The end of term was approaching quickly, and between studying for end
of term exams and having extra lessons with Dumbledore, Danny was as busy
as ever. She had improved greatly in the few weeks they'd worked together,
and they were now practicing the Imperius Curse. Not practicing casting it
of course, but practicing resisting it. Dumbledore would put the spell on
Danny, who had to try to use her powers to force him to take it off. It
was very hard work, not to mention painful.
It was only two days before the start of finals, and Danny was spending all of her free time in the library, researching spells she's missed and catching up on wars they'd studied in History of Magic. Fortunately, her training was providing a great brush up on her Defense spells, so that was one less class to worry about. And considering what they were now studying was well above her grade level, she assumed that was the only class she was guaranteed an A in.
After dinner she once again headed straight to the library and grabbed a pile of books on charms and spells. She sat down at an empty table and spread the books out, resolutely going through book after book, reading as much as she could about the spells she'd missed and making notes of what she needed to practice later in the common room.
"Spell for boggarts, spell for boggarts. I know it's in here somewhere," she muttered.
Meanwhile, On One of Hogwarts Many Staircases
Professor McGonagall was making her way slowly up the stairs. Dumbledore had, of course, told her of the prophecy. He had told her she needed to know in case there was a need to cover up any more "accidents". She found the whole thing quite intriguing and had decided to read some more about the prophecy herself. Dumbledore had reassured her that this was quite all right, but had also warned to make sure she said nothing of it to Danny.
Reaching the library, she headed to the shelf where Dumbledore had found the book with the prophecy. She checked the row over several times, but could find no trace of the volume. Great. Someone had checked it out. Not that that put Danny in any danger. No one at school besides an elite few knew of Danny's powers, so no one reading the prophecy would make any connection between it and Danielle. Well, no one except Danny herself, of course. But this meant she would probably have to wait to do her research. She sighed and approached Madam Pince.
"Do you know if anyone has checked out "Alternative Forms of Magic Spelling"?" she asked.
Madam Pince checked through a few records before shaking her head. "I have it recorded as being turned in. Someone probably has it at one of the tables, or it might have been put back on the wrong shelf."
"Thank you. Please let me know if you find it," Minerva said.
She turned to exit the library, her eyes scanning the tables as she walked, searching for the large, moldy text. She nearly shrieked in horror when her eyes lit upon it. A student did have it – Danny. It was sitting in a pile of books she was intently searching through. Uh-oh.
Minerva quickly hurried over to the table where the girl was sitting. Danny looked up as she came to a halt in front of her.
"Hello, Professor."
"Hello, Danielle. Studying for you exams?"
"Yes."
"I was just wondering if you had seen a book I'm looking for. You see, Professor Snape and I have a bet of sorts about –um, well, about whether it's possible to have a wand core of werewolf blood. I think I remember reading something about that in "Alternative Forms of Magic Spelling". Have you seen it?"
"I think I picked it up a few minutes ago. Yeah, here it is. I was going to look up a spell in it, but I can ask Katie about it later. You can take it," Danny said, handing Minerva the book.
"Thank you so much," Minerva said in relief.
Clutching the book tightly, she exited the library quickly. That was close. Too close.
It was only two days before the start of finals, and Danny was spending all of her free time in the library, researching spells she's missed and catching up on wars they'd studied in History of Magic. Fortunately, her training was providing a great brush up on her Defense spells, so that was one less class to worry about. And considering what they were now studying was well above her grade level, she assumed that was the only class she was guaranteed an A in.
After dinner she once again headed straight to the library and grabbed a pile of books on charms and spells. She sat down at an empty table and spread the books out, resolutely going through book after book, reading as much as she could about the spells she'd missed and making notes of what she needed to practice later in the common room.
"Spell for boggarts, spell for boggarts. I know it's in here somewhere," she muttered.
Meanwhile, On One of Hogwarts Many Staircases
Professor McGonagall was making her way slowly up the stairs. Dumbledore had, of course, told her of the prophecy. He had told her she needed to know in case there was a need to cover up any more "accidents". She found the whole thing quite intriguing and had decided to read some more about the prophecy herself. Dumbledore had reassured her that this was quite all right, but had also warned to make sure she said nothing of it to Danny.
Reaching the library, she headed to the shelf where Dumbledore had found the book with the prophecy. She checked the row over several times, but could find no trace of the volume. Great. Someone had checked it out. Not that that put Danny in any danger. No one at school besides an elite few knew of Danny's powers, so no one reading the prophecy would make any connection between it and Danielle. Well, no one except Danny herself, of course. But this meant she would probably have to wait to do her research. She sighed and approached Madam Pince.
"Do you know if anyone has checked out "Alternative Forms of Magic Spelling"?" she asked.
Madam Pince checked through a few records before shaking her head. "I have it recorded as being turned in. Someone probably has it at one of the tables, or it might have been put back on the wrong shelf."
"Thank you. Please let me know if you find it," Minerva said.
She turned to exit the library, her eyes scanning the tables as she walked, searching for the large, moldy text. She nearly shrieked in horror when her eyes lit upon it. A student did have it – Danny. It was sitting in a pile of books she was intently searching through. Uh-oh.
Minerva quickly hurried over to the table where the girl was sitting. Danny looked up as she came to a halt in front of her.
"Hello, Professor."
"Hello, Danielle. Studying for you exams?"
"Yes."
"I was just wondering if you had seen a book I'm looking for. You see, Professor Snape and I have a bet of sorts about –um, well, about whether it's possible to have a wand core of werewolf blood. I think I remember reading something about that in "Alternative Forms of Magic Spelling". Have you seen it?"
"I think I picked it up a few minutes ago. Yeah, here it is. I was going to look up a spell in it, but I can ask Katie about it later. You can take it," Danny said, handing Minerva the book.
"Thank you so much," Minerva said in relief.
Clutching the book tightly, she exited the library quickly. That was close. Too close.