(A/N: Good day to you, my dear readers, and so we begin a new chapter on my series of unexpected stories. It'll be fairly longer than my usual. Be warned, there will be danger for the group in the future and dares since someone lost some ideas. Yes I do refer to myself as the third person. Moving on with the semi Christmas edition of my story. Meaning only half of it is Christmassy. This chapter is dedicated to my bestest best friend/ BFF. Merry Christmas, Bryan! I know it's late but bear it with me, pretty please?)

"So, anyway," James said. "Where do we go from here?"

"Dragon and Moon Road is very long," Danni said. "Unusual, yes but the longer, the more places you see, the more places you see, the more experience you get from somewhere or something."

"But we aren't going down Dragon and Moon Road," Elvira said. "We are going through Bloodshot Alley." Elvira pointed at the dark and gloomy, alleyway. The bright red Chinese lanterns weren't helping in making the Alley look more inviting. The red eerie glow and the moving shadows made it look as if it were haunted. Everyone looked at each other, hesitatingly, but, one step at a time, they walked into the dimly lit alleyway.

"This place is creepy," Nadia said, rubbing her arms with her hands. "It's so quiet."

"It's too quiet," Elvira said. "Something must've dropped out and scare us silly by now."

"So," Harry said, dodging a cobweb. "How long is this Bloodshot Alley?"

"It'll take us exactly ten hours of walking to get out of here," Danni said. "I guess we'll be spending the night here or we'll just walk until we drop."

"I find walking and not stopping entire impossible," Lily said, slowing down.

"You know, walking for ten hours right after a shopping spree is possible but one or two of us will probably drop down or faint," Hermione said. "There is a possibility that we could throw up."

"Where do you get this information?" Ron asked.

"There's a magical place with information called the library," Hermione said, sarcastically. "I'm sure all of us have been in one at least more than once."

"Well, then," Lily said. "Looks like James and Sirius have possibly broken that record, seven years of Hogwarts and they haven't set a single foot in there once. They just got us to get the books for them or use magic to make their arms stretch."

"So, anyways," Remus said. "Who do you live with?" he asked the three girls.

"We're runaways," Elvira answered. "Work in a flower shop for money, we don't have much and as you can see, we just were kicked out for overdue rents."

"Why did you run away?" Ron asked.

"No one likes being brought up in an orphanage," Nadia said. "And going back every summer after the term ended. Thought of staying there for the summer, but got busted by the caretaker, Fang Chui."

"All three of you were parentless?" Lily asked, shocked.

"No," Danni said. "I have parents. Those idiots wanted me to join the Dark side last year. Why don't you be like your cousin."

Flashback…

It was a dark windy night, the bright full moon shone over two mansions each two miles apart. Surrounding the mansions were a stretch of overgrown grass and a few dead trees. In one of the mansions, two parents were shouting at their only daughter.

"Why don't you be like your cousin?" Danni's mother said. "He's the only one that made us proud. Make us proud for once in your life, Danielle."

"Have some prejudice in you!" her father said. "Don't make friends with those Mudbloods, make fun of them."

A small thirteen year old Danni was sitting on a chair, not knowing what to say. She didn't want to make fun of Nadia, no, she was her best friend, and so was Elvira. But her parents wouldn't understand. "Make fun of them!" her father yelled at her.

"No!" she screamed back. Her tears blinding her, she rushed up to her room and slammed the door behind her. She leaned her back against her door, she as angry, angry at her parents and angry at the Malfoys stupid prejudice on Muggle borns and half bloods. She locked her door and packed her wand, and a few clothes, she took her bed sheet and twisted it into a rope. She tied one end of it securely to her bed. She threw the rope down her window and climbed down the long fabric. This was her first attempt.

She fell down, hard, she had the wind knocked out of her but she was determined to get out. Her parents heard her and looked out the sitting room window. They yelled at her as she ran into the darkness. She looked back, green lights flashed in her cousin's house. The door opened and she could see the familiar platinum blonde hair. She panicked. She ran for her life but she had forgotten one little detail of her hated cousin. He had a broomstick. "Shit," she muttered as she ran helter skelter and hid behind a dead tree. She looked back, no one was chasing her. She gave a sigh of relief as she turned back. She gave a gasp as she saw she had bumped right into Draco Malfoy.

"Nice night for a walk?" he asked, smirking.

"Get away from me," Danni muttered, walking away.

"Your parents are worried, do you know that?" he said, grabbing her arm.

"Worried?" she asked. "They don't give a damn about me. Let go of me." she said, angrily as she tried to pull out of his grip.

"No way," Malfoy said. "You know, your parents are paying me to deliver you back."

"You don't need any more, you greedy little piece of shit," she said as she kicked his –ahem ahem-

Malfoy fell to the ground, whimpering. Danni ran for her life. As she thought she was safe, she came to a steep hill. She had to get down the bumpy hill. She knew where to draw the line, she looked for an easier way. She looked back, to see her cousin, flying towards her on his broom. He winced but he didn't mind. As he got closer, Danni ducked. He jumped off his broom and fell down the hill, pulling Danni's leg and her along with him.

There was a knock at Danni's door and it was opened by her mother. Draco held up a knocked out Danni towards her. Danni's mother smiled and gave him his five Galleons.

Reality…

"Idiot buffoon," Danni muttered. "After I was seventeen, I ran away for good. Found a secret place to hide until he gave up. I was free. Ran away to China, there's where my school was, with my two best friends and started a life here. But he found out where I was a few weeks ago. Almost got me but got hit in the face by a spell. These two saved my life."

"I know how you feel," Sirius said. "My mom and dad wanted me to join, too. My brother joined and died. The little nutter, I said joining was a bad idea but no one listens to me back then. Those things are in the past, the twisted, messed up past. You just have to look at the bright side of things and be a new person."

"There is no bright side anymore," Danni said. "I do not see and happiness. I do not feel any happiness. My childhood has been a living hell and it has permanently affected my present day self."

"Well, it's up to you," Sirius said, shrugging. They have been slowly but steadily walking down the empty and eerie alley. Dragon and Moon Road was two hours of walking behind them. As they walked in silence, Lily spotted a page of the Daily Prophet lying on the ground. She picked it up, read through the brief articles and a panel of a comic until she saw a picture. Her eyes widened as she read the huge article on the front page, still glancing at the picture once in a while.

"Oh snap," Lily muttered.

"What was that?" Harry asked.

"Look," she said, her voice no longer happy, but worried. Her eyes had widened and she looked as though all the blood had drained out of her cheeks and her face. She shakily shoved the piece of newspaper to Harry. As Harry read the article, the rest had crowded around him, trying to read the news over his shoulder. It had a picture of a familiar platinum blonde boy. Malfoy's usual sleek blonde hair was ruffled and messy. He had an angry and vengeful look on his face as he held up a piece of wood. The plank had symbols those similar to Sirius's, Harry saw during his third year, when posters of his godfather had been hanging up everywhere in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.

Murderer Escapes Azkaban

Draco Malfoy, seventeen, had escaped the highly guarded wizard prison, Azkaban, and has disappeared without a trace. His wand, which was locked in a highly guarded security vault, is also missing. Aurors are currently baffled by the sudden disappearance. Little but fairly useful information has been given by Malfoy's cellmate, American mass murderer and bank robber, Felicity Drake.

"He doesn't talk much to the rest of us," Drake said. "But every night I hear him mumbling about Harry Potter, you know, the Chosen One, and a bunch of other names, Viktor, Granger and maybe something about a weasel. I also heard the words, 'China' and 'Danielle'. Think he was talking about a girlfriend in China or something. But he definitely said the word 'revenge' over and over again."

"We have a hunch that Draco Malfoy is on his way to China," Chief Auror, Terrence Fallen, said in a press conference. "People currently living in China must be alert at all times. If Malfoy has been spotted, please contact us as soon as possible." China's locals must be alert for a skinny, platinum blonde teenage boy with grey eyes. (inserted picture) If anyone has any more useful information, please contact the Ministry of Magic.

"This is great," Danni said sarcastically, sitting down on a rickety bench at the side of the alley road. "Just great, he's going to find us here, he's going to find us all and kill us." Danni's eyes were now welling up with tears. A tear trickled down her cheek, spoiling the black eyeliner. "I mean, how can't he find us? He's been doing it since I was thirteen. He won't stop until he finds us. He'll never stop until he's died trying." Danni buried her face in her hands, sobbing softly.

As Harry and the rest of the group looked at her concerned, Elvira and Nadia were surprised. Elvira had never seen Danni, her best fiend, show this much emotion. "Until he's died trying," Danni sobbed through her hands. "He'll never stop."

"Come on, Dan," Nadia said, sitting next to her. She patted Danni's back gently. "I mean things will go better. It's Christmas. Everything will be alright." They could hear the clocks in several shops chiming, signalling that it was midnight.

"All the Christmases that passed didn't do a thing," Danni said. "Only decorated trees, presents and scattered holly and mistletoe were there. Christmas cheer and Christmas luck were never there. It wasn't there and it never will, ever."

"Don't think that way," Lily said, sitting next to Nadia. "There's always Christmas faith and Christmas hope," Hermione said, joining her. "There isn't any hope in the world," Danni said, muffled through her hands. She had stopped crying. "Yeah, there is," Fred and George said. "There's always a little tiny bit of hope in everyone," Ron said. "There's alvays a Christmas miracle happening to every vun, every year," Viktor said. "Thos special can happen to everyone," Harry said.

"Anyone can be happy," Elvira said, kneeling down next to Danni. Everyone had taken a place on the bench; if another person sat there, someone would fall. "Even you, there's happiness in everyone."

"There's no happiness in me anymore," Danni said, taking out a handkerchief and wiping away the black makeup from her face. The handkerchief now looked like it had been dyed black. Danni shoved it back into her pocket.

"There's a little bit of happiness in everyone," Sirius said. "And it's more active on Christmas," Remus said. "That's the magic and wonder of Christmas," James said. "There's no answer and we enjoy it even though we can't explain it."

Danni smiled and, without warning, hugged everyone that was close to her. "Thanks," she muttered. "I've never felt this way about Christmas before." She let go of them.

"Well, I'm felling sleepy," Sirius said, yawning. He fell asleep immediately and snored.

"I think we should sleep here for the night," James said. "Because of two reasons, one, I'm not banging on a door at midnight, waking up the people crazy enough to live here. Two, Sirius is too heavy." "Hey," Sirius said, jolting back to consciousness. Everybody laughed, even Danni.

As they settled down for the night under a small fragment of a roof of a decorated shop, they heard a sniff coming from Danni's sleeping bag. "What's up, Danni?" Sirius asked, sitting up and looking at the sleeping bag right next to him. "Just call me Danielle from now on," Danni said. "I'm okay, just a little happy and touched that you all cared about me that much. I feel that I'm changed in a way."

"Well, you're welcome," Sirius said. "Will you still be wearing black? Because it kinda creeps me out that you look more like a vampire." "Actually I like black," Danielle said, Sirius blushed scarlet. "But I'll lay off the black if it creeps you out." Sirius laughed nervously, because he had realised that he was holding Danielle's hand the whole time. "Can I ask you something about Christmas?" Danielle asked. "What?" Sirius asked. "What's that?" Danielle pointed to a cutting of leaves and some white berries hanging above their heads.

"That's mistletoe," Sirius said. "When two people are under it…" Sirius trailed off as Danielle looked at him, clearly puzzled. "They have to kiss under it," Sirius muttered. "Well, we all know that we're not gonna do that," Danielle said after an uncomfortable moment. "Yeah," Sirius half laughed. "Night," Danielle muttered. "Night," Sirius said, closing his eyes. "Sirius?" Danielle said. "Hmm?" Sirius said, still not opening his eyes. Danielle gently kissed his cheek. "Merry Christmas," she said.

(A/N: We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Unexpected, yes. Fast, maybe a little. Twins in clown suits, I'll see where I can squeeze it in. As I always say, 'When all else fails, stop trying again, and improvise.' Till next time and until then, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!)