The rest of the holiday break went by fast. Hermione left for a few days to spend the remainder of their days off with her parents. The Burrow seemed broken, gloomy even whenever Danica entered the room. Harry hated how the others were treating her, as if she were some kind of disease. Everyone would be sitting around laughing and snacking on Mrs. Weasley specialties. But once she walked in, paler than before, the bright shine in her eyes gone, everyone got quiet. Only recently had Harry started saying hi once he saw her. On good days, she'd mutter a hello back and even look at him. However, on her worst days, she'd walk right by him like he was invisible. Or she wanted to be invisible.
When she woke up after the incident with Remus, tucked in numerous blankets with a cup of tea waiting for her, she looked up into Harry's face, questioning in her eyes. He didn't know where to begin, what to say or even how. He just nodded and then looked away, not having the heart to watch as she remembered what happened, what she said to Lupin. Mrs. Weasley shooed them all out, telling them to give her some room. Harry was the last to storm up the stairs so he heard the creak of the couch as Molly sat down and held the bawling teenager who whimpered Remus' name under her quivering breath.
No one had seen or heard from Remus in days. Several times, whoever was in the room had to stop her from disapparating to somewhere and anywhere. Danica was broken, trying to pick herself up off the floor and put herself back together again. They could all see it, the regret, and the shame in her eyes as she wandered about the house, trying to find something to do to keep her busy and her mind off Remus J. Lupin.
She hardly spoke anymore. The always laughing, smiling, wise-cracking Danica was gone. She reminded him of a ghost, a shell from which a lively spirit used to dwell. He couldn't stand seeing her like this, hurt like this. Harry felt something missing, something imbalanced in his life after Danica stopped talking to him. She only spoke to Mrs. Weasley, privately. Often, Harry would see Molly give her an affectionate pat on the back or a stroke of the hair whenever Danica stopped, frozen, as her mind travelled at Nimbus speed. Molly seemed to be the only one to understand her. Harry could understand. If only she spoke to him. Fred could barely get a few words out of her. Mostly, she would just want him to hold her, take walks with her. She didn't need a confidant with Fred. She needed somebody to remind her that she was wanted. Harry could make her feel like that.
The night before they were to head back to Hogwarts, Harry went downstairs to make sure Danica was in the house since she wasn't upstairs. He found himself doing this often, checking to see where Danica was and that she wasn't alone. Fred hardly left her side. But he still found himself searching for her every night before he went to sleep. There was nothing wrong with seeing that a friend was okay, right? Then why did he feel something twinge in his gut whenever he saw Fred kiss her forehead or stroke her hair when she looked at him with those eyes?
Shaking the thought off, he headed down the stairs. The closer he got to the kitchen, the clearer he could hear a familiar voice shouting just loud enough so it echoed through the room. Sirius, Harry realized as he pressed his ear to the door. Straining his hearing to do so, Harry could catch snips of Danica's newly found soft, meek voice trying to argue.
"I've been to see him, Danica. He hasn't left that house in days. And you expect me not to raise my voice. You destroyed him!"
"Sirius, I'm sorry. I didn't…I don't…I just-"
"Stop making excuses, Danica," Sirius barked. Harry knew, even though he was on the other side of the door that Danica cringed.
"I know what I said and I'm ashamed of it. I was out of line, Sirius, I know. But he had no right to treat me like a child."
"He has every right, Danica! That man, moping around in his house alone, raised you. And you threw that right back in his face."
Practically running, Harry went to the foot of the stairs to make it seem as if he just entered when Sirius came storming out of the kitchen.
"Oh, Harry. I was just-"
"Yelling at Danica?"
Sirius sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers as he closed his eyes.
"So you heard?"
"More than I wished."
"Sit down, Harry." Sirius motioned to the couch. Sinking into it when both of them sat down, Sirius crossed his legs and looked over at the curious Harry. "There's a lot you don't understand about Remus." A dark look crossed his face as years and years of memories flashed before his eyes.
"Remus found Danica just days after her birth in an abandoned alley. You know the basics. He's kind, loving, caring. He would never just leave a baby like that. So he took her. And where was the first place he went?"
"My mum and dad's." Harry's mind flashed to the picture of his parents twirling around in falling autumn leaves, smiling.
"Remus tried to get them to take Danica. But they already had you. Lily insisted Remus keep her and raise her. They promised to help. James and Lily loved the idea of their son growing up with their best friend's child. But then-" Sirius stopped, glancing at Harry who nodded, signaling that he understood. But then Voldermort killed his parents.
"Remus was then left alone to raise a child no one else knew about. Not even me since I was locked away. And Pettigrew," Harry tensed at the name, "disappeared. Once again, he was all alone. All except for-"
"Danica."
Sirius nodded. "That little girl became his entire world. She was, and still is, his reason to live. Danica is his daughter, Harry. Even though she is not of his flesh or his blood, she is his child. Danica saying what she said cut deeper than any physical wound. That girl is his life."
Harry stared intently at a spot on the floor. He understood Remus' side. But Danica's didn't fit. Harry wanted to know, to figure the girl all out. There was a piece missing to the puzzle. He wanted to find that piece.
The ride back to Hogwarts was a long one. Danica sat with Fred in George in their own cart with the 6th years while Harry, Ron and Hermione lounged about in their cart, eating almost the entire trolley as Hermione buried herself in a new book. Sometimes Harry really had to wonder where she kept all that information. Most of all, how she remembered all of that knowledge. Ron swallowed another few licorice wands and chocolate frogs while Harry only nibbled. His mind was all over the place. Remus, according to Sirius, has not left his house in days from the depression of Danica saying and doing what she did. The Order has definitely been working overtime and Harry would much rather be helping out them then going back to school. Facing that horrible woman made Harry sick to his stomach.
According to what Harry had learned from Sirius deeper into their conversation that night, Dolores Umbridge, his completely mad Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, was the one who came up with the draft for the anti-werewolf legislation. If that monster of a woman had not done so, would life for Remus and Danica would've been different? Harry learned some of the dark details of Lupin and Danica's life.
Everything was fine, dandy even for Danica when she was too young to understand what her life really was. She was isolated from the rest of the wizarding world like Remus. Therefore, her only friend, the only other person in her life besides herself was Remus. That, in theory of Sirius, is what caused Danica and Lupin's incredible dependence on each other. Sirius explained that Lupin would tell him stories of how the child Danica would stay by the door at whoever's house she was sleeping at during Lupin's transformation and wait for him to return. Harry cringed as Sirius told him that Danica would scream and cry as the full moon rose into the sky, even at her young age, knowing that Remus was in some kind of pain. It was when Danica got older, did things get a lot worse.
"Harry, you alright, mate? You look sick again." Ron asked, already dozing off to sleep with a full belly. Harry watched his two best friends look him over with concern, Hermione more than Ron who closed her book and set it aside.
"Yeah, just thinking." He needed a cover and quick or else Hermione would start drilling him with questions. "We need to pick up Dumbledore's Army immediately from where we left off. The holidays were too long of a break. We have a lot to do."
"What about Danica?" Neville wondered, poking his head through the door, happening to hear the conversation as he passed, looking for a place to hide from the Slytherins.
"I can't teach without her. Of course she will be continuing as my assistant." Harry gave a reassuring smile to Longbottom who smiled back, a little more at ease now, and took off down the hall.
Hermione opened her neglected mountain of paper back up and dove back into the depths of her book. But only after she added in a low voice,
"You can't? Or you won't?"
Harry knew, then and there, Hermione had most of the puzzle figured out. The pieces of Danica's life came together in his best friend's head long before his. But for some reason, she chose not to tell. Did Danica tell Hermione herself? Or did his genius companion pick her brain until she got it all right?
Harry looked over at Ron who just shrugged, leaning over to clap his shoulder. Fighting the urge to speak out loud, Harry asked himself in the safety of his own mind, well for now, 'What are Fred and Danica doing?' as he twirled the silver ring that he rescued from the snow deep in his pocket.
"You have to mean it. Let the memory fill you up, take you to a higher place. This is how you fight dementors off. You repel them with what they want, happiness. Danica, if you please." In the Room of Requirement, Dumbledore's Army got together for the first time since the end of term. Luna, Neville, the Twins, Ginny, Dean and many more stood around, their wands out, ready to take on whatever Harry and Danica threw at them.
After giving Fred a small smile, Danica stepped away from Harry's side and to the opposite end of the room. The crowd split into two, one group on either side of Danica, lining the walls. Harry's heart sank the moment Danica walked in and she looked hollow, like the ghost he had seen at the Burrow. The whispers started and it panged Harry to hear them. But she didn't seem notice. Or pretended she didn't.
"Ready?"
"When you are." Danica took her wand out. She nodded at Harry once she took her stance. Harry almost had to catch his breath. She looked like a warrior princess, her wand held out in front of her, ready for battle as her body tensed and posed elegantly. He could believe it now. She was a great witch.
Harry pushed an ebony practice dummy onto the floor. It rolled over to her, speeding towards Danica at the actual speed of a dementor. Strings, with no masters but the room itself, lifted the dummy off the ground to send it flying at Danica. Fred tensed as Danica closed her eyes.
"Everybody watch…" Harry whispered, trying not to speak too loudly so he interrupted her concentration. And she was definitely in another world. The tips of her hair instantly turned a bright shade of yellow as the corner of her mouth twitched up, trying to smile. Harry grinned, hoping no one could see. Danica, the one they all knew and loved, was trying to reemerge as she thought of a memory that obviously had such an impact on her that it was breathtaking. Her shoulders pulled back, she lifted her head a little higher. And all at once, when the target was dangerously close to Danica, zooming at her at a speed that could possibly hurt her, Danica's shocking gray eyes opened, the light that warmed Harry's insides returned. The Lorenzo smile dashed across her face as she bellowed out into the room, her voice majestic and clear, a cadenced symphony to all who heard,
"EXPECTO PATRONUM!"
The tip of her wand lit up, the light brighter than Lumos. In the blink of an eye, the light weaved itself into silky ribbons, transforming into a figure, tall and fast, surrounding the dummy in a running circle, spinning it around until her Patronus pushed it back and away from Danica. The Patronus ran head first into the figure and the light burst like the crashing of waves on rock and sent the dummy into the mirror behind them all where it cracked, shattering into wooden pieces that sank into the ground, taking every splinter with it. A howl echoed through the room as her Patronus swiftly ran back to her, shrinking down to size and disappearing in a shimmering mist once she lowered her wand.
Her eyes glistened in a way that made Harry bite his lips, a habit he picked up from her. Across the room, their gazes met. And for a moment, only a moment, Harry could see behind the mask she was hiding behind. But that was all over once everyone crowded around her, applauding her brilliant display. She put on that fake smile and laughed with them until she told them to try it out for themselves. They dispersed, going into all corners of the room, their wands out, trying to see if they could even try to produce such a strong Patronus as Danica's. Harry turned to look at Hermione who was watching Danica help Pavarti with the charm. She noticed it too.
Danica's Patronus was a werewolf. A werewolf that looked almost identical to Remus.
Ron's face was shoved into his morning porridge as Fred and George walked by. Well, Fred remained the culprit since his hand pushed Ron's face into the creamy, thick breakfast. George just laughed, doubling over as Ron picked up his head, his eyelashes caked with the stuff. Some was even coming out his nose. Harry desperately tried not to burst out laughing. It wasn't working. He lay his head down in his arms where he went into a fit of laughter. Hermione hid her face behind her book, her giggles heard clearly. Danica was literally on the floor, pounding her fists into the ground as her contagious laugh sounded throughout the Great Hall causing everyone else to look at the porridge drenched Ron. Even more laughter. Harry thought he could see the red seeping through from Ron's blushing face.
"What in the world was that for?" Ron shouted, searching for a napkin with his hands since his eyes were being weighed down.
Fred spoke through the laughing, breaking off every few words to let out another burst. "Happy…Little Brother….Day!"
"That's not even a real day!" The poor youngest Weasley brother wiped what he could of his breakfast off his face. Danica rolled over to the Hufflepuff table, still cracking up hysterically on the floor. If he wasn't too busy laughing at Ron, he would've been ecstatic, completely and utterly amazed at how such a simple thing could break through the walls Danica put up and make her laugh like that. Over the last few days, she started to act more and more like herself. The Lorenzo smile was seen more often. The tips of her jet black hair changed constantly again. Her gray eyes seemed brighter, the sun finally shining through the storm clouds. She took a trip to Hogsmeade, alone. After that, it seemed as if she were changed back to her old self. Everyone couldn't have been happier.
"In our book it is. Since you decided to use some of our Weasley products without payment, this is how you payed us back."
"But I'm your brother!"
"Exactly." The twins said at once, heading down the Gryffindor table to some waiting first years who had a test today.
Danica finally got to her feet and stumbled back to the table, sitting between Harry and Ron. Trying to stifle her laughs, she started chewing on the sleeves of her robes. But when she turned to look at Ron who was still attempting to wipe himself clean, she threw her head back and laughed again. Harry almost spit out his pumpkin juice as he tried not to laugh.
"Yes, I'm glad this amuses you guys." Ron picked up his books and hurriedly power walked to the bathroom.
"Awww, come on, Ronnie! We were just playing!" Danica called after him but he already disappeared behind the doors to the Great Hall.
Silence passed over the three friends. They just took turns glancing at each other awkwardly. All until Danica cracked a smile. That sent the three friends into a whole other set of giggles.
And by instinct, pure impulse, Harry threw his arm over Danica's shoulder and let her sink her face into his shoulder to laugh. She was back. Danica was okay again. She no longer had to roam about like a zombie. Everything would be alright. As long as no one brought up the topic of Remus J. Lupin.
Professor Umbridge however, had more important issues than keeping Danica Lorenzo happy.