Chapter Four: The First Saturday

Danielle hesitated for a split second before rapping her knuckles on the wood. Would Remus be busy? It was only the first Saturday of the term, so he couldn't be busy with many papers. But if he was working on lesson plans, she didn't want to disturb him.

"Dani, I know you're nervous," Harry said. "So am I. I want to know why Remus wouldn't let us face that Boggart, too." He reached over her shoulder and knocked on the door.

It wasn't even a minute before Remus opened the door. "Ah, Danielle, Harry! What brings you two here on this beautiful Saturday afternoon? I'm sure it's not about homework. However, if I know you two, it's about Thursday's class, isn't it."

The last statement wasn't even a question. He'd nailed exactly why they'd wanted to talk to him, but he didn't seem annoyed. In fact, his eyes twinkled in amusement. The twins shared a look. "A-and, of course, Remus, we do want to just talk with you, too," Dani added.

Remus nodded. "It's all right. I know you do. I was just about to make some tea. Would either of you like some?" At their nods, he did just that. "I'm afraid all I have is teabags, but, Harry, I'm sure you've had enough of tea leaves?"

"How did you know?" Harry asked, obviously knowing Remus was referring to Harry's rather disastrous first Divination lesson.

"Professor McGonagall told me. Now, you're not worried, are you?"

"No. The only dog we've seen is Major, but we haven't seen him since, well…"

"Major couldn't have been a Grim, not that there is one," Dani interjected. "He wouldn't have hurt us. He's just a normal dog."

Remus looked as if he were about to say something, but the kettle began whistling.

A few minutes later saw them sitting around a small table. Remus took a sip of tea before he spoke once more. "So, what questions do you have?"

"We were wondering… why…" Harry trailed off, searching for the right words.

"Why I wouldn't let you fight the Boggart?" Remus finished.

"Yeah," Danielle said.

"I believe it might have caused unneeded chaos should Lord Voldemort appear in the staffroom. I suppose I might have been wrong," he added after the twins shared a look.

"I thought of him at first," Harry admitted. He stirred his tea absentmindedly. "But then, I remembered those dementors on the train."

Remus nodded. "That's very wise, Harry. That suggests that what you fear most of all is – fear. As you both know, dementors – sort of – feed off happiness, leaving you with nothing but your worst thoughts."

"Azkaban must not be a pleasant place then," Harry said. "No wonder Black escaped."

Remus's eyes seemed to darken. "Yes… no wonder…" He shook himself from his reverie. "Enough about such unpleasant topics. I've heard that there have been more exciting things this past week."

"Yeah, Draco got himself hurt by one of Hagrid's hippogriffs," Harry said. He snorted. "Serves him right, too."

"Harry!" Danielle cried.

"He and Nott provoked Buckbeak. They should know if you provoke something, it won't take that kindly," he said matter-of-factly.

Dani shrugged. "Well…"

Remus chuckled, though almost humorlessly. "Clearly, it seems as though neither of them made a good decision. Most people of your age don't. I know many times, your father landed himself a nice detention. Sometimes, I sat there right next to him. I can honestly say I'm not very surprised, nor would I be surprised if I heard that either of you got into more trouble than you already have. What's important is learning; if you learn something, then we're doing our job."

Harry nodded.

"Basically, they'll be better as they get older?" Dani asked.

"Well, yes, if they learn. Some refuse to believe that they have anything to learn. And, well, we can't make them. We just try our best to teach, and if they listen, great. If not, then we just hope they've heard what we said and hope they learn later on."

"Remus," Danielle asked after a brief silence, "have you been a teacher before?"

"Why, yes. That is actually what my previous job was before Dumbledore came to me about this one. I taught at a primary school, but I had been at a secondary school before, thought it has been a while."

"Okay, I was just wondering."

"Yeah, you're really good at it," Harry said.

Remus smiled. "Thank you. That really means a lot to me. Now, have I told you about when your father replaced Professor McGonagall's breakfast with nothing but tuna?"

"Okay Draco, something's going on," Daphne said to her blonde friend (could she even call him that at that point?). She had finally managed to catch him alone in the Slytherin common room after he'd spent the past week hanging around Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle.

Draco's steely eyes turned from his essay that he was writing with a Quick Quotes Quill, due to his arm still in a sling, to her own eyes. "No, nothing's going on."

"That's a lie, and you know it. The Draco I know wouldn't have been as much of an idiot in provoking something." She closed her eyes and took a breath. She couldn't lose her calm. It wouldn't help anything. "You haven't really owled me or Blaise or even Dani that much over the summer, you won't talk to us… Something happened. What was it?"

Draco shifted his gaze to one of the windows looking out into the Back Lake. A small school of fish swam by and guided themselves towards the surface. Finally, he responded quietly, as if to deter and eavesdroppers. "Do you remember when I told you and Blaise that my parents knew nothing about my friendship with the Potters, Muggleborns, and blood traitors?"

Daphne nodded slowly. Draco had revealed this fact to them as they were travelling to Hogwarts a little over a year ago and had requested of her and Blaise that they not tell their parents of their friendships with the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors either.

"Well, Father found out. I made the stupid decision of confronting him about the diary, and he asked how I knew about it. I couldn't lie out of that one."

"But you should've said-"

"He threatened them, Daphne."

Her eyes widened her mouth still slightly open.

"He threatened to curse them or anyone else that was friends with them. And what he would curse them with is anything but pleasant. I didn't want to risk that, so he's making me stay around Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle like the 'good pure blood heir' that I am. Nott will report me if I don't. Daphne, I never wanted this, but I suppose this is what happens when you befriend the Twins-Who-Lived."

"I can tell them, maybe Snape-"

"No. No one else needs to know about this. I don't want pity."

"I'm not pitying you, I'm trying to-"

The common room door slid open, and Nott swaggered in. Daphne quickly rid her face of as much emotion as she could. Nott didn't need to know what they'd just been talking about. "So, what's going on over here Greengrass?"

"Is it any of your business, Nott?" She crossed her arms.

"Depends on what you were talking about." There was a moment of silence. "So, what were you up to?" He stood up straighter, his arms crossed.

"Malfoy needed help on his Transfiguration essay. He wasn't in class on Wednesday, so I was about to let him read my notes."

Nott seemed to consider this for a second before waving his hand. "Oh please, that essay's not hard at all. Once you have the notes, that is. Besides, I don't want to hang around you boring people." And with that, he wandered up to his dormitory.

Draco shifted his gaze back to Daphne with a very pointed look. See what I mean, that look seemed to say. Daphne nodded.

Somehow, someway, Draco needed to get out of this mess.

Ron twiddled his quill as he tried to focus on his homework.

"Ronald! You're getting ink on me!" Hermione exclaimed from a couple of feet away. She leaned away from him and closer to the tree they were sitting under, close to the lake.

Ron slowed his twiddling and then stopped when it threatened to fly out of his grip. The twiddling helped keep it in place. "It helps me focus, though."

"Maybe try something else that won't throw ink everywhere?"

"Like..?"

"A Muggle pen?" Hermione swiftly pulled one out of her bag. How she managed to keep it organized when she was taking almost all of Hogwarts' classes, Ron would never know. She tossed the pen to him.

He caught it and examined it. "How exactly does it work?"

"A lot like a quill, but the ink is held in the pen and not in an inkwell."

"You just write?"

"You just write." After a brief pause, Hermione blinked. "Wait, you haven't seen a Muggle pen before? Your father hasn't shown one to you?"

After staring at the pen for a couple more seconds, Ron answered. "I've seen a few before, but we don't use them. We still use quills."

"We do, too," Neville piped up from the other side of the tree. "I've seen pens, but we don't use them. I've only seen Gran use quills whenever she writes letters. I might've used a pen... twice?"

"Huh, it's kinda like that over in the States," Tori stated. She was gnawing on her own pen. "Some wizarding families there prefer using quills, but I've seen a lot using pens at Salem. My parents actually hated using them, so they used quills. But pens are freaking awesome, so gotta use them, right?"

"Well, not sure about 'freaking awesome', but they are quite nice," Hermione agreed. She once again bent over her parchment and began muttering to herself. "If this means 'beast', then this one has to mean 'bird'…"

"Is that Ancient Runes?" Ron asked.

"Yes, it's the first homework from Wednesday morning."

"Wait, didn't we have Divination that morning?"

"Yes."

"But I thought you had those two at the same time like usual, right? How're you doing it?"

"Oh, Ronald-"

"Are you sure it's possible?"

"Yes, I've arranged it with Professor McGonagall."

"But-"

"Ron, if she wants to tell us, she'll tell us," Neville interrupted. "Otherwise, don't worry about it."

Ron contemplated this for a second. "Okay, fine. I'll leave it alone." He bent over his homework again, but as he did, he let out a startled gasp and swore. Tori's black rabbit had decided Ron's homework was a comfortable place to rest. Reaver's red gaze rested on him.

"Tori, your rabbit's creepy."

Tori leaned over and grabbed Reaver, pulling him back into her lap. "Aww, don't listen to the soulless ginger."

"What?!"

"Nothing!"

"Hey, it's Harry!" Neville exclaimed, stopping Ron from saying anything further.

"How did meeting with Professor Lupin go?" Hermione asked Harry as he approached their tree.

Harry shrugged. "It was actually fine. Remus understood why we wanted to ask him about the Boggart, and he even told us a few stories."

"That's wonderful! See? There wasn't any reason for you and Dani to worry."

"Yeah, I know. Well, I know now, but he understood. Almost like he expected us to come."

"He did know your parents, though, right?" Ron asked. "Maybe that sounds like something they would do."

"Maybe my mum more than my dad," Harry decided, his green eyes lost in thought as they gazed over the lake. For the first time, he could conclude for certain something that his parents were like, other than the fact that he and Danielle looked like them.

For most of the hour that they had spent with Remus, he had told them stories of their parents. However, Remus had only had time to share a couple, both from early times at Hogwarts, because he had needed some time to plan lessons for the upcoming week and had shooed the twins out of his office.

"So, was it good, talking to him?" Hermione asked tentatively

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I think it was. And it's really good for Dani to talk to him."

"He is her godfather, isn't he?"

"Yeah, gotta have a good relationship, I suppose."

"Is he your godfather, too?"

"I don't think so, no." His thoughts churned. If his own twin had a godfather, maybe he did, too?

When Harry voiced his, Ron jumped into the conversation. "Don't you think he would have come to see you by now?"

"Maybe he died in the war," Neville said.

"Professor Dumbledore or Professor Lupin might have still said something, though," Hermione added. Tori absently nodded.

Not for the first time, Harry wished that Danielle had not lost those memories of the future. Or at least told him who his godfather was before she lost them. Maybe Tori knew. She was also from the future. Ron, Hermione, and Neville didn't know, so that conversation would have to wait. For the moment, though, that Potions essay sure wasn't going to write itself.

Mandy flipped a page, observed its contents, and wrote a couple of sentences onto her parchment. This was the vast majority of how her Ancient Runes homework had gone. After glancing up at Abigail, it seemed as though she were doing the same.

At that moment, Lisa sneezed. Mandy couldn't blame her. The library, though meticulously cared for by Madam Pince, was still quite dusty. Lisa carefully drew another line on her sketch. She had been doing much more of that since she had started her Art class. Mandy hadn't even heard of it until Lisa had enthused about it towards the end of last year. However, as she understood it, it was a much smaller class than Ancient Runes or Care of Magical Creatures, and not quite as many people were interested in it.

Perhaps that made for a better class in this case, Mandy mused.

"Hey, Mandy, what do you think about this translation?" Abigail asked as she pushed the book towards the other brunette. "It's just that these runes could mean 'joyous occasion' or 'dreary day'. Look, they're the same."

"Er… yeah, you're right. You're on a different part than I am. What does the whole thing say?"

Abigail mouthed the sentence to herself before quietly emitting an "oh" before scratching more onto the parchment with her quill. "Never mind. Thanks, though!"

Mandy nodded in appreciation.

And so it continued for a few silent moments before Lisa raised her head from her sketch. "So, I'm still trying to figure out how Hermione was in… Runes – was it? – and Divination at the same time. There's no way!"

Mandy wrinkled her brow in thought. Abigail put a hand to her chin. This wasn't the first time they had heard this, nor did she think this would be the last. And if Lisa was asking, there was no way Harry and Ron weren't. Abigail was sure Ron already had at least ten times by now.

"There's a logical explanation," Mandy said. "I just can't see it."

"There are a lot of forms of magical transportation," Abigail added. "Apparition, portkeys. But you can't Apparate in Hogwarts, and you have to have special permission for a portkey."

"Maybe it's a special kind of portkey?" Lisa suggested. "Maybe it's one that can… project an image or something?"

"I don't think I've ever heard of a portkey doing that before, though," Abigail said. "They can only take you from one place to another."

The three spent a few more moments in silence.

"Just stop!" a sudden voice rang out. "I don't care what you say, just stop trying to help!"

Abigail looked up between Mandy and Lisa. That voice had sounded familiar. "Was that… Ginny?" She cast a glance at Madam Pince had looked up and pursed her lips at the disruption to the quiet. They all watched as Ginny stormed from a corner of the library. What's got her wand in a knot? Abigail wondered. She rose from her chair and wandered to where Ginny had come from.

At a lone table tucked by a wall sat Luna Lovegood. Her eyes seemed more unfocused than normal.

"Luna, is everything alright?" Mandy asked.

Luna's eyes snapped back to their usual unfocused state and met Mandy's. A small smile lit her face. "Not so much right now, but I can imagine that I will be very soon."

"What about Ginny?"

"Oh, the wrackspurts have been bothering her more than usual. I do believe that she will be quite alright one day." After the other three shared quick looks, Luna spoke again. "I do need to visit the thestrals. I promised them I would bring them something from the kitchens."

And with that, she was gone.

"You don't think some people in her dorm are giving her a hard time, do you?" Abigail wondered.

"Ginny or Luna?" Lisa asked.

"Well, both," Abigail decided. "I mean, I've seen how some of Luna's dorm mates treat her, which isn't fair to her. But what about Ginny?"

"Let's ask Hermione to keep an eye on her," Mandy said. "Hopefully, she'll be able to help."

Lisa nodded. "Knowing her, she already has a whole essay written about her."

"So, how have classes gone?" Cedric asked.

"They've gone alright, you know," Danielle answered. She sighed. "You heard about Draco?"

The landscape was always beautiful from this spot. The arches of the bridge almost seemed to form a frame of the mountains behind the forest. This particular day, the clouds had decided to break for the day, leaving some blue. The sun hesitantly poked through.

Cedric snorted. "I would've had to live under a rock." The rumor mill of Hogwarts was notorious for how quickly news spread. "Smart one, there."

Danielle snorted again. There were some instances where Draco Malfoy was, indeed, not very smart. This was one of those. Still, she felt it was rather out of character for her blonde friend. Then again, he had felt rather out of character ever since the start of the summer. She reminded herself that it could have been her jumbled memories again, but that had happened several months before the summer. When she voiced this, Cedric faced her before turning his gaze back to the mountains.

"It's possible something happened over the summer. There have always been rumors about the Malfoys outside of Hogwarts. One of the most common ones is that they are all still active Death Eaters, even Draco. We know, though, that Draco isn't, and his father donates to charities quite often. Mrs. Malfoy helps teach dancing to other families."

"But we don't know what goes on in their home. I mean, Mr. Malfoy actually gave Ginny that diary last year. And he knew what it was, too. Maybe he didn't, but I'm not too sure about that one. I'm just really worried about Draco."

Cedric turned to face her again. Danielle met his eyes. "Danielle, I want you to know that while you do have control over some situations, you don't have control over everything. You might be able to try, but I don't think you can have control over this one. You just need to remember that you need to be there for Draco if he needs you and that he does have other friends around him as well."

Danielle at first was taken aback. In control? After another split second, she realized that he was right. She had almost turned herself into a control freak. She smiled. "Thank you, Cedric. I needed to know that." She huffed slightly. "Now to actually do that."

Cedric snorted. "Now that's something you do have control over. How well are you going to do this one?"

She snorted and shook her head. "So long as Sirius Black stays away from here, hopefully, I won't have too much trouble."

A/N: As you guys figured out, not too much happens this chapter, but there's a lot of character development and relationship development that I thought needed to happen, and while there's a lull in the action in canon, this felt like a good place to put it.

Anyways, leave a review and tell me what you think about it!

God Bless!