you, of course—I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."
"Don't forget Special Edition: Mystery of Miracles. Or something like that. I read it a while ago," Daniel added, finally retrieving his hand. He sat down.
"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.
"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do any of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."
"Shoot, if you actually stopped talking for a moment, we'd be able to answer your questions," said Daniel.
Hermione, who had been turning around to go, turned back around and glared at him. "Oh, is that so? Well—"
"Anyway, of course we don't know what houses we'll be in—I mean, I don't think any of us can tell the future. And, by the way, you really shouldn't blame Harry for not knowing all this about himself. Shoot, he's been living with ignorant Muggles, after all. I don't mean that all Muggles are ignorant, of course, but I heard the ones he lived with were a real pain in the butt."
Hermione stared at him, as if she couldn't decide whether to laugh or glare. After a few moments, she turned around and walked out of the room with her nose in the air. Neville followed wordlessly, sniffing miserably.
"Not exactly the most agreeable girl in the world, is she?" Daniel muttered. "I mean, here I am, trying to be a gentleman, and what does she do? She ignores me." Harry had the sudden impression Daniel always said what he thought, however rude it may be. "Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron. He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell—George gave it to me, but he knew it was a dud." [c: 106, 24, 1.]
[107, 3, a 1, np.] "Geez, Ron," said Daniel. "Don't worry. I'll bet a Galleon that you'll be in Gryffindor. I mean it."
Ron brightened. "Really?"
Daniel nodded. "Yup."
"You really think I'll be in Gryffindor?"
"Shoot, I've got instincts for these kind of things, and I'm never wrong. Trust me on this," Daniel confirmed. Ron's previous bad opinion of Daniel evaporated right then and there and never quite came back.
"So what do your brothers do now that they've left, anyway?" asked Harry, wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school. [c: 107, 9, 1.]
[107, 11, a 8.] and News Flash, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles—someone tried to rob a high security vault." [c: 107, 13, 1]
[107, 24, a 1, n p.] "Voldemort," Daniel said firmly. Ron gave a little gasp. "Geez. How many times do I have to say it? It just creates more fear among the people if you keep calling him 'You-Know-Who' or 'He- Who-Must-Not-Be-Named,' which, by the way, is a heck of a long name for a jerk like him. You're just doing what he wanted—to fear his name. It's stupid, if you ask me."
Though Harry agreed with him, he thought Daniel was being too blunt for his own good. "Er... do you always go around saying that?"
"'Course I do," replied Daniel, picking up his book again.
They sat in silence for a while until Ron broke it. [c: 107, 25, 1.]
[108, 25, a 5.] He looked at Daniel, who had put down his book and was eyeing them carefully. Harry had noticed Daniel's hand had shot out toward the stick hung at his belt as soon as Malfoy had come in. "And you, of course, are Dumbledore's new pet. Why he'd take someone like you is a mystery to me."
Harry expected Daniel to be furious but, to his surprise, Daniel just smiled snugly, his hand falling away from his belt. "Well, at least it's way better than being the son of one of Voldemort's grovelers. And a traitor, to boot. I wouldn't be saying anything, if I were you."
Draco Malfoy did not blush, but turned slightly pink. Choosing to ignore Daniel, he turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.
"Yeah," Daniel said in an off-handed tone, turning back to his book, "You've got one of the wrong sort as an example right there. By the way, is it just me or am I being constantly ignored today?"
Malfoy glared at Daniel. "You watch your mouth, stink breath." He turned to Harry. "Well? Aren't you going to take it?"
"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," Harry said coolly.
Again, a pink tinge appeared in Malfoy's pale cheeks.
"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that dirty-mouthed scum, and it'll rub off on you."
Harry, Ron, and Daniel all stood up.
"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.
"Shoot, but if I were Harry, I'd rather 'rub off' the 'riffraff's then a bunch of conceited idiots like you," Daniel said in an icy tone. He stepped up menacingly toward Malfoy, easily towering over him. Harry couldn't help but notice that Daniel's eyes had turned a shade darker than before, making them seem black.
"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered, looking up.
"I can try," Daniel answered. "And if you don't want to have your ugly faces bashed in—which would be an improvement, by the way—, I suggest you go out peacefully right now."
"Oh, but we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." Crabbe and Goyle stepped forward, cracking their knuckles and grinning evilly.
Goyle made a move as if to snatch a Chocolate Frog from the table. He never made it.
Ron, Harry, and Malfoy all stared in equal surprise as Daniel's hand shot out and gripped Goyle's pudgy arm tightly. "Try that again," Daniel hissed in Goyle's face menacingly, "And you won't have an arm to hit with." His grip tightened on the arm, and Goyle let out an involuntary whine.
Crabbe stepped up this time, but he never got to throw a punch. With surprising strength, Daniel heaved Goyle off the floor, still grabbing onto his arm, and threw him right on top of Crabbe. He turned and threw Malfoy a challenging glance.
"Whoa," Ron whispered, awed.
Daniel glanced at him with a brief smile. "It's surprising what you learn out in the streets."
Goyle got up, clutching his arm. "L-let's go. I don't like this place," he mumbled, slowly backing away. Crabbe slowly stood up and followed suite.
"So? Aren't you going to follow them?" Daniel asked Malfoy in a mock- pleasant tone. "You haven't got all day. Don't you have some other poor first graders to bully?"
Malfoy glared. "Y-you won't get away with this," he said. He turned around and rushed out of the compartment. Before Ron or Harry could say anything, the door burst open again to reveal Hermione Granger.
"What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets that had tumbled off the table—some of them had been crushed by Crabbe and Goyle.
"Oh, nothing. Just got rid of some... bugs, that's all," Daniel casually replied. "Right, guys?"
"Er—yeah. Bugs," said Harry.
"You've met Malfoy before?" Ron asked Harry.
Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley.
"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who"—here he glanced at Daniel defiantly— "disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."
"Like I said, he was one of the grovelers," Daniel said with distaste.
Ron turned to Hermione, who hadn't budged from her spot. "Can we help you with something?"
"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up there to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly—"
"But I've already changed," Daniel interrupted.
Hermione looked him over. "You're wearing brown, not black. In case you didn't know, the letter clearly indicated that you wear a black robe, a black hat, and maybe a black cloak, not brown."
"Shoot, I'm not color blind, and I can read. It's just that I prefer to wear brown. I'm sorry if the color doesn't agree with you, all right? But I've always thought black was too melancholy for my taste. Besides, brown fits me. Black makes me look like an evil pessimist, if you ask me. And I've got special permission. Although," he added, heading over to his trunk, "I do have to find that black demented hat of mine..."
Hermione glared at Daniel for a moment before turning to the other two. "Anyway, you haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there! I don't care what you say about bugs—this doesn't look like a mess bugs made," she said, gesturing at the candies on the floor.
"Oh, it was just a slight disagreement between some boys. We... uh... sorted it out," Daniel said breezily. "Mind you, I think they're bugs. So I was telling the truth... kind of."
Hermione opened her mouth, but Daniel interrupted before she could speak. "Oh, yeah. And would you mind leaving while Ron and Harry change? You know, it gets a little disturbing if a girl watches while guys change clothes."
"All right—I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"
Ron glared at her as she left. "You know, Daniel, I don't blame you for being so rude to her."
"Rude? Me?" Daniel said with an innocent face. "Why, I was ever so polite!" Ron snorted slightly as Daniel picked up his book again and started to read as if nothing had happened. [c: 110, 22, 8.]
[111, 4, a 4.] Daniel, though, looked calm and composed, as if he had been to Hogwarts all the time. Perhaps he had. [c: 111, 4, 5.]
[111, 10, a 10.] Then he noticed Daniel. "Well! If it ain't Danny!"
Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. "Good to see you're making friends, Harry," he called. [c: 111, 12, 1.]
[111, 28, a 8, np.] Harry noticed Daniel wasn't in much of a hurry to get into a boat. "Well?" he asked. "Aren't you getting in?"
Daniel shook his head, grinning a smile that was starting to be familiar to Harry. "No thanks. I'll fly." Then, to everyone's astonishment, he started to rise up in the air—with apparently nothing holding him up.
"Wow," Ron breathed as he watched Daniel casually fold his legs—in midair.
"But that's impossible," Hermione scoffed. "You can't float on air, not even with magic. You'd need a broomstick or a magic carpet or assistance from either physical or magical substances."
"Do you mean to tell me I'm an impossibility? Or are you saying I'm not floating right now? You'll believe books, but you won't believe your eyes?" Daniel said indignantly, floating close to Harry's boat.
"N-no, of course not," Hermione stammered, missing the playful gleam in Daniel's eye. "But—"
"Where'd you learn to do that?" Neville exclaimed.
"I think I was born with it. I'm not sure, though." Daniel scratched his head in thought. "All right back there?" Hagrid called back. He spotted Daniel. "Showing off already, eh, Danny?" He shook his head amusedly. Some of those ahead of Harry's boat turned and gaped at Daniel's floating form. "Everyone in?" he shouted to the rest. He had a boat to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!"
And then fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Daniel followed closely behind Harry's boat. [c: 112, 4, 9.]
[112, 12, a 9.] Daniel, though, calmly floated behind Harry, now standing up. It was hard to tell he was floating because he was so close to the ground—but anyone with eyes could see that he wasn't stumbling or moving his legs like everyone else. Hermione kept glaring at him as if his floating was a personal offense to her somehow.
"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them. He ignored Daniel as if it was natural for a boy to be floating in air.
"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.
They walked—with the exception of Daniel, who was now receiving many gaping stares—up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.
"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"
Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door. [c: end of chapter 6, page 112.]
Chapter Six: The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters
[99, 10, after 7, new paragraph.] The door slid open again, this time to reveal a tall boy, even slightly taller than Ron. The first thing that came to mind as soon as Harry saw him was the color brown. The boy had dark, rough brown hair that made a thin roof over his forehead, and was wearing a dark, reddish-brown cloak complete with a hood, and Harry could see a sand-colored tunic beneath from the parting in the front, that was fastened by a thick, brown belt from which hung pouches and a stick. There seemed to be another layer of clothes underneath, but it was hard to tell. Wondering why he wore so much when September had barely started, Harry lowered his gaze to the chocolate brown pants that matched the cloak, and finally to the dark brown work boots—they seemed to be made up of leather and cloth—that made no noise as the boy walked.
"Mind if I sit in here? All of the other cars are full," the stranger said with a friendly, somewhat lopsided smile that showed white, flashing teeth.
Harry shrugged. "Go ahead."
With a grunt, the boy set down his trunk near Harry's baggage. On top of the suitcase was, Harry noticed, an owl cage similar to his own. It held a big owl who looked at him with a penetrating gaze.
Turning away from the owl, Harry inspected the newcomer, who sat down next to Ron, across from Harry. He now saw that the boy's warm, friendly eyes were dark, solid brown.
"Hi. I'm Daniel," the boy said cheerfully, "Daniel Sharclo." He extended a hand toward Harry.
Harry took it. Daniel's grip was hard and firm, his hand dry and callused. "I'm Harry Potter." He watched Daniel's face for a reaction.
Daniel looked a little surprised. "Harry Potter with the scar, I presume. Nice to meet you." He turned to Ron and extended the same hand after extracting it from Harry's. "And you are...?"
"Ron Weasley." Ron shook the hand, too.
"Ah. One of the Weasleys. I should've guessed. One of the pure- bloods, I've heard? Pleasure to meet you."
"Are all your family wizards?" Harry asked Ron.
"Er—yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."
"So you must know loads of magic already."
The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about.
"Shoot, just because he's from a wizard family doesn't mean he knows a lot of magic, you know. Of course, it doesn't mean he doesn't," Daniel quickly added. "But I happen to know it's pretty rare for someone to know 'loads' of magic before coming to Hogwarts."
Harry stared at Daniel. He obviously knew what he was talking about.
"He's right, Harry," Ron said. "I don't know a load of magic." He continued to talk to Harry. [c: 99, 18, 1]
[100, 14, a 6, new paragraph.] "So how about your family?" Harry turned to Daniel, not wanting for him to think they were ignoring him. He knew how that felt.
Daniel shrugged and looked out the window, avoiding eye contact. "I'm an orphan, too. I never knew my parents." He looked back at Harry. "Just about the only thing I knew about myself was my name and age."
"So how'd you live?" asked Harry. "Er... I mean, how come—"
Daniel put on a grin that was a bit lopsided at the left. "Don't worry. I know what you mean." His expression grew thoughtful. "Well, actually, I was living out in the streets for a while, but Dumbledore found me and raised me."
Ron's eyes bugged. "Dumbledore raised you?"
Daniel nodded proudly. "Yup."
"But how come no one knew about it?" asked Ron.
"No one asked," Daniel said simply. "And besides, tons of people know me—it's just that they tend not to talk about me that much. I think Dumbledore told them to or something."
Sensing that Daniel was getting uncomfortable, Harry changed the topic. "You know, until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort—" [c: 100, 17, 1]
[100, 26, b 1] "You won't be. I told you that already. Shoot, there's a ton of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quickly. I should know. I've heard a lot about it," said Daniel. "And besides, I think it's silly how people refuse to say Voldemort's name. It's just plain stupid."
"Well, I figure you'd be saying that, seeing as how Dumbledore's against it and all, too," Ron said primly.
"It's true!" Daniel insisted. "I mean, what's the point of having a name if nobody uses it? It's what a name's for, for Pete's sake. And besides, it creates more fear in people."
Harry nodded. Daniel made sense.
Ron scowled. "But still..." He seemed to be searching for words.
Daniel shrugged good-naturedly. "All right. You think what you think, and I'll think what I think, alright?"
"Fine."
Daniel stood up. Harry thought he was going to move seats, since the mood between Daniel and Ron wasn't all that great, but Daniel just opened his trunk, took out a book, and reseated himself next to Ron. He started to read. [c: 100, 28, 1]
[101, 8, a 7] Daniel closed his book and bound after him.
Harry had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver, he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry—but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.
Before he could walk back to the compartment, Daniel gestured him to stop. He added another pile of candy onto Harry's enormous pile and handed ten Sickles to the woman. "Keep the change and thank you very much," he said politely. He opened the door for Harry as he stepped through.
Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto the table between the two rows of seats.
"Hungry, are you?"
"Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty.
"Famished," said Daniel, unwrapping a Chocolate Frog. "Why don't you eat with us? Plenty to share, you know." He bit into the frog.
Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "I've already got something to eat." And then, as if talking to himself, he mumbled, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef." [c: 101, 26, 1]
[102, 1, b 1] "Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron and Daniel, eating their way through all Harry and Daniel's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten).
Daniel tossed another package to the edge of the table. Harry stared in surprise. Daniel had already eaten almost as much as Harry and Ron had eaten. It was really no surprise Daniel had paid for so much candy.
"What are these?" Harry asked, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. Daniel was eating a cake, and could not answer. "They're not really frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him. [c: 102, 9, 1]
[102, 20, b 1] "Yup," Daniel said proudly, having finished cramming the cake into his mouth. "That's him. He's the one who raised me. Finest wizard in all the world, you know."
"So you have heard of Dumbledore?" asked Ron.
"Yeah... from Hagrid," Harry replied.
"Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa—thanks—" [c: 102, 22, 1]
[103, 16, a 1. New paragraph.] "Oh, yeah," Daniel said suddenly, digging into his pocket. "Here're some of the Chocolate Frog cards I just got. Need any?" He took them out and spread them onto the table. Ron looked them over. "Hmm... I've got them all."
Daniel shrugged. "Okay, then why don't you have all of them?" He pushed the stack of cards toward Harry.
Harry swallowed the chocolate in his mouth. "Thanks." He turned back to his original card, just in time to see Dumbledore sidle back into the picture and give him a small smile. [c: 103, 18, 8]
[104, 2, a 7, new paragraph.] "Really? Then wouldn't that mean he knows how a real booger tastes like?" Daniel asked innocently, managing to hide his grin.
Harry snorted.
Ron glared at Daniel, but Harry could tell he was straining. Suddenly, Ron broke out in a smile, unable to hide it any longer. "I guess you're right," he admitted. [c: 104, 3, 1]
[104, 9, a 9.] Daniel just plain avoided all of them, preferring the frogs, pasties, and cakes. [c: 104, 10, 1]
[104, 16, a 11, new p.] Ron and Harry shook their heads. "Oh, sure I did," Daniel said, swallowing another frog.
The boy turned to him hopefully. "Really? Where?"
Daniel shrugged nonchalantly. "By a pond, I think. It was a couple of years ago, so I don't remember exactly. Real ugly looking, though."
"That's not what I mean at all!" the boy wailed miserably. "I've lost my pet toad! He keeps on getting away from me!" [c: 104, 19, 1]
[104, 24, a 2, new p.] "Oh. Well, why didn't he say so?" Daniel said, munching on yet another Chocolate Frog, tossing the card to Harry. [c: 104, 25, 1.]
[105, 13, a 9, new p.] "How about introducing yourself first?" Daniel suggested.
"Oh, all right, then," she said impatiently, not even glancing at him. "I'm Hermione Granger. Well?" she turned to Ron. "Are you going to do it or not?" She sat down on the last, remaining seat, to Ron's surprise.
"Er—all right."
He cleared his throat.
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.
"Nice spell," said Daniel sarcastically, not even trying to hide his grin. [c: 105, 21, 1.]
[106, 1, a 3.] –by the way, who are you?"
She said all this very fast.
Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either. Unfortunately, Daniel just looked mildly surprised. Did that mean he had memorized them, too?
"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.
"Daniel Sharclo. Nice to meet you." Daniel stood up and offered his hand to Hermione courteously with a grin. She finally took a good look at him and blushed slightly. It didn't come as a particular surprise to Harry, as Daniel had the sort of face to attract hordes of girls at a time.
"Harry Potter," said Harry.
"Are you really?" said Hermione hastily, ignoring Daniel's hand and turning to Harry. "I know all about you, of course—I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."
"Don't forget Special Edition: Mystery of Miracles. Or something like that. I read it a while ago," Daniel added, finally retrieving his hand. He sat down.
"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.
"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do any of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."
"Shoot, if you actually stopped talking for a moment, we'd be able to answer your questions," said Daniel.
Hermione, who had been turning around to go, turned back around and glared at him. "Oh, is that so? Well—"
"Anyway, of course we don't know what houses we'll be in—I mean, I don't think any of us can tell the future. And, by the way, you really shouldn't blame Harry for not knowing all this about himself. Shoot, he's been living with ignorant Muggles, after all. I don't mean that all Muggles are ignorant, of course, but I heard the ones he lived with were a real pain in the butt."
Hermione stared at him, as if she couldn't decide whether to laugh or glare. After a few moments, she turned around and walked out of the room with her nose in the air. Neville followed wordlessly, sniffing miserably.
"Not exactly the most agreeable girl in the world, is she?" Daniel muttered. "I mean, here I am, trying to be a gentleman, and what does she do? She ignores me." Harry had the sudden impression Daniel always said what he thought, however rude it may be. "Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron. He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell—George gave it to me, but he knew it was a dud." [c: 106, 24, 1.]
[107, 3, a 1, np.] "Geez, Ron," said Daniel. "Don't worry. I'll bet a Galleon that you'll be in Gryffindor. I mean it."
Ron brightened. "Really?"
Daniel nodded. "Yup."
"You really think I'll be in Gryffindor?"
"Shoot, I've got instincts for these kind of things, and I'm never wrong. Trust me on this," Daniel confirmed. Ron's previous bad opinion of Daniel evaporated right then and there and never quite came back.
"So what do your brothers do now that they've left, anyway?" asked Harry, wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school. [c: 107, 9, 1.]
[107, 11, a 8.] and News Flash, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles—someone tried to rob a high security vault." [c: 107, 13, 1]
[107, 24, a 1, n p.] "Voldemort," Daniel said firmly. Ron gave a little gasp. "Geez. How many times do I have to say it? It just creates more fear among the people if you keep calling him 'You-Know-Who' or 'He- Who-Must-Not-Be-Named,' which, by the way, is a heck of a long name for a jerk like him. You're just doing what he wanted—to fear his name. It's stupid, if you ask me."
Though Harry agreed with him, he thought Daniel was being too blunt for his own good. "Er... do you always go around saying that?"
"'Course I do," replied Daniel, picking up his book again.
They sat in silence for a while until Ron broke it. [c: 107, 25, 1.]
[108, 25, a 5.] He looked at Daniel, who had put down his book and was eyeing them carefully. Harry had noticed Daniel's hand had shot out toward the stick hung at his belt as soon as Malfoy had come in. "And you, of course, are Dumbledore's new pet. Why he'd take someone like you is a mystery to me."
Harry expected Daniel to be furious but, to his surprise, Daniel just smiled snugly, his hand falling away from his belt. "Well, at least it's way better than being the son of one of Voldemort's grovelers. And a traitor, to boot. I wouldn't be saying anything, if I were you."
Draco Malfoy did not blush, but turned slightly pink. Choosing to ignore Daniel, he turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.
"Yeah," Daniel said in an off-handed tone, turning back to his book, "You've got one of the wrong sort as an example right there. By the way, is it just me or am I being constantly ignored today?"
Malfoy glared at Daniel. "You watch your mouth, stink breath." He turned to Harry. "Well? Aren't you going to take it?"
"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," Harry said coolly.
Again, a pink tinge appeared in Malfoy's pale cheeks.
"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that dirty-mouthed scum, and it'll rub off on you."
Harry, Ron, and Daniel all stood up.
"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.
"Shoot, but if I were Harry, I'd rather 'rub off' the 'riffraff's then a bunch of conceited idiots like you," Daniel said in an icy tone. He stepped up menacingly toward Malfoy, easily towering over him. Harry couldn't help but notice that Daniel's eyes had turned a shade darker than before, making them seem black.
"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered, looking up.
"I can try," Daniel answered. "And if you don't want to have your ugly faces bashed in—which would be an improvement, by the way—, I suggest you go out peacefully right now."
"Oh, but we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." Crabbe and Goyle stepped forward, cracking their knuckles and grinning evilly.
Goyle made a move as if to snatch a Chocolate Frog from the table. He never made it.
Ron, Harry, and Malfoy all stared in equal surprise as Daniel's hand shot out and gripped Goyle's pudgy arm tightly. "Try that again," Daniel hissed in Goyle's face menacingly, "And you won't have an arm to hit with." His grip tightened on the arm, and Goyle let out an involuntary whine.
Crabbe stepped up this time, but he never got to throw a punch. With surprising strength, Daniel heaved Goyle off the floor, still grabbing onto his arm, and threw him right on top of Crabbe. He turned and threw Malfoy a challenging glance.
"Whoa," Ron whispered, awed.
Daniel glanced at him with a brief smile. "It's surprising what you learn out in the streets."
Goyle got up, clutching his arm. "L-let's go. I don't like this place," he mumbled, slowly backing away. Crabbe slowly stood up and followed suite.
"So? Aren't you going to follow them?" Daniel asked Malfoy in a mock- pleasant tone. "You haven't got all day. Don't you have some other poor first graders to bully?"
Malfoy glared. "Y-you won't get away with this," he said. He turned around and rushed out of the compartment. Before Ron or Harry could say anything, the door burst open again to reveal Hermione Granger.
"What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets that had tumbled off the table—some of them had been crushed by Crabbe and Goyle.
"Oh, nothing. Just got rid of some... bugs, that's all," Daniel casually replied. "Right, guys?"
"Er—yeah. Bugs," said Harry.
"You've met Malfoy before?" Ron asked Harry.
Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley.
"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who"—here he glanced at Daniel defiantly— "disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."
"Like I said, he was one of the grovelers," Daniel said with distaste.
Ron turned to Hermione, who hadn't budged from her spot. "Can we help you with something?"
"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up there to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly—"
"But I've already changed," Daniel interrupted.
Hermione looked him over. "You're wearing brown, not black. In case you didn't know, the letter clearly indicated that you wear a black robe, a black hat, and maybe a black cloak, not brown."
"Shoot, I'm not color blind, and I can read. It's just that I prefer to wear brown. I'm sorry if the color doesn't agree with you, all right? But I've always thought black was too melancholy for my taste. Besides, brown fits me. Black makes me look like an evil pessimist, if you ask me. And I've got special permission. Although," he added, heading over to his trunk, "I do have to find that black demented hat of mine..."
Hermione glared at Daniel for a moment before turning to the other two. "Anyway, you haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there! I don't care what you say about bugs—this doesn't look like a mess bugs made," she said, gesturing at the candies on the floor.
"Oh, it was just a slight disagreement between some boys. We... uh... sorted it out," Daniel said breezily. "Mind you, I think they're bugs. So I was telling the truth... kind of."
Hermione opened her mouth, but Daniel interrupted before she could speak. "Oh, yeah. And would you mind leaving while Ron and Harry change? You know, it gets a little disturbing if a girl watches while guys change clothes."
"All right—I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"
Ron glared at her as she left. "You know, Daniel, I don't blame you for being so rude to her."
"Rude? Me?" Daniel said with an innocent face. "Why, I was ever so polite!" Ron snorted slightly as Daniel picked up his book again and started to read as if nothing had happened. [c: 110, 22, 8.]
[111, 4, a 4.] Daniel, though, looked calm and composed, as if he had been to Hogwarts all the time. Perhaps he had. [c: 111, 4, 5.]
[111, 10, a 10.] Then he noticed Daniel. "Well! If it ain't Danny!"
Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. "Good to see you're making friends, Harry," he called. [c: 111, 12, 1.]
[111, 28, a 8, np.] Harry noticed Daniel wasn't in much of a hurry to get into a boat. "Well?" he asked. "Aren't you getting in?"
Daniel shook his head, grinning a smile that was starting to be familiar to Harry. "No thanks. I'll fly." Then, to everyone's astonishment, he started to rise up in the air—with apparently nothing holding him up.
"Wow," Ron breathed as he watched Daniel casually fold his legs—in midair.
"But that's impossible," Hermione scoffed. "You can't float on air, not even with magic. You'd need a broomstick or a magic carpet or assistance from either physical or magical substances."
"Do you mean to tell me I'm an impossibility? Or are you saying I'm not floating right now? You'll believe books, but you won't believe your eyes?" Daniel said indignantly, floating close to Harry's boat.
"N-no, of course not," Hermione stammered, missing the playful gleam in Daniel's eye. "But—"
"Where'd you learn to do that?" Neville exclaimed.
"I think I was born with it. I'm not sure, though." Daniel scratched his head in thought. "All right back there?" Hagrid called back. He spotted Daniel. "Showing off already, eh, Danny?" He shook his head amusedly. Some of those ahead of Harry's boat turned and gaped at Daniel's floating form. "Everyone in?" he shouted to the rest. He had a boat to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!"
And then fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Daniel followed closely behind Harry's boat. [c: 112, 4, 9.]
[112, 12, a 9.] Daniel, though, calmly floated behind Harry, now standing up. It was hard to tell he was floating because he was so close to the ground—but anyone with eyes could see that he wasn't stumbling or moving his legs like everyone else. Hermione kept glaring at him as if his floating was a personal offense to her somehow.
"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them. He ignored Daniel as if it was natural for a boy to be floating in air.
"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.
They walked—with the exception of Daniel, who was now receiving many gaping stares—up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.
"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"
Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door. [c: end of chapter 6, page 112.]