Chapter 1: Diagon Alley
Notes:
CWs: physical child abuse, transphobia
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(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Diagon Alley was supposed to be a wonderful place. And, well, it was, but it all the talk of the ‘Boy Who Lived’ really didn’t help. It was supposed to be Harry’s first real taste of the magical world, of everything wondrous and so much more than being trapped with the Dursleys for years on end. It was supposed to be a place for Harry to explore, to be free. And yet, at every twist and turn, people stared. They saw his scar, they saw his face, and they stared. Sometimes, people would tell him how much he looked like his father, and he didn’t like that very much. It made his insides feel all tight and twisty.
Others would say that he had his mothers eyes, and that felt… nicer. It felt nicer, and Harry knew why. He knew, but it wasn’t something he could talk about. If he said anything, he’d be thrown out. Hagrid would send him back, and he’d never get to go to Hogwarts. He knew how people reacted to those like him, and he’d had more than enough of a taste of it from the Dursleys - and there, he hadn’t even told them the truth. Who was he to wish the wizarding world would be better?
But then he saw it. He and Hagrid were on their way out of Gringotts, with enough money to buy all of Harry’s school supplies. Gringotts had almost been a break from the attention - in all honesty, Harry didn’t know if people stared at him there. He was too distracted by all the different species and creatures working in the bank. Hagrid had only told him what some of them were; small pixies flying around with paperwork in tow, focused imps running the teller desks, and even the odd vampire out of the sun’s way. It was all fascinating to Harry, but after he had taken some money from his overwhelmingly full vault and Hagrid had picked up some secret package, they left.
They were passing by a string of shops with nothing out of the ordinary, on their way to pick up books from a store called ‘Flourish and Blott’s’. Right there, along the path, was an ice cream shop. Florian Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour. The ice cream wasn’t the important bit. Sure, Harry had a sufficiently sweet tooth on the rare occasions he got the chance to enjoy a sweet treat in secrecy. But that wasn’t it.
Hanging from the door was a flag, with all the colours of the rainbow. It billowed in the wind, and nobody seemed to be paying it much mind. Harry would have expected outrage, or tempered looks of disgust, and yet all he saw was people minding their own business and walking on by. Without even thinking about Hagrid walking by his side, Harry slipped off towards the ice cream shop. Right by the door was a smaller parchment posting with all sorts of things written on it, but Harry had latched onto three words in particular.
‘Transgender Support Group’
He almost couldn’t believe his eyes. Before he even had time to think, his legs carried him forward and into the building. He knew the word, he knew what it meant. Vernon had many an unkind way of describing such people with foul, jagged words, but Harry had long since snuck off to a library to read whatever he could find about such people. He had long since known that word, and quietly, achingly longed for it.
A bell chimed as he passed through the threshold, and people turned to stare. Of course they did. The ‘Boy Who Lived’ had walked into a shop and interrupted a meeting, one with all sorts of people gathered and chatting around a series of tables. Trying to keep his mind off the staring, Harry looked around briefly. His eyes latched on to one person, which helped him avoid thinking about the stares. The person’s appearance didn’t even stand out that much compared to the others in the room, but Harry thought her long hot pink hair looked pretty. She looked like a teenager, much older than Harry, but not old enough to be an Adult. She met his gaze, and smiled.
“Is there something you need?” The older girl asked.
This was supposed to be the time to freeze up or run, but the words came out all the same. “I… I saw the sign.”
“Come in, then!” The girl beckoned with a note of cheer in her voice. Harry was still apprehensive, but against his better judgement he stepped forward again. “Do you have a name you’d like us to call you?”
The answer came immediately. “Daisy.”
She had known for a while that would be her name, if she could ever be who she truly was. Living in a cupboard under the stairs with the awful Dursleys, Daisy had needed an escape. Whenever she visited the library, she would sit and read these ‘Marvel Comics’ that painted a world of superheroes and magic and wonder, and soaked in all the stories they had to tell. There was one character, Daisy Johnson, whose superhero name was Quake. Daisy Johnson, Agent of SHIELD, a powerful and confident woman. The kind of person Daisy wanted to be.
The pink haired girl smiled even wider. “Daisy. That’s a great name! I’m Tonks, and these two chaps here are Lincoln and Ramesh.”
Daisy sat down beside Tonks, and tried to look up at Lincoln and Ramesh. She couldn’t quite meet their eyes, not after how overwhelmed she was already feeling. She had come in here without even thinking, completely forgetting how worried Hagrid must now be. But here, she could be Daisy. And that was worth everything. Even if Hagrid grew angry, even if he hit her, it would be worth it for this.
Deciding to worry about Hagrid - and apologise profusely to try avoid punishment - later, Daisy stayed in the ice cream parlour. She sat down next to Tonks, folding in on herself a little. She didn’t say anything more, not yet. She didn’t want to take up space, to bother these people who had so kindly allowed her to join.
“Tonks was just telling us about school. She’s about to start her final year at Hogwarts, which is a pretty big one,” Ramesh supplied. He didn’t sound irritated by Daisy’s presence, and she was intent on keeping it that way. “Can you believe she still doesn’t know what she wants to do after school?”
“Oh shush,” Tonks responded. Daisy had expected anger, but she didn’t sound angry - at least not any kind of angry Daisy had memorised. “I’ll figure it out eventually and just get good NEWTS to cover my bases. Are you excited for Hogwarts, Daisy?”
Daisy glanced upwards. “Is… uh, can I be Daisy there?”
Tonks reached a hand towards Daisy’s shoulder. Daisy flinched away, and Tonks pulled back just as fast. “Of course you can. And if anyone tries to stop you from doing that, you come find me, okay? I’ve got plenty of curses that can set them straight.”
Lincoln laughed. “Damn right she does! Our girl Tonks here could probably be a competitive duellist if she was actually interested in that.”
“Just because I beat your ass in the competition last year,” Tonks bantered back. “But really, you can be Daisy. You must have grown up with muggles, right?”
Daisy nodded. “How did you know?”
“Tell ya later, I promise,” Tonks replied. “The wixen world treats us trans folk a little better than muggles do. Our world isn’t without its bullshit, but people will at the very least accept who you are. It might be a little trickier with that scar of yours, but a little glamour charm will fix that right up.”
Daisy gawked. She could hide the scar? “Yes… yes please!”
Tonks chuckled, and reached for a glass in front of her. “Tell you what, a wearable charm would probably work better for you, so maybe I can help you find one before you leave today. For now… celare macula!”
Daisy felt a cold pressure on her forehead and reached up. She could still feel the ridges of the lightning bolt scar on her forehead, but something about it felt different. Ramesh pulled up a mirror, and Daisy looked at her reflection. The scar was gone.
“That’ll hold for a few hours, should give you some peace while you’re here,” Tonks explained. “Listen, do you want to do some shopping for clothes, and maybe see a hairdresser while you’re here? With magic, you could be looking a way you like more before you go home.”
Daisy almost said yes. She wanted to, desperately. Even in seeing the absence of her scar, it was painful to look at her own reflection, to see a boy looking back at her. But she couldn’t. “The Dursleys… they’ll- I can’t.”
“Dursleys?” Danny asked. “Are these the people you’ve been living with?”
Daisy nodded. “They don’t… people like us are… I just can’t.”
Daisy could swear that Tonks’ hair had just taken on a red tint. “Daisy, are they hurting you?”
A nod broke through before Daisy could restrain herself. And that was that, she was done for. The Dursleys would find out that Daisy had told someone, and they would probably actually kill her. They’d lock her in that cupboard until she starved to death.
“Motherfucker,” Tonks cursed, and Daisy quickly folded in. This was it, Tonks was probably mad at her too now.
“Oh Merlin, Daisy, I’m sorry,” Tonks quickly rushed out, much more quietly this time. “I didn’t mean to scare you. But I promise, you’ll never ever have to go back there. They’ll never hurt you again, not if-”
“HARRY!” a voice boomed from the entrance to the ice cream shop, and Daisy actually started to cry. She couldn’t take much more of this. That was Hagrid’s voice, and he’d found her now. He was going to find out that she was trans, and send her somewhere far away. “What’re you doing here?”
Well, it’s not like she was getting away with this, so Daisy decided to just tell the truth. For once, to be true to herself, no matter the cost. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. They were just stuck. Daisy looked to Tonks. Tonks looked back at her, questioningly. Somehow, Daisy knew what Tonks was asking. She couldn’t usually read people like that, but it was just… obvious, somehow. So, she nodded.
Tonks looked up at Hagrid, and Daisy followed her gaze. “Daisy here came to be with her people. Is that a problem, Hagrid?”
Hagrid glanced at Daisy - who felt ever so slightly safer with Tonks standing up for her-, then back at Tonks. His eyes bounced back and forth a few times, and he sighed. “Oh, uh… Daisy! That’s, er, that’s a lovely name. I daresay yer mother would have liked it. But ye can’t be runnin’ off like that! I was terrified something’d happened to ye!”
“S-sorry,” Daisy stammered out automatically, tears still streaming down her face. Then, the words Hagrid had said hit her. He had called her Daisy too. He hadn’t said any of those foul words Vernon used, he hadn’t called trans people some kind of joke. He was just… okay with it? “It’s… it’s really okay?”
Hagrid’s eyes widened. “‘Course it is! I won’t take none of that transphobic rubbish, ye hear? If ye say yer Daisy, yer Daisy.”
Daisy managed a smile, at that. It felt like a dream, how people had just accepted this so quickly. But she had still run off, and Hagrid hadn’t sounded happy about that. “I’m… I’m sorry for running off. Do we need to go?”
“We ought to get moving,” Hagrid confirmed. “Got lots’a shopping left, and I’ve got a bit of a tight schedule, ter be honest.”
Tonks stood up quickly, her chair grating against the wooden floor. “Actually, do you mind if I come with?”
Hagrid cleared his throat. “Sure, I don’ see why not. Kind of ye, Tonks.”
“Besides,” Tonks added, collecting her things from the floor next to the table, “I’ve got something I want to run by both of you, while we’re moving. C’mon Daisy, let’s get some shopping done!”
Daisy should have been uncertain, should have been wary at how open, kind and willing Tonks sounded. But right now, she just wanted something nice in her life for once. So she smiled, and followed the pink haired woman and the giant man out of the store.
“Listen, you two,” Tonks started as they made their way towards Madam Malkins’, the clothing store where Daisy was due to collect her school robes. “I’ll have to clear it with my mum, but I reckon Daisy could come stay with us, at least until the start of the school year.”
“Huh?” both Hagrid and Daisy sounded in unison.
“I mean, Daisy’s basically family, and she deserves a better home than with those foul bastards she was left with,” Tonks insisted.
“Family?” Daisy questioned. This was the first she’d heard of any kind of family still alive other than the Dursleys. All the same, she looked to Tonks with hope in her eyes, hope for something better.
“Yup!” Tonks nodded cheerfully. “I’m cousins with your godfather Sirius, though he’s in Azkaban for crimes I’m sure he didn’t commit. He was a bit of an outcast in the Black Family, and my mum literally got disowned, so they were pretty close until he got taken away.”
Hagrid cleared his throat again. “Tonks, I’m grateful to ye for showing Daisy this kindness, but ye’d best keep these theories quiet. I saw what Sirius did, and I know it was unexpected, but it was horrible.”
“Sirius would never,” Tonks grumbled, “but fine. Either way, if Daisy wants to stay with us, I hope you’ll let her.”
Daisy looked up to Hagrid with hopeful, begging eyes. She didn’t know what the whole deal was about this Sirius fellow, but Tonks was nice. And if she was only pretending? It couldn’t be worse than the Dursleys.
“‘S not up to me,” Hagrid said, “but I have to agree. I saw them Dursleys. Nasty pieces of work. Daisy, what do you want ter do?”
“Not the Dursleys,” she answered easily. “But… are you sure it’s okay? I don’t want to cause any trouble!”
Tonks grinned. “I do. I always want to cause trouble. Really though, Daisy, my mum will definitely be fine with it. I told you, you’re never gonna have to see the Dursleys again. But lets not worry about that for now. The hairdresser is just here, so lets get you a new look!”
Carbler’s Cuts was a quaint little shop, with only one customer at the moment and a few staff members lounging casually about. Daisy had never been inside a hair salon before, and hadn’t anticipated all the mirrors. She looked down, refusing to look upon her reflection more than she had to.
“Ey, Tonks is here! You in to model some new looks for us?” one of the storeworkers called out from the back counter
“Nah,” Tonks shouted back at a similar volume. “Little Daisy here needs a new look! Thought I’d bring her to you guys.”
The worker came forward. Daisy studied her features - she had dark hair, and a complexion that looked different to what Daisy was used to. It was the kind of thing Uncle Vernon would complain about, which meant it was nothing out of the ordinary and Uncle Vernon was just a sour bigot as usual. “Daisy, huh? Let’s see here. I’m Hyun-Ok. Do you mind if I touch your hair?”
Daisy hesitated. It was a hair salon, of course someone would be touching her hair. After taking a deep breath, Daisy realised that this person probably wouldn’t be rough like Aunt Petunia. Slowly, she nodded. Hyun-Ok carded her hands through Daisy’s hair for a moment, and then stepped back.
“Alrighty then, let’s get you sat down. Your hair’s all tangled, so I might give it a bit of a wash first. I prefer not to use magic to wash hair, magic usually makes it come out too dry. This way, come over to the basin here,” Hyun-Ok instructed, and Daisy sat down on the heavily cushioned chair as directed. There was a big sink at the back, which Hyon-Ok carefully helped Daisy lower her head into.
“I’ll be off ter pick up a few things,” Hagrid announced just as water started to run from a tap above Daisy’s head. “I’ll meet ye at Malkins, alright?”
“Yup, sure thing Hagrid,” Tonks responded, and then pulled up a chair just beside Daisy. “I’m sticking here with you, Daze.”
The water turned warm, and it was kind of nice against Daisy’s scalp. Petunia had never done it like this. Daisy hummed approvingly.
“Good temperature, then?” Hyun-Ok asked, and Daisy answered with a yes. Soon after that, Hyun-Ok started working a thicker liquid through Daisy’s hair. “This won’t take long. Once I’ve got you cleaned up we’ll dry you off, and then get started! So, any idea what kind of style you want?”
Daisy wasn’t sure. There was a question bugging her, something that didn’t quite make sense. She suspected the answer would just be ‘magic’, but she still wanted to ask. “Isn’t my hair too short to do anything nice?”
“Goodness, no!” Hyun-Ok replied. “Even without magic I could do you something pretty, but I’ll just use a charm to grow your hair nice and long first, if that’s what you want.”
Her hands pulled away from Daisy’s tangled hair, and the water came back on. A mere minute later, Daisy was being stood up and led over to another very cushioned chair, this time in front of a mirror. Quickly, Daisy looked down.
“Daze, if you don’t want to look, that’s okay,” Tonks quickly reassured her. “I can cast a quick jinx over your eyes to blindfold you until its done. Do you want me to do that?”
Daisy nodded several times, not able to muster up the words to answer verbally.
“Obscuro,” Tonks whispered, and Daisy immediately felt some kind of fabric cover her eyes. “There you go. So, any idea what you want?”
Daisy shrugged.
Hyun-Ok spoke from behind her, voice kept soft. “Your hair looks like the type to tangle pretty easily, so I won’t do anything too long. Maybe… a bit above shoulder length? Do you want me to just sort you out a style and then you can look and decide?”
Daisy nodded again, and tried not to worry too much about the sound of scissors that would inevitably soon emerge behind her. Aunt Petunia had been bad at cutting hair, and had hurt her with the scissors almost every other time. But the scissors didn’t come first.
“Crinus Muto,” Hyun-Ok enunciated. Daisy felt tugging at her scalp, as her hair grew more and more weighty. “Alright, this will do for length. I’ll have to cut it to style it better, and we’ll have you looking real pretty for the school year before you know it, Daisy!”
That was when the snipping sounds started. But Hyun-Ok was careful, and never caused Daisy any pain. She cut and snipped around Daisy’s head for several minutes, occasionally moving hair around with a comb or spraying it with misted water. The entire process was so unfamiliar to Daisy, and it left her wondering if, aside from magic, hair salons were supposed to be like this, or if it was special to the wizarding world.
“All done,” Hyun-Ok finally declared. “You ready to have a look?”
Daisy gulped. She wasn’t sure. She was nervous, though maybe not in such a bad way. For once, it wasn’t fearful nerves. It was… this was excitement. Slowly, Daisy nodded. She heard the telltale whoosh of Tonks waving her wand, and the blindfold fell away. Daisy slowly opened her eyes, and her jaw dropped.
She looked like… she looked like herself. It was so right that Daisy only took moments to start crying tears of utter joy. True to her word, Hyun-Ok had left Daisy with hair that sat just above her shoulders at the back. At the front, Daisy’s hair was settled into a fringe that parted a little off-centre, but hung to her ears on the side, and just above her eyebrows in the centre. To Daisy’s eyes, it was gorgeous.
Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions was about as big as any clothing shop Daisy had been to before. It had several sections of different kinds of clothes, each accompanied by a set of mannequin models. There were Hogwarts uniforms, dress robes, travelling cloaks and casual wear. Daisy found her eyes wandering towards where the more casual items were, wondering if she’d be allowed to get some clothes that weren’t ‘boy’ clothes.
“Hello dear, here for your uniform?” a voice asked. Daisy turned, and saw an older woman standing over by a series of hovering measuring tapes. Daisy nodded. “Come through, then, let me take your measurements. Ah, Nymphadora, destroyed another set of my fine robes, have you?”
Tonks shook her head. “Not this time, ma’am. I’m here with Daisy. Besides, I got good at reparation charms in my third year. You’ll never let me live it down, huh?”
The woman smiled. “Never, dear. Daisy, then? This way.”
Daisy glanced towards Tonks, who nodded supportively. She followed the woman over to the measuring tapes, trying not to flinch as the woman physically repositioned her for the measurements without asking. Fortunately, it only took a few moments.
“Anything else?” the woman asked. “I’ve got your measurements now, so I’ll have one of my assistants prepare your robes and they’ll be ready in a few minutes.”
“Can… can I look at some other clothes?” Daisy asked, directing the question at both the woman and Tonks. Shereally wanted to look at some skirts and dresses and just have clothes that weren't 'boy' clothes for once.
“Course you can, Daze,” Tonks answered. “Madam Malkin already has your measurements, so just pick out what you like and we’ll head on to the next stop!”
“So, what kind of things do you like doing in your spare time?” Tonks asked as the duo walked towards Ollivanders’ to get Daisy her wand. Hagrid hadn’t caught up yet, but Tonks had promised that he’d be able to find them when he was ready. “I hope the Dursleys at least let you have something.”
“Comics,” Daisy answered quietly. “But only at the library.”
“Oh yeah? What kind of comics. Marvel or something?” Tonks asked, and Daisy lit up.
“You know about Marvel?” Daisy asked faster than she’d spoken at all the entire day so far.
“Yep! My dad was a muggle, and I kind of grew up with both Muggle and Wixen stuff,” Tonks answered. “I love the Marvel comics, but it’s been a while since I’ve read any.”
“Wixen?” Daisy asked, having heard Tonks use the word before and wanting to know what it was before she inevitably got distracted by anything and everything Marvel.
“Oh, right. It’s a gender neutral version of “wizarding”, and you’d call someone who isn’t a boy or a girl a wix, if that’s what they prefer,” Tonks answered. “Do you have a favourite marvel character?”
“Quake!” Daisy exclaimed instantly. “She’s where I got my name - Daisy Johnson, she’s an agent of SHIELD. She has vibration powers and always stands up for what’s right. She’s an Inhuman too, which is really cool. In the latest issue she got to start teaming up with the Avengers, which is kind of a big deal even if it happens a lot!”
Tonks chuckled. “Good way to choose a name, Daze. My mum picked out Nymphadora for me. Not too bad, but I think Tonks sounds cooler even if that’s technically her family name as well. I’m a big fan of Mystique, but maybe that’s just because I’m a metamorphmagus.”
“Metamorph…magus?” Daisy enunciated carefully, mimicking the way Tonks had said it.
As part of an answer to Daisy’s question, Tonks’ mouth and nose turned into a pig’s snout, and then back to normal. “I can change my appearance with my magic. It’s a pretty rare ability, and something you gotta be born with.”
“Wow, that must be so helpful!” Daisy exclaimed. “With, you know…”
Tonks hummed. “Well, yes and no. It’s not good for permanent stuff, but Madam Pomfrey - she’s the healer at Hogwarts - has potions for that kind of thing. Well, here’s Ollivander’s! Head on inside, I’ll flag Hagrid down. I’ll be right by the door, though. Okay?”
“Okay,” Daisy agreed, and stepped inside. The wand shop was shabbier than the other places Daisy had been so far. It was covered in shelves, each filled with stacks and stacks of disorderly boxes. There was a dim lamp by the counter at the front, and nobody in sight to run the store. Daisy took a few steps forward, ringing a bell at the desk and hoping someone would come by. It was a little nerve-wracking doing this on her own, but she felt a lot more confident now that she looked less like the Boy Who Lived and more like Daisy.
A ladder slid along a track towards the front, accompanied by a stout older man with unrulier hair than Daisy used to have. He looked her up and down, and then slowly climbed down off the ladder. “Ah, another first year here for a wand, yes?”
Daisy nodded. The man, presumably Ollivander himself, lurched forward to get a better look at Daisy. She jumped back, frightened. It didn’t look like he meant any harm, but Daisy wasn’t used to fast movements towards her that weren’t violent.
“Sorry, dear,” the man apologised, seemingly realising his unintentional transgression. “Just meant to get a better look. There’s something familiar about you, and I can’t quite place it. Never mind that, let’s find you a wand.”
The man rifled around on the shelves behind him, grabbed a box, and opened it in front of Daisy. “Aspen wood, nine inches, with a unicorn hair core. Give it a wave!”
Cautiously, Daisy picked up the wand. It vibrated a little violently at her touch, as though trying to shake out of her hands. Daisy tightened her grip, and gave it a wave. Yellow fire blasted from the tip, and Ollivander quickly snatched it away. “No, no, not that one! How about… ah, yes. Spruce, ten and a half inches, jackalope antler core. Try this one!”
Bats came out of the second one, and they seemed angry. Daisy was then given wand after wand to try, all of them responding to her in some unruly way. Was she just disliked by the wands, somehow? Or was her magic wrong? Maybe she would never get a wand. But… Ollivander had this strange look about him, and Daisy couldn’t shake the feeling it was important.
“It… couldn’t be, but… what if? Hmm, best give it a try,” Ollivander muttered, before disappearing to the back of the store. Half a minute later, he came back with a dark, long box in his hands. He set it down far more gently than the others, as though worried that something bad could happen. “Eleven inches, made of Holly, with a phoenix feather core. Nice and supple, but very picky.”
Daisy grabbed for the wand, hoping that this would finally be the one so she could get out of here and finish her shopping. When her hand closed around the wood, it felt like it was… singing. It was a beautiful song, but somehow a sad one too. Daisy waved it, and a shower of golden energy flowed peacefully outwards.
Ollivander hummed, his eyes narrowing as he looked once again towards Daisy. “Curious. Curious indeed.”
“Sorry,” Daisy managed. “But what’s curious?”
“Why, that this wand should choose you. The wand chooses the witch, my dear, but this one… the phoenix whose feather resides in your wand only ever gave one other feather to me. And that feather resides in the wand of a particularly Dark wizard, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. You must have that glamour on your forehead for a reason, dear, so I won’t pry. But it’s curious that this wand should choose you, when its brother was the want used to kill your parents and give you your scar.”
Daisy stared, unsure of what to say. It was clear that she was famous, and people in passing had thanked her for slaying some dark lord. Hagrid had mentioned that her parents were killed by a dark wizard, but… this business with the wand? She really didnt’ know what to make of it. It continued to be anincrediblefeeling to have people call her a girl or a witch, but that didn't quite overshadow the intensity of what Ollivander had just said.
“Fret not, my dear. The wand chooses the witch, and it’s no fault of yours. Perhaps, sometime, this connection might come to your aid. But you’d best be on your way, I can see you have guardians waiting for you outside. Seven galleons, please?”
Daisy paid, and was promptly whisked outside by the erratic old wandmaker with a re-boxed wand in her hands.
“That hair looks lovely, Daisy,” Hagrid complemented her, serving to snap her out of worried thoughts long enough to get moving and buy the rest of her supplies. Books, potions ingredients, and even a new pet owl named Hedwig that came as a birthday gift from Hagrid. Tonks bought her a ring enchanted with a glamour that hid her scar more permanently, and also helped Daisy pick out a new trunk that was far bigger on the inside - so big, in fact, that it had its own changing room.
“In case you don’t want to change in front of others at school,” Tonks had said.
Before Daisy knew it, and well before she could take in the rest of Diagon Alley, the shopping was done. Hagrid stood in front of Tonks and Daisy at the back entrance to the Leaky Cauldron, with an odd look on his very high-up face.
“Well, I’ve gotta be off to Hogwarts now,” Hagrid declared. “I’ll have ta tell Dumbledore where you are, Daisy, but I hope for yer sake that this works out. Tonks, you have yer license, righ’?”
Tonks nodded. “Fresh for use. Come on, Daisy, let’s head home.”
Notes:
Daisy gets nice things :)
She is very traumatized :/
Oh yeah and you may have noticed something different about the Gringotts mention - its gonna be goblin-free bc I'm not doing antisemitism in my good jewish-author fanfic. Lots of cool nonhuman stuff going on there instead!Also I know Daisy Johnson debuted in 2004 but I'm changing that in this fic so Daisy can have her as a role model and special interest focus.
Also also - Daisy really shouldn't be trusting someone and going to live with them so fast, but also she's traumatized and scared and just wants to be safe and away from the Dursleys
Chapter 2: The Tonkses
Notes:
CW: mentions of child neglect & physical abuse
https://discord.gg/JQgHHPNcM6 Discord server to hang out and chat about my fics!
I put together a picrew of Daisy at this point in the story:
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Mrs Black-Tonks, of number nine Milburn Crescent, was proud to say that she was perfectly strange, thank you very much. She had settled down here in the quaint city of Chelmsford with her late husband almost twenty years ago, away from the struggles and strife of the rather pompous ‘pure-blood’ communities in London. She had raised her daughter Nymphadora here to have a taste of both worlds, and to earn the sense that both could offer.
And, of course, it was easy enough to get a large home in Chelmsford to store all of her findings, and nobody would bat an eye. Andromeda was an archaeologist, you see, and a very good one. Perhaps she’d never gotten a license to excavate or explore any of the sites she’d found, but that wasn’t the important detail. The important detail was that she knew things. Things even the arrogant old Dumbledore knew not.
Andromeda Black-Tonks was on a quest for knowledge, a quest to revive all the untold truths of the world, those lost or destroyed by time, and the intentional practice of bitter Noble Houses who couldn’t handle the light that history shone upon them. So, of course, Chelmsford with its miniscule wixen community was perfect. It kept things simple, allowed her the space to focus on what mattered - her daughter, and her work. Nothing else would get in the way of that, for sure.
The telltale crack of Nymphadora apparating back home sounded from just outside the front door - Andromeda had anti-apparition wards for the inside of the house, of course, so none of her valuable findings could be damaged or stolen so easily. Andromeda made her way over, idly wondering what had taken her daughter an hour over schedule. Her usual teenage rebellion took more drastic forms, so Andromeda expected that Nymphadora had simply been held up.
She opened the front door to let her daughter in; it was easier to open it from the inside than to undo the locking wards from outside. What she saw, however, was quite a bit more of a surprise than the usual. Beside Nymphadora stood a young girl with wavy black hair, brand new robes and a lightning bolt scar on her forehead.
Daisy looked at Tonks’ outstretched hand with a mix of apprehension and excited wonder. Hagrid had said something about ‘apparating’, which Daisy had never heard of before. Did she need to hold onto Tonks for it? How did it work? Questions raced through her mind, alongside the knowledge that ‘home’ was a word for Tonks, not for her. It was kind of Tonks to offer to take Daisy in, but she knew it would only be temporary. Eventually she would realise that Daisy wasn’t worth the effort, or she was just in the way.
Tonks saw Daisy’s hesitance, and got down to the smaller girl’s eye level. “There’s nothing to be scared of, I promise. I mean, apparating never feels nice the first time and you’ll probably throw up but it definitely gets easier! And my mum’s not so bad, she always did wonder what happened to you after the night the war ended.”
Daisy stared. That was yet another mention of the war, and another implication of her being somehow involved in it. People had been calling her a hero, but she didn’t even know why. She saw some books in Flourish and Blotts that mentioned the ‘Boy’-Who-Lived, so perhaps she could find one at the Hogwarts Library to find out the rest?
But right now, she had to focus on what came next. Hagrid was already gone, which meant Daisy had no choice but to go with Tonks - even if she had agreed, it was still scary. And apparently she was going to vomit? She didn’t like the sound of that.
Daisy took Tonks’ hand.
Everything twisted and pulled, and Daisy emptied her stomach out onto a patch of grass that was suddenly below her. She narrowly missed a patch of daffodils, and was immediately glad to not ruin someone’s garden. Wait… garden?
Once she didn’t feel so dizzy and disoriented anymore, Daisy took a look around. No longer was she in Diagon Alley; instead, she was in front of a blue townhouse, one that looked almost the same as a long set of similar townhouses running to either side. It was right on the bend of a narrow street with a lot of grass to either side, and looked… ordinary. It was quiet, much unlike the lively bustle of the wixen shopping district.
“Well, this is home!” Tonks exclaimed, gesturing at the blue townhouse. “It looks a bit crap on the outside, but it’ll be much nicer when we go in. How’s your stomach?”
Daisy groaned, still tasting bits of bile in her mouth. “I think I’ll manage. Are… are you sure this is okay?”
“Yep! Mum and Sirius were close, and by extension she was on good terms with your parents,” Tonks explained. “I was just old enough to remember her saying that if it fell to Sirius to raise you, she’d be happy to lend a hand. She’s busy alright, but she makes time for family. ‘Sides, Sirius lived here a while!”
There was that word again - family. Daisy couldn’t quite believe that this incredible, kind older girl was calling her family. It felt off, like some kind of lie that would be swept away in due course. But it also felt sweet and welcoming, and Daisy wanted to cling onto that word for as long as she could.
“Let me just-” Tonks started, and suddenly tapped her wand against Daisy’s forehead. She felt a pull, and that cool sensation of the glamour charm that Daisy had already gotten used to was gone. “It’ll be easier this way. She’ll know who you are - not who everyone else thinks you are, she’ll see through that pretty quickly when she spots you. She’s nice about trans stuff, was good to me from the moment I came out. Supposedly never expected it with me, but never misgendered me and always took it seriously.”
That was… reassuring, at the very least. Still, Daisy was left with very little time to process. There were only a handful of seconds between Tonks knocking on the door and it being opened - barely even enough time to wonder why Tonks didn’t just use a key.
“Welcome home, Dora,” the woman said in greeting. “And who might you be?”
Daisy didn’t miss the way the woman glanced to and from her scar. Just like Tonks said, this woman knew who Daisy was, just not her name. “Um… Daisy, miss.”
She didn’t say a word more, conscious of the fact that it was Tonks who had insisted on bringing her here. Even if Tonks was right that her mother would welcome Daisy into their home, she didn’t want to cross any lines or step on any toes.
“Well now Daisy, why don’t you come on in? And let us get some food into you, you definitely look malnourished. Goodness, where did Dumbledore send you!” The woman exclaimed, and Daisy wasn’t quite sure whether that was rhetorical or not.
“Hideous bastards who’re supposed to be Daisy’s blood relatives,” Tonks answered before Daisy had the chance to say anything. “We can’t let her go back, mum, we can’t.”
“Hush, you,” the woman said to her daughter, and Daisy instinctively winced. “Of course she’s not going back there. One glance is all I need to tell she’s not being treated right. Now, Daisy, you can call me Andromeda. With my daughter’s insistence on being called by the family name, it would be confusing if you did the same for me. In you come!”
“Yes, Miss Andromeda,” Daisy acknowledged carefully, and followed the woman inside. She took a moment to glance around and take the place in as they walked through a long hallway, lined with shelves covered in all sorts of old items. Some of them were cracked, others in perfect condition. There were scrolls, books and dirt samples too, which Daisy thought was a little strange. Each set of shelves was labelled with what Daisy could only guess was a location name, but she really wasn’t sure. At least, ‘Tomb of Balkatorus’ seemed like it was a place of some sort.
Out the other end of the hallway was a large open space, with a dining table in the middle, and a television off to the right. To the left was a large open plan kitchen, and around past the television was a set of stairs leading up. It looked… not exactly fancy, but well lived in and well loved. Daisy couldn’t say the same about where she had grown up, where everything had to be the newest and best model or otherwise ‘in season’.
“Sit, sit,” Andromeda insisted, and Daisy went over to sit down by the worn and scratched table. “What would you like in your sandwich?”
What would she like? Daisy was taken aback. Usually she’d be the one making the food, and even then she had long since learned that she couldn’t be picky. “Um… anything’s alright. Are you sure this is okay? I don’t want to be a burden or anything.”
Andromeda looked her up and down once more, and then turned to procure a variety of ingredients from the pantry and refrigerator next to her. “Listen, Daisy. I used to be a part of the Black family. Big old Noble house, very stuck in their rather bigoted ways. They didn’t like that I took off with a Muggle, and scrubbed me from almost all their records. Kicked me out, through and through. I’ll never forget what it’s like to be treated as little more than a nuisance to those who are supposed to be family. The Blacks did the same to my cousin Sirius - your godfather - so I took him in straight away. Though, Sirius wasn’t quite disowned - his mother held a misguided hope he might come back to her one day.”
“Not only does it sound like you’ve been put in a similar position, but I consider you to be family by extension, even if I haven’t seen you since you were just a baby,” Andromeda asserted, and it took everything Daisy had to not break down and cry there and then. This woman who she had only just met knew what it was like, and was welcoming her with open arms. “You’ll always have a home here, long as you need it. Is that understood?”
“Uh, yes ma’am,” Daisy uttered. And then, “You knew me as a baby?”
She nodded, with a fond smile. “Wee little thing, with all too much energy. Your father had you on a broom before you could even walk. Dora always took time to play with you when the Potters brought you round, too.”
Daisy glanced over to Tonks, who wore a grin that said she was rather pleased with herself. “Not such a stranger then, hey?”
Daisy tried to nod, but settled for a shrug. It was the best she could do right now, without letting her emotions overflow uncontrollably. At least if these people already knew her, it made more sense that they’d be willing to take her in. Daisy decided to hold onto that thought, just to feel less scared that this was temporary.
A plate was set down in front of Daisy, with a sandwich cut into quarters on it. Tentatively, Daisy took a piece and started to eat it slowly. Her stomach almost immediately thanked her; the day so far had been such a rush from fleeing the Dursley’s on Hagrid’s flying motorcycle, getting to Diagon Alley and doing all the shopping that Daisy had never gotten a chance to eat anything more than bits of the birthday cake Hagrid had brought with - or at least what Dudley had left behind.
It was hard to believe that just this morning Daisy had been holed up with the Dursleys in some island shack that had been Vernon’s attempt at escaping the owls sent from Hogwarts. She giggled a bit, realising how funny it actually was that Hogwarts had sent practically hundreds of owls just to make sure Daisy got the letter.
And then she remembered what name was on those letters. “Will Hogwarts, uh… will they let me be Daisy?”
Tonks pulled up a chair beside Daisy, spinning it around to sit with her chest against the back of it - Daisy thought it looked a bit silly, but also kind of cool. “They sure will. A quick word to the Deputy Headmistress will sort that out, and if you want, I can take you to see the school healer about potions to stop boy puberty from happening.”
Daisy dropped the bit of sandwich she was working on. “You can do that?”
Tonks nodded. “Yup, and if you decide it’s what you want, you can also get an Estrogenating Elixir sorted too. Tell you what. I’ve gotta see Pomfrey sometime in the first couple of weeks back this year so she can make sure everything’s working alright for my potion regimen, so I’ll bring you with. Sound good?”
“Yes, uh, yes please!” Daisy exclaimed. After that, she finished her sandwich with a completely renewed vigour, and Tonks took her on a tour of the house while Andromeda cleaned up after her food - and when Daisy had protested at someone else cleaning up after her, Andromeda promised to let her have a share of the chores to do later.
“Up here is where all the bedrooms are,” Tonks explained once they reached the top of the double staircase. “Yours will be over on the right - that was Sirius’s room whenever he was here. Mine’s just next to yours, and then mum’s is across the other side. Inbetween is the bathroom that we’ll be sharing, so just make sure to lock the door when you’re in there. I’ll show you your room in a moment, there’s just someone I want you to meet first.”
Daisy was promptly led into Andromeda’s bedroom - which was yet another strange experience, given that Daisy would have been beaten for going into Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia’s room, especially without permission. But Tonks seemed to think it was okay, so Daisy followed her lead.
The room was quite big, with a huge bed on one side and along set of wardrobes on the other. On the side wall between the two ends hung a large painting of a rather ordinary looking man, mounted in a gold frame. Daisy could only guess the man was supposed to be tall from his proportions, with bits of stubble and neatly combed back hair. He wore glasses that were a little less rounded than Daisy’s, and had a plan black muggle suit on. It was quite an impressive attention to detail, and Daisy couldn’t help wonder why there was a large painting of such a man in the middle of the room.
And then the man moved. Daisy thought it was just a trick of her mind, until he did it again. The man in the painting was waving. “Afternoon, Dora! Who’s this you’ve got with you?”
The painting spoke. Yep, that was definitely the painting speaking. Daisy remembered seeing pictures on newspapers move back at Diagon Alley and in the Leaky Cauldron, and after her initial shock she had just assumed that the same kind of enchantment had been put on the painting. But never would she have expected it to talk.
“Hey, dad,” Tonks responded to the painting, and Daisy’s confusion grew even further. Her dad was a painting? Or he was in the painting? How did that even work? “This is Daisy, Lily and James’s daughter. She’s coming to live with us now!”
“Lily and James’s, huh?” the man mused. “Gosh, you’re all grown up! Last I saw, you were barely a few months old, and that didn’t feel too long ago. I guess time flies when you’re a painting, huh? Ted Tonks, pleasure to meet you again!”
For a brief moment that Daisy entirely regretted after, her curiosity overcame her cautious tendency. “Sorry, but how are you a painting?”
“Ah!” Ted exclaimed, rubbing his hands together excitedly. “Well, you see, it was back during that nasty war with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Many of us didn’t quite expect things to go well, and I asked dear Andy to make an imprint of my mind to store in a painting should anything go wrong. Alas, I died, so here I am now!”
“You… died?” Daisy asked, still confused.
The man gave a quick nod. “Indeed. We didn’t even think the spell would work on me, since I’m a muggle and all, but I’m glad it did. This way, I get to make sure my wife doesn’t get lonely, and that my dear daughter can still grow up with a dad to watch over her. It’s not all so bad, though I do miss bangers and mash every now and then!”
“Dad was a friggin war hero,” Tonks added, resulting in the painted man flushing and turning away. “When the war started getting worse, lots of wixen folk You-Know-Who was after fled to the muggle world to hide. Dad was one of the muggles running a waystation for them to collect fake identification and sort out places to live. ‘Course, the Death Eaters found out, and raided the place. Now he’s been hanging here for almost twelve years.”
“Oh, stop, Dora,” Ted said bashfully. “I was just doing what was right. I guess it runs in the family - I still remember all the stories of when my mother’s family lived in Hungary, and they hid this lovely Jewish family during the war. I kept in touch with their daughter for a while, lovely girl named Isabella Weiss. Became a dentist, and last I heard, she was dating a colleague named Desmond Granger.”
“See,” Tonks gestured at the painting of her father. “War hero, from a family of war heroes. Well, now that introductions are done, I think I should show you your room so you can have a rest. Feel free to come and visit dad during the day - he gives great problem solving advice, especially when it comes to being stuck with homework.”
Ted waved again. “Pleasure to see you, Daisy. I’m always happy to chat, so don’t be a stranger!”
Daisy waved back this time, before being shepherded back out of the room and across the upstairs hallway to her new room. Tonks pushed the door open and led Daisy inside. Her jaw dropped. This room was probably almost as big as both of Dudley’s bedrooms combined. The bed itself was almost as big as the one Daisy saw in Andromeda’s room. There was plenty of cupboard space for clothes. A large hardwood desk sat under the large, bright window, and there were little tables on either side of the bed. The room was mostly undecorated, aside from a single poster with a few people riding on brooms and a piece of text that said “Puddlemere United!”.
“This is all for me?” Daisy questioned, hardly able to believe it. “I mean… what?”
“Yup,” Tonks confirmed, moving to plonk down on the edge of the giant bed. “There’s a trunk in the cupboard with a bunch of Sirius’s stuff so just leave that - we kept it in case he ever managed to get out of Azkaban and prove his innocence, so he could live with us again if he wanted - but he’s a grown man and can look after himself, so it’s all yours now. Have a rest and make yourself at home. I’ll be in my room next door if you need anything, and otherwise I’ll come grab you when it’s time for dinner. Okay?”
“Okay,” Daisy agreed automatically, mostly focused on continuing to process the absolute upsize from that awful cupboard under the stairs.
“I’m about to pen a letter to the Deputy Headmistress about your name and present living situations,” Andromeda said towards the end of breakfast the next morning. Daisy had slept almost too well that night, with a proper bed and a belly full of food, and even if she was still opting not to talk as much, she was listening to conversation more intently. “I just wanted to check if you want to be known as Daisy Potter, dear. The name Potter will get you quite a bit of attention.”
“Why?” Daisy asked, finally having an opportunity to try understand all the attention that she’d recieved at Diagon Alley. “I mean, I kept seeing books with my… that other name at the book shop, and everyone seemed to recognise me at the start. Why am I so important?”
“You mean you don’t know?” Tonks sounded absolutely taken aback. “I thought you might not want to talk about it, but you didn’t know at all?”
Daisy shook her head. The sum total of what she knew about her relation to the wixen world was that her parents died during the war, and somehow she herself was treated as some kind of war hero. The books called her the “Boy Who Lived”, and so did some of the people.
“Mum? You should be the one to tell her,” Tonks suggested, and so Daisy turned her attention to the older woman.
“I suppose I should start with the war itself. There was a ten year long war in wixen Britain not all that long ago, started by the Dark Lord Voldemort, known more commonly as He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named or You-Know-Who, because many people fear even the name itself. He was, perhaps, one of the most powerful dark wizards of all time. The war threatened to tear both Wixen and Muggle life apart, with his conquest in the name of ‘blood purism’ - the idea that wixes whose lineage were entirely comprised of other wixes were somehow better - and also wixen supremacy. He and his forces wanted to kill anyone and everyone who didn’t fit into their worldview.
“Your parents were a part of a force of brave and skilled wixes called the Order of the Phoenix, who stood up against the Dark Lord and led the fight against him. Accordingly, he wanted them dead. On Halloween of the year 1980, he attacked your parents, who had gone into hiding. They had used a powerful form of magic called a Fidelius Charm to hide their location. The Fidelius Charm works by selecting a Secret-Keeper, the only one who can reveal the location to another. Without being given the knowledge by the Secret-Keeper, the location will be invisible and undetectable. Your parents should have been safe that way, but they were betrayed.”
Daisy’s heart sunk. She remembered Tonks mentioning something about Sirius Black being believed to be this traitor, but also that Tonks insisted he was innocent. A question lingered on the tip of her tongue, but she chose to hold it until she had heard more.
“Sirius was supposed to be the Secret-Keeper, so all those who knew that the Fidelius Charm was in place believed that it was him who sold out your parents to the Dark Lord. The official story is that, a few days later, Sirius was caught and confronted by Peter Pettigrew, another close friend of your parents. Supposedly, Sirius killed Peter and twelve muggle bystanders, leaving nothing but one of Peter’s fingers. Betraying your parents, however, is the last thing a man like Sirius ever would have done. That man Pettigrew, however, is far more suspect. Either way, your parents were betrayed to the Dark Lord.”
“So, on Halloween Night, the Dark Lord attacked the house you and your parents were supposed to be hidden. He succeeded in killing your parents, and then tried to kill you. For reasons unknown, Voldemort’s killing curse backfired, and killed him instead. All that was left behind was you, with that scar on your forehead. That is why you are a hero to the Wixen World.”
“But…” Daisy started, now wanting to ask that one question. “If the Fidelius Charm is as powerful as you say, why did Voldemort go to all that trouble? Why my parents?”
Andromeda frowned. “Hmm. I suppose it’s better that you know now, rather than be left in the dark. There was a prophecy, one that named you as a threat to the Dark Lord, one who would be his equal. I don’t know the full version, but Voldemort attacked because he was afraid of you. As far as the Wixen World is concerned, you won. Dumbledore, however, believes that Voldemort is still alive. Much as I may dislike Dumbledore, he’s usually right about these things. Daisy, I don’t want you to have to worry about this - you deserve to have a normal life like any other child. Still, this may catch up to you one day, and you deserve to know in advance.”
“Okay,” Daisy responded quietly, taking everything in as best she could. It was a lot to hear, but maybe it was better to know now and not be surprised. Maybe she’d just have to be a hero, like Quake. Hopefully not for a while, but even Daisy Johnson was only a teenager when she had to join S.H.I.E.L.D. “So if I get called Daisy Potter, people will recognise me?”
Andromeda nodded. “Most definitely. I don’t want to sugar coat this, my dear. If you want to be Daisy Potter to the wixen world, that is your right. But if you do, you’ll be faced with a great deal of attention, heavy expectations from others, and certainly some transphobia as well.”
Daisy shuddered. She didn’t want to be called ‘the boy who lived’ ever again. She didn’t want to be called a boy ever again. And she definitely didn’t like the way people flocked towards her yesterday. “So I could have a different name? Something other than Potter?”
“Not Black, and not Tonks,” Andromeda said. “For different reasons, both would lead to people questioning your identity and figuring it out sooner rather than later. You could make up a name, if you like.”
Daisy smirked at the thought of picking the name Johnson, but it felt wrong. That felt like a name that had to be earned, plus if anyone knew those comics like she did, they might make fun of her for it. No, she had a different idea. One that felt… warmer. “What about Evans? I… after all you’ve told me about my parents I don’t want to leave their names behind.”
“Daisy Evans, huh?” Tonks sounded out the full name. “Nice. I can see it!”
Andromeda nodded approvingly. “Very suitable. Lily would be proud - and that you chose the name Daisy, too. I hear the Evans family had a tradition around flower names. Right then, I’ll get that letter sorted out and have it sent off to Minerva in just a moment. Tonks, Daisy, can you two clean up after breakfast?”
“Yes, ma’am!” Daisy exclaimed, getting up with a new spring in her step and gathering everyone’s dishes. “What should I do after that?”
But Andromeda had already sped off down the hallway, and didn’t hear the question at all. Tonks pulled up behind her, rolling up her sleeves to start washing the dishes Daisy was bringing over. “After we’re done here, how about we have a look at your schoolbooks and I help you learn some magic?”
Tonks helped Daisy practice some simple spells, and some harder spells, all the way up until the start of the school year. Apparently she wasn’t supposed to do magic beyond a small set list of spells outside of Hogwarts until she was age, but the Trace wouldn’t be able to catch her while she was living in a wixen house. Daisy thought that was a bit unfair to anyone who couldn’t practice, but that was easily overridden by her excitement with using a wand and doing real magic.
And of all the spells Tonks helped her practice, one stood out as her favourite. It was the only one that wasn’t in her schoolbooks - one that Tonks had decided to teach her anyway. Tremulus - a spell that created quake-like vibrations. It was tricky, and Daisy definitely couldn’t pull it off properly, but she’d practice it whenever she could.
Notes:
You may have noticed I'm already building in some Hermione Lore - it will be touched on a bunch throughout the story where relevant. I thought Hungary was a nice touch, given my paternal grandparents were in Hungary during WW2. My grandmother was hidden by a brave non-jewish family, and anyone during WW2 who provided Jews somewhere to hide from the Nazis and their allies was a damn hero.
On a more upbeat note, Daisy gets quake magic!
Chapter 3: The Hogwarts Express
Notes:
For my jewish readers out there, I’d love to know if you have any favourite stories, midrashim or anything of the sort you’d love to see explored in the world of this fic, and I’ll try to make it happen! In spite of the antisemitic terf game, I intend to make this very jewish here and there where possible <3
https://discord.gg/JQgHHPNcM6 Discord server to hang out and chat about my fics!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Daisy could barely believe how fast a month had flown by, living with the Tonkses. No longer did she have to cook everyone’s meals, do everyone’s dishes and hide away in the cupboard under the stairs whenever guests were around. No longer did she have to fear Aunt Marge and her dogs that had been encouraged to be bullies, and no longer did she have to suffer under what she was coming to not only understand, but accept, to be abuse from the Dursleys that she didn’t deserve.
No, instead, she had studied magic, learned to play magical chess, explored the city of Chelmsford, and had the freedom to make plans if there was something she wanted to do. Andromeda had given Daisy a budget to go to a comic shop and buy a heap of new issues of her favourite comics, and had even taught her such interesting bits and pieces of Hogwarts’ history. In the last month, Daisy had enjoyed herself.
But now it was time to head to Hogwarts - and as much as there was reason for Daisy to be excited, she was also scared. Not about being found out; she had the glamour ring and it worked perfectly well, alongside a strange kind of sticking charm that kept it from coming off by accident. She was scared that she’d go to Hogwarts, and that’d be it. The Tonks charity would be over, and she’d either have nowhere to go at the end of the school year, or have to go back to the Dursleys. She was also scared about whether or not she would make friends; Daisy wasn’t the best at socialising back in Surrey, and all the kids at her old school thought she was too weird to hang out with.
So, to try and keep all that off her mind, Daisy searched for something else to keep her distracted through breakfast. Her trunk was already packed with everything she needed, which Tonks had helped her double and then triple check. Hedwig had been given a chance to fly around outside and get some exercise, and was now happily resting in her cage. Her robes were packed into her day pack alongside light reading and some fresh fruit. There really was nothing physical left to busy herself with, even if she ate quickly and then rushed off.
So, her mind wandered elsewhere. Still within that land of anxiety, just of a different kind. “Do you think my parents would have been okay with me? I mean… with me being trans?”
An indecipherable look passed between Tonks and Andromeda, before the former cracked up laughing. Daisy frowned; she hadn’t thought it’d be funny, and didn’t think Tonks was the kind to make light of something like that.
“Sorry, sorry,” Tonks apologised, covering her mouth. “It’s just… yes, they totally would have been. More than okay with it.”
Andromeda set her utensils down and turned to Daisy with a soft look. “Dear, I believe you’ll be very delighted to know something important about Lily, and I wish I’d thought to have mentioned it earlier. Lily was… well, not exactly open about it outside of cir friends, but ce considered cirself a wix, rather than a witch or a wizard.”
Daisy’s jaw dropped agape, and she had to take a moment to collect herself. “Really? So, what should I call… cir?”
Andromeda hummed. “I believe ce considered cirself a mother to you, but I do wonder if ce may have landed on another word, given more time. I recall conversations about cir feeling… feminine, but in a way marked distinctly separate to womanhood. I’m afraid I wasn’t quite so close with cir, but should you happen to meet a man named Remus Lupin one day, he could certainly tell you more about both your parents, but especially this.”
“Remus… Lupin,” Daisy practiced the name, wanting to make sure she remembered it. “Do you think I’ll get a chance to meet him?”
Andromeda hummed again. “Perhaps… Perhaps I’ll see if I can arrange it over the next summer. I’d invite him for the winter holidays, but I’ll be off on a business trip then. Now, you and Tonks had best be off for the station, so you can make it to Kings Cross in time.”
Daisy’s brows furrowed. “Can’t we just apparate?”
“Nup,” Tonks answered, popping the ‘p’ at the end. “I’m not quite good enough yet to bring both of us and all our luggage - you and your trunk back last month was the best I can do right now. Besides, I don’t think Hedwig would be a fan of apparition. We’ll have to go the Muggle way.”
After an hour and a half of travel and several experiences of people uncomfortably staring at the duo - which Tonks insisted wasn’t anything to worry about - they finally made it to Kings Cross station with perhaps twenty minutes to spare before the Hogwarts Express would leave. Daisy was a little stressed about the timing, but Tonks insisted it wasn’t much further.
“C’mon Daze, we’re almost there. Platform Nine and Three Quarters is just between Nine and Ten,” she explained as the two walked as briskly through the big station as they could.
“Why three quarters?” Daisy asked.
Tonks shrugged. “Dunno! Never really given it much thought. I suppose they could have called it Platform Nine and a Half, if they wanted. Or Nine and a Quarter.”
That earned a giggle from Daisy, just as they were coming out onto platforms nine and ten with barely ten minutes to spare. The two platforms were both pretty packed, and it was a little tricky squeezing past the uncaring travellers to get to the supposed destination.
“It’s the same every year, packed with muggles,” complained a voice from Daisy’s right. “Come on, Platform Nine and Three Quarters this way!”
“Oh!” Tonks exclaimed, “that sounds like… it is! Come on, Daisy, let me introduce you to some people.”
Daisy quickly followed Tonks, who started chasing after a big group of ginger-haired people. She barely heard Tonks calling out to them from behind, but it was hard with the amount of noise surrounding the platforms. It took a moment to catch up, making it to where the group was standing outside a wall between the two platforms.
“Here she is, this is Daisy,” Tonks said as Daisy caught up. “She’s been living with me and my mum for just a month now through a foster program.”
Daisy recognised the story as the one Andromeda had come up with to help protect Daisy’s identity and explain why she was living with them. She didn’t like lying, but cared more about people not finding out about who she really was - that the boy who lived was actually the girl who lived.
“Daisy, these are the Weasleys. I’m good mates with the oldest two - Bill and Charlie - but they’ve both finished school and taken pretty big jobs,” Tonks explained, and Daisy mustered up a smile for the Weasleys. “Ron, excited for your first year?”
One of the boys nodded enthusiastically, a lanky looking boy around Daisy’s age. “Yeah! Especially-”
“Save your chatter for the train,” the woman with the group urged. “Wouldn’t want to miss it. Alright Percy, you first!”
At the woman’s request, the tallest of the boys started pushing his trolley headfirst towards the wall, and passed right through. Daisy blinked, surprised but far less taken aback that she would be without the amount of magic Tonks had introduced her to.
“Fred, you next,” the woman said, gesturing at one of two boys who appeared to be identical.
The boy next to him gave their mother a look of indignation. “He’s not Fred, I am!”
“Honestly woman,” the other one joined in. “And you call yourself our mother!”
“Oh, I’m sorry George, off you go,” the woman said apologetically.
“I’m only joking, I am Fred,” Fred said as he ran at the wall, quickly followed by George after him. Daisy was sure she was going to make mistakes with those two.
“Alright Ron, you’re last,” the woman sighed, and Daisy wasn’t sure if it was out of relief to have most of her kids through and onto the platform, or out of exasperation after the stunt the twins had pulled.
Ron moved through onto the platform, and Daisy silently took the opportunity to follow after waving at the youngest Weasley, a girl clutching against her mother’s side. Having seen so many of them pass through the wall unharmed definitely eased any anxiety she may have had, so she faced the wall with very little fear and pushed forwards. Passing through the wall was a strange experience, perhaps a little disorienting. It felt like she was being tugged gently from both sides, and then it was over.
Daisy followed Ron out to a more open space so she wouldn’t be blocking the entrance, and took in the station. It was huge, easily bigger than any of the other platforms Daisy had seen so far. The burgundy-painted Hogwarts Express stood partially covered in its own steam, and people gathered in small groups if they weren’t already boarding the train.
“Not bad for a first time,” came Tonks’ voice from behind her. “Usually folks who’ve grown up without magic get nervous and have to do it at a run. Molly and Ginny, that’s the mum and the youngest of the kids, had to run, so she asked me to make sure her kids all get on the train alright. Shall we?”
“Okay,” Daisy agreed, and followed as Tonks made rather impressive efforts to herd the two Weasley twins onto the trian.
“Must be cool, living with Tonks,” Ron said from behind Daisy. “All I’ve got is Percy, who’s too strict, Fred and George who prank anyone and everyone whenever they can, and… well, Ginny’s alright. She’s pretty good at Quidditch, I’ll say. Shame that Bill and Charlie both moved out, they were way better at keeping the peace. Did Tonks show you any of her faces?”
Daisy blinked, trying to keep up with Ron’s barrage of words. “Oh, yeah. It’s pretty cool, the whole Metamorphmagus thing. Should we get on the train?”
“Yeah,” Ron agreed, and the two moved to get their luggage on board. Tonks came around to help as soon as the twins had been dealt with, but had to split off as soon as they were all inside the train.
“I’ll see you at school, Daisy - unless you need anything on the train, I’ll be with my friends in one of the compartments towards the back,” Tonks said, and then promptly vanished off into the distance.
It took a while for Ron and Daisy to find somewhere to sit; all the other compartments were either completely full, or partially full with older kids that made Daisy a bit nervous. Eventually they found an empty one, and Daisy slumped down against the window. According to Tonks the train would only arrive at nightfall, so Daisy was intent on getting comfortable.
“So where were you before you stayed with the Tonkses?” Ron asked awkwardly after clumsily finding his way into a seat opposite Daisy.
Daisy frowned, thinking of the true answer. She didn’t have to say much, right? “A muggle family. They weren’t very nice. What’s it like being in such a big family?”
Ron grinned. “Oh, it’s a riot. I already told you about all of my siblings but put together the family is… well, chaotic. Mum has a magical dial set up just to keep track of everyone’s safety, and it’s pretty busy a lot of the time even without Bill and Charlie. Nice, though. I think I’d be a bit lonely if it was any quieter. Have you learned about quidditch yet?”
“A little,” Daisy nodded. “There’s a Puddlemere United poster in the room I’m staying in, and I kind of understand how the game works. Is it true that there have been games that lasted months at a time?”
That seemed to get Ron’s face to light all the way up. “Yeah! Once there was a game that went on for six months, but even then nobody had caught the snitch so they kind of just had to give up and call it a draw. I heard the team winning on points was real mad about that!”
“Why don’t they just add a clock to the rules? Make a time limit?” Daisy asked innocently.
“A time limit?” Ron protested, indignant. “Why would you do that? The long games are all about endurance, pushing teams to the test of how well they can manage and rotate through reserve players without falling apart! A time limit, honestly.”
Daisy laughed a little at that. Still clearly worked up by Daisy’s unknowingly heated comment, Ron went on for almost twenty minutes explaining the ins and outs of why Quidditch is important to wixen culture, how big the industry is, and how massive the World Cup events end up being. Daisy was happy to listen and learn more about the wixen world, asking the occasional question here and there. She honestly found the premise of quidditch increasingly interesting the more she learned - perhaps she would have to give it a go sometime.
Ron produced a skittish-looking rat named Scabbers once the quidditch conversation drew to an end. Using Scabbers as a target, he was just about to show Daisy a spell the twins had taught him when the compartment door suddenly slid open, revealing a girl their age with bushy curls of brown hair who had already changed into the school robes. Her skin was a little darker, a little more tan; not much, but it looked different to how Daisy and Ron looked. Daisy remembered how people treated those who looked different at her own school, and sorely hoped this girl didn't meet the same fate. The girl looked a little frantic, glancing around quickly and then letting out a heavy sigh.
“Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville’s lost one,” the girl explained.
Daisy shook her head. “No, sorry. Do you need help looking?”
“That would be great, thanks,” she answered in what felt like a rehearsed tone. Daisy was just about to get up and join her when the girl’s eyes settled on Ron’s wand and she spoke again. “Oh, are you doing magic? Let’s see then!”
Ron smiled, and began brandishing his wand. “Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow. Turn this stupid fat rat yellow!”
Daisy definitely saw a spark of light pass from the wand to Scabbers, but nothing of note happened otherwise.
“Are you sure that’s a real spell?” the girl asked. “Well, it’s not very good, is it? I’ve only tried a few simple ones, myself, but they’ve all worked for me.”
The girl walked into the compartment and sat down beside Daisy. Ron gave Daisy an odd glance that she couldn’t interpret, so Daisy just shrugged. When the girl trained her wand right on Daisy’s face, though, she tensed up.
“For example,” the girl postured, making a kind of wiping motion back and forth with her wand. “Occulus Reparo.”
A small cloud of dust appeared right in front of Daisy, and it didn’t take long to realise it had come from her now much cleaner glasses. “Uh… thanks?”
“Pleasure,” the girl responded. “I’m Hermione Granger, and you two?”
There was something familiar about that, a thought right on the tip of Daisy’s tongue that she couldn’t quite complete. So, she opted to introduce herself first and see if it came back later. “Daisy Evans.”
“Ronald Weasley,” Ron followed, putting Scabbers away in his pouch and then crossing his arms.
The thought completed itself. “Wait, Granger? Would your parents happen to be named Isabella and Desmond?”
Hermione’s eyes widened in shock. “Yes, but… how did you know that?”
Daisy’s brain finally caught up with her mouth, and she realised that perhaps that was a weird thing to say. “Oh, uh… I live with a man named Ted Tonks - except he’s kind of a painting - and he apparently knew your mum back when he was alive. Sorry, that must have been a weird thing to say.”
Hermione shrugged, and then got up to leave. “No, I don’t mind. Small world, isn’t it? I should get going, and see about that toad.”
Quickly, Daisy got up to follow. “I’ll help! Ron?”
The boy let out a kind of grumble, and then rose as well. The three of them set off down the train towards the back. Apparently Neville and some others were searching the front of the train already, so it made more sense to split up. They searched compartment after compartment - except for the ones that were locked - without any success.
After meeting up with Neville and another couple students in the middle, they had to agree to give up. The whole train has been searched and Trevor was nowhere to be found, so Neville decided to just hope he would turn up eventually. Apparently, he usually did. Daisy left feeling a little upset that she couldn’t help more, and hoped the others wouldn’t be upset with her for it.
She trudged back to her compartment followed by Ron and Hermione - who said she was interested in meeting more of the first years if they didn’t mind her joining - just in time for the food trolley to arrive.
“Anything from the trolley, dears?” The trolley lady asked.
Ron frowned and shook his head, producing what looked like a poorly deformed sandwich from his pocket. “I’m all set, thanks.”
“What do you have?” Hermione asked curiously. “I’ve not seen much wixen food yet!”
“A small assortment of pastries and sweets, dear, you can have a look,” the lady answered, so Hermione bent over to get a closer look at the trolley.
“I think my parents might be upset if I have too many sweets, and the pastries look a little expensive for me, so I’ll have to pass as well,” Hermione said.
Daisy heard Hermione’s stomach grumble, and her mind was made up. She didn’t know much about making friends, but she wanted to, and figure that doing something nice would probably help. Besides, she had plenty of money to spare from her inheritence. “We’ll take the lot!”
She produced some wixen money from the pocket of her jeans, and counted out the amount the trolley lady asked for. Moments later, the space between Ron and Daisy was covered in all sorts of sweets. With a little convincing, she also managed to convince Hermione that it was fine to take some of the pastries.
“Merlin’s beard, Daisy, that’s a lot of money!” Ron exclaimed once the door was shut and the trolley lady had moved on.
Daisy wasn’t quite sure what to say about that. She didn’t think orphans would usually have as much money as she did, and it was also more money than Andromeda had actually given her as a spending budget for food on the train. Instead, she made an attempt at diverting Ron’s attention. “So what are all these?”
“Well, you’ve got Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans - and when they say every flavour, they mean every flavour,” Ron said, having easily been distracted away from the topic of money. “There’s chocolate and peppermint, and also… spinach, liver and tripe. George swore he got a bogey-flavoured one once.”
Daisy quickly decided to leave the beans to the side, not interested in getting any of the grosser flavours by accident. She had long since learned to pretend not to be viscerally uncomfortable with certain food flavours and textures, but it took a lot of energy, and she didn’t want to have to do that here unless she had to.
“There’s also chocolate frogs, cauldron cakes and jelly slugs,” Ron continued. “Hermione’s already taken the pumpkin pastries, and then there’s fizzing whizzbees, liquorice wands and also drooble’s blowing gum.”
“I think I’ll go for the chocolate frog, then,” Daisy decided, opting for what sounded like a safer option. She picked up the chocolate frog box, and opened it up. The moment the package had been opened, something dark leapt out of it. Without even thinking, Daisy snapped her hand into the air and caught the moving object just before it could reach the open window and fly away.
“Bloody hell, mate!” Ron exclaimed. “You’ve got wicked reflexes! They’ve only got one good jump in them, but that one was headed straight for freedom.”
Daisy looked down at the chocolate frog in her hands. Much to her relief, it wasn’t squirming. “It’s not alive… is it?”
“Nah,” Ron answered after taking a bite out of the liquorice wand he’d just picked up. “Just enchanted to leap once or twice for the fun of it. Besides, no big deal if you lose the frog - it’s the card you want. Each pack’s got a famous wix. I’ve got about five hundred myself. Used to be hard to collect them, but Bill’s started sending boxes of the stuff now that he’s got a job that pays real well. Mum lets me have one every day once my chores are done!”
Tentatively taking one hand away from the frog and hoping it wouldn’t try escape, Daisy picked up the card that was still inside the packaging. There was a picture of an old man with a very long beard, alongside the label “Albus Dumbledore.” The picture didn’t move like other wixen images, but it did look like it was three-dimensional. “This one’s Dumbledore.”
“I got about six of him,” Ron boasted.
By the time Daisy had looked up at Ron and then back at the card, the space for the image was empty. “He’s gone!”
“You can’t expect him to hang around all day, can you?” Ron said matter-of-factly.
Daisy got to work on the now definitely still chocolate frog, and the compartment was silent for a while as everyone ate. Once Hermione had eaten her fill of the pastries, she brushed some crumbs away and then looked up. “So are you also new to the wixen world, Daisy?”
“Yeah,” Daisy answered. “I used to live with muggle relatives, but they… uh, they weren’t very nice. I got taken in by a wixen family about a month ago. Apparently my parents were magic, though.”
“You never knew them?” Hermione asked, and Daisy shook her head. “That’s awful, I’m sorry. My parents are muggles, they were terribly surprised to find out I had magic - science is everything to them, and Professor McGonagall had to show them several spells and turn into a cat for them to believe it was all real. I’ve been studying as much as I can since, so I don’t fall behind. Have you?”
“I’ve done a bit of reading,” Daisy provided, and pulled a couple of books she had recently been working through out of her pouch - The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, and Magical Drafts and Potions. “Andromeda’s a historian, too, so she’s been teaching me some stuff.”
Ron’s jaw dropped, a look of sheer horror dawning on his face. “You’ve both studied?”
Notes:
I'm not sure I'm 100% happy with this chapter compared to the other ones, but hey things don't have to be perfect! I just didn't want to rewrite too much of canon without changing things but it ended up happening a bit anyway.
As for the biracial Hermione tag - her dad's side of the family are Egyptian Jews, which will get explored later down the track in the fic! It'll get quite a bit of focus from around third year
Next up, the sorting!
Chapter 4: Sorting
Notes:
CW dysphoria, outing fears
https://discord.gg/JQgHHPNcM6 Discord server to hang out and chat about my fics!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The trio fell into a quiet rhythm for the rest of the long train ride - Daisy and Hermione were both especially content to continue reading their schoolbooks quietly, while Ron flitted back and forth between trying to make a start on the Magical Theory book and staring out the window to watch the scenery change. Daisy managed to make some more headway into the potions book - which she had taken a stronger interest in due to how she knew she would soon be relying on certain potions to feel more comfortable in her body.
Eventually night began to fall, and some older students came around to let all the first years know they needed to change into their robes if they hadn’t already. Daisy and Ron both managed to change and pack their things up just in time for the train to arrive at Hogsmeade Station, and everyone began excitedly filing off the train.
“Firs’ years this way! Firs’ years over here!” A loud, familiar voice boomed from down the station path. It wasn’t hard to spot Hagrid, especially with how tall he was. Daisy was happy to see him here - even if she’d only interacted with him once, he was the one to rescue her from the Dursleys, and one of the first people to call her by her chosen name.
“Hagrid!” Daisy called out eagerly, hands shaking excitedly by her side.
“Hello, Daisy,” Hagrid greeted her warmly. “New family been treatin’ ye right?”
“Yes, thank you!” Daisy answered politely, while Ron vocally marvelled at the Groundskeeper’s sheer size. It took a minute for all the first years to gather, during which Daisy watched luggage being magically lifted out of the train and flown towards the castle. Daisy could only hope it would be easy to find them once they were there, since nothing was said about what she was supposed to do with her trunk on arrival.
“Righ’ then, this way to the boats! Come on now, follow me,” Hagrid instructed, and led all the new students down a separate path to where the older ones were going. Guided by an impressively bright lantern, the students were all brought to a large lake and directed to board small wooden boats with four students to a boat.
As the boat crossed the lake, Daisy gripped the sides of hers tightly. Ron, who was right in front of her, didn’t seem as worried, but Daisy had never learned how to swim. It was a good thing she didn’t need to do anything for the boat to travel, because she probably would have managed to fall out one way or another.
And then she almost did.
A giant tendril of some sort shot out of the water barely metres away from the boats and started flapping around, soon followed by the head of what looked like a giant squid. Daisy gasped and nearly backed off to the other side of the boat.
“It’s alright, Daisy! That’s just the giant squid, all my siblings have told me it’s perfectly friendly,” Ron reassured her. Daisy tried to believe him, but opted to cling even tighter to the boat anyway. One day she would learn how to swim, or how to use magic to save herself in the water, and she wouldn’t be so scared. Problems weren’t so scary if she knew at least something to help solve them.
Eventually, and much to Daisy’s relief, the boats docked themselves at the other side of the lake, right at the base of the castle. Hagrid helped those who were less steady on their feet out of their boats, and then led the group up many stairs towards the castle proper. Then, there were even more stairs. As much as Daisy could marvel at the impressive architecture, she wished there weren’t so many stairs in the castle. After a few flights, Hagrid made his departure.
“Jus’ one more floor to go,” Hagrid promised. “I’ve got to head in, but Professor McGonagall will meet ye outside the Great Hall. You lot behave yourselves, alrigh’?”
“Yes, Hagrid,” a few of them chorused, earning a snigger from someone off to one side. Daisy tried to find the source of the voice, locating a boy with very gelled blonde hair. Somehow Daisy could just feel that this boy thought he was more important than everyone else, and decided to try not get involved with him.
As promised, there was a very stately looking witch dressed in green at the top of the next set of stairs. She looked down towards the students with a kindly smile. “Welcome to Hogwarts. In a few moments, you’ll pass through these doors and join the older students. Before you take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. While you’re here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you house points. Any rule breaking, and you’ll lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup-”
“Trevor!” Neville shouted, and then scurried through the crowd of students right to the top of the stairs. Daisy looked over and saw the boy’s toad sitting just by Professor McGonagall’s feet, and sighed, relieved that the toad had been found in the end. After retrieving his pet toad, Neville seemed to remember where he was. He looked up at Professor McGonagall - who did not seem impressed - and then backed away.
“The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily, if you’ll all follow me now,” Professor McGonagall finished, and then turned towards the giant doors behind her. The doors opened of their own accord, and the prim-looking witch led the first years marching into a ginormous hall where all the school’s remaining students were already seated along four rows of tables.
Daisy couldn’t help but look up and smile - hanging suspended mid-air were a plethora of candles, none of which were dripping any wax. Above that, on the cieling, was what almost looked like the cloudy, starry sky.
“It’s not real, the ceiling,” Hermione explained to any around her who would listening. “It’s bewitched to look like the night sky. I read about that in Hogwarts, A History.”
Perhaps Daisy would have to read that book, and build upon the bits and pieces of knowledge Andromeda and Tonks had taught her about the school already. But for now, she just wanted to focus on the sorting and settling in. Right at the end of the path left between the middle two rows sat a stool. On that tool was a tattered old pointed hat, with creases and folds that almost made it look like it had a face.
“Will you wait along here, please?” Professor McGonagall requested, gesturing to the space in front of her and the stool. “Now, before we begin, Professor Dumbledore would like to say a few words.”
Daisy looked past Professor McGonagall, and saw the man who looke almost exactly like the picture on the chocolate frog card. Old, with a long white beard, and a rather flamboyant purple set of starry robes. Professor Dumbledore rose from his chair in the middle of the staff table at the back of the hall.
“I have a few start-of-term notices I wish to announce,” Professor Dumbledore declared. “First years, please note that the Dark Forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Also, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you that the third-floor corridor on the east side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death. Thank you.”
Daisy furrowed her brows, pointedly concerned at how casually the school headmaster had said such a thing. From what she had heard, Hogwarts was supposed to be one of the safest and most well-guarded places in the wixen world. To distract herself from that rather distressing announcement, Daisy glanced along the staff table. There were all sorts of teachers, a couple of which didn’t look entirely human.
Something odd happened as Daisy observed the staff table - when her eyes passed towards the left end, her scar started to hurt. She winced, trying not to make any noise or touch it in a way that might draw attention to her. She looked away, and the pain subsided.It had never hurt before, but Daisy couldn’t think of any reason why it would. She dismissed the thought, deciding to worry only if it kept happening.
“Thank you, Headmaster,” Professor McGonagall said, and then unfurled a scroll of parchment in her hands. “When I call your name, you will come forth. I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses. Hannah Abbott?”
A girl with light brown hair carefully walked forward and sat down on the stool. The hat was placed on her head. It sat there unmoving for a few seconds, and then… “Hufflepuff!”
Some students from one of the tables to Daisy’s right clapped as the hat itself screamed, and Hannah Abbott skipped off to join her new house. Professor McGonagall then proceeded down the list, calling names one by one. It wasn’t long before, according to the apparent alphabetical order, it was Daisy’s turn.
“Daisy Evans?” Professor McGonagall called out. Daisy was suddenly rather relieved to hear that name, having until that moment forgotten the possibility she might be called up by another. She paced forward, and sat down on the stool.
The surprisingly heavy hat was plonked down on her head, and then it spoke. She hadn’t heard the hat speak for any other students other than to declare the houses, so Daisy wondered if it was just her, or if the hat spoke to every student in a way that only they could hear.
“That’s right, only the student who wears me can hear my words,” the hat confirmed. “Now, where to put you? You possess the traits of multiple houses in ample measure. Your strong sense of justice and willing to work hard to make the world right would serve you well in House Hufflepuff, and yet… no, that shan’t be it. The true decision lies between two houses - Gryffindor and Slytherin. You, girl, are braver than you know - perhaps a little bullheaded, even. Yet, you also hold great ambition. To be a hero?” Daisy flushed, embarassed at how the hat had read one of her more secret, lofty desires. “Both Slytherin and Gryffindor might support such a goal in different ways. You have learned the resourcefulness of a snake over the years, the determination to one day stand true. At the same time, you seek to live up to the name of one who holds Courage above all else. I wonder, what house might you choose?”
“I don’t know,” Daisy thought honestly. She had tried to say the words aloud, and yet she heard them only in her mind. Being called brave was the last thing she would have expected, since all she’d done through her life was run and hide from the Durleys in a cupboard under the stairs, and then run and hide from the Dursleys into the magical world. “Can you choose for me?”
“Very well,” the hat agreed. “In fact, I applaud the bravery it takes to leave such a decision in the hands of another. To that end, I’d have to place you in… Gryffindor!”
Daisy definitely heard the last part out loud, and so did the rest of the hall. The Gryffindor table applauded the selection with similar energy that other students had earned, and Professor McGonagall lifted the hat off Daisy’s head. She got up, and moved to sit down with her new housemates. The sorting continued without interruption. Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor as well and found a spot by Daisy’s side.
The mean-seeming blonde student, Draco Malfoy, was sorted into Slytherin after wearing the hat for almost half a minute - meaning Daisy was happy to have been sorted elsewhere. She was sure the other Slytherins would be perfectly nice, but she didn’t want to deal with him any more than she had to. Eventually the Sorting drew to an end with Ron joining his whole family in Gryffindor, and Blaise Zabini being sent to Slytherin.
“May the feast begin!” Professor Dumbledore’s voice boomed across the hall, and Daisy almost leapt out of her seat as food appeared on the tables, easily distract her from nervous wondering about whether she’d fit in Gryffindor. Not just food, more food than Daisy had ever seen before. There were assortments of meat, salads, roasted vegetables, at least three different colours of bread, and pitchers full of some kind of orange juice that Daisy suspected wasn’t made from oranges. Everyone dug in immediately, and Daisy had to make sure to pace herself so she didn’t overeat. The Tonkses had made sure she was well fed, but even this was well beyond anything they had ever produced.
“I’m half and half,” one of the other new Gryffindors declared. “My dad’s a muggle, mam’s a witch. Bit of a nasty surprise for him when he found out!”
Daisy was perfectly content to just listen to the conversation around her. Sitting on the train all day had been tiring, and she was ready to eat and then go to sleep. Unfortunately, she was beginning to learn that things weren’t so simple at Hogwarts - this particular surprise came in the form of a silvery head emerging from the middle of the table, earning a yelp from Ron, whose chicken drumstick went flying behind him.
“Hello! How are you? Welcome to Gryffindor!” the figure exclaimed cheerily. More silvery figures emerged into the Great Hall, coming through the floor, walls and ceiling.
Ghosts, Daisy realised. After all, if people’s minds could be stored into paintings after they died, why couldn’t they become ghosts as well?
“Hello, Sir Nicholas, have a nice summer?” Ron’s older brother Percy greeted the ghost politely.
“Dismal! Once again, my request to join the Headless Hunt has been denied,” Sir Nicholas ranted, before turning to float away.
“I know you,” Ron exclaimed just as Sir Nicholas was half-way across to the Ravenclaw table. “You’re Nearly Headless Nick!”
“I prefer Sir Nicholas, if you don’t mind,” the ghost shot back, unimpressed.
“Nearly headless? How can you be nearly headless?” Hermione questioned with a strange sort of scowl on her face.
“Like this,” Sir Nicholas sighed, and grabbed at his hair. He pulled, and his head and neck started to separate from his torso, held together only by the slightest section of flesh. It was a gruesome sight, and Daisy was proud of herself for not yelping like Ron had. It wasn’t anything against Ron, but now that she had been sorted into Gryffindor, she wanted to try and be braver. She wanted to prove that she deserved to belong somewhere.
The ghost rolled his eyes and grumbled as he soared away, and Daisy couldn’t blame him. As much as she understood the curiosity, Sir Nicholas deserved to be respected and not objectified like that. Daisy turned her attention back to her food, and kept eating until she was satisfied. She tried the orange liquid at the end, only to discover that it was pumpkin juice. It wasn’t bad, but Daisy didn’t think she’d be going out of her way to drink lots of it.
After the meal, Dumbledore rose again and asked the prefects to take the first years of each house to their dorms before the rest of the students left. Percy and a fifth year Gryffindor girl stood up and flagged down all the first years - which was easy since they were all sitting in the same section of the Gryffindor table - and led them outside the Great Hall.
Going into the castle proper was an experience in and of itself. Daisy and the other first years hadn’t seen the main section on their way to the Great Hall, and Daisy really hadn’t known what to expect. She certainly didn’t expect a giant, wide tower with stairs that moved around on their own rising all the way up to the top, or all of the many, many paintings along the walls.
“Gryffindors this way,” Percy instructed from the left as a Ravenclaw prefect led the Ravenclaws down the stairs to the right. “This is the most direct path to the dormitories. Make sure to keep an eye on the staircases. They like to change, but during your time at Hogwarts you’ll all hopefully learn the patterns. Now, keep up please and follow me quickly.”
The first year Gryffindors followed Percy up the stairs at his impressively brisk pace, marvelling and wondering at all the moving, talking paintings along the way. After taking one set of stairs up the central tower, Percy led the Gryffindors down a corridor towards a painting of a fat lady in a frilly pink dress.
“Password?” the lady requested.
“Caput Draconis,” Percy provided, and Daisy practiced the phrase a few times in her head so she’d remember it. The lady gestured welcomingly, and her painting swung outwards to reveal an open archway into what turned out to be the rather large Gryffindor Common Room.
“Gather around here,” Percy instructed at one end of the common room, near another archway that led to two separate sets of stairs. “Welcome to the Gryffindor common room. This is a shared space that you’re welcome to use, but please make sure you respect others, and respect the space. If you make a mess, clean it up, and put things back the way you found them. Now, boys’ dormitory is upstairs to the left. Girls, same on your right. If you’re not comfortable in either, please come speak to me and we’ll sort something out. Oh, and boys? Don’t even try going to the girls’ rooms, the girls’ stairs are enchanted to stop you from going up them.”
Daisy stilled. She tried to hide her panic, to not let it show. All Percy had to say was those few words, and she immediately started to worry. A gnawing pit formed in her stomach, all of the wrongness that she had barely felt since that day in Diagon Alley rushing back to her all at once. What would the stairs do? Would they let her into the girls’ rooms, or would they stop her like Percy said? Would the stairs accept her as a girl? If they didn’t, how was she supposed to deal with everyone seeing her fail to go up and knowing?
“Your belongings have already been brought up. You’ll find your dorms two floors up, and they’ll be yours for the remainder of your time at Hogwarts,” Percy continued, but Daisy didn’t care about that. She had entirely forgotten about her trunk, and it was now the least of her worries. She didn’t want to be a boy, she didn’t want the stairs to make her. Daisy wondered if she could wait behind and ask Percy what to do - but that meant telling him. It was probably too late to go find Tonks, or ask Professor McGonagall, who already knew that Daisy was trans.
The other first years started taking the stairs upwards to their new rooms, but Daisy stalled. She knew there was only one thing she could do right now - she would have to brave it and hope for the best. That was the Gryffindor way, right?
“Daisy, are you okay?” Hermione asked, casting her a worried glance.
“Fine,” Daisy lied, inwardly berating herself for letting any of this show. She paced forwards, planting her foot down on the first step. And then the second, and then the third. One flight of stairs passed by to the tune of Daisy’s loudly beating heart, and then the second. She had made it, and the stairs hadn’t stopped her.
Hogwarts knew she was a girl.
Daisy smiled to herself quickly, and followed Hermione into the first year girls’ dorm room. The room itself was circular, with enough four-poster beds for each of them. Trunks lay unopened beside each bed, leaving each girl to recognise their trunk and their accordingly assigned part of the room. Also beside each bed was a mirror, a nightstand and a wardrobe. The beds were adorned with red and gold curtains, which looked to be movable and opaque, which would provide each student with some privacy.
Looking around, Daisy tried to remember the names of each of her new roommates. There was Hermione, of course, who she already knew, as well as Lavender Brown, Parvati Ranjan, Sally-Anne Perkins and Kellah Moore. Six to a room wasn’t so bad, but Daisy would definitely have to get used to sharing. It was easier, at least, knowing that the enchanted stairs knew she belonged. She was Daisy Evans, Gryffindor girl, and she was ready for her first year at Hogwarts.
Notes:
Made the common room big. What were they thinking in the movies, making it so small like that??? Also, I changed Padma & Parvati’s surname to Ranjan after doing a bit of research and finding a surname that belonged to the same actual language group as their first names. I hope I chose well, please let me know in the comments if I’ve made a mistake.
Chapter 5: First Classes
Notes:
I can't think of any content warnings that might be required for this chapter, but if I've missed something please let me know and I'll update the notes accordingly.
https://discord.gg/JQgHHPNcM6 Discord server to hang out and chat about my fics!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was easily almost 7am when Daisy managed to get her eyes open and start rolling out of bed. Her new, very comfortable bed. She vaguely remembered some of her roommates - though she didn’t know which - staying up late chatting. The noise had been a problem, up until Daisy accidentally discovered the bed’s quieting charm, in the form of a rune on the back right poster which could be tapped on and off. Then, with the noise dampened out, she had an incredible night’s sleep.
Next came the memory of her class schedule - a sheet of parchment had been put up in the bedroom with this information - and that breakfast had already started at least half an hour ago. Fortunately, breakfast was open and available until 8:30, in time for classes to start at 9. With plenty of time to get ready and no need to stress, Daisy yawned, stretched and stood up. After fumbling the lock a couple times, Daisy managed to open her trunk and clamber inside to get changed. Somehow, all of her robes and uniforms now sported Gryffindor colours. Waving it off as just yet another thing magic could do, Daisy got dressed and headed downstairs.
Realising that she didn’t quite know her way around that well yet, Daisy opted to wait in the common room until someone else showed up. She ended up following an older boy to the Great Hall, keeping to herself her observations that this boy clearly wasn’t a morning person. The Great Hall wasn’t all that busy yet; Daisy figured that most students would probably come eat later rather than earlier. Ron was there, though, sitting with Parvati and Seamus, so Daisy went over to join the three of them.
Making it to class afterwards was certainly an operation in and of itself. There was plenty of time between breakfast and class, and Daisy managed to make time to find the Owlery to visit Hedwig and then double back to the dorms to get her books and various supplies - yet still none of the first years knew where their Transfiguration classroom was. It was a good thing that Daisy suggested finding a map or asking for directions, because Ron, Seamus and Dean were all intent on just marching off and hoping for the best.
Once Daisy had procured written directions from a kindly sixth year, Parvati took the initiative to gather up all the first years in the Gryffindor dorm so they could walk together. It took long enough that they barely just made it on time, but they all made it on time. The class was shared with Ravenclaw, and not all of them had the same good fortune.
Daisy had almost thought that the missing Ravenclaws would be fine given that Professor McGonagall was nowhere to be seen. Then, she remembered Hermione mentioning that the Transfiguration Professor could turn into a cat - and there just so happened to be a striped cat sitting on the teacher’s lectern, looking over the class rather sternly.
Once the last two Ravenclaws arrived, the cat leapt off the lectern and turned into Professor McGonagall’s human form. “Given that it is your first day, I shall be forgiving towards those who arrived late. In future, please ensure that you are not. Now, your classes with me will be in the study of Transfiguration. It is a delicate, and at times rather dangerous art that takes intense practice and study to understand and master. Accordingly, there will be two rules you must always follow in my class.
“First of all, you are never to attempt any kind of new transfiguration without the oversight of a Hogwarts Professor. Failed and misunderstood transfigurations can cause a great deal of damage - I believe Muggle Science has a rule known as Conservation of Mass and Energy which explains this quite adeptly. Second, you will not attempt any form of Human Transfiguration until your Sixth year at Hogwarts - it is one of the most advanced forms of transfiguration, and I have witnessed injuries from it that even Madam Pomfrey cannot heal. Now, with that out of the way, please produce a quill and some parchment - before any magic can be performed, you must learn the core theory.”
Daisy definitely did not share her classmates’ disappointment that they didn’t get to use any transfiguration spells by the end of the first lesson. Even if McGonagall hadn’t made it clear how dangerous unguided transfiguration could be, Daisy already knew that from her summer reading. She was excited to learn, and enjoyed McGonagall’s especially structured teaching style, and could definitely wait until later.
Next up was Potions, and Daisy would be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous. It wasn’t about not knowing what to do - she’d read ahead on her potions textbook by quite a bit. It was what she kept hearing about the teacher, Professor Snape. Supposedly the Slytherin Head of House was “mean” and “a bully” and showed active favouritism to his house while neglecting other students. Daisy had experienced more than her fair share of bullyish teachers, and didn’t want more of that at Hogwarts. Hogwarts was supposed to be better.
Potions was all the way down in the castle dungeons, which Daisy had recently learned was literally underwater. She could only hope that, for a class like this, there was an especially good ventilation setup. She and the other Gryffindors who had come en masse from the Transfiguration classroom filed into the potions classroom, taking up whatever seats were available given that the Slytherin students had already arrived. Many of the Gryffindors seemed uncomfortable sitting next to a Slytherin, and some even pushed and shoved at each other to sit further away. Daisy didn’t understand why that was a thing, and was perfectly happy to sit down next to a Slytherin girl with long blonde hair, and green eyes that were quite like Daisy’s own.
“Hi,” Daisy said politely, hoping it might strike up a conversation so that she could make a new friend.
The girl raised an eyebrow at her. “Why are you talking to me?”
“Should I not?” Daisy asked. She didn’t know whether the girl just wasn’t interested or expected Daisy to be like the other Gryffindors.
The girl hummed approvingly with a small smile, making clear that it was the latter. “I’m Daphne Greengrass.”
“Daisy Evans,” Daisy returned the gesture. “Excited for Potions?”
Daphne shrugged. “Not really. I mean, I’m sure it’ll be alright but I’m much more interested in Charms and Transfiguration.”
“We just had Transfiguration before now. Professor McGonagall is a good teacher, I’m sure you’ll like her class,” Daisy said, happy to have earned a small smile from Daphne. Then she noticed a small glow coming from Daphne’s ears, and Daisy’s curiosity got the better of her. “Why’re your ears glowing?”
“Hearing charm,” Daphne answered after a sort of appraising look, not seeming like she minded the question in the end. “I have a hard time hearing properly without it, especially when it’s noisy. I don’t always use it, so when I’m not I need people to repeat things sometimes. Or use sign language, if they know it.”
“Okay!” Daisy acknowledged, putting on a smile of her own. “I wonder if the school library has any books on sign language.”
“If we end up being friends, I’m happy to lend you one,” Daphne offered. “But we should stop talking now, Snape’s here.”
“Oh, right,” Daisy uttered and turned to look up at the front of the classroom, where the almost meticulously tidy-looking Professor Snape was now standing.
And looking right at her. Daisy winced, suddenly afraid of why the Potions Master might be doing that. Was it because she was talking and he wanted to start the class? Or did he know her secret?
“There will be no wand waving or silly incantations in this class,” Snape started, without breaking his stare even once. Daisy felt forced to look away, uncomfortable with the eye contact - especially when it was so intense. “As such, I don’t expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making. However, for those select few…”
Snape paused, and Daisy looked up to see him now levelling a less intense gaze towards Malfoy.
“For those select few who possess the predisposition,” Snape continued, “I can teach you how to bewitch the mind, ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, how to brew glory, and even put a stopper in death. Then again, maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts with abilities… lacking, in this class, and for such students, I have very little time.”
Daisy frowned, not liking the way Professor Snape was talking. Didn’t everyone deserve a chance to learn.
“Something to say about that, Miss Evans?” Snape said, the sharpness in the way he said her name so clear that she could easily pick up on it.
“Um… No, sir,” Daisy answered, hoping that would be sufficient.
Professor Snape unfolded his arms, and took three paces closer to the desk Daisy and Daphne were sitting at. “Miss Evans, tell me. What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?”
Daisy fought down a smile. She was happy to know the answer from having read ahead in the textbook, but didn’t want to let Snape think she was anything but compliant - which was something she had learned to be careful of in her Muggle schools over the years.
“The draught of living death, sir,” Daisy answered. The professor’s eyes thinned as he glared at her, apparently upset with her for having the audacity to know an answer. Maybe the rumours were true after all.
“And where, Miss Evans, would you look if I asked you to find a bezoar?”
“Most Potions stockrooms would have some, or you could find it in the stomach of a goat, sir,” Daisy answered again.
“What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?” Snape followed with yet another question, and this time Daisy didn’t know the answer. Hermione’s hand shot up from a couple desks over, but Snape ignored her.
“I don’t know, sir,” Daisy said honestly.
“Pity,” the professor said, disdain practically dripping from his lips. “Monkswood and wolfsbane are the same plant, also known as aconite, and it is the core ingredient in the Wolfsbane potion. To succeed in my class, I expect you to study harder. And for anyone who didn’t know the answer to any of those questions? Let it be a warning that laziness will not be tolerated. Now, please open your books and find the instruction for the Cure for Boils potion. Once we have discussed matters of safety in this class, you will make this potion in pairs. Those who do not complete the potion correctly by the end of the class will be staying back and missing lunch.”
After lunch was double charms, which was probably the most interesting class so far. It was taught by Professor Flitwick, a very small man with a great deal of confidence who happily introduced himself as half-imp. He quickly did away with any rumours and stereotypes about imps being cruel tricksters, less than human or otherwise unsavoury, explaining that imps were just as diverse as humanity, though they tended on the side of loyalty to those who earn it. He likewise explained that those who presented good efforts in his class would have a steady supply of support from him, should they need it.
Then, the class moved on to discuss the Heating Charm, which was considered to be one of the simplest spells for first year students to learn. At its most basic level, a succesfully executed Heating Charm was supposed to be able to warm up a small glass of water, perhaps even make it boil. With practice, one might expect to be able to do much, much more. The wand motion was quite simple, but a lot of students in the mixed Gryffindor-Hufflepuff class had trouble with the incantation. As it turned out, spells didn’t tend to work without the correct pronunciation.
Daisy made sure to memorise the way Professor Flitwick said the incantation. She practiced it in her head a few times and then out loud a few times, and then managed to make her glass of water warm enough to feel on the first attempt - which earned her a house point for Gryffindor. Hermione did even better on her own first attempt, but the others in the class struggled a bit more. Daisy resolved to practice it in her spare time, and perhaps later ask Professor Flitwick for advice on how she might improve her usage of the Tremulus spell in her own time.
The day of classes drew to an end, and Daisy didn’t feel even slightly tired. Even with Snape’s callous attitude during potions, her experience so far at Hogwarts was nothing like what she’d been through in school before. There was no constant bullying, the teachers - other than snape - weren’t dismissive, and the lessons were engaging. It had only been one day, and Daisy already loved it here.
The next day, that changed. Her first class was double Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Quirrell. The man seemed rather unassuming, and had a speech impediment that slowed down his lecturing speed - to that end, Daisy was happy to patiently wait and learn whatever it was he had to teach. Or, she would have been, if not for the constant low thrum of a headache that had emerged as soon as she stepped into his classroom. It was just like that moment before the Sorting, except worse. Daisy wasn’t quite sure what to do about that - it hurt right around her scar, and she had to be careful who she told about that or the whole school would know her secret.
So, she resolved to ask Tonks about it when they next crossed paths. Tonks was a seventh year, knew her secret and wouldn’t tell anybody.
“I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” Tonks said. “We’re all pretty sure there’s some kind of curse against the Defence Against the Dark Arts position, since no teacher has stuck around in the post for more than a year in a row. They come back sometimes though, like Quirrell. He taught here two years ago, took a year off to travel, and then came back. Didn’t used to be so nervous, but the Defence Against the Dark Arts job does that to people. It’s probably nothing, okay?”
Daisy wasn’t quite reassured by that, but she supposed that Tonks probably knew better. Tonks opened her arms with a silent offer, and Daisy stepped in for a hug. It had taken a while for her to feel comfortable with physical contact like that, but after three weeks with the Tonkses, Daisy had begun to open up. It was nice, and Daisy wondered if this was what it was like to have a big sister.
“Thanks, Tonks,” Daisy said, and stepped out of the hug. “I guess I’ll just get used to it.”
“Oh, before you head off to bed, I’m gonna come grab you on Tuesday morning after breakfast, and we can go see Madam Pomfrey,” Tonks declared with a grin on her face. “How’s that sound?”
Daisy lit up. “Amazing. Sounds amazing.”
Notes:
Sorry Tonks, but that was bad advice lol
Next chapter will be a bit of a bumpy ride :)
Chapter 6: Gryffindor's Seeker
Notes:
Hi everyone! Sorry the chapter is late, I had wanted to post it a day or so ago but I had a procedure in the hospital yesterday to figure out some of why my body is all fucked up. Good news: Got some answers!
Anyway, behold: chapter. Spicy, of the trauma variety :) (but honestly only a little bit)
CWs: Indirect deadnaming and misgendering. Derogatory intelligence based language, ableism, characters feeling broken. Bad medical decisions and lack of protection from a teacher, fatphobia. Descriptions of traumatic flashbacks, and heavily implied physical assault reference.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The Boy Who Lived, Missing!
Reporting by R. Almedius
Just over a decade ago, the tragic, terrifying wizarding war was brought to an end, and we all know the story. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named attacked the home of up and coming aurors, James and Lily Potter, only to be thwarted by the young infant Harry Potter. A failed killing curse - a phenomenon never once seen before - rescued the Great British wizarding peoples from our darkest days yet. Not a word had been heard from the Boy Who Lived or those responsible for him until a month ago, with reported sightings taking place at Diagon Alley. One might think that our young Harry Potter would be preparing for his first year at Hogwarts.
Yet nobody has seen the boy since. Keen witness Doris Crockford provided a quite charming account of a young boy taking in our world as though seeing it for the first time, suggesting that perhaps he was raised by muggles. I for one would wonder why this would be, why the hero of our people would be forced away from all that he deserves! Additional witnesses sighted the Boy Who Lived entering and exiting Gringotts with Hogwarts groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid, who was unavailable for comment. But once again, nothing has been heard or seen of the boy since.
Even our wonderful new cohort of Hogwarts students have informed their families that the name Harry Potter was never called by the sorting hat - one Draco Malfoy commented: “I was truly upset to not find Potter amongst my peers, as I had been looking forward to giving him the welcome and friendship worthy of the Boy Who Lived!”
This begs the question - where is he? Is Harry Potter safe? Some speculate that he may be in attendance at another wizarding school, such as Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, or perhaps even Ilvermony Academy! All I can say is that I hope our young hero is well, and that he returns to us soon.
Daisy gulped as she read a copy of the morning papers, doing all that she could to keep any reactions off her face. She was once again immensely grateful for the glamour ring that kept her identity safe - all it had taken was an hour at Diagon Alley to be sure she didn’t want the attention the wixen community was going to force onto her. She did snort at the comment from Malfoy, though, already certain from his behaviour over the past week that she didn't want to be friends with him - not if that was what he was like.
One of the other front page stories had also caught Daisy’s attention - one reporting a break-in at Gringotts that had taken place mere hours after her own visit. The would-be-thief had made an attempt on Vault 713, which had been emptied earlier that day. Daisy remembered that number - it was the vault Hagrid had collected some kind of secretive package from. Suspicious, but probably nothing Daisy would have to worry about.
Right now, she was more interested in thinking about how she was going to get through the day - the first class was going to be double Defence, followed by double Flying. Having started to accept that headaches were just going to be commonplace for her in Defence classes - and that they got worse whenever she tried to actively pay attention to Professor Quirrell - Daisy wanted to figure out what she could do instead. She still wanted to learn, so maybe she could just read her textbook in class and watch what her classmates were doing instead.
Daisy was almost finished eating and about to leave when a big ruckus kicked up. Owls started flying into the hall en masse - not like the small group that came to deliver the Daily Prophet, but a much bigger crowd with all sorts of letters and packages. It was the last day of the first week at school - perhaps that was how long it took for most families to start sending letters and whatever else.
“Look, Neville’s got a Rememberall!” Dean exclaimed, pointing at a clear, hollow glass ball with a gold band around its equator. It looked like there was some kind of patterning placed over the glass, but Daisy was too far to see it properly.
“I’ve read about those,” Hermione declared, surprising nobody at this point. “The smoke turns red when you’ve forgotten something.”
Daisy was just about to ask ‘what smoke’ when the ball filled with the aforementioned smoke and promptly turned red. Neville’s cheeks followed suit in embarrassment. “Problem is, I can’t remember what I’ve forgotten.”
“I wonder if there’s a spell or potion for that?” Daisy mused aloud, earning a bright look from the forgetful boy. “I’m going to go and get ready for class now. Does anyone want to walk there from the common room together?”
“I will!” Neville exclaimed, and Daisy sent him a small smile. Neville seemed nice enough, and Daisy didn’t like the way others picked on him. She wished she could say it wasn’t a problem with her own house, but Daisy had distinctly heard Dean once say that maybe Neville should have been in Hufflepuff.
Daisy knew it was because Neville frightened easily and didn’t seem very confident, and for that exact reason she felt a kind of camaraderie with him. She herself had doubted whether she was brave enough for Gryffindor, but the sorting hat seemed sure of it.
After reaching the common room and then her dorm room, Daisy pulled open the drawer where she kept her textbooks and fished out the one for Defence class. Failing to remember if Quirrell or her classmates had mentioned anything about what the next lesson would be on, Daisy turned to where she knew the class was up to in the textbook. The next chapter was on safety precautions, and featured a spell called Vermillious which produced red sparks that could be fired into the air as a call for help.
Daisy read as much of it as she could in the hour she had before needing to meet Neville in the common room and walk to class together. Hopefully that was what the class would be on, and she’d have the head start she needed to not fall behind. It definitely sounded like a useful spell to know, and Daisy liked the idea of having a magical repertoire dedicated to just pure safety.
By the time an hour had passed, Daisy felt like she had enough of a handle on the theory to be able to practice the spell in class. She grabbed her various class supplies and made her way down to the common room where she found Neville standing and waiting alone.
“Hey, Neville, are you ready?” Daisy asked as she arrived by his side.
“Um… I think so?” Neville answered, not sounding to sure.
“Have you got your wand? Quill, some ink and parchment?” Daisy suggested, and Neville quickly nodded after checking his pouch for those exact things. With that confirmed, they started walking. The defence classroom wasn’t too far, but they had to account for the chance that the stairs would change and take them to the wrong floor.
“I’m sorry for making you help me,” Neville apologized as the duo walked.
“I don’t mind, really,” Daisy insisted. It felt a bit odd - she was the one who wanted company walking to class, and had only thought it would be nice to run Neville through the basic supplies he might have forgotten.
“I just-” Neville started, and then paused. “Everyone just thinks I’m this stupid klutz who can’t do anything right. I really try, but I can’t focus right and I forget things all the time. I already have to focus so hard to not fall and knock things all over the place, and the only time I could do anything right so far was in Herbology yesterday, but other than that… I think I might just be broken.”
Daisy felt like a small pit was forming in her stomach. She knew sometimes she took on other people’s pain a little too much, but she also related to what he was saying - even knowing what the word ‘transgender’ meant for a few years, up until that day at Diagon Alley she too had believed she was broken. “I doubt that, Neville, really. So what if you can’t do things the same as everyone else? People get annoyed at me sometimes because I have a hard time telling when something is a joke, and sometimes I touch a material and it feels so wrong it hurts. I’m still learning what different faces mean, which apparently everyone else is supposed to just know.”
“Maybe,” Neville hummed. “But what am I supposed to do about it?”
“Madam Pomfrey might know,” Daisy suggested. “You could ask her?”
“I guess,” Neville said, frowning. “I just want to be able to keep up…”
Daisy was right to have read ahead on the Vermillious spell, and ended up being able to propel her sparks a good few metres by the end of class. Lunch was a welcome break from the headaches, and then it was finally time for Flying class. Daisy had been intrigued by the idea of flying on a broom ever since she heard about it, and even more curious with what she had learned about Quidditch. Andromeda had once mentioned that her father was the Gryffindor team’s seeker while at Hogwarts, leaving Daisy to wonder if she’d have the same knack.
The class wasn’t out on the Quidditch pitch like Daisy had expected, though. Instead, it was in a castle courtyard - one that was at least open without many obstacles other than the surrounding buildings. There were a series of broomsticks on the grass in two lines, enough for each first year student from Gryffindor and Slytherin, who were sharing the combined class.
Daisy waved to Daphne, who she had barely spoken to since the Potions class at the start of the week. Daphne waved back, but stayed with the Slytherins who had largely clustered on one side of the courtyard away from the Gryffindors for the moment. Hopefully Daisy would be able to speak to her after, and ask again about that sign language book.
Madam Hooch, the Flying instructor and school Quidditch referee, stood in front of all the students a few metres away. She pulled a whistle from around her neck to her lips and blew, and Daisy barely managed to cover her ears in time to mute the awful noise. “Good afternoon, class.”
“Good afternoon, Madam Hooch,” everyone chorused back as the teacher walked between the two lines of brooms.
“Welcome,” Madam Hooch said as she turned to face everyone, “to your first flying lesson. Well, what are you waiting for? Step up to the left side of your broomsticks. Come on now, hurry up! Stick your right hand over the broom and say ‘up’.”
Daisy did as instructed, taking a step forward to stand beside broomstick she had ended up behind, sandwiched between Ron and Kellah. She held her hand out, preparing to call it up. As she did, she felt some kind of… thrum from below her hand. A welcoming sort of sensation, like a pull between her and the broomstick below.
“Up,” Daisy said as clearly as she could, and the broomstick launched straight into her hand. It wiggled around quite a bit, as though trying to tell Daisy that it didn’t like to stay still. Others in the class attempted the same to varying degrees of success, with Hermione’s broom rolling around in the grass and refusing to obey, and Ron’s rising into his hand but only after several attempts.
“With feeling,” Madam Hooch exclaimed, seeing that more than half of the class still hadn’t gotten their broomsticks off the ground. Daisy wondered why they didn’t just lean over and pick them up, but perhaps there was some kind of requirement to forge a magical connection or maybe even ensure that the broom was trustworthy.
It took a good few minutes, but eventually with the tutelage and encouragement of the Flying instructor, everyone got their brooms up off the ground.
“Now, once you’ve got hold of your broom, I want you to mount it,” Madam Hooch instructed. “Grip it tight, you don’t want to be sliding off the end. Higher end brooms have footrests, but I find that it’s best not to learn to rely on them. When I blow my whistle, I want all of you to kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your broom steady, hover for a moment, then lean forward slightly and touch back down. On my whistle. Three, two-”
Madam Hooch didn’t get to blow her whistle, not before Neville’s broom began lifting him off the ground. It didn’t look like he was doing it on purpose, not with how he was struggling and so clearly immediately afraid.
“Mr. Longbottom,” Madam Hooch called out, but Neville could clearly not regain control. “Mr. Longbottom!”
“Down, Down!” Neville yelled at his broom, to no avail. Rather than come down, his broom surged forward and he took off, flying away from the group.
“Come back down this instant!” Madam Hooch demanded, but Neville was already too far away to hear. What concerned Daisy most was the fact that Madam Hooch didn’t have a broom of her own in hand, and nor was she asking for anyone else’s broom to go help Neville. Daisy wanted to help him herself, but she didn’t know if she could help without making things worse. She’d never even flown before.
Neville’s broom spun and twisted and threw him about, and it was all the boy could do to hang on and not fall out of the air. After bashing against the castle walls a few times, Neville’s broom turned, swooped and charged towards the class. Everyone dove out of the way as fast as they could, including Madam Hooch, who hadn’t drawn her wand in time to do anything with it.
Daisy couldn’t stand feeling like there was nothing she could do. She, and most of the rest of the class, started chasing after Neville and his rogue broom as best they could. Neville was taken through a corridor and then upwards. In a bare few moments, the broom took him past a statue holding out some kind of spear, Neville’s robes got caught on the spear, and the broom surged off without him. He was looking dangerously close to falling, and Daisy was desperately raking through her mind for any kind of spell she’d heard of that could slow someone’s fall or provide a safe landing.
She came up with nothing. Neville fell. He was caught again midair by an unlit brazier mounted on the castle wall, and then he fell again. In all this time, Madam Hooch had cast not a single spell to save him, and Neville hit the ground with a sickening crunch before groaning loudly. He had landed on his side, which must have been a good thing to spread the impact, but he looked anything but okay.
Madam Hooch rushed over to him and tried to move him, earning a yelp from the boy. “Oh dear, it’s a broken wrist. Poor boy. Come on now, up you get.”
Practically ignoring Neville’s very vocal complaints, Madam Hooch hoisted him up and turned her attention to the rest of the class, who were looking on mostly in horror. “Everyone’s to keep their feet firmly on the ground while I take him to the hospital wing, understand? If I see a single broom in the air, I’ll have you expelled before you can even say quidditch.”
Daisy wanted to offer to come to the hospital wing as well so that Neville would have company. She tried to make that offer, but the words just weren’t coming. This had happened before, and Daisy hated when her voice went like this - when she got so overworked or panicked that she just couldn’t talk. Instead, Daisy had to resign herself to watching Madam Hooch take Neville off into the castle - relieved at least that she wasn’t holding him so tightly anymore.
“Did you see his face?” came the snickering, slimy voice of Draco Malfoy. He was holding up Neville’s rememberall and showcasing it like some kind of trophy. “If the fat lump had given this a squeeze, he’d have remembered to fall on his ass!”
Some of the Slytherins laughed. Daisy stepped forward, trying once again to speak and tell Malfoy to give the rememberall back, but the words didn’t come.
“Got something to say, Weirdo Evans?” Malfoy taunted. “Cat got your tongue?”
“Oh come off it, Malfoy,” Daphne shouted while Daisy could do nothing more than keep her angry stare level. “This isn’t necessary.”
“No,” Malfoy countered, keeping his gaze locked on Daisy. “I think I’ll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find. How about on the roof?”
Malfoy tossed the rememberall up a little and then caught it before Daisy could snatch it away. Ignoring the instructions of Madam Hooch, he mounted his broom and took off. Daisy grabbed at her own broom, but then faltered. Madam Hooch had made the rule clear - nobody was to leave the ground. As much as Daisy did prefer to stick to the rules, she cared more about what was right. And what Malfoy was about to get away with? It definitely wasn’t right at all.
If I can’t speak, I’ll just have to act. He’s not getting away with this, Daisy thought tersely, an almost-snarl breaking through her lips. Daisy pulled her broom between her legs and prepared to kick off the ground.
“Daisy, no way!” Hermione exclaimed. “You heard what Madam Hooch said! Besides, do you even know how to fly?”
Daisy shrugged, her mind already more than made up, and kicked off. She and her broom rose up into the air, flying towards Malfoy and levelling the best glare she could at him. The movement in the air felt somehow easy and natural - between pulling and pushing at the broom handle and tilting her body, she could get it to move just the way she needed. Knowing her words wouldn’t come back any time soon, Daisy opted instead to make a dive towards Malfoy.
She grabbed at the rememberall, but Malfoy flipped sideways on the spot to avoid her. “Trying to play hero, Weirdo Evans? How about you play dog instead and go fetch!”
Before Daisy could try dive at him again, Malfoy took the rememberall and threw it, hard. Daisy would have laughed if she could, with how easy Malfoy had just made it for her. Sure, he’d thrown it far, but Daisy somehow just knew she could catch it. She sped off after the enchanted ball, satisfyingly managing to knock Malfoy aside on her way. The more she leaned forward, the faster the broom flew, and all that time she had managed to keep the rememberall locked in her sight.
Both it and Daisy were coming dangerously close to one of the school towers. If Daisy couldn’t catch the ball in time, it would probably hit the wall and shatter. She knew Neville would be distraught if that happened, and Daisy was going to do whatever she could to prevent that. She leaned forward even more, pushing the broom to go as fast as it could. She got closer to the ball, but also closer to the tower wall.
She was going to make it.
Daisy reached out, and clasped her hand around the ball. In the same motion, she pulled her body to the side, swerving around to a complete stop right outside one of the castle windows. Relieved to have caught the ball, Daisy secured her grip and flew back down to the ground - completely unaware of the window that had been pulled open behind her and the teacher who was now watching her every movement.
When she touched down, Daisy was met with a full round of cheering and applause - none of which she wanted. She had done what was right, and didn’t think it warranted this at all. She slipped the rememberall into the pocket of her robes - where the enchantments that prevented things from falling out would keep it safe - and turned away from the crowd in order to avoid them-
-only to see Professor McGonagall marching straight towards her, with the usual stern look adorning her face. “Daisy Evans! Follow me.”
Daisy didn’t like the sound of that. As much as she didn’t regret saving Neville’s rememberall, she had broken the rules. Professor McGonagall was both the Deputy Headmistress and also her own Head of House, and she must have seen or been informed of what Daisy had just done. Would she be expelled for this? Banned from the class and never allowed to fly again? Sent back to the Dursleys after it was decided that the wixen world didn’t need a rule breaker like her?
Following McGonagall through the castle hallways, Daisy did her utmost not to cry. She could feel her eyes wet as tears welled up, but managed to stave off any downpour. McGonagall wasn’t saying anything to her as she marched, which only made Daisy more nervous.
After a few minutes, McGonagall stopped in front of a door to one of the various classrooms in the Defence Against the Dark Arts part of the castle - there were several, each equipped for the various needs of what might be covered in any given class. The Professor knocked twice, and then opened the door.
“Professor Quirrel, excuse me. Could I borrow Wood for a moment?”
Daisy froze.
Wood?
Her mind ripped itself back to not a year ago, to when she’d dared to speak up once when Uncle Vernon had directed his ire towards Dudley - which he’d never done before, not that Daisy had known of. At that time, she had known that Dudley was always cruel to her, and still, she just couldn’t let him go through what she had. And so Vernon had brought out a wooden paddle. It hadn’t been the first time, nor had it been the last. And Daisy thought all that was finally behind her.
As her body shook, Daisy stood oblivious to any and all sounds around her, holding herself tightly until it was over. But no strike came.
“-y dear, are you alright?” Professor McGonagall was asking, as Daisy finally dared to let in the sounds around her and try to understand what was happening. “Daisy?”
Daisy loosened her arms, and looked up. Professor McGonagall was standing over her, a softened kind of look on her face. There was nothing in her hands at all - the only change was that there was now an older Hogwarts student standing by her side, looking equally concerned.
“There’s… there’s no paddle?” Daisy managed to squeak, her face flushing hot with shame as she said it - she had realised already that there was some kind of mistake, and surely the professor would now just be offended.
“Paddle?” McGonagall gasped as she took a step back, a hand covering her mouth. “Merlin, no! Such abuse would never be tolerated at Hogwarts. Did… did those Muggles… I shall be having words with our Headmaster after this. No, my dear, I was merely fetching Oliver Wood here, our Gryffindor quidditch captain. Wood, I have found you a Seeker!”
Now Daisy was just lost. She was still feeling incredibly shaking after what had just happened, and now Professor McGonagall had gone from worried to angry to excited. The boy she had brought out of the classroom was looking Daisy up and down, face all scrunched up in thought.
“Isn’t she a first year, Professor?” Wood asked. “The rules-”
“An exception can be made, Wood,” McGonagall insisted. “Our young Daisy’s flying skills are quite incredible, you must see for yourself!”
Wood hummed, sizing Daisy up once more. “Well, alright. Daisy, was it? Meet me in the common room before breakfast tomorrow, and I’ll take you down to give you a little test. We do need to find a new seeker soon, and if Professor McGonagall is this worked up, then I’d like to see what you can do.”
Daisy was made to stay in Professor McGonagall’s office for a little while after Wood returned to class - apparently she was supposed to get in trouble for disobeying Madam Hooch’s instructions, and to keep up appearances she couldn’t just return to class. The professor had taken five house points away from Daisy for good measure, smiling all the while - but in a more mischevious way that Daisy wouldn’t have expected from the strict transfigurations professor.
The time also afforded Daisy an opportunity to calm down, and get ahead on some of her homework - once the shaking had stopped and she could hold a quill properly. Professor McGonagall had been more than willing to answer a few questions she had about the more… ethical side of transfiguration, and Daisy was relieved to hear that animals used in class were not at all harmed.
Daisy’s time catching up on homework had to come to an end, though, and it was time for her to rejoin the rest of the castle and return to the common room before dinner. After politely thanking McGonagall for… well, the better parts of the afternoon, Daisy pushed the office door open just enough to slip out, turned rightward down the corridor-
-and almost collided with someone. Barely catching herself and stepping back to not make it any worse, Daisy looked up to see who she had troubled. Of all people, she hadn’t quite expected Daphne Greengrass to be waiting right outside McGonagall’s office. Daphne hadn’t moved, apparently not having noticed Daisy at all.
An absence of glow around Daphne’s ears explained the situation, so Daisy moved a bit more into Daphne’s line of sight and waved. The Slytherin girl turned, smiled, and lifted her wand towards her head.
“Audirus,” Daphne enunciated, and the soft glow came to life. “Alright, Daisy? McGonagall wasn’t too harsh on you?”
“Oh!” Daisy exclaimed, her mind catching up as she remembered everyone thought she had gotten into trouble. “Um… no. I lost five house points though.”
“Only five?” Daphne practically yelped. “Merlin, I came to check on you because I thought it’d be way worse and you’d want a friendly face. Plus, I wanted to thank you for standing up to Malfoy like you did, he’s been a right arrogant jerk thinking he owns the place in the Slytherin common room.”
Daisy flushed a little, finding herself quickly quite embarrassed. She didn’t know why what she did warranted a thank you like that - she had only done what felt right. Still, she felt comforted by Daphne’s gesture. “…thanks. How was the rest of the class?”
Daphne shrugged. “Nothing much to tell. Malfoy barely got told off, and then we learned to fly up and down, left and right. Nothing too fancy, not like what you pulled off. Gryffindor will probably snatch you up for their quidditch team next year, huh?”
That made Daisy go even redder. “Um… about that?”
Daphne’s eyes widened. “No… did they?”
Daisy sighed. “They’re making me try out for Seeker tomorrow. I’d be the youngest seeker in a century, apparently.”
“Damn, that’s pretty cool,” Daphne said. Her face lit up like she’d just realised something, and then she started fishing through her pouch. Moments later, she produced a small book. A Beginner’s Guide to Wizarding Sign. “Give it back when you’re done, yeah?”
Daisy smiled, and carefully took the book from Daphne’s offering hand. She was still very new to the idea of being a recipient of gifts, and didn’t want to do anything wrong with it - especially because she was really just borrowing it. “I will! Thanks!”
“So what’s the deal with that Slytherin girl you keep talking to?” Ron asked between mouthfuls of food during dinner. “You gotta be careful around that lot, Daisy. There ain’t a wix who went bad who wasn’t in Slytherin.”
Daisy’s breath hitched. She wanted to shy away, to not have conflict with any of her new housemates - especially not Ron, who she thought was becoming one of her very first friends. But Daphne was her friend, too. “Daphne’s alright. Besides, Andromeda was in Slytherin, and… and it’s also not true. I’ve read about wix who went dark from other houses too!”
“No, but-” Ron started, but was quickly interrupted by a very… cheerful Hermione.
“She’s right, Ron. There was a kind of famous criminal not too long ago named Patricia Rakepick who was from Gryffindor,” Hermione explained. “I don’t understand all the tension either. Is it just me, or is the food especially nice tonight?”
Prompted by the question, and grateful for the distraction from Ron’s commentary, Daisy paid a little closer attention to the food she was eating. “I don’t think it’s any different?”
Hermione hummed. “Huh. Maybe just me, then.”
Ron didn’t say anything more about the whole befriending Slytherins thing, though Daisy got the feeling he still didn’t like it. He seemed more inclined to chat with the other boys than interact with either Daisy or Hermione after that, which made Daisy feel a little bitter. But if he was going to be rude about Daphne, maybe he was just showing his own true colours.
…
Daisy didn’t sleep too well that night. Between her nerves about meeting with Wood in the morning and the worry about Ron’s attitude, her mind kept her far too busy. Even though she eventually managed to drift off to sleep, she could tell from the moment she woke up to the magical alarm provided by Wood that it hadn’t been enough. With a groan, she rolled out of bed and changed into some clothes she could move around in more freely.
The trip down to the common room was a precarious one after Daisy’s insufficient sleep, but she managed to trudge her way down without falling. When she arrived in the common room proper, there was someone there, but it wasn’t who she had been expecting. On one of the sofas near the modest Gryffindor ‘library’ sat Hermione, with her legs crossed and a book in her lap.
“Early morning study?” Daisy asked quietly, not wanting to startle her dorm mate.
Hermione jumped a bit anyway, and then placed a bookmark in her book before shaking her head. “Not today, Daisy. I don’t study on Shabbat - that’s Friday evening through Saturday evening, every week. Today I’m just reading for fun.”
“Oh, um. I don’t know much about that,” Daisy admitted. “Is that why you were a bit… cheerful last night?”
Hermione smiled a little. “I guess I was, wasn’t I? My family aren’t particularly observant towards religious practices and obligations, but Shabbat has always been an important part of my life. A chance to rest, and spend time with family. Shabbat dinners are usually full of really rivetting conversations!”
“That sounds nice,” Daisy commented, taking a seat nearby Hermione while she waited for Wood to arrive. “So you’re just taking the day off?”
Hermione nodded. “It doesn’t do to overwork myself, and this is a nice way to make sure I don’t. What about you? You look ready for some sort of exercise.”
“Oh, um… yeah, I guess. I have a thing on, but it’s mostly a secret for the moment,” Daisy answered carefully. Even though she’d told Daphne about this yesterday, she did want to keep it under wraps for now. Besides, it would just be embarrassing if everyone was talking about it and she didn’t end up on the team. Fortunately, she spotted Wood coming down the stairs, giving her an easy opportunity to avoid anywhere the conversation might lead. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll see you later?”
“Sure, see you,” Hermione responded almost absently, having already returned her attention to her book.
Daisy got up and walked quietly over to Wood, who was dressed in similarly casual exercise gear. He had a lot of energy for this early in the morning - though Daisy supposed a school athlete would probably be used to early wake-ups for exercise and training.
“Good, you’re here,” Wood said eagerly as he joined her in the common room. “Come, let’s head outside and talk more there.”
Daisy followed Wood through the castle corridors all the way to where she had been yesterday for the rather eventful flying class. Wood gestured for her to wait on the grass, and he disappeared off towards a shack in the corner. He came back with two broomsticks folded under his arm and a heavy-looking case in his hands.
“Alright, Evans, thanks for coming,” Wood started, laying the case carefully on the ground and then resting the broomsticks beside them. “Tell me, what do you know about quidditch?”
“Um,” Daisy managed, still feeling quite tired and a little disoriented. “I know the rules? I think. Catch the… snitch for one hundred and fifty points and to end the game. The red ball-”
“Quaffles,” Wood supplied.
“Right, quaffles. Get them through the hoops for ten points. Avoid the angry brown ball.”
Wood nodded. “Good, good. McGonagall mentioned you grew up mostly with muggles so I thought I’d check. So, each team has seven players. Three chasers, who score with the quaffle, two beaters who deal with the bludger, one keeper to protect the hoops, and one seeker - that’s you - to catch the snitch.”
Wood knelt down to open up the case, leaving Daisy to stare and process what Wood had just said. It wasn’t ‘that might be you’, but ‘that’s you’. Daisy had already learned that sometimes people didn’t say exactly what they meant, and yet… it made her nervous. Would Wood be even more disappointed now if he put her through a test and she wasn’t good enough?
Inside the case were two bludgers and a quaffle. Wood picked up the quaffle - the only one not securely strapped into the case - and tossed it to Daisy. She caught it quickly as Wood started speaking again. “Here’s the quaffle. Get a feel for the weight of it - even if you won’t be a chaser, it’s best to know what to expect of everything on the quidditch pitch before your first game.”
As instructed, Daisy rolled the uneven ball around in her hand a bit. It was a little heavy, and Daisy was glad she wasn’t a chaser - she really wasn’t confident that she could throw it all that far. Wood held his hands out, and Daisy gave it back. Her hands were quickly filled again, this time with a hefty bat. Not a moment later, Wood returned the quaffle to the case and started reaching for the buckles of one of the bludgers.
“Get ready,” Wood warned her, and then pressed on something that completely released the restraints on the bludger. It shot up into the air, and Daisy started tracking it instinctively. She’d heard it was an angry sort of thing, and it certainly looked that way.
“Careful now,” Wood warned again, this time as the bludger was coming back down - headed straight for Daisy. She braced herself and pulled the bat back, waiting vigilantly as the ball drew closer. And closer, and closer.
Swing.
The bat collided with the bludger, which was almost certainly making some kind of squealing noise, and sent it careening away from its hostile trajectory. The bludger soared through the air, neatly flying through the gap between a statue and the two swords it was holding above its head. Daisy had to admit, that had felt good. The weight of the bat, the feeling of the collision, and the satisfaction of how unintentionally good her aim was.
“Damn, Evans. You’d make a fair beater!” Wood exclaimed, and Daisy preened at the praise. “Oh, and here it comes again. Let me, this time.”
Daisy heard the telltale grumbling of the approaching bludger and stepped out of the way, allowing Wood the room he needed to jump on top of it and wrestle it back into its restraints in the case.
“Ugh, never try to wrestle a bludger without a good deal of strength training. I should have warmed up first, honestly.” Wood chuckled. “Now, you’ll be the seeker, so let’s get the ball that you need to focus on most - the golden snitch.”
On the inside of the case’s lid - which Daisy hadn’t paid any attention to before - were a series of emblems: the Hogwarts school emblem in the centre, with the house emblems on either side. Unlike the house emblems, the middle one was jutting out; Daisy realised quickly that it was a miniature compartment within the case. Wood flicked it open, and grabbed what was inside.
He held it up for Daisy to see, and she marveled at the little ball. It was golden just like the name suggested, with delicate-looking wings now flapping elegantly on either side. There were markings running along it - to no discernable pattern that Daisy knew of, but it looked pretty all the same.
“I like this one,” Daisy remarked as Wood handed it to her to feel for the weight of it. It was incredibly light, but also felt rather dense and sturdy.
“Ah,” Wood chuckled, “you like it now. Just wait, it’s wicked fast and damn near impossible to see. Now, ready to give it a go at catching it?”
Daisy wanted to say yes. The prospect of this entire game, of being on the team, it was all incredibly exciting to her. But she also knew how long quidditch games could go, and she knew that this was the test. “What if I can’t? I don’t want you to get in trouble for losing it.”
Wood waived a dismissive hand. “Oh, don’t you worry. This one’s a training snitch. It’s a little bit slower, and you’ll have a much easier time chasing it down without a whole game going on around you. And if it gets away? Well, losing a snitch in training is about as common as you’d think, but this one has a Recall Charm on it, tied to the case. Go on, I’ll toss it up. Give it a half minute to disappear, and then you chase it down. I want to see what had McGonagall so excited!”
Notes:
So yeah sorry that chapter had a bunch of rough bits - I squinted at what was going on in the movie on several occasions and was just like "hmmm thats fucked up" and then this chapter got churned out. Hope it was enjoyable, and remember - Daisy is healing! It's not linear and there'll be twists and turns, but she'll get there <3
Chapter 7: The Lupriatus Potion
Notes:
cw mention of animal abuse (dogfighting)
So!! The fic went up to 100 kudos while I was editing this chapter! Very cool, glad people are enjoying what started as sheer spite at all the bullshit with Hogwarts Legacy. Everyone seems especially fond of Daisy, and I can't wait to see how y'all find her growth as a character, and the person she becomes!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Daisy would be lying if she said she wasn’t on a bit of a high as Monday progressed. Her weekend had been rather eventful, between Wood confirming that she was being chosen as Gryffindor’s seeker and attending her first morning training session the following day. She had loved the warmup exercises Wood had the team doing, even though they were hard. Running used to always be a thing she did to get away from Dudley and his friends, but now she could run for the sake of getting some exercise. She could do pushups, and situps, and all sorts of other things to get stronger, and she could fly. Merlin could she fly.
On top of that, everyone on the team had been so welcoming. She had learned from the Weasley twins - the team beaters - that she was filling their older brother Charlie’s position, but it wasn’t a thing of resentment. Rather, the twins were happy to collude with Daisy’s plan of keeping her new role secret until the first game, because they thought it was a good way to prank Ron.
Then monday had come around, and classes went more than fine. She was ahead on her Transfiguration work already thanks to the time spent in Professor McGonagall’s office on Friday, and she was doing well enough in Potions that Snape couldn’t get her in trouble for anything. She worked well with Daphne - who had greeted her with a sign for ‘hello’ that she could now recognise and sort-of reciprocate - and that made the class bearable.
All in all, Daisy was rolling on a high. She chatted excitedly with Hermione and Ron on the way back to the dorms after dinner. They were the last ones out amongst the first years, trailing several metres behind Kellah and Parvati. The timing of that, as it was, ended up being quite unfortunate. Even as the three students started walking up the second-last set of stairs towards the common room, the staircase started to move. It shifted, swinging them across to the east. Specifically, the east wing of the third floor. Not that Daisy or the other two noticed, though.
“Come on, let’s go this way,” Daisy insisted quickly. “Before the staircase moves again, yeah?”
The three of them walked into a dark corridor - which was already an odd thing, given how well lit the rest of the castle was. There were a couple of statues on either side of the corridor path, which not only looked more frightening in the dark, but also were covered in cobwebs that were barely just illuminated by the moonlight through the windows.
“Does anybody feel like we shouldn’t be here?” Ron asked, a slight shake in his voice.
“We’re not supposed to be here,” Hermione whispered harshly. “This is the forbidden third floor corridor!”
Just as Hermione finished speaking, one of the corridor braziers fwooshed to life.
“Let’s go, we should get out of-” Daisy started as she backed away and turned around, only to be greeted by Mrs Norris, the caretaker’s cat. She had already learned that Mr Filch was heavy on punishment, and didn’t want him finding out that they were here. Would he even believe that they’d come by accident when the stairs changed? The cat meowed almost pityingly as it stared them down, and the three exchanged worried glances.
“Let’s go!” Hermione hissed. She started running the other way - further into the corridor - leaving Daisy and Ron little choice other than to follow.
Braziers lit along the path as they ran, which was a problem. If Filch came, he would see that students had been through here, meaning there were only two options if they didn’t want to get in trouble. Either they find a way out back into the castle proper further down the corridor, or they find somewhere to hide and wait it out. But there was only one door at the end of the corridor, and only one choice.
“Quick, through that door!” Daisy shouted, louder than she had meant to. She ran up to the dark wooden door and pulled at the latch, but it didn’t move. In a bout of frustration, she slammed the latch back against the door and turned away. “It’s locked!”
Ron groaned. “Ugh, we’re done for!”
“Oh, move over,” Hermione practically demanded as she stepped past both Daisy and Ron, levelling her wand towards the door’s latch. “Alohamora!”
Daisy cursed at herself inwardly - she knew that spell. She’d only practiced it a couple times on doors Tonks had used colloportus to lock, but she knew she could do it. In the moment, with her mind all abuzz from the combination of the past few days and the past minute, she hadn’t even considered it.
The latch clicked, and Hermione pulled the door open. The three of them rushed inside, closing the door behind them and resolving to wait a while until Mr Filch had come and gone.
“Alohamora?” Ron questioned, making Daisy feel like he was less appreciative than he should have been. It was a running theme with Ron lately - taking issue with Hermione knowing things that he didn’t. Daisy didn’t want to think about or deal with that now, though.
“Standard Book of Spells, chapter seven,” Hermione provided.
Daisy shushed them, and pressed her ear towards the crack at the bottom of the door to listen for Mr Filch. Thanks to that, and thanks to the other two actually being quiet, Daisy could hear Mr Filch arrive, conclude that nobody was here, and leave with Mrs Norris in tow.
“He’s gone,” Daisy informed them at a whisper, turning around to face them as she did.
“He thinks it was locked,” Ron sighed.
“It was locked,” Hermione added.
Daisy might’ve heard Ron groan at Hermione’s words if she was paying any attention, but she was rather distracted right then. Distracted by what she had seen the moment she turned around; what Ron and Hermione weren’t seeing because they weren’t facing into the room like she was.
Right there, in the middle of the room, was a giant, three-headed dog. The heads were dark brown whereas the rest of the body was a bit lighter, and each head had a long, angular snout. They reminded Daisy of a kind of hunting dog called a Malinois, which she knew about because Aunt Marge bred them for sport - particularly, for the purpose of fighting other dogs. So it was a giant, three-headed scary hunting dog.
And it was waking up. The heads rose, yawning one after the other, and locked their sights on the three students. Time felt like it came to a standstill for a moment, and then everything happened far too fast. The dogs started growling, and then they were snapping, and the three first year students bolted out of the room as fast as they could. It didn’t matter if Mr Filch heard and came back - better being in detention than being dead.
Once out of the room, it took all three of them to shove the door shut again against the force of one of the heads jutting out and trying to bite at them. But they managed, and then they ran. They ran all the way back to the common room without a care for anything else.
“What do they think they’re doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?” Ron bemoaned as they arrived back in the surprisingly empty common room. Daisy might’ve answered, but she was still a little shaken from the experience - she and dogs didn’t have the best history, even if she knew that most dogs weren’t cruel like Aunt Marge’s were.
“Didn’t you see what it was standing on?” Hermione questioned.
“I wasn’t looking at its feet, I was preoccupied with its heads!” Ron protested. “Or maybe you didn’t notice, there were three!”
Daisy, however, had looked at its feet. One of the things Wood had suggested she practice both in and out of quidditch training was improving her awareness of her surroundings and periphery - a thought that had somehow worked its way into the back of her mind during the panic. She’d glanced around to see what was in the room other than the three-headed dog, and saw a trap door right under it.
“The dog was guarding something,” Daisy stated monotonously, having regained her words but not her tone.
“That’s right,” Hermione said. “There was a trap door under its feet. Now if you two don’t mind, I’m going to bed before either of you come up with another idea to get us killed… or worse, expelled.”
“She needs to sort out her priorities,” Ron muttered disparaging as Hermione stomped up the stairs towards the girls’ rooms. Daisy didn’t feel like that deserved to be dignified with a response, and instead followed up after her.
Tuesday morning rolled around faster than Daisy had expected - she thought the excitement of what came next would keep her up like the stress from the past few days had, but then again she was new to having something to be excited about at all. She slept soundly, the strife of the adventures to the forbidden corridor not forgotten, but certainly put behind her. Today was a big day, and nothing was going to get her down. Not the nagging concern and curiosity about what that giant dog had been guarding, not the way Ron had spoken afterwards; nothing.
She knew Tonks ate breakfast a bit later than her and didn’t want to hang around too long just waiting - just in case anyone tried to ask questions, as she knew especially Lavender and Seamus might. Still, she took the book Daphne had loaned her as a distraction in case she was left waiting anyway. Daisy had made some more progress with the book, and was learning to fingerspell. It took some practice, and she had to go slowly because she wasn’t used to the movements, but it was definitely worth it.
Breakfast ended up being a rather plain affair - it was the second week of the year, and everyone was starting to settle into a rhythm now - even the first years who were still taking in everything about the castle. Daisy was certainly still getting used to everything, and mixed up the different castle courtyards sometimes, but she was getting the hang of it for sure. After having a hearty meal and reading a couple more pages of the book - which she worked through slowly to give herself time to practice the different signs, Daisy moved to wait outside the Great Hall for Tonks.
“Alright, Daze?” Tonks called out from Daisy’s left, managing to catch her by surprise again. It had become something of a game to Tonks - to see how many times she could sneak up on Daisy in plain sight by using her Metamorphmagus abilities to shift her appearance. This time there was nothing dramatic about the change - it was all in the subtle details. Tonks’ hair was a little shorter, her nose longer and flatter, and her smile crooked with a dimple on one end. It didn’t look like her at all, but nobody else called her ‘Daze’.
Tonks chuckled as Daisy regained her composure, and then offered a side-hug that Daisy readily stepped into. The kind of affection Tonks had to offer was nothing like what Daisy was used to, and she relished in it.
“I’m excited,” Daisy admitted easily, knowing she didn’t need to hide these things around Tonks, even if she was still apprehensive about sharing these things with her new friends. “Do you think it’ll take long?”
“A bit, yeah,” Tonks answered. “Pomfrey needs to explain everything to you and check a few things, so you might be a bit late for class. What’ve you got first?”
“Double Potions,” Daisy answered as the two started heading in through the tower. The hospital wing was on the ground floor, but a bit of a trek from the Great Hall all the same.
“Aw, that’s fine then,” Tonks flapped her hand almost dismissively. “It’s Snape, nice to miss some of his classes if you can.”
Daisy frowned. She definitely didn’t like the way Snape teached, but there was another reason she enjoyed potions classes. “I guess Daphne can catch me up, but she might wonder where I am.”
“Daphne?” Tonks questioned. “Greengrass, right? Isn’t she in Slytherin?”
“Yeah,” Daisy confirmed. And then a little more insistently, “and she’s my friend.”
Tonks smiled. “Ay, good for you. Just don’t let the crap about Slytherin get to you, yeah? It’s all bullshit fear-mongering anyway. I know the Greengrasses, they’re perfectly fine folks. Marcus and Geraldine work for the Ministry, both in the Department of International Magical Co-operation, and little Astoria likes to ask lots of questions to figure out how things work. Now… I’ve been hearing some rumours about you and Quidditch!”
Daisy flushed. Other than telling Daphne, she had been trying to keep that quiet - though she supposed the Gryffindor Team might not have been doing the same. “Um… yeah. They said they want me to be their seeker this year?”
“Blimey, Daisy!” Tonks chortled. “So it’s true after all. Checks out for a kid who learned to fly before she could walk, I guess! I’m kinda curious to see how you match up against Hufflepuff’s new seeker, Diggory. He seems like the sort of kid to work hard at everything, even by Hufflepuff standards - you’d better watch yourself!”
“O-okay,” Daisy responded, growing distracted by the fact that they’d arrived at the hospital wing. “So- so what now?”
“Now?” Tonks held out a hand, and Daisy took it. “Now, we go in.”
With her free hand, Tonks pushed open the large doors with confidence and casualness that Daisy couldn’t even dream of emulating. She was thankful for Tonks’ hand in hers, the one thing grounding her right as they stepped through the threshold.
Daisy hadn’t been to the hospital wing yet, and in her anxious state she was barely taking in her surroundings. She saw beds, all empty with curtains drawn off to the side, and a sort of segmented office area to her right. Tonks pulled her that way, and knocked on yet another door.
“Come in,” a voice called from the other side - it was a gentle sort of voice, with the telltale weatherings of age to it. The door swung open, and Tonks gently pulled Daisy inside. The woman inside was standing over a desk and flicking through a stack of papers. She was around Tonks’ height, with short, curly white hair in a bob and a red and white frock covering her body. “Ah, Nymphadora. And… you must be Daisy, yes? Minnie mentioned that you might be paying me a visit.”
Daisy gawked a bit, at nothing in particular. She didn’t feel like she was supposed to be surprised that Madam Pomfrey was expecting her, and yet it threw her off all the same. “Uh… Minnie?”
“McGonagall,” Tonks explained. “She and Pomfrey are married, have been since forever.”
“Daisy, come have a seat,” Pomfrey directed after shooting Tonks an odd look that made the older girl snort. Daisy soon found herself sitting in a rather comfortable armchair off to the side of Madam Pomfrey’s rather cluttered desk. “I’ll just get Nymphadora sorted, and then I’ll be back to speak with you.”
“Alright,” Daisy managed. She felt… definitely excited, but also kind of overwhelmed. So far, it felt like being here was the most casual, ordinary thing to Tonks, whereas Daisy was stuck in the magnitude of what she was here for. She watched in a sort of haze while Madam Pomfrey cast a complicated-sounding spell over Tonks’ body and then turned to mark something down on one of the many sheets of parchment behind her.
“Nymphadora, it looks like you’re body is continuing to metabolise the potion more efficiently yet again, so I’ll adjust you to a lower dose,” Pomfrey intoned, and Tonks nodded several times. “You should be fine to just come back for a check in at the end of term, and of course if anything feels off come straight to see me.”
“Too easy,” Tonks responded, and then turned her attention towards Daisy. “Hey, do you want me to head off or stick around for your bit?”
“Stay,” Daisy managed almost automatically. “Uh… please.”
“‘Course,” Tonks said, and pulled up a seat beside her. It was time now, and Daisy’s heart rate crept up even further than it had already. She was glad Tonks was here - Tonks had done all this before, and just knowing that helped ease Daisy’s worries.
The healer sat down at her desk just across from Daisy, and pulled up a scroll of parchment that had been laying at the very end. “Right, let’s get started. Daisy, I understand that you’re here because you, like Nymphadora, are transgender, and want to know about what kind of medicine might be able to help you feel comfortable in your body. That’s correct, yes?”
Daisy nodded. Just then, her mind wandered over to imagining what might happen without the healer’s help. It wouldn’t be long before her voice would drop, she’d start getting hair in all the wrong places, her body would grow to the wrong shape. She shuddered.
“Very good.” Madam Pomfrey cleared her throat, and unfurled the parchment she was holding. “First and foremost, I want you to know that hormones and the result of puberty are not what makes someone the gender they may identify as. A woman is allowed to have a deep voice and a beard, just as a man is allowed to have breasts and the like. The same goes for genitalia - penises and vulvae do not determine gender identity - though, none of this discredits what an individual might prefer for themself.”
Daisy nodded. She liked the way that Madam Pomfrey was so direct and serious about all this - people like the Dursleys would have treated any such conversations about the human body with shame and disgust. She’d read about puberty in a book once, to be prepared for what she once thought was her inescapable future, and it meant she knew what all of these things were.
“I’m going to tell you about the potions I can give you and what they will do to your body, and you’ll be the one to decide if it’s what you want. Even so - I want you to know that you won’t be able to start taking the Estrogenating Elixir this school year - while I do strongly believe that you are perfectly capable of deciding what is right for you, I want you to have the time to do so carefully. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Daisy nodded again. She felt a little disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to start straight away, but that was tempered by the fact that all of this was already beyond her wildest dreams. “Tonks said something to me earlier about a potion to stop me from starting… a boy’s puberty?”
“Indeed,” Pomfrey confirmed. “The first potion you’ll begin, if you wish to, is called the Lupriatus Potion, which the similar muggle medicine is named after. It prevents the hormones related to puberty from being produced altogether, and can be safely used for up to a few years. You need only ask for it, and I will provide this potion to you. Please read the passage here, so that you can understand precisely what it does.”
Pomfrey handed Daisy one of the sheets of parchment she was holding, and Daisy began reading it immediately. It described the Lupriatus Potion just like how the healer had explained it - that it would halt Daisy’s puberty for as long as it was taken, but could only be used for a maximum of four years. It said that overdosing or using the potion for too long could cause a form of magical poisoning that could permanently weaken Daisy’s magical core. She’d never heard of a ‘magical core’ before, but it wasn’t hard to figure out what it was from the name and context.
Also on the parchment was a description of side effects and possible risks - the potion could cause slight headaches, as well as some weight gain. Neither of those sounded too concerning to Diasy - she was getting used to headaches already, and knew she was still underweight from how little the Dursley’s let her eat. There was also a section that said that, in rare cases, the potion could cause seizures. Apparently if that happened, there was just another potion Daisy would have to take to prevent them from continuing.
“Okay, I’ve read it,” Daisy said quietly, looking up from the paper. “What about the other potions?”
Pomfrey smiled just a little. “The other two are the ones I’d be willing to give you in a year’s time - the Estrogenating Elixir, and the Androgen Arrestor. The former will allow your body to undergo mostly the same puberty as a cisgender girl would, and the latter will ensure that your body isn’t producing testosterone. I’ll give you the papers for those to keep as well, but please have a read through them now.”
Daisy read them. She read them, and smiled.
Notes:
Lol I decided that a teensy bit of lore for the world is that the wixen community have had things like puberty blockers and HRT for longer than the muggle world - and that the medicine Leuprorelin (which is used as a puberty blocker among other things) was named by someone from the wixen world who was familiar with the Lupriatis potion.
Also, I've noticed that for a bunch of fics the MC is given a testosterone blocking potion to start, and then estrogen later. Since Daisy hasn't really hit into puberty yet, she gets a puberty blocker first. The mechanism of action for puberty blockers is different to just testosterone blockers - it suppresses the production of GnRH, the hormone that is needed in order for testosterones and estrogens to be produced as well. Just blocking testosterone won't stop other aspects of puberty from beginning, and can have detrimental effects. Usually a testosterone blocker is prescribed alongside estrogen, and if you have a doctor who is suggesting T-blockers alone, get a second opinion if you can - it's not safe to do that for long, it can mess with your bone density and other aspects of your health.
Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed, next up is a bit of a time skip!
Chapter 8: Wingardium LeviOsa
Notes:
cw for bullying
I have discovered the power of writing on my phone in bed at night, something that for some reason I've been apprehensive about doing? But it's great, and it means I can write more even though I'm pretty busy nowadays. Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Alright, Daisy?” Wood called out as Daisy made it to the quidditch pitch for the usual early morning training with the Gryffindor team. It had been just over a month since she was chosen for the team. It was still a secret to the other first years in Gryffindor, at least. Daisy thought that was rather impressive, given how she had been gifted a Nimbus 2000 in front of many of her peers in the great hall just a few days later.
It had also been a month since she’d started taking the Lupriatus Potion - one which had made her feel miles better about herself. The potion had allayed so many of her fears about the years to come - and the promise of the potions waiting for her next year made her feel even better. She’d read over the parchment given to her by the healer several times over, a deep longing forming for the effects the Estrogenating Elixir would provide. It didn’t matter that she’d end up a year or so behind her dormmates developmentally, not when she had the opportunity at all.
Classes, too, had gone on rather well for the month. Potions was proving to be one of her better subjects even despite Snape’s poor and rather mean teaching - she and Daphne worked well together, and Daisy had started practicing using sign language instead of talking. It was hard, and she had a lot to learn, but it felt nice. Charms and Transfiguration were also going well, and Daisy had started befriending Zachariah Smith from Hufflepuff in the former.
Things were still tense with Ron - Daisy didn’t know why he kept saying unkind things to her and Hermione, especially after they’d started getting on at the beginning of the year. She did her best not to mention any of it to Fred and George - who were on the quidditch team. As frustrating as Ron could be sometimes, Daisy knew that the twins picked on Ron sometimes and didn’t want to make it worse.
“Alright,” Daisy finally responded to Wood after realising she had been lost in thought for almost half a minute. He chuckled, and told her to come out onto the pitch as quickly as she could. Daisy put her bag down and procured her Nimbus 2000 from the lockers, and rushed out after the others, making her the last to be ready.
There were twelve older students on the team, but Daisy only really knew half of them. The reserve players didn’t come to training as often, and Daisy didn’t know how to talk to them. She tended to stick closer to the team captain, Oliver Wood, and one of the chasers, Angelina Johnson - who was always nice to Daisy.
“Okay team,” Oliver started once everyone was ready, putting emphasis on the word ‘team’ like he did every single training session. “We have just over one week before our first match of the season, and we’re shaping up pretty well so far! Slytherin tend to be more aggressive, so now that we’ve got all our basic coordination down, let’s work on defensive and evasive manouvres. After we’ve done our warmups, I’m going to let out three bludgers today, and have all of our beaters and reserves go on the offensive. Chasers will split into two teams and play against each other while Yoko and I guard the rings on each end. Beaters? Go for everyone. And Daisy? I’m gonna set out three snitches, and I want you to try catch them all before the end of the session.”
“Awww yeah,” one of the twins howled. “Better watch out, we’re-”
“-coming for ya!” the other twin finished. Daisy still couldn’t quite tell them apart, especially when they didn’t put any effort into looking different - which was most of the time. “Watch yourselves!”
Daisy laughed at the twins’ antics - even if Ron seemed to have a different view of them, they were good fun and knew when to stop so they didn’t go too far with their pranks. She and all the others started running laps around the field - two laps to warm up. Daisy had struggled with the laps at first, but now she didn’t get out of breath from it like she used to. The warmup exercises were quickly becoming one of her favourite parts of the training sessions, what with the progress in her fitness and strength she was already noticing.
Once the laps and strength exercises were done, Daisy mounted her broom and took off into the air. She got into position up above the rest of the team, which was where Wood told her she should start any quidditch game. It would give her a good vantage point for how everything unfolded right at the start, and then let her focus on finding the snitch. The various balls were released moments later, and the training match officially began.
“One of a wizard’s most rudimentary skills is levitation,” Professor Flitwick began after everyone had arrived and settled down. Daisy had wanted to sit next to Zachariah, since she hadn’t seen him much outside of class in a little while, but he had already grouped up with some of the other Hufflepuff boys. Instead, she’d found a spot next to Kellah, one of her quieter dormmates.
“The ability to make objects fly is indeed a versatile one, and forms the groundwork for all sorts of spellwork,” Flitwick continued. “Last lesson we looked at the different ways levitation-based magic can be used across many aspects of life, and today it’s time to learn the core levitation spell. You’ve all been provided with a feather, and there are spares if anything… unfortunate should happen to them. Please observe as I demonstrate the wand motion.”
Daisy watch intently as the professor flicked his wrist around, making sure she caught the movements well enough to produce them on her own. It wasn’t exactly a subtle motion, which certainly made it easier. As much as Daisy wanted to pick up her wand straight away to practice, she knew that the rule was to wait until the Professor gave the go-ahead first.
“Now, if everyone could raise their wands and practice the motion with me,” Flitwick instructed, as if on cue. Daisy eagerly raised her wand, and went through the ‘swish and flick’ motions that Flitwick was continuing to demonstrate. She was pretty sure she had it down by the second try, but kept going with the rest of the class almost ten times before Flitwick was satisfied with everyone’s form.
“The next step is enunciation. Say it after me: Wingardium leviosa,” Flitwick enunciated slowly, which was promptly followed by the class making attempts at the word. The auditory cacophony was becoming less startling to Daisy - seeing as she now knew to expect it - so she tried to block it out and focus on her own voice. After only a few rounds this time, Professor Flitwick declared that it was time to begin making attempts at casting the spell.
Just as Daisy was preparing to lift her wand and get started, she heard Hermione’s clear voice cut across the classroom.
“Wingardium Leviosa,” Hermione intoned. As she flicked her wrist and said the words, her feather rose up and danced gently in the air under the control of her steady wand hand.
“Well done, Miss Granger!” Professor Flitwick praised eagerly. “Five points to Gryffindor for your quick, exemplary mastery of the spell!”
Daisy saw Hermione preen at the praise, and smiled. She knew Hermione worked hard in all her learning, and deserved the recognition for it. Daisy then returned her focus to the feather in front of her, and began her own attempt at the levitation spell.
“Wingardium leviosa,” Daisy enunciated carefully, and with a swish and a flick, the feather lifted off the desk. Daisy wasn’t the only one to succeed after Hermione’s leading demonstration, but more of her classmates were struggling than weren’t.
Kellah was in the latter category. Rather than continue practicing the spell herself, Daisy opted to pay attention to what Kellah was doing - and it didn’t take long to spot the issue.
“Slow down,” Daisy suggested, hoping her input would be welcomed. “You’re rushing both the flick and the last bit of the pronunciation, that’s probably why it isn’t working.”
Kellah hummed to herself, and nodded. Then, after taking a steadying breath, she tried again. “Wingardium Leviosa.”
The feather lifted off the table. It rose up, hovered for a few seconds, and then drifted side to side as it fell back down. Kellah pumped her first, and her wand came quite close to pulling Daisy’s glasses off her face.
“Yes! I did it!” Kellah exclaimed, and then seemed to realise the near-accident. “Oh, sorry! And… thanks for the tip, Daisy. You’re good at this stuff, huh?”
“I just read ahead when I can,” Daisy deflected, flushing at the praise. She wasn’t good at taking it like Hermione was. “I don’t want to fall behind, especially since I grew up with Muggles for most of my life.”
“Honestly, I feel like I’m the one falling behind,” Kellah bemoaned. “I guess some of us from wixen families tend to take it all for granted, huh? I should listen to my uncle more - he’s an auror - and work harder.”
“An auror? Those are like magical police, right? Wingardium leviosa,” Daisy asked, casting the spell to practice more while she talked with Kellah. She knew Professor Flitwick didn’t mind talking as long as his students were still working as well, and she was interested in learning more about parts of the magical world she hadn’t learned about yet.
“Ehhh, yes and no,” Kellah sort-of answered while watching Daisy’s feather dance around. “More like dark wix fighters. And other big stuff that the police can’t handle. My uncle’s really good at it, but I’m not sure he actually likes it. He keeps complaining about some of the other aurors being racist to him, calling him ‘Shacklebolt’ as if black people don’t have a history of being shackled and enslaved. It’s kind gross.”
“Oh, that sounds awful,” Daisy responded. She felt a little guilty that she didn’t know about the slavery before, mixed with resentment towards the Dursleys for not letting her learn about the world properly. She resolved to do her own reading and learn what she could, not liking the idea of being blind to the injustice others faces. “Try the spell again?”
“Oh, right!” Kellah pulled her wand up and cast the spell again, managing to hold it for longer and make it dance a little this time. “I’m starting to get the hang of it! Maybe I’ll try your thing and read ahead next time, seems to be helping you and Hermione a lot.”
“I hope it helps,” Daisy said with a smile, carefully lowering her feather back down again. “I remember reading that a better understanding of a spell makes it easier to cast.”
“Ohhhh,” Kellah sounded. “That does make sense!”
Class went on much the same for the rest of the period, with Daisy and Kellah chatting about spellwork and aurors and being in Hogwarts while trying to keep their feathers afloat as long as they could. Around the class, everyone else continued making progress at varying rates. Daisy saw that Zachariah had managed to make his feather move really fast, but Neville was having trouble with the movement and had at one point managed to make his feather inflate like a balloon.
Ron looked upset about something the whole time though, and since he was sitting next to Hermione, Daisy could only hope that it wasn’t anything too bad. She really just wanted him to be nicer and more understanding, but he was drifting apart from Daisy and Hermione more and more as the weeks went by.
Finally, class came to an end and it was time to head back to the dorms. Tonight was Hallowe’en, which was apparently a big deal at Hogwarts. People didn’t dress up like in the muggle world, but it was a celebration all the same. One part of the celebration had Daisy on edge, and she was doing her best to keep it out of her mind. Apparently Hallowe’en was celebrated by many as the day ‘Harry Potter’ defeated Voldemort.
She steeled herself, and tried to match her pace with Hermione’s; being near a friend would make it all a lot easier. Nervously, she fiddled with her glamour ring as she and Hermione walked amongst the crowd of first year Gryffindors in silence. Enough silence that Daisy could easily hear the conversations around her.
“It’s ‘leviOsa’, not ‘‘leviosAH’,” Ron crowed in what sounded like an imitation of someone else’s voice. Daisy’s gut twisted at her leading theory of who he might be mocking. “She’s a nightmare, honestly! It’s no wonder that barely anyone wants to be her friend!”
Hermione gasped, and fled. Daisy felt her heart rate rise, and she prepared to chase off after Hermione, who definitely didn’t deserve such cruel words. But first, she had something to say.
Daisy stomped over to where Ron and Seamus were laughing, and turned in front of them to intercept then. “Ron, please stop being so mean to her! She was trying to help, because the pronunciation is really important to make spells work! I don’t know why you keep picking on her for trying to share what she knows, but it’s not fair at all!”
Instead of waiting to see what Ron might say in response, Daisy ran off and tried to chase after Hermione. Unfortunately, it had been long enough that she had definitely lost her friend’s trail.
Daisy headed first to the dorms - maybe Hermione would be there, or maybe not, but it was the best first place to look. When Daisy got there and scrambled up to the first year girls’ room, Hermione was nowhere to be seen. The curtains around her bed were open, and Daisy couldn’t even see her books from class set down anywhere. With a sigh, Daisy put her own books and other class supplies away, and set off to search the castle for any sensible places Hermione might’ve been-
-until she realised that maybe it was better not to go after her just yet. Maybe Hermione needed space, and would turn up to dinner later. With that thought in mind, Daisy collapsed onto one of the sofas and kept her mind busy with a deactivated set of wizard’s chess until it was time for dinner.
The Great Hall was certainly decorated for a special occasion, with candles shining a more intense orange hue than usual, and all sorts of ‘spooky’ decorations hanging off the walls. When the food was served, it was not only glamorous, but thematic. Most of it was orange, and there was a lot of pumpkin.
Fifteen minutes of dinnertime passed, and Hermione still hadn’t returned. Daisy was getting a bit worried now. She decided on a plan of action - first ask if anyone had seen her and try to go find her herself, or otherwise tell the Prefects and get them to help. “Has anyone seen Hermione?”
“No, but Parvati says she’s been in the lower girls’ bathroom all afternoon crying,” Neville informed her. Daisy very much noticed the way Ron winced at that, and hoped it meant Ron understood what he did wrong.
“Alright, I’ll go talk to her,” Daisy declared, and set off towards the dungeons. She supposed it made sense that Hermione went there, since the lower bathrooms weren’t as good and people avoided using them.
“Hermione?” Daisy called out when she arrived at the bathroom. It wasn’t hard to tell where Hermione was; only one stall was shut.
“Go away, I don’t want to talk to anyone!” Hermione protested quickly, and Daisy winced. She wanted to help, but Hermione didn’t want to talk. So instead, Daisy brainstormed what other ways she might be able to do some good.
“Is it okay if I just sit here with you then?” Daisy offered.
After a few moments of silence, Hermione responded. “…okay.”
So Daisy sat down on the toilet seat in the stall next to Hermione’s, and waited until Hermione was ready to talk, or to go to dinner. She wanted to do more, but she also didn’t want to force Hermione to talk about it - Daisy certainly knew what it was like to be overwhelmed and not want to talk.
Minutes and more minutes passed in silence, and Daisy was glad to find that it felt less stagnant the longer it was. She had taken to reviewing what she remembered about the boiling pustule potion, which she would be making in the next potions class. Daisy even managed to fingerspell the name of the potion to herself - which she had started doing a week ago with spells and potions as a way of practicing.
Several more minutes passed, and finally Hermione spoke. “Am I really a nightmare? I feel like there’s this rulebook to talking to other people that everyone but me knows, and I’m always getting thing wrong and making people upset even when I try to help.”
Daisy found herself relating a lot to that idea of a hidden rulebook. “I don’t think you’re a nightmare. I don’t know why Ron’s being like that either. Maybe we can both ask him to tell us if we’re doing something wrong? I know I had to learn a bunch of those rules with the Muggles I lived with to stay out of trouble, but it’s really hard without help.”
“So… you’re not upset like the others are?” Hermione questioned.
“No!” Daisy exclaimed quickly. “I think you’re really easy to talk to and I like hearing what you have to say, I promise. I didn’t have any friends before Hogwarts, and I’m really glad you were one of my first friends.”
There was a brief pause. “We’re friends?”
“Yes?” Daisy managed, realising she and Hermione had never actually declared each other friends. “I mean, if you want? I want to be your friend.”
“I do too,” Hermione declared quietly. “I guess I never know how to tell who’s my friend and who’s not. I think I need people to tell me. I… I’m feeling better now. Should we go to dinner?”
“Yeah, let’s go,” Daisy agreed, and the two girls stepped out of their respective toilet stalls.
Facing them from the entrance to the bathroom was the giant leathery form of a mountain troll, with a massive club in its hand.
Notes:
I split up the stuff happening between this chapter, last chapter and next chapter into 3 chapters instead of 2 to make it flow better with the timeskip. It's a bit shorter as a result, but I think 3k words is still a decently not-short chapter length haha
Chapter 9: Troll in the Dungeons
Notes:
Another chapter, enjoy!
No cws that I can think of this time.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Tremulus!” Daisy howled as quickly as she could, almost on instinct as the troll wandered into the bathroom. It looked curious, perhaps even confused with the way its eyes wandered around. Like it wasn’t meant to be here, like it didn’t know how it got here. But Daisy had heard of trolls, she had seen them in a book or two she’d read, and she knew that they were dangerous. That they were lethal.
So, instinct took over. Poor instinct, probably - as Daisy quickly realised that the better choice may have been to hide. To roll under the stalls and hide like Hermione had done immediately. But no, her brain went into fight mode, and she might just get killed for it.
Her spell, tremulus, didn’t do much. A not-all-that-impressive cone of vibrations funnelled out of her wand and towards the troll, pushing it back maybe a foot, two at best. It looked down. Dark, beady eyes landed on Daisy, and the troll’s coarse, rather sporadic eyebrows furrowed. The club in its right hand swung down as it stepped forward, and Daisy dove out of the way. Her waist collided harshly with one of the basins, but Daisy pushed herself off it as quickly as she could and readied herself again.
She cast her mind through what spells she knew, thinking of what might be effective against a beast with magically resistant hide and enough sheer strength to be a problem all the same. Perhaps the Knockback Jinx - it was far simpler than tremulus, and for that very reason Daisy figured she might be able to put more power into it - even though it hadn’t actually been covered yet in class. It was the next spell to learn in charms class, after they were all done with the levitation charm.
Daisy also considered transfiguration - she knew that it could go very, very wrong without delicately precise usage, which was exactly why it crossed her mind. But no, it was too uncertain. There was no time to waste, not in a situation like this. Not with Hermione hiding in her rather sensible fear, not with a mountain troll this close, not without help or some kind of distraction. So, the knockback jinx.
“Flipendo!” Daisy cried, pushing what force she could into the spell in the hopes of it buying some more time. Surely someone would come to help - surely there was some way that the professors would find out about the troll and come to hers and Hermione’s rescue.
The spell worked, if only a little. She had aimed it at the troll’s legs, and one of them buckled. The troll fell onto one knee, but caught itself all the same. Hermione was screaming now, too. Daisy had barely registered her screams the first time, when the troll had just arrived. They’d stopped for a moment, and then come back.
“Daisy, move!” Ron’s voice screamed from the bathroom entryway. Daisy was already on top of that, though. While getting up, the troll had managed to sweep its club sideways, smashing towards the sink basins. Daisy barely just stumbled back in time, narrowly avoiding the club but not the porcelain shrapnel that had exploded everywhere. Some landed in her left hand, which had come up to protect her face.
“Help!” Hermione screamed, still in one of the bathroom stalls. “Help!”
If Ron was here now - and Daisy had no idea why Ron was here - he could help Daisy try that transfiguration idea. Plus, Ron being here at least probably meant teachers were coming soon. Help was coming.
“Ron, get its attention!” Daisy barked, sharper than she knew her voice was even capable of.
“Got it!” Ron responded, and hurled a chunk of broken floor at the troll’s head. It turned, now facing away from Daisy. She pointed her wand at the troll’s back, remembering all that she had learnt so far in transfigurations class. A lot of transfiguration spells were guided by an incantation, and to cast any form of transfiguration with any effect without took a great deal of skill. Daisy was only a first year, and she only knew two incantations for transfiguration. One that had been used to turn a match into a needle, and one that had been used to give a cup soft fur. Maybe, just maybe if she failed the second one on purpose, it could at least weaken the troll.
Daisy yelled the incantation ever so slightly incorrectly, pushing what magic she could into the spell, and focused on trying to get a section of the troll’s back to turn half-way to fur. A moment passed. She felt her magic connect - of that, she was sure. But nothing had happened. A few seconds passed, during which Ron was diving back and forth to keep away from the troll’s club.
Only then did the back of the troll’s neck start sprouting patches of hair. Hair that then fell out, with small chunks of the troll’s neck coming with it. It looked almost sickening, how the flesh flaked away as it fell, but it was something. The troll paused, reached back towards its neck, and then shuddered in pain as its hand touched the raw, exposed flesh that had once been protected by a thick grey hide.
The troll turned. A moment too late, Daisy realised her mistake. She had brought the troll’s attention back to her, and now it wasn’t just aggravated and confused and lashing out like one would expect. No, it was furious. The troll bellowed, an almost ear-rending, bassy noise that made Daisy’s stomach unsettle all the way, and lifted its club up into the air. Daisy glanced around, trying to see if she could escape. There was rubble all around her, and two of the three stalls had been smashed up while Ron was keeping it busy. Hermione wasn’t in any of the stalls anymore - instead she was hiding right in the very back corner of the bathroom. There wasn’t anywhere Daisy could go quickly, not without falling and getting pancaked.
She closed her eyes, and shielded her face for good measure. Well, at least she’d tried.
“WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA!”
No strike came. Daisy hesitantly opened her eyes, and saw that the troll’s hand was empty. It looked far more confused than before, staring almost blankly at its empty right hand. Daisy looked up, and saw the club hovering half a metre above the troll’s head. Behind it, Ron had his wand and eyes trained with intense focus on the club, and was moving it ever so slowly into position. Then, the club fell.
Thunk.
The falling club impacted with the troll’s head and clattered to the ground. The troll, dazed, staggered around for a good few seconds before following after its club. Ron had to scramble out of the way to avoid being caught under it, but made it to safety just in time.
“Is it… dead?” Hermione asked hesitantly, emerging from her hiding spot in the corner of the room.
“I don’t think so,” Daisy answered, noting the slow rise and fall of the fallen troll’s chest. She beckoned to Hermione with her hand, silently communicating the fact that they should really get out of here fast, before the troll was able to get back up. Then they’d be able to find help, make sure it wouldn’t hurt anyone else.
“Ron, how-” Hermione started to ask something, but was quickly interrupted by the sound of several sets of footsteps, and then-
“Oh my goodness,” Professor McGonagall gasped as she entered the bathroom, followed closely by Professors Snape and Quirrell. “Explain yourselves, all of you!”
“It’s-” Hermione started, but was cut off yet again.
“It’s my fault, Professor McGonagall,” Ron cut in. “I was… I was awful to Hermione after class today, and she was hiding here ever since because of me. Daisy went to go find her before we all found out about the troll, and I couldn’t just go back to the dorms knowing that the two of them might be in danger.”
Daisy gaped at Ron, surprised by what he was saying and how quickly he jumped in. It wasn’t like there was anything untrue about what he said, she just… didn’t expect him to own up to it all like that, not after how he’d been lately. Maybe there was hope, maybe he’d be her and Hermione’s friend again. The pain in her waist brought her out of her thoughts as she clutched her side - but it wasn’t just her own body that she noticed then. Taking in her surroundings, Daisy noticed a long red cut along Professor Snape’s leg where the fabric was torn away. Snape seemed to notice Daisy’s wandering eyes, and pulled his cloak around to hide the injury.
“Be that as it may, Mister Weasley, it was an extremely foolish thing to do,” McGonagall reprimanded him. “I would have expected a first year such as yourself to find a teacher or at least a prefect to search instead, and I must say I’m very disappointed in you. Ten points will be taken from Gryffindor for your serious lack of judgement. I must ask though, what happened here? Not many first year students could take on a troll and live to tell the tale.”
Daisy could feel her ability to speak waning, but she pushed onward and forced the words out. Ron hadn’t been here the whole time, he couldn’t answer Professor McGonagall’s question properly. It would be uncomfortable, but Daisy would have to just deal with that later. “The troll came in just as Hermione and I were leaving, Professor. I couldn’t see a way for us to get out so I tried to fight it off. Tremulus didn’t work on it properly, so I managed to use flipendo to push it onto one knee, but it kept attacking. Ron came in then and kept it distracted, and I managed to hurt it by botching a transfiguration spell against its neck, and then Ron knocked it out by levitating its club into-”
“You did what?” Professor McGonagall barked all of a sudden, and Daisy could see just how deeply the expression on her face had changed, her eyes wide and jaw gaping for a moment. “Did you just say you used a failed transfiguration spell against it?”
“Um… yes,” Daisy nodded. “I thought the adverse reaction from failing the spell might help, and it did.”
Professor McGonagall pulled out her wand. “I need you to tell me exactly what you did and what happened, Miss Evans. Quick as you can.”
Daisy gulped. “I… I mispronounced the spell we were learning in class earlier this week to give cups fur. The spell landed on the troll’s neck, it started sprouting some fur and then chunks of skin fell away. They, uh… they flaked into dust as they fell?”
Almost in sync, all three professors raised their wands with a great deal of urgency, and started casting such a quick array of spells that Daisy couldn’t make out what any of them were. Sometimes pulses of light shone through the air, and Daisy found one such light directed at herself, Ron and Hermione by the transfiguration professor. The three professors then exchanged a glance, Snape and Quirrell nodding at McGonagall.
“Thank goodness,” Professor McGonagall let out a sigh of relief. “It appears that there are no contaminants in the room or affecting any of you three. The school’s protective wards for transfiguration aren’t as strong outside of my classrooms, so I had feared- never mind that. Miss Evans, that will be twenty points from Gryffindor for your complete lack of consideration for the dangers of failed transfiguration, something which I would never have expected from you. Although I certainly understand the desperation one might feel while in such danger, and that it might cloud one’s judgement, can you tell me what happens if a gasseous product of transfiguration were to be breathed in?”
Daisy paled. “It… the transfiguration could reverse from within the body and cause harm? But I didn’t transfigure anything into gas!”
Professor McGonagall frowned, and pointed to the visible wound on the back of the troll’s neck with her wand. “One of the risks of a failed transfiguration is unexpected transformations, such as how the transfigured material on the back of the troll’s neck turned to dust. If any of you had breathed that in, it would have been a very urgent trip to St. Mungo’s indeed. I implore you to remember this, Miss Evans, and never try such a foolish and misguided plan again. Is that understood?”
Daisy looked down, and tried not to cry. She did understand, and that was what had horrified her. “Yes, Professor.”
“Very well,” Professor McGonagall conceded. “Lastly, I will be awarding a shared ten points to Gryffindor for the sheer, absurd luck it takes to have defeated a mountain troll as first years, barely a month into your education. Do not take this as encouragement, you three. Now, Miss Evans, I can see that you are injured. Professor Quirrell will escort Mister Weasley and Miss Granger to the Gryffindor dorms, and I will take you to see Madam Pomfrey and have those wounds taken care of. Severus, I expect that you can have the troll removed from the grounds on your own?”
“Certainly,” Professor Snape confirmed, and the three students were promptly whisked out of the thoroughly destroyed bathroom. Daisy spared a glance back at Snape’s leg, wondering what could have caused an injury like that, and whether or not the timing of it was more than a coincidence. A mountain troll would not have been able to get into the school on its own, so someone had to have let it in.
Daisy was fortunate that her injuries from the encounter with the troll were minor, and that Madam Pomfrey was able to heal them quite quickly and send her back to her dorm after only a few minutes. She apparently didn’t require an escort this time, and found herself walking through the castle corridors with only her thoughts as company. Her mind kept running over the encounter again and again, trying to understand why she thought using transfiguration like that was even an option. She knew the risks and dangers, she knew that transfigured gasses and liquids could be lethal and so could small airborne particles. Still, she put the poorly thought out strategy into action, and in the moment that the transfigured matter turned to dust, the dangers didn’t once cross her mind.
It wasn’t a pleasant place to be mentally, and it left Daisy feeling afraid of… well, herself. The way she had leapt into action instinctively, combined with the way she had been so careless then, and that combined with how back in the forbidden corridor she hadn’t even remotely considered the spell alohamora. That last one had seemed so innocuous, so unimportant at the time, but Daisy was noticing a pattern now. Or, she hoped it was just two times and that it wouldn’t be a pattern, because it was starting to feel like she couldn’t safely handle dangerous situations at all.
Was this something she could learn? Could she develop some kind of skills to think more clearly while under pressure like that? She didn’t know, and that lack of knowledge scared her as well. Maybe she could ask Tonks for some advice - she knew that one of the many careers Tonks was considering was that of an Auror, and she was apparently really good at duelling. Surely she would know what Daisy needed to do better.
Daisy was snapped out of her fretful thoughts as she arrived in the common room - or more precisely, by the voice calling out to her. It was Ron calling her name, and sitting beside him was Hermione. Had they both been waiting for her to get back? Had Hermione willingly waited with Ron?
“Daisy, are you okay?” Ron asked, and Daisy paced over to join them. She was tired, and she wanted to go to sleep, but if Hermione was waiting with Ron then it was probably important.
“Madam Pomfrey took care of my injuries, it didn’t take long,” Daisy answered in explanation. “What about you two?”
“Fine, yeah,” Ron answered.
“A bit shaken, but I think I’m alright now,” Hermione added. “Ron apparently has something he wants to say to both of us.”
“Yeah, uh,” Ron started, and then paused to take a deep breath. His eyes were watery, as though he was on the verge of tears but not all the way there. “I wanted to, uh, apologise. You were right when you told me off today, Daisy. I’ve been, well… I’ve been a right arse. I just… I don’t want to sound like I’m making excuses, but I get treated a bit like the runt of the litter sometimes at home. Especially Fred and George, sometimes they say things that make me feel like they just see me as a little baby. And… I’m bad at studying and I was scared I’d be bad at magic too, and that if I couldn’t do it myself or if I seemed unimpressive to anyone else then… then I’d just be stuck that way.
“I was wrong, and it was wrong of me to take it out on you. On both of you, but especially you, Hermione. I know now that you’re just trying to be nice and help, and I’m gonna listen. I think… I think it’s okay if I need help sometimes. I practiced the levitation charm heaps after class and I was able to get it right tonight because of your advice, Hermione,” Ron continued. “I’m really sorry about how I’ve been. I… do you still want to be friends?”
“I’ve never had friends before Hogwarts,” Hermione admitted to Ron. “So yes, I do. But my parents say it’s good to take a break from a person you’re upset at for a bit and process your feelings first, so I want to do that. Will you give me a couple days, and then we can be friends?”
Ron stared for a moment, lost for words. Daisy was a bit stunned too - what Hermione just said made a lot of sense, but she was so new to being actually respected by people that it was a bit of a shock to hear. The idea that you could take time off from a person like that for a good reason was… new.
“Uh… yeah, course,” Ron agreed finally. He then turned his attention to Daisy. “Is… do you want that too?”
“I might give it a try,” Daisy decided, because she wanted to see if it would help, and she was still pretty upset with Ron. She was really happy that he apologised like that, but that didn’t negate the other feelings she was having at the moment. Maybe tomorrow she could ask Hermione how the whole ‘processing’ thing worked, and what she was supposed to do to make it happen.
Notes:
My headcanon (for my own fic lol) is that Hermione’s parents used Yom Kippur as a specific and relevant time to teach her about taking space from people to process things healthily. That’s one of the things about Yom Kippur that I, a mostly secular/non-practicing Jew, really like. The whole intentional approach to atonement and reflection, which can be used as a vessel to consider what you want from others as well as just what you give or say to others based on your own actions. Desmond and Isabella would definitely be the kinds of parents to tell Hermione to take responsibility and accountability for her own actions, but also that it’s okay to be upset with others for hurting her too.
Chapter 10: A Jinxed Broom
Notes:
Long chapter because it felt better to combine what had originally be two chapters!
Heads up that this chapter will feature adults not taking children seriously, and also mentions of Daisy's abandonment fears. If anyone would like me to regularly cw abandonment trauma when it comes up please let me know and I'll do so (and go back to previous chapters and cw accordingly).
Otherwise, hope you enjoy! This chapter deletes my buffer bc I combined the two chapters together but I feel like it's worth it lol
Also also also as of this moment the fic has 69 comments. n i c e
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Take a bit of toast, mate, go on!” Ron said in an attempt to be encouraging to Daisy, who had barely eaten and had been pushing food around on her plate avoidantly for the past few minutes. The first quidditch game of the season was starting in a little over an hour, and Daisy was beyond nervous. Sure, she’d trained with the team and they all seemed to think she was ready, but she’d never played a real game of Quidditch before and there’d be all those people watching. She knew that the Slytherin team was aggressive, and was not only afraid of getting hurt, but afraid of making bad decisions like with the troll just over a week ago.
“Ron’s right, Daisy,” Hermione added. “You’ll need your strength today.”
It wasn’t helping her want to eat, but Daisy was glad that the two of them were both there. Friendship had been rekindled over the past week, and Ron had become immensely more pleasant to be around. He had to catch himself out sometimes when he almost slipped into habits of making fun of Hermione’s knowledge and willingness to share, but even that had only happened twice.
“I know, I know, but I’m not hungry,” Daisy replied, and set her cutlery down. “At least I’ve had a little bit already.”
Just as Daisy was pushing her plate further into the table so it wouldn’t be a looming presence in front of her, another looming presence arrived beside her. “Good luck today, Evans.”
Of all the deepened adult voices to wish her luck like that, Daisy certainly hadn’t expected it to come from Professor Snape. He had made it pretty clear that he didn’t like her in class, and he would put unfair pressure on her in class often. She just couldn’t figure out why he treated her like that. “Now that you’ve proven yourself against a troll, a little game of quidditch should be easy work. Even it is against my own Slytherins.”
And then, as Snape walked away, something clicked into place. A thought that had been hovering at the back of her mind, incomplete, ever since Hallowe’en eve. Daisy turned to her friends and leaned in, speaking quietly and almost conspiratorially so that nobody else would overhead. “That explains the blood!”
“Blood?” Hermione questioned quietly, leaning in as well. Ron just raised an eyebrow, making no move to get closer.
“Last week, that troll must have been let into the school on purpose. How else would it have gotten there? And Snape had a bloody cut along his leg, with some of the fabric of his pants torn away. I think that maybe he let the troll in as a diversion so he could try and get past that three headed dog to steal whatever it was guarding! He must have got bitten, which would explain all that and the limp he had for a couple days after,” Daisy explained.
“But what could be so important?” Hermione queried, and by now Ron had leaned in to join the both of them.
“The day I went to Gringotts, I was with Hagrid. He took something out of a vault - the same vault that someone tried to break into - and said it was ‘Hogwarts business, very secret, between him, Dumbledore and Gringotts only’,” Daisy continued.
“So you’re saying…” Hermione trailed off.
“That’s what the dog’s guarding,” Daisy completed the thought. “That’s what Snape wants.”
“Wait…” Ron gasped, though he was at least quiet enough about it that nobody else nearby at the table noticed. “That was the day Harry Potter was spotted, and I heard someone said he was with Hagrid. Did… did you get to meet Harry Potter?”
Daisy winced, and a pit formed in her stomach. She fought to still herself, to abate the panic that had come from the question, and the pain of having to hear that name. She would have to find a way to pass that off, or Ron would figure it out. Then Ron and Hermione would both know, and Daisy wouldn’t have friends anymore - worse, she might have Malfoy trying to be her friend.
“Uh… no,” Daisy managed. “Must have missed him.”
“Aw mate, that sucks!” Ron bemoaned, and that time Daisy managed to stifle any reactions beyond a twinge of pain in her gut. At least he seemed satisfied by that, and instead returned to trying to convince her to eat. Hoping to aid in moving on from that dangerous topic, Daisy took a careful bite into a piece of toast - much to Ron and Hermione’s approval. Even if she was now distracted by theorising about Snape and the secret package, she had a quidditch game to play.
“Scared, Daisy?” Oliver - who had insisted Daisy stop calling him Wood - asked.
“A little,” she admitted. The team now stood behind the one rather shabby little wooden door that remained between them and the quidditch pitch. Daisy could hear the noisy cheering and chattering of the crowd up in the stands. The whole school would be there - except for perhaps the small few who chose to study or do something else back in the castle. This was Daisy’s first game, and the rest of the team were counting on her to catch the snitch and bring them the win. Not only that, she had to try and delay catching the snitch if the Slytherins got too far ahead on points.
“That’s alright,” Oliver said encouragingly. “I felt the same way before my first game.”
“What happened?” Daisy asked.
“Uh, I don’t really remember,” Oliver admitted sheepishly. “I took a bludger to the head two minutes in, woke up in hospital a week later.”
“That’s… encouraging,” Daisy managed. It was, in fact, not at all encouraging. She gulped, and made a note to be extra careful about avoiding the bludgers. The wooden door raised, letting in strong rays of sunlight, and revealing the pitch beyond. Following the cues of her teammates, Daisy mounted her Nimbus 2000 and flew out onto the pitch, doing her best to stay in the team formation.
The formation lasted seconds, before Fred and George peeled off to fly loops around one of the audience stands. Alicia and Angelina did the same in another direction, and Katie - the newest chaser on the team who was playing for the first ten minutes before the sixth year Anjani subbed in for the rest of the game - followed Oliver forwards to cross paths with some of the approaching Slytherin players. Daisy was left on her own, near the middle of the Gryffindor side of the pitch, kind of just hovering there awkwardly.
“Welcome to Hogwarts’ first quidditch game of the season!” A voice boomed from some kind of loudspeaker that Daisy had spotted over at the teachers’ stand. She recognised the voice as belonging to Lee Jordan - a third year Gryffindor who was close friends with Fred and George. “Today’s game: Slytherin versus Gryffindor!”
The two houses in question began cheering as they heard their respective names. Daisy’s eyes scanned the Gryffindor section of the crowds to try and spot those of her friends who shared her house. She couldn’t spot Tonks either, even though she had seen the older girl at breakfast with multicoloured hair that should have been easy to spot. Daisy frowned.
“Come on, Daisy,” came the voice of one of the twins, who flew past her to gather in the newly forming circle of flyers at the centre of the field - with Gryffindors on one side, and Slytherins on the other. Right in the middle, Madam Hooch was walking over to the case holding the various game balls. Daisy followed, finding a spot between Katie and Alicia.
“I want a nice, clean game from all of you,” Madam Hooch called out, holding her wand to her throat and using some kind of spell to amplify her voice. She kicked the case open, and the bludgers and snitch immediately shot up into the air.
“The bludgers are up, followed by the golden snitch. Remember, the snitch is worth 150 points, and the seeker who catches the snitch ends the game,” Lee reminded everyone.
Daisy tried to track the snitch with her eyes and failed - every golden snitch had an extra layer of enchantment to make it faster and harder to see briefly at the start of the game, so that a good seeker wouldn’t be able to just end the game in all of five seconds.
“The quaffle is released, and the game begins!” Lee declared, and then the game was on. Angelina snatched the quaffle deftly out of the air, and took off before the Slythern chasers could do anything to swipe it from her.
For a long half minute, the chasers passed the quaffle back and forth, evading bludgers and Slytherins alike, until it went back to Angelina who managed to score. From there, the quaffle fell into Slytheri possession. But Daisy realised that she couldn’t just sit and watch her teammates while being wary of approaching bludgers - she had a job to do. She needed to find the snitch.
Daisy spotted the Slytherin seeker first - Niamh Byrne, in fourth year. Her teammates had taught her to keep an eye on the enemy seeker, since although a seeker could hide it if they were good enough, there were often tells that they’d spotted the snitch already. Niamh, however, only seemed to be circling the pitch slowly from above. Daisy was prepared to do the same, keeping her eye out for both glints of gold and-
Fred - and Daisy knew it was Fred by the number on his quidditch uniform - flinched almost inexplicably, and then waved his beater’s club downward twice. That was the signal for a beater who’d seen the snitch, and by the way he flinched it must have flown in front of him or right past his ear.
Daisy had a choice to make now - she could speed after him and look for the snitch quickly while risking tipping Niamh off, or she could slowly approach Fred and get onto the snitch’s trail more slowly. And after all the impulsive mistakes Daisy had made lately, she didn’t want to rush. She drifted around towards Fred, keeping an eye out for the snitch all the while. Niamh was still circling from above, so she was in the clear for the moment, at least.
But by the time she reached where Fred had been, the snitch was well and truly gone. She looked around again to see if any of her teammates spotted or reacted to the snitch, only to see Alicia get herded straight into the scaffolding of one of the house flag towers. She tumbled all the way to the ground, and Daisy’s breath caught.
She released her breath again only after seeing Alicia get up and signal towards the sidelines. She was okay, but needed to sub out - which meant Anjani was coming on sooner than planned, and Yoko, who could play both keeper and chaser, would swap for Katie next.
Something whizzed past Daisy’s ear just as Anjani came on. A fleck of gold flew past, and the chase was on. Just like in training, Daisy locked her sights onto the tiny target while keeping her peripheral vision in mind in case of any approaching hazards. The score was 30-20 by her last count, so it was fair game to go for the snitch. Not only that, but her broom was way faster than Niamh’s Cleansweep - which Daisy did think was a bit unfair - so tipping off the other seeker wasn’t an issue.
She dove after the snitch, rising up above the rest of the game and trying to get closer before reaching out, and then everything lurched to one side.
“Wha’s going on with Daisy’s broomstick?” Hagrid near-bellowed from Hermione’s side. Hermione didn’t have the advantage of binoculars like Hagrid did, but she didn’t need them. The problem was plain as day. Daisy had just started flying faster - perhaps she had spotted the snitch - and then her broom started shaking and bucking rather violently.
There were gasps from across the crowd as Daisy clung on for dear life, and Hermione had a bad feeling about this. She doubted that a new broomstick model would be released without extensive testing - not with the way the British wixen community went on about quidditch. No, something was actually properly wrong.
“Hagrid, let me see!” Hermione called, and the giant groundskeeper wasted no time in giving the binoculars to her. She pulled them to her eyes and focused in on Daisy. It was even more worrisome to watch zoomed in, the way Daisy’s grip kept slipping and reconnecting - at any moment a mistake could have her falling to the ground.
But Hermione could see more than just Daisy, she could see the teacher’s area behind her. Another bad feeling - or perhaps more of a logical interference - came to mind. What if Daisy had been right about Snape this morning? What if Snape knew that Daisy was onto her, and was trying to get her killed? She zoomed in, and true to her suspicions, she could see Snape’s lips moving rather rapidly. Even more damning was how Snape’s sight was locked onto Daisy with a great deal of focus.
“It’s Snape,” Hermione hissed. “He’s jinxing the broom!”
“Jinxing the broom?” Ron echoed with a lot of emphasis. “What do we do?”
Hermione had an idea. She just had to be quick about it. “Leave it to me.”
From there, it was just a matter of getting to the other side of the pitch as fast as she could. She squeezed past all the other students and ran down the stairs - one level lower it would be easy to run to the other side uninterrupted. Hermione wasn’t a great runner, but she did her best anyway. She sprinted as fast as she could to the other side, doing her very best not to trip over her robes, and then quietly crept up to a spot right below where all the teachers were sitting.
Specifically, she was right by Snape’s feet. Hermione raised her wand, and thought through the spell she was about to use before casting it. “Lacanum inflammari!”
The very bottom of Professor Snape’s robes caught alight with blue flames, and Hermione turned to make a run for it - but only once she was sure the fire has spread enough to cause the required amount of chaos. She heard Snape curse aloud and saw him move, and then she made herself scarce.
Daisy was pretty sure she was supposed to have felt terrified the whole time her broom went out of control, but in truth, she wasn’t. It just felt like an exercise in using her muscles and coordination to match the erratic movement as best she could. Even when she ended up hanging off her broom by only her hands, she still felt like she had the situation under control. One of her hands slipped once, but she managed to pull back up and resecure her grip - something she was sure she wouldn’t have been able to do without all the extra exercise Oliver had the team doing. But she managed, and then eventually her broom stopped misbehaving. All it took was one concerted swing, and she was back up on her broom and ready to keep playing. She didn’t think she wanted that to be a regular experience, but she also hadn’t been afraid.
There had been a commotion of sorts over at the teachers’ stand, one that Daisy hadn’t been able to follow. In order to not fall, she had to tune out everything. But now that she was settled again, she could see the aftermath - teachers all scattered, and some smoke rising up above. Something had clearly happened that was related to her broom acting up and then settling down. Had… was she right about Snape, and he’d caught on and tried to silence her?
But that could be dealt with later. She could, miraculously, still see the snitch, and she still had a job to do. She leaned forward on her broom to speed it up, and zoomed off after it. This time, Niamh had caught on, and was catching up nearby her. The final stretch of the game had begun.
Niamh had managed to cut across the pitch and race over to Daisy’s side, and immediately begun flying aggressively, making several attempts at ramming into Daisy and knocking her off her broom. But Daisy was ready for that, and she’d practiced for it. Sure, she was much smaller and Niamh could have succeeded if Daisy didn’t know what to do. Instead, Daisy shifted to the side every time Niamh got close, greatly lessening each impact. Eventually, Niamh gave up and set her own sights on the snitch itself. Neck and neck, they raced after the flying golden target. Up, down and side to side, trying not to let the snitch shake them off. Daisy would have to make a grab for it soon, or Niamh, who was much more experienced, would get it first.
Before either could grab out, the snitch pivoted towards the ground. Daisy dove after it, and Niamh did too. But the snitch was making no moves to change course. To Daisy, this was just like that time she had caught Neville’s rememberall. She kept her dive going, ready to swerve at the very last moment. Niamh didn’t, and peeled off. That presented a window of opportunity, which only widened when Niamh fumbled her manoeuvre and ended up off her broom, and instead lying on her back in the sandy edges of the pitch.
When the snitch changed directions, Daisy pulled her broom up and followed. It was staying low to the ground, but now flitting horizontally across the pitch. Now, without Niamh to worry about, Daisy could go faster. She sped up, getting as close as she could. But when she did, the snitch got faster and went up just a little bit.
Two could play at that game though. Daisy carefully rose to her feet, using mostly the magical connection between her and the broom to stay balanced. She tilted forward as well, picking up even more speed, and reached out.
She was almost there, the snitch only inches away from her grasp, but she couldn’t stretch out any further. Instead, she tilted even further forward to pick up even more speed. And then she lost her balance, and tumbled forward. Something smashed into her mouth as she fell, probably dirt from her collisions with the ground.
Her tumbling and rolling came to a stop after several painful impacts. Slowly, she got up. She was sore and definitely bruised, but nothing felt actually broken. Daisy leaned over so she could spit out the dirt that had forced its way into her mouth.
But it wasn’t dirt that came out. No, it was the golden snitch.
“She’s got the snitch!” Lee announced. “Daisy Evans has caught the snitch, earning 150 points to Gryffindor and winning the game!”
The audience erupted into cheers - especially the Gryffindor side. Daisy held the snitch up with one hand, and cheered along with them. It had been her very first game, and she had won.
“Nonsense!” Hagrid barked insistently. Daisy had been invited to have tea with Hagrid promptly after the game, and Ron and Hermione ended up coming with. “Why would Snape try to jinx Daisy’s broom?”
“Who knows? Why would Snape try to get past that three headed dog on Hallowe’en?” Ron shot back, doing all the talking - which Daisy was perfectly happy with.
She was a little distracted at the moment - something had been missing after the quidditch game. Someone, rather. Daisy had hoped, perhaps even expected, that Tonks might be there to congratulate her after her win, but she was nowhere to be seen. Rationally, Daisy knew that Tonks was probably just busy and might not have even made it to the game at all. Emotionally, though, Daisy was scared. Had Tonks had enough of acting like a big sister? Was her kindness and support now over? She’d been a bit distant over the past week, too.
“Who told ye about Fluffy?” Hagrid questioned, and that was certainly enough to win back Daisy’s attention.
“Fluffy?” Daisy asked in response.
“Yeah, me dog Fluffy!” Hagrid answered.
“That thing has a name?” Hermione didn’t sound amused at all when she said that.
“Well o’course he’s got a name, he’s mine! Bought him off an Irishman at a pub, lent him to Dumbledore to guard the-” Hagrid cut himself off abruptly. “Shouldn’ta told you that. I should not have told you that. No more questions, alright? That’s top secret, that is.”
“But Hagrid,” Daisy started in insistent challenge, “whatever Fluffy’s guarding, Snape’s trying to steal it!”
“Codswallop! Snape’s a Hogwarts professor.”
“Hagrid, I’ve read enough to know all types of spells when I see them,” Hermione professed. “To do a jinx like that you’ve got to maintain eye contact, and Snape wasn’t even blinking.”
Hagrid sighed. “Now you listen to me, alright? You’re meddling in stuff that ought not to be meddled in. It’s dangerous. What that dog is guarding is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel.”
With that, Hagrid stomped off. Tea was clearly now cancelled, and Daisy knew she would have to find time to apologise to Hagrid later. But right now? Her curiosity still ran rampant.
“Who’s Nicolas Flamel?”
“I don’t know,” Hermione answered, “but I bet we could find out in the library.”
Potions. Daisy had to go back to potions on Monday despite the fact that Snape had probably just tried to kill her. Hagrid didn’t believe her, Ron and Hermione. She almost wanted to go to someone else, like Professor McGonagall, but she knew that it was more trouble than she was worth. But it wasn’t like Snape could get away with it during class, could he?
While walking on her own down to the Great Hall for breakfast, Daisy considered the idea of telling Daphne, so her friend could have her back.
‘Hey Daphne, your head of house tried to kill me on Saturday and I’m worried he’ll try again in class.’
Yeah right, there was no way that would work. But she couldn’t skip class either, or she’d get put on detention and that would just make it even easier for Snape. No, she had to go, not do anything wrong in class and not give Snape any chance to isolate her. Oh, and she’d have to make sure he didn’t use a potion during class to kill her either. She could do that. Hopefully.
So when potions rolled around and Daisy arrived at class, she made a beeline for her desk next to Daphne and tried not to seem to strange about it. She didn’t want to make a big deal and have anyone think less of her for acting out. She didn’t want to be in the way.
“Morning,” Daphne signed with a cheerful expression on her face. “You were great in the quidditch game.”
Daisy needed a second to parse what Daphne had signed. She knew everything up until that last word, so she mimicked the last sign and put on a ‘confused’ expression. In response, Daphne fingerspelled the word, and Daisy nodded in thanks.
“Thank you,” Daisy signed carefully in response. “How are you?”
Daphne shrugged. “The usual. Too much homework to catch up on over the weekend.”
Daisy’s expression grew sheepish. Even with Daphne slowing down the speed of her signing and with Daisy’s efforts to learn as well as she could, that was too fast and complicated for her to understand. All she got was something about homework and the weekend. Daphne laughed, and cast her hearing charm on her ears.
“Class is about to start, so I might as well,” Daphne offered. “I was saying that I had too much homework to catch up on over the weekend, but I made it in the end. The astronomy homework was kinda relaxing, at least.”
Daisy gulped. She most definitely hadn’t finished the astronomy homework, which involved charting several constellations and summarising their magical significance. Between the excitement of the quidditch game and the whole thing about her possibly having survived a murder attempt, more than just that homework had slipped by. Fortunately, Professor Sinistra was pretty understanding about homework being handed in late - so if she didn’t get it done by wednesday night it wasn’t the end of the world.
“Maybe I’ll do that tonight,” Daisy thought aloud. “It’s been a bit of a busy-”
“Miss Evans,” Professor Snape’s voice cut across the classroom. “If you would be so kind as to allow me to start the class?”
Daisy flinched, and backed further into her seat uncomfortably. She hadn’t even notice him arrive, and the degree to which he could catch her off guard was terrifying. The satisfied smirk Snape gave upon seeing her reaction was hardly reassuring - perhaps she should try to be more stony and stoic, show Snape that she wasn’t afraid of him, even though she definitely was.
“Today you will learn to brew the Wiggenweld Potion. It is a powerful healing potion that can be used to treat injuries, or reverse the effects of a Sleeping Draught,” Snape began immediately after turning away from Daisy. “If you’ve done your homework, you should all be able to tell me what mechanism the Wiggenweld Potion uses to treat injuries. If you are able to tell me, raise your hand.”
Daisy raised her hand, as did most of the class. She hadn’t actually done that bit of homework, and she hated lying, but she was more interested in not giving Snape any excuses to get her alone. Fortunately, Snape picked on someone else to answer the question.
“Miss Davis?” Snape called, unsurprisingly selecting one of his Slytherins to award house points to for a correct answer.
Tracy Davis smiled at that. Daisy had heard from Daphne that Tracy was rather studious. “The Wiggenweld Potion acts in three different ways. It sterilizes a wound and has a minor ability to close flesh back together, but primarily it replenishes the lost energy of those who drink it - with its strength being proportional to the skill and magical power of the brewer, as well as the quality of the ingredients.”
Snape nodded. “Thank you, Miss Davis. One point to Slytherin. Now, we will begin brewing your potions in your usual pairs once you have collected your ingredients from the front. I have taken the liberty of having the Fifth years prepare some of your ingredients, as I do not wish to suffer the irritation of dealing with anyone who makes a mistake with separating the billywig sting slime or crushing chizpurfle fangs.”
After taking a moment to collect herself and properly school her features, Daisy joined Daphne in collecting the various ingredients from the stores at the back of the classroom - which required several trips. The wiggentree bark required a trip of its own, given how surprisingly heavy and dense the small cutting was. In a calmer environment she might have just used the levitation charm for it - but Snape had been very clear that there was to be no wand waving in his classroom.
The potion was rather arduous to develop, even without the anxiety stemming from Snape’s watchful glares. As was common in Potions classes, several ingredients needed to be prepared in a time sensitive manner that had Daisy and Daphne swapping frequently between tending to the cauldron and preparing ingredients, being careful not to stir too hard or wait too long. According to Daphne, who had done the homework, a failed Wiggenweld brew didn’t tend to be too dangerous.
Snape’s ire at a failed potion was, however. He was known to keep students back over lunch to re-brew a failed potion, especially if he didn’t like them. In addition, Daisy had already felt the hot shame of Snape’s merciless disparagement and condemnation upon failing to adequately boil moondew a few weeks back, and didn’t want to go through that again.
So, Daisy was meticulous about following the steps for the potion. She cut the wiggentree bark into precise squares in record time, and ground up moly petals with a pestle finer than she’d ground anything before. She monitored every stir that both she and Daphne did, regretfully snapping at Daphne one time when she almost stirred too far counter-clockwise at the second last step.
When the potion was done, Daisy finally felt herself relax half-way. It was the exact right shade of green, and wasn’t sludgy like Lavender and Hermione’s was. It had the same apple-ish smell as the sample sitting at the front of the classroom, and Daisy felt a little energised just by wafting the vapours before the potion had cooled. It was done, and as far as Daisy could tell, it was perfect.
That didn’t stop Daisy from feeling anxious as Snape made his rounds to inspect everyone’s completed potions. What if he tampered with it, or found something to nitpick about and gave Daisy a detention anyway? What if-
“Miss Greengrass and Miss Evans,” Snape called, snapping Daisy out of her spiralling thoughts only to make the cramping, tightening worry worse all the same. “Well done.”
Snape walked away. No reprimands, no snide comments and no detentions. He just moved on, continuing to inspect potion after potion without so much as a glance in Daisy’s direction. It was over. Within minutes, Snape had dismissed the class without delivering a single detention or making anyone stay back to remake a potion or do menial tasks.
“Daisy, are you okay?” Daphne asked, a hand on Daisy’s shoulder to stop her as she was mindlessly following the crowd of students out of the dungeon.
“Oh, uh… yeah,” Daisy lied - this was perhaps the easiest falsehood for her to utter, by now.
“Liar,” Daphne countered. “We’ve got some time before lunch, how about you take me to meet Hedwig?”
Daisy shook her head - not at Daphne, but to clear her own mind so that she could focus. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Great!” Daphne exclaimed. “I’ve been wanting to ever since you mentioned her - my parents won’t let me have an owl just yet, not until third year. They’re worried that Stori will keep hijacking the owl every time I send a letter home to nag me about Hogwarts, so we’ll both get an owl when she starts.”
“So how do you send letters home?” Daisy asked as the two of them split off from the other first years to head towards the Owlery. She was starting to feel more like herself now that she was out of the dungeons, though she was still shaking.
“I pay to use one of the school owls, or I get Tracy’s owl Leonard to take the message if he’s free and Tracy doesn’t mind,” Daphne answered. “It’s not so bad - plus, sending Leonard means Stori gets a chance to send me letters back anyway. Usually to ask if I can smuggle her some books out of the library here, honestly!”
Daisy laughed. She had heard a lot about Daphne’s sister Astoria, who was apparently the ‘most Ravenclaw girl to grace the planet’, and who Daphne was clearly very fond of. “Are you gonna?”
Daphne snorted. “Nah, I’m still a first year and I do not want to lose Madam Pince’s trust that fast. Stori’ll manage, and I’ve already told mum and dad to spend a bit of my allowance on one of the books she’s really keen on as a Christmas gift. Hey, is that Zacharias?”
It was indeed Zacharias coming down the steps of the owlery towards them. Daisy couldn’t remember what class Hufflepuff had just then, but it must have been one with a lenient teacher to have let him out early. Or maybe it was History, and he just snuck out - Professor Binns would hardly notice, after all.
“Hey, Zach, sent a letter or something?” Daisy asked once she and Daphne were close enough.
Zach nodded with some kind of proud grin on his face. “Yeah, just asking me mum if she can have my broom serviced in time for the Christmas break. Me and the boys are gonna have a few games of quidditch, you know?”
“Sounds fun!” Daisy responded cheerfully. She tried her best to hide the pangs of pain she felt at that - she had, perhaps too optimistically, hoped that she would get to stay with the Tonks family over the break, but neither Andromeda or Tonks had given her any indication that she would get that opportunity.
Zach snorted. “Yeah, something like that. I’m gonna head to lunch, catch you later!”
Daphne sighed, and then led Daisy up the steps. Daisy could see that she was clearly excited for this, and tried to keep up. It’d be nice to see Hedwig again; Daisy knew she should come more often, but tended to visit only once a week.
Once inside the feather-filled owlery, Daisy called out Hedwig’s name and held an arm out. A young, white snowy owl soon soared down, and landed proudly on Daisy’s arm just above her wrist. Hedwig’s large amber eyes looked up at Daisy, and she hooted indignantly, telling Daisy that she should in fact visit more often.
“So, this is Hedwig,” Daisy said by way of introduction, gesturing towards her owl with her free hand. “She’s very athletic, so I’m glad we came at a time she’s actually here.”
“Ohhhhh aren’t you sweet!” Daphne cooed. She started reaching out, and then stopped herself. “Can I?”
“Yeah, course,” Daisy answered. “Just don’t rush in fast, put your hand out and let her come to you. She’s very proud, likes to make her own choices.”
Daphne did as instructed, moving her hand out and holding it near Hedwig. Hedwig looked at Daphne, tilted her head and then went in to nip at her fingers gently.
“Looks like she likes you,” Daisy explained. She didn’t know if that was how most owls displayed their affection, but it was certainly true for Hedwig. “If you want, you can hold your arm out and see if she comes to you?”
“Oh hell yeah,” Daphne exclaimed and held her arm out just like how Daisy was doing. After a few short moments, Hedwig made the short hop from one girl’s arm to the other, and hooted approvingly. “She seems tough, kinda like you.”
“Me?” Daisy questioned, baffled. “Me, tough?”
“Pff, of course I mean you,” Daphne insisted. “The stuff you’ve been up to this year? I just worry that you’re trying to be too tough sometimes.”
“Hoo,” Hedwig hooted in what Daisy could only guess was agreement.
“See, even Hedwig agrees,” Daphne continued. “I mean, you’ve been a mess today but you keep trying to hide it. I’m your friend, Daisy, you can tell me what’s wrong.”
“I-” Daisy tried. She really wasn’t used to this, and she was starting to get the feeling that Daphne was going to be more unhappy with her if she didn’t share - but would she still be Daisy’s friend after she told the truth? “I don’t want to cause any trouble, Daphne.”
Hedwig hooted again, and flew to peck a little less gently at Daisy’s hand before returning to Daphne. Daphne didn’t say anything - she just looked expectantly towards Daisy and waited for Daisy to spill.
In the end, Daisy’s desire to not disappoint both Daphne and Hedwig won out. “I think Snape tried to kill me at the quidditch game on saturday.”
Daphne blinked. Daisy fully expected her to scream, leave, or tell her off. None of those things happened, however. “He does have a bad sort of… feeling about him. Why would he want to kill you, though?”
“Uh…” Daisy stalled. She needed time to process the fact that Daphne hadn’t outright shut her down, and then decide what to do next - ultimately, she went with telling the full truth. “Remember back when there was a troll attack? Ron, Hermione and I think it was a diversion - a distraction to get into the room at the end of the forbidden corridor on the third floor - which has a giant three headed dog guarding a trap door, by the way.”
“It has a what??” Daphne demanded, only now letting loose the bewilderment that Daisy had expected earlier in the conversation. “And how do you even know that?”
“We, uh… we got lost earlier in the term and got stuck there, we had to use that room to hide from Filch so we wouldn’t get in trouble,” Daisy explained. “But yeah, there’s a three headed dog, who Hagrid says is named Fluffy.”
Daphne snorted, and then started cackling. Daisy just sort of stared at her awkwardly, not knowing what to do next. After a few moments, Daphne stopped laughing. “Sorry, sorry, it’s just… Fluffy? Anyway, go on?”
“So there’s no way a troll could just get into the school like that, and when Snape came with Professors Quirrel and McGonagall to find the troll - and us - Snape had a cut down his leg and some fabric torn from his pants. And he saw me see his injury. There’s something important in the forbidden corridor, and the three of us figured out that Snape’s probably trying to steal it. So… he’s, uh, probably trying to kill me so I don’t get him caught?”
Daphne hummed thoughtfully after listening to what Daisy had to say, and then proceeded to stare at Hedwig for a while. Hedwig eventually got a little concerned, and let out a brief, sharp hoot.
“Right, yes,” Daphne said as she returned from the land of her thoughts. “So, obviously we need to do something about this, right? Have you told a teacher yet? I mean I’d get if you didn’t know who to trust and who not to, but… we should tell someone if you haven’t already.”
“Ron, Hermione and I told Hagrid,” Daisy supplied, and then frowned. “He didn’t really listen. Said it's too dangerous to worry about and sent us all on our way. But Hermione saw Snape jinxing my broom!”
“Huh.” Daphne uttered.
Daisy sent her a questioning look.
“Oh, I’m just catching up on all the information still,” Daphne explained. “The Slytherins all thought you just lost control of your broom because of inexperience, and then had to admit it was impressive how you regained control. The jinxing bit… makes a lot more sense. And Hagrid didn’t listen? What about Professor McGonagall, then?”
“Professor Snape is trying to steal whatever’s being hidden in the forbidden corridor!” Daisy exclaimed, with courage that she could only find thanks to Daphne being by her side. She was glad that they had made it to Professor McGonagall’s office before the transfigurations professor had headed down to lunch, but her stomach was starting to grumble and indicate that she needed to do the same.
“Excuse me?” Professor McGonagall replied with a weary sort of down-turned face. “Girls, I’m not sure what you’re on about, but you ought to be on your way to lunch.”
“You have to admit it makes sense!” Daphne insisted, backing Daisy up. “The jinxed broom at quidditch, the troll, and Snape’s injury after Hallowe’en. Daisy figured it out and Snape tried to off her where he’d be able to get away with it!”
Professor McGonagall sighed. “Nonsense. Miss Greengrass, I have already heard that you are quite an upstanding student. Miss Evans, I would hope that your recent misadventure isn’t the start of a career in troublemaking. I would advise the two of you to be careful with such accusations, which I must say have absolutely no merit. Professor Severus Snape is a trusted member of the Hogwarts Faculty, and any goings-on to do with the Forbidden Corridor are to be none of your concern. You’re first years, and these are dangerous matters that I must insist you put behind you. Please rest easy that the Hogwarts Faculty as a whole are taking care of this matter, and return your attention to your own lives. Am I understood?”
“Yes, Professor,” Daisy mumbled - but Daphne did not.
Notes:
Ohoho Daphne what an "upstanding student" lmao
Also I'm very curious if anyone has picked up on the vibes of Zacharias - I feel like this is an iykyk situation but maybe I'm more or less subtle than I think lol
Chapter 11: Christmas Reflections
Notes:
Timeskipping to christmas to get things moving along a bit
Cws: abandonment issues/insecurities, gender dysphoria, outing fears (no actual outing),
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“I’m so sorry, Daze. I wish you could’ve come with us but this trip will be too dangerous, and mum barely even trusts me enough to come with. I’ll make sure we send you some cool gifts from Sweden though!”
Daisy was having a hard time getting up. No, it was beyond hard. Christmas day had arrived, and it was supposed to be a source of joy, but it just wasn’t. Tonks and Andromeda had gone on some sort of research trip in Sweden and left her behind - of course they had, she wasn’t really a part of their family after all. Hermione had gone home to stay with her parents, and she had sounded so excited to celebrate a ‘second Hannukah’ with them despite the fact that the Jewish Holiday had actually occurred at the start of the month. Daphne had gone home too, and so had Neville, and so had Zach.
Ron was still here since his family had gone to Romania without him, and while it was nice to have the solidarity of being left behind, it was starting to get a bit boring with just the two of them. She could only take so many games of magical chess without getting bored, especially when Ron was so good at it that he never lost. Her dorm was quiet too, with Lavender being the only one who had stayed behind other than her.
Daisy was grateful for that quiet though, especially now, when she felt this awful. She could barely stomach the idea of getting up. She wouldn’t be able to avoid seeing the mirror, and she knew what she was going to see if she looked. It would be her reflection, but it would be wrong. She’d see a boy, and she’d feel revolting. She’d see all the little things that nobody else saw - or at least, nobody else mentioned - and they’d make her day even worse. Logically, Daisy knew she would start hitting the right kind of puberty after getting the Estrogenating Elixir, but emotionally? It hurt.
“Daisy, are you alright?” she heard Lavender’s voice call. “The presents are all here and you’re still in bed, so I thought I’d come check on you.”
Daisy groaned. “‘sall right Lavender, I think I’m just gonna sleep in.”
“But,” Lavender started, her voice picking up with her usual cheery enthusiasm, “but you have presents!”
No, that couldn’t be right. Who would be sending gifts for her? She was sure the Tonkses would have forgotten. Maybe Daphne, or Hermione? Even so… the trial that was her mirror was too daunting. It was hanging right above her bigger-on-the-inside trunk, and it would be too hard not to see her reflection on the way in.
“Is… is there something I can do to help?” Lavender asked, her voice now sounding nearer.
Daisy groaned again. “It’s… it’s embarassing.”
Lavender gasped. “Did you get your period? That’s nothing to be embarassed about! Here, let me get you some things to clean up with, I’ll just leave them by your bedside and give you some privacy, it’s okay!”
Pangs of pain coursed through Daisy’s body anew, the emotional pain of knowing that it definitely wasn’t that, and would never be that. “No, it’s not… that. It’s really silly, I don’t want to bother you!”
“Oh, uh… bother me, it’s okay!” Lavender insisted. “I won’t judge, promise!”
Daisy considered it. It didn’t seem like Lavender was going to leave her alone soon, so maybe she could just… ask for help. “Can you… can you cover the mirrors?”
“Ohhhhh, one of those days?” Lavender called out, and Daisy heard the telltale swooshing signs of cloth being floated around the room. Lavender was pretty good with the levitation charm, and had taken to using it for all sorts of things. As far as Daisy could tell, she was the best at it in their year now. “Yeah, I get that. Sometimes you just don’t wanna see yourself. I’ve covered them all up for you, so I guess I’ll see you downstairs?”
Daisy let out a sigh of relief after calling out a word of thanks. She had, for a moment, feared that Lavender might figure out she was feeling dysphoric, and in turn discover her secret. Lavender taking it in stride as something else had washed that fear away, and Daisy found herself gaining the energy needed to get out of bed. True to Lavender’s word, every single mirror in the dorm room had been covered, giving Daisy the freedom to trudge into her trunk and get dressed.
She emerged a whole fifteen minutes later, having struggled to get back up after sitting down to just cry. Dressed in some low-effort casual clothing that seemed to be par for the course around the castle these days, Daisy emerged down the dorm stairs and into the common room. There weren’t many people around - the twins were huddling over some parchment and a pile of sugar, Ron was sitting by the fireplace and Lavender was reading a book over by the very modest Gryffindor library. A few others were around in various states of wakefulness, all minding their own business.
Lavender waved upon seeing Daisy’s arrival, and Daisy returned the gesture before proceeding over to the heavily decorated spruce tree sitting in one corner. There was a modest pile of gifts on the floor around it - some other students mustn’t have come to collect theirs yet. Daisy glanced around, and saw six wrapped presents with her name on them. Six presents, all for her. She was baffled, having never received this many gifts before in her whole life.
Daisy sat down, and picked one to unwrap. She fought back tears, not wanting to embarrass herself in front of everyone who was there. The gift she’d picked up first had a red and gold wrapping. Daisy pulled the wrapping away carefully, collecting a small note that fell out as she did.
Dear Daisy,
Thank you for being a friend to my son Ronald. He speaks highly of you! Enjoy the sweater, I do hope it keeps you warm.
Lots of love,
Molly Weasley
“Mum made one for you too, huh?” Ron laughed. “I bet she made one for Hermione as well, says you two are a good influence on me or something. You don’t have to wear it, I know it’s probably ugly.”
Now paying closer attention, Daisy saw the sweater Ron was wearing. It was red and very warm-looking, with a big golden R covering almost his entire chest. Looking down, Daisy saw that she had been gifted a sweater in the exact same colours with a D on it.
“It’s not ugly, I’m definitely going to-” Daisy started, but then stopped immediately upon actually touching the sweater. It felt scratchy, and wrong, and made Daisy wince away and drop the sweater into her lap. “Uh… maybe not. But it was really nice of her!”
Ron cackled. “Yeah, they feel kinda scratchy and I know you’re sensitive to that stuff sometimes. Maybe I’ll tell her to use a different material next time, I’m sure she’ll actually listen if it isn’t one of her kids asking!”
Daisy felt a little bad about it, but there was no way she’d wear that and actually be okay. The material had been painful and wrong to touch. She didn’t want to impose on Ron’s mum, but maybe… maybe if Ron was going to ask anyway it was fine to just let that happen.
Carefully using the wrappings to pick up the sweater and put it to one side, Daisy moved on to the next gift. It was wrapped in green, with a rather delicately bowed ribbon. On the top was a small note that said ‘To Daisy, from Daphne’, and nothing more. Daisy unwrapped it carefully, expecting a book from how hard and hefty the package had felt. She was right - inside the wrappings lay a book titled ‘Owl Enrichment’, which Daisy knew immediately she would be diving into during her spare time. It was an incredibly thoughtful gift, and yet again Daisy found herself fighting back tears.
Next up was a gift wrapped in print filled out with little pictures of a hannukiah - a kind of candle-holder made for nine candles that Hermione had explained to her back when it was actually hannukah. It wasn’t hard to guess who that one was from. It was, unsurprisingly, also another book. This one was titled ‘Effective Spells for Efficient Quidditch Players’. It was small, but seemed like the kind of thing that would be incredibly helpful. Daisy could already guess it would mostly be the kinds of charms to keep clothes and hair from fluttering about too much, as well as weather repellent charms. It would definitely be a good read.
Daisy moved next to perhaps the smallest package of the lot, and found a box of treacle tarts that had been sent from Hagrid. There was a note attached to the box, which Daisy picked up to read.
Dear Daisy,
I’m sorry you didn’t get to stay for tea last time you visited, and that I haven’t had time to have you around since then. I have time this afternoon, so you’re welcome to visit if you can.
Hagrid
Daisy smiled at that - she felt a little ashamed that she hadn’t gotten to know Hagrid very well yet. He had been the one to rescue her first from the Dursleys, and to bring her to Diagon Alley and introduce her to the world of magic. He had accepted her when Tonks re-introduced her to him as Daisy, and he had been there for the rest of that trip. She resolved to go down and visit him, even if she wasn’t feeling much better yet. It was the right thing to do.
Only two packages now remained - one wrapped in a mix of purples and yellows, and one in a dark green. Daisy picked up the more colourful one first, and found in it a pair of long-sleeved shirts that felt rather nice to touch. Daisy could also feel a sort of warmth radiating from them. The note was nestled inbetween the two shirts, which had almost led to Daisy missing it entirely.
Daze,
Sorry we couldn’t bring you to Sweden, I wish you could see it here! Mum and I are checking out these absolutely wicked ruins. I don’t know what a lot of the stuff here is exactly, but she says it contains records of a lost society. The shirts are made with a fabric I know you like, and with warming charms for the winter. Not so great in the summer, but they should be great for the next couple months at least!
Love,
Your big sister Tonks
There was no more holding back now. The flood gates opened, and Daisy started sobbing. She… couldn’t really deny that this wasn't the kind of thing she’d receive from someone who wasn’t family. And maybe this was still just her being hopeful, but it was hard to not believe that Tonks really cared. Daisy made sure to use her sleeve to catch the tears, not wanting to mess up the brand new shirts Tonks had gotten for her.
“You alright there, Seeker?” one of the twins asked.
“Did you get something mean? We’ll bombard them with stinking pellets if ya want,” the other one added.
Daisy laughed a little. “I’m… I’m fine, it’s okay.”
She wasn’t really fine, but she was heaps better than when she had woken up. After dealing with the last of her tears and wiping her nose, Daisy finally got to the last of the gifts. There was nothing on it to identify the sender, so Daisy opened it up to see what was inside. The first thing Daisy noticed was a single square of card paper.
Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you.
Use it well.
Clearly, whoever sent this gift either knew who Daisy’s parents were, or it was a case of mistaken identity. If it was the former, then it had to be Andromeda, Hagrid again or someone else in the Hogwarts faculty. It probably wasn’t Hagrid based on the writing style, so Daisy really wasn’t sure. She turned her attention to what lay within, and picked up a silvery blackish cloak.
“That looks fancy,” one of the twins - who Daisy now realised was Fred thanks to the large golden F on his sweater - said from over her shoulder.
“Real fancy,” George added from Daisy’s other side. “I think we ought to give you some advice right now. Fred, what do you reckon?”
“Yeah, we gotta be responsible,” Fred agreed. “That looks like the kinda fancy you ought to be careful with, Seeker.”
“Extra careful,” George continued, now at a whisper. “See, that looks like it could be a powerful magic item, I mean look at the threadwork on it.”
“We’ve been gifted a powerful magic item before, and you gotta keep that sorta thing secret,” Fred advised. “Otherwise someone might want to take it from you! But who knows, maybe it’s just a plain old cloak.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” George whispered playfully. “Off you trot, go take that somewhere private.”
“But… how do you know it could be a powerful magic item?” Daisy questioned, matching the volume of the whispering twins.
The twins shared a look, and then spoke in unison. “That’s a trade secret, I’m afraid.”
“Go on!” Fred said, shooing Daisy away. Deciding to just listen to the twins and see if they were right, she took the cloak and the note that came with it, and fled back up into her dorm room and then inside her trunk. She didn’t really know what she was doing - or how to test the cloak for any non-obvious magic - but she threw the cloak around her body anyway.
Her body promptly disappeared. Daisy gasped. She could still feel her body, even if she looked down and none of it was there. She wondered if her head had disappeared too, but didn’t quite have it in her to look into a mirror yet. So instead, she took the cloak off. Her body became visible once again. Experimentally, Daisy tried wrapping the cloak around just one arm. It disappeared, but the rest of her didn’t.
The twins were right, and Daisy suspected they knew something about the cloak itself. She was almost tempted to brave the mirror, but when her stomach growled she abandoned that idea in place of going down to breakfast.
As the day went on, Daisy’s mind wandered towards thoughts of the ‘homework’ Hermione had left for her and Ron to work on over the break. She, Hermione, Ron and Daphne had been frequent visitors of the library over the past few weeks, scouring it for what they could find about Nicolas Flamel - to no avail. It was on Monday morning, before leaving for the Hogwarts Express, that Hermione had insisted that Ron and Daisy visit the library’s restricted section to continue their search.
Daisy and Ron had both dismissed that suggestion as impossible, since Madam Pince would never let them in there, but now it was possible. If the cloak was truly making her invisible, she could sneak into the library at nighttime. If nobody knew, she wouldn’t get in trouble, and if she was respectful of the library, she wouldn’t cause any trouble either. So it was decided - Daisy would sneak into the restricted section as soon as Lavender was asleep.
For now though, it was time to visit Hagrid - a trip that was long overdue. She made her way down to Hagrid’s hut, and knocked on the door. The hut seemed huge and small at the same time - it was tall enough to fit the giant man, but seemed a bit small for him to be living in unless he was really good about managing his space. After a few moments, the door swung wide open. Daisy heard barking, and stepped back quickly.
“Calm yerself, Fang!” Hagrid yelled as he pulled back a giant dog. It was as tall as she was, and looked rather muscular. “Oh, Daisy! Glad ye were able to make it. This here’s Fang, he looks real tough but he’s a total wimp. Couldn’t hurt anyone, truly.”
Tentatively, Daisy stepped forward and followed Hagrid into the hut once Fang was out of the way.
“I’m sorry about last time,” Daisy apologised as she sat down. “And for not coming to visit sooner.”
“Nonsense,” Hagrid insisted. “Water under the bridge, Daisy, water under the bridge. None of yer little friends with ye?”
Daisy shook her head. “Most of them have gone home, and Ron’s playing some quidditch with his brothers. It’s just me.”
“That’s alrigh’ then. So, how are ye finding Hogwarts?”
Daisy ended up staying to talk to Hagrid for hours, all the way up until dinner time. She had only meant to be there briefly - until Hagrid had started explaining all that was involved in being the school’s groundskeeper. He worked with all sorts of magical creatures both for work and as a hobby, and tended to the Dark Forest on a regular basis. It was his job to make sure that the creatures that lived on and around the grounds were looked after. It was all rather interesting, but also terrifying. Daisy had been enrapt by his explanations, and promised to visit him again later when she had more time so he could tell her more.
Dinner was a quiet affair - as it had been for the last few days with barely even a quarter of the school population away for the holidays. People were in and out with far less ceremony, and tended to congregate on one side of each row of tables where the food was gathered. There was chatter, but not nearly as much volume as usual. Daisy liked it this way - for the same reasons that she liked going to breakfast early most days.
After playing yet another game of chess with Ron and losing yet again, Daisy headed off to prepare for the night ahead. She could swear Ron was reading her mind or something, with how well he played. Maybe one day he could be a famous chess player, if he wanted.
Lavender was late to go to bed, which made Daisy a little bit anxious. She had been in bed with the cloak hidden under her pillow for almost half an hour before Lavender arrived, and Daisy’d had to fight off the urge to just fall asleep. She wanted to get this over and done with - she didn’t like the idea of trespassing, but she also didnt’ like how both Hagrid and Professor McGonagall had dismissed her concerns, and she wanted to be in the know.
Daisy was glad that Lavender snored, and that she hadn’t turned up the quietus charm on her bed - it meant that Daisy had an easy cue for when Lavender had finally fallen asleep. With that sorted, Daisy threw the cloak over her whole body, and crept out of the Gryffindor tower. She had already tested her cloak against a mirror and against some of her housemates once she worked up the mental fortitude, and was pleased to find none of them could see her.
The trip to the library wasn’t too long, but Daisy did have to quietly wait for Mrs Norris to pass her one time so she wouldn’t get caught. She didn’t know if the cloak blocked out sounds or smells as well, and didn’t want to find out the hard way.
Once in the library, it was a matter of getting into the restricted section and finding the right books to read. She had hoped that a key wouldn’t be necessary - and the use of the unlocking spell made her hopes come true. With a dimly lit lantern under her cloak as well, Daisy crept into the restricted section and prepared to search. She had to bring the lantern and her hand out of the cloak to have any success since the cloak blocked any light from escaping, but she was sure that she was alone.
The restricted section was easy enough to navigate, with labelling similar to the rest of the library. The shelves were organised by broader subject, subtopic and then made alphabetical by title. There was, fortunately, a ‘Famous Figures’ section, so Daisy started there. It had two overarching subtopics - alive and dead - so Daisy went with the ‘alive’ section. Presumably this Nicolas Flamel person was alive, given what Hagrid had said after the quidditch game.
Daisy couldn’t help but wonder what kind of famous living people would merit their books being in the restricted section - it was probably nothing good. Daisy recognised a few names of wix that were known to have gone Dark, and made sure to skip over them. She didn’t need to mess with books that were irrelevant to her search, and the restricted section was restricted for a reason. Daisy scanned across the shelves for books starting with the letter F, and finally landed on a book called ‘Flamel Dynasty’.
She carefully pulled the book free, making sure that the nearby books didn’t fall in such a way that would make it hard for Daisy to return the book when she was done. She set it down on a bench right below the shelves, and pulled the book open. She had meant to open it right up to the start and find the contents, but the book opened what must have been several chapters in anyway.
A face emerged from the pages, and started to scream. Daisy slammed the book shut as fast as she could. That scream had been loud, and there was no way that it had gone unheard. She didn’t actually know if Madam Pince’s quarters were in the library somewhere or not, but she didn’t want to stick around to find out. With as much care as her racing heart would allow, Daisy slotted the book back onto its shelf.
“Who’s there?” came the the demanding, hissing voice of Argus Filch. Daisy grabbed for her cloak, which she had set down next to the lantern so that she would be able to read. In her hurry, her grab for the cloak pulled the lantern straight off the bench. It toppled to the floor, and the glass shattered.
If Daisy stuck around to try and clean up her mess, there was no way she’d get away without being caught. Regretfully, she swung the cloak over her body and backed away. She moved across to another section of shelves before making her way back to the entrance, so she wouldn’t run into Filch on her way out.
“I know you’re in there, you can’t hide!” Filch barked. Daisy listened to his voice to figure out where he was, and managed to slip out from the restricted section without being caught. From there, she kept going out of the library, with every intent on heading back to the dorms. She’d tell Hermione after the break that there was no luck in the restricted section, and the group would try researching through other avenues.
A cat stood in her way. Mrs Norris. She yowled, but made no attempt to move from the spot. It didn’t quite feel like Mrs Norris was looking at Daisy, but definitely in her general vicinity. So, Daisy would have to find another way back. She turned a different corner, and started walking.
Something slumped heavily against the wall right where Daisy had just been about to turn another corner.
“S-severus, I-” Professor Quirrel’s voice started. Daisy peered around the corner and saw Professor Snape holding Professor Quirrel up against a wall. She covered her mouth with her free hand, not daring to let either hear the sounds of her breath.
“You don’t want me as your enemy,” Snape hissed.
“I d-don’t know what you mean,” Quirrel managed, a sort of stifled noise from Snape pressing against the base of his throat.
“You know perfectly well what I mean,” Snape challenged.
Daisy tried to creep around the two professors as carefully as she could. On the last step, she almost lost her balance and let out a gasp that definitely escaped past her hand at least a little. Professor Snape’s head whipped around, and looked straight at her. He reached out, and Daisy backed away. Snape grabbed, but all his hand managed to retrieve was air. Daisy backed off more and more, not daring to look away.
“We’ll have another little chat soon, when you’ve had time to decide where your loyalties lie,” Snape declared, and started to stalk off.
“Professors!” Filch snapped as he too rounded the corner and came into Daisy’s line of sight. “I found this in the restricted section of the library. You know what that means - there’s a student out of bed.”
Snape and Quirrel both straightened, and disappeared the direction Filch had come from. Filch took one look down the hallway, and left as well. With that, Daisy was finally alone - but she definitely couldn’t go back the way she’d come. So, instead, she hedged her bets with the door behind her. It wasn’t the third floor, so she felt like she was probably safe.
The door opened up into a large, mostly empty room. There were pillars forming arcs around the left and right sides, and some stacked chairs and tables around the edges. Perhaps it was a disused classroom? Daisy stepped further inside, and saw that at the very centre of the room was a large mirror with some kind of runic writing encircling the reflective silver. She kept going so she could get a better look.
It looked old, that was for sure. There was delicate design work around the structure surrounding the mirror itself - more than just the runic engravings, it looked like there were all sorts of shapes around the very edges - some looked like gems, other like weapons, and all sorts of things that Daisy didn’t recognise too.
The mirror itself reflected nothing other than Daisy’s surroundings - which was unsurprising, given the cloak that was hiding her from view. Curiosity grew, and Daisy began to wonder if perhaps her dysphoria had waned enough that she could see herself as a girl in it. She took off her cloak - making sure to keep it in her hand in case she needed to make a quick getaway, and stepped even closer.
Her own reflection came into view, but there was something different about it. It looked like her, but also not. Looking back at her was a grown woman, with her wavy hair and her scar - which she was sure was presently hidden by the glamour - and… Daisy had to really stop and take in what she was seeing. Her reflection was older and taller. She looked in every way like a gorgeous woman, and was wearing quidditch robes - but not just any quidditch robes, they were the Gryffindor captain’s robes. Her arms looked more than a little muscular, and she held a broom by her side. On top of that, she wasn’t alone. Two figures stood by her side, and it didn’t take long at all to figure out who they were. To her left was Andromeda in the same clothes Daisy usually saw her wearing at the Tonks family home, and to her right was Tonks, wearing the attire of a professional duelist.
In her reflection, she wasn’t alone. In her reflection, she had family. Daisy already knew that the reflection wasn’t real, but she turned all the same. Neither of the Tonkses were there - and even though she’d expected it, it still hurt. The gift Tonks had given her for Christmas was wonderful, but it wasn’t any kind of confirmation. Daisy didn’t know if she and her mum were family now or not, as much as they had said it in the past, and as much as Tonks called herself Daisy’s big sister. She really wished that they were.
But it wasn’t real, and Daisy couldn’t stay here all night. It was hard, tearing herself away from the perfect reflection that wasn’t real, but she managed. She slipped the cloak over her body and crept all the way through the castle back to the Gryffindor dorms, glad to not encounter any teachers, caretakers or cats along the way.
Daisy went back to the mirror the next night, and again the night that followed. During the day, it was all she could think about. All she wanted was to relish in the reflection of family, and in the reflection of who she wanted to be. It had a powerful allure, one that frightened Daisy, but also one that she couldn’t resist. She was strict about it though, taking a small clock with her and only allowing herself to stay for half an hour each night. She knew well that there was such thing as ‘too much of something good’.
But even now, on her third visit, Daisy didn’t feel quite fully satisfied. She was staring at this mirror that showed something she wanted deeply, but it wasn’t real. She wanted to make it real, and she didn’t know how. She knew that there were potions to make her body what she wanted it to be, and that Madam Pomfrey was going to give them to her in second year as long as her legal guardian signed off on it. If that guardian was Andromeda, Daisy knew she would sign. If she was sent back to live with the Dursleys, there was no way it would happen.
Then there was the matter of family - she couldn’t make the Tonkses take her in permanently. It was up to them, and what they decided. Daisy wanted to believe they would say yes, but… she knew it was wishful thinking. It sounded like Andromeda was a busy woman, and Daisy didn’t think it would even be fair for Tonks to be responsible for her as a legal guardian after the older girl had graduated from Hogwarts. Maybe… maybe she’d just have to be her own family.
She’d had that thought multiple times already, sitting in front of the mirror. Still, the view didn’t change. It felt like the mirror was taunting her, mocking her inability to let go of unrealistic dreams. But what else was she supposed to do? If she couldn’t escape the Dursleys, what was she supposed to look forward to? As much as it hurt, Daisy had to allow herself this fantasy.0
“Back again, Daisy?”
Daisy shot up off the ground and whirled on the spot, ready to put on her cloak and run. The wizened form of Albus Dumbledore stood before her. She’d never seen him this close before - so far she’d only seen the man in the Great Hall and on a card from the chocolate frog package. He looked… old. There was something simultaneously powerful and relaxing about his presence, his long white beard and star-filled robes. But she’d also heard multiple people express a lot of anger towards him, and didn’t know quite what to make of that. So, she stood and stared, like a deer caught in front of a car’s headlights.
“I see that you, like so many before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised,” Dumbledore said calmly. He didn’t look angry, but Daisy wasn’t sure she’d know what Dumbledore’s anger looked like anyway. “I trust, by now, you realise what it does?”
The answer came easily. “It shows me what I long for.”
“Indeed,” Dumbledore confirmed. “The happiest man on earth would look into the mirror and see only himself, exactly as he is. So, it shows us nothing more and nothing less than the deepest and most desperate desires of our hearts. Now you, Daisy, who have never known your family, you must see them standing right beside you.”
Daisy blinked at him. Her first instinct had been to correct him - she knew that he was talking about Lily and James Potter, but they were not who she saw. Her senses kicked in quickly enough though, and she opted not to say anything at all. She didn’t know this man, and she didn’t trust him. As far as she was aware, it was he who sent her to live with the Dursleys.
“Remember this, Daisy. This mirror gives us neither knowledge nor truth. Men have wasted away in front of it, even gone mad,” Dumbledore continued, and Daisy once again resisted the urge to speak - to inform the man that she already knew the reality of the mirror. She knew the reality of it so much that it hurt. “Tomorrow, this mirror will be moved to a new home. I must ask you not to go looking for it again. It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”
Thank you, Daisy thought, but did not say. She knew that the mirror was a danger, and that she couldn’t resist coming back to it. With it moved, she would be safe. Daisy took one last look at the tantalizing false reflection, and turned to leave.
Notes:
so close to 50k now aaa
Chapter 12: Norbert
Notes:
So, today is the one month anniversary of this fic on ao3, and it's also now already at 50k+ published! Very happy with that haha
cws: mentions of manipulative bullying as an enshrined normal occurrence
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“I had you looking in the wrong section,” Hermione relented with a groan. It was barely a day into the new term, and she had already gathered up Daisy, Ron and Daphne to continue their search for information about Nicolas Flamel. Daisy hadn’t even gotten a chance to tell the others that the restricted section had been a bust. She pulled an enormous tome out of her expandable pouch - a gift her parents had apparently bought her for Hannukah, which was apparently an unusual time to give out gifts but Hermione’s parents had chosen to do as a way of fitting in with the rest of society.
The tome slammed down on the desk between them with a heavy thunk, and Hermione flipped it open. “I checked this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading-”
“You call this light?” Ron complained. He whined, probably at the thought of having to read that much.
“I’m with Ron,” Daphne echoed. “That’s… a lot. Well, I know for sure now that you and Stori are gonna get on great, at least.”
Hermione lit up at that, and then was promptly re-distracted by the book in front of her. She turned some more pages over, and then pointed. “Look! Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher’s stone - a legendary alchemical substance with astonishing powers. It’ll transform any metal into pure gold, and produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal. The only stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist who last year celebrated his 665th birthday.”
Daphne sighed. “So the Philosopher’s Stone is in Hogwarts and Snape is trying to steal it.”
“Now we’re on the same page as the teachers, at least,” Daisy said.
Ron stared at all of them. “Are you guys not caught up on the whole immortality thing? Merlin, the guy’s 665 years old! You’d think he would get bored by now, honestly.”
Hermione’s mouth gaped wide in shock. “But Ron, think of all the books you could read!”
“Definitely gonna get on with Stori,” Daphne commented.
“No thank you,” Ron protested at the same time. “But… what do we do now?”
“I think we should try again with a teacher,” Daphne suggested. “I know it didn’t go so well before, but maybe if we prove that we know what we’re talking about they’ll listen?”
Ron made a sort of unconvinced noise. “Would any of them actually listen, though?”
“They will if we push them in the right way,” Daphne said with a wicked, up-to-something sort of grin on her face.
Hesitantly, Daisy asked the necessary question. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, you know. It would be really bad for the school if word got out to parents that the school had decided to keep a coveted magical artifact under guard in a way that was endangering the lives of students? That troll attack could have ended way worse, and I really could just write a letter to my parents about all this,” Daphne suggested. “As I said, the right kind of push.”
“So you want to blackmail the school into taking us seriously?” Hermione asked.
“Yep,” Daphne confirmed matter of factly.
“Great, tell me more!” Hermione responded without a shred of hesitation. Daisy couldn’t help but stare. This was not the Hermione Daisy had come to know, the Hermione who thought being expelled was worse than being killed. Ron had said something about Daisy and Hermione being a good influence on him, but she was starting to think that herself and Ron were more of a bad influence on Hermione now.
“We start off nicer about it,” Daphne said at a conspiratorial whisper. “Find a teacher who might just listen straight away. If they don’t, we go to McGonagall or Dumbledore and try them - and if they refuse to listen, I send a letter. I’ll pay an older Slytherin to take it to the post office at Hogsmeade on the weekend, so the school doesn’t know what owls to intercept!”
“No wonder you’re in Slytherin, Daphne,” Ron commented - Daisy was pretty sure he didn’t exactly mean it in a nice way, and Ron was still working on being a kinder person, so she prepared to tell him off for it.
“Thank you!” Daphne exclaimed with a grin that said that she really did appreciate the comment. In a more positive way, Daisy did agree that it definitely was a very Slytherin way of handling things. She was impressed, and perhaps a little bit scared. “So, who should we go for first?”
“How about Hagrid?” Daisy suggested. “I’ve been to visit him a few times over the break and I think he’s opening up to me more. We could try him again, and maybe if we have enough evidence he’ll listen?”
“But when would we go? Class is getting pretty hectic again, and there’s the Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff quidditch match this weekend. Do we need to wait until sunday?” Ron asked, brows furrowed in concentration.
“Tonight,” Hermione asserted. “After class and after dinner, we should head out to see Hagrid before curfew.”
“Oh, I can’t come tonight,” Daphne said. “There’s a… thing happening in the Slytherin dorms. A Slytherin Duel.”
Daisy tilted her head in confusion. “A duel in the dorms?”
“Not the way you’re thinking,” Daphne answered. “It’s… a sort of manipulation game with trading information and exposing secrets. Not something I ever want to do myself, given how… unkind it is. But I need to be there to watch, so I’m not at a disadvantage among my house.”
“Yeah, I think I prefer normal duelling, thanks,” Ron declared. “That sounds terrifying.”
“It really is,” Daphne confirmed. “Fill me in on the Hagrid visit tomorrow?”
Getting through the afternoon of class and actually paying attention was tough for Daisy, and it didn’t help that get headache in Defence Against the Dark Arts was even worse than usual. It was like a scratching, tearing, pulsating feeling as though Daisy’s forehead was lashing out in anger.
They were supposed to be learning about Vampires, and Daisy was glad she had read ahead like usual. All she had learned in class was that her headaches could get worse, and that Dean had a sort of rhythm to his anxious tapping on the desk, something Daisy had never noticed before. The class went by slowly and painfully, but in a way that was manageable because of Daisy’s focus on the plan for the evening. She really hoped that Hagrid would listen this time, and that Daphne didn’t have to go to the trouble of owling her parents.
When it came time to head down to Hagrid’s hut, Daisy steeled herself and rehearsed what she wanted to say. She wanted Hagrid to listen, to understand that this wasn’t just some kind of childish fantasy. That this was real, and important, and Daisy wouldn’t make something like this up. So with her mind running a repeat on what she wanted to say, slowly refining the speech each time, she found her friends and they went on their way.
Professor Flitwick, who saw them heading out of the main building, warned them to make sure they were back in time. He seemed to mull it over at first, but allowed them to go since he trusted Daisy and he trusted Hermione. Daisy supposed she should have brought her cloak of invisibility in case, but she also wanted to heed the advice from the twins and not tell Ron or Hermione about it just yet.
It was a good thing that the trip to Hagrid’s hut wasn’t all that long from the castle, what with how the winter air bit at Daisy’s face. But Hagrid’s hut was warm; Daisy could feel the heat radiating outward as soon as she got close. Of the three of them, she was the one to take the initiative and knock on the door - she was the one with the most to say this time.
“Hagrid, it’s -”
The door swung open, and Hagrid popped his head out. He looked quite sweaty, and Daisy could see the top of a protective apron on his torso. The rest of his body followed to stand in the doorway, allowing Daisy to see that the apron was accompanied by tough looking leather gloves.
“‘ello. Sorry, I don’t mean ter be rude but I’m in no fit state ter entertain today,” Hagrid declared and then immediately started to swing the door shut again.
“We know about the philosopher’s stone!” The three of them spoke in unison, which caught Daisy off guard, but also caught Hagrid’s attention.
The door swung open again, and Hagrid’s face fell. “Oh. Well, you’d best come in.”
Hagrid led the three of them inside, and Daisy immediately began her rehearsed speech. “Hagrid, I know you didn’t like us saying it last time, but we know Snape’s after the stone. It’s not hard to imagine why with what the stone is capable of, and someone needs to stop him before this gets worse.”
“Goodness, yer not still on about this are ye?” Hagrid sighed. “Snape is one of the teachers protecting the stone, he’s not about ter steal it.”
“What?” Daisy uttered, not having expected that. But if Snape was protecting the stone, how did the confrontation with Professor Quirrell fit into all of this? Was Quirrell somehow the one trying to steal it? “But… what if Snape protecting the stone is just a ruse, a lie so he can steal it more easily?”
Hagrid groaned. “Look, you three. I told ye before that these are dangerous matters. But… ye wouldn’t be coming back to me with this if ye didn’t think it was a real problem. I’ll tell ye what. I’ll train Fluffy to not let Snape in anymore, won’t be hard ter do. ‘Sides, ain’t a soul who knows how to get past Fluffy except fer me and Dumbledore… I should not have told ye that, I should not have told ye that.”
Daisy glanced to either side where Ron and Hermione were sitting next to her. They both nodded - this time it seemed they were happy to follow her lead instead of doing the talking for her. “You believe us?”
“Eh, not completely if I’m ter be honest with ye. But enough that I’ll do something about it just ter be safe,” Hagrid conceded. “Now, I’m right busy tonight, but ye can stay and watch if yer careful.”
“Busy with what?” Hermione asked curiously. “Is it something to do with how warm it is in here?”
Before Hagrid had a chance to answer, Ron leaned over and saw what was behind him - or more accurately, he leaned over to avoid the dripping drool of Hagrid’s giant dog, Fang, which gave him a better vantage point by incident. The whole time, Hagrid had been positioning himself in front of a kettle over the fireplace, and now Ron could see what was inside. “Is that a dragon egg?”
“Aye, that’s right,” Hagrid answered, just as the pot behind him started to shake. There were rapid rattling noises coming from within, and Hagrid quickly turned to tend to it. Rather than putting out the flame or removing the pot, he picked up the dragon egg within, and brough it to set it down on the table. The wooden table must have been enchanted in some way to not catch on fire; Daisy could feel how hot the egg was from how the temperature went up noticeably when it came near her.
The egg itself looked… surprisingly ordinary, aside from the varying light and dark browns in its colouration. It was large, sure, but it didn’t have any sort of magical scales on it or notable patterns like the muggle world’s fiction imagined. It rolled around a little on the table after Hagrid set it down - clearly whatever was inside was active and ready to break free. Daisy felt excited all of a sudden - she knew there was a special kind of marvel to what she was about to see; new life stepping out into the world, somewhere safe.
It was apparently not the quickest process, though, and Ron started talking again after the silence grew stiff. “Hagrid, how did you get a dragon egg? I hear it’s rare that they aren’t snatched right up by conservationists and dragon reserve rangers!”
“I won it off a stranger I met down at the pub,” Hagrid answered without letting his eyes leave the shaking, rattling egg. “Seemed quite glad ter be rid of it, as a matter o’ fact.”
The rattling grew in intensity, and the egg started rolling even harder. Daisy would have been worried that it might’ve rolled right off the table if not for the way it kept moving back and forth. Perhaps baby dragons had instincts to not end up too far away from a nest? Daisy watched, intent, and filed away what Hagrid just said for later - it seemed important, and somehow a little off, but Daisy didn’t want to miss this.
All at once, the egg burst open. Bits and pieces of the shell went flying - fortunately none towards Daisy - and the rest simply fell outwards onto the table. A small, greenish brown creature stood where the whole egg once was, and stretched small wings out to either side. Well, they seemed small to Daisy in context of the knowledge of how big dragons could get, but they spread almost half-way across Hagrid’s large table.
Upon getting a closer look, Daisy could only say that the baby dragon was beautiful. Even if it had a kind of mucus dripping from its face and wings, and a bit of shell still sitting atop its head, it had almost golden eyes that shone with the reflection of the dim hut light, two neat little horns out the back of its head and a curiosity that had it turning its head as it took in the full of its surroundings.The dragon’s sights locked onto Hagrid within moments, and the dragon stumbled forward rather inelegantly, making an almost-hooting sound of excitement as it went.
“Oh, isn’t he beautiful? Bless him, look, he knows his mummy,” Hagrid exclaimed with a slight chuckle, and held out a hand towards the baby dragon. “‘ello, Norbert!”
“Norbert?” Daisy questioned.
“He’s gotta have a name, don’t he?” Hagrid answered, and tickled the underside of Norbert’s head. The dragon reeled back from that, just for a moment, and then coughed up a small ball of fire.
“Oh!” Hagrid yelped, and quickly started patting out the flames that would have otherwise worked their way through his dense beard. “He’ll have to be trained up a bit, o’ course!”
“He sure will,” Ron agreed. “I recognise that look, Norbert’s a Norwegian Ridgeback! My brother Charlie’s just started working with them in Romania this year, says they’re a tough breed to keep in check.”
The dragon cried out after clearing its throat of the last embers, which Daisy thought was quite cute. This dragon was safe; she knew Hagrid knew so much about caring for magical creatures, and would find a way to make it work for Norbert. But her attention was ripped away from the young creature figuring out how to use its body - Hagrid had looked up, and his expression had turned stony.
“Who’s that?” Hagrid asked, eyes locked on a window to Daisy’s right. She turned, and felt her mood drop.
“Malfoy,” Daisy answered. She knew this meant trouble - why Malfoy was here, Daisy didn’t know. Perhaps he saw her, Ron and Hermione head down to Hagrid’s hut and loitered to see if he could get them in trouble for being out too late - he was exactly the type to do that.
“Oh dear,” Hagrid sighed, but before anyone could do anything about Malfoy, the Slytherin boy scampered off and out of sight.
Notes:
I was going to do this and the Forbidden Forest all in one chapter, but decided to split it up and give myself a break. I may not be posting a chapter every two days from here on, it just depends on my energy and how much time I get to write that I actually can focus on writing for. We'll see how it goes! But I'm hoping to have book 1 finished within the next couple of weeks :)
Chapter 13: the Dark Forest
Notes:
bweh [throws chapter at readers]
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Hagrid always wanted a dragon,” Daisy explained as the trio walked back up to the castle. She kept her voice quiet, aware that it was past curfew already. “He told me the first time I met him, it sounded like it was one of his life goals or something.”
“I dunno how good an idea it is,” Ron said. “Having a dragon at Hogwarts sounds like a bad idea. You know, there’s a sickness you can get from dragon blood, even though it’s really rare nowadays. If dragon blood mixes with human blood, it slowly takes over your body. First you start turning into a… sort of a dragon, and then you die. ‘S one of the reasons mum was so worried about Charlie going to work at a reserve, even though there’s a cure if you catch it early enough and everything. But now Malfoy knows about Hagrid’s dragon, and I can only see that making things worse.”
“What do you mean?” Hermione questioned, perhaps not knowing how much power Malfoy’s father had. “How can Malfoy make it worse?”
Neither Ron nor Daisy got a chance to answer, though. Footsteps had started approaching from nearby, and Daisy didn’t have the Cloak of Invisibility to hide herself and her friends with - plus, Ron and Hermione didn’t even know it existed. Daisy winced at the realisation that there was no escape, and braced herself for whichever teacher was about to get them in trouble.
“Good evening,” greeted the voice of Professor McGonagall, who was dressed in her night clothes and wearing a very disappointed expression on her face. Daisy gulped, and then winced again as Malfoy stepped out from behind the professor. “The three of you, follow me.”
And so they did - following Professor McGonagall and Malfoy back through the doorway that they had come out from. It was a classroom, eerily quiet and almost-abandoned in the late hours of night, aside from the few lit candles set upon the teachers’ desk at the far end. Daisy found an odd sort of comfort in the way that McGonagall went to stand around the other side of the desk before speaking to the trio again - she was used to teachers at the front of the classroom, after all.
“Nothing,” McGonagall started, and Daisy’s small sense of comfort from regularity melted away, “I repeat, nothing gives a student the right to walk about at night past curfew. Especially outside the castle and towards the Dark Forest. Perhaps had you been inside the castle walls, I would have considered taking off less points for this violation of the rules. As punishment for your actions, fifty points will be taken.”
“Fifty?” Ron exclaimed in protest, baulking at the number
“Each,” McGonagall added, and Daisy’s heart sunk. Losing that many points from Gryffindor would certainly cost them the house cup, and Daisy didn’t think it was fair at all, but she also couldn’t protest it. “And to ensure it doesn’t happen again, the four of you will receive detention.”
Malfoy moved from his position out of Daisy’s line of sight, stepping forward towards McGonagall. “Excuse me, professor, perhaps I heard you wrong. I thought you said… the four of us?”
The professor’s stern gaze fell upon the Slytherin boy. “No, you heard me correctly. Honorable as your intentions were, you too were out of bed after hours. You will join your classmates in detention. As it happens, Hagrid has a job to tend to in the Dark Forest, and needs some helpers to get it done.”
Daisy blinked. “But… aren’t we in trouble for being near the forest at night? Why are you sending us back there?”
Professor McGonagall sighed. “Over my years teaching, I have seen countless students not heed the warnings about the forest’s dangers. Though you will be safe under Hagrid’s watch, I expect it will serve as a fine warning for you to experience it once.”
Daisy still couldn’t make heads nor tails of Professor McGonagall’s reasoning. It felt almost reminiscent of her old school teachers who would let students face punishment as a deterrent, and then still turn a blind eye to any reason a student might be misbehaving. It brought back those exact memories, which probably would have left Daisy shaking at the start of the year, when she didn’t have friends by her side. Now, she was just apprehensive.
Mr. Filch had been summoned to lead the four students back down to Hagrid’s hut, and Daisy tried her best to ignore the even more pointed similarities in his cruel threats of ‘original punishments’ so that she wouldn’t end up shutting down. Fortunately it was a short walk, and it was entertaining to hear Malfoy grumble about how unfair this was on him. At the very least, Professor McGonagall had distributed the punishment evenly.
“A sorry lot, this, Hagrid,” Mr. Filch snarked. “But they’re here, and they’re all yours now. I’ll be back in a couple hours to collect what’s left of them.”
Mr. Filch made his exit all to quickly, and Daisy could only watch as he and his lantern trailed back up to the castle while Hagrid gathered a variety of supplies outside the hut. Daisy could swear she heard Hagrid talking to someone inside the hut - he'd probably found someone to supervise Norbert while he tended to his duties in the forest.
“Wait, this is for real?” Malfoy protested. “We can’t go in the forest, it’s not allowed. It’s dangerous, there are… werewolves!”
“A lot worse than that if ye don’t follow my instructions,” Hagrid grumbled. “Righ’, let’s go. It’ll be a while before we get anywhere dangerous, we can talk on the way.”
The group started walking into the forest, accompanied by Hagrid’s giant - but not all that brave - dog, Fang, and Daisy remained apprehensive. As much as she didn’t like agreeing with Draco Malfoy of all people, she too thought that this was an unreasonable detention to serve. But Hagrid was there, and he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to them… right?
“Now, we’re lookin’ out fer any silver unicorn blood, or any wounded or dead unicorns. I found three dead so far, one each week before now. Once we’re further into the forest, we’re going ter have te split up. Hermione and Ron will come with me, and Daisy and Draco, you’ll go with Fang. He’s a right coward, but he’ll come find me and bring me to ye if there’s any danger,” Hagrid explained. Daisy glanced over at Fang, who met her gaze and whined. Being with Fang as her guard didn’t exactly reassure her, and Malfoy definitely seemed the type to run at the first sign of trouble instead of helping.
“Next thing, we need ter be able te get each other’s attention,” Hagrid continued. “If ye find anything - a trail of blood, a unicorn, any danger - ye send up red sparks immediately. Forest may be too dense ter see it, but all Hogwarts staff’ve got this fancy little runic device that alerts us to the use of red sparks without a teacher present. I’ll be able to find ye. I’ve given Fang one too, it’ll light up my group sends sparks, and Fang’ll bring ye to me. Understand so far?”
“Yes, Hagrid,” Daisy confirmed. Malfoy grumbled, but nodded as well. “But what if we get lost?”
Hagrid shook his head. “Fang won’t let ye. Knows his way around the forest well enough, and he’ll keep ye out of the more dangerous areas.”
They’d reached a point in the forest where the trees were starting to look more gnarled, and Hagrid declared that it was time to split up. Apprehensive but not seeing any other choice, Daisy went with Malfoy and Fang, and split off to the right. Fang took the lead, and led them down what looked like a somewhat-trodden path. The trio walked in silence for a while, until Daisy grew too tired - and too nervous - to not busy herself somehow.
“I don’t get you,” Daisy said, more or less letting her impulse take the lead.
“What?” Malfoy questioned, his voice both bitter and haughty.
“I mean, I don’t get why you’re so… mean. I know bullies,” Daisy stated plainly, and it was true. Having been on the receiving end for so long, Daisy knew what made bullies be bullies in terms of external influence, though she still struggled to understand why they didn’t grow out of it internally. “Usually bullies are mean because they don’t get enough attention at home so they just… lash out, or they do it because someone in their family is awful and makes them think it’s alright, or because they’re being bullied themselves and want to take it out on someone else. Maybe it makes them feel powerful, I guess. Which one are you?”
“What the hell are you on about?” Malfoy bit back, but he hadn’t answered the question, and so Daisy kept going.
“You talk about your father a lot, and I know he’s supposed to be important in the wixen community,” Daisy continued. “And it sounds like he has power to let you get away with things. I guess it would make sense if you’re trying to impress him and be like him? Maybe you think it’ll make you important like him.”
Malfoy groaned. “You’d better shut it, weirdo. Do you know how easy it would be to get rid of you here, and make it seem like it was an accident?”
Daisy didn’t allow herself to look scared. A year ago, she might have been - but now she wasn’t defenseless anymore. She had magic, and she had people who cared about her. “Fang would know, and would help Hagrid figure it out. Plus, I’d just send up red sparks. But I also don’t think you would do it, or forgive yourself if you did. You can’t be actually a bad person, you’re still a kid just like me. You can learn to be nicer. You know, I think I’d be willing to try being friends with you if you stop being so mean.”
“As if I’d want to be friends with you,” Draco retorted. Neither said anything more, and Daisy was okay with that. She didn’t know if what she said would do anything, but she was really curious to find out if she could convince someone to not be a bad person. To encourage someone like Malfoy to stop being a bully - she knew Daisy Johnson had talked people down like that before even if she was ready to turn and fight the moment it became necessary. Maybe Quake tried to talk people down less than Daisy would want to, but still. She wanted to try.
After another long while of walking along in silence, Fang stopped walking and started growling.
“What is it, Fang?” Daisy asked. She looked over to where Fang was facing, and tried to make out what was up ahead. There was a slight cover of mist which made it hard to see at first, but the mist didn’t stick around for long.
A unicorn lay on the ground, unmoving - at least, Daisy guessed it was a unicorn, but she hadn’t actually seen one before. It had a clear white coat, and from this angle looked for all intents and purposes like a horse. Hunching over the other side of the unicorn was a hooded figure, leaning in and sucking at the downed creature. But Daisy could barely focus on that, because the moment she looked at this hooded figure, her head burst into sharp stabbing pains.
All at once the pain washed over her, and it was in some ways like what she regularly experienced in Professor Quirrell’s vicinity, yet so much more potent. It felt raw, unfiltered, and violent. It felt angry. Daisy had practice at not reaching for her scar when it hurt, and for that she was grateful - had she done so, Malfoy might have been able to figure out who she used to be. It shouldn’t have been her concern right then, and yet it still dominated her pain-addled thoughts.
Daisy fell back, landing poorly on a set of twisting roots, and tried to reach for her wand. She tried to grasp at it, and while she was beginning to lift it, red sparks shot into the sky from right behind her. Malfoy hadn’t run - he’d done what Hagrid had instructed, without bolting in fear and abandoning Diasy to the looming, terrifying figure.
The looming, terrifying figure that had risen off the ground and was floating straight towards her. She scrambled to crawl backwards and try to get away - if she could just get to Malfoy and he held out a hand, she could pull herself up and run. Fang had long since gone, and Daisy could hear his barking off in the distance, which meant he would bring help soon. But Hagrid must be far away, so… would help arrive in time?
The figure landed a few metres away from Daisy, and started closing the gap on foot. Daisy lifted her wand, preparing to cast the one spell that would come easily to her in this kind of situation. She didn’t know if it would help, or if she could even muster up enough power to make it work at all, but she had to try.
“Tre-”
Daisy didn’t even get a chance to complete the spell; a wave of the figure’s hand, and her wand was knocked away by some invisible force. Daisy heard a second wand clatter to the ground - Malfoy must have tried a spell too, and been thwarted just as easily as she had. The hooded figure smiled, and Daisy could see the silver blood around its mouth and covering its teeth. It was gruesome in a way that Daisy never would have expected, knowing where that blood had come from.
Some kind of stomping noise started nearing from the distance, but that didn’t reassure Daisy at all. It couldn’t be Hagrid, because there was no way he had come so quickly. It also couldn’t be Hagrid because the sounds were coming in fours, not twos. The sound was like… galloping. There was a scream from right above Daisy, accompanied by Malfoy’s yelp. A horse-like creature with a human-like scream leapt straight over Daisy, and charged towards the hooded figure, who fled just as quickly.
Daisy heard Malfoy screaming yet again, and this time the sound of his voice travelled away. Where he had somehow stayed to help Daisy with the hooded creature, he had clearly been frightened off by this new arrival - which Daisy could now see was a centaur.
“Daisy Evans, formerly Potter, you must leave,” the centaur said all of a sudden. “This forest is not safe for you.”
Daisy’s eyes widened further, and she was immediately glad for Malfoy’s decision to run off. “How do you know- what do you- what was that?”
The centaur inclined his head. “I have seen you in the stars, the moons and the planets, Daisy Evans. You will be a bringer of change, and I would quite like to see to it that you survive to fulfill your role. Come, I will escort you back to the other humans who are no doubt looking for you now.”
“O-okay,” Daisy managed, and took the hand that was offered to her. With strength that perhaps shouldn’t have been so surprising, the centaur lifted Daisy all the way off the ground and helped her onto his back. She tried to file away what the centaur had said to think about later. “Sorry, but what should I call you?”
“I am Firenze,” the centaur introduced himself. “Has your Gamekeeper spoken to you of unicorns and the power of their blood?”
Daisy shook her head, and then flushed as she realised Firenze would not have seen that. “No, um- no, he hasn’t.”
Firenze started moving at a slow walk - for all he mentioned that Daisy wasn’t safe here and needed to leave, he seemed to be taking his time. “Unicorns are among the purest of magical creatures. To kill one is considered a crime against nature, and to drink one’s blood is worse. Drinking the blood of a unicorn can allow the drinker to stave off death, even from death’s doorstep. However, it also earns one a half life, a cursed life. The drinker would become reliant on unicorn blood to continue surviving from then on, and will be in a weakened state without it.”
Daisy shuddered. “But who would do such a thing?”
Firenze huffed. “Can you think of nobody? I would hope your kind have not been neglectful in educating you about the world you have re-entered. One who is believed to be dead, but has clung to life by any means necessary to continue his conquest?”
“You mean…” Daisy started. Her mind cast back to a conversation with Andromeda months ago, and of the suspicions Dumbledore held that she felt it wise to follow. “You mean the one who was drinking its blood, that was Voldemort?”
Firenze craned his head, and one of his eyes landed on Daisy’s. She quickly looked away. “Do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?”
“The Philosopher’s Stone,” Daisy answered quickly. “It… creates the elixir of life.”
“Indeed,” Firenze nodded, and turned back to face where he was walking. “I am glad you know this much. It would be perilous, should the alchemist’s stone fall into the hands of that one.”
“So Snape isn’t trying to steal it for himself, but for Voldemort?” Daisy questioned.
Firenze shook his head. “I know not who the thief in the castle is. Perhaps it is the one you speak of, or perhaps not. I am sure you will do something to prevent the thief from accomplishing their goal, though.”
“I did!” Daisy exclaimed. “Me and my friends, we managed to convince Hagrid to make sure that Snape can’t get in past the guard.”
“Very well,” Firenze responded, and Daisy couldn’t help but notice it wasn’t in any kind of affirmative - or negative. “One last piece of advice, as we are nearing the other humans. Continue to stay true to your values, and continue to reach out a hand in support of others. I can see clearly in the stars that such actions will bring you great boons in the life you have yet to live.”
Daisy blinked, trying hard to take in and remember what Firenze had just said. A stray thought broke through, and Daisy stifled a giggle at the thought that Professor McGonagall had sent here on detention so that she would be afraid of the forest, but now she wanted to come back and visit Firenze - if she was ever allowed to. She returned to thinking on Firenze’s words, but her concentration was quickly broken by the centaur lifting her up again and lowering her to the ground.
“Daisy, thank Merlin yer safe!” Hagrid called out, and Daisy turned around to see him accompanied by Ron, Hermione, Malfoy and Fang. “Firenze, thank you fer looking after her.”
Firenze nodded once, and cantered off back into the forest without another word. Daisy almost reached after him, wanting more time to ask him questions and understand all of what he had said, but stilled her hand. Instead, she turned and ran over to where Ron and Hermione stood. She then checked her pockets and realised - her wand was gone. It had been knocked away by Voldemort, and Daisy had never retrieved it.
“My wand,” Daisy looked up at Hagrid. “It’s gone, it’s back where the unicorn was.”
Hagrid sighed. “Right, I’ll send fang ter get it. And Mister Malfoy’s as well. I’ll have’ta come back for the unicorn later, once the four of ye are back safe in the castle.”
Sleep came surprisingly quickly, and breakfast went by even faster. Within a minute of having finished eating, Daisy found herself being dragged away from breakfast by Daphne - who wanted to know everything about the visit to Hagrid. She was pulled off into a room one floor down from the Great Hall where she, Daphne, Ron, Hermione and Neville - who knew nothing of what was going on but followed along anyway - were gathered. Daisy, Ron and Hermione recounted the events of the night before, and Daphne looked like she was about to scream. And that was before Daisy had said anything about Voldemort.
“I’m writing to mother and father today,” Daphne insisted, signing somewhat aggressively as she spoke. “What happened last night is not okay!”
“Daphne, wait!” Daisy called. “Hagrid will make sure Snape can’t get past Fluffy, and… there was something I learned from the centaur, Firenze, that you should all know. Out there in the forest, the one who was drinking unicorn blood, the one who is getting Snape to steal the stone, it’s… it’s Voldemort.”
Simultaneously, everyone else in the room winced.
“You can’t just say that name!” Ron hissed. “Just say you-know-who or something, please! Wait… what did you just say?”
Daisy didn’t understand why everyone was so afraid of the name itself, but she made a note to say you-know-who instead in the future. “Firenze told me, and… it makes sense. Dumbledore thinks you-know-who is still alive somehow, so what if it is him? What if he needs the stone to come back?”
“We- we have to stop him!” Neville exclaimed. He looked even more afraid than the others.
“No, I mean… that’s why you can’t write the letter, Daphne. We’ve done what we can and Hagrid is going to deal with it. If this is you-know-who, we need to stay out of it. We’re just… we’re just kids.”
Notes:
oooo foreshadowing :)
Edited the chapter on the morning of 27/03/23 to have a slight sentence explaining what happens with Norberta that night since Hagrid isn't about to leave her unsupervised in his hut. [Not shown onscreen is that Hagrid made a deal with Professor Grubbly-Plank to help look after Norberta (before she hatched) until he figured out a plan to safely have a dragon on the grounds]
Chapter 14: A Moment's Normalcy
Notes:
Back with another chapter - a bit of filler before the next meaty bit of plot!
CW for bullying again. And also abandonment issues/insecurity again.
Also, there's some fingerspelling in the signed conversations. It's denoted by dashes between each letter in a word (eg f-i-n-g-e-r-s-p-e-l-l). There are words Daisy doesn't know that Daphne might fingerspell for her, as well as words Daphne doesn't know how to sign, as well as names for people that Daphne doesn't have/hasn't given a sign name to.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Can you believe this essay Professor S-p-r-o-u-t set for us?” Daphne signed to Daisy, who shuddered in response. She knew that they were most of the way through the school year by this point, but Professor Sprout had never set essays this long or this difficult. At least it wasn’t an essay in the sense of what Daisy had heard about from muggle schools - the expectations on writing skill were much lower for first year students at Hogwarts, who had yet to be taught much about actual essay writing.
Even so, Daisy had looked at the essay when it was set half a week ago and struggled to figure out how she was going to get through it. It was an essay on the properties of Devil’s Snare, but more than that, it was an essay on why it was used. Professor Sprout expected quite a lengthy piece of work, and Daisy had hoped to rope Hermione into helping out, but Hermione had already finished the essay and had other work to do. Ron was insisting on putting it off until later, and Neville had finished his essay even faster than Hermione.
This left Daisy and Daphne without any help beyond one another - Daphne’s Slytherin friend Tracey was apparently taking Ron’s approach too, which made things even trickier. At the very least, being able to sign in the library meant they could talk as much as they needed without being told off for being noisy - and Daisy was starting to get good enough at sign to hold proper conversations even if she still needed Daphne to slow down.
“I just want to get it over and done with soon, hopefully before the duel,” Daisy signed back as she pulled some parchment and the herbology textbook out of her bag.
“Oh, I heard through the grapevine that some seventh year Ravenclaw boy told your sister that she’d be better as a street performer and would never make it in the professional dueling circuit. So she challenged him back in the end?” Daphne asked. Daisy nodded - she hadn’t heard the full extent of what actually went down between Tonks and Lionel, but knew the duel was on today and had every intention to watch. She preened at the way Daphne casually called Tonks her sister - something she herself was slowly beginning to accept.
“We should get started on the essay,” Daisy reminded Daphne, who she knew full well would go off onto a long tangent about the gossip and sociopolitical intricacies of the older students if given the opportunity. Daphne had a keen ear for that sort of thing, which Daisy didn’t understand very well so she appreciated Daphne’s insight, but not when there was work to be done. “I did some reading earlier and found some of the p-r-o-p-e-r-t-i-e-s of d-e-v-i-l s-n-a-r-e but nothing about what it’s used for.”
Daphne shrugged, and procured her own textbook and writing implements. “Maybe we have to figure it out ourselves? So what do you know so far? I haven’t read as much yet so I want to make sure I didn’t miss anything important.”
Daisy almost dipped her quill in some ink to start writing and show Daphne that way, but halted her hand when she realised that talking it over first would both be good signing practice and also a better way of thinking through the ideas needed for the essay. “D-e-v-i-l s-n-a-r-e is a magical plant that takes the form of a c-o-l-l-e-c-t-i-o-n of thick t-e-n-d-r-i-l-like vines that react to nearby agitated living creatures by strangling them. They live in dark, damp environments, and recoil away from fire and light. They are thought to have partial conscious a-w-a-r-e-n-e-s-s because of their ability to respond to emotions and behaviours, but many herbologists argue that the reactions are purely b-i-o-l-o-g-i-c-a-l.”
As Daisy went, Daphne had shown her some of the signs for words she had to fingerspell, although was stuck on the word ‘biological’ - which meant that doubtlessly Daphne would look it up later for the sake of her own knowledge. Daisy practiced those few words she had been taught afterwords, while Daphne paused to take in the information.
“Alright, I didn’t know all of that,” Daphne admitted, “but I do remember my parents talking about an incident with the plant in P-a-r-a-g-u-a-y. Someone snuck some of it across the ocean and tried to use it to kill someone important. A seer, I think? So I guess one use of the plant is for killing. Did you read anything about it being used in potions?”
Daisy shook her head. “Nothing. We could look around and see if there are any books with more information?”
“Nah,” Daphne signed. “I don’t think S-p-r-o-u-t would set homework that would have the whole class hunting the library without telling us, she’s usually nicer than that. I’d rather just think of examples from what we know.”
Glad that Daphne had suggested an approach that wouldn’t have the two of them hunting the library and possibly missing the duel, Daisy nodded and put her mind to work. She knew that the dangerous plant responded to a mix of emotions and movement, and that it preferred damp, dark spaces. She knew it was strong, and tough enough to not be easily cut away. From what Daphne had mentioned about the incident in Paraguay, an idea came to mind. “Protection to keep out i-n-t-r-u-d-e-r-s and p-e-s-t-s, maybe?”
“What about as a weapon, you could probably throw it at someone,” Daphne offered, and Daisy giggled. It was a bit of an absurd image, but she had a point. The two girls went back and forth coming up with more and more obscure ways to use Devil’s Snare as a weapon or deterrent for a while, until they decided they were ready to start writing.
Daisy only managed to get about half way through her first paragraph when her attention was stolen away from the parchment and quill by a rather loud voice. She looked up, and saw that Zach had come into the library, dropped his books down on the desk Daphne and Daisy were sharing, and called out to both of them. Only Daisy responded, though, because Daphne didn’t have her hearing charm active. Daisy knew she probably would have been able to hear the sound a little, so she must have just been very focused on the work at hand.
“What’re you girls doing?” Zach asked, just loud enough to make Daisy anxious that Madam Pince would come over and tell them all off.
“The Herbology homework,” Daisy answered simply, wanting to add a request for him to speak more quietly but not having the confidence to do so. “How are you going with it?”
Zach snorted. “You guys are actually doing it? You know you can just copy off someone else or even pay someone to do it for you if you had to. I bet your nerdy friend Hermione’d be willing to. Or, well, I guess she doesn’t have to if you’re nerdy like her, huh?”
Daisy frowned. She didn’t like the way Zach said ‘nerdy’ - he usually seemed nice and friendly, but sometimes there were these little things about him that reminded her of Dudley and his group of friends. But things were better here at Hogwarts, so she tried to dismiss it. “It’s not that hard, just long. Do you wanna come sit and work with us? You can’t copy but we can share some of our ideas.”
Zach snorted again. “Nah, no way. I just came to see what you guys think of the duel later, who you think is gonna win. My money’s on Tandy, that Tonks girl seems like she’s all bark. She acts all confident around the other Hufflepuffs but I bet she’s useless on her own!”
“Tonks is gonna win,” Daisy bit back a little harshly. “She’s really strong.”
“Wow, okay, cool off,” Zach said dismissively. “What’s it to you anyway, getting all worked up like that?”
That confused Daisy - she didn’t feel that worked up, she just didn’t like the things that Zach was saying and wanted to tell him so. “She’s my sister.”
Zach raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, sure. Tonks doesn’t have any siblings, she’s the only child of that disgraced woman from the Black family. My family’s important enough that I’d know if she had a sister, you don’t have to make things up.”
“I’m not!” Daisy insisted - but it struck a chord with her all the same. Was Tonks really her sister? She said she was, and Daphne seemed to believe it. So did Ron, Hermione and Neville - who all had started to treat it like the most normal of truths - but still Zach’s words hurt. “Go away, I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
“Wow, sensitive, alright,” Zach said before grabbing his things. “I’ll see you later when you feel like being nicer, huh?”
Daisy bit back a groan, and instead let out a heavy sigh as Zach snickered and marched off. He wasn’t usually like this - or maybe he was, but not this bad. Before, Daisy could look past the occasional unfair thing Zach said, but this was too much. Hopefully he’d realise he was the mean one today and apologise, or at least be nicer in the future. Until then, Daisy had an essay to focus on.
Half an hour later, she’d written almost all of it, and decided that was a good point to stop. The duel was going to be in about twenty minutes anyway, and she could finish the last bit of the essay later. Daisy tapped Daphne on the shoulder, and waited for the other girl to look up.
“What’s up?” Daphne signed.
“I’m done for now, I want to go down to the big hall,” Daisy signed back, and Daphne immediately started packing up her own things.
“Cool, I’ll come with. Are you alright after what happened with Zach before?”
“You heard that?”
“Watched. He was being mean, I could see it. I still don’t get why you’re friends with him, but I don’t want to be that girl who tells you who you should be friends with,” Daphne explained, and it left questions circling Daisy’s mind. She appreciated the gesture from Daphne, especially after having grown up with the Dursleys telling her who she should and shouldn’t be talking to. Even so, was this really what Zach was like, and she just hadn’t noticed? Maybe she should pay more attention to what Zach was like, and make up her own mind later. But that could be worried about another time; Daisy had a duel to get to and watch.
She and Daphne set off out past the library, which was a short way’s away from the Great Hall. There were lots of stairs to go down, and Daisy was hardly surprised to see Neville slowly descending a set up ahead - nor had she expected what was in his hand. As she got closer, Daisy made out the cane Neville was holding and leaning into a bit. She had mostly only ever see older people walk with canes - except for one person who Daisy had seen walking around the Dursleys’ neighbourhood a few time who looked young, and wore a jacket with lots of spikes on it. Daisy had been told not to talk to them.
“Hey Neville,” Daisy called out once Neville had made it to a flatter section of stairs; she didn’t want to startle him. He often had the odd bruise somewhere from falling over or knocking into somewhere, and Daisy didn’t want to give Neville another.
Neville turned. “Oh, Daisy, Daphne! Check out this thing Madam Pomfrey gave me!”
While Daphne cast her hearing charm to join in, Daisy quickly signed to her to share what Neville had said, and then took a closer look at the cane. It looked mostly like what Daisy would expect, aside from the shape of the handle - which looked like a T, except if the T was a little bit curved and longer on one side. It was made of a kind of lacquered brown wood, and was noticeably sticking to Neville’s hand as he waved it about.
“It’s probably not gonna be perfect, but Madam Pomfrey said it’d be a good place to start for the days I have less balance,” Neville explained. “It’s got a sticking charm on the handle so I don’t have to hold it as tight and I don’t lose my grip, and on the bottom it’s got some kind of charm I can’t remember the name of that helps it respond to my balance if I’m about to fall. It’s really cool! Oh, and check this out!”
Neville tapped his wand against the cane, and it immediately shrunk down to about a quarter of its size - small enough to fit away into a bag easily. He tapped it again, and it returned to full size. “I only just got it this morning, so I’m still getting the hang of it, but I think it’s gonna help. Walking might not take so much focus anymore. Oh, and she said I should talk to Professor Vector about my coordination problems, and I did, and she seemed… kinda awesome.”
Daisy hadn’t even thought about how much focus it might take Neville just to walk around, especially on his worse days. She was glad the school healer had a solution like that for him, and hoped that it was extra helpful. “Are you coming to watch the duel?”
“Absolutely,” Neville said keenly. “I’m hoping Tonks wins, of course. Not just because she’s your sister, but also she just seems really nice.”
“I’m hoping Tandy loses because he’s a prat,” Daphne added helpfully, with a wry smile on her face. “Shall we?”
“Yep,” Neville agreed, and so the three of them continued on their way to the Great Hall - at a slower pace while Neville was getting used to his new cane. “You know, Professor Vector says if I work hard, I’ll probably be able to catch up with all my spellwork by the end of fourth year and then keep up for the rest of school. She has the same thing as me - she says it’s called dyspraxia, and that our brains just have trouble getting our bodies to do what we want. She’s gonna teach me something kind of like wandless magic that will help me not need to do wand motions anymore, but apparently it’s really hard to learn.”
“Blimey, that sounds cool,” Daphne commented. “Learning wandless magic by fourth year? But is it actually wandless?”
“Not exactly,” Neville continued. “It’s more like… using wandless magic but with a wand, and I know that doesn’t really make sense. The wand is still a focus for channeling magic, but I’ll do stuff that makes up for wand motions with the same magical control you have to learn for wandless magic. It’s sort of half wandless, I guess?”
“Still cool,” Daphne reaffirmed. “Professor Vector teaches Arithmancy, right? Yeah, she’d know heaps about deep magical theory for that.”
“She also runs a super selective class called Magical Research - you can’t ask to join it, you have to be invited,” Neville said.
“Oh, I’ve heard Fred and George talking about that class before,” Daisy mentioned just as the volume from chatter was starting to creep up - because they were almost at the Great Hall. “They’ve said something about being able to work on their joke shop idea in that class.”
“Speaking of Fred and George, they managed to pull off a prank against one of the more blood purist-y third year Slytherins the other day,” Daphne chuckled. “Varys was pulling something out of his bag and a kind of rock fell to the ground. It exploded into powder that turned all of his clothes and his hair the exact Weasley shade of orange. It was great. Perhaps I’ll have to think about working with the Weasleys some day - they’d have made great Slytherins honestly.”
“They really would’ve,” Daisy agreed. That was the last of the conversation they managed to easily get in now that the sound of chatter had gotten even louder, so they stopped the conversation there and headed into the hall.
It wasn’t quite as busy as it sounded - rather there were just some very loud people there. Tonks was sitting off the side of the duelling stage - a long, kind of thin platform that didn’t have very much room for side-to-side movement at all. There was a tall Ravenclaw boy standing on the other side talking to Professor Flitwick - that must have been Lionel Tandy. He had slick-gelled hair and perhaps one of the most un-creased set of robes Daisy had ever seen. He’d also been rude to Tonks, which automatically meant that Daisy didn’t like him.
Over the next five minutes, the crowd grew a little bit more. An impressively loud bell sounded out across the room with a wave of Professor Flitwick’s wand, which succeeded in getting everyone’s attention. “Welcome, welcome everyone! This is the first formal duel we’ve had at Hogwarts in quite a while, so it’s nice to see all of you here to watch. With two of our seventh year duellists, it should be an excellent showing. I hope that you all watch keenly, and perhaps I’ll be seeing some of you soon to sign up for a competition if there’s enough interest!
“Now, today we have Nymphadora Tonks from Hufflepuff, and Lionel Tandy from Ravenclaw, who have agreed to settle some of their differences with a respectful duel. I shall be presiding over the match and ensuring all rules are followed, and I expect a clean, honest duel from the both of you. I’ll just have this fine crowd take a handful of steps backwards so we don’t have any accidents, and then we’ll begin shortly,” Professor Flitwick declared. Daisy was glad that she, Neville and Daphne were closer to the front because it meant that they didn’t get trampled. They also had a way better view.
Tonks got up from her spot on the side of the stage, dusted herself off, and then assumed a position across from Lionel, who was standing on the other side with his wand pointed towards the ground. The two of them bowed to each other, and then raised their wands.
“You may begin,” Flitwick trumpeted, and the duel was on.
For a moment, nothing happened. It seemed as though both Lionel and Tonks were sizing each other up, waiting for someone to do something. Then, Lionel made the first move.
“Arante!” Lionel howled, and summoned a flurry of metal-tipped arrows from his wand that shot in a straight line towards Tonks. Daisy winced, worried that it would hit - even though she knew it probably wouldn’t.
“Avis Caverte!” Tonks countered. Yellow light beamed out from her wand, and stopped when it hit the arrows. Each of them turned into small white birds, and fluttered away. Tonks yawned with her free hand, which made Daisy giggle a little.
But Lionel didn’t let up - just as soon as the birds had moved clear, he fired a ball of red light towards Tonks, so fast that Daisy hadn’t even caught what he’d said. Tonks reacted quickly with the water-summoning spell, Aguamenti, which created a large ball of water that immensely slowed down the red bolt. With a wave of Tonks’ wand, the ball splashed into a nearby wall, taking Lionel’s spell with it.
“Fumos duo,” Lionel shouted, summoning up a dense cloud of smoke that covered the duelling stage, and spread outward into the rest of the hall as well.
Tonks countered with “Lapifors,” which turned the cloud of smoke into a horde of dancing smoke bunnies. Daisy laughed a little louder this time - as did many of the onlookers.
“Aww, aren’t they cute?” Tonks cooed at the bunnies, and now that the bunnies were moving around, Daisy could see that she still had her wand pointed at Lionel, and her eyes locked in the same direction.
“Are you even taking this seriously?” Lionel hissed.
“Wait, you are?” Tonks deadpanned. “I thought you were going easy on me. Your casting time is kinda slow, I thought you could do better.”
And Daisy had thought Lionel’s casting was incredibly fast. She could barely just make out his verbal incantations most of the time, and his hands had moved like a blur.
“How dare you!” Lionel howled, and began casting a flurry of red and blue bolts towards Tonks.
Tonks smiled. “Aguamenti Tria!”
Three balls of water formed and followed Tonks’ deft wandwork. Two of the balls sloshed around midair and caught all of Lionel’s spells.
“Glacius!”
With Tonks’ next spell, the remaining unused ball of water froze into a ball of ice that still hung midair. Daisy didn’t know what Tonks had done to make it not fall - perhaps she had wordlessly cast the levitation charm?
From just one rapid flick of her wrist, Tonks sent the two spell-trapping balls of water into the wall again, while the ball of ice continued to stay put. That was, until Tonks’ next spell.
“Geminio!”
The ball of ice vibrated midair, quick enough to deflect several more spells from Lionel. Then, it broke apart - but it hadn’t been cut apart, it had split into two copies of the original ball of ice. And then two became four, and four became eight, and there were balls of ice quickly filling the stage between Tonks and Lionel. Lionel had switched tactics in response - using spells like Diffindo and Confracta to break apart the ice balls so they’d stop duplicating.
He was working fast enough to keep ahead of the duplication, with his spells smashing through several layers of ice balls each, but the smile still hadn’t left Tonks’ face. After a few moments more, Lionel had switched to using Bombarda to clear ice faster, and now had cleared the path between him and Tonks - who opened her mouth once more the moment that happened.
“Cacaraca!” Tonks shouted, and that-
That was not a spell that Daisy had ever heard of. It didn’t even sound like any of the other spells Daisy knew - most of which seemed to be derived from latin somehow. This just sounded like nonsense.
All the same, Lionel stopped casting spells. Instead, he staggered, and with wide eyes he pointed his wand up above the stage - as though targetting something nobody else could see.
“Ferula Tria!” Tonks shouted with a little more intensity and passion than any of the rest of her spells. Three ropes of bandage shot out from her wand and lanced towards Lionel, before coiling around him and thoroughly wrapping him up. Tonks waved her wand once more, and Lionel was hurled off the duelling stage.
Daisy started clapping excitedly alongside a good half of the audience, and Professor Flitwick raised his arm towards Tonks, declaring her the victor. Tonks waved her wand once more towards Lionel, and the bandages vanished.
Lionel shot up quickly, pointing an accusatory finger towards Tonks. “You! You… you cheated!”
Tonks shrugged. “Nah.”
“Yes you did,” Lionel insisted. “You used some… some kind of Dark mind magic on me!”
“Pfft,” Tonks sounded, and chuckled. “I did no such thing. At least not Dark magic, and I know for a fact that mind magic is allowed in Duels. A lot of professional duelists are skilled Legilimens, who use their skills to try and read their opponents’ intentions. I didn’t even need that against you.”
“Professor Flitwick, tell her she’s wrong! Mind magic is banned!” Lionel continued, but Daisy looked at Tonks, who seemed confident, and chose to trust her.
“Mister Tandy, please have some decorum,” Flitwick urged. “The use of mind magic is most certainly allowed in duelling, and as standard as Miss Tonks says. She has broken no rules whatsoever, and in fact she cleared the use of that spell with me in advance. Miss Tonks, if you’d like to explain?”
“Oh,” Tonks sounded, “sure. Cacaraca is a spell one wix made up just to prove that it was possible to create spells without adhering to any given language structure. It really is just a bunch of noises pretending to be a word, though it does sound a little like what it does. What vae did was make a spell that implants an illusionary sight onto a target, specifically of the world around the target cracking to pieces. It barely lasts long, only a few seconds, and isn’t likely to actually hurt the target. Happy now, Lionel?”
Lionel shrunk in on himself. “You… you didn’t take me seriously at all, did you? Not one single offensive spell, that whole time.”
“Nup, not one,” Tonks agreed. “Didn’t need them. Honestly Lionel, you kinda suck at duelling. You should probably watch who you insult, and… well, maybe you should just try being a little nicer, huh?”
Lionel Tandy hung his head and walked out of the great hall, followed by bits of laughter - but Daisy certainly didn’t contribute to that. Tonks probably had a point, especially if it was true that Lionel had insulted her duelling skills. Hopefully he would listen, and be kinder to those around him.
With the duel now over, and with Tonks quietly having words with Professor Flitwick, people slowly started to clear out. Daphne and Neville both headed off, while Daisy said goodbye to them with every intention to speak to Tonks if she could. She knew the seventh year Hufflepuff was busy, but she wanted to believe that the one who called herself her sister would make some time.
But rather than Daisy trying to approach Tonks, it was Tonks who made a line straight for Daisy once she was done talking with the Charms Professor. “Yo Daze, you watched my duel?”
Daisy nodded. “Of course I did. That was really cool!”
Tonks smirked. “Glad you think so! I just reckon he needed to be humbled, after all that time talking smack about others in our cohort - and not just me. Apparently he spent the winter break training with a professional duelling coach and thought he was suddenly the most important person in seventh year. So, what’s this I hear about you getting put on detention in the Dark Forest and not telling me or ma? You know you can tell us both about stuff like this, right?”
Daisy looked down. “I… didn’t want to bother either of you.”
“Well, bother us!” Tonks insisted, and found herself a seat on a bench near where Daisy was standing so that their eyes were more level. “Mum heard about it, and she says when she gets a chance she’s coming to have words with Dumbledore about what counts for appropriate detentions. Didn’t take you for the detention earning type, though. What happened?”
Daisy sighed, and sat down next to Tonks. “I was… me and my friends were talking to Hagrid about something, and ended up being out of the castle after curfew.”
“But you were with Hagrid,” Tonks stated.
Daisy nodded.
“And he didn’t walk you up to the castle after? Or give you a note to show a teacher if they thought you were breaking curfew for no reason?”
Daisy shook her head. “He was busy.”
“Well, that sucks. Are you okay after that? Even I wouldn’t go into the forest on my own, and I certainly can’t imagine being made to go in your first year.”
“It’s okay, we all got out without being hurt,” Daisy with a shrug. Then, she leaned in a little closer. “I met a centaur, and he called me ‘Daisy Evans, formerly Potter’. Is that normal?”
Tonks hummed thoughtfully. “For most people? Probably not. But you ended a war as an infant, so all bets are off about what’ll be normal for you. Plus, Centaurs are all really good Seers. I guess that bit isn’t so surprising. But seriously, Daisy. You know we’re here for you, right?”
Daisy shrugged. She couldn’t work up an honest nod, because she wasn’t used to this. To people who called her family and actually cared. More than that, she was scared of what would happen if Andromeda really did come and pick a fight with Professor Dumbledore - he was the headmaster, surely he could decide that Daisy wasn’t welcome at Hogwarts anymore. It was fine for Tonks, since she was almost done - but Daisy wanted to stay. This was one of the safest and nicest places she’d ever been, and she didn’t think she could handle losing her place at Hogwarts.
Notes:
So I had this one other idea for how the conversation around Neville's cane would go, but it didn't end up being worked into the dialogue, so here's a little bonus:
- Neville: [shows his cane]
- Daphne: "Nice, looks great to whack someone with if they try to pick on you!"But yeah neville got a derby handled cain! It's not gonna be perfect and he needs more adaptive stuff, but it's a start.
So how do you think Tonks found out about the forest detention? Lmk in the comments, and if anyone guesses right I'll edit it into the chapter notes here :)
Edit: nobody guessed it, but Daphne (who was rather miffed about the detention) used her connections to the school rumour mill (which you'll find out about in more detail in book 2) to make sure word got to Tonks.
Also lmao Lionel got fucking humbled
Chapter 15: Figuring It Out
Notes:
CWs: abandonment fears/trauma, adults undermining and ignoring children
So far nobody's guessed how Tonks found out about the detention, so keep the guesses coming!
We've now arrived at the last section of Book 1. There are two more chapters after this, and then it's time to move into the summer between books 1 & 2! That'll happen on this fic, I'm not turning it into a series atm.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Exams were hard. Daisy had never done an exam before Hogwarts, and they’d always sounded scary before. Now, having sat all her exams for the school year? It wasn’t so much that they were scary on their own, but Daisy had really struggled. Her scar had started hurting more over the last few weeks which had made it harder to study - even with all her friends helping her. On top of that, Andromeda had never come to talk to Dumbledore, at least not that she knew of.
Before, Daisy had been scared of Andromeda upsetting Dumbledore and then Daisy getting kicked out of Hogwarts. Now, Daisy just felt like Andromeda had finally given up on caring about Daisy; that it was too much work, and she was over it. It wouldn’t have been exactly surprising - with how busy Andromeda had been through the year. Daisy had tried so hard to stay out from underfoot, hardly writing any letters to the woman, and still it had turned out like this.
With all that on Daisy’s mind, she was pretty sure she only barely passed each of her exams. They were over now, and there’d only be a couple more weeks at Hogwarts. The final quidditch match - between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw - was in two days, and Daisy had been drilled quite a bit by Oliver on how she needed to hold the Ravenclaw seeker Chang Suyin off as long as possible so that the chasers could score enough to take back the house cup. It wasn’t just about Quidditch anymore either - thanks to Daisy, Ron and Hermione, Gryffindor were coming last in the House Cup too.
Tomorrow was the last training session with the team before the game, and Daisy just hoped she could gather enough energy for it. It was going to be hard to sleep - even though the exams were over, Daisy’s mind was still buzzing. There was something important rattling around in her brain, but she wasn’t sure exactly what it was.
The only thing Daisy could think of was the Philosopher’s Stone - but Hagrid had taken care of the problem with the Stone’s security, and if it had been stolen surely Daisy would have heard about it at some point. But somehow… the pain in her scar felt like some kind of warning. Like danger was approaching, and if Voldemort was the one who had given her the scar, it didn’t feel like a far stretch to say that Voldemort was the one causing it to hurt again.
She tried to put it out of her mind - even if the Stone was in danger, what was Daisy supposed to do about it? Like she had said to her friends, she and the others were only kids. Daisy instead did her best to focus on Ron and Hermione, with whom she was walking from where the History of Magic exam had been held and back towards the Gryffindor Tower. Neville probably would have walked with them as well - except for the fact that Pomfrey had organised for him to have a little extra time in his exams, and he’d insisted on the others not waiting back for him.
“I hope I can join in on some of the extra-curriculars,” Hermione said as the three walked out from under an archway and along the path that went near Hagrid’s hut. “I suppose I could spend the next couple weeks reading in the library, but I’d like to try something different now that classes are over. Maybe I’ll start learning British wixen sign language!”
Something was coming to the front of Daisy’s mind, and it felt important, but she still didn’t know what.
“There’s extra flying classes,” Ron added. “I definitely want to go to some of those. Maybe in a couple years I’ll be good enough for the quidditch team! I’ve always fancied myself as a Keeper, to be honest.”
Daisy stared over towards Hagrid, who was sitting on the steps to his hut and playing a flute of some kind. He was quite good at it, too.
“I won’t go anywhere near those classes,” Hermione insisted. “I’ve had quite enough of flying. I’ll go to our regular classes, but that’s enough for me. I’ve never liked sports, honestly. Too messy, too stressful. I will say though, quidditch is fun to watch.”
There was something about the way Hagrid was playing. It felt kind of somber, perhaps mournful even. Norbert had been taken away to Romania quite a while ago, and Hagrid still didn’t seem like he was over it. The young dragon would probably be okay though - apparently he was being taken to the reserve where Ron’s brother Charlie worked.
“See, of course it’s fun!” Ron sounded proud and victorious. “Quidditch is a masterful game with all sorts of skillful plays. I’m going to watch a Chudley Cannons game right after we all go home, and I think they’re set to win this one! It won’t get them the cup, but if they win they should come third this season.”
Daisy knew where Hagrid had gotten the dragon egg from - a stranger at a pub - but the question was why. Daisy had done some research after - raising a dragon without a license was illegal, and getting a dragon egg was extremely difficult. Nobody would just give an egg away.
Oh.
Oh no.
Daisy stopped in her tracks. “That’s it!”
“What is, Daisy?” Hermione asked, turning from her conversation with Ron.
“Don’t you think it’s strange that what Hagrid wants more than anything - because of course he does - is a dragon, and someone just happens to have an egg on them to give him?” Daisy said, urgency all across her voice. “We need to go talk to him now.”
With that, Daisy took off at a run - and Hermione and Ron followed. Diverting from the path towards the Gryffindor tower, they ran straight for Hagrid’s hut. Hagrid saw them coming, stopped playing his flute, and put it down beside him. Daisy didn’t give him a chance to get a word in, though.
“Hagrid, who gave you the egg? What did he look like?” Daisy all but demanded.
Hagrid tilted his head a little bit. “I ‘unno, never saw his face. He kept his hood up the whole time.”
“But you and this stranger must have talked?” Daisy questioned. “He wouldn’t have just walked up and given you the egg.”
“Well, course we did,” Hagrid answered. “He wanted ter know what sort of creatures I look after. I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon’s gonna be no problem!”
“Was he interested in Fluffy?” Daisy asked, her desperation growing. She didn’t like where this was going at all.
“Well o’ course he was interested, Daisy,” Hagrid said. “How often do ye come across a three-headed dog outside of Greece, even if yer in the trade? But I told him, I said the trick with any beast is to know how to calm ‘em. Take Fluffy, for example. Play him music, and he falls straight ter sleep.”
Daisy’s eyes widened. “And you told him? You told Snape how to get past Fluffy?”
Hagrid sighed and shook his head. “I shouldn’ta told you that, but besides, I think I’d know if the stranger had been Snape by the sound of his voice.”
Daisy glanced back to Hermione and Ron. Hermione had a look of understanding about his face, but Ron looked… dazed.
Ron took in a deep breath, and then spoke with eyes wide. “It’s going to happen tonight. I don’t know how I know, but I just know. We have to do something!”
“Hagrid, I’m sorry, but we have to go!” Daisy apologised, and the three of them took off running. Daisy led the way, and the other two were happy to follow. She had a plan, and she was going to see it through. She led them all the way to McGonagall’s office - it was the nearest, and Daisy didn’t know where Dumbledore’s office. It was already late afternoon, which meant there wasn’t much time left.
The professor in question was sitting quietly at her desk, working her way through a stack of exam papers. She looked up, seeming quite taken aback by the fact that Daisy, Ron and Hermione hadn’t even knocked. “What’s the meaning of this, you three?”
“We have to see Professor Dumbledore, immediately,” Daisy insisted. Then, she knew she needed to clarify more - oftentimes the Dursleys wouldn’t let her talk for long, so she’d learned to squeeze what she absolutely had to say in as quick as she could - even if it still ended badly. “It’s about the Philosopher’s Stone, and that someone is going to try and steal it tonight!”
Professor McGonagall looked up, and her face fell. “I don’t know how you three found out about that, but I assure you it is well protected. And to your earlier point - Professor Dumbledore isn’t here. He received an urgent owl from the Minister of Magic and left until tomorrow. Now, there’s time left in the day, so I’d urge that you three go out and enjoy what time you have before dinner.”
Daisy groaned, and stomped out of Professor McGonagall’s office. She knew she’d get in trouble for that rudeness, but she wasn’t in the right state of mind to even worry about that right now. If Voldemort got his hands on the Philosopher’s Stone, there’d be war again. That felt far more important. She marched off in the direction of the Gryffindor tower - if none of the adults would listen, she’d just have to grab the Invisibility Cloak and go herself, even if she was just a kid.
Hermione and Ron followed after. Ron spoke, sounding just as worried as Daisy felt. “That really wasn’t fair of her. I know that I know the Stone is in danger, even if I don’t know how I know it. We have to do something about it!”
“And we will,” Hermione insisted. “In fact, we should go right now. We should-”
“What would three young Gryffindors like yourselves be doing inside on a day like this?” Professor Snape interrupted, having successfully snuck up on them from behind with too much ease. Daisy eyed him carefully, not trusting him at all.
When Hermione struggled to come up with a response - after all, she still struggled to talk back to teachers under any circumstances - Daisy stepped in. “I don’t like the sun very much, Professor. Not when I’m this tired after exams, so the three of us are avoiding it right now.”
Snape eyed her back. His expression looked… calculating. “You ought to be careful. People might think you’re… up to something. Now, run along and find something non-obstructive to do.”
Swooping off without giving any of them a chance to respond - not that they needed to - Snape disappeared around a corner, and Daisy took that as a chance to keep going full speed ahead. At the very least, Snape hadn’t gone in the direction of the Third Floor Corridor, which meant that the three of them had time to get ahead.
“Let’s go!” Daisy insisted, and they took off at a run. Through the corridor past the central courtyard, around to the Great hall and turning to run up the stairs, and-
Almost onto the floor. Daisy had bumped into something - no, someone, and would have hit her face on the stairs if not for being caught from behind.
“Woah, Daze, where are you three off to in such a hurry?” came Tonks’ voice.
Tonks.
She might be willing to help. Daisy righted herself and looked up at Tonks, who had just been coming down the stairs at the exact moment Daisy, Ron and Hermione had turned to run up them. “We need your help!”
“Oh?” Tonks questioned.
“You probably won’t believe this,” Hermione started. “But the Philosopher’s Stone is hidden down the Forbidden Corridor and someone’s about to try and steal it.”
“Huh, so that’s what’s hidden there. And let me guess, you told a teacher, maybe Professor McGonagall, who didn’t listen at all?” Tonks asked.
Daisy’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”
Tonks smirked. “You lot probably wouldn’t try deal with this on your own unless you felt you had to, and Daze, you wouldn’t make something like this up. So, where are we headed? Forbidden Corridor? Or do you need to grab something on the way?”
“You believe us?” Daisy blurted, surprised. “Really?”
“Sure,” Tonks answered, and looked straight at Daisy. “You wouldn’t make something like this up because you really don’t want to cause trouble.” She turned her gaze to Hermione. “From what Daisy tells me, you don’t break rules outside of extreme cases.” Then at Ron. “You look like you’ve seen shit. So, yeah, I’m in. Besides, there’s no harm done if this turns out to be nothing.”
Getting to the Forbidden Corridor was much easier with Tonks there. Passing Professors didn’t stop them, and other students didn’t give them strange looks. Even Mrs Norris didn’t run off to find Filch - though that may have had something to do with Tonks using her metamorphmagus abilities to put on a cat face and meow at the cat.
Hermione pulled out her wand and used alohamora on the door, but nothing happened. No click, and no other signifier that the door had been unlocked. Tentatively, Daisy reached forward and tried to open the door. It came straight open; the door hadn’t been locked to begin with. Or… perhaps it had, and had recently been unlocked. Perhaps they were too late. It was past 5pm - did that count as ‘night’ by Ron’s strange knowledge?
The moment the door swung open, the sound of music became clear. Immediately to the right of the door, a harp was playing on its own with nobody to pluck the strings. Under any other circumstances, Daisy might’ve stopped to look at the harp, since she’d never actually seen one in person before. But now was not the time. More pressing was the fact that Fluffy - with all his three heads - was fast asleep and snoring, with one of his paws slumped over the trap door.
“We have to move his paw,” Daisy observed.
“Without magic, too,” Tonks added. “Best not to mess with magic on a Cerberus, they tend to just get aggravated.”
All four of them worked together to lift the paw and pull it to one side as gently as they could. They had success, and got Fluffy’s paw away from the trap door, but there was a problem. The music had stopped playing, and Fluffy was awake. The moment Daisy saw one of Fluffy’s heads move from the corner of her eye, she whipped out her wand. She didn’t know what spell she would use, especially after what Tonks had said, but she felt safer with her wand pointed at the dog.
“Somnium!” Tonks cast, and a wave of purple light crashed into Fluffy’s heads. It had no effect. One of the heads snapped at Tonks, who bent her body impressively far out of the way. “Down the trap door, now! Go! Go! Go!”
Daisy yanked the door open and jumped down, quickly followed by Ron, Hermione and then Tonks before Fluffy could cause any harm.
“Arresto Momentum!”
Being hit with Tonks’ spell felt like a weird sort of icy water washing over Daisy’s body, making her almost shiver. But more importantly, it had also slowed everyone’s fall enough that they could land on the ground below the trap door without injury. There hadn’t been any stairs to run down when Daisy had opened the trap door, so if Tonks hadn’t been there, they really would have been relying on chance. Chance, and the surprisingly squishy footing Daisy had found herself on. Squishy, and uneven. Almost tendril-like, but it was hard to see in the dark.
“Lumos,” Tonks cast next, producing a helpful, mild light at the tip of her wand. “Oh, woah. Watch your step and no sudden moves.”
“What?” Ron called, and then looked down. Once he’d laid eyes on the ‘floor’ below, now illuminated by Tonks’ wand, Ron jerked one of his feet up into the air and resultantly fell on his back. Writhing tendrils quickly wrapped around him, and he yelped in surprise. “What the hell is this?”
“This is what you get for not doing your homework, Ron,” Hermione admonished, standing perfectly calm and still in one spot so as not to aggravate the ‘floor’ below. But it wasn’t floor, it was Devil’s Snare.
“Come on Hermione, is now really the time for that?” Ron yelped back. Daisy didn’t move either, but she was worried about Ron. He was still struggling, and the more he struggled, the more he was going to put himself in danger. She remembered the essay Professor Sprout had set a few months back, not only because of how much work it had been. Devil’s Snare withdrew in the face of strong lights and flames.
She tried to draw her wand, but it wasn’t there. Just then, Daisy remembered - she’d had it out in the same moment she dove down the trap door, but now it was gone. It must have fallen somewhere amongst the vine-filled mass. Carefully, she bent down to try and look for it, but her foot slipped.
Or perhaps more accurately, it sunk. Daisy had noticed that the tendrils weren’t the most sturdy footing to stand on, and it wasn’t just that they were roots. They weren’t set up on solid ground. There was nothing under the plant, somehow suspended amidst the four walls of the pit below the trap door, and there were no doors or paths anywhere Daisy could see - which meant the path forward was down.
“We need to get under the plant,” Daisy called. “Ron, you need to relax!”
“Relax?” Ron yelled. “That’s easy for you to say, you’re not the one wrapped up in this death grip!”
Tonks sighed, and shifted her weight to sink into the plant - having seen Daisy do the same by accident. “Let’s get under this and deal with Ron from below. Daisy, Hermione, just let it push you down, alright?”
And so they did. It was definitely not the most comfortable experience, feeling the way the tendrils wrapped and squeezed and pushed, but they weren’t actively trying to hurt Daisy, so she knew she’d be fine. She shifted the rest of her weight around until she started slipping through, and let it take her. A few long seconds later, she came out underneath the plant, falling a short couple metres and landing awkwardly with her hands and knees. Daisy definitely counted herself lucky that it didn’t hurt much, and even luckier once again that Tonks was here in case she had gotten injured.
Tonks and Hermione came through a moment after, but Ron was still screaming and resisting. Daisy might’ve tried to save him if she had her wand - even if she’d never tried it before, she knew the spell Lumos Solem to create sunlight, and had other, weaker spells to create small amounts of fire. But she was currently wandless, and there was nothing she could do. Hermione, however, was more prepared.
“Lumos solem,” Hermione cast calmly, firing a ball of pure sunlight straight up at the writhing plant. Whether Hermione had practiced the spell before, or had just cast it perfectly the first time, Daisy didn’t know - but she wasn’t surprised either way. Tonks whistled in impressed acknowledgement of Hermione’s spellwork, and the tendrils of Devil’s Snare quickly withdrew into the walls, freeing Ron to fall down to safety. He landed with a thunk, and Daisy’s wand landed with a softer clatter a moment after. This wasn’t the first time she’d dropped her wand in an inopportune place, and she really needed to make sure it was the last.
“Are you okay, Ron?” Hermione quickly asked, leaning over him and offering a hand up.
“Sure,” Ron groaned. “Just fine and dandy, as though there isn’t some kind of killer plant hidden in the school!”
“Kid, it is protecting one of the most valuable magical creations in the world,” Tonks pointed out. “But you’re okay, I was only a moment behind Hermione. We couldn’t free you before we dropped down, and knew it was safe. Come on, we should get moving. We’re not the first ones here today.”
Daisy nodded grimly. However it was that Ron knew someone would try take the Stone tonight, he was right. Daisy wasn’t sure how it could have been Snape, though - there was no way he got here faster than she and the others did? If it wasn’t Snape though… who was it? There was no time to dwell on that; they had to push forward. Hermione gave Ron a hand up, and the four of them headed down the pathway just to Tonks’ side. It was narrow, and there were stairs going up, and down, and then up again. Whoever designed this must have wanted people to tire out along the way, but Daisy didn’t tire. She had a year of quidditch training under her belt, and it had made her stronger, faster and have more stamina than she’d ever had before.
As they proceeded along the tight, stair-filled path, a noise began growing in the background. At first, Daisy had thought it was distant rushing water. Hermione and Ron were already struggling, Hermione near the point of wheezing and Ron’s pace slowing down. But there was no time to rest for long, they had to keep pushing onward.
“Here, catch,” Tonks said, and tossed two objects in the air towards each of Ron and Hermione. Ron managed to catch it, and Hermione fumbled it several times before saving it from the floor, and then turned to look questioningly at Tonks - though she couldn’t get any words out. “It’s a bit of Wiggenweld Potion, which I’m sure you guys have made before. Not good to rely on too often, but handy when you really need it. It’ll pick up your energy a bit more so we can keep going.”
Hermione nodded, and downed the bottle quickly. When Ron saw that nothing bad had happened to her, he did the same.
“Where did you get that from?” Daisy asked, curious enough to seek an answer before they got moving again.
“Class,” Tonks answered. “Once you start working on your NEWTS, Snape has everyone keeping any acceptably made potions with them, especially if they last long. Supposedly every competent potioneer has a veritable supply of potions on their person at any given time.”
Daisy nodded, finding that answer to make sense - and then shuddered as soon as she realised the implications. Snape probably had all sorts of potions with him everywhere he went, which made him even more dangerous. If he was here, he’d be armed with all sorts of concoctions Daisy couldn’t even begin to know how to deal with. But that didn’t matter, because Voldemort could not get that Stone. They had to push onwards.
Once Hermione and Ron were ready to move again, they all pressed forward. The sound of rushing water started to become clearer - so much so that Daisy was certain it wasn’t actually water. It was more like a huge group of something making lots of individual little noises. They sounded almost like wings. Almost like the wings of the Golden Snitch, a sound that Daisy had been training to hear as acutely as she could.
Her second guess at the source of the noise proved correct as the group ran out into a small sort of cavernous expanse. There were what had to be hundreds of winged creatures fluttering about in a dense flock ahead. Daisy squinted, focusing as hard as she could to make out what exactly they were - and spotted a mass of flying keys.
There was a door barely twenty metres away, and it was probably locked. The key for the door was definitely up above, and beside the door was a singular broom that lay strewn across the ground nearby - yet another sign that someone had gotten ahead of them. It didn’t even look like any impressive sort of broom, just the kind that the school keeps spare for any student who doesn’t have their own. Had the intruder ahead brought it with them, or had it already been there?
“What are those?” Hermione asked, now much more in control of her own breath and voice.
“Keys,” Daisy and Tonks answered at the same time.
“Daisy, you’re the best flyer here,” Tonks said matter-of-factly. “And a great seeker too. Reckon you can find the right key? I bet it’ll have-”
“-damaged wings,” Daisy finished for Tonks, already making a beeline for the broom ahead. “From being grabbed, I know. I can do this.”
A hand caught Daisy’s shoulder, and forced her to stop. “Wait, we don’t know anything about that broom. Let me check it for jinxes and any other kind of trap. Mum’s been teaching me a whole lot about curse-breaking over the years, I can deal with this.”
Daisy gulped, and froze in her tracks. With that being brought up, she was more than happy to have Tonks check the broom first.
“You definitely don’t want to have another jinxed broom incident, Daisy,” Hermione verbalised, putting words to Daisy’s own thoughts. “Not after what happened at your first quidditch game!”
“Yeah, blimey that was scary,” Ron added.
Tonks swept towards the broom with her wand already swishing and swirling. She was muttering words rapidfire, many of which Daisy was certain weren’t in any kind of Latin. After half a minute of scanning and casting, Tonks turned back to face Daisy, Ron and Hermione. “There’s one enchantment on here that shouldn’t be there, but it doesn’t feel dangerous on its own. The broom is magically linked with the keys somehow, so I think something’s gonna happen when you grab it or fly near the keys. It’ll probably just mean the keys know to avoid the broom, but let me put a shield over you just to be safe.”
Daisy nodded and stepped forward, towards Tonks and the broom.
“Protego sequi,” Tonks cast, encasing Daisy in some kind of protective bubble, which then shrunk and wrapped itself around Daisy’s body like a protective film. It felt warm and soft, almost like one of Tonks’ gentler hugs. Daisy smiled at that, and went to grab the broom.
The moment her hand touched the broom, all hell broke loose. Daisy was infinitely glad for the protection spell now, and mounted the broom without any delay. The flying keys hadn’t been enchanted to avoid the broom. No, they’d been enchanted to chase it. Daisy took off, and spiralled upwards on a desperate path to avoid the keys. She needed some distance and a little bit of time to find the right one, and she couldn’t do that with any kind of close pursuit right now, not in a confined space like this.
The flock of keys jabbed and jabbed and jabbed at Daisy as she worked to get away, only falling off in smaller numbers than she would have liked. But after several seconds, enough had been forced to peel off by Daisy’s combination of speed and evasive manoeuvres that she could see. The keys had split into two groups - the ones chasing Daisy, and the ones fleeing from her up above. Amongst the ones fleeing, there was one key that looked almost indistinguishable from the rest, except for its flying pattern. It wobbled as it flew, and once Daisy closed the gap half-way, she could see that it had slightly battered wings. That was the one - she needed to grab it as quick as she could, and get it to the door.
“GET READY!” Daisy screamed as she leaned forward in pursuit of the wobbly key, hoping that the others would wait by the door and be ready to keep moving. It was just a feeling, but Daisy didn’t think the keys would be too happy about the ‘correct’ one being grabbed.
In order to get to the key she was after, Daisy had to weave through a crowd of the other ones. As much as they avoided her initially, the closer she got, the more aggressive they got. She had to weave her whole body around to keep her field of vision clear enough, but closing the gap was otherwise not too difficult. Daisy reached out, swerved to one side to shake off the attacking keys, and snatched the one they all needed as deftly as she could. As fast as a Snitch, every single key in the room turned and dove straight for Daisy. She pointed her broomstick down immediately, diving towards the ground. After shrugging off her pursuers as best she could, Daisy made two passes at the door. One to hand off the key in her hand to Tonks, and the other to get herself through the door once it was open. Had she lingered, the keys probably would have taken all four of them out.
Once Ron, Hermione and Tonks were through, Daisy pointed her broom straight for the door, and flew right through. Tonks slammed it shut, and they all heard the sound of easily a hundred keys impaling themselves in the door. How the potential thief ahead had avoided damaging the door earlier, Daisy did not know. Perhaps they had repaired the damage so as to not leave a trail - except that didn’t explain the broom looking like it had been cast aside.
The new room that had now been accessed was… ominous. It was barely lit, and from the low reflections and gleams of light, Daisy could barely make out some kind of gathering of statues. They were large, armed with weapons, and exuded a heavy kind of atmosphere onto the room. Some of the statues were fallen, broken to pieces.
“I don’t like this, I don’t like this at all,” Hermione whispered. She looked like she was shaking, and Daisy wasn’t sure whether it was from the danger just before, or fear of what lay immediately ahead. But she wasn’t slowing down or trying to leave - Daisy knew that Hermione didn’t quit when she’d set her mind to something.
“It seems like some kind of graveyard for statues,” Daisy commented.
“Or maybe a sculpturer’s workshop,” Tonks offered.
Ron shook his head. “No, it’s not either of those.” He walked forward, looking from side to side as he did. “It’s a chessboard.”
As he said those words, small flame braziers around the edges of the board flared to life, illuminating an eight by eight set of marble tiling with perfectly organised giant chess pieces at either end. Daisy looked past the pieces on the other side, and pointed. “There’s the door, let’s go!”
The four of them moved to cross the board, with Tonks leading the pack. It was reassuring, having Tonks there. She wouldn’t let anything bad happen to them. They all made it almost two thirds of the way across the board before the pawns at the front of the other end drew swords, and crossed them to bar passage past them. Tonks levelled her wand. “Stand back, I’ll blast them out of the way.”
“No, wait!” Ron shouted suddenly. “I have a bad feeling about fighting them like that. Look, there are missing pieces, and… well, magical chess sets are proud. They do things their way, and their way only. So, we have to play our way across, and win. Daisy, you take the empty bishop’s square. Hermione, you’ll be a rook. Tonks, you and I’ll get up on the knights. That way you have a good vantage point to protect us if you need to.”
Notes:
Wow, what a ronvelation [ba dum tss]
Chapter 16: Truth Revealed
Notes:
hehe I got impatient and decided to post another chapter already
CWs: torture mention, misgendering, deadnaming, slight ableism towards speech impediments
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Ron turned away and gulped. He tried not to let his fear and worry show. Sure, he was confident in his chess skills, but there were lives on the line, and he had been very careful not to mention that any more than telling Tonks to be on guard. Wixen chess was violent, and Ron really didn’t want to let them get hurt, which was easier said than done.
“You’re really playing at a disadvantage, aren’t you?” said the voice in Ron’s head.
“How am I supposed to win without letting any of them get taken?” Ron asked the voice back.
“Just do your best and play more defensively, you know you can do this.”
Ron nodded to himself, and looked over at the board in front of him. Everyone had now gotten in their positions - with Tonks probably trying to lighten the mood by changing parts of her body to look more like a chess piece - and the opposing chess pieces on the white side had taken that as their cue to start. The pawn at E2 moved to E4, a standard opening that opened up both the queen and a bishop to move out.
“E7 to E5,” Ron called out, mirroring the opponent’s moves. The black pawn moved forward without complaint, giving Ron a small dose of relief.
“The game shall be won,
but at what cost?
Two will stay,
two will go.
The stone, lost,
by choice of friend, not foe.”
Ron shuddered again, the voice in his mind dropping low and gravelly, just like it had down at Hagrid’s hut, and many times before in his life. He didn’t know what it was, but the voice had never been wrong. The cost… Ron didn’t like that. And the stone would be lost? That sounded even worse. But there wasn’t anything he could do about it now, other than keep playing. There was no backing away, no giving up and letting the Philosopher’s Stone be stolen. If He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named rose to power again, and it was Ron’s fault? No, he couldn’t stomach that at all.
And so he played onward, careful at each turn to factor in Hermione, Daisy and Tonks into his strategies. He was glad for Tonks being there, like a blanket of security over all of them. He didn’t know her very well, but he knew that she cared a lot about his friend Daisy, and that she was one of Charlie’s best mates - and that counted for a lot.
At times, Ron took longer to think. He knew they needed to hurry, but he just wasn’t willing to make a blunder with his friends’ lives on the line. He wasn’t willing to just accept a cost without minimising it as much as possible. Entering into the midgame, half the board’s pieces had been cleared. More lost pieces had been black than white because of Ron’s defensive playstyle that prioritised his friends’ safety, but he was still in a better position than the enchanted opponent. He could do this, he could win.
Several more turns went by, and finally Ron saw an end to the game. Ten moves off, and it would require… the others wouldn’t like this at all.
“So don’t tell them,” the voice suggested. “Not until the last moment, at least.”
Ron nodded; the voice was right. Onward he played, now being even more active about moving Hermione, Tonks and Daisy around the board. They were the setup, getting everything in position for the final play. The white pieces had done nothing that obstructed his plan, and move after move, the end of the game drew nearer. The end of Ron’s aid in this quest to save the Stone grew nearer. He’d seen it - the chess pieces were brutal in destroying each other. This was not a safe game - but now that Ron knew the cost, he was willing to pay it.
“Wait a minute,” Daisy said all of a sudden, and a pit formed in Ron’s stomach. She’d figured it out finally, he knew she had. It wasn’t surprising, now that there were only two moves left until checkmate.
“Oh, shit,” Tonks gasped, catching up to the current situation.
“You’re seeing it right, Daisy, Tonks,” Ron confirmed soberly. He took in a deep breath. “Once I make my move, the queen will take me. That leaves you free to play checkmate, and keep going.”
“No, Ron, you can’t,” Daisy insisted. “It’s… you’ll get hurt badly!”
“What is it?” Hermione questioned, glancing between the rest of them frantically.
“He’s going to sacrifice himself,” Daisy answered.
Hermione gasped. “No, there must be another way!”
“Do you wanna stop Snape from getting that Stone or not?” Ron shot back. He didn’t like this any more than the others did, but there was no other way. This was the only play that didn’t involve any of the others getting hurt, and Ron wasn’t willing to hold that kind of a responsibility like that. Instead of letting this turn into a long argument, Ron played the next move. His knight was now in place, and he’d be struck down. Then Daisy could win the game, so long as she didn’t rush to his aid too soon.
Ron shut his eyes, and leaned back in the desperate hope that he wouldn’t get hit too bad. The strike came, thunderous and loud.
He blacked out.
“Ron, NO!” Hermione cried. Seeing Ron fall like that, seeing all the debris that must have flown right into him, it was too much. She stepped forward, waiting to run.
“Hermione, stop!” Daisy shouted, and Hermione froze. As much as she hated it, Daisy was right to stop her. She knew that if she moved off her square, it’d probably mean some kind of forfeit, and Ron’s sacrifice would have been all for nothing. Her throat felt like it was closing up, her words failing her for what she knew would be at least the next half an hour. She stepped back, but gave a panicked glance towards Ron all the same. When she saw his chest rising and falling there was some relief - enough for her to turn and glare questioningly at Tonks. Why hadn’t the seventh year here to help them saved him?
“I tried,” Tonks answered, apparently recognising what her look meant. “As soon as I lifted my wand, the knight here threatened to buck me off. Daisy, finish the game and I’ll go check on Ron. Charlie’d kill me if I let his little brother get hurt like this.”
“Alright,” Daisy said, and stepped quickly into position for checkmate. The white king dropped its sword seconds later, and all three of Daisy, Tonks and Hermione ran for Ron.
Tonks was the first to make it there, quickly casting a small handful of spells across Ron’s body. “He’s not too badly hurt, thank Merlin. A couple of broken ribs, a concussion and a dislocated kneecap. We’ll have to bring him with us, but this is… I’m sending word to Professor McGonagall.”
Hermione stared at Tonks, wanting to ask how she would possibly do that from in here, only to have her question quickly answered.
“Expecto patronum,” Tonks cast in a hushed voice. A white glow rushed out from her wand, and a silvery-white ghostlike rabbit bounced out, and circled Tonks in the air a handful of times. Hermione had heard of the Patronus Charm before, and knew it was quite difficult to cast with complex wandwork and a large demand for magical power.
“Go to Professor McGonagall,” Tonks commanded. “Tell her that I’m in the pathway past the Forbidden Corridor with Daisy, Ron and Hermione. Tell her that Ron’s injured and needs a healer, and that the kids were right - someone is in here trying to steal the Stone.”
The rabbit bounced off and disappeared quickly through a wall. Before Hermione could do more, Tonks very carefully hoisted Ron up into her arms, and led the way forward. Hermione followed automatically, not sure what more she could do than keep her wand at the ready and watch out for further dangers. Daisy was doing the same, and they kept guard on either side of Tonks and Ron as they pressed forward.
Past the white side of the giant chess set was a pair of stone double doors that had already swung open. Hermione gasped as she saw what lay in the next room, which was rather well illuminated. A mountain troll, looking suspiciously similar to the one from Hallowe’en, lay dead on the floor off to one side. She knew it was dead - it didn’t even have the subtlest of movements. Whoever had come through before had the ability to kill a mountain troll without leaving much of a mark, and Hermione didn’t know if she wanted to know what could do that.
“Well, fuck,” Tonks exclaimed. “That’s not encouraging, but at least we don’t have to fight the troll. Come on, the next door is open too.”
In the next room was a table with seven different potion bottles, each a different shape, colour and size. The group moved forward, into the room. The moment they were past the threshold, flames burst up behind them. Hermione turned to see dancing purple flames, which had to have some kind of specialised enchantment on them to look like that. Ahead, past the table, were black flames, which felt like they’d be even more dangerous.
Tonks carefully set Ron down against the wall to one side. Hermione walked up the table, noting a piece of paper to the side of a round, purple bottle which was the furthest to the right. She picked up the piece of paper, and read.
“Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,
One among us seven will let you move ahead,
Another will transport the drinker back instead,
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.
Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide
You will always find some on nettle wine’s left side;
Second, different are those who stand at either end,
But if you would move onwards neither is your friend;
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.”
A puzzle, Hermione realised. She could do puzzles. She was great at puzzles. Here, she could help. She noted that there was a potion to move forward, and a potion to go back. With that, she made up her mind. She would go back with Ron and get him to the Hospital Wing as quickly as she could, while Daisy and Tonks could go forward and face the thief, who Hermione was certain at this point was not Professor Snape. There was simply no way he could have gotten here so fast.
Hermione showed the piece of paper to Daisy and Tonks, and thought on the logic puzzle while they read it to catch up. For a puzzle like this, she needed to find a starting piece of information to work from there. Of the potions mentioned in the first half, only two of them were the same - the ones filled with nettle wine. The last clue at the end mentioned the one second to the left and the one second to the right being the same - so they had to be the nettle wine mentioned before. Hermione was almost tempted to push both to the side, but she didn’t want to mess up the order while she thought.
Then there was a clue about poison to “nettle wine’s left side”, which meant the white and green bottles in the indicated positions were poison, and not to be drunk. That left three bottles to figure out, and it hadn’t taken all that long. Perhaps this could be Hermione’s way of making up for lost time during the chess game, so that Tonks and Daisy could get ahead as soon as possible.
The next clue about the bottles at each end - the white and purple bottles - indicated that neither would get anyone through the forward flame. The white was already ruled out as poison, which meant that the purple bottle was either poison or the potion to send Hermione and Ron back. What narrowed it down finally was the third clue - that the smallest and largest bottles wouldn’t be poison. The largest bottle was the dark green nettle wine one, and the smallest was the blue bottle, which couldn’t be poison. That meant that the purple bottle would take Hermione and Ron back, whereas the blue bottle would get Tonks and Daisy ahead. Lastly, the yellow bottle was poison.
“Tough riddle,” Tonks remarked from behind. “So the red and black ones are nettle wine, huh? Maybe I can sneak some off!”
Hermione grabbed the blue and purple bottles, feeling a little self-satisfied at how much faster she’d gotten through the puzzle. She held out the purple bottle, pointed at herself, then Ron, then the exit back where they came from. She then held out the blue bottle, and handed it to Daisy. She pointed at Daisy, then Tonks, and then the black flame blocking the path forward.
“You want us to drink this and go ahead?” Daisy asked. “Are you… are you sure?”
Hermione nodded vigorously. She tapped the sheet with the puzzle on it, and then the top of her own head, hoping that would be in some way encouraging. Then, she walked over to Ron with the purple bottle in hand, but didn’t uncap it yet. She wanted to make sure the other two go through before she went back, just in case anything did go wrong.
“I’ll drink half first, and then you finish it,” Nymphadora suggested. She was bloody impressed with how well all three of the first year kids had done with the various challenges, which she knew for a fact had kept older and more seasoned students out for the whole year. When Dumbledore set something up like this, even if it was serious, it was also a challenge for his students to learn from. A dangerous challenge - perhaps too dangerous - but a challenge all the same.
“No,” Daisy said insistently. “I should drink first. If this is poison, and you drink first, I can’t help you.”
Nymphadora frowned, biting back an even stronger response to what that made her feel. Daisy was her kid sister, the girl she’d been able to take in almost a year ago now - something she’d never once regretted. She loved Daisy dearly, and couldn’t bear the thought of letting anything happen to her. But Daisy was also right about this - the kid was far more logical than she, even if she was inexperienced in the world of magic and the world of danger. The issue was - Nymphadora was pretty confident that if it was poison, she damn well was getting out of here and taking Daisy to safety immediately, stolen Philosopher’s Stone be damned. And that was a problem for the entire world, but Nymphadora couldn’t bring herself to choose many over this one.
“Hermione, just how sure are you about this?” Nymphadora asked, calling over to the girl who had rushed to Ron’s side. Hermione turned and just glared at her, which Nymphadora took to mean ‘very sure’. So, she handed Daisy the bottle, and let her kid sister drink something that hopefully wasn’t poison.
Daisy drank half and handed the rest to Nymphadora . “I feel fine. Kind of cold, like ice all over my body, but fine. Tonks, drink it and we’ll go!”
So she did. She downed what was left of the bottle, and she and Daisy rushed through the black fire without sustaining as much as a single burn. There was a small, rickety-looking door right past the fire, which Nymphadora reached out to and pushed open.
She didn’t know who she had been expecting to be the Stone thief. Definitely not an intruder, nobody would be able to sneak past the school’s wards like that. It had to be a teacher, and Charlie’s little brother seemed certain it was Professor Snape. Nymphadora wasn’t so sure about that - Snape was an ex-Death Eater, which was exactly why the other staff would keep an eye on him. They wouldn’t let him get away with this - if anything, Snape was probably getting injured through the year by heading off whoever the actual thief was.
Nymphadora wasn’t sure she expected what she saw inside. Stairs leading down in a kind of rounded lecture hall style - probably an old, disused classroom of sorts. A large, bejewelled mirror right in the centre. A purple turban and purple robes. Professor Quirrell, the Defence Against Dark Arts teacher who seemed frightened of his own shadow, staring into the mirror with his back to Nymphadora and Daisy.
“Y-you?” Daisy stammered from beside her. “No- no, it can’t be. I know it wasn't Snape, but-”
“Yes, he does seem quite the type, doesn’t he?” Professor Quirrell’s voice cut over Daisy’s - except it wasn’t anything like what Nymphadora was used to. It was deep, strong and refined with a clear-cutting cadence to it, and certainly no stammer. Nymphadora held her wand low, concealed by her sleeve - she needed to be ready to quickdraw and fire on Quirrell, with the element of surprise on her side. She didn’t know what to expect of him anymore, and she wasn’t going to take chances. “Next to him, even if you say you 'knew', who would suspect p-p-poor st-t-stuttering Professor Qu-quirrell?”
“So... it wasn't Snape who tried to kill me at the quidditch match, was it?” Daisy questioned dryly.
“No, boy,” Quirrell snapped. “I sensed a connection to you, and my master warned me, so I tried to kill you. If it wasn’t for-”
“DIFFINDO MAXIMA,” Nymphadora roared. The moment she’d heard that direct confession to trying to kill her little sister, Nymphadora saw red and refused to wait any more. A cutting blade ripped out of her wand and blasted towards Quirrell, but-
Quirrell threw it away with a single wave of his wand. That had to take an immense amount of power, which meant one thing. Nymphadora could not let up. She could not afford one single mistake.
“Confri-” Nymphadora tried, but Quirrell was faster. Way faster.
“Crucio,” Quirrell uttered coldly, and then there was nothing but pain. Sheer, unbridled pain unlike anything Nymphadora had ever felt, and made her scream in unsanctified ways. But she couldn’t let up; she had to resist, she had to protect Daisy, she had to destroy that man. She had to-
“Stupefy.”
Everything went black.
Daisy looked on in abject horror as Tonks let out a blood-curdling scream of pain, and then was blasted off onto the stairs. She got knocked back hard, and her body hit the stairs with a loud crack, and that was even scarier. She had to be okay, Tonks had to be okay. Daisy whipped out her wand, ready to fight Professor Quirrell with everything she had, but just as soon as she’d lifted it, it went flying out of her hands.
Professor Quirrell sighed, as though Tonks had been nothing more than a minor nuisance. “As I was saying, if dear Professor Snape’s cloak hadn’t caught fire and broken my eye contact, I would have succeeded. Even with Snape muttering his little countercurse.”
“Snape was trying to save me?” Daisy thought aloud.
“Of course he was. He and I both know who you truly are, little Boy Who Lived,” Quirrell hissed, and Daisy winced. “I thought it better to dismiss you, after your below average performance in my classes, but you proved to be a threat on Hallowe’en when you managed to defeat my troll. That damned Snape saw through it, and headed me off.”
“It was you who let the troll in,” Daisy responded, verbalising her own processing of the truth almost uncontrollably. She had been right that it wasn’t Snape after all, and maybe she should have realised it was Professor Quirrell - after that confrontation she witnessed between the two teachers outside the library over the holidays.
“He, of course, never trusted me again,” Quirrell continued, and Daisy was held hostage to listen to him. Every time she tried to run to Tonks’ aid, she found that her body would not comply. “He never left me alone, but he doesn’t understand. Even with his past loyalties, he doesn’t understand that I’m never alone. Never. Now, what does this mirror do? I see what I desire, I see myself holding the Stone, but how do I get it?”
“Use the boy,” a voice hissed, and Daisy glanced around frantically to try figure out where it had come from, only to realise that it was from where Quirrell was standing, somehow. She had a bad feeling about that. She didn’t even have time to feel all the distress at being constantly misgendered, because right now she knew her life was on the line.
Quirrell turned, and increasingly aggressive look on his face. He pointed at Daisy. “Come here, Potter! Now!”
Daisy didn’t want to go. She wanted nothing less than to follow this man’s command, but she found herself being pulled forward all the same. No matter what she tried, her legs moved down the steps without care for her own desire. In seconds, she was standing right beside Quirrell, and in front of the mirror.
“Tell me, what do you see?” Quirrell demanded.
Daisy looked into the mirror - it wasn’t like she had any choice. She saw herself, exactly as she looked now, unlike what she’d seen in the past. But this was the Mirror of Erised, which was supposed to show her heart’s desire - unless Dumbledore had somehow changed that. A moment later, her reflection winked at her. It produced a ruby-red stone from her own pocket, smiled, and then put it straight back. At the exact same moment, Daisy felt a weight appear in her pocket. The Stone - but how?
“What is it?” Quirrell demanded again. “What do you see?”
Daisy knew she hadn’t shown anything on her face - under this much pressure, it was just easy for her face to fall flat. But Quirrell must have decided she was taking too long. Daisy had to come up with something, so she lied. “I see myself, shaking hands with Dumbledore. I’ve won the quidditch cup.”
“He lies,” the inhuman voice from earlier hissed.
“TELL THE TRUTH!” Quirrell roared. “WHAT DO YOU SEE?”
Daisy didn’t know what else to do. If she did tell the truth, Quirrell would get the stone. It would be given to Voldemort, and the war would return once more. She would have failed Tonks, Ron and Hermione who had all given so much to help stop Quirrell. No, she couldn’t do that.
“It’s the truth, I swear!” Daisy tried, hoping that Quirrell would search elsewhere, and give Daisy some kind of opportunity to get the stone to someone safer.
“Let me speak to him,” the voice commanded.
“Master, you are not strong enough!” Quirrell insisted, now far more meek.
“I have strength enough for this,” the voice said. At that, Professor Quirrell reached for his turban, and began to unwrap it. Around and around, until the fabric was all on the floor, revealing Quirrell’s bald head. At the same time, whatever magic had been controlling Daisy’s body had loosened. She turned, wanting to run. But even without the magic reasserting itself, Daisy found herself pulled back to the mirror, to see what was on the back of Quirrell’s head.
A face, strained and weak-looking, with veins bulging all over. It had deep red eyes, and barely any semblance of a nose. “Harry Potter, we meet again.”
“Voldemort,” Daisy stated. Her voice had no strength left in it to express anything more than mere words, and she had to acknowledge the truth of who he was. It somehow made him less fearsome, less ambiguous, less unknown.
“Yesssss,” he hissed. “Do you see what I have become? Do you see what I must do to survive? Live off another, a mere parasite. Unicorn blood can sustain me, but it cannot give me a body of my own. But there is something that can. Something that, conveniently enough, lies right there in your POCKET!”
Daisy turned, and she ran. There was no other way about this. She would go to Tonks, and try desperately to cast rennervate on her despite never having done more than read about the spell before, and hope that Tonks could save her. What other choice was there?
“STOP HIM!”
She didn’t make it very far before Professor Quirrell clicked, and flames drew up all the way around the lecture hall, closing Daisy in. Perhaps Quirrell had thought she was going to escape? But no, Daisy kept going. First towards her wand, so she could use it on Tonks. Even if it was at a distance, she had to at least try.
But then Quirrell clicked again, and Daisy’s wand went flying into his hands. “Don’t be a fool. Why suffer a horrific death when you can join me, and live?”
“NEVER!” Daisy shouted with as much force as her flat, drained voice could manage.
Voldemort laughed. “Such bravery. Your parents had it too. Tell me, Harry, Would you like to see your mother and father again? Together, we can bring them back. All I ask for is something in return.”
Daisy glared at Voldemort and Quirrell, refusing to speak another word. Her silent refusal was the most powerful thing she could muster. She didn’t have her wand anymore, and she didn’t have any way of waking Tonks. But Tonks had a wand. Daisy made a dash for Tonks, to borrow her wand and try something, anything.
“Kill him!” Voldemort commanded, and Quirrell launched off the ground. The man flew at Daisy with frightening speed - he would make it to her before she made it to Tonks’ wand. The last thing Daisy could think to do was physically block him. She wasn’t that strong - she was still young, and small, but she’d kick and scream and tear and fight if it meant stopping Voldemort. Daisy punched outwards, trying to hit Quirrell on his approach. She figured that if he flew into her punch, it might do more.
But Quirrell was faster. He knocked her arm out of the way, and pushed Daisy down into the stairs behind her. A hand squeezed around her throat; the man intended to kill her, and then take the stone. In desperation, Daisy clawed at Quirrell’s hand and tried to pull it away.
Professor Quirrell hissed in pain, and his hand started smoking. He pulled away, with the most horrified, panicked expression directed at his own hand, which cracked and crumbled into nothing. Daisy dared a glance at her own hands, wondering what could have caused such damage to occur. As the last remaining bits of Quirrell’s hands crumbled away, the man wailed.
“WHAT IS THIS MAGIC?” Quirrell screamed.
“Fool, get the Stone!” Voldemort hissed, commanding Quirrell to ignore his own pain. Apparently unable to resist the command, Quirrell charged forward yet again.
Daisy’s knowledge, thoughts and instincts agreed that there was only one thing to do - see if her hands held a power that could be repeated. As Quirrell approached, Daisy leapt forward and slammed her hands into his face, where she held them.
For a single second, Quirrell tried to push her off. Then, the smoke came again, and his entire face began to crack in ways that Daisy could feel in her palms and her fingers, and see in the gaps between. She held on even tighter, because there was nothing else to do but stop Voldemort, even if it meant killing a teacher-turned-thief.
Quirrell stumbled away, and stared at Daisy once more in shock before his whole body fell apart, leaving only his clothes, his wand, and Daisy’s wand behind. Daisy let out a sigh of… relief, fear, joy, achievement and everything else. She felt for the stone in her pocket, and knowing that it was still there, Daisy was content to now try and do whatever she could for Tonks. She walked over to where Quirrell had turned to dust, and bent over to pick up her wand.
But clothes and dust and wands hadn’t been all that was left. Smoke of a different kind to before rose quickly out of the remains, formed into a giant, angry face, and screamed. The face dove at Daisy, and her vision turned to black.
Notes:
One more chapter and that'll be a wrap on book 1! I've already written the first 3 chapters of book 2, and the following ones are on the way (though full disclosure the excanon plot of book 2 only gets brought in around the 5th chapter), so stay tuned! Idk if I'll post daily this month or every two days or mix it up, we'll see how my patience tracks!
Oh yeah and another ronvelation :) (btw ron isn't a seer. iykyk, otherwise you'll find out along the way)
Chapter 17: Home
Notes:
CW: Dumbledore being an abuse enabler
Decided not to leave y'all hanging on what happens after the last chapter heh
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Daisy woke with a start. She jolted upright and took a panicked look around. The last thing she remembered was reaching for her wand after Quirrell had turned to dust. But Tonks and Ron were both in danger, she had to keep going, she had to keep fighting for them. She had to-
Tonks was right there, Daisy’s left hand held in one of hers. Her hair was pink and her eyes were green just like hers, and she was there and she was fine. Their eyes met for just one moment, and Tonks surged right forward into her, wrapping Daisy up in her arms and holding her tightly. “Oh, Daze, you scared me so bad.”
“Tonks! You’re okay?” Daisy managed once Tonks had let go.
“I’m okay, I can tough out some pain no problem,” Tonks nodded with a smile. “I think you’ve earned the right to call me Dora now, if you want. Or Nym. Or both! Maybe you can mix it up and use both. But you get that, of course you do. You’re my little sister, and I’m sorry I couldn’t do more to protect you.”
Tears welled in Daisy’s eyes, and she pulled her big sister back in to hug her again. The embrace lasted, seconds, and with a tap on Nym’s shoulder, the older girl pulled away. Daisy sniffled as tears ran down her face, and prepared to ask questions she had to ask, even though she feared the answers. “Is- is Ron okay? What about the Stone, where is it?”
Dora sighed, and nodded. “Alright, time to catch you up. Ron’s fine - he’s back up and running about after a night in the hospital wing here with Madam Pomfrey looking after him. He’s been here to visit you a few times every day. Him and Hermione and your other friends Daphne and Neville have been visiting too. Some kid named Zach showed up once and said something crass, so I booted him out. I was out for a day and a half too, but Pomfrey fixed me right up. The Stone, well… only Dumbledore knows what’s happened to it now, but Quirrell didn’t get it. Nor did You-Know-Who, who was apparently possessing the guy. Oh, and mum’s on her way here today, and she’s bloody livid with Dumbledore. That should be good for a laugh, at least.”
Daisy let out a heavy breath. Everything was okay. They had won, and the Stone was safe. Even if the teachers hadn’t listened, they’d done something on their own, and they’d won. Daisy took another opportunity to look around, and saw all sorts of gifts and sweets around her bedside.
“Gifts from all your friends, and a handful of your classmates and housemates who were worried too,” Dora explained. “I’ll pack them up when you’re discharged, and you can snack on all the food later! For now, I’m just going to go and get Madam Pomfrey to come check on you.”
“Okay,” Daisy said, and Tonks got up to leave for Madam Pomfrey’s office. Alone, Daisy just stared at the wall ahead of her and tried to take everything in. She was okay, Nym was okay, Ron was okay, Hermione was okay, and the Stone was probably okay. Quirrell was dead, and Voldemort was gone. But she was okay, and Nym was okay, and Ron was okay, and Hermione was okay, and the Stone was probably okay.
Her repetitive thoughts were interrupted after a bare half a minute by the arrival of the powerful man with the long beard and star-covered robes. Professor Dumbledore himself stood at the end of Daisy’s bed, and was helping himself to a box of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. “Good afternoon, Daisy. Quite an impressive collection of tokens from your admirers, indeed.”
“Admirers?” Daisy questioned. Dora had said it was from friends and housemates.
“What happened in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a secret,” Dumbledore said, and Daisy let out a sigh of relief. “So, naturally, the whole school knows!”
Daisy’s breath hitched, and her hand reached for her scar. Her ring was still on her finger - and thank goodness for that - but if they knew-
“Not that, you’ll be pleased to hear,” Dumbledore informed her, and Daisy did indeed relax. “On that matter, your dear friend Nymphadora assured me that a disclosure would result in her, as she put it, ‘making my life a living hell’. I have no wish to tell secrets that are not my own.”
Daisy was even more confused at that, even if her confusion was semantic. Dumbledore had just said that the ‘secret’ of the events in the dungeons was known by the whole school, but that he wouldn’t share the secret of her identity. She shook her head, trying to ignore it. “How long has it been? Dora didn’t tell me.”
“You went on your quest on Thursday, and it is now Monday afternoon,” Dumbledore said.
“And what happened to the Stone?”
Dumbledore put a hand in the air - not that Daisy knew what it was supposed to mean. “Relax, dear girl.” The headmaster took a seat by the end of her bed. “The Stone has been destroyed. My friend Nicolas and I have had a little chat and agreed that it was best all around.”
“But then, Flamel… he’ll die, won’t he?”
Dumbledore nodded. “He has enough Elixir for the next decade, which is well and truly sufficient for him and his wife to put their affairs in order. But yes, he will die.”
“How is that I got the stone, Professor?” Daisy asked, a question that had been nagging at her quietly since the moment the event had occurred.
Dumbledore smiled slightly. “Ah, that is one of my cleverest ideas, I daresay. You see, only a person who wanted to find the Stone… find it, but not use it, would be able to get it.”
Daisy blinked. “But… then couldn’t Voldemort have just found someone who-”
“PROFESSOR ALBUS PERCIVAL WULFRIC BRIAN DUMBLEDORE!” a voice howled from the doorway into the Hospital Wing. Daisy knew that voice - she knew it well. She hadn’t heard it since before coming to Hogwarts, and what a relief it was to hear it again.
Andromeda Tonks stormed into the Hospital Wing, right up to Daisy’s bed, and quite literally grabbed Dumbledore by the collar of his robes. Daisy had just been about to ask Dumbledore why he would enchant the mirror to be able to give the Stone to anyone at all - whether it had been some requirement of the magic he was performing - but this was way better.
“Andromeda, how lovely to see you,” Dumbledore said, keeping his voice soft and acting unperturbed by Andromeda’s actions. “Would you like to speak with me in my office?”
Andromeda huffed, and laughed a couple times. “Why, yes I would. I most absolutely would.” She then turned to face Daisy. “Daisy, dear, I’m so glad to see you in good physical health. Would you be up to coming with us?”
Daisy nodded - she suppressed a curious smirk, not thinking that would be a good idea to put on display. A small voice in the back of her head suggested that perhaps Andromeda was here to send Daisy away, but… now, that voice was small. Dora really was her sister, which almost certainly meant that Andromeda was… well, it didn’t feel right for her to replace Lily as her mother, but she was definitely something akin to that. Her guardian, through and through.
Slowly, Daisy got out of bed. She didn’t want to move too fast without testing how well recovered her body was, but when it made no protest at the movement, she allowed herself to rise and walk a little faster. She was dressed in the Hospital Wing’s pajamas, which wasn’t that much of an issue. She followed Andromeda and Professor Dumbledore out of the wing, and the three of them were quickly joined by Nym, who had seen the action and tagged along.
“You better come back for your checkup, Miss Evans!” Madam Pomfrey called out, and Daisy definitely would, but at the pace Andromeda was leading the group, there was no time to tell the healer that. Instead, she followed as she was led all the way to a gargoyle statue. The whole way, Andromeda had walked in a way that looked simultaneously composed and furious, while Nym had been snickering on multiple occasions.
“Liquorice wand,” Dumbledore said to the statue, and it began to turn - revealing a spiral staircase that took a few seconds to descend. In single file, the four of them ascended the staircase, and followed Dumbledore through a large double-door. Within lay his office - a strange and bustling place that Daisy had to pause to take in properly.
Up on the wall at the back, there were moving portraits of many people that Daisy certainly didn’t recognise. On shelving around the walls, there were all sorts of little gadgets, devices, books and tomes. In the middle, there was a large, imposing desk that Daisy assumed to be Dumbledore’s working desk. There was a cabinet off to one side containing a collection of vials that Daisy couldn’t see properly through its frosted glass doors. There was more to take in, but Daisy wasn’t afforded the time. She was instructed to sit down, in one of the two seats across the desk from where Dumbledore had seated himself. Dora stood behind her, with her hands quickly placed comfortingly on Daisy’s shoulders form behind.
“Now, Andromeda, what may I help you with?” Dumbledore questioned, his composure still perfectly maintained.
Andromeda laughed again. “Oh, what can you help me with? My dear fool, at this point you should be looking to help yourself. Over the course of the year, you have allowed my dear Daisy, as well as several other students, to be subjected to all sorts of dangers. A mountain troll, the dark forest, and most recently the Dark Lord Voldemort. You and your cohort of staff hardly listened when Daisy and her friends attempted to alert you to a plot to steal the Philosopher’s stone, which had been hidden in a school. Schools are where you teach children, Albus. Not where you keep magical artifacts powerful enough to start wars. And don’t give me any of that nonsense about Hogwarts being the most fortified institution in all of Europe. I can guarantee you that Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel are more than capable of using their vast magical skill to fortify some other location - and I daresay the management of Gringotts would have complied with their request to add extra defenses.”
Dumbledore let out a slight breath, while Daisy gawked at Andromeda in sheer amazement. “My dear Andromeda, might I encourage you to consider that I, the Headmaster of Hogwarts - among my many other titles - have considered all of these things. This is a school of the wixen world, a place where danger is unavoidable. No lasting harm has come to Miss Evans, or any other student under my jurisdiction. Hogwarts is the most fortified place to have kept the Stone, and even Nicolas himself would admit that despite his incredible age, skill and knowledge, the Founders were capable of much more than he. Be careful what you say, Andromeda. There are things of which you simply do not know.”
“Really?” Andromeda challenged in a tone that even Daisy could tell indicated that she was just plain disappointed. “Things I don’t know, such as?”
Dumbledore glanced at Daisy, and then back at Andromeda. “Such as the fact that Miss Evans here cannot stay in your care-”
Daisy’s breath hitched, she winced backwards and tried to not let the immediate, immense emotional pain cause a loud outburst. She know what Dumbledore was about to say, and she- she couldn’t do that. She was never going back there.
“-as she is under the protection of a powerful blood ward, one which is renewed only by the presence of her blood relatives. If Miss Evans is to fail to return to the home of the Dursleys, she will be exposed to great danger from all those who wish her harm - especially including but not limited to Voldemort himself,” Dumbledore finished.
No no no no no no no no no-
“Incorrect, you utter buffoon,” Andromeda snapped, and something in Daisy righted itself. She trusted Andromeda more than she trusted Dumbledore, and if there was hope to be had, she wanted to have it, to cling to it, to let it vanquish her basest of fears. “I know what you are referring to - something referred to by some magical historians as the crude translation “Love’s Last Shield”. Now, you utter imbecile, I do hope you can quieten yourself and accept that fact that maybe, just maybe, this happens to be an area in which I know vastly more than you. Be not blinded by your arrogance, boy. You may be powerful, but you are not all-knowing.”
Dumbledore’s eyes widened and his brows furrowed, and it took everything Daisy had to not laugh, or cry, or do something else that would disrupt the conversation. Nym, apparently, was having less success with that, though she kept her cackles under her breath reasonably well. It was probably a good thing that she had finished her NEWT exams already and was set to graduate, regardless of what Dumbledore may attempt. “I suppose you’re going to enlighten me, are you?”
Andromeda nodded, in a sarcastic, mocking kind of formal way. “Love’s Last Shield is simply not a blood ward. It is a powerful ancient magic, one that has a power to place protection over a child until they come of age - by someone who loves them extremely deeply. I don’t know quite what runic magic you’ve performed to attune it to Daisy’s blood relatives, but it is far more powerful in the presence of guardians who actually love the child. And as I understand it, that couldn’t be further from the truth for the Dursleys. You, Albus, are the vile, foul little man who willingly, knowingly placed Daisy in the custody of individuals who spent years abusing and neglecting her. Those disgusting people might’ve even killed her if she hadn’t been taken in. Now, it is a simple truth that I love Daisy as if she were my own. I will reattune the wards to my home, and Daisy’s protection will be far more powerful there. Is that understood?”
Dumbledore closed his eyes. “Why, dear Andromeda, am I supposed to take your word for all this?”
Daisy glanced at Andromeda, whose face was upturned into a smile. She produced a small vial from a pocket in her jacket and handed it to Dumbledore, who proceeded to inspect it. “Veritaserum, from my scant supply. You may verify it however you like, and administer as many drops as you need to me. I will tell you the truth, and nothing but the truth.”
Dumbledore’s eyes thinned as he inspected the vial. Without even producing his wand, he muttered an entire phrase in Latin before handing it back to Andromeda. “Five drops.”
“Very well,” Andromeda nodded, and let five drops of the potion drip into her mouth. “Ask away.”
“What is Love’s Last Shield?” Dumbledore asked.
“A powerful protection ward, placed upon a child by a caregiver with powerful love for them as a dying act in the face of an enemy. It protects the child from that enemy until they come of age. For a great length of time, it was believed to be of elven or fae origin. It is, however, entirely human,” Andromeda answered unwaveringly, and it was all Daisy could do to stare and listen and try not to miss a single word.
“And how do you know this?”
“I raided an old Welsh ruin nearly thirteen years ago, and found the ancient wixen tablets, iconography and carvings that detail that, and other ancient magicks. This is of great personal risk for me to confess to you, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and the Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards. I, however, trust that you will not reveal this in any way that would involve my criminal arrest, as you would not want me exploiting certain knowledge I possess about your past relations with one Gellert Grindelwald. Is that understood?”
Dumbledore sighed. “Well and truly. I will allow this change in arrangements on one condition - that you allow me to inspect the newly attuned wards upon completion.”
“Agreed,” Andromeda responded. “Swear on it. By the Unbreakable Vow.”
“Is that truly necessary?” Dumbledore questioned.
“It is,” Andromeda confirmed. By now, Daisy had gathered that Veritaserum was a truth serum - it wasn’t a potion she had learned about yet, but this… conversation had made it clear. “Hold out your hand. Nymphadora, I trust that you’ve studied the incantation and spellwork to a satisfactory level?”
“Sure did,” Nym answered. “Not that you gave much time for it, ma. Few days isn’t a lot for something like this.”
Dumbledore reached forward and grasped Andromeda’s hand with his own. Daisy watched, intrigued, as Nym held her wand over their joined hands and slowly enunciated a complex incantation. “Okay, ready to go.”
Andromeda closed her eyes. “Do you, Albus Dumbledore, swear to never remove Daisy Evans from my custody and care without her consent?”
Dumbledore paused for a moment, and then spoke. “I do.”
A thin line of white fire snaked around both of their arms, before joining together on itself and forming a full loop.
Andromeda then continued. “Do you, Albus Dumbledore, swear not to tamper with the Love’s Last Shield protection wards I will be placing over my property?”
Dumbledore sighed. “I do.”
Another line formed around their hands.
“And do you, Albus Dumbledore, swear not to in any way influence Daisy Evans into being in the presence of the Dursley Family without her consent?”
This time, Daisy could swear she heard Dumbledore quietly snarl. “I do.”
A third line snaked around their arms. Dora lifted her wand away, and the three loops of small white flames faded into Dumbledore and Andromeda’s hands and wrists.
“Will that be all?” Dumbledore asked tersely.
“I certainly hope so, Albus,” Andromeda answered. “Daisy, Dora, let’s leave this poor man to reflect on his mistakes.”
Daisy quietly followed Andromeda out of Dumbledore’s office. As soon as the doors closed, she burst into tears and threw herself into Andromeda’s arms. “You… you really m-meant all that?”
Andromeda returned the embrace fully, and stroked at the top of Daisy’s hair. “Of course I did, my dear. I hope I haven’t done anything to make you feel otherwise, but you’re part of our family for as long as you wish that to be true. I would encourage you to take heed of the fact that the Veritaserum is still active, and I am not presently capable of lying or twisting the truth. Our home is your home, and you’ll never have to see those foul Dursleys again, unless by your own choosing. Additionally, you should know that the Unbreakable Vow is significantly powerful such that any attempt Albus makes to break the oaths will result in his immediate death.”
Daisy sobbed - and these were tears of joy. “I can’t imagine any reason I’d want to see them again. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.”
Andromeda continued stroking Daisy’s hair. “You are quite welcome, dear. Now, how about we go take a trip down to Hogsmeade for an early dinner? I’ll bring the both of you back to the castle before curfew, and I daresay Dumbledore won’t try and stop us now when his wounds are so fresh.”
The school year was finally well and truly over. It had been nearly two weeks since Andromeda’s visit to Hogwarts. Two weeks since Daisy had been stripped of any doubt that she now had a permanent family who truly cared for her, two weeks since she had experienced a single fear of being abandoned by friends and family, or cast out of Hogwarts too. It had been a pleasingly relaxing near-two weeks. As much as Gryffindor had been disappointed to come last in the House Cup - and the Quidditch Cup, since Daisy had been unconscious when the final match took place and the backup seeker wasn’t quite as good - Daisy found that she didn’t really care. She was happy for Daphne - who was quite pleased with Slytherin’s victorious results in both Cups - and mostly just intent on enjoying time with her friends.
Hermione had kept true to her word that she wanted to learn sign and was beginning to practice with Daphne and Daisy, as well as with the help of Daphne’s friend Tracey, who was quite experienced in the language. Daisy went to all the flying classes she was allowed to attend, taking any excuse to be up in the air and feel the wind on her face.
It was now the day that the Hogwarts Express would return to London, and Daisy had just finished with a quick trip to visit Madam Pomfrey, who had supplied her with enough of the Lupriatus Potion to last into the next school year. The healer had insisted that Daisy not hesitate to contact her if anything felt off, and had provided her with a piece of parchment that Andromeda was to sign, to provide parental consent for her to begin taking the Estrogenating Elixir at the start of the next school year too.
All of her things were packed away in her trunk, with Daisy having taken extra care to stow the potions securely enough that they couldn’t possibly be damaged. She had stowed her trunk right beside her bed where one of the Gryffindor Prefects had advised, so that it could be taken down to the train for her. Daisy had also visited the Owlery, and told Hedwig that she could fly back to the Tonks’ home- no, her home on her own if she didn’t want to travel on the train in a cage. Hedwig had hooted appreciatively and taken off, and Daisy decided then and there to give her extra treats back home, simply for being such a good friend.
The train was here, and Daisy got on. She found a compartment that was big enough to fit her, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Daphne and Tracey, and they spent much of the trip chatting away. There was still an endless supply of things for Daisy to talk about with her friends, certainly notwithstanding how excited she was to be able to stay at her new home forever.
She learned all sorts of things from her friends that she resolved to check up on by owl over the holidays. Ron was worried about his little sister’s first year at Hogwarts next year, so Daisy promised to be friendly to Ginny and try help her settle in. Daphne had smuggled a couple books out of the Slytherin library to give to Astoria, so Daisy would ask Daphne how Astoria was liking those books later. Tracey was excited to buy a broom over the holidays - she didn’t want anything fast or fancy, just something she could fly around with at home to practice.
Hermione was excited to tell her parents all about her year, and to show off some of the new magic - approved for use by minors under the Trace - she’d learned. Daisy had also asked her to owl back if she and her parents wanted to visit, to see Ted Tonks. Neville ranted and raved excitedly about what he was beginning to learn from Professor Vector, and how he was going to go shopping with his grandmother to buy a variety of small things from the Muggle shops that might help him with his coordination. Daisy was going to ask later, in writing, if there was anything he wanted her to keep an eye out for in her local shops.
All in all, it had been a good year. Challenging and tough, but certainly good. As the train pulled into Kings Cross Station and everyone began to disembark, Daisy lingered a moment longer. She just wanted to more actively feel her appreciation for this train, which had taken her to such a wonderful - if not complicated - school.
When she was ready, she disembarked. She found her luggage, and then Dora found her.
“Hey, I’ve practiced enough with apparition that I can take us both home, luggage and all. You ready?”
Daisy had said goodbye to all of her friends. She was going to make plans to see them over the summer, so that was all well and good. She was ready, so she nodded. There was a tug, and a lurch, and then Daisy was home.
Notes:
And that's a wrap on book 1! Thanks to everyone who's been reading so far, I hope y'all are enjoying. Book 2 technically won't start for another 4 chapters as I have some pre-book2plot over the holidays stuff written, but then on the 5th chapter we'll be getting into things. Stay tuned!
Also: Dumbledore calls Andromeda Miss Tonks instead of Miss Black-Tonks because he, like the rest of the wizarding community, has decided that it’s not Andromeda’s right to keep the name of Black despite being removed from their family. There’s a bit of between-the-lines stuff to show just how shit Dumbles is! :D
Chapter 18: Remus Lupin
Notes:
Welcome to book 2! It'll start with a small handful of chapters that just showcase the holidays and important things that occur during that time, before moving on to the 'official' excanon plot.
I already have the next 4 chapters after this written, and I'll likely switch back to an every-two-days posting schedule unless I manage to zoom through some more in that time, so stay tuned!
Many thanks to Seidragon for betaing, and helping me tidy up the ending of the chapter.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Remus Lupin was the kind of man to live a rather solitary life. At least, that was what he liked to tell himself, to cope. Nearly twelve years ago, he had lost near-everything. When the war ended, and people began to recover and heal, Remus found himself stuck. The man he loved like no other had turned traitor and sold out their best friends - something that Remus still didn’t understand, but he was beginning to make his peace with it. Sirius would rot in Azkaban, and Remus would move forward.
But with the loss of Remus’s friends, with the desecrated relationship with his parents, he had nobody. The curse forced upon him long ago by Fenrir Greyback made each moon bleak; rarely could Remus afford Wolfsbane, but at least he had his shack deep within the Forest of Dean. When he changed there, he could hurt nobody. Campers rarely travelled that far in, and Fenrir’s pack wasn’t interested in the territory. On the odd occasion, one rather intriguing family would camp a little further in - not enough to risk any danger. Still, Remus enjoyed their visits, especially when the child of the group would find herself a neat spot to sit and read her books, often exclaiming aloud as key points of understanding reached her.
When that family visited, they often stayed over Friday nights and through the rest of the weekend. They kept Shabbat, which was among the many reasons Remus could not stay away. It was… Shabbat used to be important to him, to his family. The rest once brought him peace even in darker times, but it had been a long time since he had dared to light evening candles or even think of the rituals. Watching, it brought something back. It kept Remus from feeling too lonely. It was special.
And now, after all this isolation, all the scant, hooded trips into towns to gather supplies and tiring work to live off the land, Remus was being called back into the wixen world. The call had come from Sirius’s relative Andromeda, a woman he had not spoken to since the war. She had brought news to Remus, news that he simply could not ignore. With the news came a request, but to Remus, it was an obligation. To Remus, this was about his pack, or what little remained of it.
So Remus had made up his mind quickly when the letter came, and reached out to his contacts from the Order - or, those who still remained. He reached out to other friends, and he searched his own belongings. Remus even braved a trip to Gringotts to collect something dear to him that was to be retrieved, because it was time to pass it on. Every single photo of James and Lily, gathered carefully into one book. It was what their child deserved.
Daisy woke to rays of sunlight beaming in through her window. She was in her room, in her bed. Not in Hogwarts, and certainly not at 4 Privet Drive. She was home, and home was good. It had been two days now since she had returned from Hogwarts, two days of settling in, of daring to think about how she might decorate this room and make it feel more like her own space. Last time she was here, she had thought it would be temporary - but it wasn’t, it was hers.
Daisy smiled, stretched, and started to get out of bed. There was no rush - Andromeda had made clear, just like last time, that she could sleep in if she wanted to. Certainly she had responsibilities in the house, but as long as they got done, Andromeda didn’t mind when. Accordingly, Daisy had taken to letting the sun wake her up, and it was incredibly nice like that.
According to the clock on the wall, it was now almost 8:30am. Daisy might have to make her own food - Nym and Andromeda both sometimes prepared extra, but not always. So she got dressed into a rather casual top and pair of jeans and made her way down the stairs. She started to hear a couple voices speaking - hearing Dora’s was hardly any surprise, but there was an unfamiliar, much lower voice occasionally joining in with hers. The voice sounded weary, but excited.
Tentatively, Daisy travelled the rest of the way down the stairs. She couldn’t recall any recent mention of planned visits. Professor Dumbledore had already been and gone yesterday after Andromeda was finished warding the house, and binding those wards to Daisy, so she really wasn’t sure who it would be. Still, if Dora was there, Daisy was safe.
Sitting at the table and happily chatting with Dora was a man who looked to be in his thirties. He had light brown, almost orange-ish hair and his face was lined with scars. He had a little bit of a moustache, but the rest of his face looked freshly shaved. He wore ragged-looking clothes, an off-brown suit and tie with a tattered formal shirt under it.
“-seriously, I still can’t believe how much you’ve grown up,” the man said to Nym. “The last time I saw you, you were-”
The man stopped talking suddenly, and Daisy noticed that his eyes had locked right onto her. He was smiling now, a soft kind of smile that really made Daisy wonder who he was.
“You really do have your mother’s eyes,” the man said.
“I’m sorry,” Daisy apologised. “I don’t know who you are.”
“Oh, right,” Nym said. “Daisy, this is Remus Lupin, the man Andromeda mentioned all the way last year before we left for Hogwarts. He was a very close friend of your parents. Come, sit, I’ll get you some breakfast.”
Obligingly, Daisy pulled up a seat next to where Nym had been sitting, across from Remus. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
Remus chuckled. “You definitely don’t need to call me ‘sir’, Daisy. It’s a lovely name you’ve chosen - Lily would have loved it. Did Petunia ever know? She would have been livid, it was apparently her intent to be done with the theme of flower names.”
Daisy shook her head, a little vigorously. “I, uh… I haven’t seen Aunt Petunia since Hagrid brought me to Diagon Alley last year.”
“Good, good,” Remus said seriously. “I’m sorry you had to live with her and that Vernon man at all. Dumbledore insisted it was necessary, but Tonks here has just been telling me all about how Andromeda put him right. Quite glorious, from the sounds of it - only she would be able to force Dumbledore to take an Unbreakable Vow. But enough about that. How was your first year at Hogwarts?”
Daisy paused, and worked to collect herself. Having Remus be here without warning had been a little jarring, even though she was very excited to ask him all sorts of things. Dora provided a helpful opportunity by bringing Daisy her food in the form of eggs and toast, so she took a bite before turning back to Remus. “It was an… experience. I like most of my classes and playing quidditch, but I don’t think I want to fight Voldemort in the dungeons again.”
“You… you did what?” Remus sort-of demanded.
“‘s true,” Nym confirmed. “I was there, but I wasn’t much help at the end. Actually, that reminds me. Something I’ve been meaning to tell you, Daze. Figured out what I want to do now that I’m finished at Hogwarts, after a lot of time thinking about what happened that night with the Stone - I’m going to apply to become an Auror! There are a lot of cruel assholes out there, and being an Auror is one of the ways I can do something about that and protect the people I care about.”
“Really?” Daisy asked with a smile. “That’s awesome. Aurors fight Dark wixes, right?”
Both Nym and Remus nodded, and Remus let out a sigh. “Well, I’m glad you’ve survived You-Know-Who again, as much as I wish it had never happened. I assume he wasn’t in any sort of complete form, or the world would have heard about it by now. Goodness, and I thought my first year was complicated.”
“What was complicated about your first year?” Daisy asked innocently.
“Well, I started having some realisations about myself. In response, the dorm room stairs in the Gryffindor tower stopped allowing me passage,” Remus answered, with a hint of a smile on his face.
Daisy pondered what Remus said for a moment, because it didn’t quite make sense to her. “But only the girl’s stairs are ench- oh. You’re… you’re like us?”
Remus’s smile grew, and he nodded. “I am a transgender man, yes. I was quite glad to have Lily by my side while I was coming to understand all of that. As much as ce took many more years to understand cir own identity, ce was a steadfast friend through it all the same.”
Daisy started to relax fully into the conversation at last, smiling widely at the knowledge of how accepting her mother had been. “What was ce like?”
“Well, Lily was nothing short of brilliant. At school, ce was the best at Charms in our entire year level despite having barely any magical upbringing, and ce was a dab hand at potions, too. Very kind as well, with a heart that could welcome just about anyone - except, perhaps, your father, who ce disliked a great deal until they were both older. James was also one of my dearest friends, and one of the first to accept me when I moved into the boys’ dorms, but he was very much a troublemaker and… sometimes he went too far, until he learnt restraint,” Remus explained.
“Ce sounds a lot like my friend Hermione, who’s at the top of the class in just about everything,” Daisy offered. She didn’t like the idea that her father might have hurt people, but if it was the truth then there was no point in denying or ignoring it. Maybe she would ask more about him later to understand better. “When did my mother figure out that ce wasn’t a woman?”
“That happened about half a year before the war ended,” Remus answered, but he looked a little strained in doing so. If it was a sensitive topic for him, maybe Daisy shouldn’t ask too much more about that. “It was something the two of us had talked about more before then - ce had questions every now and then that I was more than happy to answer, and then eventually ce realised that being comfortable with femininity didn’t confine cir to the identity of being a woman. Only a small handful of people ever knew, since ce hadn’t been ready to be quite so open about it yet, but I’m glad that you know. Lily definitely would have wanted you to know, that’s for certain.”
Daisy grinned. Being transgender was something she had in common with her mother, and that was beyond special. She heard the front door open, and moments later Andromeda entered the dining room with a large, heavy-looking case in her arms.
“Oh, excellent,” Andromeda said as she set the case down on the counter across from the dining table. “You’ve been acquainted. Good morning, Daisy. Remus, this case is for you. I would’ve had it yesterday, but I got caught up with matters regarding Dumbledore.”
Remus’s eyes bulged. “All of that?”
Andromeda nodded, wearing the smile that Daisy knew meant that she thought someone was being silly. “Of course. I called in a favour with Mister Belby himself, and he was only too happy to provide. This should last you the full year - enough time to work on employment and securing your own supply.”
“A full year?” Remus exclaimed, and started laughing for a short while. “Oh, goodness, look at me losing my composure like this. I’ll have to work on that, if I ever want to go into teaching!”
“Remus, dear, you have gone through unimaginable pain over the last twelve years. I don’t think anybody would blame you,” Andromeda said comfortingly.
Remus sighed. “Indeed, right as always. What could I possibly do to repay you?”
Andromeda tutted. “I only ask that you keep moving forward. Perhaps… see if you can’t get yourself a posting at Hogwarts in the next year or so? Merlin only knows how badly they need a competent Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher.”
Remus barked out another laugh. “I can do that. Again, thank you.”
Daisy was a little lost. Andromeda had brought home a case of something, and Remus looked at it as though it was one of the most important things on the planet. “What’s in that case?”
“Well,” Andromeda started, “That’s a private matter for Remus, which he can share with you if he likes. Don’t push him if he prefers to keep it quiet, Daisy.”
Remus hummed. “I suppose… Daisy, what do you know of werewolves?”
Daisy shrugged. “Not very much. It’s probably wrong, because what I know is from the Muggle world.”
“Indeed,” Remus responded. He took a deep breath in, and then exhaled. “A werewolf is a type of person who transforms into a wolf under the light of the full moon. One becomes a werewolf by being infected with lycanthropy, a disease that is passed on by other werewolves when their saliva enters a victim’s bloodstream - but only while the original werewolf is in their wolven form. When transformed, a werewolf loses control over themself, and can become violent and aggressive. Should a werewolf take consistent doses of the Wolfsbane Potion for a week in advance of the full moon, they retain control over their minds and can avoid harming others.”
Daisy nodded. Remus had explained it well - she had more questions, of course, but he hadn’t said very much yet. “Is that case full of Wolfsbane Potion?”
Remus nodded. “It is, and it’s for me. Do you understand what that means?”
“That you’re a werewolf,” Daisy stated plainly. “Is the potion hard to get?”
“It’s terribly expensive,” Remus said with a frown. “But with this, I’ll not need to worry about hurting anyone.”
Daisy wasn’t sure what to say about that. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have to worry about losing control and hurting people, but it sounded awful. She was glad for Remus that he wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore, for now. Instead of speaking, Daisy cut another piece of toast with a bit of egg on it, and took a bite. Only then, did she slowly realise why Remus’s check for Daisy’s understanding held such magnitude, and why Andromeda had called it a private matter. Being a werewolf was probably something that most people were unkind about.
“I won’t tell anyone about you being a werewolf,” Daisy offered, hoping the gesture was the right one to make.
Remus let out a breath. “Thank you, I appreciate that. I must admit I’m looking forward to an entire year of being in control.”
Remus’s visit lasted a few more days. Daisy spent quite a bit of time asking him questions about her parents, their friends, and what all their lives were like. She noticed that Remus barely ever mentioned Sirius Black, which seemed odd, since Daisy knew that Sirius was supposed to be her godfather. At first, she thought that maybe it was because they didnt’t like each other - and then she remembered that most people believed Sirius was a murderer who betrayed her parents to Voldemort. Daisy didn’t know what to think about that.
The man also spent a lot of time wandering streets in far less tattered clothes than he’d arrived in, visiting shops and eateries and spending quite a bit of time in a local library. Daisy used that time to relax, and occasionally re-read some interesting bits of her first year textbooks. She also made sure to keep exercising for quidditch, using what space was available in the back yard. Dora was in and out a lot because she was organising her application for Auror Training, but joined in from time to time. She also helped Daisy continue to practice the spell tremulus a little more.
Before Remus left, he had pulled Daisy aside one last time, holding what looked like a leather bound book, but the pages weren’t so tightly pressed together; as though something might be in between them and in the way. Remus said that he had contacted everyone who he thought might have pictures of Daisy’s parents and put it all together. When Daisy opened it and looked at the first picture - two people who seemed achingly familiar dancing beside a fountain - she cried. She didn’t have the words to thank Remus properly, but she tried her best anyway.
Andromeda had remained busy, but made time when Daisy entered her study. It had been a day since Remus had left, and Hedwig had just returned from a trip to Hermione’s house with a letter. It was something Daisy needed to tell Andromeda about - or rather, ask her about.
“Andromeda?” Daisy called out after knocking on the study door.
“Yes dear, you may come in,” came the woman’s voice from the other side. Daisy opened the door and quietly walked in, curious to look at what Andromeda was presently working on. There was a piece of some kind of stone tablet on her large desk, and she was inspecting it with her wand and a handful of tools, clearly being careful not to damage it. Daisy looked around, and saw several more pieces that looked just like it, each with an unfamiliar sort of inscription on them.
“I owled Hermione straight after you said it was okay for her and her parents to come over and meet Ted, and Hedwig just came back,” Daisy said. “She was wondering if it would be okay for them to come on Sunday - they’re not far, just London, but they’re going stay somewhere in town overnight and maybe I can go into town with Hermione on Monday before the Grangers leave again? Oh, and if it’s okay for her grandparents to come as well?”
Andromeda looked up from her workspace, and nodded. “Of course, that sounds lovely, and if it’s the grandparents I’ve heard about from Ted, they are especially welcome, Statute of Secrecy be damned. Ted was quite taken by the idea, too. It was very thoughtful of you. Do you know what time we should be expecting them?”
“About an hour after noon,” Daisy answered. “Is there anything I can do to help prepare?”
“Make sure your room is in a state you’d be happy for Hermione to see it in,” Andromeda instructed. “And your assistance in the kitchen that morning would certainly be welcome to speed things up. We’ll be having them stay for dinner, of course. Is there anything else?”
Daisy paused, and searched her mind for anything left to say. Just one thing. “Thank you!”
Andromeda smiled. “You’re very welcome. Just be careful that you don’t knock anything on your way out.”
Daisy walked out far more quietly and calmly than she felt, but as soon as the door to the study was shut, she scampered all the way upstairs to her room where Hedwig was grooming herself on her perch. Careful not to disturb Hedwig too much, Daisy rushed over to her desk and grabbed a quill, ink and some parchment.
She needed to pen a letter to Hermione straight away.
Notes:
Jewish trans werewoof <3
Chapter 19: Survivors
Notes:
Jewish content brought to you by jewish author :)
CWs: descriptions of cultural genocide (not ~just~ holocaust stuff)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Isabella Weiss was apprehensive, nervous and also intrigued by the events she was told would unfold later in the day. Her dearest Hermione had come back from that magic school - yes, magic school - with all sorts of news and tales. Stories of her friends, of all the classes, and lots of overarching details that she hadn’t included in the letters that were sent home throughout the year by owl. Isabella and her husband Desmond had been delighted to hear about all of it, and fascinated to see some of their daughter’s magical demonstrations.
But there was one thing, above all the rest, that Hermione had seemed most excited to share. It was something that Isabella could hardly believe… well, she could believe it was possible. Hermione had mentioned the moving, living paintings of Hogwarts Castle before, but this? It was something else entirely. To hear Hermione telling her that Isabella’s childhood friend Ted was in one such painting had been beyond a lot to process. Then, to hear that Ted’s painting was in the home that Hermione’s friend Daisy lived in? Beyond surreal.
But Isabella could hardly say no to visiting Ted once more, not having heard from him in almost fourteen years. He had simply just vanished. Isabella had since learned that it was during a time of wixen war. There was yet another thing Isabella had to get used to - the idea of people not just being men and women. It was simple enough to accept as a concept, but certainly new to her. And then there was Ted, who Isabella had already gathered died in that war. Hermione had already explained what it meant for somebody’s mind to be copied into a painting - it was the kind of thing that you activated only after the person died.
And yet, Ted was dead but not dead, his mind alive in a painting. Isabella hadn’t wasted any time in telling her parents when she heard about this, and actually understood it. Her parents were just as fond of Ted as she had been - after all, it was Ted’s parents who hid her own parents in an attic. Thanks to that, and a great deal of sheer luck, Isabella existed. Her parents had been young when Hitler had invaded Hungary and the Arrow Cross rose to power, barely finished their time in the gymnasium. Yet the Arrow Cross wanted them deported and dead, and it was the heroic actions of the Török family that kept her parents alive.
After the war was over, Isabella’s mother, father and the Töröks had travelled westward together. The Töröks had neighbours who were avid supporters of the Arrow Cross, and they feared some kind of retribution if the neighbours found out about their time hiding Jews. The group had all intended to travel all the way to the United States of America, but found a home all the same during what was supposed to be a temporary stay in England. Isabella’s parents went on to study, get married and have her, while the Töröks stayed put in Manchester. The Töröks changed their name out of that selfsame fear of wrongful retribution for their actions, becoming the Tonks family. Isabella had known them well, all of them. To see Ted again? It would be wonderful.
“Ah, we’re almost there!” Hermione exclaimed from the back of the car, where she was dutifully holding the map and keeping track of all the directions. Desmond, who was driving, had a horrible sense of direction, and relied greatly on Hermione’s assistance. “Go straight at this roundabout, and then left at the next one. We’re just a few minutes away now!”
Isabella glanced back at her daughter through the rear-view mirror, and smiled. Seeing Hermione there, sandwiched between her grandparents, excitedly helping organise a trip that was primarily for Isabella and her parents was… it made her feel proud. After all Isabella had learned about the Holocaust from her parents when she was young, she resolved that she would never be erased. Her Judaism was important, something to be preserved. Her family’s stories were something to be shared with all who’d listen, so nobody ever forgot the horrors of the Holocaust, so that history never repeated itself like that.
“It’s about time,” Gyorgi, her father, complained. “This car is not good for sitting in a long time.”
Ilona, her mother, groaned and waved a hand over Hermione’s head at Gyorgi. “My, you are still such a whiner, kedvesem.”
“And you aren’t?” her father shot back playfully. “Goodness, who was it complaining that she could hardly get out of bed this morning? You are getting old, Ilona. Old.”
Isabella stifled a laugh. Her parents’ antics had never grown dull. She always thought it was an odd how their relationship worked, but they had a truly tight, loving and respectful bond. After dwelling on that thought for a minute more, Isabella glanced at the book in her lap, which she had brought to read on the way. She hadn’t even opened it, instead lost in thought for the hour it took to get from London to Chelmsford. And now they were pulling around the corner, and according to Hermione, the house they were after was right at the very end.
Isabella got out of the car without any delay; her father had been right, it wasn’t the most pleasant car to travel outside of the city in. Enjoying the feeling of solid ground under her feet, Isabella stretched, took in a deep breath and then went to help her father out of the car. He was in pretty decent shape for his age, but he did get stiff if he didn’t move in a long period of time. After helping him out, and after Hermione had helped her grandmother out, they all approached the front door of number 9. Hermione stepped forth, and knocked on the door.
A few moments later, it swung open. There was a young girl there, Hermione’s age, with wavy black hair and rounded glasses. “Hermione, you’re here!”
“Hi Daisy!” Hermione returned the greeting. “This is my family. Everyone, this is Daisy - she was one of my first friends at my new school.”
Introductions took place, and the young Daisy led everyone inside. Isabella couldn’t help but stare at some of the decorations along the corridor - unless she was way out of touch, they all looked like procurements from archaeological dig sites. Isabella glanced around and half-listened to Daisy’s tour as she took in what it meant for a place to be a magical home. The fact that it didn’t even feel all that different from what she was already used to only made it stranger.
“You all must be the Grangers,” an impressively well-put together woman said once they reached the kitchen. She had a short bob of carefully styled auburn hair, makeup that was… far more adeptly applied than anything Isabella was capable of, and a tight-fitting off-white jacket over a pair of boot-cut jeans. She looked exactly like the kind of person you’d expect to see starring in an action film.
“Yes, that’s us,” Isabella responded. “And these are my parents, Gyorgi and Ilona Weiss. You must be Andromeda, right?”
“That’s right,” the woman confirmed. “I’m very glad to have you here - I’m sure Ted will enjoy the visit. He spoke highly of you, back when he was alive.”
“I still do not understand this whole business about young Edward. If he’s dead, he’s dead. How are we going to be talking to him?” Gyorgi questioned in his usual ‘I’m complaining about this but if you ask me if I’m complaining I’ll deny it vigorously’ tone of voice.
“Husband dearest, little Hermione already explained this to us,” Ilona responded quickly. “The… the wix use their magic to copy person’s mind into the painting. Darling Edward may not be with us anymore in the physical, but still yes in the mental. You do not understand because you are getting old. Old!”
Gyorgi sighed. He knew he wasn’t winning this one, especially when Ilona was using his lines back at him. Fortunately, Isabella knew that her father was very willing to learn new things by seeing them in action.
“I hear you and Ted had a kid of your own? That’s not Daisy here, is it? I thought I remembered that you’d had a son?” Isabella asked, trying to work up some polite conversation in a very unfamiliar environment.
“Daisy isn’t mine by blood, but I love her as if she was,” Andromeda answered, a fond smile on her face. “But you are correct, in part. You must be thinking of my older one, who turned out to be my daughter, Nymphadora. I do remember that Ted was going to bring her to meet you once, but she was a very… active infant, and it wasn’t quite practical.”
“Turned out to be, as in-” Isabella tried, but was swiftly cut off by her father.
“Ohh, so she used to be a boy, but then she was a girl? Good for her, good for her indeed,” Gyorgi exclaimed cheerfully. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it is that we must all always live our truths. Even if others might not understand, it is very important… Nymphadora, ah? Lovely.”
“Indeed,” Andromeda agreed with a curt smile. “Unfortunately, Nymphadora has other business to attend to today, but she may be around tomorrow if you come back. Would you all like to come upstairs and see Ted?”
“Let’s do that,” Desmond agreed eagerly, and that was yet another pleasant thought to Isabella. He and Ted had only met a few times, but they’d hit it off extremely well when they did. It was just such a shame that Ted hadn’t been able to come to the wedding.
“Gyorgi, kedvesem, you remember Eva, don’t you?” Ilona asked, getting an uncertain ‘ah?’ from her husband. “Eva, from the gymnasium. You remember her?”
“Ohh, Eva! Yes, she was the girl you were going to… what is the word… elope with before the war came to Budapesht,” Gyorgi recounted.
“Elope?” Hermione exclaimed quite loudly. “But that means… grandma, you like women?”
Ilona chuckled as she rose up the last of the steps, and Isabella sighed. She didn’t have a problem with what was about to happen, but this hardly felt like the time and place for Hermione to learn these things about her grandmother, because Hermione was going to have so many questions that would be better answered while not in somebody else’s home. But Isabella also knew that there was no stopping her mother, so she kept to herself and let it happen.
“Of course, my little Hermione,” Ilona answered. “You see, men are beautiful, and women are beautiful, so why should I be choosing only one? I was even going to be together with… dating is the word, with your grandfather and lovely Eva at the same time. But then the war came, and Eva was one of the first to leave. And now? I am stuck with him!”
“Stuck?” Hermione questioned, sounding… affronted. And of course she was, with the way her grandmother had phrased that. Hermione truly did have a tendency to take words at their face value. “But… why would you be stuck with him?”
Ilona chuckled some more, as Andromeda pushed open a door down the upstairs hallway. “It is a joke, my little Hermione. Oy, that really is Edward up on the wall!”
There he was - Isabella’s best friend growing up, Ted Tonks. A painting of him up on the wall ahead, and he was waving. Oh, Isabella had so many things to catch up on with him.
Daisy didn’t know if it was appropriate to laugh at all the things Hermione’s grandparents were saying, but they were both very funny, and very open about their experiences. She felt like there was just such a multitude of things she could learn from them, and hoped there was a chance to listen to all their stories. And back downstairs when Hermione’s grandfather had been so easily accepting of Dora being trans… it gave Daisy hope that one day, when she was ready, she could tell Hermione, and Hermione would be just as accepting.
“I’m going to go with Daisy now,” Hermione quickly said to her mother, and Daisy snapped her attention back to the people around her. With her mother’s approval, Hermione ran up to Daisy and whispered. “I want to give my parents and grandparents some space to talk to Ted, it’s really important for them and I think we might get bored anyway.”
“Okay,” Daisy agreed, even though she didn’t think she would get bored of this. “Do you want to see my room?”
Hermione nodded, and off they went. It was hardly far to Daisy’s room, and Daisy had cleaned it just the day before. Because the room was so big, it was easy and comfortable for both of them to hang out in there. Hedwig had just gone to deliver a message to Daphne, who Daisy was going to visit later in the week, which left the room a little bare.
“It’s very tidy,” Hermione commented approvingly.
Daisy flushed a little. “That’s just because I cleaned it before you came over. There’s not much here yet, I’m still thinking of how to decorate it. So far it’s just what you can see - my bed, my bookshelf, my desk, Hedwig’s perch, that old quidditch poster I still haven’t taken down, and the wardrobe’s closed just over there.”
Hermione hovered by Daisy’s desk chair, looking like she wanted to sit.
“You can sit, I don’t mind,” Daisy said, and dropped down on the side of her bed. “How has your first week back home been?”
“It’s definitely very quiet, even with my grandparents visiting,” Hermione remarked.
“Do they usually live somewhere else?” Daisy asked.
Hermione nodded. “They both teach, at Oxford. Grandma teaches chemistry, and Grandpa teaches in the History faculty. He also makes trips to Jerusalem sometimes, because he helps the Holocaust museum there, Yad Vashem, compiling verbal stories from other survivors and gathering documents like diaries and photos. I’d like to go someday, maybe after we graduate from Hogwarts!”
“That sounds really interesting,” Daisy said. “I’d love to come with sometime, this kind of history seems really important for everyone to know.”
Hermione nodded vigorously. “It really is. Much more important than Professor Binns’ lessons on the ‘soap blizzard of 1378’, even if it was one of the instigating factors of the foundation of Gringotts.”
Daisy gasped teasingly. “Hermione Granger, talking like this about class? How the mighty have fallen.”
They both laughed, and then it went quiet for a little. Not the awkward kind of quiet where neither knew what to say - a peaceful one, each content to just sit and relax by the other’s side.
“You seem much happier now, Daisy,” Hermione commented suddenly, breaking that peaceful silence.
“What do you mean?” Daisy asked.
Hermione hummed. “Well, you spent so much time at school being worried, even I noticed that. You didn’t relax often, not like this.”
Daisy knew she was right - she just didn’t realise it had been so obvious. She had spent so much of the year scared of going back to the Dursleys, scared of being cast aside by Andromeda and Nym- but all that had changed in that meeting with Dumbledore, and even over the last week. “I thought staying here was going to end up being temporary, and that I’d have to go live with my Aunt, Uncle and cousin again.”
“You don’t like them?” Hermione asked, unaware of just how bad those people had been.
Daisy shook her head. “They… they were awful. I don’t like talking about it, but… I never want to see them again. Besides, Andromeda and Nym knew me when I was a baby, they’re like… extended family. Really nice extended family.”
“Well, that’s good then! I’m glad. There was something else I wanted to ask, if that’s okay?” Hermione questioned, and Daisy nodded. “What’s the deal with all those artifacts downstairs?”
“Oh, that’s Andromeda’s research. I don’t really know much about it yet, but she did mention that she wanted to teach me about it later. Maybe we can ask her over dinner?” Daisy offered. “I think she and your parents and grandparents are going to be in her bedroom talking to Ted all afternoon.”
Hermione nodded, and the two girls went back to their companionable silence - except this time, with books.
Dinner was a lively affair, even with Dora still not having returned from her visit to the Ministry. Daisy was delighted to get to hear more of Gyorgi and Ilona’s energetic banter, but there was still that question on her mind that she and Hermione wanted to ask.
“Andromeda,” Daisy called during a clear break in the conversation, “is now an okay time to ask you about that research you went on a trip for? Hermione’s curious as well.”
Andromeda set her cutlery down. “Of course, though I may have to give the less detailed version if we don’t want to be here all the way into the morning. For everyone else’s benefit, what Daisy is talking about is a recent trip that Nymphadora and I took to Sweden in winter, as about half of the items I have on display in the hallway are ones that I have sorted through from that trip. I’m an archaeologist by trade, and I’ve recently been taking an interest in a series of Elven ruins around the Nordic countries of Northern Europe. Daisy, Hermione, how much do you two know about elves?”
Daisy shrugged. She had heard some mention of ‘house elves’ working in the kitchen at Hogwarts, but didn’t really know what that was all about.
“I’ve read about them a little bit, and what I read… it didn’t sound quite right,” Hermione said. “What I read said that there is a type of magical creature called a ‘house elf’, which many wealthier wixen families have in their possession. They work to perform tasks for their owners, but that’s… isn’t that slavery?”
“Indeed,” Andromeda agreed. “It is in no way incorrect to call them slaves. They are bound by magical contracts to their owners, that render them incapable of disobeying direct commands or harming those who own them. They have been this way for nearly a thousand years, perhaps longer. I’m still ascertaining exactly when the old Elven cultures and cities disappeared, but it would be no less than nine hundred years ago. They once had a rather intricate and powerful society in the northernmost parts of Europe, and a magical knowledge that rivalled that of Merlin himself. One thing that I am certain of from the information I have gathered is that the elves were forcibly subjugated, and generationally trained into subservience.”
Hermione gasped and Daisy found herself struggling to eat any more of her food. Maybe dinner wasn’t the best time for this after all - but all the same, Daisy wouldn’t shy away from this information.
“So the wixen world truly have slaves?” Desmond asked. “Isn’t that a little… backwards?”
“Indeed, though it is not such a simple fix. The way elves have been raised and even magically conditioned puts them in a position of actively enjoying and seeking out their slavebound work. It is the purpose they see in their lives, and when presented with the opportunity of freedom, they tend to refuse with a great deal of certainty,” Andromeda explained. “I do think it would be excellent to see a return of the old elven societies, but it cannot simply be forced upon a race that do not wish such a life for themselves. Centuries of conditioning cannot be undone in a single day.”
“Awful,” Isabella uttered. “I suppose no corner of the world is completely devoid of cruelty and oppression, even the world of magic.”
“Especially the world of magic,” Andromeda remarked, and took a sip of her tea. “We are far from without our issues. My personal ambition is to gather information about our history as extensively as possible and preserve it - in part for the sake of knowledge itself, but with the complete awareness it might be used to create more… positive change in the years, decades and even centuries to come.”
“A noble effort, my dear,” Gyorgi declared. “You and many of my colleagues would get on quite well, yes. So, what have you learned of this elven culture?”
Andromeda chuckled. “Many things. They appeared to have largely non-hierarchical social structures - even though they certainly had leaders, those leaders held no extraordinary power over others. It was a matter of each elf providing what they could to their community and collectively working towards shared goals. They were an open culture, and I believe I see some crossover or architectural style between the elves and the arctic merfolk, leading me to believe that they may have been allies, of a sort. They seemed to grow wary of humans, though sources that indicate that are far more recent than ones that do not.”
“Simply fascinating,” Ilona remarked. “Their cities must have been a sight to behold.”
“The ruins would agree with you, Ilona,” Andromeda stated. “What remains intact is intricate and rather beautiful, and well defended, too. Though the more powerful magic has waned over the time since the cities were abandoned, even simple runic defenses had Nymphadora and I working for three days just to gain safe access throughout what appeared to be a temple of worship.”
“Are the runes anything like ours?” Hermione asked..
Andromeda took another sip of our tea. “In some ways, yes. The runic languages are partially different, and I suspect the ‘ancient runes’ studied by our wixen society are at least in part derived from that which the elves used. The weavings of magic feel remarkably different, and this is in fact true of elven magic today. For example, many important institutions and establishments, and the homes of the sufficiently skilled have anti-apparition wards to prevent unwanted guest access. Elves, however, have been known to not be affected by those wards, and can apparate where they need without concern.”
Daisy frowned. As interesting as she found all this information, the complex nature of elven subservience bothered her. She could tell Hermione was bothered by it too - everyone at the table seemed upset, but especially her and Hermione. But Daisy wanted to know if there was something she could do. She didn’t want to overstep, or be arrogant, but… surely there was a way to give elves more to choose from, at least? But if they were conditioned into wanting their slavery, was it even fair to undo that? It was… an uncomfortably confusing dilemma.
Daisy dreamt dreams of elves that night - elves in cities living happy and free.
Notes:
btw in case anyone was concerned about outing there, Tonks is pretty open about being trans when it comes up.
Hope people enjoyed - I adapted bits and pieces of my own family's holocaust stories as well as those of other survivors I've met. Plus a bit of queerness, which is not remotely unrealistic in a historical or cultural sense. There will be more of Gyorgi and Ilona later on, in ways I think y'all will really enjoy but you'll have to be patient.
As you may have noticed from this chapter and the tags and some prior content, I have Plans for the elves, and I have no intention of it being gratuitous.
Chapter 20: First Birthday Party
Notes:
Pure fluff chapter, feat. Daisy & her squad of gremlin friends + Nym & Andy being. iconic family
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
A little over a month had gone by, and Daisy hadn’t had a dull moment yet during the break. Every few days she went to visit a friend, or a friend came to Chelmsford to visit her. On the other days, she’d read books, or practice spells with Dora, or learn what she could about Andromeda’s archaeological work. She exercised lots as well to keep in shape - especially because she couldn’t fly here without Muggles seeing. Neville had sent her a young potted Flitterbloom plant, which Daisy thought was horrifying at first, but then very funny. Flitterbloom was the harmless relative of the Devil’s Snare, and not too difficult to look after - so it had become another pastime for Daisy to try out.
And now there was only one week remaining until her birthday, and it would be the first one she celebrated in any kind of happy place. Maybe she would even bake herself a cake and have a quiet day to herself. Daisy was just cleaning up from her lunch when Andromeda walked briskly down the hall and stopped in front of her.
“Daisy, dear, your birthday is coming up,” Andromeda stated. “What would you like to do to celebrate?”
“I don’t mind,” Daisy said easily. “Maybe a cake? Hagrid brought me a cake for my last birthday, but it got squished and then Dudley ate half of it.”
“Maybe a cake?” Andromeda questioned indignantly. “Surely there’s more you want? I could put up a tent and some privacy charms in the backyard so that you can invite your friends over without the neighbouring muggles complaining, or you could take them to the arcade. There’s plenty to do in Chelmsford, and you certainly deserve to do something nice.”
“Really?” Daisy asked, and then felt very silly. She had come an incredibly long way with trusting and believing that Andromeda and Dora cared for her, and just as long a way with believing that she herself deserved good things. There were still moments like this - now that Daisy was realising this was one of them - where things that simply were taken for granted by most people seemed extravagant to her. “I’ll… I’ll invite my friends. I don’t think we should go to the arcade, though. The Statute of Secrecy would get broken in one afternoon, that’s for sure.”
Andromeda nodded, her lips upturned. “Excellent, I’ll make the arrangements. I’ll speak with Nymphadora, too. Perhaps if you cannot take your friends out into the town for a day out, we can bring some of the activities from town here. I’m sure with a little bit of combined enchantment we could replicate something enjoyable. Now, why don’t you go ahead and sort out some invitations to your friends? I’d have to advise that you invite no more than five of your friends if we’re to host them here, on account of the space available.”
“That’s okay,” Daisy answered automatically as her brain still worked to catch up on just how much help Andromeda was offering for a birthday. And when her brain caught up to the number as well, she realised that it was fine. She could involve Ron, Hermione, Neville, Daphne and maybe Tracey as well since she was nice. She definitely wouldn’t be inviting Zach. She didn’t think she wanted to be friends with him anymore, after how much she had misjudged him. “Is there anything I should do to help?”
“Merlin, absolutely not!” Andromeda insisted. “This is your party, so you get to let your family worry about all the details.”
Daisy nodded, and rushed off to her room to start working on the invitation letters. That task got delayed, however, when Daisy realised how much she needed to just cry. The Dursleys could never have even been capable of showing this much care for her, and yet Andromeda and Dora never seemed to lacking in ability to care. It wasn’t like they spoiled Daisy or anything - she still needed to pull her weight around the house and be respectful of Dora and Andromeda’s boundaries, but that was fair. So, she cried a while, and then she sent off some letters to each of her friends to invite them over on the day of her birthday.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Everyone shouted in unison, and Daisy could ignore the intensity of the volume just this once, in exchange for the sheer joy it had brought. To have her friends and her family - her real family - with her, actually wanting to celebrate? Daisy had never imagined something like this might happen. It gave her a newfound appreciation of what birthdays were, what they could be, and she resolved to make sure she knew all of her friends’ birthdays so that she could contribute to any future celebrations.
Maybe next time she’d ask they not shout so loud, though.
The entire birthday party had been set up by Andromeda and Nym, who had prepared food, drinks, a dedicated space for Daisy’s friends to leave any gifts they’d brought, and an actual bowling lane out in the back yard. Daisy had never been bowling before, but it had always looked kind of fun. The lane itself had been constructed of wood and lacquer, which Dora had easily and quickly put together with a wave of her wand. After that, bowling balls had been transfigured from scrap metal, and Andromeda had enchanted the back end of the lane to do two things - procure the bowling balls and return them to the start, and reset the configuration of the pins at the same time. It was the real deal, not some half-done mockup.
After some lunch and some cake with all of her friends, it was time to play.
“It’s time for all of you to see how the real bowling queen plays!” Tracey taunted lightheartedly. She had mentioned earlier, upon seeing the lane, that she’d snuck off a few times to a bowling alley in the town near where she lived to play a few times, and had dubbed herself an ‘expert’.
“I dunno,” Ron said. “This doesn’t look all that hard.”
“Maybe for you, mate,” Neville added. “I’m definitely gonna drop the ball at the wrong time and mess it up.”
“Oh, Neville!” Daisy exclaimed. “I’m so sorry, maybe we should have done something else?”
Neville turned and gave Daisy an odd look. “No! Are you kidding? This looks like heaps of fun, I’m so ready to make a fool of myself and have a good time doing it. How about this - if anyone gets a worse score than me, you owe me a sickle!”
“Hah,” Daphne laughed. “You, me and Hermione’ll be competing for the bottom spot as the least sporty ones here! You’re on, Neville!”
“Hey!” Hermione protested. “I know I’m not that strong but I know the theory of how this works, don’t count me out.”
Daisy laughed at that, and all of her friends’ antics. It would be interesting to see how this played out, and as much faith as Daisy had in Hermione when it came to anything academic, she wasn’t so sure Hermione’s knowledge was going to help her that much here.
“Alright everyone, gather around,” Dora called from the sidelines. She was overseeing everything to make sure all the magic held, as well as keeping score for the game. “Since some of you have never played this before, I’ll explain the rules. There are ten rounds, and in every round you get up to two bowls - except for the last one, where under the right conditions you can get three. Your goal is to knock down all the pins at the end. If you get them all down on your first bowl in a round, that’s called a ‘strike’. Getting a strike doubles your-”
“Boooooooo!” Daphne jeered cheekily. “We don’t need the full rules, we can just play! Two turns to knock down as many pins as possible.”
Nym bent over and cackled. “Sure, why not? I’ll keep score and tell you what to do if there are any variations on the normal rules, unless anyone has objections?”
Daisy didn’t mind - Nym had already explained the rules to her earlier. Tracey and Hermione already knew, Neville didn’t seem like he was going to care, and Daphne had already voiced that she didn’t care. It was just down to whether or not Ron was okay missing the rules. Everyone turned to look at Ron.
“Aw bloody hell, let’s do this!” Ron exclaimed after a few moments of being stared at. All the others cheered at his decision, and the game was on.
As the birthday girl, Daisy was put first in the order of turns. She picked up one of the balls and felt for the weight. It was around the same as a bludger - granted, one that wasn’t trying to fly around. The three finger hold was a little awkward, so Daisy did a couple practice half-swings without actually letting go, just to feel for the motion. Then, when she was ready, she bowled the ball down the lane. It veered off to one side, and knocked down seven pins on the left. Daisy could barely just see the ball sitting behind the pins, and went to grab the second one.
On her second ball, Daisy managed to knock down the last three. She started to step away from the lane, but before she could properly leave, Dora got up to speak. Daisy could see she had an absolutely shit-eating grin on her face, so she decided to wait and see what would happen.
“Alrighty everyone, looks like Daisy’s gotten a spare! That means that her-”
“BOOOOOOO!” All the others jeered, and Dora bent over laughing yet again. She had totally been winding them up, just to mess with them. Daisy laughed, and finally moved to sit on one of the benches Dora had put together to be used while Daisy and her friends were waiting for their turns.
“I’m going next!” Neville declared. “Somebody’s got to set a good example for the rest of you.”
The pins had already been reset and the balls returned to the side for the next player to pick up, so Neville grabbed a ball, awkwardly managed to get his fingers into the holes, and then walked over to the start of the lane with the help of the cane in his left hand. He pulled back, and went in to throw the ball. Neville then proceeded to lose his balance and stagger a bit as the ball was released, resulting in it going all the way to the left. Fortunately, Dora had set up the lane with bumper bars, which meant that Neville’s first ball bounced from side to side as it proceeded towards the end, and then-
-knocked all ten pins down. Neville himself had barely managed to stop himself from falling over, and turned around looking very confused. “Did that just happen?”
Daisy and Hermione cheered, while Daphne yelled something about Neville having conned her. Neville, having been instructed by Nym to go sit back down since he’d bowled a strike, walked back and slumped down, with a smile on his face. “Who knows, maybe I’m just a natural.”
And so the game went on, everyone doing their best at a game that none of them really knew how to play well. By the time the tenth round had come, still none of them knew who was in the lead. Tracey was still convinced she was going to win, and Neville had been scoring reasonably well too - with his strategy of not worrying about his coordination and just letting the ball go where it wanted to.
Daisy got up, and went to pick up a ball and start her last round. She’d managed a small handful of strikes and spares, but also had an embarassing round where she missed altogether, both times. When she was ready, with her aim set for the centre, she pulled back and bowled the ball as hard as she could. It sped down the lane and smacked into the first pin at dead centre, and then cleared all the rest immediately after.
“All right, Daisy!” Dora cheered. “Since it’s the last round and you got a strike, you get two more bowls instead of just one.”
Daisy nodded; she already knew that, but the playful calls of complaint from those who didn’t know the rules behind her was still endlessly entertaining. Once the lane had reset, Daisy grabbed another ball and took aim once more. She pulled back, and then bowled the ball forward once more. This time it went a little off course, bouncing once against the bumpers and striking at the group of pins from the side, knocking down 6 and leaving one pin on its own at the very left. With her last bowl, she tried for a spare, but only managed to knock down three of the four remaining pins. Satisfied, Daisy turned around and went back to sit down.
The rest of the tenth round went by quickly, with Daisy totally caught up in watching her friends and cheering them on. Daphne, who hadn’t been doing so well before, managed to get three whole strikes right at the very end, which was by far the best performance of the round. Once Hermione had done her last bowl, the game was over.
Daisy listened attentively after Nym got up to reveal the scores that she’d been keeping track of.
“Alright, so, in first place we have Daisy, with a total of 174 points,” Nym declared, and Daisy flushed in a mix of embarrassment and self-satisfaction. “Next up was Ron with 168 points, followed by Tracey at 159. After that is Daphne at 109, Neville at 87 and Hermione at 86!”
“Neville, I’m sorry to inform you that I don’t have a sickle on my person at the moment,” Hermione said rather curtly.
Neville waved his hands about the place sheepishly. “You don’t have to! I was mostly kidding, anyway. But that was close, really!”
After a little more post-game banter during which Tracey heavily bemoaned her own poor performance, and that maybe her ‘career as a pro bowler’ was already over, everyone headed back inside. There were some snacks set up on the dining table, and plenty of time to just hang out before everyone else had to go home. Daisy was content with that; she didn’t really have any other ideas of what to do, and was happy to go with the flow for the moment.
“Does anyone have any idea who the new Defense professor is going to be?” Tracey asked. “I hope it’s a really handsome guy I can stare at all day…”
Daisy didn’t really understand that - wouldn’t it get boring to just stare at someone for a long time?
“Gran says that her and some of the others in the community are pushing for an auror to be hired,” Neville said. “Something about how there’ve been too many unhelpful defense teachers.”
Ron put down his slice of cake - there had been some leftovers from earlier in the day that were kept out for later - before he spoke, which was something Hermione had been pushing him to form a habit of doing for a while now. “Mum’s been raving about this Gilderoy Lockhart chap, says he’s back from his latest quest and is doing a book signing in a few weeks. I bet she’d love if he was the new teacher.”
“Oh, I know all about him, he’s gorgeous,” Tracey swooned.
“I dunno, he seems like a bit of a prat to me,” Ron countered.
“Oi!” Tracey protested, and threw a piece of popcorn across the table at Ron. She grabbed a handful more, and started throwing them with every word she said. “How! Dare! You! Slander! That! Perfect! Man!”
“Oh, is that how it is?” Ron yelled while protecting his face with his arms. “You’re on!”
Then the war began, and Daisy was quick to duck out of the way so she wouldn’t be hit - as did everyone except Ron and Tracey, who were quickly depleting the supply of popcorn and making a mess everywhere. Daisy just hoped that Andromeda didn’t mind - at least popcorn was easy enough to clean up.
“I’ve read some of Lockhart’s books,” Daphen whispered from under the table where the four of them were now hiding. “It seems too grand, and he’s always posing for photos for Witch’s Weekly. There’s no way he really did all the things he says without getting scarred and injured at least a bit. Bet he’s a fake.”
Hermione hummed thoughtfully. “I’ve heard of him, but haven’t read any of his books. Aren’t they supposed to be fiction?”
“Nup,” Daphne popped. “Supposedly they’re accounts of his ‘adventures’.”
Daisy giggled at the way Daphne did air quotes with her hands on that last word. “How do you think he fakes it?”
“I bet he pays out actual adventurers for the rights to claim their stories as his own,” Daphne suggested. “Actually, that’s probably gonna be way too expensive. Maybe he just hears peoples’ stories and wipes their memories? That’d break all kinds of laws though.”
“I just hope we get someone who can teach the class well, and isn’t working for You-Know-Who,” Hermione said. “I mean, Quirrell was an alright teacher when he wasn’t trying to steal the Philosopher’s Stone.”
“I dunno,” Neville rebutted. “He was kinda dry, I had a really hard time paying attention in his classes. That reminds me, Madam Pomfrey is looking into a new potion recipe using coffee beans as the base that she thinks might possibly help me focus more in class!”
“Coffee beans?” Hermione questioned, sounding as taken aback by that as Daisy felt. “I’ve never read of a single potion using coffee beans before. Are they some kind of magical coffee bean?”
Neville shrugged. “I dunno. Maybe? Gran did give me coffee once to try, and I’ve gotta be honest, that was the calmest I think I’ve ever been.”
“Huh,” Daphne sounded. And then, again, “huh.”
Daisy was mostly caught up in how wonderful the day had been so far, and missed the latter half of the conversation entirely as a result.
Daisy loved all the presents that she’d gotten for her birthday. Even with the table set up for gifts to be left at, she hadn’t expected it to actually happen. But everyone had gotten her something. One gift stood above all of them, even above the chocolate fudge Ron made and the mood-responsive succulent from Neville. The very best of all had been from Dora, who got her an entire pile of all of the issues of Marvel’s Secret Warriors that Daisy had missed over the year at Hogwarts.
It was the best gift, of course, because that was one of the main Marvel comics with Daisy Johnson in it.
Notes:
This was so much fun to write, just letting all the chaos loose. Next chapter was also heaps of fun but for entirely different reasons, so stay tuned for that in a couple days!
Chapter 21: Fortescue's, Take Two
Notes:
More fluff. This chapter is one I've been wanting to do since.. like chapter one, honestly. You'll see why as you get through it :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Early on a wednesday morning, near two weeks after Daisy’s most incredible birthday party, an owl swooped in and almost crash landed on the dining table. It wasn’t one Daisy recognised, definitely not the elderly Weasley owl Errol. It was, however, carrying a letter - one addressed to Daisy. Daisy gently tugged the letter away from the owl and offered an arm for it to hop onto.
Like many respectable wixen homes, the Tonks household had an owl resting station near the back door. Once the owl was up onto Daisy’s arm, she gently walked it over to the resting station, helped it up onto a perch and took a dead mouse out of the container where they were kept preserved for just such an occasion. The owl gratefully nibbled at Daisy’s finger, and then leaned down to snap up the food it had been given.
With that sorted, Daisy returned to the table where her breakfast had unfortunately been spilled about the place, and retrieved the letter awaiting her. It had the Hogwarts seal on it, which gave her a pretty good idea of what it would be. Daisy opened up the envelope, took out the letter inside and scanned it, discovering that it in fact was her list of books and supplies needed for the new school year. Most of the books on the list were to be expected, except…
Daisy hated that Tracey’s entirely uninformed and totally wishful prediction had probably been right. Judging by the absurdly long list of Gilderoy Lockhart books on the page, which had to have been for Defence by process of elimination, the new Defence professor was either a huge fan of Lockhart, or somehow was Lockhart himself. Daisy groaned, and started doing what she could to clean up the half of her breakfast that had been strewn across the table.
Once that was done, she grabbed the letter and paced down the hall towards Andromeda’s study. She knocked, waited for a response and then entered. “My school book list came just now, so I thought I should let you know. The Weasleys are all planning a Diagon Alley trip on the 19th, and Hermione’s joining them as well. Is that an alright day for me to go?”
Andromeda looked up from a piece of parchment she had been making notes on. “Certainly, but you may want to speak with Nymphadora first - I believe she had plans to make a trip to Diagon Alley tomorrow that you may be interested in tagging along for. Of course, I don’t see any reason why you couldn’t go both times, if you’d like.”
“Okay!” Daisy acknowledged, and then allowed her curiosity to come to the fore. “What are you working on?”
Andromeda smiled slightly. Daisy had discovered a while back now that Andromeda very obviously enjoyed it when Daisy asked about her work and was happy to share many of the core details. “I’m summarising what I’ve learned so far about an elven ritual called tekatt nuvan, in which a thousand elves would come together once every five years and join their magic together in order to rejuvenate the land, such that it would help grow the crops they ate and provide habitable conditions. It appears to be an event that fostered peace amongst different elven groupings, so I’m quite looking forward to exploring additional archaeological sites and searching for additional evidence on the matter.”
“Combining magic?” Daisy questioned, having never learned anything about that in wixen magical practice. “How does that work?”
“I’d imagine that it would take not only a great deal of mastery over magical control, but also precise ritualistic casting that had been rehearsed for a long time. It may also be something that elves are, or once were, especially capable of,” Andromeda offered. “All the same, this is quite a curious ritual by virtue of its magnitude, if it truly was a thousand elves involved.”
Daisy’s mind swam through just how massive a gathering of magic that must be, and how powerful it must be. She thanked Andromeda for the quick lesson, and left the study in search of Dora. She may have still been asleep, in which case Daisy would just have to wait, or at this time of day she could very possibly be starting to wake up and get moving already.
Light footsteps moving about the kitchen betrayed Dora’s presence. Daisy quickened her pace and popped her head around the corner. Dora was now standing over the bench mixing some ingredients together by hand. “Morning, Nym.”
“Morning, Daze,” Nym responded. “That’s a Hogwarts owl over on the perch there, yeah?”
Daisy nodded. “Came with my letter of stuff to buy. Andromeda said you wanted to talk to me about that?”
Nym paused her mixing, a thoughtful look adorning her face. “Oh, yeah! I can’t believe I didn’t mention this to you sooner, honestly. Been so caught up with all my preparations for Auror Training that it totally slipped my mind. There’s a meetup at Fortescues again tomorrow, wanna come with? We can both get our shopping done after, as well.”
Immediately, Daisy was greeted with a series of incredibly fond memories of her last visit to Diagon Alley - specifically, when she had slipped off from Hagrid and gone to the transgender meetup at Fortescues and said her name for the first time. More than that, she had been herself for the first time, and met Dora, and found people who really cared for her and would see her as who she really was.
She was excited to go back and show everyone there how far she’d come. Maybe this time she would meet more people, too. She had been so nervous the last time that she barely got to know anyone outside of the small table she’d ended up sitting at, and she wanted to change that this time.
Daisy nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! If I can’t get all my shopping done tomorrow that’s fine, I’ll be going back next Wednesday as well with a bunch of my friends. So, when do we leave?”
“Florian’s gonna have everything set up at around ten in the morning, so we could just go then,” Nym suggested. “We’ll probably apparate since that’s an option for us, and there’ll be some folks travelling by floo straight to the shop already, and the network might get too congested.”
“What do you mean, congested?” Daisy asked.
“Ah,” Nym said. “The floo travel you’ve been doing lately is all to private homes, where every arrival and departure is planned, unless it’s by the people who live there. At busy places like Diagon Alley, lots of people will be flooing in and out. If we were to take the floo, we’d probably go directly into the fireplace at Fortescue’s, but there’s only one there, and tomorrow there’ll be lots of people coming in and out. At places like the Ministry, and the main Diagon floo port, there are lots of fireplaces to keep everything safe and orderly. It’s better we just apparate so we can go straight there, without accidentally messing around someone who can only travel by floo. Make sense?”
“Yeah,” Daisy confirmed. “But what happens if you and someone else floo in at the same time, and there’s only one fireplace?”
“Ugh, techincally it’s not supposed to happen because if it’s busy there’ll be someone managing the fireplace and telling people when it’s their turn to travel, but one time that didn’t get organised and I got booted over to a fireplace in Knockturn Alley,” Nym explained. “That was not fun.”
It was 9:30 in the morning and Daisy still hadn’t quite gotten ready. She’d taken her Lupriatus dose first thing in the morning, and had breakfast, and showered, and put her glamour ring on. She had the list of supplies needed in her extension charmed pouch, as well as an allowance from Andromeda to purchase both school supplies and something nice for herself with what was left - despite how much Daisy had insisted she could just collect from her own vault at Gringotts.
What she hadn’t sorted out yet was what she was going to wear. This trip to Fortescue’s felt too important to her for Daisy to just pick anything at random. It wasn’t like she felt she had to wear anything fancy, just something nice and intentionally planned. Jeans were a definite yes; they were one of Daisy’s favourite materials on account of how comfortable they were. It was warm out, so she didn’t need a sweater or anything like that.
After ten minutes of agonizing over what should have been a simple decision, Daisy picked out a sort of off-yellow tshirt and a light green cardigan for just in case it got colder. She then slipped on some plain shoes, grabbed her pouch and her wand, and went to wait for Nym. Or, as it turned out, meet Nym in the living room, since Daisy’s big sister was already prepared.
“Ready?” Dora asked.
“Ready,” Daisy confirmed with a barely contained grin. This was beyond exciting for her - it felt like a very comfortable full circle. Daisy had experienced a lot more general comfort after all of the changes in her life - going by a different name, adopting a different hairstyle, not being recognised for her scar, getting clothes she liked and taking the Lupriatus potion. That said, there were still rough days where she felt like a pretender, or got upset out of impatience to start taking the Estrogenating Elixirs. They weren’t too frequent, but they were hard. A couple days ago had been one of the toughest days yet, and so the trip today felt like it could be a nice counterbalance to that.
The two sisters headed out the front door and waited until the street was clear. When it was, Daisy grabbed onto Dora’s arm, and immediately felt the twisting, pulling sensation caused by apparition. A second later, she was standing outside Florian Fortescue’s Ice Creamery. The sign was there on the door, the same sign she’d seen a year ago, and Daisy started to tear up. With Nym’s hand in hers, Daisy went inside. It was a few minutes early compared to the official starting time, but people had already begun to gather.
“Merlin, is that… Daisy?” someone questioned from nearby, and Daisy turned to recognise Lincoln, one of the people she had sat with last year.
Daisy nodded happily. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
Lincoln laughed. “Damn right it has. You look far happier than last time, too. First year at Hogwarts alright?”
“It was great,” Daisy said, which was deeply true despite the various horrors spread throughout the year. “Madam Pomfrey has been giving me Lupriatus Potion, and I’m starting the Estrogenating Elixir this year.”
“Ah, good ol’ Lupri,” Lincoln reminisced. “Tonks, you came in with her. Is she-”
“Living with us, yeah,” Dora answered. “Long as she wants to, she has me and mum as family. I told Daisy she wouldn’t be going back to those awful relatives ever again, and mum and I have made sure of that.”
Lincoln whistled. “Yeah, that’d do it. I’ve seen your mum in action, and I know full well never to mess with Andromeda. Force to be reckoned with, she is. So, what else is new with you, Tonks?”
“Well, I’m starting my Auror Training in a few weeks,” Nym said eagerly. “I’m actually kinda curious who here’d be surprised by that!”
“I am, that’s for sure!” Lincoln exclaimed. “I always figured you’d go down the pro duelling track as soon as you’d made up your mind. Tonks, an Auror, huh? Yeah, I can see it. You’ll end up one of the legends, like ol’ Moody. I’m gonna wander around, say hi to some other people. Good to see you back here, Daisy!”
“Nice seeing you too,” Daisy responded as Lincoln walked off. “Dora, did Lincoln go to Hogwarts?”
Dora nodded. “Yup, two years above me, in Ravenclaw. He works for an independent research group nowadays, testing spell reactions in various magical plants. He’s got quite the affinity for magical lightning, and he was always interested in finding out whether that lightning could mix with certain healing plants to boost their properties with the extra energy and activity.”
“That’s really specific,” Daisy observed, and glanced over to where Lincoln was now talking with a very tall person with purple hair. “It doesn’t seem like magical research is a very popular field to work in though, from what I’ve heard.”
“Nup, it’s not,” Nym confirmed. “Ministry research departments only get to do what the Ministry itself decides is allowed, and that kind of… kills interest in research. Lincoln’s group is one of the few places that’s been able to get connections and funding to do their own research. Right now they’re funded by St. Mungo’s because of the medical research, but they’ve also worked alongside the Quibbler, various Quidditch teams and even under the employ of Beauxbatons, if I remember correctly.”
“Beauxbatons?” Daisy questioned, not having heard the term before.
“Magic school in France,” Nym answered just as someone else came to join them. “Hey Quintus, what’s new?”
The person shrugged. They had a completely shaved head, and wore a jacket made up of all sorts of different fabric patches sewn together. They looked quite a bit older than Dora, but not exactly old. “Nothing much myself, still doing broom maintenance for the Harpies. Who’s this with you?”
“Quintus, this is my little sister Daisy - mum and I took her in last year,” Dora answered. “Daisy, this is Quintus. They’re one of the founding members of our little group.”
“Fresh blood, huh?” Quintus remarked, and while the phrasing was a little strange to Daisy, the warmth in their voice did away with any discomfort. “Yeah, I was there at Stonewall over in the States. Joined the riot with all the other folks there, and that was the eye opener I needed to make sure we were fighting for our rights here. Speaking of, Marsha passed a month ago. Thought you should know, and I’m working with Florian on a commemoration in our community later. Probably gonna be during the school year, which sucks, but we’ve gotta do this one right.”
“Ah, shit,” Nym cursed. “Yeah, I’ll be there. Daisy, you should probably know this. Quintus is talking about Marsha P. Johnson, one of the people who was at the big riots that got the gay liberation movement up and kicking in the United States. She was a muggle, but she was also one of us. Powerful activist, made a lot of good change happen. Damn, I wish I’d have gotten an opportunity to meet her, Sylvia and the others involved.”
“Oh,” Daisy uttered, not sure what else to say. She could see this was a big deal for Nym and Quintus, but didn’t know what she was supposed to feel, since this was all so new to her. “You said the commemoration would be during the school year, but is there something I can do to help?”
“Yeah, kid, there sure is,” Quintus answered. “Be a part of the community, help each other out, and stand up for one another. We stand together, always. Alright, it’s almost time for more folks to start arriving. Why don’t you two find a seat somewhere, and I’m going to go see if Florian needs any help with any last minute things.”
“You got it,” Dora acknowledged. “C’mon, Daze, let’s go pick a table. I know you weren’t here for long last time, so I should give you a bit of a rundown. These meetups are usually pretty relaxed, and most people hang around for a good few hours. It’ll be on for most of the day, giving people a chance to come and go as they want. Florian had the idea a few years back of having people sit with each other at smaller tables instead of one big group so it’s easier and less overwhelming for anyone who might get nervous, but you can always move around and jump in to chat with other people. We can hang around probably until mid-afternoon if you want to stay that long, and then go do our shopping after. Sound good?”
“Sounds good,” Daisy agreed, and followed Dora to a half-full table with a welcoming-looking older couple.
An hour went by, and Daisy was having a fantastic time meeting everyone, hearing their stories and also just talking about the most ordinary things. At one point she’d been mentioning that she was chosen to be the Gryffindor seeker last year - Quintus overheard, and told Daisy quietly that they could get her an in with the Holyhead Harpies if she ever wanted to play professionally. Daisy thanked them, but she felt like she was too young and too new to the wixen world to have any idea what she wanted to do after graduating from Hogwarts.
Daisy had moved to a quieter table towards the front of the ice creamery to listen in on a conversation about swordfighting, having heard mention of swords and immediately been interested. It took five minutes into the conversation for Daisy to recognise who she was sitting next to - perhaps simply because she hadn’t expected it.
“Suyin?” Daisy questioned, quite surprised to find herself next to Ravenclaw’s current seeker, Chang Suyin. She’d only really spoken to Suyin once or twice at school, and didn’t really know her all that well.
“I was wondering how long it’d take you to realise,” Suyin smirked. “Cool to know that you’re one of us! Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone at school if you don’t want me to - we keep each others’ privacy here.”
“Right,” Daisy responded. She hadn’t even considered the possibility of Suyin mentioning that Daisy was transgender to people at school, but was relieved to hear that reassurance. She wasn’t quite ready to tell people about that side of herself just yet. “How have your holidays been?”
“Not bad at all,” Suyin replied. “Managed to get my hands on a Nimbus 2000, so I’ve been giving that a bit of a fly-around. So, what do you think of the idea to have a sword fighting club at Hogwarts?”
Daisy couldn’t deny that she liked the idea. Swords were cool. “I’d join! But who would run it?”
Dargo, the person across from Suyin, shrugged. “No clue, I don’t think any of the current professors could teach it. I’m holding out hope that our new Defence professor will have the right skillset, but it’s a real roll of the dice. Maybe we could get Professor Flitwick to supervi-”
A chime sounded as the door opened, and kid who looked maybe Daisy’s age or a year younger stepped in. The kid had wide, nervous eyes, and looked both hesitant and hungry to be here, and it reminded Daisy so incredibly strongly of herself, standing in that exact spot a year ago.
“Hi!” Daisy called out, what she hoped was a welcoming smile on her face. “Are you here for the meeting?”
The kid nodded hesitantly, but didn’t move from the spot just yet. That felt even more familiar to Daisy, who probably would have stood awkwardly and nervously by the door for a while longer last year if not for Nym more directly welcoming her.
“Come sit! Do you have a name you want us to call you?” Daisy asked, beckoning for the kid to come join.
The kid walked over. “I’m, uh. I’m Colin. I’m… a boy. I’m a boy.”
“Nice to meet you, Colin,” Daisy said, patting the spot across from her on the table, next to Dargo. “I’m Daisy. This is Suyin and Dargo, and they both go to Hogwarts like me.”
“You all go to Hogwarts?” Colin repeated. “Does that mean… do I get to be Collin there? My letter, it… it came with a different name.”
“Of course you can, Colin,” Suyin assured him. Daisy noticed the way Colin’s mood picked up a little more each time someone said his name. “Are your parents wix?”
“Wix?” Colin questioned.
“It’s a sort of gender neutral term like witch and wizard,” Daisy explained. “For people who don’t feel like one or the other, or just to include everyone.”
“Okay,” Colin responded. “Um, yeah. My parents are, uh, they’re muggles. Why? Is that… is it a bad thing?”
“Definitely not,” Dargo insisted. “We just ask because it helps us know what you’re used to and what you expect. Things aren’t perfect here in the wixen world, but it’s way better for us trans folks here than in the muggle world. People will respect who you say you are, and if they’re shit they’ll find other reasons to disrespect you.”
Mostly true, Daisy thought to herself tersely, painfully remembering how Voldemort and Quirrell had treated her. She put that thought to the side for the moment, wanting to make sure she could be mentally present to support Colin. “I was in the same position as you last year, Colin. My, uh… my mum sent an owl to Professor McGonagall who sorted it out, and then at school I’ve only ever been called Daisy.”
Daisy had really only been looking for a filler, a way to explain her relationship to Andromeda in connection to the point she was trying to make, and unintentionally landed on the word ‘mum’ - but she couldn’t deny how nice it felt to say it. Maybe Daisy could ask Andromeda if that was okay to keep doing? It was a nerve-wracking thought, but… it felt right.
“Really?” Colin asked, his whole face brightening. “I’ll tell my parents, then! They’re just outside, they said they’d stay nearby in case I needed anything but thought it might not be right for them to be in here.”
Daisy then watched as Colin got up, ran outside, had a very animated-looking conversation with two adults outside who must have been his parents, and then ran back inside. “They’re going to send the letter!”
“Good for you, Colin,” Suyin said. “Have you learned much about Hogwarts yet?”
Colin nodded eagerly. “The professor who came to tell us that I was a wi- a wizard told me some things about the school, like that it’s a big castle and there are lots of different magical classes and that there are four houses called Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw and that there’s a lake and a forest and-” Colin paused to take a deep breath. “-when I asked if I could bring a camera to take photos, because my brother’s magic too and my parents are really curious, she said yes but not to show it to anyone from the muggle world outside of family!”
“Damn, you’ve got a good set of lungs, Colin,” Dargo remarked. “Yeah, that’s a pretty good summary. You might want to owl that professor back and just check if the camera you have is suitable to bring, because a lot of muggle technology doesn’t work at Hogwarts. And just make sure you ask before you take photos of people, okay?”
“Okay!” Colin nodded enthusiastically. Daisy’s heart soared at seeing how open and enthusiastic the boy had quickly become. “So what houses are you guys in?”
“I’m in Gryffindor,” Daisy answered.
“I’m a Ravenclaw,” Suyin followed.
“Slytherin here,” Dargo added.
Colin frowned, but only a little. “Isn’t Slytherin supposed to be the bad house?”
“Nope,” Dargo responded patiently. “I mean, people just think that because a lot of the more well known Death Eaters in the war were from Slytherin, but that doesn’t reflect on the whole house. There’re assholes in Slytherin, sure, but same with any other house.”
“Oh, that makes sense,” Colin murmured, and then a little louder, “I wonder what house I’ll be in.”
“You’ll find out when the Sorting Hat puts you in one on your first day,” Suyin explained, just as the two adults Daisy had understood to be Colin’s parents slipped inside.
“T- Colin, we need to get moving,” Colin’s mother said. Colin winced a little before his mother corrected herself and moved on. “Dennis needs to be picked up in a few hours so we’d best get all this shopping done now.”
Colin frowned. “Alright, mom. I’ll see you guys at school?”
“Yup,” Daisy confirmed with a smile, hoping it would reassure him. “See you there!”
Notes:
Full circle, in a way. Also lmao at Daisy fully joining a conversation with Suyin & Dargo and just. not realising who she's talking to for a whole five minutes? Meanwhile Suyin is just there like "...is she gonna notice? Do I have to tell her??"
Chapter 22: Gilderoy Lockhart
Notes:
CW for a bit of bullying and bigotry (basically same as canon)
Here's the next chapter, and I'm gonna keep to an every-two-days schedule just for a little bit so that I can hit 100k published by the 2 month anniversary (seeing as I already have it written), so that's gonna be something to look forward to as well!
Daisy goes back to Diagon Alley with friends.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was almost amusing to Daisy that she had decided to return to Diagon Alley exactly one week after doing all of her shopping for the school year. Well, almost all of it - Daisy didn’t quite see the point in buying all those Gilderoy Lockhart books, especially if they were for Defence. If she ended up really needing them, she could always sort out a mail order; but buying the entire collection of books? It didn’t make any sense, so Daisy opted not to.
Today was just so she could hang out with her friends some more. The plan was for Daisy to floo to The Burrow first, and then travel with the Weasleys to Diagon by floo again from there. Hermione and her parents would be meeting everyone at Diagon Alley, and then they’d all go and do their shopping.
Maybe Daisy would end up buying something while she was there - she remembered the specialised wand holster Dora got with her designated preparation stipend for Auror training, and figured it might not be a bad idea for her to get one of her own. With the number of times she’d dropped and lost her wand at the worst possible time, maybe it would help.
After taking her morning potion, getting dressed and having some breakfast, Daisy went to say bye to Andromeda and let her know she was leaving, and then headed for the fireplace. Dora was already gone, having now started a regimen of very early morning pre-training, so it was usually just her and Andromeda during the mornings, and it was about fifty-fifty whether Andromeda joined her for breakfast or not.
Daisy grabbed some floo powder from the bowl, making a note to remind Andromeda later that it needed refilling. She cleared her throat, rehearsed the words in her mind a couple times, and then threw down the powder into the fire. “The Burrow!”
Green flames rose up in a powerful but ultimately harmless fwoosh, and Daisy felt herself being tugged away. The sensation of travelling by floo was far gentler than by apparition, and felt surprisingly cold most of the time. It was less disorienting too, now that Daisy had done it several times over the holidays to visit friends. One moment she was standing in her home’s fireplace, and the next she was at the Burrow.
“Oh, Daisy, there you are,” Mrs. Weasley said, turning from where she was overseeing a series of magically conducted kitchen cleaning tasks. “How are you, are you well?”
“Just fine, Mrs. Weasley,” Daisy responded. “And you?”
“Wonderful, my dear, wonderful,” Mrs. Weasley answered. Daisy noticed that she had noticeable makeup on, having the effect of brightening the woman’s face and perhaps making her stand out a little more. She’d never seen the busy mother in makeup before, and couldn’t help but wonder if it had something to do with Gilderoy Lockhart’s book signing at Flourish & Blott’s today. After all she’d heard from Tracey about the man, it wouldn’t be surprising for others to be the same way about him. “Why don’t you head on up and find Ron, he’s just doing some last bits of preparation for the trip.”
Daisy nodded, and wandered away from the fireplace and towards the stairs. She’d only been to the Burrow once before, so far. Ron had been over to her home a couple times, and had suggested not having too many gatherings at the Burrow lately because of how anxious Ginny was about the upcoming school year. Daisy didn’t mind, but wished there was something she could do to help Ginny.
Finding her way to Ron’s room wasn’t too hard, given that his was the only one with a door wide open. Daisy knocked, and stepped inside his room. Ron was sitting hunched over a piece of parchment with a quill, but turned to greet Daisy when she knocked.
“Heya Daisy, you’re here early,” Ron said. “If mum sent you to get me, I’m almost ready.”
Daisy shook her head. “No, she just told me where you were and to find you, nothing about bringing you back down. What are you working on?”
Ron shrugged. “Going through the school book list and figuring out what we already have and what we need to buy. I can’t believe we actually have all these Lockhart books on the list. Mum’s got basically the whole set now but those are going to Ginny, and I don’t think all of us can afford all of them. We’ll probably end up buying one extra set between the four of us - me, Ginny, Fred and George - and sharing.”
Daisy walked over to sit next to Ron on his bed where he was working. “I’ve got all this money I’ll never need, what if-”
“No way!” Ron cut in harshly. “I mean… I know you’re trying to be nice, but we’ll make do, and I don’t want to be a charity case. It feels… bad.”
Daisy didn’t understand, but if Ron said he didn’t want it then it wasn’t right of her to push. She knew the Weasleys weren’t well off, and wanted to help… but Ron had said no. “Okay, but if you ever change your mind, let me know. How’s Ginny doing?”
Ron scratched another book off the list. “She seems… well, better, but I think she might just be pretending. I think she’s just nervous about making friends with the other girls, she’s always been kind of rough n’ tumble, and a bit of a tomboy. It’d be pretty lonely going through school without friends, so I get it. I just don’t get why she can’t be friends with boys if that works better?”
Daisy shrugged, not believing herself to know enough to even have an opinion. “What if I try and be her friend?”
“I already suggested that to her,” Ron said, shaking his head. “I know you two would get along, but she just shot me down. I haven’t got a clue why.”
“Maybe I’ll give it a try anyway, in case she just refused because she was upset. Either way, I hope it works out for her,” Daisy said, and then pointed to one of the books on the list that Ron had skipped past. “You already have that one, we used it last year as well.”
“Oh, thanks.”
“Well, here we are!” Mrs. Weasley announced as they all arrived outside the storefront of Flourish & Blotts. It was already getting quite busy inside, and Daisy could also see someone with a very big camera setting up inside. She pondered finding something else to do while the book signing was on so it would be less squished, like going to say hi to Mr Fortescue, but ended up deciding it was a safer bet to stick with her friends.
“Mum, dad, this way!”
Daisy’s hearing managed to lock onto the sound of Hermione’s voice from amidst the crowd of people outside, and turn to wave. Hermione, however, wasn’t quite visible yet, and it took a good few seconds for her bushy brown hair to come into view, shortly followed after by Isabella and Desmond Granger.
“Sorry,” Hermione apologised once she’d come to the group’s side. “Did we keep you waiting long?”
“Not at all, dear,” Mrs. Weasley answered. “We only just got here ourselves. Why don’t we head in now, before it gets too cramped.”
The large group of seven Weasleys, three Grangers and one Evans squeezed their way into the shop, and begun searching around for the various books they needed. Daisy opted to stick with Ron and help him find what he needed - it was too busy and loud to make use of the time to talk to Ginny, and she was clung to her mother’s side while her father searched the shelves.
Ron had barely managed to get the last of his books when a voice called for everyone to gather around. “If you’d now kindly welcome Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart.”
Lots of people in the store started clapping and gathering, and Daisy found herself being shoved towards the front of the crowd. With only a few people in front of her, Daisy ended up with a rather clear view of Lockhart. Seeing him in person, she really still didn’t understand what Tracey and all his other fans found so alluring about his appearance.
“Thank you, everyone,” Lockhart started, and then posed to smile for the cameraman just to Daisy’s left. “It’s my absolute pleasure to be here, on this day when my autobiography, Magical Me, is celebrating its 27th week atop the Daily Prophet’s best-seller list.”
Applause.
“But that’s not the only thing to celebrate!” Lockhart continued. “I have decided it’s time to put my usual adventures on hold to begin a new adventure - the adventure of teaching. Starting in September, I will be taking up the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts, so that I may pave the way into the future for our coming generations.”
Louder applause.
Daisy sighed. She had a feeling Defence was going to be just as disengaging this year, and perhaps almost as much of a headache-inducing class. She didn’t like this man at all. Curious, Daisy turned to see how the others in her group were reacting. Ron was unsurprisingly unimpressed, and Daisy was rather amused to see Ginny rolling her eyes. Hermione, however, looked completely taken by the man. That, Daisy understood even less.
Lockhart spoke a little longer, earning a few more rounds of applause, and then declared that the book signings would begin. Mrs. Weasley asked everyone to head outside to wait while she got books signed, which Daisy thought was a good idea to make things less cramped. She walked towards the storefront beside everyone in the group but Mrs. Weasley who was dealing with the book signings, and the twins who had already evacuated the bookstore at some point earlier.
They were stopped, by the arrival of a familiar blonde haired boy who had swerved out from another section of the store just moments ago. “Well well well, if it isn’t the Weasleys. Trying to make yourselves look better by shopping at a store above your means?”
Daisy wanted to punch Malfoy. She really wanted to punch him, but she also didn’t want to get anyone in trouble by causing a scene. Instead, she made a more peaceful attempt. “Go away, Malfoy, find somone who cares about what you have to say.”
“Shut up, Weirdo Evans! I’ll-”
Malfoy was interrupted by what looked like an adult version of him coming up from behind him and grabbing onto his shoulder with the mouth of a snake-like handle of a cane.
“Now now, Draco, play nicely. Miss Evans, is it? Lucius Malfoy. Draco tells me that you have some skill with quidditch. I do hope you’ll give him a good challenge this year. And who else do we have here? Let me see… red hair, vacant expressions-” Lucius paused, looked around, and then snatched a book out of the cauldron Ginny was holding to inspect it. “-a tatty second hand book… you must be the Weasleys.”
“Children, it’s packed in here. Let’s go outside,” Mr. Weasley suggested, having arrived from behind. Daisy couldn’t help but notice the way his eyes were glaring at Lucius.
“Well well well,” Lucius said, in almost the exact same cadence as his son. “Weasley senior. Busy time at the Ministry, Arthur, with all those extra raids? I do hope they’re paying you overtime, but judging by the state of all this-” Lucius turned Ginny’s book around in his hand, “-I’d say not. What’s the use in being a disgrace to the name of wixenkind if they don’t even pay you well for it?”
Arthur’s glare at Lucius intensified, and Daisy got the feeling he was holding back from punching Lucius in the same way as Daisy had with Malfoy just before. “We have a very different idea about what disgraces the name of wixenkind, Malfoy.”
“Clearly… associating with muggles,” Lucius shot back. He stepped forward and dropped Ginny’s book back into her cauldron. “And I thought your family could stoop no lower. I’ll see you at work, Arthur. Come, Draco, let’s go see about buying you a new broom.”
After the whole fiasco with the book signing and the Malfoys, Daisy managed to convince the Grangers to accompany her to her one shopping destination for the day - a rather sizeable store called ‘The Duelist’s Destination’, which was certainly a shop for duelists, but also had a pretty extensive supply of general wixen safety and utility accessories. It was where Nym had gone to get her Auror-approved wand holster issued and fitted, and now Daisy was here for much the same purpose.
Where Desmond and Isabella had been immensely distracted by all the large variety of goods available in the store - none of which they had any personal use for - Daisy and Hermione went to find someone who worked at the store to help figure out a suitable holster.
In addition to the cashier at the central payment desk, there were a few staff members spread around the store to help customers. Daisy managed to track down one nearby the dueling accessories section; a rather impressively tall man with slick black hair that fell down to his shoulders.
“Um, excuse me?” Daisy called out, craning her neck to look up at the man.
The man paused, looked around, and then looked down. “Oh, hello there. Is there something you need?’
Daisy nodded. “I’m looking for a wand holster.”
“Bit young to be getting into the duelling scene, aren’t you? Do you at least have a coach who’s given you some advice?” The man questioned, not looking exactly demeaning but rather surprised by someone so young and small looking to shop in this part of the store.
Daisy shook her head. “No, it’s not that. I, um… I just keep losing my wand at bad times and thought it’d be better to have something to keep it in.”
“Ah,” the man sounded out. “That makes a great deal more sense. Got a case of butterfingers, eh? That’s alright, I can sort you out. What exactly is the issue? So I can find you the right kind of product, of course.”
“Uh…” Daisy stalled. She definitely knew what the problem was, but it felt rather embarrassing and as a result her words were failing her.
“She has a tendency to drop her wand or let it slip from her hand if something intense happens and she needs to move quickly,” Hermione helpfully supplied. Hermione had only been there one of the times it had happened, but had heard about the others. As embarrassing as it felt to hear it described, Daisy was grateful for how easily Hermione could articulate the issue.
“I see, I see,” the man said. “It’s a less uncommon issue than you may think. In that case, what you’ll be needing is a holster with a Recall Charm. All you have to do with that is tap a little bit of magic into it, and it’ll summon your wand back to it. Keep in mind that if you somehow get completely blocked off from your wand, it won’t work - but as long as the wand has a path to you, it’ll come. Why don’t you follow me, and I’ll show you which ones have a Recall Charm on them.”
Daisy and Hermione followed the man around a couple bends, arriving at a display with about twenty different kinds of wand holsters arranged in five rows of four. “Take a look at any of the holsters on the left half of the bottom two rows. At your age, I’d probably recommend the one right in the corner - it’s the cheapest, and comes with just a Recall Charm and a Cleaning Charm. It’ll get your wand back to you, and help keep it clean. It also, of course, has the standard minor Sticking Charm to stop it from falling out - but all of our holsters have those.”
Daisy nodded, and inspected the holster. It looked rather plain, a black leather tube of sorts that had straps running out of the top and bottom. Daisy had seen Nym fit hers to her arm, and figured it would be the same for her. On the note below it, the information the store assistant had explained was written down, as well as a price of one galleon. The other three holsters around it were all more expensive, ranging from five to twenty galleons.
Out of curiosity, Daisy had a look at the most expensive one. It had all sorts of additional charms on it - most of which Daisy had never heard of before - as well as a rather intricate jewelled design wrapping around the holster’s exterior. Definitely not something Daisy needed right now.
“The cheapest one, please,” Daisy requested.
The man nodded, disappeared across the store and returned moments later with a wand-sized box. He opened it up and held out the holster. “Give me whichever arm you don’t use for your wand, please.”
Daisy held out her arm, watching as the man secured the straps around her arm. These straps were definitely smaller than the ones on the display - clearly the assistant had estimated or somehow figured out her size and selected the appropriate product from wherever they were stored. It was a comfortable fit. Once it was secure, Daisy moved her arm around a bit, just to test that it wouldn’t come loose.
The next thing Daisy did was put her wand into the holster, and shake it around a bit more - again, the wand and holster both remained secure. There was really only one more thing that Daisy knew to check - whether the Recall Charm actually worked. She looked to the store assistant. “May I?”
“Sure, yeah, go ahead,” the assistant replied.
With permission given, Daisy took her wand back out - noticing that it wasn’t in any way hard to remove but she did feel a tiny tiny bit of resistance - and chucked it on the ground ahead of her. She felt for the same kind of magical power that fuelled all her spells, and willed it towards the holster. The holster lit up faintly for a single moment, and her wand flew straight into it.
“Is there a limit to how far away it works?” Daisy asked, not wanting to find herself in a scenario where she’d realised her wand was missing too late.
The assistant nodded. “Yeah, about a hundred metres for something like that. Any further, and you’ll be needing someone who’s good at the Summoning Charm to get it back for you - or to get closer if you know roughly where it was.”
Daisy thought on that for a moment. Could she learn the Summoning Charm? From her vague recollection, it was a fifth year spell. For now, she’d just have to hope that she never got that far away from her wand. Ideally, the holster would solve the problem altogether, and Daisy could get into the habit of putting her wand back in there whenever she wasn’t using it, so that anything more powerful than the holster wouldn’t even be needed.
“Thanks, I’ll buy that,” Daisy decided easily.
Notes:
After the amount of times I accidentally had Daisy losing her wand, I figured it'd be good to get her something for it. Let's see if it actually helps or not!
Chapter 23: Back to School
Notes:
bazinga :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Daisy looked fondly upon the the invisible barrier between the muggle platforms at King’s Cross and the magical platform nine and three quarters. Last time she was here, Dora had been bringing her for the first time, she’d met the Weasleys, and she’d taken another substantive step into a world where she could be herself.
This time, she was here with Andromeda, who had taken some time away from her work to see Daisy off. Nym was going to come as well, but ended up being called for a sudden meeting with an auror who had decided to take her on and train her personally - despite the fact that her training hadn’t even started yet. How that auror, whoever it was, had scouted Nym out, Daisy did not know.
“Ready?” Andromeda asked, and Daisy nodded. She’d already crossed the barrier once, and had no reason to suspect it would go wrong this time. With Andromeda by her side, she walked forward and entered platform nine and three quarters without any issues. Her trunk trailed behind her, now much easier to travel with since Hedwig was quite happy to fly herself to Hogwarts and back.
The scene before her was somehow just as magical - and not in the literal sense - as last time. The train billowed out steam, people gathered around and said their farewells or caught up after the time away from school. New students who Daisy didn’t recognise stared at the train and the platform in awe - likely many of those staring with such wonder were muggleborn and hadn’t seen it before.
“Would you like me to stay, or go?” Andromeda asked once they were both securely on the platform and out of the way of anyone else who’d be trying to get through the barrier.
“Stay,” Daisy answered quickly. She enjoyed the time she got to spend with Andromeda immensely - especially now that she knew just how much the woman truly cared for her. All the time spent over the breaks had meant the world to Daisy - as much as Andromeda was kept busy by her research, she still made time for Daisy regularly. They shared meals in and out of the house, Andromeda taught her magic, spent time answering questions she may have or just reading in silence in the same room. Andromeda had been there, too, when Daisy wanted some company while looking over the photo album from Remus some more.
It had happened once already - Daisy had kind-of accidentally referred to Andromeda as ‘mum’ at Fortescue’s. The word had felt so right to say like that, but Daisy wasn’t sure it would be okay, so she’d put off actually addressing it for a while. But now she was about to go away to Hogwarts for a while, and she wanted to sort this out first. Daisy just hoped that being direct about it was an okay approach.
“Andromeda, um… is it okay if- am I allowed to call you mum?” Daisy stumbled over her words, despite how many times she’d practiced for this conversation over the last few weeks.
Surprise appeared on Andromeda’s face for a short moment, something Daisy had rarely seen happen at all. Before she could worry about the response, though, Andromeda smiled. “I wouldn’t want to take away that word from Lily, dear. Not that I have anything against it - of course you’re welcome to if that’s what you want.”
Daisy grinned, and started to tear up. “I can have two mums, can’t I?”
“Too true,” Andromeda agreed, and pulled Daisy into an embrace that felt like it healed something in her. She really did have two mothers to bond to - one she only got to know about through photos and stories but felt more and more connected to the more she learned about cir, and one who had unwaveringly been there for her from the moment she took Daisy in. It was like that time marching out of Dumbledore’s office and the end of the last school year - Daisy felt loved.
“Let’s go see if we can find anyone we know?” Daisy suggested several seconds later as she stepped out of the embrace.
“Certainly,” Andromeda said, and the two pushed on some more, hand in hand. They were still about twenty minutes early, which meant fifteen minutes before it became absolutely necessary to board the train - that left plenty of time to search the busy platform. It didn’t take long to find the Weasleys - some of them, at least. Fred and George were nowhere to be seen, likely already preparing their usual shenanigans for the school year. Percy was also gone, probably to attend to his duties as prefect. That left Mrs. Weasley with Ron and Ginny, the latter of whom seemed quite distressed.
Daisy knew she was anxious about starting the school year, but this just looked rough. This was probably what she looked like on the non-small number of occasions her mind flashed back to the Dursleys and she just froze - Daisy was glad it happened so much less now, and wouldn’t wish it upon anyone else. “Hey Ginny, do you want to come and sit with me on the train when we get on?”
Ginny looked up, away from where she was clutching Mrs. Weasley’s side. Slowly, she nodded - which Daisy had hoped for, but not exactly expected after what Ron had said a couple weeks prior. Daisy hadn’t even had a proper chance to introduce herself to Ginny before, but they knew who each other was, and was enough for the moment. If Daisy was like this, she wouldn’t want someone trying to make her follow through with formal social interactions like introductions until she’d calmed down.
“Okay, we’ll get on together in a little bit,” Daisy offered, and saw Mrs. Weasley mouth the words ‘thank you’ to her. She returned a smile, and then turned her attention to Ron. “Ready for second year?”
“Yeah,” Ron answered easily. “Just so long as nothing major happens like last year, it should be fine. You?”
“Yep, definitely,” Daisy said. “Just not looking forward to Defence. Lockhart seems like a prat.”
“So you’ve said before,” Ron responded cheekily, as though trying to tease Daisy but likely knowing she’d take it in stride.
Daisy smirked. “And so I’ll say again, because he seems like a prat.”
Ginny giggled at that, and Daisy marked that as a success in helping calm her down. Daisy knew the fear of not fitting in and not being accepted, but Hogwarts was better than that. She only hoped Ginny could have that kind of experience to contradict her fears too.
She glanced beside her and realise that Andromeda had taken a half-step away, and was having a quiet conversation with Mrs Weasley off to the side. Taking one last moment to relish in the connection, Daisy let go of Andromeda’s hand, which was enough to get the woman’s attention.
“I’m going to get on with Ginny now, and find an empty compartment to sit in before the rush,” Daisy explained. “Ron, you coming too?”
“‘Course,” Ron answered.
“Alright, dear,” Andromeda smiled. “Have a wonderful time. I’ll be here at the station to meet you for the winter break.”
Daisy pulled her in for one last hug, and then stepped away. “Bye, I’ll see you then… mum.”
Not quite able to handle lingering any longer as she adjusted to this new permission, Daisy turned and took her luggage to stow it away. The Weasleys had already dealt with theirs; Daisy hadn’t seen any luggage around them when she arrived. With that done, she, Ginny and Ron stepped on the train and worked to find an empty compartment - which was a slight bit harder than Daisy had expected for this early, but it seemed lots of people had the same idea. After a couple minutes of searching and moving towards the back quarter of the train, they quite easily found one; nobody had nabbed rooms quite that far back yet.
“So, calling her mum now?” Ron asked a little cheekily.
Daisy flushed. “Yeah… uh, we talked about it today. It just felt right, you know?”
“Mhm,” Ron hummed as they all sat down. “Even I can tell how much that woman cares about you.”
“Even you, and that’s saying something,” Ginny agreed quietly, and then flushed.
“Oi, watch it,” Ron countered playfully, which seemed to help Ginny relax a bit. Daisy had never gotten to see their dynamic before in person since Ginny had hidden away just about every time Daisy went over to the Burrow. From what she’d heard, they didn’t get along so well. Maybe Ron was just being nicer because of how stressed Ginny was?
“So what are the twins up to?” Daisy asked, which resulted in Ron shuddering and Ginny quietly giggling.
“Apparently they’re testing out something they’ve been working on in that Magical Research class,” Ron answered. “They had some kind of black rock, said something about trying to reproduce something from Peru. They grabbed Lee the moment we arrived - which was really early, so Lee and them must have been planning this for a while - and then they just disappeared.”
The door swung open before Daisy had a chance to respond to that - not that she really knew what to say - and Daphne marched in, pointing at Daisy. “Can you stand up for a moment?”
Unsure what Daphne was after but happy to comply, Daisy stood up. She wasn’t sure what was wrong, or if something was supposed to be happening - all that had changed was that Daphne’s face was now a little red. Daphne signed something that Daisy hadn’t yet learned, but she knew it was some kind of profanity.
“What’s wrong?” Daisy signed back.
“We’re still the same height,” Daphne frowned. “I know for a fact I’ve grown in the last few weeks we haven’t seen each other, and somehow I’m still not taller than you?”
Daisy shrugged. She couldn’t understand why that made Daphne upset. She was used to standing at pretty much exactly the same height as Daphne, and she did recall the stray comments Nym and Andromeda had made about her growing taller. It felt more like the natural course of things than anything else, though Daisy was hopeful that she would end up a bit taller than average after having spent her life so far being smaller than most. “There isn’t anything I can do about that.”
“I know,” Daphne agreed, a sort of indignant look on her face. “I just thought it would be fun to be taller than you, but I guess we’re still even.”
Realising that Ron and Ginny were both kind of just staring in confusion at the signed conversation going on in front of them, Daisy used her head to gesture towards the two Weasleys and hoped Daphne would understand. Daphne nodded, and quickly cast her hearing charm before sitting down next to Ron and across from Daisy and Ginny.
“Wanna tell us what that was all about?” Ron asked.
“Nup,” Daphne countered immediately. “But I do have a gift for you.”
The blonde grabbed a book out of her pouch, and tossed it over onto Ron’s lap. It was a fresh copy of A Beginner’s Guide to Wizarding Sign. “It’d be nice if all my friends knew.”
“Alright, I’ll give it a crack,” Ron agreed. “You haven’t met Ginny before, have you?”
Daphne shook her head. “Nope. I’m Daphne Greengrass, pleasure to meet you.”
“Ginny Weasley,” Ginny returned quietly, half-retreated into the corner beside Daisy.
There was a short stall in the conversation - Daisy wasn’t sure, but she suspected that Daphne had been expecting Ginny to say more, and Ginny didn’t have more she was comfortable saying. To solve the possible problem, Daisy picked a topic to get things moving again. “How was that two-week study thing your parents made you do?”
Daphne shrugged. “It feels kind of unnecessary since the teachers don’t ask us to read ahead before the school year starts, but Stori and I are now both pretty well versed in the theory for some of this year’s classes. There’s hardly any theory to learn for Defence, though. If Tracey weren’t so sold on the guy, I’d probably start calling him Prat-hart. I wonder if I can make up a sign name for that…”
“Prat-hart,” Daisy repeated, with a smile. “I like that.”
It was a remarkably different experience, watching the Sorting Ceremony from the sidelines. Daisy remembered being both curious and a little overwhelmed, but otherwise not thinking too much of it at the time and being content with following instructions. She also knew, having heard from her friends later on, that the ceremony was more nerve-wracking for some.
Daisy’s eyes scanned the crowd of first years entering the hall for the two that she already knew - Colin and Ginny. She hoped Ginny was okay after being separated from her and her friends getting off the train, and that she would start finding friends in her own cohort. It didn’t take long to find Colin - he was right at the very front of the group, which was hardly surprising given how eager he was to be at Hogwarts. Ginny was harder to spot, though Daisy eventually found her rather identifiable hair towards the middle of the group.
“Good evening,” Professor Dumbledore’s voice boomed from the front of the Great Hall. Daisy turned to face him. “Welcome to our new students, and welcome back to the rest of you. Before we begin the Sorting Ceremony, I would like to make a few brief announcements as per usual. Firstly, a reminder to all that the Dark Forest is strictly off limits-”
Daisy rolled her eyes at that, knowing full well that it was only off limits if the teachers didn’t decide it would serve as a good location for a detention.
“-and a notice that there has been an outbreak of grindylows in the Black Lake, so students should avoid swimming in the lake without supervision from a member of staff until the merfolk have gotten that under control - or at all, for that matter. Lastly, a warm welcome to our new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Gilderoy Lockhart.”
There was a concerning amount of applause at Lockhart’s introduction from the student body, but they were quickly quieted down by Professor McGonagall, who held the list of new first year students for Sorting. Students were called up one at a time, and Daisy watched as they were sorted into the four houses. When Colin was sorted into Gryffindor, Daisy made a mental note to welcome him properly later.
Ginny ended up being the last student on the list, and was sorted into Gryffindor as well, just like all of her siblings before her. She came up to the table, moving towards Daisy, Ron and Hermione instead of the other first years.
“Can I sit here?” Ginny asked timidly.
“You should go sit with the other first years,” Daisy said in what she hoped was an encouraging tone. “Now is a really good time to get to know some of them.”
Ginny frowned, but acquiesced all the same. Daisy could only hope that she found friends in her cohort, and that the personality Ron had described last year had a chance to shine through.
Notes:
Me at Daisy for the last thing she said to Ginny: “This action will have consequences /ref”
Also yes, the twins have a teacher supporting their joke shop endeavours in a classroom setting mwahahaha
Chapter 24: Pesky Pixie Pester No... Me?
Notes:
cw bullying, cruel social rejection (the last scene)
Almost at 100k yall!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Daisy’s first day back at school started with a nightmare. In her dream, she had been back in the chamber with the Philosopher’s stone. Dora had been dead, and Quirrell was laughing. She woke up with a scream, but shook her head at Hermione’s concerned look. She didn’t want to talk about it. It had happened a few times over the break, but it wasn’t all that often. Daisy just hoped it would get better on its own. While those who knew considered her some kind of hero for her actions, how could she reveal the nightmares she was having?
“Your hair’s getting long, Daisy!” Lavender commented as the second year Gryffindor girls - minus Hermione - were getting ready for Herbology, which required a slight change of clothes. Having had time and space away from the school, most of them had managed to forget their Herbology coats, and ended up having to retrieve them from the dorms.
“Yeah, when was the last time you had it cut?” Parvati asked before Daisy got a chance to even try figure out what to say in response to Lavender.
Daisy flushed. “Uh… last time I had it done was before the start of school.”
“Oooh, did you get it done longer just now?” Sally-Anne questioned, and Daisy shook her head.
“No, I… I mean before school. Before first year,” Daisy admitted sheepishly. There had been a combination of her enjoying the idea of it getting longer after so many years of uncomfortably short hair, and also her not knowing what to do about it. Both Andromeda and Nym had offered to take her to get it redone over the summer, and Daisy had awkwardly refused.
All of a sudden, Lavender started jumping up and down. “Oh oh oh, can I give you a trim? I promise I know what I’m doing, and I can freshen it up for you and take care of any split ends!”
“I, um…” Daisy stumbled a little intentionally, stalling for time to figure out what to do. “I’ll think about it?”
Lavender pumped her fist. “Yes! Good enough for me - just let me know if you want it trimmed and we’ll deal with it on the weekend, okay? Ugh, these coats are so bulky.”
“It’s not so bad, Lavender,” Kellah disagreed. “Right up in Lowick where my family lives, you get used to it. This is light.”
Lavender grimaced, and tossed her Herbology coat over her shoulder. “How are you supposed to look cute when you’ve got heavy coats on?”
Kellah shrugged. “It’s just about coordination, it’s really not a big deal. We should get going though, before we’re late. Has anyone actually been to Greenhouse Three before?”
All the girls shook their heads. Lavender and Parvati fell into their usual rapid-speed conversations about anything and everything, which gave Daisy a chance to collect herself, throw on her coat before leaving, and follow the other girls out the door.
Greenhouse Three didn’t end up being hard to find - it was just a couple greenhouses down from where they were all used to having Herbology last year. Like last year, the class was combined with all the other houses, since the greenhouses were easily large enough to fit all of them. Daisy was very impressed with how organised Professor Sprout must have been to have supplies always prepared for almost forty students every time, and wanted to continue honoring that respect by working hard in the class.
Most of the students had already arrived, other than the Gryffindor girls and a few Ravenclaws. Spread out across the long workbench were many pairs of pots, one smaller and one larger. The smaller pots had some kind of plant growing out of them, whereas the larger ones looked mostly empty.
It didn’t take long for the rest of the students to file in and find their places, and Professor Sprout followed in moments after. “Welcome to Greenhouse Three, second years. Now, if everyone could just step up to the benches, I’ll explain what we’re doing today. It’ll be a very hands-on start to the year. You should all have a pair of earmuffs in front of you, so please let me know immediately if you don’t see any.”
Nobody said anything.
“Everyone has? Very good. Okay, who here can tell me the properties of the Mandrake root?” Professor Sprout asked. While nobody was surprised to see Hermione’s hand shoot straight up into the air, many weren’t expecting Neville’s to launch up as well. “Mister Longbottom, if you would?”
“Er, well the Mandrake, also known as Mandragora, is a plant that’s mainly used to undo the effects of petrification,” Neville started. His voice was a little unsteady; even though Daisy knew Herbology was his favourite class, she also knew that he hadn’t liked to answer questions in front of the class much last year. “It’s also pretty dangerous, so if we’re working with them we’re gonna have to be careful. Judging by the size of these leaves, these ones are probably still babies so the cry won’t kill anyone, but it could knock you out for a little while. Oh, and Mandrake cuttings are also used in a variety of other potions, it’s just more well known for the whole petrification cure thing.”
“Excellent work, Mister Longbottom. That will be ten points to Gryffindor for quite a thorough answer,” Professor Sprout praised him, and Neville flushed in response.
“Nice one, Neville,” said Terry Boot, the Ravenclaw standing right next to him.
Professor Sprout cleared her throat to regain the class’s attention, since murmurs had begun to spread across the greenhouse. “As Mister Longbottom has accurately observed, these Mandrakes are only seedlings, so you won’t be in any great danger. However, you’ll still need to ensure that your earmuffs are well secured if you don’t want to miss the remainder of this class and next class. I won’t be going around and rennervating students today, so consider that a lesson in greenhouse safety. Everyone please put your earmuffs on right away, and watch my demonstration carefully.”
Daisy reached forward and collected her earmuffs and placed them carefully over her head. She had to push her hair around a little bit to get them truly secured over her ears, and then fight off a small squeal at how satisfyingly comfortable the material and pressure was over her ears. A few seconds later, Daisy saw that Professor Sprout’s lips were moving, but she couldn’t hear a thing.
Instead, Daisy watched carefully as Professor Sprout began to demonstrate. She very firmly grasped the top of the mandrake plant - the stems rising out of the soil - and then heaved it upwards. Herbology was one of the classes Daisy hadn’t read ahead for, so she wasn’t quite expecting the form of the Mandrake roots - if they could even be called that. The plant looked more like a squirming baby, and even had a clearly discernable face.
A high pitch noise began battling with Daisy’s earmuffs, and she could hear enough of it to be mildly uncomfortable with the pitch. With the Mandrake’s mouth wide open, it wasn’t hard to understand that the infantile plant was screaming. Daisy shook her hands hurriedly at her side, trying to fight off the strong sensory discomfort at what small noise she could hear. They grated against her ears, and even the comfort of the earmuffs wasn’t enough to dull the pain.
Fortunately, the noise only lasted a few seconds before Professor Sprout shoved the baby Mandrake into the larger of the two pots in front of her. The professor then held up a bag of potting soil to show everyone, and began pouring it into the pot that now held the Mandrake. She said some more things that Daisy and the other second years definitely couldn’t hear, and then gestured for everyone to begin.
Daisy stared at her Mandrake and pots hesitantly, knowing that the noise of all the Mandrakes in the greenhouse would be unbearable, but also hoping that at least hers would be manageable since Daisy would be actively controlling when it was in or out of a pot. There was really only one solution - just do it.
Grimacing as the noises began, Daisy grasped at the stems of her Mandrake and lifted it up as hard as she could. She overshot her strength a little and had to hold on tight so she didn’t accidentally fling her Mandrake across the classroom, but once she had it under control, she dunked it straight into the larger pot and dove for the bag of soil. Moments later, her Mandrake was sufficiently potted, but that didn’t stop the noises. No, the others in the class were hardly as fast.
Daisy could see Daphne going at the task rather leisurely - as much as she could still hear some things without the Hearing Charm active, the earmuffs were probably enough to make it so that she couldn’t hear a thing. Tracey, beside her, did not have the same comfort through the task, and looked quite squeamish about holding the squirming baby Mandrake. Hermione looked overwhelmed, and was being helped by Lavender so that she could just focus on self-regulation instead of repotting a Mandrake. Neville was helping Terry, demonstrating the strength involved and then gesturing with his hands to show how much soil to use. To Daisy’s guilty delight, Malfoy was having a lot of trouble.
After the Mandrakes were all potted, Professor Sprout had everyone remove their earmuffs and listen as she explained how to tend to a potted mandrake and where in the greenhouse they would be stored. It seemed like alongside the rest of the second year curriculum, the class would be helping tend to the Mandrakes in every lesson - which meant occasionally repotting them again. Daisy grimaced at that, and found herself rather relieved when the Herbology lesson was over.
Except for the fact that Defence Against the Dark Arts was the next class.
There was a different Defence classroom assigned to the second years, and Daisy at the very least appreciated the change in environment. After a year of constant headaches in Defence class - which Daisy now suspected with great confidence was due to a connection between her hidden scar and Voldemort - having something different was nice.
The form that ‘different’ came in, however, was less nice. This classroom appeared to be connected to Lockhart’s office by a set of stairs behind the teacher’s desk. That wasn’t in any way the issue. No, the issue was the decorations. Beside the stairs was a giant moving portrait of Lockhart - painted was himself, painting another picture of himself. All around the classroom were even more photographs and paintings of him, too. It was the most self-absorbed thing Daisy had ever seen, and only increased her already budding resentment for the man. She strongly doubted she would be learning anything from him this year, and normally she would reserve that kind of judgement until later when she’d actually seen someone in action.
There was a cage - or at least it looked like a cage judging by the shape - draped over with a cloth sitting on Lockhart’s desk, which hinted at a possibly practical lesson to start Defence as well. Unless it was a pet - Daisy wouldn’t even be surprised if there was some kind of creature there enchanted to look like a miniature Lockhart at this point.
The door atop the stairs swung open, and Lockhart practically pranced out. “Let me introduce you to your new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor-” Lockhart made a sweeping gesture with his arms. “-me. Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class.”
The man began descending the steps, and nodded at the giant painting of himself. “Honorary member of the Dark Force Defense League, and five times winner of Witch Weekly’s Most Charming Smile Award. But I don’t talk about that-”
Daisy rolled her eyes. Next to her, Daphne audibly gagged.
“-I didn’t get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at him!” Lockhart laughed, joined by nobody - not even his fans amongst the class. All of a sudden, he brandished his wand. “Now! Be warned. It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wixenkind.”
Lockhart’s wand rapped against the cloth-covered cage, and it started rattling around. “You may find yourselves facing your worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here. I must ask you not to scream. It might… provoke them!”
Lockhart then ripped the cloth away from the cage, revealing-
A group of small, blue Cornish Pixies. Daisy had seen plenty of them working at Gringotts, except… the pixies there didn’t seem agitated like these. They flew around and delivered parcels, paperwork and small items - sometimes even large items in groups. They always looked quite content, even if they would flit about and playfully shove or prank one another when they weren’t busy on a delivery. Daisy could even swear she’d seen a few of them working at desks with miniature quills. So… why did Lockhart have a group of them locked up? It seemed inhumane.
“Cornish Pixies?” Seamus questioned from behind Daisy. “Are they supposed to be scary?”
“Freshly caught Cornish Pixies,” Lockhart confirmed with a serious-looking nod while Seamus laughed. “Laugh if you will, Mister Finnigan, but Cornish Pixies can be devilish little blighters. Lets-”
“But sir,” Daisy interrupted him. “Why are they locked up? The Cornish Pixies I’ve seen before are quite friendly. This just seems cruel.”
Lockhart leveled a brief but intense glare at Daisy, though she refused to shrink away even at the eye contact. “Of course, the ones you will have encountered are the more civilised type. These ones are… less so. Now, let’s see what you make of them!”
The cage door swung open, and the pixies unshockingly scrambled to get free. They screamed and squealed and cheered, and shot off in different directions around the classroom while Lockhart stood at the front looking proud of himself. Daisy was mostly just confused, at this point. Lockhart hadn’t once stopped to explain any theory or talk about how to deal with them, rather he’d just unleashed them and then stood there.
With quite some impressive haste, the pixies flew amuck and began grabbing anything in sight - books, quills, wands, the chandelier-like thing hanging above the desks and even-
They’d even grabbed Neville. While Lockhart was waving his arms about and calling for students to round up the pixies, Neville was being lifted up into the air and there wasn’t much he could do about it. The pixies hooked him onto the chandelier-like fixture and left him there. Daisy quickly ran through the spells she knew that would be helpful in this situation. She could use the Slowing Charm to a very incomplete degree, but it would be enough to catch Neville if he fell and soften his landing. She had a couple ideas about how to deal with the pixies, only one of which wouldn’t hurt them. It really would have been good if Lockhart and the rest of the class were trying to help, but the other students, aside from her, Hermione, Ron, Daphne and Neville - for obvious reasons - had all fled.
“Peskipiksi pesternomi,” Lockhart incanted, which did absolutely nothing. A couple pixies then made off with his wand, and Lockhart immediately fled towards his office. “I’ll ask you four to just nip the rest of them back into their cage.”
And then Lockhart was gone. There was a pixie trying to pull at Hermione’s hair - and Daisy knew that Hermione hated people touching her hair without the rare permission she might give out. Daisy was just about to use the Knockback Jinx when Daphne beat her to it by punching the pixie away. It was more violent than Daisy would have been herself, but she couldn’t deny that it worked.
“We need to slow them down somehow!” Ron exclaimed, looking frantically around and holding a thick book at the ready to swat any approaching pixies.
Daisy and Hermione exchanged a glance - they both knew just the spell, and it was the one Daisy had been thinking of earlier. The two of them had studied it together last year, and it should put a stop to all of the pixies at once if they worked together. The two girls ran to the middle of the classroom and stood back to back, with their wands pointing in opposite directions. “Immobulus!”
With their combined spellwork, the pixies all froze in mid-air and began floating around harmlessly. From what Daisy could see, they looked more fascinated and confused by the experience than upset, which was definitely a bonus. Meanwhile, Neville was still hanging up above, looking understandably disgruntled. “Why is it always me?”
Daisy frowned, sympathetic. It was a pretty mixed bag as to whether or not teachers actually accommodated for Neville’s needs, and that resulted in him taking the hits and being affected by otherwise preventable mistakes in more classes than was fair. Potions was especially bad on that front, and now it looked like Neville would have to worry about Defence as well. At least he already had Professor Vector on his side - maybe Daisy could encourage him to ask her for help with all these incidents.
“If we work together, the four of us should be able to levitate him down,” Daphne suggested. She and Ron ran over to where Daisy and Hermione were standing, and raised their wands. Daphne counted down from three, and they all cast the Levitation Charm at the same time. Slowly but surely, they lifted Neville off from where he was snagged and lowered him down to the ground.
“Thanks,” Neville said with a sigh, and looked around for his cane. “We should sort out these pixies, seeing as nobody else is here to do it.”
“It’s a shame to have to put them back in a cage,” Daisy lamented. “Isn’t there a better solution? The ones at Gringotts seemed so friendly.”
“You heard what Professor Lockhart said, they’re not like the ones at Gringotts,” Hermione said. “I just feel bad for him, it must have been so stressful to teach one of his first classes and have it go wrong.”
Ron laughed incredulously. “You feel bad for him? What about the rest of us?”
Hermione didn’t grace Ron with a response, instead getting to work gathering up pixies from around the room while the spell was still working. Daisy sighed and joined her, knowing that there probably wasn’t anything better that could be done for the pixies right now, and also feeling very confused at how Hermione could want to defend someone like Lockhart. The other three joined in, and a few minutes later all the pixies were rounded up and back in the cage.
“I’m sorry,” Daisy apologised to the pixies while Hermione ran up the stairs to notify Lockhart that the job had been done.
On the way out of dinner, Daisy decided that she wanted to confront Zach. He hadn’t acknowledged her even once yet despite crossing paths on the way up to the school from Hogsmeade Station, at Herbology and between other classes. She was starting to see Daphne’s point about him more and more, but wanted some closure.
“What do you want, Evans?” Zach responded to her presence coldly.
Daisy took note of how he was calling her ‘Evans’ now and not ‘Daisy’. “I want to ask why you’ve been ignoring me, and why you didn’t try to get in touch once over the break?”
Zach rolled his eyes. “You’re more trouble than it’s worth, clearly. Sure, you were weird in a funny way at the start, but now you’re just plain weird and I don’t want to get caught up in all the dangerous trouble you seem intent on getting involved in. I doubt you’re even a pureblood anyway - and if you are, then you’re a blood traitor all the way through. So whatever you think you’re getting from me? Look elsewhere.”
Zach walked off immediately after that, and Daisy sighed. As she headed back to her own dorms, at least she knew she’d gotten her closure. Zach could say whatever nasty things he wanted to, but Daisy didn’t care. She had friends who mattered, and who liked her as she is.
So why did she cry herself to sleep that night?
Notes:
So Zach's an ass. [inb4 commenters lead a campaign against him for hurting Daisy like that]
Chapter 25: Throwing Punches
Notes:
Okay so the fic is now officially over 100k published, and tomorrow is the 2 month anniversary!
I definitely can't promise to keep up this pace; I'm falling behind at uni a bit and need to spend more time on that, and I'm upping my work hours as well, but I still do hope to finish book 2 over the next month and a half to two months! Might even be faster, even if I write less often, sometimes I just smash out 10k in a day just because I had the energy and inspiration, so we'll see!
Enjoy the chapter. It's a long one, and one that I'm very, *very* happy with.
cw for some medicalist language about trans stuff
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
A whole week of school rushed by before Daisy had much of a chance to stop and relax, what with every single class launching into work without so much as an introductory lesson. Classes like Potions, Transfiguration and Astronomy already had quite a bit of homework to do, which kept Daisy busy trying to get used to a study routine again - whereas Daphne and Hermione were both coasting on by since they had come far more prepared.
But now that the week’s classes were done, Daisy had quidditch to look forward to. Her home didn’t have any suitable space for her to practice, which meant that aside from the occasional visit to the Burrow, she was rusty as all hell. She was looking forward to getting back into it, and glad that there were two months before Gryffindor’s first game to get ready.
Oliver had sent around a notice on the first day of school that the first training session would be combined with tryouts; since the core team was the same as last year, Oliver was only really looking for reserves and that was apparently easier to combine with a full training session. So off Daisy went to the quidditch pitch, accompanied by Ron who had shakily decided he wanted to try for reserve keeper, and Hermione who wasn’t studying since it was a Saturday.
After meeting up at the Great Hall, Oliver led a pack of current Gryffindor quidditch players and hopefuls down to the pitch, delivering an update to the team along the way. “I spent the summer devising a whole new quidditch program. We’re going to train earlier, harder and longer. Any newbies who don’t like the sound of that should peel off now, and go get some more sleep before breakfast. I’ve got two more years at this school, and damned if I won’t make sure we win the Cup once before I go. We’re going to work the reserves harder- what.”
Oliver had cut himself off just as they were arriving in the open courtyard that led out to the pitch, and started staring off to the right. Daisy followed his gaze, and saw a group of Slytherins not only in their quidditch uniforms but also carrying their brooms already - despite the fact that they should have been down at the lockers, and despite the fact that Gryffindor had the field booked.
The Gryffindor captain tutted in frustration. “Where do you think you’re going, Flint?”
“Quidditch practice,” the burly Slytherin captain answered plainly.
“I booked the pitch for Gryffindor this morning,” Oliver countered.
“Easy, Wood. I’ve got a note,” Flint declared, and held out a piece of parchment to Oliver.
Oliver took the parchment and read it aloud. “I, Professor Severus Snape, do hereby give the Slytherin team permission to practice today, owing to the need to train their new seeker. Oh, bollocks, Flint. You haven’t even had tryouts yet. Who’s this new seeker, then?”
Flint and one of the Slytherin beaters stepped aside from the front of the pack, allowing none other than Draco Malfoy to step forward with an obnoxiously smug look on his face.
“Malfoy?” Daisy questioned.
“That’s right, and that’s not all that’s new this year,” Malfoy said snidely, brandishing his broom and pointing to those in the hands of the other Slytherin players.
“Those are Nimbus 2001s!” Ron exclaimed. “How did you get those?”
“A gift from Draco’s father,” Flint explained gladly.
“You see, Weasley, unlike some, my father can afford the best,” Malfoy taunted.
“At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy the way in,” Hermione challenged him right back, stepping forward to the front of the Gryffindors. “They got in on pure talent.”
Malfoy stepped right up to Hermione, scowling. “Nobody asked for your opinion, you filthy little mudblood.”
Daisy gasped. She knew that word; she had already been warned by both Andromeda and Dora that the rather vile blood purists used it as a slur against muggleborn wixen folks. It was a nasty word, one that had in the past been used to fuel smear campaigns against those not deemed ‘pure enough’ to exist in wixen society. Daisy had hoped, perhaps foolishly, that Malfoy would take her words in the previous year to heart. Clearly, he hadn’t.
So, Daisy did the most appropriate thing she could think to do, and landed a right hook across Malfoy’s face. She put her weight behind it too, of course. Daisy was getting some reasonable muscle from all the quidditch workouts and her own home exercise over the summer, meaning her punch’s force was enough to topple the unprepared Malfoy to the ground. She hadn’t quite closed her fist right though, so it hurt her too.
“Oi, what the hell? How da-” Flint tried.
“Holy shit, Evans!” Fred exclaimed, cutting over Flint - and Daisy now knew it was Fred by the slightest difference in his voice and a darker freckle on his left cheek.
“That sure is one way to deal with it,” George added - his voice was a little bit deeper.
“But somebody better teach you how to throw a punch properly,” Fred finished.
Then, there was a whole lot of screaming. Malfoy had started wailing on the ground, the quidditch players on each team were getting increasingly aggressive towards one another, and it looked like a fight was going to break out. All because Daisy hadn’t stood for Malfoy’s bigotry.
A wave of guilt washed over Daisy - she didn’t think she regretted the way she responded to Malfoy, and yet it had resulted in all this? Flint had already thrown the next punch towards Oliver, and the screaming had gotten even louder. Daisy stumbled back out of the way as the Gryffindors surged towards the Slytherins, unable to do much more than just watch.
“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF ALL THIS?”
Solid magic cut through the brawling mass of students, shoving all the Gryffindors to one side and the Slytherins to another. Even Malfoy, who was still on the ground, got pushed to one side. Daisy, having stepped back earlier, only got pushed a little. Professor McGonagall stood in between the two groups, her face drawn up into a tight kind of expression.
“Malfoy started it!” Ron shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at the blonde boy who was no longer wailing but still very much on the ground with no visible intention to get back up.
“Don’t you try twisting things, Weasley, it was your seeker who threw the first punch,” Flint barked back, now sporting a split lip and a blood nose.
Professor McGonagall levelled her gaze on Daisy. “Miss Evans? Is this true?”
Daisy, not very good at lying even when the truth might get her in trouble, nodded. “But Malfoy, he… I can’t repeat it, but he called Hermione something awful.”
McGonagall glanced at Malfoy, and then back at Daisy. Then her gaze swept across the two groups of quidditch players and quidditch hopefuls, before she sighed. “Each and every one of you who was involved in the fight - and yes, I did see who was and was not - will be serving detention, and both teams will be banned from training for the next week. Both Gryffindor and Slytherin will be losing fifty house points for this abhorrent conduct.”
Daisy opened her mouth to protest at how unfair that was, and that if anything it should only be her and Malfoy who got in trouble, but Professor McGonagall saw her, and held up a hand to silence her.
“In addition to this, I will be investigating whether or not there is truth to Miss Evan’s claims of what Mister Malfoy said. I suspect I know what word was used, and I want it made clear that such language will not be tolerated at this school. Should the claim be proven true, Mister Malfoy will be removed from the Slytherin Quidditch team and banned from playing for the remainder of the year. Is that understood?”
“But- ow!” Malfoy tried, but winced and failed to speak any more. Daisy must have hit him pretty hard, but she knew that he’d be alright after a visit to Madam Pomfrey. Still, she felt conflicted. Maybe she should have stilled her fist and told a teacher like Professor McGonagall instead - but that hadn’t gone so well for the most important of things in the last school year.
Professor McGonagall’s gaze moved once more, this time to the Slytherin captain. “Mister Flint, see to it that Mister Malfoy is escorted to the Hospital Wing promptly. The rest of you are dismissed, aside from Miss Evans.”
Without needing to be told twice, the majority of both team’s quidditch players set off back in the directions they came from. Flint hoisted Malfoy up and took him off towards the Hospital Wing, which helped ease Daisy’s guilt just a little. Ron and Hermione moved off to the side, but didn’t go too far. The message in that was clear - they were waiting for Daisy. She appreciated that.
“Miss Evans,” Professor McGonagall called once more, easily regaining Daisy’s attention. “Since the events regarding the Philosopher’s Stone became clear to me last year, I have known that you are not one to lie, and I don’t expect that now would be an exception. That said, I need to confirm it myself. Could you please tell me what word you heard Mister Malfoy direct at Miss Granger?”
Daisy swallowed. She didn’t like the idea of saying the word aloud, not when she knew what it meant, but Professor McGonagall’s instruction had been clear. She looked down at the ground, not quite able to bring herself to let Professor McGonagall see her face. “He called her a ‘mudblood’, Professor. I got really angry, and- I know what I did was probably wrong, but that’s a really bad word.”
Professor McGonagall nodded, but also held up that same stilling hand as earlier. “It is, Miss Evans. I will confirm with a few others who witnessed the occurrence so that nothing goes amiss when filing the appropriate paperwork, and see to it that he is held accountable for his actions. However, that does not excuse you assaulting another student. While I understand your motivations, and must confess that at your age I had acted similarly, there are better ways to handle such situations.”
Daisy looked up towards McGonagall at that - she was used to teachers just telling her off, but it sounded like McGonagall was willing to actually explain things. “What else should I do?”
Professor McGonagall smiled softly. “De-escalate the situation first. Remove yourself and anyone else at risk of harm, and issue a warning to the offending individuals if you must. Come find me, or another teacher you trust to speak openly with about the issue, and allow us to handle it once those harmed are safe and cared for.”
Daisy took in her words, trying to process what the advice might actually look like in action. She didn’t know if it would actually have worked in a situation like before, though - so many people had joined in on the fight; who’s to say someone else wouldn’t have started the physical side of it? “But what if someone else starts the fight?”
Professor McGonagall sighed. “Yes, that is always a risk. Stop the fight only if you can do so safely, or seek help otherwise. Anywhere outdoors in a castle, it is acceptable for you to send up red sparks to gain the attention of a member of staff or a prefect, and though I must admit I don’t have suggestions for how to do so indoors, unless someone else can keep an eye on the confrontation while you seek out more suitable assistance. Is this all making sense?”
“I think so,” Daisy nodded. Then a thought resurfaced that she didn’t want to leave unspoken, in case Professor McGonagall had something helpful to say. “I… is it bad that I don’t feel bad about hitting him?”
“Miss Evans, you reacted to your emotions in a stressful situation. That is a very human response, and being angry at someone for hurting your friend is just as human. I won’t pass moral judgement over your thoughts and emotions, but I can leave you with one piece of advice. If you can solve a problem without violence, do try that first.”
Daisy nodded, and resolved to owl Andromeda for advice too - she was sure Andromeda would have more to add, so she would have more options to fall back on should she ever need them.
Daisy was grateful for Professor McGonagall’s advice, both for the long term and the short term. Now she knew how to handle things better in the future, and she felt less guilty about what had happened before. Her assigned detention didn’t even sound so bad - she would be helping Professor Flitwick gather and organise lesson supplies later in the evening, which honestly sounded cathartic.
With a healthy dose of relief, Daisy had returned to the dorms and found time to wash up before breakfast, and that was when it hit her. In hindsight, she should have expected it. Today was the day that she would be going to visit Madam Pomfrey about her Estrogenating Elixir - Andromeda had already sent through the consent forms, and Daisy had corresponded with Madam Pomfrey about it over the holidays. She was excited, sure, but also suddenly very, very dysphoric. The showers were a place Daisy had learned to tolerate, but seeing her body as it was… hurt. So much of her looked wrong, and it was going to take time to change that.
The small benefit of showering so early was that nobody else was there to hear her cry. For days like these, Daisy had learned that it was easier to cry in the shower at odd hours, and drew less attention than hiding in bed or escaping to the corner of a shared space. She could let it out, and try to move on - which was exactly what she did. After she was done, Daisy went to get dressed and headed straight down to the Great Hall for breakfast, not allowing herself a single moment to stop and fall back into the dangers of an unoccupied mind.
Breakfast was a rather ordinary affair, though something definitely tasted different in the pumpkin juice that Daisy had just begun acquiring a taste for towards the end of the previous school year. Maybe a different kind of pumpkin was used? All the same, Daisy didn’t finish her cup. She ate as well as she could, given the nerves and excitement and stress and dysphoria swirling around her mind simultaneously.
There wasn’t long before Daisy had agreed to meet up with Daphne to work on the latest potions assignment, but it was enough time to go see Madam Pomfrey. With the paperwork done, Daisy assumed that it was just a matter of the healer explaining the potion once more and then giving Daisy her first dose. And then, at the very least, months of waiting for the potions to take effect.
After taking the last bite of toast that she could stomach, Daisy excused herself from her conversation with Neville about the broader applications of Mandrakes - though the process of becoming an Animagus was kind of fascinating - and got up to leave.
She was barely half-way out the door when an idea struck her. She could hear Colin speaking enthusiastically with his new Gryffindor year-mates, but she knew that something was probably missing for him. Daisy doubted Colin had someone to take him to see the healer, or explain what was actually possible for him. He deserved that, and Daisy couldn’t think of any reason not to invite him along on her morning errand.
Without trying to seem intrusive, Daisy stepped back to near where Colin was sitting. “Hey, Colin. Can I borrow you for a moment?”
Colin whirled around with all the energy Daisy had already learned that he constantly had, and smiled at her. “Daisy! Yeah, of course.”
“Great,” Daisy responded, and signalled for him to follow. She led him out of the Great Hall, and just far enough that they had a modicum of privacy.
“So what’s up? We haven’t really had a proper chance to talk since I got here!” Colin exclaimed. “Oh, wanna know something cool? I found out about this potion I can dip photos in to make them move, and my parents are saving up to buy some for when I go home over the break!”
“Yeah, that is pretty cool,” Daisy agreed - she hadn’t known how moving photos were actually made before just then. “I’m on my way up to see Madam Pomfrey - the school healer - and I was wondering if you wanted to come with?”
Colin gave her a confused sort of look. “What for?”
“There are potions to change what puberty you get,” Daisy answered, and Colin’s entire expression changed so suddenly in a way Daisy could only describe as ‘very, very upwards’. “The muggle world has medicines like it. I’m starting on the Estrogenating Elixir today, but I’ve been taking something called the Lupriatus Potion for the last year which has stopped me from having the wrong puberty in the meantime.”
“You mean… you mean I could get that too?” Colin asked desperately. “I mean, not your one, but one to make my body like a boy’s body?”
Daisy nodded, and started walking in the direction of the hospital wing with Colin now eagerly in tow. “You might have to wait a year for that one like I did, and get your parents to sign permission for you to take it. But if you ask Madam Pomfrey for the Lupriatus Potion, she’ll probably give it to you today.”
With that said, Colin was almost running ahead of Daisy - thwarted only by the fact that he didn’t seem to know where the hospital wing was yet. It didn’t take long to get there, since Daisy was more than happy to pick up her pace and keep up with Colin’s excited movements. Once in the hospital wing, Daisy knocked on Madam Pomfrey’s office door.
“Come in!” Madam Pomfrey’s voice called from inside, and Daisy pushed the door open. “Oh, Miss Evans. Just the girl I was expecting. And who’s this with you?”
“Hi ma’am, I’m Colin Creevey!” Colin eagerly introduced himself. “Daisy said you could help me with something called the Lur- Lup- something potion?”
“Taking after your sister, are you?” Madam Pomfrey sent an amused glance towards Daisy. “Well, Mister Creevey- it is Mister, yes?” Colin nodded enthusiastically. “I can, but I’ll just have you wait a little while I help Miss Evans first. Why don’t you take a seat?”
Colin swung himself into a chair and proceeded to shake his leg repetitively with no suggestion of stilling any time soon. Daisy couldn’t help but smile and enjoy his presence there, knowing that he would be getting the help he needed soon. At the same time, Madam Pomfrey pointed her wand at Daisy and ran through the same sequence of spells she had used on both her and Dora that first day, and then again for her every month of the past school year.
“Excellent,” Madam Pomfrey declared. “You appear to be in good health. I’ve got the paperwork from Mrs Black-Tonks already, and I know you’ve reviewed the papers I gave you last year quite a bit. Just to reiterate once more - these potions are to be taken daily, and will give you a female puberty. You will need to continue taking them throughout your life afterward, and you should expect that it may take some months before you see any changes. Is that all understood?”
“Yes, Madam Pomfrey,” Daisy confirmed. She had read the information over and over and over again for the past year, and knew it back to front. She had gone over it with both Andromeda and Nym over the summer break, and was more than ready for her first dose.
Madam Pomfrey grabbed a pair of potions that were sitting on her desk and turned to hand them to Daisy. The first was a deep sort of purple, and Daisy could swear it was sparkling just a bit. The second was an off-yellow, and appeared otherwise completely ordinary. “You are to take the provided amount of these each day, which I will have delivered to you privately in the same manner as with the Lupriatus potion. Both will be required, but do not mix them. One at a time, or the effects will be rather unkind to your body. The purple one is the Estrogenating Elixir, and the yellow is the Androgen Arrestor. As per usual, please come to me if anything unexpected or otherwise unpleasant is occurring, and monthly for me to monitor your hormonal health.”
Daisy nodded again, and glanced at the two vials in her hands before looking back up at Madam Pomfrey. “Can I?”
“Yes, you may,” the healer replied, smiling softly. Daisy didn’t need any more incentive than that, and quickly downed one potion after the other. The Estrogenating Elixir tasted like apples, except a little bit spicy too, whereas the Androgen Arrestor was about as plain as untopped bread. The dysphoria from earlier in the morning melted away, and Daisy grinned.
She noticed that Colin was still kicking his legs up and down, and remembered that there was one more thing to do in this situation. “Colin, do you want me to stick around?”
Colin considered the question for a moment, and then nodded. As eager as he looked, this must still have been pretty nerve-wracking for him, especially with how sudden it was. Daisy pulled up another chair and listened in as Madam Pomfrey delivered the same speech to Colin as she herself had recieved one year ago.
Colin nodded and smiled at various points along the way, and read through the information on the Lupriatus Potion as he was instructed. Once he’d confirmed his understanding, Madam Pomfrey slipped into a storage room at the back of her office and returned with a vial of the Lupriatus Potion. Colin didn’t down it quite as fast as Daisy had expected - rather, he looked contemplatively at it for almost half a minute, tentatively tasted the potion and then finished the rest.
“Huh, I was expecting it to taste bad,” Colin remarked. He wiped his sleeve across his mouth, and then handed the empty vial back to Madam Pomfrey. She gave him the information parchment for the potions he would have the option of starting next year, and then dismissed the both of them.
“Where are you headed to now?” Daisy asked as they both left the hospital wing. “I can walk you there if you don’t know the way.”
“Just back to the dorms,” Colin answered. “I’m gonna grab my camera and go take some photographs around the castle! Oh, and-”
“Rip. Kill. Shred.”
Daisy froze. Was she imagining things?
“Spill their blood!”
No, she couldn’t have been. That voice had come through clearly, though she knew not where it had come from. Daisy looked around quickly, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise. She grabbed her wand, ready to act - those had been violent words, and they had wanted someone killed.
“Daisy, are you alright?” Colin asked, concern across his face.
“You… you didn’t hear that voice?” Daisy questioned, her wand low to the ground but far more prepared.
Colin shrugged, and shook his head. “Sorry, but… what voice? It’s just us here. Apparently my hearing’s really good, but I heard nothing.”
“Huh. I swear I wasn’t imagining it,” Daisy insisted. But the voice was gone now, and she was apparently the only one to have heard it. “Sorry, what were you saying?”
“Oh, I… uh,” Colin flushed a little. “I just wanted to say thanks for bringing me here. Nobody ever told me it was even an option, and this… it’s life-changing stuff. Isn’t magic awesome?”
“It really is,” Daisy said half-automatically, still feeling on guard from what she’d heard. She kept her wand out, and walked Colin back to the Gryffindor Tower despite the fact that he already knew the way.
Hi Mum,
The first week of school has been good, mostly. Classes are alright, except for Defence and Herbology which seem like they’re going to be hard to get properly involved in this year. It’s nice to see everyone again, too. One of my dorm mates, Lavender, cut my hair and tidied it up just an hour ago! I also took my first dose of the Estrogenating Elixir this morning, which is very very very exciting!
I need some advice though. I got into a fight, and… I didn’t start it! But it turned into a brawl and both Slytherin and Gryffindor’s quidditch teams got detention. Draco Malfoy called Hermione something awful - he called her a ‘mudblood’. I just got so angry and I hit him. Professor McGonagall says I should have found a better way to deal with it, and I know she’s right but it didn’t really make sense.
She said I should ‘de-escalate’ the situation or call a teacher for help, but… how do I do that? How am I supposed to convince someone cruel who’s going to be mean anyway to back off? There isn’t always going to be a teacher to help, and I can’t just stand there when someone is being hurt. I just want to know what else I can do. I know Professor McGonagall is right and I don’t want to disappoint her.
I hope your work is going well, and I’d love to hear more about it!
Love,
Daisy
Hi Nym,
I got into a fight today. Malfoy called Hermione a ‘mudblood’ so I punched him, and now both quidditch teams all got detention for brawling. Professor McGonagall says I should have found another way to deal with him, but I’m not quite sure how? I’m sending a letter to mum too but I’d love to know what you’d suggest. I don’t know how to do the ‘de-escalate’ thing McGonagall told me to, and I don’t think Malfoy would listen anyway. What would you do?
At least the day wasn’t all bad. I got to start taking the Estrogenating Elixir this morning! I brought Colin with - he was the boy who showed up part-way through the meet a few weeks back - and he was very excited to find out there are potions he can take. It sucks that I’ll have to wait so long for it to start working, but it’s really happening!
Also, I think Defence is going to be really bad again this year. Lockhart doesn’t even deserve to be called a professor with how self-absorbed he is and how little he can teach. In our first lesson this week he unleashed a group of caged pixies on us and then ran away. A few of us who didn’t run off had to deal with them, and I don’t think Lockhart even stops to think about the ethics of caging creatures like that?
The next lesson we had involved doing a quiz that was all just questions about him from his books and had nothing to do with actual defence. He’s such a prat, I reckon he doesn’t know how to cast any spells we’re meant to learn. Daphne said she thinks he’s a fraud, and I bet she’s right. But what am I supposed to do in the meantime? I don’t want to miss out on the things we’re supposed to be learning.
How is auror training? It sounds exciting, and you were obviously looking forward to it a lot.
Love,
Daisy
Daisy!!!!
Blimey, it feels weird talking to you by owl. I can’t say I miss Hogwarts - don’t get me wrong, it was great but I was ready to be done. But I really miss having you around! I can’t believe I didn’t get to be there for my little sister starting her potions, but I’m sure you’re on quite a high after that. Give it a few months and you’ll probably start getting your first changes. If anything freaks you out or catches you by surprise, you can always ask me about it!
Moody got really annoyed at me for how much I bloody cackled when I read your letter - oh yeah, Moody’s this legendary older auror who saw me in the new training cohort and decided he wanted to train me personally. Me! But seriously, you decked Malfoy? Little git had it coming, so I can’t say I blame you. From what I know of him and his prat of a dad, he’s really not gonna stop easily, and I doubt good ol’ McGonagall’s strategies would work on him. Mum’ll definitely have some good advice for you, but I got an idea as well.
See, you know how mum used to be a Black but they kicked her out for being a ‘blood traitor’? Well, Narcissa - that’s Malfoy’s mum if you didn’t know - is mum’s sister. That makes her our aunt, which makes little Draco our cousin. Now, wixen law recognises magical adoptions pretty soundly - they’re a big deal for us, never done lightly. We went through that whole process with you over the summer, even though it might not’ve seemed like much to you.
While mum technically was disowned from the Black family, people take that less seriously than adoptions. It’s weird, like, this whole big thing among those fancy pure-blood families that you can hide your ‘shame’ but everyone’ll still know. Probably one of the reasons Narcissa married into another high status family rather than using her own status to bring some man she actually fancied into the Black folds.
Anyway, this all has a point, I promise! It’s the whole thing about not being able to hide their shame. See, I have this idea for a two part plan. It’s a little risky, but I know you can pull it off! First, you gotta let people know that you and Draco are cousins. This is the tricky part, because once word gets out there, Draco will be honor-bound to do something about the ‘shameful’ news of another cousin who isn’t a bigot like him and his crowd. Eyes will be on him, and he’ll have to prove himself by showing his superiority over you or something wanky like that.
Then comes step two. When he tries to best you, win. Keep winning until he’s so ashamed he has to give up, and then he’ll leave you and your friends alone. He might try something every now and then, but he’ll have no real power anymore.
I may have been in Hufflepuff, but mum was in Slytherin - and the hat did offer Slytherin to me too, you know? I know how these little political dances work, even if I usually can’t be arsed to deal with them. You’ve gotten really good with that favourite spell of yours, so maybe find an opportunity to duel him in front of a crowd? Just don’t underestimate him. I know for a fact you’ll be better, but he’s a rich brat high up in his social hierarchy. That means he knows duelling, and he’s gonna be good. Just don’t drop your guard and don’t let up, okay?
As for Lockhart and his class - yeah, I never understood all the fuss about him. If you go to the library and ask what books usually get used for second year Defence, Madam Pince will sort you out. Get a group of friends together, and just practice the spells in the book? You’ll have to keep it a little quiet, though.
Auror training is good! As I mention, I got picked out by this guy Moody. He’s incredible, but also has a kind of short fuse. He doesn’t like it if I mess up or don’t do something perfectly, and he’s always on about this ‘constant vigilance’ thing. But he obviously takes me seriously and pushes me hard because he wants to see me do well. He’s even got me doing an entire training program on the side dedicated to learning to use my Metamorpmagus abilities for espionage and quick escapes and all sorts of stuff like that, it’s wicked!
Don’t be afraid to owl as much as you want if you need anything or just want to chat! I might get busy and take a while to respond sometimes, but I’m always happy to hear from my little sis!
Lots of love,
Dora
Dear Daisy,
I’m so glad to get your owl this early in your school year. I know we’ve already talked about it, but I don’t want you to think I don’t have time or space for you.
Such a shame to hear about those two classes. Gilderoy Lockhart is quite a bit younger than I, so as much as I wish I could share a couple humbling stories of his childhood for you to use, I have none. My advice on that front would be to keep your head down and ask Madam Pince for advice on books to study to compensate. A quiet, regular gathering with friends can be quite an effective way to fill any gaps in your learning.
I’m not sure if I can help you with Herbology, I’m afraid. It was never my strong suit, but if you describe the issues you’re facing, perhaps I can think of something.
I’m very glad that you’ve had no issues sorting out your potions with Madam Pomfrey. Remember to follow her instructions carefully, and let her know if anything seems wrong. If anything about the experience of puberty brings you to need advice, you can of course owl me or Nymphadora about it. It’s a complicated time with lots of changes and growth.
As for the Malfoy situation you apprised me of in your letter, I do have some advice you may find helpful. Narcissa - Draco’s mother - and I are sisters by blood, although the Black family wanted nothing to do with me after I began my relationship with Ted. It may serve you well to ‘let slip’ that by magical law and custom, you and Draco are cousins - but you’ll need to be prepared to stifle any attempts he has at lashing out in response.
But rather than that, let’s discuss the de-escalation Minerva was advising. One thing you must keep in mind is that to Draco, the heir of House Malfoy, backing away is not a desirable option. He has a reputation to uphold, so unless you take the aforementioned option of becoming an unremovable thorn in his side and pacifying him more forcefully, you need to find a way to placate him while not having his reputation be tarnished. Make it his idea to disengage from any conflict.
There are a handful of ways to do so. One might be to convince him that he’s wasting his time causing issue with you and your friends. Question whether he has other priorities, in order to make it look good for him to leave you alone. Make him look like a responsible heir by asking if he has any favours to repay to others or if he has classwork that needs doing - the Malfoys hold themselves to a high intellectual standard, and this can be used against them.
The other most effective strategy I can advise is to let him win. Uncomfortable as it may feel, if you allow him to say what he will until he’s done and ready to move on, he will eventually tire of bothering you and your friends and move on to someone else. This does come with the unfortunate cost of allowing him to move on to some other target, however the cost is one that can be cheated. Watch who he targets next, and encourage them to employ the same strategy, until Draco has nobody left to bother and stops altogether.
Lastly, I trust your judgement. If you take all of my advice - and doubtlessly Nymphadora’s as well, since I assume you’ve contacted her too - and still find yourself in a situation where starting another fight with Draco or another bully feels like the most appropriate option, I will not think any lesser of you for it - I have been in similar situations, and can only advise that you endeavour to win any physical fight you are forced into. Just don’t lose sight of your other strategies - starting unnecessary fights won’t help you in the long term.
As for my work, I am compiling what evidence I have about the Elfbind, and working to establish what more is needed so that I can plan my next trip soon. It will not be over the winter holidays, though. I wish for you to be able to come home over the break if you choose to. As for what the Elfbind is - it is a name historians use to refer to the magical contract all elves are bound to, which ensures that they cannot act against their owners. It also creates compulsions that further enable wixes to control the elves. The Elfbind can be released for an individual elf by the act of an owner giving the elf an item of clothing. An odd condition, to say the least, and I’m still not certain exactly when it arose - if it’s the original condition or a newer one.
I look forward to your next owl.
Much love,
Andromeda Black-Tonks (mum)
Notes:
Yes, Colin uses language that’s a bit medicalist. But he’s also a kid who’s had like. very little access to trans community and I wouldn’t expect him to just automatically be around the idea that there are all sorts of kinds of boy’s body etc.
Malfoy got punched (deserved) and Daisy got some very fun advice from her family (also deserved). Nym demonstrated pretty well (I hope) that she really was close to being a slytherin instead of a hufflepuff :)
Chapter 26: The Story of the Chamber
Notes:
cw for aggressive threats by adult to children
And so the Plot begins :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Daisy was getting worried about Ginny. It was now over a month and a half into the term. She’d seen the girl talk to her classmates maybe once or twice in total, but otherwise she was hiding away and barely talking to anyone. The times Daisy had gently tried to approach Ginny, the latter had either fled or not spoken a word. But she also sat and studied pretty regularly, and spent time outdoors in ways that at least looked relaxing. Maybe she was lonely and anxious, but it looked like she was at least coping - or, that’s what Daisy hoped.
On the other hand, everything else was good. She’d started up a little study group with her friends and some of their friends, to compensate for the lack of real Defence teaching. It ended up including Daisy, Ron, Hermione and Neville from Gryffindor, Terry and Michael from Ravenclaw, Vale, Susan and Sawatdi from Hufflepuff, and Daphne, Tracey and Blaise from Slytherin. They picked out the advised books from the library and split it up into sections so they could each teach the rest of the group their allocated chapters in pairs. So far, they’d met three times, and it was working. They’d all, other than Neville who was still struggling with his spellwork, gotten a good handle on the Disarming Charm, and learned a fair bit about Ghouls.
Hermione had celebrated her thirteenth birthday a month ago too - and Daisy had made sure to get her a new book to read as a gift. With the help of her mum, she’d picked out a book on magical charm theory that she was sure Hermione wouldn’t have read. Hagrid had invited Daisy, Hermione and a few others down to his hut for a small celebration - which was made even more delightful by the fact that Hagrid didn’t seem upset with the group anymore - and it had been a lot of fun.
Classes - other than Lockhart’s, though that didn’t matter so much anymore - had been going well, and Daisy was beyond excited for Gryffindor’s first quidditch game the following week. Malfoy was removed from the Slytherin team, which means they would have some other new seeker to surprise Daisy - she just hoped it wasn’t someone mean or bigoted like him. Oliver was intent on making this the year Gryffindor won the quidditch cup, and Daisy was happy to do her best to help.
Just one day ago, the second years had been beginning to learn a new spell in Charms class that Daisy was over the moon about. It was the Freezing Spell, glacius, not to be mixed up with the Freezing Charm, immobulus. Most importantly, it was one of the spells Daisy had watched Nym use in her duel last school year. The theory behind it had been rather interesting - it started with a process of magically slowing down a target, and Professor Flitwick had even mentioned muggle physics once in his explanation. It was supposedly easiest to perform on water, but could be used on a variety of other targets once basic mastery was achieved.
Daisy and the others were supposed to learn to actually use the spell in the following week’s first Charms class, but Daphne’d had other ideas. She had insisted on practicing over the weekend - something Daisy had never seen her do before, but apparently Daphne had been challenged by Theodore Nott who said he would learn the spell first. So, Daphne had found an empty classroom and insisted that Daisy and Hermione come too.
Having expected Hermione to be opposed to both using a classroom without permission and practicing a new spell without any adult supervision, but Hermione had been eager. Daisy was apprehensive, but she couldn’t deny that she wanted to get really good at a spell that Dora had shown off so impressively before. Ron and Neville had also been invited, as well as Tracey, and a few others from the study group, but all had opted out. All of them wanted to enjoy their weekend and not do any extra study.
“Hermione, I would have thought that you’d say no at least because of Shabbat?” Daisy questioned as the two made their way to the classroom Daphne had invited them to.
Hermione shook her head. “It’s a day of rest, but Dad says I get to choose how I rest - and frankly, I think this will be quite fun! Besides, even the more religiously conservative jews would say that Shabbat is over by now.”
Daisy sighed, trying to act like she was upset about the situation for some kind of posterity, even though she really wasn’t. Spending a bit of time in the evening right after dinner to learn a new spell was an exciting idea, and it wasn’t like there was much else she’d be doing.
After turning one more corner and pushing a rickety door open as quietly as possible, Daisy and Hermione encountered Daphne, who was setting up a series of water glasses and jugs around the room. Daisy didn’t know how she’d gotten them in there - unless she’d some how learned the water conjuring charm already - but it was a good setup.
She was looking away and there was no glow around her ears, so Hermione raised her wand and summoned a single, brief pulse of light to let Daphne know the two of them had arrived. Almost immediately, Daphne turned around and smiled.
“Took you two long enough, I had to set all this up myself,” Daphne signed, and jumped over excitedly to stand in the middle of the room where none of the glasses had been placed.
Daisy stepped over towards the middle through a gap in the setup and put her bag down. “How did you get all of this in here?”
Daphne pointed to one of the walls. “Girl’s bathroom is just a few doors down. Made it easy, and M-y-r-t-l-e-’s happy to let me go in and out in peace since I’m never gonna be mean to her.”
“M-y-r-t-l-e?” Hermione questioned.
“Ghost in the girl’s second floor bathroom. Some people call her Moaning M-y-r-t-l-e because of how upset she is a lot of the time, and others call her… something else that I don’t want to repeat,” Daphne explained. “But I reckon I’d be upset like her if people picked on me all the time.”
“That’s awful,” Daisy frowned. She was starting to get the hang of actually expressing herself with her face when signing, instead of just having a constant look of extreme concentration so she wouldn’t slip up. “I guess I’ve never had to use that bathroom, but if I do I’ll make sure to be nice to her.”
“Me too,” Hermione quickly agreed - or as quickly as she could sign, given that she was a fair bit further behind in her learning than Daisy was. “So, are you both ready to get started?”
Daphne nodded. “We all know the theory, right?” The other two girls nodded as well. “So let’s just do this!”
One Hearing Charm later, Daphne made sure that she was the first to try the spell. She performed the zigzag wand motion and called the verbal component of the spell, pointing it at one of the smaller water glasses. A tiny bit of the edge frosted over, but nothing else happened.
“Damnit!” Daphne hissed.
“We just need to practice,” Daisy encouraged her. She performed the spell herself on another glass, not doing any better. Hermione, however, had more luck, managing to make half of the surface of her glass of water frost over. Still not much, but better than the other two girls could manage yet.
“This is pretty tricky,” Hermione commented. “Maybe….”
She wore one of her thinking expressions for a moment, and then readied her wand again. “Glacius!”
Just like that, half of the water in the cup froze solid. Daisy stared, wanting very much to know what epiphany Hermione had landed on to make the spell that much more effective. From the look of things, Daphne was too.
“How did you do that?” Daphne questioned vocally. “That was such a big improvement all at once!”
Hermione preened at Daphne’s words. “Physics! Just like how Professor Flitwick explained it, but… more? Flitwick only got as far as explaining how muggle science has established that things with more energy are hotter, so you want them to have less energy. And yeah, that makes sense, but there’s a bit missing. It’s this thing called Brownian Motion, and-”
Daphne tilted her head. “Why is it brown?”
Hermione giggled. “No, not like the colour, it was named after a guy named Robert Brown. Brownian motion describes how particles - the tiny little bits of stuff that make up everything - behave as liquids or gasses. Basically they move around a whole bunch and keep bouncing off each other. They bounce off each other randomly and travel around in a very small space, and then the more they’re bouncing, the hotter they are. If the particles get hot enough, the thing they make up turns from liquid into gas. It gets more spread out. But! What we want is for them to stop moving altogether, and I have no idea why I brought up Brownian Motion because it actually really doesn’t matter-”
Daphne turned to face Daisy, and whispered, “is this making any sense to you?”
“A little,” Daisy whispered back, and then felt a little guilty for having ignored Hermione to do so.
“You guys are totally lost, aren’t you?” Hermione bemoaned, having realised they were now talking to each other instead of listening.
“Very,” Daphne said.
“Only mostly,” Daisy said at the same time.
Hermione sighed. “Okay. I have an idea. Imagine that the water is made up of lots of little dots. These dots are moving around heaps right now. If they moved faster, they’d get hotter and more spread out and become gas. What we want is for them to stop moving at all, and become ice. I mean, ice is weird because it isn’t actually less spread out than water, but still. We want all the little dots to stop moving. So if you cast the spell with the intention to make the water stop moving - and think of all the little dots if you can - it should work better!”
“But… the water isn’t moving,” Daphne pointed out.
“Pretend it is, though,” Daisy offered, having now caught on to what Hermione was talking about. “Just try the spell and pretend.”
Daphne turned, and squinted at the cup of water rather intensely. It was kind of funny, making Daisy laugh. But then she raised her wand, pointing it at one of the smaller cups. “Glacius!”
The cup froze. Not all the way, but almost as much as Hermione’s has.
“See?” Hermione looked very proud of herself. “It works.”
“Yeah,” Daphne had to admit. “It does. I don’t get how that made it work, but it sure as hell did. You and your brain really are something, Hermione. Come on, Daisy, you try!”
Daisy did try. She pictured the water slowing down, trying to visualise the little ‘particles’ that Hermione had described. She imagined the particles halting, and cast the spell. She pushed a little more of her magic out than she had last time, and the entire cup froze over.
“Holy cricket, that was amazing!” Hermione exclaimed. “You got the entire cup!”
From that point, all that was left to do was practice. The three girls cast the spell over and over, working through all of the smaller cups and then moving on to the jugs. All three of them had trouble with the jugs even an hour later, but they’d all been able to freeze entire cups and a good quarter of each jug by the end. By that point it was nearing curfew, and they needed to pack up and head off.
“How are we going to get all these cups back where they came from?” Hermione questioned, looking just a little frantic. Even as she became a bit more of a troublemaker over the time Daisy had known her, the girl still did not like breaking curfew unless she was very motivated by something else.
“Don’t worry,” Daphne reassured her. “Even though I filled everything up, I didn’t bring all the cups here myself.” She then raised her volume a little. “Snippy!”
A small creature that Daisy recognised as an elf popped out of thin air right next to Daphne. Snippy the elf, dressed in tattered rags, bowed. “How may Snippy be helping young Miss Greengrass?”
This was the first time Daisy had actually seen an elf in person, and it made her feel a little… confused and torn. She remembered the things her mum had explained about how elves had been conditioned over generations into subservience until it was all they knew - bound by magical contract to serve their owners until they were freed with the gift of clothing. It seemed wrong, but she also understood that if the elves were happy, it wasn’t right to just tell them they were wrong for doing what made them happy. That was something her mum had described as ‘unhelpful saviourism’.
“This is Snippy,” Daphne said. “She was here when my parents were at Hogwarts, and they told me it was okay to call on her for help from time to time, but not to feel entitled about it. Snippy, we’re done with all these now. Could you take them back where they came form?”
“Of course, miss! Snippy is happy to be helping!” The elf cheered, and with a snap of her fingers, she disappeared, along with all the cups and jugs.
“All done, we can leave-” Daphne started, but Daisy’s attention was quickly drawn away.
“Come to me,” called the voice in the walls that nobody else could hear. And then those same words again, and again, and again.
“Daisy, is something wrong?” Hermione asked, giving her a concerned sort of look.
But the voice kept on going. “Blood! I smell blood! Let me rip you! Let me kill you!”
Daisy had a bad feeling. Since that first time with Colin near the Hospital Wing, Daisy had only heard the voice a couple more times. It had been more… tempered, in a way, before this time. Now, it sounded directed. Whatever was going to happen, Daisy had to try and do something. She was sure it was real, and that made everything worse.
“Come with me!” Daisy insisted, and ran out of the room. She kept her ear to the wall so she could hear it better and follow the source of the sound. Relieved by the footsteps behind her indicating that her friends had followed, Daisy listened, and she followed.
As she ran, she a couple of rather strange things. First was a line of spiders fleeing the castle through a window, and then was the water on the ground. A bathroom must have flooded - but that wasn’t the kind of thing that happened often at this time of night, and it was still rare during the daytime. The voice was getting more intense, and it sounded like it was getting ready to attack.
“Kill now!”
That time, the voice had sounded very close. And then… nothing. It was just gone, no more whisperings or threats. Had it killed already? Daisy’s gut ached at the thought, but she kept going. At the very least, she could find whoever the victim was and do something for them, or find something useful to stop it from happening again.
The trio turned one more corner, and found the bloody writing on the wall.
‘The chamber of secrets has been opened. enemies of the heir … beware’
Right next to the horrifying writing was… Mrs Norris, frozen in place and hanging from a brazier next to the writing. Daisy almost let out a sigh of relief when she realised that there was too much blood on the wall for it to have come from the cat, and the cat also wasn’t bleeding. But that didn’t change the fact that Mrs Norris was frozen, and the voice had talked about killing.
A slow stampede of footsteps approached - at first, Daisy hadn’t known where she was, having lost track of her location while chasing the voice. But now she knew - it was at the intersection of the pathways from the Great Hall and the Library to various house towers. It was the perfect location for the crime to be seen, so clearly whoever that voice belonged to had wanted as many people as possible to find it. Out of the corner of her eye, Daisy saw Colin with his camera, but he wasn’t even trying to point it up at anything.
“Enemies of the heir, beware?” Came the questioning voice of Draco Malfoy - but something was off about it. It didn’t sound like normal, missing the usual snide bravado. “You’re next, mudbloods.”
“What’s going on here?” Filch’s voice called from the back of the crowd, and Daisy immediately felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. He was going to be distraught when he saw what had happened. “Go on, make way, make way!”
Filch pushed his way through the group coming from the Great Hall to the front, and just stopped when he saw his cat. His breath caught, and he turned to face Daisy, Daphne and Hermione with a look of pure rage. “You’ve… murdered my cat. YOU KILLED MY CAT, I’LL KILL YOU!”
Filch charged forward and started grabbing towards Daisy. She stumbled back, afraid. She didn’t have time or any sort of chance to explain to Filch that she’d found Mrs Norris like this.
“Argus,” Dumbledore’s voice cut through the gathering crowd. “Argus, I-”
Dumbledore arrived with Professors Snape and McGonagall in tow, and his eyes quickly landed upon the writing on the wall. “Everyone will proceed to their dormitories immediately.”
Most of the students started moving, and the rest followed when Snape started glaring around the intersection of corridors. Even Hermione and Daphne had moved to join the crowds, but Daisy couldn’t move. She was just frozen - almost like the cat hanging above her - unable to do much to respond to the situation around her. The way that Filch had grabbed at her… it was exactly like how Uncle Vernon had moved. Sure, they looked completely different, but it felt the same.
And then Daisy was cast back to Privet Drive once more, defenseless and not even able to run. As her breathing quickened and her sense of her surroundings receded, Daisy barely registered Dumbledore issuing another instruction that resulted in Daphne and Hermione turning back around and then rushing to Daisy’s side. She fell to her knees, shaking.
Her hands fell to the ground - the wet ground, with a layer of water. It felt awful, but it also felt real. Daisy’s head shook, and she started realising where she was again. Slowly, she regained control over her breathing, and looked back up. By then, the only people remaining were Daisy, Daphne, Hermione and a handful of teachers.
“She’s not dead, Argus,” Dumbledore declared gently. “Merely petrified.”
“So unlucky I wasn’t there. I know exactly the counter-curse that could have spared her,” Lockhart asserted unhelpfully, and Daisy didn’t believe him one bit. Though, she grimly had to admit that Lockhart’s smarm had managed to ground Daisy even more. She became aware of Daphne’s hand rubbing circles on her back, and it felt nice. Calming. That, too, was helping.
“How she’s been petrified, I cannot say,” Dumbledore frowned.
“Ask these girls,” Filch spat. “It’s them that’s done it - you saw what they wrote on the wall!”
“It’s not true, I swear,” Hermione professed. “We never touched Mrs Norris, she was like this when we got here.”
Daisy was infinitely glad that Hermione had omitted Daisy’s apparent ability to find the scene - she didn’t understand it herself yet, and felt it was somehow a bad idea for the teachers to know.
“Rubbish!” Filch retorted, and Daisy flinched away once more.
“If I might, Headmaster? Perhaps Miss…” Snape paused, eyes locking onto Daisy, “Evans and her friends were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Daisy and her friends exchanged confused glances - none of them would have expected Professor Snape, of all people, to speak in their defence. Even if he hadn’t been the one trying to steal the Stone last year, even if Daisy had realised it wasn’t him before Quirrell was revealed to be the would-be thief, he was still grating and practically cruel to most students - and especially Gryffindors.
“However,” Snape continued, “the circumstances are suspicious. I don’t recall seeing Miss Evans at dinner.”
“Are you kidding?” Daphne countered angrily. “What’s that even supposed to count for? The Great Hall is packed at dinnertime, and you expect to be able to know if one specific student was there or not? What, have you been looking for her specifically?”
Snape rolled his eyes, and turned away.
“Innocent until proven guilty, Severus,” Dumbledore asserted, which surprised Daisy too. She’d assumed that Dumbledore would have had it in for her too after the tirade her mum had launched at him at the end of the last year - going so far as to coerce him into an Unbreakable Vow.
“No!” Filch shouted, now in tears. “I want to see some punishment!”
Dumbledore sighed. “We will be able to cure her, Argus. As I understand it, Pomona has a very healthy growth of Mandrakes in one of her greenhouses. Once they are fully matured, a potion can be brewed to reverse the petrification.”
“Ha! I can brew that potion in my sleep!” Lockhart interrupted, but was swiftly ignored by all the other professors.
“I strongly recommend caution to all,” Dumbledore continued. “Now, girls, would one of you be so kind as to recount what you saw before everyone else arrived?”
Daisy tried to answer, but her voice failed her. She hated when that happened.
“We were on our way back from doing some homework,” Daphne answered instead. “We found an empty classroom that doesn’t usually get used because I was a little tired and didn’t want to deal with the various sounds in the library. On our way back, we saw that the floors were a little flooded and went to try and see what was happening, so we could tell a prefect and make sure it gets sorted before anyone got hurt. Then, we saw… this.”
“I see. Thank you, Miss Greengrass,” Dumbledore said. “The three of you should now proceed back to your dormitories and get some sleep. Rest assured that we will look after Mrs Norris, and make efforts to find out who truly did this.”
Daisy was not going to rest assured that anything of the sort would actually happen, not after the previous school year. Well, they probably would look after the petrified cat, at least. The best she could do was nod. Daphne’s hand left her back, and the Slytherin girl headed off in the direction of the dungeons. Hermione gave Daisy a little tug, and the two Gryffindors split off in a different direction.
They walked in silence for a while, until Daisy managed to test her voice and find it working again. Hermione stopped when that happened, and turned to face Daisy. “So how did you know where to go?”
“I, um… I heard a voice in the walls,” Daisy admitted. “Nobody else seems able to hear it, though.”
Hermione furrowed her brows. “I definitely didn’t. Isn’t it a bit strange, though? You hear this voice, a voice only you can hear, and then Mrs Norris turns up petrified? It’s just… strange.”
The two girls resumed walking up the stairs of the tower closest to the Gryffindor dorms. “Do you think I should have told them? The teachers, I mean.”
Hermione hummed. “Normally I would say yes, but the teachers weren’t much help last year. Besides, even in the wixen world, hearing voices isn’t a good sign.”
“She’s right, you know?” A painting on the wall beside Daisy added, rather helpfully. It was a little reassuring - not about hearing voices, but rather about not telling any of the teachers.
“Could I have your attention, please?” Professor McGonagall called from the front of the classroom. Usually she only needed to raise a hand to gather the attention of the mixed Gryffindor-Ravenclaw class, but everyone was amped up from the school’s recent events. It had been four days since the blood on the walls, and even if it wasn’t what everyone was taking about anymore, the entire school was clearly still riled up.
Slowly, conversations died down and people started facing the front. Hermione had to go so far as to tap Ron’s shoulder at the desk across from her and Daisy and then shush him, with him and Dean being the last still talking. It almost would have been amusing to Daisy, if not for the way she herself was still rather on edge.
“Right,” McGonagall began once she actually had everyone’s attention, though still giving Ron and Dean a pointed glare. “Now, today we will begin applying your recent theoretical studies into transforming animals into water goblets. By now you should all know the incantation, which is like so. One, two, three… vera verto.”
With a tap of her wand and a small visible wave of magic, Professor McGonagall transfigured the hornbill perched atop her desk into a rather ornate glass goblet. It was always impressive watching the teacher demonstrate transfiguration spells - not only because of how elegant her results were, but also because of how much everyone in the class struggled to get their own successes to be even half as clean.
“Now, who would like to go first?” Professor McGonagall asked as she began pacing through the rows of desks. “Ah, Mister Weasley. One, two, three, vera verto.”
Ron sighed, and cleared his throat. He waved his wand at Scabbers three times, and said the incantation… kind of. A small pulse of green magic flew out of Ron’s wand and into Scabbers, and then ultimately did nothing. He then sighed again, and turned to face Hermione. Daisy knew exactly what was coming next - it had become something of a joke between the group over the past year.
Hermione smiled, and began the advice-giving. “The first part was good, but the ending was a bit off. You don’t want to be pronouncing the end with a long O like in ‘toe’, but rather a short one. It’s more like a ‘toh’. Try again?”
“Vera verto,” Ron tried, and this time since the pronunciation was right, something did happen. Scabbers certainly did turn into a small goblet - albeit one that was covered in fur and had a tail still branching out just above the stem. The goblet even squeaked, which was kind of funny.
“Not a bad second try, Mister Weasley,” Professor McGonagall praised, and Ron’s whole face lit up. Daisy knew he wasn’t used to being praised for doing well so quickly, but he had earned it. Even if he had struggled with the pronunciation at first, Ron was learning ways to study that didn’t involve him getting bored and falling asleep so quickly - and it was paying off well. Professor McGonagall turned, and her gaze swept across the classroom. “May you all take this as a reminder that careful enunciation is important for successful spellwork. Please begin practicing your incantations, and do not hesitate to raise your hand if you need my assistance.”
Daisy knew she would need a little bit of help getting the details right, but she was going to ask Hermione for advice first. So, raising her wand to a small bird Professor McGonagall loaned her ever since Hedwig had made it clear she didn’t like the sitting around and waiting in a noisy room involved in transfiguration classes, Daisy was rather surprised to see Hermione’s hand almost immediately shoot up into the air.
“Yes, Miss Granger?” Professor McGonagall asked, her own surprise rather visible on her face.
Hermione’s eyes darted around, one of the ways she sometimes showed nervousness around authority figures. “I was wondering if… if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets?”
The whole class fell silent. Professor McGonagall sighed, frowned and stepped back towards her desk to sit against it. “Very well. I suppose you would all be curious after what happened on the weekend. You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the four greatest wixes of the age. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. Now, three of the founders coexisted quite harmoniously. One did not. Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. ‘Pure-bloods’, as they are sometimes called today.
“Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school. Now, according to legend, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in this castle known as the Chamber of Secrets. Shortly before departing, he sealed it until such a time that his heir arrived to open it. The Heir alone would be able to open the Chamber and unleash the horror within, and by so doing, purge the school of all those who did not meet Slytherin’s standards.”
“Muggleborns,” Hermione filled in the word Professor McGonagall had not said, and the woman nodded.
“Well, naturally the school has been searched many times. No such chamber has been found,” McGonagall reassured the class - but Daisy wasn’t so sure. This was a school where extremely powerful artifacts would be hidden, where the stairs changed sometimes by pattern and sometimes by their own volition, and where there was a surprisingly friendly giant squid living in the lake nearby. A secret chamber with an ancient monster didn’t seem all too far-fetched.
“But Professor, what exactly does legend tell us lies within the chamber?” Hermione questioned. And it suddenly made sense that Hermione of all people was so keen to know what she could - being a muggleborn student.
“The chamber is said to be home to something that only the Heir of Slytherin can control. It is said to be the home… of a monster,” Professor McGonagall declared plainly, altogether not really answering the question. Daisy fidgeted nervously at that all the same. If this chamber was real, it would go after her friends. Was there anything she could do about this?
Notes:
Hermione: "oh noooo how terrible I accidentally explained an extra science thing that's cool anyway /s"
Chapter 27: Bludgered Bones
Notes:
cw painful injury, dumbledore being a dismissive shit right at the very end
Today's been a weirdly frazzled-feeling sort of day so the chapter's a handful of hours late. But hey, it happens!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“-and Daisy, you need to make sure you remember what we talked about,” Oliver insisted rather heatedly, his pre-game ‘pep talk’ having grown even more intense since last year. This was his second year as captain of the team and everyone knew he wanted to make sure Gryffindor won the quidditch cup at least once while he was still here. It was like that was the most important part of a magical education to him, despite the fact he’d denied any interest in playing quidditch professionally when he graduated.
“I remember,” Daisy assured him while she went through some extra stretches. For what Oliver wanted her to do, the usual warmup and stretch routine wasn’t enough; she needed to make sure her body could handle even more strain than what she was used to from quidditch games. “Size up the new seeker and check them as much as possible.”
The goal was not for Daisy to find the snitch quickly to end the game, but to first see if the chasers could get a significant lead from scoring first. Start the quidditch season off with an intimidatingly strong performance, so that there’d be less pressure on the team later. On top of that, Daisy had to go extra hard on the opposition, both by watching from afar and also getting up close and personal. Nobody in the school bar the Slytherin team knew who their new seeker was after Malfoy got banned for the year, hence Oliver’s insistence on the varied strategy.
Daisy was fine with that. She wasn’t all that big - though she’d bet she could out-muscle most other second years by now. What she did have over most other flyers was the ability to make very tight turns and pivots, and the instincts to get well and truly in another player’s way quite persistently. Finished with her stretches, Daisy charmed her glasses to stay secure on her face and grabbed her broom.
“Fred and George, be the menaces you know how to be,” Oliver instructed, and the twins grinned to one another. “But leave off on the enemy seeker unless Daisy signals for help. Focus on the Slytherin chasers and make it hard for them to score. However, if I get knocked off and subbed out? Don’t make a big deal of covering the hoops. Ron, they’ll want to intimidate you enough to make you mess up, because you’re new and you’re small for a keeper. Don’t back down, make yourself big. Do the manoeuvres I’ve taught you, and they’ll doubt their confidence enough to compensate for your inexperience.”
Ron gulped, and nodded shakily. He’d made the team as reserve keeper, which spoke to his skill on a broom, but Daisy knew he was terrified of actually getting out there. As much as Oliver believed in his skill enough to put him on the team, Ron didn’t share that belief enough. As much as Daisy wanted her friend to have fun and do well, she almost hoped he didn’t have to play this match. His own doubt would be his undoing.
“Finally, Alicia.” Oliver turned to one of the team’s chasers. “That new move you’ve been working on? Save it for half-way into the game, so we can keep them on their toes. Even if you see an opportunity for it in the first half, don’t go for it. Got it?”
“Sir yes sir,” Alicia saluted jokingly. She’d been moved from the reserves to the core team this year, and Daisy couldn’t get a read on her newer, more playful mannerisms at all. “They won’t know what hit ‘em.”
“Okay team, ready?” Oliver asked, looking around the room.
“Ready!” they all shouted in unison, and the core team began marching out onto the pitch. It was time to take this year’s quidditch cup by storm.
Daisy knew she would probably be able to pick out the new Slytherin seeker as soon as all the players were on the pitch - unless Slytherin had shaken up their entire team, there would only be one different face in the group. What she did not expect at all was who she spotted.
Standing at the back of Slytherin’s gathering team, with the left half of their head shaved short and the right half with long, flowing black hair was Dargo. Daisy didn’t even know that they played quidditch at all, so seeing them here? It was quite a bit of a surprise. She didn’t know what to make of them being on the team, or what to make of their hair. Maybe she could ask while the game was on.
“Alright everyone, I want a nice clean game,” Madam Hooch declared, as per usual. But she didn’t release the bludgers and the snitch straight away - no, she had more to say. “I’ve had to purchase us new bludgers after the enchantments wore down on the old ones last year. They’ve already been tested, and there should be no issues. We’ll pause the game if there are, but honestly, if anything they’ll just be a bit tougher and faster than you’re used to. Now, let’s begin!”
The snitch and the brand new bludgers were released, and Madam Hooch threw the quaffle up into the air. Daisy definitely heard Adrian Pucey - one of the Slytherin chasers, a fourth year - growl as he surged forward and snatched it away before Angelina could get at it. He passed it off to Flint, and the game was on for real. It wasn’t long before Flint and Montague made it over to the hoops, and attempted to score - but Oliver was ready, and he was fast. Blocking the ball away to Katie, who had been preparing nearby for exactly that, the quaffle moved into Gryffindor possession, and Daisy reminded herself to stay on task.
She flew up above the other players, needing a better vantage point. Dargo was remarkably easy to spot with their new hairdo, which made it easy for Daisy to ensure that they hadn’t seen the snitch just yet. Daisy didn’t know them quite that well yet, but wondered if she could distract them a little while by striking up a conversation - and if they tried to shake Daisy loose, she could revert to the previously planned tactics.
Daisy curved around where Dargo was hovering and came up from behind them. Her mind fumbled a little for a way to start a conversation, but she found something in time. “I didn’t expect to see you here. What made you want to play?”
Dargo shrugged, making no move to escape. “Tryouts for a new seeker opened up, and I thought I’d give it a try. Plus, the team’s full of blood purist bastards, so I figured it would piss them off to have someone not like them on the team. I did much better than the others in the tryouts, so Flint didn’t really have much of a choice, hey?”
Daisy laughed a little. “And the hair?”
“Heh, that was just to piss them off a little more. I mean, you see how this hair flows?” Dargo pointed back at the half of their head covered in longer hair, and Daisy did see exactly what they meant. It was flowing out behind them perfectly, completely undisrupted by the wind. “Its a majestic little statement piece I charmed together this morning. I’ll probably get rid of it after the game, I don’t usually like it long. But imagine the look on those bastards’ faces when I win us the game with this hair that they’ve all been complaining about the entire morning?”
That kicked Daisy’s competitiveness into gear quite easily. Last year, she had been learning the ropes and not really expecting as much of herself as her teammates did. She was still scared and overwhelmed by so many different things, but now? Now she was getting her bearings, and she was set on winning for her team. “You sound pretty confident. You think you can catch the snitch before me?”
Dargo smirked. “Just because I’m new to the team doesn’t mean I’m a bad flier, Daisy. Plus, I’ve got one of the team’s Nimbus 2001s. You’d better not underestimate me!”
“Okay, I won’t!” Daisy agreed. She started pretending to track the snitch with her eyes and a little bit of shoulder movement too, and then took off. She kept her angling barely just to the right enough that she could still see Dargo, and watched carefully as they followed her path. They were fast enough and balanced enough to keep up with her takeoff without issue. It had taken them a moment to follow after her though, and that? If it was a consistent pattern, at least, that was something Daisy could use.
She traced a path around the pitch for a minute to see how long Dargo would follow before giving up - to see if they were actually looking for the snitch while following or not. During that time, Slytherin scored a goal. As fast as Oliver was, the Slytherin chasers were aggressive, and were doing a really good job of avoiding bludgers. The twins were doing all they could to zone the opposing chasers away from where they needed to be, but there was only so much they could do.
After a minute, Dargo laughed from beside Daisy and began to pull away. She swerved around them, trying to cut off their escape and intimidate them just a little, but Dargo quickly changed directions and swooped under her. They shot off, leaving Daisy to come up with a new plan. Slytherin scored again, now holding a twenty point lead.
The plan had been for Daisy to hold off on getting the snitch while Alicia, Angelina and Katie worked on getting Gryffindor a strong lead. Even if Yoko subbed on to match the Slytherins’ aggressive style - which Daisy really hoped Oliver called for - she would have to watch that score closely. If the gap grew larger instead of closing and reversing, even after Yoko was subbed in, the best choice would be to just go for the snitch and end the match before it grew any more.
So, in preparation, Daisy began actively seeking out the snitch. She watched Dargo frequently as well, occasionally rushing off in a direction to goad them into following in order to break their concentration. But as the game went on, Daisy still hadn’t found the snitch, and the gap was widening. It got to 40-10, and then 70-20, and Daisy was getting concerned.
Finally, Wood subbed in Yoko. She wasn’t as fast as any of the opening chasers, or as good at scoring, but she was much more aggressive. She could snatch the quaffle from the other team or at least disrupt their formations. In one game, she had even borrowed a bat from George and knocked a Ravenclaw chaser off their broom. She was good at that sort of thing, and that was what Gryffindor needed right now. There wasn’t going to be as much of a lead to get back, if at all, but Yoko could slow the Slytherins down.
And that she did. Within a half minute of her coming onto the field, Yoko set up a goal for Angelina who smoothly scored through the left hoop. The pacing of the game was slower, from there. Even if Gryffindor didn’t manage to score again, it took ten minutes before Slytherin got another one in. Yoko was absolutely hounding them, and Daisy honestly found it impressive to watch. But she had to find the snitch, and get ready to catch it if the score widened any more. One more goal from Slytherin and she would go for it, she decided.
A few minutes passed in which Daisy had almost managed to fly Dargo into the scaffolding of one of the Ravenclaw stand towers. Finally, she spotted the snitch. Hovering just behind the middle hoop on the Gryffindor side, far enough out of Oliver’s vision that he wouldn’t have spotted it. While keeping her eyes locked on the snitch’s position, Daisy circled idly through the ongoing game slowly until she was close, and then sped up in a straight line for the hoops. There was a narrow miss from a bludger on the way - just about the twelfth time Daisy had discovered just what Madam Hooch meant about these bludgers being faster - but she managed to get close to the snitch before Dargo caught up.
And then the snitch took off in another direction, just to make things difficult - of course, that was what it was supposed to do. Daisy followed as it circled around the edge of the pitch, just before the stands. That gave Dargo ample time to catch up, much to Daisy’s displeasure.
“I’m going to shove you a bunch,” Dargo declared, now beside her. “Just a heads up, it’s obviously nothing personal.”
Daisy might’ve rolled her eyes if they weren’t trained so intently on the snitch just then. Dargo wasn’t all that much bigger than her, so two could definitely play at that game. Dargo tried to ram into her, but Daisy saw it coming. She shifted to the side in the same direction as they’d come from, making Dargo overshoot their movement a bit. It gave Daisy the perfect opportunity to quickly flip over them and shove them even further.
That didn’t quite send Dargo careening far enough, and they managed to regain their broom control and catch up with Daisy once more. Before Daisy could get in first and shove them again, the snitch dove down to the scaffolindg below the pitch, and Daisy followed carefully. She’d been down here only a few times during training sessions, and it was a tricky place to navigate.
Unfortunately for Dargo, following the snitch in a place like this took more experience than they had, which gave Daisy a solid lead the for a while. She twisted and weaved past all the various wooden beams almost half-way around the pitch before the snitch flew up above again. It apparently was intent on keeping its path around the edge.
All of a sudden, that posed a problem. There was someone standing on one of the short bridges over that section of scaffolding, holding a camera up and looking eager. Colin. Daisy didn’t know how or why he was there, or who had even given him permission to be out on the field during a game. It was dangerous, and Daisy was absolutely going to have a word with him later about safety.
“Watch out!” Daisy called, hoping Colin would duck out of the way as she flew past, now again followed closely by Dargo. But Colin didn’t move. Instead, he decided it was a good opportunity to take a picture. Sure, he’d asked before if Daisy minded being in pictures he took, and she had said it was fine. But here, and now? It just wasn’t safe. She ended up having to swerve around him and turn away as soon as she saw his finger pressing down on the button, and then be as quick as she could to relocate the snitch.
Moments after bypassing Colin, the snitch dove under again, which was rather to Daisy’s favour with Dargo having caught up. Now feeling confident in her ability to weave through the scaffolds, Daisy upped the pace. It would put more pressure on Dargo, too, and maybe they’d make a mistake.
They didn’t. If anything, Dargo was getting faster at navigating the obstacle-filled space. The snitch rose up onto the pitch proper once more, and Daisy knew it was now or never. She’d heard another gong for Slytherin on the chase down below, so she had to catch the snitch before it got any worse.
The snitch remained low to the ground. Daisy sped up. She closed in, and started to reach out. Dargo was right beside her, but their arm was lagging behind Daisy’s. Their broom might have been faster, but she had more experience on the pitch. She didn’t think it was untrue to say that she was a better flyer overall. Her hand was almost there, almost around the snitch-
-then, just as she was about to close her left hand around it-
“Daisy, look out!” Dargo shouted, but Daisy assumed they were just trying to distract her. She didn’t pay attention to the way Dargo peeled away. A moment later, she felt a crash of white hot pain as a bludger slammed into her arm. But she couldn’t stop here, not even with all the pain. She’d had to endure pain when getting things done all the time, back when she lived with the Dursleys. She could do this.
Letting her left arm fall, Daisy reached out with her right arm and pushed her broom to go as fast as it possibly could. Her hand closed around the snitch, and her balance gave out. She toppled, landing and rolling on a patch of sand, but she had enough left in her to hold the snitch up and show her success for all to see.
“AND EVEN AFTER A NASTY HIT, DAISY EVANS HAS CAUGHT THE GOLDEN SNITCH! WITH 150 POINTS GOING TO GRYFFINDOR, GRYFFINDOR WINS WITH A SCORE OF 190-100!”
Daisy let her body fall back against the sand, and the pain started washing over her. It was bad, the way the bludger had smashed right into her outstretched arm before, she just hadn’t felt it as much with all her focus and adrenaline. But now? Daisy screamed, just a little, just enough for her mind to get the sensation under control.
Daphne was the first of her friends to reach her, even as Madam Hooch arrived by her side. Later, Daisy could think about how concerning it was that Madam Hooch had been outpaced by someone coming from the stands. Now, she just wanted to get taken to the hospital wing and get her arm sorted.
“Daisy, are you okay?” Daphne asked urgently.
Daisy groaned. “I’ll live. Need… healer!”
“Not to worry, my girl, I’ll fix that arm of yours straight away!” An obnoxious voice declared from Daisy’s other side. No. Anyone but Prathart.
“Get away from her, you git!” Ron’s voice called out, getting closer with every word.
“Ignore him,” Lockhart said. “That boy doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
Lockhart took hold of Daisy’s broken arm and lifted it out. Before she could shout ‘no’ or try something to get the self-absorbed teacher to back off, he had incanted a spell and cast it on her arm.
Daisy’s left forearm flopped downward in Lockhart’s grasp. It hung loose, and… well, Daisy wasn’t in pain, but it was unnerving all the same. She was sure Lockhart had done something wrong, and would absolutely try and get him in trouble for this. Her glove slipped off her left hand, and a disturbing thought invaded her mind. If that had been her right hand, if her ring had fallen off…
Everyone would know.
Half an hour later, Daisy was in a hospital bed. Lockhart hadn’t gotten scolded by anyone other than Daisy’s friends, who she had been conscious enough to know had followed all the way to the hospital wing before they were all told to leave. Thankfully, Lockhart was barred entry as well.
“Seriously, the nerve of that man,” Madam Pomfrey hissed as her wand scanned up and down Daisy’s now boneless forearm and hand. “If Albus makes one more hiring decision like that git, I’ll have Minnie push to out him and become Headmistress, I swear.”
Daisy coughed suddenly as the healer’s spell ended, and Madam Pomfrey stepped away. “My goodness, I apologise for saying that in front of you, Miss Evans. I shouldn’t be speaking poorly of my co-workers like that. But honestly, the man removed your bones? If he absolutely had to do something, a simple episky would have sufficed. But the bone removal charm? That’s only used by experienced healers who are removing specific fragments of bone, not the entire section. I’m so sorry you had to be on the receiving end of that, Miss Evans. Regrowing entire bones is nasty business. You’ll be alright in the morning, but it’s going to be a rough night when you need to sleep. No sleeping draught either, that’ll interfere with this kind of healing.”
That was fine, Daisy could manage one painful night. “For what it’s worth, I think Professor McGonagall would make a good headmistress. And I won’t tell anyone about what you called Lockhart, I don’t want you to get into trouble.”
Madam Pomfrey smiled. “You’re a kind girl, Miss Evans. Now, there are no other injuries in your arm other than the distinct lack of bone, so I’ll only be giving you doses of the Skele-Gro Potion to take now and later at night. Be warned, it has a foul taste. Here, drink up.”
The healer handed Daisy a goblet. She looked inside apprehensively, wincing at how much there was to drink - especially if it was as bad as Madam Pomfrey had suggested. She sipped at it once, just to know what she was dealing with, and almost spat it out.
Madam Pomfrey sighed. “Yes, better to down it all in one go than take your time. It’ll be easier that way. Will you be alright for me to leave you here afterward? Mistrum Savifors acquired a rather nastily sprained ankle rushing to check on you at the end of the game, as I’m told. Lower priority, of course, but I’d like to have them on their way soon all the same.”
Daisy nodded. She didn’t even notice Dargo checking on her after she’d fallen, and felt badly for that. She could apologise later, though. For now, she needed to drink all of this potion, and try not to spit it all out. Daisy lifted the goblet with her good hand and tipped all of the potion into her mouth in one go, swallowing it all as quickly as she could. Her face scrunched up a whole lot from the sensation, and she shuddered. The aftertaste was just as bad, but there was nothing she could do other than wait for it to pass. Given that there was no water or juice left on the tray, Daisy guessed that drinking anything else might interfere with the potion - which certainly wasn’t uncommon, as far as her understanding of various healing potions went.
Footsteps rushed towards the bed, as well as the repetitive tapping of Neville’s cane on the ground. Daisy looked up, and saw both all of her friends and all of her teammates coming quickly to her bedside.
“Doing alright, Daisy?” Oliver asked, leading the pack.
Daisy groaned a little. “Yeah, but the Skele-Gro tastes awful. And Madam Pomfrey said it’s going to be painful later.”
Oliver frowned. “Ouch. I’ve never had to regrow bones before, but it doesn’t sound like it would be fun.”
“Wouldn’t have happened if Lockhart didn’t have a constant need for everyone’s attention,” Daphne said rather cuttingly, which made Daisy smile. “He’s such a prat.”
“Is not!” Tracey protested, and thus began quite the bickering match between all of Daisy’s visitors. She was happy that they’d all come for her, but if this was how they were going to be, she would have preferred some peace and quiet.
“They’re gonna be at this for a while, aren’t they?” Daisy asked Neville quietly, since he seemed to be the only one not getting involved.
“Yup, they sure are,” Neville agreed. “Want to play a quick game of chess? I’m not very good but my nan sent me a set with some stronger enchantments so I don’t mess up the board by mistake.”
“Yeah, sure,” Daisy answered, knowing full well that the noisy environment would make it a much more even game, with how it messed with her focus.
“Kill… Kill… Kill!”
When Daisy woke up for the third time in the night, she had really hoped it would be brighter, or that there would be some signs of morning approaching. Instead, she’d woken up to pain, and to hearing that wall-bound voice again. She hadn’t heard it again since the whole fiasco about the ‘Heir’, so this did not bode well. Wincing, she tried to push herself up.
“Time to kill!”
Daisy tried even harder to push herself up then, fighting against the intense and strangely electric pain in her arm. She reached over to grab for her glasses, and awkwardly pushed them onto her face and moved to get up. It hurt a lot, but she had to manage. Madam Pomfrey’s office and her room behind weren’t that far, surely she could-
Daisy fell, and her grasp on consciousness slipped.
“…been another attack.”
“Poppy, I think… do you know, I think he’s been petrified. Just like poor Mrs Norris. Perhaps he managed to take a picture of his attacker.”
Daisy managed to get her eyes open, but she couldn’t see right. Everything felt cold below her, and it took a moment to realise she was on the ground - she had fallen. She could barely just make out her glasses lying on the floor in front of her, looking like they’d been wrenched out of shape.
Carefully, Daisy pushed herself to her knees, and then stood up. The pain was more manageable, this time. She saw something flare up at the end of her vision, where the voices from before had been standing, and carefully trod over.
“Oh, Miss Evans! You shouldn’t be up, you shouldn’t… you shouldn’t see this,” Madam Pomfrey’s voice insisted. “Here, let me get those glasses and fix them up for you. Reparo. Occulus Reparo.”
A moment later, Daisy’s glasses were back on her face, and she could see. Professor Dumbledore was holding the broken, smoking remnants of a camera. Daisy’s stomach already sunk; she knew what was coming next. She looked to the bed the teachers were crowding around, and saw the prone, frozen form of Colin Creevey. Just earlier that day - or perhaps it was yesterday now, but that hardly mattered to Daisy at the moment - she had been thinking about how she needed to talk to Colin about safety when he was taking his pictures. But she never had, and he must have been up and about at night. It felt like it was her fault. If only she hadn’t been injured.
“What should I tell the staff?” Professor McGonagall asked Dumbledore. Daisy had missed whatever the two had said to each other before, but it wasn’t hard to infer. The school was in danger.
“The truth,” Dumbledore answered simply. “Tell them Hogwarts is no longer safe. It is as we feared, Minerva. The Chamber of Secrets has indeed been opened again.”
Again, Dumbledore had said. There was no mistaking that; Daisy had heard right, she was sure of it. This had happened before. And Daisy was hearing voices in the walls, right before Mrs Norris had been petrified, and right before… right before Colin had been petrified. It had to be connected, and she had to tell the teachers now.
Carefully, she trudged over to the teachers, doing her best not to fall. “Professor Dumbledore, sir?”
Dumbledore looked over to Daisy, and she already felt uncomfortable. She didn’t like him - she knew he was responsible for her having to grow up with the Dursleys, and that he had tried to send her back again. But he was also the headmaster, and had to know. “Miss Evans? I urge you to go back to bed, you need your rest after what happened on the quidditch pitch this morning.”
Daisy shook her head. “No, I… I need to tell you something.” She remembered how her friends had said that hearing voices was never a good sign, and thought that maybe she shouldn’t be admitting this to Dumbledore and the other teachers. But she also didn’t want a repeat of last year. “I… before Mrs Norris, and before Colin, and even earlier in the year. I’ve been hearing a voice in the walls, one that my friends cant hear. One that talks about killing. It happened tonight before… before Colin was attacked.”
Dumbledore inclined his head towards her. “Is that so?”
“It is,” Daisy responded, trying the firmness to her voice that she’d witnessed her mum pull off so effectively before.
Dumbledore sighed. “Pay it no mind, Miss Evans. I’m sure it’s nothing to be worried about.”
So, it was going to be a repeat of last year.
Notes:
I'll leave you all to decide whether Dumbledore's attitude is him being dismissive and shitty thoughtlessly or on purpose :)
Chapter 28: A Plan
Notes:
Thanks to Xani for coming up with the "nexus ferrum" spell's name!
long day, im so eepy, good thing i have buffer chapters
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The teachers clearly weren’t doing anything. Daisy knew she had overhead Dumbledore admitting that the school was in danger, and yet there had been no official warnings to the students in the week since Colin had been petrified. Everyone had heard, of course, because it was hard to deny when a student stopped showing up. Madam Pomfrey was doing nothing to hide it, either - Colin now had a bed in the hospital wing he had yet to be moved from. Daisy tried to visit him at least every couple of days to just sit with him and talk. She had no clue if he could hear, or if he would even know. She just didn’t want him to be so lonely.
A rather sizeable word-of-mouth market for trading protective amulets and talismans had emerged with barely any delay. Daisy hadn’t bought into it; she didn’t know how to prove whether or not they worked. Besides, she’d overheard an older Ravenclaw talking about how any talisman strong enough to actually help needed to be designed to stop a specific threat, and nobody actually knew what was causing the petrifications beyond rumours and hearsay. The school’s usual spreaders of gossip all wanted to share their theories - even Tracey was insisting that the original Gorgon, Medusa was the real Slytherin’s Monster.
Yet despite all the talk, and despite Dumbledore’s admission, nothing was being done. Daisy wasn’t okay with that. Colin didn’t deserve what had happened to him, and no student deserved the same fate. Not even Zacharias Smith, and not even Draco Malfoy.
The thought of Malfoy reminded Daisy that she still hadn’t acted on her mum or sister’s advice yet, and she needed to do something. Even if Malfoy was a little bit more docile than usual, he still said nasty things when his ‘friends’ were around, and he occasionally sent Daisy these strange sort of looks, ones she didn’t know what to make of. The safest option was to be ready for a fight, and to actually do something to stop one from happening if possible.
Daisy resolved to take her first steps in dealing with Malfoy after talking with her friends about whole Chamber of Secrets ordeal. She had quietly requested that they all gather somewhere they wouldn’t be disturbed on the weekend, and now was the agreed upon time. Hermione had suggested the bathroom near where she, Daphne and Daisy had learned to cast the Freezing Charm, since most people just avoided Myrtle’s bathroom. Hermione, Ron, Neville and Daphne had all been invited - Daphne had suggested leaving Tracey out this time, because she wasn’t very good with secrets.
“Finally, you made it,” Daphne groaned rather vocally when Daisy stepped through the threshold of the mostly unused bathroom. “Glad to see nothing bad hap-”
Daphne froze, and looked ever so slightly up at Daisy. Daisy looked ever so slightly down at Daphne, confused as to why she had stopped. And then, after a few moments of stagnant silence, the realisation hit. Daisy smirked. Daphne had to look up at her.
“Something wrong?” Daisy asked faux-innocently, knowing full well that Daphne had hoped to be the taller of the two.
Daphne was silent for a few seconds more. “…no. You should hurry up, everyone else is already here and waiting.”
Daisy nodded and let the smile fall off her face. There were more important things to be focused on. She followed Daphne over to the space in between the bathroom stalls, where the rest of the group were already gathered. “Hi, everyone.”
“Hey Daisy!” Neville greeted her cheerfully. “So, what’s this all about?”
Daisy sighed, and looked around at her friends. They’d all helped her one way or another last year, when the school staff had failed her. Even Neville, who had barely been involved in anything to do with the Stone, had been there for her on some of her rougher days. “I was in the hospital wing last weekend when Colin was brought in. Dumbledore said the school was in danger, but the teachers haven’t been doing anything. Last year when the teachers didn’t listen, You-Know-Who almost came back. We… I think we should try and do something about what’s happening now, if we can.”
Hermione was the first to respond, almost immediately after Daisy was done. “Last year, there wasn’t really much we could do until we’d figured everything out. Until we knew that it was the Stone that had been hidden past the third floor corridor, and that Quirrell knew how to get past Fluffy. So we need to know what’s actually going on before we can do anything this time, too.”
Daphne hummed, and flicked at the space between a pair of tiles on the floor. “So far, we know that the supposed Chamber of Secrets may have been opened, and if the stories are true, that there’s an heir of Slytherin at Hogwarts who did it. We know that whatever’s been let out has the ability to petrify living things. It’s possible that muggleborns are being targeted.”
“Probable, actually,” Hermione corrected glumly. “The stories of Slytherin aren’t all consistent with the idea that he hated muggleborn wixes, but enough people believe that for someone acting as an ‘heir’ to buy into it, and Colin’s muggleborn. It just makes more sense, even if there’s not enough proof.”
“But who could the heir be?” Neville asked, sounding tentative. Daisy had noticed that being pretty common for him ever since the school year had started again, and it had only gotten worse after the pixie incident.
“Mal-” Ron started, but was abruptly cut off by Daphne.
“It’s not Draco,” Daphne insisted, much to Ron’s sudden and very visible embarassment. “Even if he’d somehow learned how to keep something like this to himself, we’d already know if he was of Salazar Slytherin’s lineage. Blood purist families like his are meticulous about recording their ancestries, and the Malfoys as a whole would never keep being heirs of Slytherin a secret, not for so many generations. Honestly, if any of the pureblood Slytherins were the heir, it’d be common knowledge.”
Hermione’s eyes thinned. “How sure are you?”
“Very,” Daphne answered plainly. “Being descended from Slytherin would earn massive bragging rights and social capital for any of those kinds of families. None of them would make it up if they couldn’t prove it either, the risk would be too high of someone catching them out and making their family a laughingstock for generations.”
“So it would be someone who isn’t from one of those blood-puristy families?” Daisy questioned, wondering who might fit the bill. “Would they even need to have been sorted into Slytherin?”
“Huh, I guess not,” Daphne agreed. “It could be anyone.”
“So we don’t focus on figuring out who the heir is,” Ron suggested. Everyone turned to look at him. “What? It’s like when you’re playing chess, yeah? If you can’t figure out what your opponent’s short term goal or strategy is, better to focus either on the bigger picture or on something else or you’re gonna make blunders trying to predict their intentions.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” Neville agreed. “We could try figure out what the teachers are doing?”
“How, though? They won’t exactly just tell us.” Daisy had to voice that, especially after last year. Even Hagrid probably wouldn’t let anything spill so easily this time. “When I tried to tell Dumbledore about the voices, he told me not to worry about it.”
“Voices?” Neville and Ron asked at the same time.
“Oh, right,” Daisy intoned, realising that the two of them still hadn’t become privy to that particular piece of information yet. “You can’t tell anyone, but… before each of the attacks, I could hear a voice in the walls talking about killing.”
“Thats, uh…” Neville started, and then failed to find the words to finish his point.
“Concerning?” Hermione offered.
“Suspicious?” Ron supplied.
“Definitely not a coincidence?” Daphne added.
“Uh… yeah,” Neville mumbled. “All of those.”
Hermione took a deep breath in. “If we’re going to try get information out of the teachers… I have an idea. It’s risky, and downright dangerous if it goes wrong, and it’s breaking at least fifty school rules, but I know I can brew it right.”
“Brew it?” Ron questioned. “Like a potion?”
Hermione nodded. “The Polyjuice Potion. I can’t remember the recipe off the top of my head, but it’s a potion that allows you to temporarily transform into another person, by adding a sample of their biological material to the potion and then drinking it. We’d just need a teacher to impersonate.”
Daisy glanced at Daphne, whose eyes met hers. Understanding passed between them, and they spoke in unison.
“Prathart.”
Hermione flushed a little. “I really wish you wouldn’t call him that, he’s one of our professors. But yes, I think so too. I mean, of all the teachers aside from maybe Dumbledore, he’s the one they’d want help from with something like this, with all his experience.”
Daisy and Daphne shared another glance. That wasn’t even remotely why either of them had suggested Lockhart. It was the opposite, really - he was the most useless of the professors, which meant he’d be the easiest one to impersonate, and the easiest one to… keep busy while the potion was being used.
“Sure, let’s go with that,” Daphne said sweetly. “Do you remember how long the potion takes to brew?”
Hermione looked down at the floor. “About… a month? I think it’s our best shot, unless anyone else has another idea. It’d be easy enough to hide in here, and I’ll be able to gather the ingredients once I have the book I need from the library.”
“Right… so we’re gonna brew a potion for a month and hope nothing bad happens before then,” Ron lamented. “Are you sure Malfoy won’t at least know something useful?”
Daphne shrugged. “I mean, he might. But how would we get it out of him, if not by using the polyjuice potion for that too? If he was telling anyone, it’d only be those closest to him, and in private.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Ron acquiesced. “Hermione, how can we help?”
“I’ll know more once I’ve got the book I need from the library,” she answered simply. “We should go now, I don’t want to take more risks than we have to. Even Myrtle could overhear and get us caught.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” a quiet, shaky voice declared from one of the stalls. Daisy almost jumped up from her spot in shock, but this wasn’t that voice in the walls. It sounded completely different. “You all haven’t done anything bad to me, and… I don’t like this heir of Slytherin business either.”
“Oh!” Hermione flushed, embarrassed. “Okay! Uh, thank you, Myrtle!”
When everyone started making their way out of the bathroom, Daisy held Daphne back. Now that there was a plan underway to do something about the big danger at Hogwarts this year, Daisy could afford to focus on one of her other goals. “Hey Daphne, could you do me a favour?”
Tracey Davis was sitting in the Slytherin common room on her own on a Sunday afternoon, and she was very, very bored. Her feet kicked in and out from the lounge chair she was sitting on, her heels colliding with the soft base each time. She’d done all the homework she could be bothered doing on her own, and tried and failed to eavesdrop on the drama some of the older Slytherins were talking about.
She’d probably find out eventually, anyway. She might have been disrespected among the house for not being a ‘pure-blood’, but they had to respect her ability to find out all of the drama. And it helped that she didn’t get racist treatment for the Malay side of her family here on top of the blood purism. Within a year, Tracey had established herself as an important part of Hogwarts’ rumour mill; a vital part of the school ecosystem. She had a good pulse on what was going on, and an arguably better one than Pansy Parkinson, the self-proclaimed gossip queen of the second years.
But she’d done most of her homework, and Daphne had gone off somewhere, and she was bored. She’d hung out with Blaise until he’d gotten distracted by an opportunity to jokingly flirt with Theo, and she’d watched the giant squid swim around, and she’d gotten a snack from the elves, and wandered the halls to see if there was anything new to add to the rumour mill yet, and she had nothing left to do.
So when Daphne entered the common room and marched straight towards her, Tracey let out a huge sigh of relief. Finally.
“Hey, I’ve got something really juicy for you,” Daphne signed, a smug look on her face.
Tracey jumped up from her armchair. “What is it? Tell me!”
Daphne grinned a wicked, evil grin. “Draco Malfoy is cousins with Daisy Evans.”
Tracey’s jaw dropped. “YOU HAVE TO TELL ME EVERYTHING YOU KNOW RIGHT NOW!”
Notes:
eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy
Chapter 29: A Duel and a Chicken
Notes:
cw accusatory and threatening behaviour from an adult to a minor
Been caught up with life stuff the last little while, hence why the chapter is a couple weeks late. After this chapter I currently only have one buffer chapter so unless I can replenish that it'll be slower posting for a bit.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Daisy had to - of course, unsurprisingly - hand it to Dora for her advice and insight. One month had passed since Daisy had ‘let slip’ to Tracey, via Daphne, that she was first cousins with Malfoy, on a wixen cultural technicality. Just like Dora had predicted, pressure was mounting on Malfoy; pressure to prove himself and assert superiority over Daisy. From afar, Daisy could tell that he seemed frustrated. The thing that had thrown her off was that he hadn’t challenged her in any way, not even once.
According to Daphne, Malfoy was running out of time. The Slytherins who belonged to the blood purist inner-circle type families were all getting impatient, and expecting that he do something big to make up for his inaction. Daphne had even suggested that Malfoy’s time limit was made more severe by the fact that his father would have found out by now, and would be applying yet another layer of pressure.
It honestly made Daisy feel a little bad, and a little guilty. Had all this been necessary, if Malfoy wasn’t going to do anything? But maybe he would - maybe he would prove soon that the actions were necessary to get him to leave her and her friends alone after all.
So on Daisy went with her day to day life. She went to classes and studied hard. She worried about Ginny from time to time, concerned that little could be done when the girl was only growing more reclusive. She visited Colin in the hospital wing regularly, still concerned and upset for him, but relieved that there had been no other petrification victims since. And she continued to go back and forth on whether to stay at Hogwarts over the winter break or not.
Technically she had already missed the deadline to tell Professor McGonagall if she was staying, but… she felt bad going home and leaving Colin alone in the hospital wing. Suyin and Dargo visited him too, but much less frequently. They were both openly trans at school, and them suddenly visiting a first year Gryffindor kid in the hospital ward a whole lot carried a possible risk of outing both Daisy and Colin against their will.
Daisy was willing to give herself until the weekend to decide whether to stay or go over the break, and focus on class, her friends and the stressful brewing of Polyjuice Potion in Myrtle’s bathroom. Today, at least, there was something big to keep her busy during the normally quieter and more ruminative hours of the evening. At 8pm, which was a near fifteen minutes away, it would be time to go to the second years’ session of the school’s new duelling club.
The word around the castle was that this new club was a way of trying to make the student body less worried about the unknown assailant that had petrified both a cat and a student within the castle walls - by virtue of learning more self defence skills. Daisy was looking forward to it, hoping that the session for second years would be run by Professor Flitwick, like some of the other sessions earlier in the week supposedly had been.
With her wand stowed in her holster and her homework packed away, Daisy joined up with a group of her Gryffindor friends who were headed down to the Great Hall, where the club session was to take place.
“I wonder what we’ll be learning?” Hermione questioned eagerly as they all walked. “Perhaps some counter-curses and counter-jinxes would be especially useful right now.”
Dean capped his flask - the one he carried with him everywhere, which Daisy thought was quite sensible, actually. “I reckon it’ll be something more offensive. The monster can’t get us if we get it first, you know?”
“At least we’ll actually be learning something defense-related for once, unlike in our actual defense class,” Seamus complained. “I mean, really? I’m sick of reading that git’s books. Why’d Dumbledore have to go and hire him anyway?”
“He is very nice to look at,” Parvati offered.
“Agh, you’re not wrong,” Seamus agreed easily. “One day I’ll find meself someone with a jawline like his.”
“Now isn’t that just the dream,” Lavender piped in, and Daisy sighed. Every time her friends and peers got like this she was just left confused. Lockhart was supposed to be this incredibly attractive person but she really didn’t understand the appeal. Maybe it was another result of being a bit behind her peers when it came to puberty? They were almost at the Great Hall, though, so she dismissed those thoughts until whenever they were inevitably brought back by nearby conversation.
The doors were swung wide open already, revealing a gathering of most of the other second years, and a big long duelling stage just like what Daisy had seen in the past school year - except perhaps a bit more glamorous, and a lot more purple. Standing in the middle of the stage was… not Professor Flitwick. Not even close.
“Gather round, gather round!” Lockhart projected his voice across the hall mere moments after the Gryffindors had arrived. “Make sure you can all see me, and that you can all hear me.”
Reluctantly, Daisy moved with the other new arrivals towards the stage, and found herself pressed right up at the front - much to her chagrin. She wanted to be as far away from Lockhart as possible, so she would be spared of any of his attention. She tried shifting around in the hopes of blending in with taller peers, but it was to no avail - not with how Daisy had started growing even more lately.
“In light of the dark events of late, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little duelling club to train you all up, in case you ever need to defend yourselves, as I myself have done on countless occasions,” Lockhart professed, aggrandizement littered across his intonation. “For full details, well, you should know them by now! Of course, I have too little time to attend to every cohort in this school, but you are lucky to have the magical, magical me to teach you. Now, let me introduce my wonderful assistant… Professor Snape!”
Lockhart gestured over to the far end of the hall, where Professor Snape was emerging up onto the stage, with his arms crossed and his face twisted into one of those expressions that said he would really rather not be here. His wand was drawn, and the closer he got to Lockhart, the more angry he looked.
“Professor Snape here has sportinglly agreed to help me with a short demonstration, and to oversee your practice tonight,” Lockhart explained, smug as usual. “Now, I don’t want any of you youngsters to worry! You’ll still have your Potions Master when I’m through with him, never fear.”
Snape and Lockhart approached each other even more closely, now with both their wands drawn. They stood up straight facing each other, raised their wands up to their faces, then back down, and bowed. Both men turned and took several paces away from each other, and then turned to face one another yet again. Snape raised his wand up overhead, pointed keenly at Lockhart, whereas Lockhart adopted what Daisy vaguely knew to be a fencing stance.
“One, two, three,” Lockhart counted, and then began to jab his wand forward. He didn’t get a chance to cast any spells, however.
“Expelliarmus!” Snape’s voice boomed. A bolt of red light shot out of his wand and struck Lockhart with enough force to make the man stumble backwards and nearly fall, in addition to his wand being ripped out of his hand and pulled towards Snape. Snape deftly caught the wand, and looked across to Lockhart with pity.
There was a mix of laughter and worried gasps from the crowd as Lockhart staggered to regain his balance. Daisy was definitely amongst those laughing.
“An excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape! But if you don’t mind me saying so, it was pretty obvious what you were about to do. Had I wanted to stop you, it would have been only too easy.”
Daisy rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath, “Maybe it was a good idea to show us that because we were supposed to learn it from you in class, Prathart.”
Seamus definitely heard her, judging by his loud snort immediately thereafter.
“Perhaps it would be prudent to first teach the students to block unfriendly spells, professor,” Snape suggested dryly.
Lockhart cleared his throat. “An excellent suggestion, Professor Snape. We’ll get to that in just a tick, but first! I think it would be quite prudent to see what all you students are capable of. How about we get a pair of volunteers up to have a little duel. Let’s see, Weasley, and-”
“If I might,” Snape interjected. “It would seem there is a… dispute amongst certain students in this cohort. I’m sure you can appreciate the tradition of using duels to settle one’s difficulties, yes?” Snape’s eyes found Daisy’s, and she immediately realised what was about to happen. “Miss Evans and Mister Malfoy shall be our volunteers.”
“Why yes, that’s fabulous!” Lockhart exclaimed. “Come on then. Evans, Malfoy, up you come!”
Daisy groaned, but acquiesced all the same. She clambered up onto the stage from the opposite side to Malfoy, drawing her wand and approaching just as she’d seen the two professors do. She felt far less nervous than expected, even knowing that this was so clearly a setup. Professor Snape very obviously favoured Malfoy both in and out of Potions classes, and was no doubt trying to help Malfoy reassert his reputation. Would he have done that if he didn’t expect Malfoy to win? But Daisy had spells and skills of her own, and she knew that Nym had been confident in her to come out on top during a situation like this as well.
Malfoy glared at Daisy, who forced herself to meet his eyes, no matter how uncomfortable. “I’ll make you pay for the lies you’ve been spreading, blood traitor.”
Then, Daisy hadn’t meant to embarass him. The words had just spilled right out. “I know my mum was disowned by the Black family, so why do you even care?”
Malfoy flushed red, and some of the slytherins ‘ooo’ed at the exchange. “I won’t lose to a disgrace to the Noble family of Black.”
Following Malfoy’s movements because she’d now only seen it done twice, Daisy raised her wand up, and then down to her side. She and Malfoy turned and paced away from each other. When Daisy turned around, she held her wand forward and at the ready.
“On the count of three, you will duel. Your aim is to incapacitate your opponent, and prevent them from continuing the duel,” Lockhart instructed.
“And try not to kill each other,” Snape added before the count could continue.
“One, two, three!”
“Everte Statum!” Malfoy shouted. Daisy didn’t know what that spell was, but saw a beam of orange fly towards her. It wasn’t wide, so she quickly twisted to one side, narrowly avoiding the beam as it shot past her.
“Verdimillious duo!” Daisy countered, two blasts of green sparks launching out of her wand and spiralling towards Malfoy just as fast as his spell had been.
Malfoy pointed his wand down to the extravagant carpet on the stage. “Erigus!”
As he jerked his wand back up, the carpet matched his movements. The blonde sidestepped smoothly before the moving section of carpet behind him could trip him up, and formed a fabric shield against the sparks - which burned a hole clear through the fabric before fizzling out.
Daisy needed to prove that she was a force to be reckoned with, which meant she needed to use better spells. She needed to show what she was capable of. She pointed her wand at Malfoy the moment the carpet fell back down, and involuntarily smiled. “Tremulus!”
Powerful, vibrating waves pushed out from Daisy’s wand in a cone that was moving straight towards Malfoy, and he hadn’t fired off any kind of defensive spells to deter it. Even if he had, Daisy knew from her study of the spell that the vibrations could deter projectile spells they affected, depending on the balance of power. The vibrations struck Malfoy, and lifted him off the ground, pushing him back quite quickly. Daisy kept her spell going, not willing to let up until the duel was over. It came with such a high, making her feel just like Quake.
“Nexum ferrus!” Malfoy howled from in mid-air a bare moment after he’d been struck. Because the spell didn’t fire a magical projectile, it worked. A heavy steel chain with a pointed end lanced out of Malfoy’s wand and struck into the stage ground, anchoring Malfoy so that he wouldn’t fly any further.
For all that Daisy felt it was now up to who’s spell lasted longer, she was wrong. Apparently, having a chain formed out of the end of Malfoy’s wand didn’t stop him from casting the same spell again, forming yet another chain. This time, the chain was rushing straight towards Daisy. It was heavy enough to defy the force of Daisy’s spell, which meant her only choice was to end it and dodge out of the way.
Malfoy landed smoothly on two feet once the vibrations were no longer suspending him, and the chains dematerialised - but Daisy didn’t get a chance to take advantage of that. She’d almost lost her balance avoiding the chain so that it didn’t spear right through her, and only managed to bring her wand back up at the tail end of Malfoy’s next spell.
“Expelliarmus!” he had cast, and Daisy’s wand shot out of her hand. It didn’t go towards Malfoy like when Snape had cast it, rather only crossing a couple metres of the distance between them. Smugly, in the back of her mind, Daisy thought about how she could pull a wand further with the same spell, thanks to her study group practice.
“I’ll teach you to mess with a Malfoy,” Malfoy fumed, still pointing his wand right at her - but somehow Daisy could just tell that his heart wasn't really in it. Daisy wasn’t ready to give up, though. She still had a chance, and even if something was going on with Malfoy, he was still a problem. She still had her wand holster. She tapped against it just like she had been taught in the store, and her wand began moving back to her - landing in her hand just as Malfoy was casting yet another spell. “Serpensortia!”
“Somnium!” Daisy countered the moment she had her wand back, just as something green flew out of Malfoy’s wand. A blue bubble whizzed across the stage and struck Malfoy, fast enough that he couldn’t react. He fell forward, already asleep.
But Malfoy had still cast that spell just before, and its effects were present. He had cast it at the floor right near Daisy, where an elegant green snake was now slithering towards her and hissing. But that wasn’t a problem, right?
“Hungry,” the snake hissed.
“Don’t move, Evans, I’ll get rid of it for you,” Snape declared, stepping over malfoy and marching coolly across the stage.
“No, allow me!” Lockhart insisted, and pointed his wand at the snake. “Alarte Ascendare!”
Whatever Lockhart’s spell was, it sent the snake flying up into the air, before it fell back down. It hit the stage with a thump, and then its head rose back up. Daisy had hoped to say it was unharmed, but the snake looked too upset for that. It looked around, hissing. Now, it must have been hungry, angry and scared, with all these people around just staring at it. Daisy felt bad for the snake, who had done no wrong so far.
Daisy stepped forward, making sure to remain slow so she didn’t scare it any more. “I don’t want to hurt you. Let me help.”
The snake glanced at Daisy, and then back at the crowd of observers. It locked its gaze on one Hufflepuff boy - Zacharias Smith. “I am hungry, I must feed.”
Zach yelped as the snake slithered towards him. Daisy took more steps forward, hands out pacifyingly - even though snakes probably didn’t know what a gesture like that meant. “Not them, these people aren’t food. I’m sure I could find you something you’re used to from the kitchen, just leave him alone.”
The snake turned to face Daisy once more. “You will give me food?”
“Yes, I-” Daisy tried to answer. She didn’t get to finish; a red bolt shot from Snape’s wand. It struck the snake, which then quickly burnt up into a pile of ash and cinders.
“WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT?” Zach screamed at Daisy. Only then did she look around and realise that all eyes were on her, not what remained of the snake that had been needlessly killed. Some looked confused, others angry or scared. Snape looked somehow discerning.
“I… I think we can hand this victory to Miss Evans, don’t you all agree?” Lockhart chuckled nervously, but Daisy didn’t want to hear any of it. She needed out, so she fled.
“Daisy, wait!” a voice called as Daisy rushed through the castle hallways, just trying to find somewhere she wouldn’t be disturbed. She didn’t even know what she’d done wrong, but with the way everyone had been staring at her, there was no way she could have remained behind to try figure it out.
Daisy turned into the nearest empty classroom and slammed the door shut - hoping that whoever had followed would take that as a signal to leave her alone. Then, she found a wall to sit against, slumped against it and just tried to focus on her breathing.
The door clicked back open, and footsteps approached her. Reluctantly, Daisy looked up. She at least needed to know who it was.
Daphne. Just Daphne, nobody else.
“Daisy, how can I help?” Daphne asked quietly.
Daisy shrugged. Her voice had chosen now to stop working, of course it had. Wait a moment, Daisy thought as she realised she could probably still sign. “I need to understand what just happened. Why did they all look at me like that?”
Daphne sat down across from her. “You really don’t know?”
Daisy shook her head.
“Apparently you’re a p-a-r-s-e-l-m-o-u-t-h. It means you can talk to snakes,” Daphne explained.
Daisy took one deep breath in, and then exhaled. “I thought that was just a magic thing. I accidentally set a python at my cousin at a zoo once. You can’t?”
Daphne laughed at Daisy’s brief story. “No. Most people can’t. P-a-r-s-e-l-t-o-n-g-u-e is a language that only people with the gift can speak, and it’s usually passed down in families, only inherited once every few generations. Two of the most famous p-a-r-s-e-l-m-o-u-t-h-e-s in history were S-l-y-t-h-e-r-i-n himself and You-Know-Who.”
Daisy blinked rather forcefully as she took in the information. “I spoke another language?”
Daphne nodded. “None of us knew what you were saying. I think Z-a-c-h thought you were telling it to attack him.”
“Attack him?” Daisy signed harshly, her brows furrowed. “I was telling it to leave him alone!”
Daphne sighed. “Yeah, that makes a lot more sense, but I don’t think- look, I know you’re kind of freaked out right now, but you need to know what this is going to be seen as in the eyes of the school.”
Daisy leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes for just a moment. If Daphne was signing like that, it was going to be bad. All she had tried to do was keep that snake from hurting anyone and try to get it some food since it was hungry. But what Daphne was getting at was clear - this was going to have major ramifications. Slowly, she opened her eyes again and nodded.
“They’re going to think you’re the heir of S-l-y-t-h-e-r-i-n.”
Apparently one day was all it had taken for the entire school to hear about the events of the second year duelling club. Not even a day, given that it wasn’t even dinnertime yet, and everyone wanted to just stare at Daisy. Like they were trying to figure her out, decide if they believed that she was the heir of Slytherin or not. If she was behind the petrifications. And, of course, they had all seen her being accused of it when Mrs Norris was petrified.
All Daisy wanted was to study in peace; she, like a good number of other students, had chosen to use a free period to catch up on some work. She’d sat herself with Hermione and Ron, and was trying to make some headway on a star chart analysis for Astronomy. With all the staring and whispering, it didn’t particularly help that Daisy barely understood Astronomy and how all the interlinking star behaviour was supposed to work. It also didn’t help that Ginny, who had surprisingly come to sit not too far away and do some of her own work, had recently gone pale all of a sudden and left.
Daisy missed not having anything to worry about, as rare an occurrence as that was. It was nice spending time at home over the holidays and visiting friends, meeting people like Remus, and not having some dangerous drama catching up with her. She wanted to go back to those days, but wishing like that wouldn’t stop people from being petrified, and wouldn’t figure out how to deal with the Chamber of Secrets. The only thing that would help was keeping her head down and biding her time until the Polyjuice Potion was ready, so that one of her or her friends could impersonate Lockhart and find out something actually useful.
There was half an hour left of the study period before it would be time to get ready for dinner. Daisy looked down at her work, and realised she’d only written two lines the entire period. She was getting nothing done, and sitting here being gawked and stared at wasn’t doing her any good. So, Daisy packed up her work and got up.
“I’ll see you back in the common room,” Daisy whispered to Ron and Hermione, and then walked out. She kept her eyes on the ground, not daring to look back at any of the students who were doubtlessly watching her leave. Daisy feared that it was indicative of what her coming weeks or even months at Hogwarts would be like - keeping her head down and ignoring rumours. It already sucked.
“Blood,” the wall hissed as Daisy trudged her way back towards Gryffindor Tower. “I want blood. It’s time to kill!”
No, Daisy thought desperately. Not again!
Wanting to do something, hoping she might be able to make it in time and stop the next attack from happening, Daisy ran. She followed the repetitive voice hissing ‘kill’ over and over again, ignoring a trail of spiders fleeing the castle. She didn’t need to stop for them, they were nothing new. They’d fled when Mrs Norris was attacked as well. She just had to keep running.
There was a scream, so Daisy ran faster. She sped down another corridor, turned a corner, and-
She was too late. And this time there had been two victims. Sir Nicholas floated in the air, slowly spinning with no sign of making intentional movements of his own. On the floor just behind him lay Zacharias Smith, reaching out with an expression of fear stuck on his face. He had seen the monster, and it had petrified him. Daisy had been too late.
Footsteps approached from around a corner behind Daisy, and she let out a sigh of relief. She could get whoever was coming to help - to find a teacher or even just carry Zach across to the hospital wing-
Except she couldn’t ask for help. Everyone thought she was the heir, which meant she would just be accused of being responsible for this. There was no time to run, the footsteps were too close. She didn’t have her Cloak with her, so she couldn’t hide. The rumours would only get worse, now.
“Caught in the act,” Filch’s voice snarled. Daisy turned to face him, but not fully. She wanted to see the other way as well, so she could run if he tried to attack her like last time. “I’ll have you out this time, Evans. Mark my words.”
Instead of trying to attack her, instead of even shouting, Filch walked off. Daisy called out, in a small but likely futile hope to get him to understand. “You don’t understand, it wasn’t me!”
But he was already gone. Now, it was too late for Daisy to run and hide. Filch had already seen her, it would only get worse if she did. So she sat next to Zach’s frozen form and waited. After all - would the secretive heir willingly sit and wait for more teachers to arrive?
“Here it is,” Daisy heard Filch’s voice return from where he’d disappeared a few minutes later - in which time nobody else had passed by. Professor McGonagall emerged from around the corner by Filch’s side, and gasped. She ran forward a few steps, glanced worriedly at Zach, and then back to Daisy.
“Professor, I swear I didn’t,” Daisy insisted, fighting off tears that threatened to well up all of a sudden. Professor McGonagall had given Daisy her trust earlier in the year, saying that she now knew to believe her. If McGonagall didn’t believe her now… that would hurt.
“I believe you,” Professor McGonagall whispered, before raising her volume to continue speaking, “but this is out of my hands, Miss Evans. Come with me. Argus, please ensure that both Mister Smith and Sir Nicholas are taken care of.”
“Yes ma’am,” Filch responded gleefully. “Just make sure the little murderer gets what she deserves, eh?”
Professor McGonagall sighed, and led Daisy through the castle in silence. It was a relief to not have an audience this time, since most other students were in study halls, classes or their house towers. After five minutes of walking, Daisy realised both where she was, and where she was being taken. It only took two minutes more to reach that destination.
“Professor Dumbledore will be waiting for you,” Professor McGonagall said, sounding… concerned, perhaps. “Sherbert Lemon.”
Daisy watched apprehensively as the griffin stairwell statue began twisting and turning, and the stairs to the Headmaster’s office took their place. The last time Daisy had been here had been a loaded experience. It may have ended well, but Daisy didn’t have her mum and sister with her this time. No, she was alone and had to fend for herself. Even Professor McGonagall showed no intention of following.
With a nervous gulp, Daisy ascended the spiral staircase. She found the door to the Headmaster’s office open, and stepped inside. Professor Dumbledore wasn’t anywhere in sight. There were a few things that stood out as different, though. Next to Professor Dumbledore’s desk was a red bird that kind of looked like an underfed chicken, sitting on a golden perch above some kind of large bowl. Off to one side, atop one of the many bookshelves, sat the Sorting Hat.
Daisy felt herself compelled towards the hat, and walked over to it. While she wasn’t sure what to do now, the hat seemed to have other plans in mind. “Bee in your bonnet, Evans?”
Reaching for her words, Daisy finally found what she wanted to say. “I was just wondering how you knew. How you were so sure of my house, when I was so afraid.”
The hat chuckled. “Fear and bravery do often exist side by side, my girl. I saw in you someone who is willing to be brave, perhaps driven to do something when others would not. You needed only time to realise it for yourself. Have you?”
“I don’t know” Daisy managed. “I still don’t feel brave. People tell me I am sometimes, but it’s not like I’m choosing to be brave. I’m just doing what’s right.”
“Ah, but is that not bravery?” The hat questioned. “That you are able to do what’s right without being scared off, without even thinking of fleeing from your convictions - that is bravery. Sometimes, those who are brave don’t even realise the fear that they are defying.”
“Okay, but… where has bravery gotten me? People keep getting hurt, and every time I try to do something about it I get accused of being the monster! How is that fair?” Daisy challenged.
“Life isn’t fair. The world isn’t fair. But you would take those steps to stand up for what you believe is right all the same, wouldn’t you?” The hat mused. “Now, I think I ought to get some rest. It’s hard work, being a hat.”
Somewhere in her mind, the hat’s words grabbed on and refused to let go. Daisy knew she would have to think on it later, but now hardly felt like the time. She was going to be confronted by Dumbledore with accusations of being the heir of Slytherin, and needed to steel herself. So, she turned away from the hat.
Instead, Daisy moved towards the red bird with its weary expression and frail presence. The bird looked back at her, its wings shaking with every movement. Every breath seemed laboured for it. It didn’t really seem like a chicken up close - rather, the bird seemed like some sort of regal creature that had simply grown old. The bird crooned gently at Daisy, making her smile.
And then it caught on fire, and burnt into nothing. Just like that, it died.
“Daisy,” Dumbledore’s calm voice called.
Daisy whirled towards the source of the sound, up at the back of the office. “Um… your bird just died. There was nothing I could do, it just happened.”
Dumbledore shook his head. “Oh, and about time, too.”
Daisy squinted at him, incredibly confused. All notions of steeling herself for this meeting were now, unfortunately, thrown out the window. “About time? It caught fire and died!”
“He’s been looking dreadful for days. Pity you had to see him on a burning day,” Dumbledore said, unphased, and then clicked his tongue. He began descending the stairs from the back section towards her. “It seems you misunderstand. Fawkes is a phoenix, Daisy. They burst into flame when it is time for them to die, and then they are reborn from the ashes.”
Professor Dumbledore gestured at the bowl of ashes with his hand. From it rose the tiny, char-blackened head of a hatchling bird. The tiniest red feathers revealed themselves as some of the ash fell away, and the baby bird chirped.
“Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, and their tears have powers of healing,” Dumbledore explained, looking fondly upon the infantile bird. It was odd seeing him this… soft, when he’d been so cruel towards her before. It made Daisy on edge, and she was able to steel herself once more.
The door to Dumbledore’s office, which had somehow closed itself since Daisy entered, swung open once more. Hagrid barged in all of a sudden, carrying what appeared to be a dead rooster - by its legs - in one of his hands. “Professor Dumbledore, sir, wait! Ye have ter listen! It wasn’t Daisy. I’d be prepared ter swear it in front’o the Ministry of Magic!”
“Hagrid!” Dumbledore shouted, and that may have been the first time Daisy ever heard the man raise his voice. She herself stared at Hagrid with a mix of confusion and appreciation - the knowledge that someone out there trusted her and would swear so extremely in her favour was warming, especially today. “Relax, Hagrid. I do not believe that Daisy attacked anyone.”
“O’ course ye don’t! And-” Hagrid started, and then stopped. “Oh. Oh. Right, well I’ll just wait outside, then.”
“Yes,” Dumbledore responded with a short nod.
“You don’t think it was me, sir?” Daisy questioned carefully. She had learned not to trust Professor Dumbledore all that much - between the events of the previous school year and the night Colin was petrified, he hadn’t proven himself to be much of an ally.
“No, Daisy, I do not think it was you. But I must ask, is there something you wished to tell me?” Professor Dumbledore asked.
Daisy stilled her face, not allowing the confusion to show. She hadn’t the faintest idea what he might be expecting from her, especially since she’d already tried to tell him about the voices. “No, sir. There isn’t.”
Dumbledore sighed. “Very well, you may go. But first, a word of warning. I urge you to stay away from matters regarding the Chamber of Secrets, as nothing good could come of being involved with such a dark history.”
“Yes, sir,” Daisy responded passively, and turned to leave. She didn’t trust Dumbledore, and that meant she didn’t trust his advice. If the Chamber was real, and the teachers were doing nothing about it, she had to at least try.
Notes:
Seamus gets a little bit of gay, as a treat.
Also, I hid a tiny little thing in this chapter that means nothing right now but in book 3 will be revealed to have been not at all insignificant :) (I mean trying to figure out exactly what I'm referring to may be an unreasonable task, but still bringing it up bc i'm evil like that hehe)
Chapter 30: A Magical Affinity
Notes:
cw outing (sort of, but not a harmful one)
I went a bit ham on some worldbuilding in this chapter that I had intended to save for later in the fic but oh well :)))))
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Dear Daisy,
You haven’t done anything wrong in choosing to stay at school over the break. As a matter of fact, your reasons are most admirable. I find it curious that the school hasn’t elected to teach students about petrification given the current events - yes, I do know what is happening, and I will be owling your Headmaster with some insights I hope he will find most useful in putting an end to this. Returning to my earlier point - it is in fact known that recovered petrification victims retain some limited memory of what they have heard while in a petrified state. I’m certain your friend will appreciate your repeated presence once his health is restored.
Rather than you coming home for the break, would you like me to come to you for a day? I suspect a day is all that will be granted to a request for me to take you off the school grounds, but we could make a day trip to Hogsmeade.
I look forward to your return owl.
All my love,
Andromeda Black-Tonks (mum)
Hi mum,
I’d really like that! How about on the 28th, right in the middle of the break?
Love,
Daisy
“See you at the quad after lunch?” Suyin asked.
“Yeah, see you then,” Daisy agreed sort of absent-mindedly. It was a little hard to focus properly on what Suyin was saying when she was still getting stares and whispers wherever she went, even when most of the school had just left for the holidays.
Daisy hated this, how people looked to her and assumed she was some kind of evil assailant. Like she was the so-called ‘heir of Slytherin’ just because she could talk to snakes. They even suggested that Zach being petrified was somehow proof that it was Daisy, because Zach was a pureblood who Daisy didn’t get on with and had ‘supposedly’ tried to set a snake onto a week ago. She was pretty sure she would know if she was setting some kind of monster on people - besides, she was trying to put a stop to the attacks. But of course, nobody really cared about that.
Suyin marched off with a grin on her face that Daisy couldn’t bring herself to match. The plans were exciting, what with how it had started out as just a stray hope with no real expectation of being fulfilled - Daisy just wished she could be more relaxed to enjoy it. For now, she was focused on working with her friends to make sure that something was being done about the threat to the school.
They still hadn’t agreed on who would impersonate Lockhart; Daisy wasn’t willing to do it herself for reasons she wasn’t ready to tell her friends, and everyone else had a reason they weren’t a good fit. If they didn’t find someone soon, one of Ron or Daphne would have to take an intensive course in how to act like a very specific kind of self-absorbed prat. If it was a matter of getting information from other students, it would have been fine to allow for mistakes. But trying to fish out answers from other teachers? There’d be hell to pay if the group was caught.
With a sigh, Daisy kept walking. She’d been half-way out of the Great Hall before she was accosted by Suyin and delivered a certain bit of news, and she had plans to go back to her dorm and try to rest. The hand that grabbed her shoulder - gently enough that Daisy didn’t panic even if she still tensed up - seemed to have other plans.
“Daisy!” Daphne’s voice called, and so Daisy let her shoulders relax a little.
“Morning, Daphne,” Daisy returned the greeting after turning to face her friend. “What’s up?”
Daphne held out her hand. “Come with me!”
Tentatively, Daisy took the hand she was offered. She was then whisked off towards the cold outside, over to the hill that overlooked Hagrid’s hut and the Dark Forest. What with a large portion of the school’s students being away for the holidays, there was nobody else there. For a moment, Daisy wondered if she was being dragged off to Hagrid’s. But then Daphne pulled her in a different direction, over to where there were a couple benches overlooking the lake that sat within the forest.
Daphne sat down, and tapped the spot next to her. Confused, Daisy took a seat where indicated. “So, you’ve been awfully quiet this past week.”
“Have I?” Daisy asked, trying to think if she’d been any less talkative amongst her friends recently. Certainly a little, what with all the stress, but she wasn’t sure it amounted to ‘awfully quiet’.
Daphne gave her a look. “…about everyone thinking you’re the heir, about you being a Parselmouth. You haven’t said another word to me about all of that since the day of the duel!”
“Oh.” Daphne was right - Daisy hadn’t brought it up. She didn’t really know how to. “I guess it’s kind of hard to know what to say when everyone’s starting to associate me with You-Know-Who.”
Daphne turned to sit cross-legged on the bench so that she was facing Daisy with her whole body. “Yeah, and that would be hard for anybody. Hey, do you want a head massage? Tracey says I’m really good at it.”
“A head massage?” Daisy questioned, not exactly sure what that entailed.
“Yeah, it’ll help you relax. Seriously, Daisy, you’re so tense lately, you could use it. Are you okay with my hands on your head though?” Daphne asked. Daisy thought about it, and nodded. “Okay, come sit on the grass in front of me.”
Daisy did as she was told, putting her back up against the bench. The frosty ground was rather cold, but that was also easily fixed with a quick warming charm. Daphne’s legs dropped to either side of her, and soon her hands were against Daisy’s scalp, moving in gentle circles. She changed it up every now and then, moving through all different sorts of motions that had Daisy’s body starting to loosen up. Only then did she realise just how tense she had been. The massage was doing wonders for her, and it only made her feel more grateful towards not just Daphne, but all of her friends. Everything they had all brought into her life was more than she could have dreamed of.
“I can’t imagine how rough this would be on you of all people,” Daphne continued after a while.
Perhaps without the massage, Daisy might have panicked. But this was Daphne. Daisy knew full well that Daphne was the first person she would tell about all of this, even if she hadn’t quite felt ready yet. After taking a moment to both enjoy the ongoing massage and plan what she wanted to say, Daisy closed her eyes and finally spoke. “What do you mean, me of all people?”
The massage still didn’t stop. This time, when Daphne spoke, her voice was even gentler. “I promise you I haven’t told anyone, and I wouldn’t without your permission. But I kind of figured it out a little while after your birthday party. I mean… it’d be a bit much of a coincidence for your birthday to be the same day as both Neville’s and a certain other person, unless you were that person. I did a bit of research after that, and… you resemble both James and Lily quite a bit.”
“Is it… obvious?” Daisy asked next. That, she had to know. She really didn’t want everybody finding out. If they were going to, though, she needed a chance to prepare.
Daphne’s hands moved to put pressure on the sides of Daisy’s head, massaging back and forth. “No, I don’t think so. It might be a good idea to pretend your birthday is on a different day if you’re going to tell anyone else, but I’ll bet Neville’s the only other person who’d figure it out.”
A realisation struck, Daisy’s brain only now catching up to something Daphne had said a little earlier. “Wait, Neville’s got the same birthday as me? Why didn’t he say anything!”
“I’m sure he had a great time, and didn’t want to make your party about him,” Daphne reassured her. “And he wouldn’t tell anyone either, he’s not like that.”
With that reassurance, Daisy and Daphne fell back into a peaceful quiet. It was good, because it allowed Daisy to think. She was honestly feeling more soothed and relaxed than she ever had in her life with this massage, which helped her not be as afraid. The fact that Daisy had come to Hogwarts nervous that people would accept her as a girl, or even accept her at all - and then found such an incredible group of friends… it was beyond what she could have even dreamed of back with the Dursleys. And the fact that Daphne didn’t seem to care about the fact that Daisy was trans - which she had to know by now - only made her feel more at peace.
“You’re really okay with this being kept secret? The wixen world, or at least around here, all seemed to be desperate to have ‘me’ back. They thought I was some kind of hero.”
Daphne laughed. “You are a hero, but that’s something you’ve earned in the time I’ve known you from all your reckless courage and ass-kicking. Of course I’m fine with it. You’re your own person, and you get to decide what you want. Besides, I know full well you wouldn’t want the attention and expectations that come with people knowing. Hey, do you want me to do your shoulders too?”
It took Daisy a good few seconds to respond to what she had been asked, as she was trying not to cry. Daisy’s inner protests at being called a hero - because in her own eyes she really wasn’t - went unsaid.
She nodded - which was a little awkward with Daphne’s hands still massaging her scalp. Daphne moved on to Daisy’s shoulders, and even more of Daisy’s tension began to release. “It’s not just the attention. Muggles… they don’t really like… or accept people like me. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, they still think… well, they think they have a nephew.”
Daphne sighed loudly. “They can take those opinions and shove them right up their arses. Here in our community, if you tell us who you are, we believe you. Of course, then you get rhetoric about furthering bloodlines being the most important thing shoved down your throat a little more than the rest of us.”
“I guess I haven’t gotten any of that yet because most people don’t know.” It was more than a guess - Daisy knew that as a fact because of what she’d heard from others at the Fortescue’s meetup. “And I don’t think I’m ready to tell people for a while, either.”
“And you don’t have to,” Daphne said. “If it’s any consolation, I get some of it. When I told my parents that I fancy girls, they immediately started telling me about how there was magic to help make sure I could still have kids if I ended up with a woman. That was just over the holidays, and I’d barely just turned twelve!”
“You like girls?” Daisy questioned, still not used to how casually people could say something like that amongst wixen folk. “How did you know?”
“I, uh… started crushing on one. I’ll tell you who if you promise not to tell anyone.”
Daisy pivoted around on the ground so she could see Daphne. It had the unfortunate side-effect of breaking Daphne’s hold and ending the massage, but she somehow felt like she shouldn’t be facing away for this. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
Daphne’s face was rather flushed - which was something Daisy had never seen happen to her before. She usually seemed so composed, which made this feel like even more of a big deal. “No, I want to tell you… it’s Hermione.”
Daisy’s jaw dropped - though more out of excitement than surprise. “Really? Are you going to tell her?”
Daphne shook her head hard. “Nonono, definitely not! I mean… not yet. I just feel too young to do anything about it. Maybe in a few years, if I still feel the same?” Then, a pause. “What about you? Anyone you’ve got your eye on?”
Daisy shrugged. “Not really. I don’t think I’ve ever had a crush.”
“If you ever do, whoever they are, they’d be lucky to have you,” Daphne declared as her face began to return to its normal colour. Then, she stood up. “Daisy, can I hug you?”
It was then that Daisy realised she’d never actually been hugged by any of her friends - the only people who ever had were her mum and her sister. Eagerly and readily, Daisy stood up and opened her arms to let Daphne know it would be okay.
Daphne stepped in and pulled her arms around Daisy a little tightly - just the right amount of pressure, other than the way it sort of hurt her chest. But that was both new and something Daisy didn’t know what to do about yet. “You’re my best friend, and I want you to know that I love you and I’m here for you.”
That time, Daisy did cry. Daphne hadn’t been her first friend at Hogwarts, but had quickly become her closest and most trusted friend despite the fact that they were in different houses and didn’t see each other as much, and despite the rivalry a lot of Gryffindor had with a lot of Slytherin. To have someone say that about her? And more than that, to know that she’d been a good enough friend for Daphne to consider her like that? It was indescribably wonderful.
“You too, Daphne,” Daisy whispered back. A minute later, the two girls finally broke apart and stood while they decided what to do next.
“So, what have you got on for today? I saw you talking to Suyin earlier - you having a friendly seeker’s match with her or something?” Daphne asked.
Daisy shook her head. “Suyin, Dargo and I are going to get lessons in sword-fighting from Professor McGonagall.”
Daphne blinked. “You’re doing what?”
“Sword-fighting!” Daisy answered gleefully in a way that reflected just how truly excited she was. “Do you want to come?”
The invitation was answered with a playful scoff. “What, and get all dirty from being knocked around? No thank you. But I wouldn’t mind going for a bit more of a walk now, if you’d like?”
Daisy nodded easily. “Wanna come to the owlery? I’ve been meaning to go visit Hedwig.”
And so they did.
On her way out from lunch, Daisy crossed paths with Neville and Terry who were having a rather animated conversation about something to do with magical runes. As Daisy and the two boys exchanged brief waves, she couldn’t help but realise that they’d been spending a lot of time together. Sure, Neville had his whole group of friends outside of Gryffindor that he was with a lot of the time, but Terry had always seemed to be by his side this year. Remembering how nervous Neville had been in first year - and to an extent he still was - Daisy was glad to see him so happy and at ease.
Not wanting to interrupt the two boys, Daisy moved on and headed for the quad. After the morning with Daphne, Daisy found herself actually possessing the mental energy to process the fact that Suyin and Dargo had found someone who could teach some sword-fighting and made it happen. It had really just been an ambitious little pipe dream, and now it was going to be a reality. With the eager skip in her step, it didn’t take long for Daisy to reach her destination.
It turned out that, aside from Professor McGonagall, Daisy was the first to arrive. The transfigurations professor sat on a bench Daisy could swear wasn’t usually in the quad - perhaps she’d moved it from a nearby classroom, or even just transfigured it out of something else. Excited, Daisy ran over and greeted the professor.
“Miss Evans?” Professor McGonagall seemed surprised at first, but then her expression shifted into one of light amusement and she chuckled. “Miss Chang and Mistrum Savifors had mentioned another, younger student who was interested. I hadn’t expected it to be you, though I suppose it shouldn’t have been a surprise. There is a certain something about the way you wield magic that makes your interest in bladed combat… fitting.”
Daisy’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“It is to do with a magical theory I know less about than I’d like, one I suspect dear Andromeda might have a better idea of than I,” McGonagall began, and Daisy’s interest had quickly been purchased. “In the time of Emrys Merlin, there was said to be far more to magic than we know today - rituals, sects and forms that have been lost over the generations since. There are only the barest records to suggest some of these existed, whereas others have either survived to this day or until recently enough that our community’s collective knowledge can prove what once was. There is one such more… recently surviving art that centres around the combined use of wandwork and blades, going so far as to unite the two by forging a blade with the core of a wand. Those who had the skill and knowledge to wield it were known as Spellblades.”
“Is that something I could learn? Can you teach me?” Daisy asked perhaps a little too forcefully, her enamour with the information taking over.
McGonagall chuckled. “I thought you might like that. Perhaps you could, if you were to find someone trained in the arts who might teach you. That is, however, not the reason I brought up the old magics. In the times of Merlin, it was said that there were individual relationships with magic known as Affinities. They referred to the form of magic an individual was most connected to, and adept at. It was said that Merlin had an affinity with magic in its entirety, which accounted for his power and skill.
“All sorts of affinities were purported to exist; there were said to be those with an affinity to fire or water or the earth, and other base elements, but there may have also been those with other sorts of affinities - classifications such as battle, or healing, or that of illusions. You are not the first student to make me wonder if the theories might have truth to them. Have you ever noticed how you pick up offensive duelling spells far more quickly than your peers?”
Daisy blinked. “Do I? Usually Hermione masters most spells first, and Malfoy also figured them out faster than me in Defense last year.”
McGonagall shook her head. “To her great credit, Miss Granger puts in a great deal of study before attempting any spells in class. And as for Mister Malfoy - the young man has already had training from a professional duelist. To have defeated him in a duel on your first try is no small feat - not to mention the spell I have heard tell of you using, the Tremor Jinx. That particular spell might ordinarily be successfully attempted by a fifth year happening upon it while doing additional research.”
“Really?” Daisy flushed, not used to praise this extensive from a teacher.
“Truly,” McGonagall professed. “But don’t let this go to your head, Miss Evans. You have quite a knack for magical combat, but it is no replacement for hard work. Though I do wish the Rite of Affinity spoken of in one particular text wasn’t lost to us, it would be quite fascinating to see what it might reveal for you. Perhaps Andromeda might know.”
“I’ll ask mum next week!” Daisy exclaimed, looking forward to the planned visit even more now. “Thank you for telling me about this, it’s very interesting!”
Professor McGonagall smiled a warm smile. “It is my pleasure, Miss Evans. Now, I can see that the other two have finally made their way here, so I’d ask that you please go take your place on the grass across from me.”
Daisy did exactly as instructed, hands flapping back and forth by her side with excitement. Between that and a careful breathing exercise, Daisy managed to calm herself down by the time Suyin and Dargo had crossed the quad to join her. After all, she needed to be able to continue paying attention to Professor McGonagall.
“You made it here early,” Dargo remarked, nodding to Daisy.
“Or perhaps it is you two that are late?” McGonagall suggested with a wry smile, rather than the usual stern expression that would accompany the admonishment. That confused Daisy for a good few seconds, until she realised that McGonagall might have been teasing them. With all her mental efforts to figure it out, Daisy had missed whatever had been said after.
“-will be using blunt, wooden blades for now, while you learn some basic forms and movements,” McGonagall continued. She waved her wand at the bench and uttered a quiet incantation. The bench split apart into four pieces, which reshaped themselves into solid wooden blades. Three of the blades were hovered over to the three students, and the professor took the fourth.
Daisy gripped the blade in one hand, and smiled as she turned it around and tested the weight. It felt a little lighter than she’d expected, but she liked it all the same. She was only too happy to comply with McGonagall’s instructions to repeat various swings over and over until her whole upper body was almost too sore to move.
When McGonagall declared that she was willing to run these lessons every second day for the remainder of the winter break, Daisy let out a hearty cheer.
After telling Colin all about the sword-fighting lesson, Daisy went into Madam Pomfrey’s office for her routine checkup. When Daisy mentioned the newfound sensitivity and tenderness of her chest, Madam Pomfrey informed her that it was an indication that the Estrogenating Elixir was working well, and that she might want to consider acquiring some bras.
Notes:
Bee made fanart for this chapter and I am losing my minddddddddddddddddd aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Go check out hir tumblr at https://www.tumblr.com/waechterin-der-nacht and https://www.tumblr.com/nachtwaechterin !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Daphne’s such a slytherin, lulling Daisy into a sense of comfort with a massage before dropping something potentially distressing on her. When I had the idea I knew I had to write it like that, because Daphne really cares and would have wanted to make it easier for Daisy, especially when the latter was so pent up and on edge. (She would have offered the massage anyway, just happened to make a good opportunity for both goals to be achieved)
- Dora knew full well how advanced the Tremor Jinx was when teaching it to Daisy. If anything, she probably just expected Daisy to make small vibrations and be over the moon about that anyway! She knew that Daisy would be happy to at least learn some theory for a spell like that.
- Get hyped for next chapter, it's got a biiig dunk of character development I've been looking forward to progressing for so long now
Chapter 31: The Heir's Choice
Notes:
cw implications/fears of child abuse & family violence
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Oh my god, Ron, what are you doing?” Hermione protested as Ron made more and more of a mess of the great hall floors. For some reason, bowls of jelly had been served for breakfast. In and of itself, that wasn’t at all an issue. The problem was the fact that Ron had decided to fling spoonful after spoonful of jelly into the air so he could try and catch it with his mouth. He didn’t catch most of them.
“You believe in that muggle ‘god’ fellow?” Ron questioned, an eyebrow raised in confusion.
Hermione sighed, clearly exasperated. “No, Ron. It’s just a turn of phrase, and besides - there are lots of different muggle religions that all believe in different things. Even of the ones who believe in a higher power, not all of them believe in the same god! And can you stop that!”
“What?” Ron questioned as though he hadn’t done anything wrong. Daisy sighed, and got up to leave. Her mum would be here soon, and she needed to head down to the gates that led to Hogsmeade soon or she’d be late.
“See you guys later!” Carefully stepping over the splattered bits of rather colourful jelly, Daisy made her way out of the great hall - leaving Hermione to deal with Ron. Daisy was surprisingly sore from yesterday’s training with Professor McGonagall; the professor had decided the seeker trio were finally ready for some sparring, and it had been intense. Still, the walking would be good for her, so she muscled through.
There was nobody guarding the gates, since they were magically enchanted to only let people in and out if it had been planned for in advance - though there was also a magical ‘doorbell’ of sorts for those who needed it. Andromeda had already let herself in, standing and waiting near the gate in a thick, fluffy-looking black coat to ward off the cold. There was also someone else standing further back past the gates, but Daisy couldn’t tell who it was.
Daisy broke into a run - which her muscles did not hesitate to complain about - and leapt at her mum happily. The woman managed to catch her, albeit stumbling back several steps in the process.
“My goodness, you’ve grown!” Andromeda exclaimed as she steadied herself. “At this rate you might even grow as tall as Ted was.”
“Yeah, Daphne’s not impressed,” Daisy grinned, blushing a little sheepishly after almost having bowled her mum over. Sometimes she forgot that she wasn’t just getting taller, but all the exercise was making her stronger and heavier too. “She wanted to be the tall one. The only one of my friends who’s still taller than me is Ron.”
“Tell me, how has the first week of your break been?” Andromeda asked. Daisy was about to answer, when she noticed something particular about the stranger standing off to the side. Amidst all the stranger’s brown curls sat one section of hair that was pink. The exact same pink as…
“Dora?” Daisy questioned.
The stranger - no, Dora snorted. “Damnit, what did I miss?”
“Some of your hair is still pink, dear,” Andromeda answered mirthfully.
Dora released the effects of her metamorphmagus ability and reverted to her usual appearance. It was quite a transformation, given that almost every aspect of her appearance had been changed. “Always comes back to the basics, huh? Hiya, Daze. How’s it going?”
With little warning, Daisy turned and leapt at Nym too. Unlike Andromeda, though, Nym was prepared enough to catch Daisy without being pushed back.
“Nym, what are you doing here?” Daisy questioned, not having expected her sister’s presence at all.
Dora laughed. “I managed to convince Moody to give me a day off, so I thought I’d surprise you and tag along! Now, where are we headed?”
“I thought perhaps we could have a wander through the village first,” Andromeda suggested. “So Daisy can have a proper explore and see what’s around. How does that sound?”
Without any reason for anyone to disagree, the family set off down the path towards Hogsmeade. Daisy was glad it took more than a few minutes to reach the village; it gave her an opportunity to just enjoy the fact that her mum and sister had come to spend the day with her and were right there, walking alongside her.
The previous time she’d been to Hogsmeade hadn’t been a particularly lengthy visit - after having that rather intense discussion with Dumbledore, Andromeda had taken Daisy into the village for some time spent together over a meal and then promptly returned. Adding on the emotional turbulence of that particular day, Daisy hadn’t really taken any of it in. Now, she had time to explore and see what was so exciting that made the Hogsmeade days for third years and above so coveted.
The village was lined with all sorts of shops - everything someone living here would need to get by, and more. Dora specifically pointed out Zonko’s Joke Shop, a store that she had frequented during her middle years at Hogwarts, as well as Honeydukes, the reliable and successful sweets shop. There was also the Three Broomsticks, where students often went for butterbeer on their Hogsmeade days, and the Hog’s Head Inn that was quieter but also less reputable - apparently that had been where Hagrid acquired the dragon egg last year.
There was also a museum of sorts that Andromeda suggested they come back to in the afternoon, which currently had a pop-up exhibit about the survival tactics used during the witch trials that both predated and incited the International Statute of Secrecy.
Then, a few buildings further down the main road, was Gladrags Wizardwear. Daisy knew she needed to stop by Gladrags to make a certain purchase, and while it was very exciting, it also felt terrifying and a little embarrassing. How was she supposed to talk to her mum about needing to buy a bra? She’d never heard any of her dormmates discussing it, and didn’t know what the rules for this were.
All the same, Andromeda noticed Daisy staring at the storefront. “Something you need here, dear?”
“Uh…” Daisy managed ever so unimpressively, flushing from the awkwardness she felt.
Fortunately, Nym caught on and swept in to her rescue. “It would be about time for that, huh? Don’t worry, Daisy, we’ve both got your back. Do you know what to expect?”
Daisy shook her head. “Not… uh, not really?”
Dora nodded in understanding. “Well, someone in the store will need to take a few quick measurements, and then you pick out a bra or two you like in the right size. You should get a couple sports bras too, and maybe it’s not such a bad idea to get a padded one a size up too, for later. It’s a big milestone, and means the potions are definitely working!”
And so they went into Gladrags. Half an hour later, they came back out. Daisy now owned a pair of training bras, another pair of sports bras, and a single padded bra that she would theoretically grow into. It had been far less embarrassing than Daisy had anticipated, much to her great relief. Better than that, it had felt like a sort of right of passage - an almost euphoric step taken along her journey of girlhood that she would hold dear. It made her experiences, and her identity, feel that much more tangible and real.
“Mum, do you know anything about magical affinities?” Daisy asked between bites of shepherd’s pie. It was a question still very present in her mind, one for which the Hogwarts Library had returned no answers. “Professor McGonagall said you might.”
Andromeda set her glass down carefully. “Far less than I’d like. There was once a belief amongst wixenkind that all those capable of using magic had either a neutral ‘affinity’ or one connected to a certain element, concept or perhaps category of spells. From what little I know, it was said that those with a set affinity displayed a far greater proficiency with related magics. But it was a dying belief - or theory, perhaps. By the turn of the twentieth century only one magical library still contained documents regarding magical affinities, and that particular library was destroyed by Gellert Grindelwald.”
Daisy frowned. That sounded very much like a dead end to her. “And there’s no older evidence still lying around?”
Andromeda’s tongue clicked. “Yes and no. Numerous older texts, tablets and historical remnants reference affinities - even going so far as to name something called a ‘Rite of Affinity’, but none provide any details on what the rite actually is or involves. Perhaps one day it might be rediscovered, but for all intents and purposes, all detailed knowledge of magical affinities is lost to the wixen world.”
After lunch, Andromeda took Daisy and Nym all the way to the other side of the village. There had been a stunted, cryptic conversation between Andromeda and Nym about their destination, and the rest of the journey was uncharacteristically quiet. Unsure of what to expect, Daisy simply followed and waited to find out. Andromeda’s path took the family past any of the shops and through the residential areas, to a large stone wall standing atop a small hill.
Upon getting closer, Daisy realised that it wasn’t exactly just a wall. It was engraved with a long list of names. There was a golden plaque right at the base of the wall, which read ‘May death’s embrace be merciful to those who have fallen.’ Daisy gulped, beginning to understand why her mum and sister had been so quiet.
“Has anyone at the school explained this place to you, Daisy?” Andromeda asked in a hushed voice, barely above a whisper.
“No,” Daisy answered. “Is this a memorial of some kind?”
“Yeah,” Nym said just as quietly. “All the names of those who died in the last war are on here. Dad’s up here a bit past the middle column, near the top. We might still have him with us as a painting, but mum and I don’t like to forget that he died, or what he died for, so we visit every year.”
“If you look further towards the middle, you’ll find Lily and James.” Andromeda pointed, helping Daisy find the names of her birth parents.
It was a heavy, chilling experience to read the names ‘Lily Potter’ and ‘James Potter’ up on that wall. Growing up, she had known the Durleys weren’t telling her the truth about who her parents were and how they died. Learning the truth had been important to her, and gave her understanding of her parents a sense of meaning. She knew where she came from, and that her parents died to save her. But until now, that knowledge had still felt somewhat abstracted… disconnected from her life.
Now, looking at their names on the memorial wall? Pieces began to fit together. Her parents died to save her, and the war ended. And they were only two names among hundreds. They had died, taken from the world at a young age, and they were remembered. Not just in books and accounts of the war and how it ended, but in a real, physical place. There was a stone wall in a wixen village in Scotland where their names were recorded for all to see, and they weren’t being raised above anyone else. It made things all the more real for Daisy.
“Is there something I can do here, to honour them?” Daisy asked somberly.
“Lumos libero,” both Andromeda and Dora answered at once.
“Point your wand up into the air and cast the spell with the ‘libero’ extension,” Dora continued explaining. “It’ll release a small ball of light up into the air. The idea is that we remember the light the dead brought into the world, and then release it - both so that we can move forward, and so that we share their light with all who might benefit from it. We’ll do it together.”
Daisy raised her wand up into the air alongside her living family. She thought of her parents, who were the last to die at Voldemort’s hand. She thought of her mother, who still inspired her to this day, and her father who she still didn’t know very much about. In her mind, she thanked them for all that they had done for her, and for every other person they helped.
“Lumos libero.”
Three small orbs rose up into the air, flying higher and higher until they faded into nothing.
After a full day of food, shopping, honouring the dead, more shopping and some time at the museum, it was time to return to Hogwarts. The sun was about to start setting, and Daisy had been given specific instructions to be back before sunset was over. She was glad that her mum and sister had come, and thoroughly enjoyed the day with them - so much that she was upset that it was already over. Dora didn’t have time to return to the castle and apparated back to London early, leaving just Daisy and Andromeda to walk together.
“How are the mandrakes coming along?” Andromeda asked as they walked.
Daisy was well aware that her mum knew what was going on at Hogwarts, and had made no efforts to hide it in her letters. “Professor Sprout says they should be fully mature at the end of May, and she’s already got the older students repotting them now.”
“Quite far away, but I suppose there’s not much else the school can do now,” Andromeda remarked. “Mandrake cuttings are quite hard to get a hold of. It’s rather fortuitous that Pomona was able to procure so many baby mandrakes for your lessons. I can only hope that Albus finds my advice helpful and puts a stop to the attacks soon.”
Daisy was glad that her mum was trying to help end the attacks, but she wasn’t sure she trusted Dumbledore to actually do anything responsible. With the polyjuice potion being ready in a few days’ time, perhaps she could find out if Dumbledore had listened or not.
Before long, the school gates were upon them. Daisy turned to give her mum a hug as the gates swung open, sad to say goodbye but not wanting to draw it out either.
“Wouldn’t you like me to walk you up to the castle?” Andromeda offered.
“I think the other students who don’t have family visits might get a little jealous,” Daisy responded, knowing full well that Hermione would have jumped at the chance to see her parents and show them around Hogsmeade.
“Very well,” Andromeda nodded, and then turned to look straight at a section of bushes right past the gate. “Though at the least I think I might stay to see you safely past whichever student is lurking over there.”
“Lurking?” Daisy questioned, turning to follow her mum’s line of sight. As it turned out, there was someone there - judging by the pair of shoes jutting out right at the very edge of the bushes.
Obviously realising that they’d been discovered, the owner of those shoes stepped forward - a certain blonde second year Slytherin student revealed himself, a rather unusually sheepish look on his face.
“Er… hi,” Draco Malfoy greeted the two of them gracelessly, with his hands held up in a placating gesture. “I’m not here to fight, I swear.”
“Well, it would appear that Nymphadora’s plan was a success?” Andromeda noted. “She was quite proud of it when she told me, and I could only agree that it was likely to work. I hardly expected results this quickly, though.”
Malfoy turned his attention to Andromeda, sizing her up. “Are you… Aunt Andromeda?”
“Indeed I am,” Andromeda confirmed. “While I won’t make the mistake of assuming that you are immutably like your father, I expect you’ll understand my intention to remain here to ensure my daughter’s safety.”
“Of course,” Malfoy agreed surprisingly earnestly. “I wouldn’t expect you to trust me either. Evans, I was hoping to apologise, if you’ll allow it. And… I know it’s presumptuous and unearned, but I’d also like to ask for your help.”
“Is that so?” Daisy asked with a reflexive edge to her tone, and then reeled herself back in. Malfoy didn’t seem hostile, and there was none of the usual smug superiority complex present in his demeanour. “I mean… sure.”
Malfoy nodded, and took in a deep breath. “I want to apologise for being an arse to you and your friends this year and the last. I was never able to shake what you said to me in the forest last year, and it’s helped me… question some things about what I believe and why. And then this year, ever since the school started talking about the two of us being cousins, I was shown certain gaps in the way people like my father think.”
Daisy noticed Malfoy begin to glance back towards the castle nervously. She was about to ask if something was wrong, but Malfoy answered before she get the chance. “I know I don’t have much of a right to ask this, but… Aunt Andromeda, could you disillusion the two of us? Or at least just me? I can’t have word of me being here get back to father, not yet.”
“Why not?” Daisy asked, not even remotely understanding what could be so wrong about this.
“Of course,” Andromeda agreed before Malfoy had the chance to answer. She stepped over to where Malfoy was standing and tapped her wand on his head. Daisy quickly felt a strain on her eyes - when she looked at Malfoy she knew he was standing right there, but he was somehow harder to see.
“I know it must seem strange, Evans, but me being seen here talking to you like this isn’t safe for me,” Malfoy explained, the worry crystal clear in his voice. “My standing among the circles my family moves in is already deeply tarnished after losing that duel to you. My father is already disappointed, and I need… well, I need to decide where I stand and speak with mother before anyone finds out about this. If he found out… father might pull me out of Hogwarts and have me moved to Durmstrang, where I won’t get any chance to do what I want to do right now.”
“What do you want to do right now?” Daisy asked.
Malfoy took in another deep breath. “I want to decide what I believe in and who I stand by for myself, instead of just recycling my father’s views. It was the school-wide rumours of us being cousins that made me realise how flawed the whole thing is. Certainly, our community recognises magical adoptions as a very significant and complete addition of an individual to a larger family. Aunt Andromeda and my mother may have been recognised as sisters once, but Aunt Andromeda was cast out of the Black family. Accordingly, there is no legal or symbolic cousinship between us.”
Daisy’s head tilted to one side. “Then why… why did Dora tell me to spread that rumour?”
Malfoy’s eyes widened. “That was you? Damn, Evans, I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“You were hurting my friends, I had to do something,” Daisy stated quite matter-of-factly. “And Professor McGonagall said that punching you wasn’t the best solution.”
“I’m inclined to agree with Professor McGonagall, especially after being on the receiving end of your fist,” Malfoy flushed - or, Daisy thought she saw him flushing. “Anyway, all these rich, pureblood families like mine are so blinded by their beliefs that they’ll take a perceived affront to their ‘honour’ so seriously. I didn’t even get a chance to stamp out the rumours by reminding people of Aunt Andromeda’s disownment before the expectations piled up on me to assert some kind of dominance over you. It made me wonder if they even care about their own rules, or if it’s just an excuse to control one another and feel powerful. And… if the rules don’t matter to a portion of our society who supposedly so tight with tradition, are they even good rules?”
In that moment, Daisy realised that Malfoy must have been thinking about this a lot. It was true that he’d seemed far more tempered through the year, and reluctant to dish out the hatred she’d known him for last year - and now she understood why. Back in the Forest on that ridiculous detention, she’d gotten through to him.
“My my, Draco, you’re quite the independent thinker. You’re absolutely correct that Lucius would not approve,” Andromeda stated, sounding thoroughly impressed with him. “I’ll take my leave now, and let you tend to your own affairs privately. The disillusionment should wear off in just under half an hour. And Draco? Tell my dear sister that if the two of you ever want to take your leave of Lucius, I will offer my assistance and a place to stay.”
With that, Andromeda turned and left. Before Malfoy had started speaking, Daisy might have been concerned about being left alone with him. Now, she wasn’t even slightly worried. She noticed the way Malfoy was staring after her mum, and allowed him the time to return his focus and gather his thoughts. During that time, she moved further in line with the bushes and sat down, so she’d be harder to spot. A moment later, she heard and sort-of saw Malfoy move to join her.
“Aunt Andromeda really is a force to be reckoned with, isn’t she?” Malfoy remarked.
Daisy laughed. “She really is. Is it that dangerous for you to be found out?”
“Absolutely,” Malfoy insisted. “Father was a Death Eater. He’s at the top of the food chain amongst a ring of other former Death Eaters, and for me to have failed in asserting my superiority to you threatens his power, and pushes me to the bottom of the Slytherin food chain. Those risks I mentioned before are only the beginning of… well, never mind that, it’s not your problem. But I think I already know that father is wrong, and that I don’t want to follow in his footsteps. I just… I want to learn more about other viewpoints and make up my own mind. I choose to be my own person, not just my father’s heir and a receptacle for his views.”
“I’m glad,” Daisy said, shooting Malfoy a small smile. “But you know you have a lot of apologising to do? You need to take responsibility for all the things you’ve said and done. You’ve hurt people. You’ve hurt me, and you’ve hurt my friends.”
“I know,” Malfoy admitted, sounding truly sincere. “And I will. I know that it doesn’t matter that I could tell you and your friends and all the muggleborns in the school that my insult that night with the blood on the wall was posturing, because I was still protecting myself, and I still said something awful. I know. I just don’t know how to make up for it all.”
“Did you rehearse this?” Daisy had to ask, having wondered how Malfoy could possibly have said this all so eloquently.
Malfoy smirked, but the expression faded just as quickly as it came in. “Naturally. I’m not actually all that much of a Slytherin, really. The hat wanted to put me in Ravenclaw, but I begged it to put me in Slytherin so I wouldn’t disappoint father. I learned how to be like this. And that means I don’t actually know how to proceed from here, because honest repentance isn’t something expected of a Malfoy.”
“Well, you could start by apologising?” Daisy suggested, filing away her surprise at Malfoy’s admission for later. “In fact, I have the perfect idea. I know you can’t be seen doing any of this, so you just have to take the opportunities you can that nobody will notice, right? On Thursday, fifteen minutes after lunch ends, come to the girls’ bathroom on the second floor.”
Daisy could barely just see Malfoy’s eyebrows furrowing deeply. “Moa- Myrtle’s bathroom?”
“That’s right,” Daisy confirmed. “When you get there, wait outside until I cast two pulses of lumos, and then come in.”
Notes:
I have been looking forward to properly starting up Draco's redemption beyond just little hints here and there for so long aaaaa. Him the goodest boi actually - and I hope people have noticed, or can now see, the various little hints through book 2 that he's starting to think for himself :)
Chapter 32: To Be A Prat
Notes:
Hey hi howdy y'all! I'm taking a little bit of a break from this fic so that I can chase the dopamine with a couple other fics bc my mental health has been a little downhill lately - as committed as I am to this story, I need a bit of a break for some fresh ideas! I doubt it'll be a long break away from the fic, but I can't promise anything. Here's the last chapter I had in my buffer, which I very much enjoyed and looked forward to writing and I hope you like it!
In the meantime, feel free to have a look at my latest fics, The Girl Next Door and two steps forward, one step back. I'm having lots of fun writing both, and I think tsfosb will be a bit of a longfic project despite it being a totally underplanned idea. Parkner is a very fun mcu ship that I'm having lots of fun with. And for girl next door, HaruChrome is one of my long standing favourite rarepair ships across many fandoms, so I figured I'd give it some love.
Now, for this chapter, some cws: gross negligence of 'responsible' adults with regards to student care and safety
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was Thursday the 31st of December, the last day of the calendar year. Daphne had managed to confirm that the school teachers had a strategic planning meeting after lunchtime on the 31st every year, followed by a break to store records and sort any personal affairs before an evening party; discovering this tidbit had been a cunning but rather simple effort involving sweetly asking Professor Sprout what her New Years Eve celebration plans were. That made it the perfect day to put the plan into action.
It also happened to be exactly one day after the polyjuice potion would be complete in its base form - which was fine, as it could remain perfectly usable for several months if stored correctly. The plan to incapacitate Lockhart had already been enacted - the incompetent teacher was now heavily asleep in a bush of rather harmless plants with a gentle grip reflex, which had been Neville’s idea. The man was in no danger, but the way the plant’s leafy structures closed in on him would keep him concealed and undiscovered until he woke a few hours later.
Daisy watched Hermione pace back and forth in Myrtle’s bathroom almost immediately once everyone had gathered. Hermione’s stress was at least in part Daisy’s fault, since she hadn’t given the group her little update yet.
“Our chances of pulling this off will plummet if we don’t use the potion today,” Hermione urged. “Daphne, I know you’re worried and I know you don’t like it but you’re the best of us to impersonate him.”
Daphne sighed, sitting with her elbows on her knees and her head resting in her open palms. “I just don’t want to slip up and get us all in Merlin knows how much trouble. Surely we find an opportunity tomorrow, or next week? At least that way I’d have more time to rehearse the prat’s mannerisms, and we could definitely knock Prathart out again without getting caught!”
Neville groaned, his fingers rattling anxiously against his cane. “He won’t notice but the other teachers might! Besides, it feels wrong to put the Temple’s Embrace through Lockhart’s presence all for nothing.”
“Oh shush, the plant won’t get hurt,” Daphne countered in a way that Daisy usually would have interpreted as teasing, but it had more of a stressed edge to it. “You said so yourself!”
Having both had enough of seeing her friends this worried and also enough time to work up the courage to speak up, Daisy cleared her throat. “I… may have a solution. But first, there’s someone I’ve brought who wants to apologise to everyone here. For reasons he’ll probably explain, you can’t tell anyone he was here though. Also… don’t freak out.”
“Huh?” Ron questioned, his eyes locked on the bubbling polyjuice. Then a strange look that fell half-way between suspicious and knowing appeared on his face. Not wanting to dwell on what or how Ron knew, Daisy pulled out her wand from its sheath and quietly cast the Wand-Lighting Charm, making it pulse twice just like planned.
Looking rather meek without his perfectly rehearsed posture, Draco Malfoy walked into the bathroom - resulting in several gasps. Daphne looked like she might have thrown something at Malfoy if she had anything to throw, and Hermione quickly moved to stand in front of the cauldron of polyjuice so Malfoy wouldn’t see it.
“Er… hi,” Malfoy started awkwardly. He tried to look up at each of the people in the room before quickly looking back at the ground. “I’m, uh- I’m here to apologise to all of you. For all of the awful things I’ve said and done.”
Neville raised an eyebrow. “Sorry, but what? Am I dreaming? Am I stuck in some really weird dream caused by a failed potion?”
“You’re not dreaming,” Daisy reassured Neville - and everyone else. She had somehow found it in her to want to help Malfoy along a little, after having heard about how little he knew about making apologies that he actually meant. “Just hear him out, okay?”
“Are you sure about this?” Daphne signed at Daisy - something that just about everyone in the room but Malfoy would at least mostly understand. “You know you can be overly forgiving sometimes.”
“He proved himself to my mum, and that’s good enough for me,” Daisy signed in return. If her mum hadn’t left Daisy and Malfoy to talk on Monday, she would never have considered inviting him here. But her mum had opted to trust Malfoy, and Daisy wanted to make good on what she had told him back in the forest the previous year.
“Er, can I start?” Malfoy asked, having very easily noticed the signed exchange and not knowing how to respond other than to wait. Daisy nodded at him. “Well… I’ve hurt a lot of people at Hogwarts and I want to make amends, and I want to start here. I know that I’ve incited a lot of bullying and harassment and called some of you awful things and all of that. I… well, I don’t want you to think I’m trying to excuse anything, but I want you to know why. Growing up as the son of Lucius Malfoy means being indoctrinated into a variety of concerning beliefs, which I’ve recently begun to question.
“I saw the inconsistencies of the blood purism and the superiority complex and the manipulation and realised it can’t possibly be right. I realised that I need to figure out what I value and believe in for myself, and I don’t want to be a bully. I’m done with all of that, and I want to make it up to everyone,” Malfoy declared. “I’m starting small because I can’t afford to be public about this right now.”
“That’s bloody rich of you,” Daphne said, and then paused, looking thoughtful. “But I can see why. You should probably explain for the others, though. Not that I believe you at all yet, but you get the benefit of the doubt for the moment.”
Malfoy groaned. Less at Daphne, and more at the situation as a whole. “I know it’s rich of me. Look, my father is a powerful man, and also one who carries high expectations for me. He expects me to be at the top of the Slytherin food chain and always carry myself in the perfect ‘Malfoy’ way. I’m already on thin ice from the plan that Evans and her sister concocted, and I fear I might be in actual danger if word got out that I was renouncing his views. As it is, Theo has already been chastising me in my own dorm. I can deal with that, but what I can’t deal with is him being given instructions by my father to hex me in my sleep.”
“There’s no way he could get away with that!” Hermione protested. “That would break so many rules, and Theo would be expelled!”
Daisy could have chuckled at the irony of that - here Hermione was, breaking even more rules by spearheading the brewing of polyjuice potion that was to be used to impersonate a teacher. The fact that she was protesting against the idea of Malfoy getting hurt by Nott in a rule-breaking manner gave Daisy the impression that she might actually believe him a little already.
“He’d get away with it,” Malfoy declared dryly. “With the money my father has and the strings he can pull, Theo would get off with a handful of detentions, a loss of house points and a favour that my father would owe him later. I’m not going to bully anyone to protect my reputation and safety, though. I’ll do what I can amongst the pureblood circles to assert dominance internally and ride it out as long as I need. I just… I wanted to say that I’m sorry. That’s all, and I’ll leave you to it now.”
Malfoy turned to leave, and all of Daisy’s friends had been sufficiently stunned into silence that none of them were going to stop him. But Daisy had another reason for bringing him here, otherwise she would have organised for his chance to apologise at another place and time. Before Malfoy could get very far, Daisy turned and grabbed his arm. “Wait. Don’t you want a chance to do something good and make up for your past actions?”
Malfoy eyed her strangely. “What are you talking about?”
Daisy nodded over towards the others, and tugged Malfoy along. “Daphne, you don’t need to take the potion anymore. I figured we could use someone with more experience at being a prat, you know?”
Daphne blinked. And then glanced towards Malfoy, then back to Daisy and then back to Malfoy again. “Come again?”
“Are you off your rocker, Daisy?” Neville protested. “Him?”
Seeing Neville like this was kind of a pleasant surprise, even amidst the complexity of the situation. Over this school year he’d started to develop the confidence to stand up for what he believed in and express his views - unfortunately that hadn’t yet extended to Neville being confident in himself and his own worth, but Daisy would continue to reassure her friend of his worth as much as he needed. Maybe she shouldn’t have been smiling at Neville calling her out like that, but it was nice to see him grow. After all, it was something Daisy was working on for herself, too.
“I’m with Neville on this,” Hermione agreed. “Sorry Malfoy, but even if you do honestly mean all those things you’ve said, we can’t just suddenly trust you. Not with something as big as this, anyway.”
Malfoy raised the arm that was no longer being grabbed by Daisy, and awkwardly scratched at the back of his head. “I honestly don’t even know what any of this is about, and I have to agree that there’s no reason for you to trust me yet. Evans, would you care to explain what’s going on?”
“A turned dragon standing alone, the voice was right,” Ron muttered, barely loud enough for Daisy to hear. Then, louder, “I think we can trust him. Besides, Daisy’s right. Malfoy’s a well practiced prat, impersonating Lockhart should be easy for him.”
“I’m sorry, impersonating Lockhart?” Malfoy asked rather indignantly. “I would rather like to know what I’m being roped into.”
So Daisy explained - about how Dumbledore had acknowledged that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened, how it had happened before, and how nothing was being done about it. She explained the plan to use polyjuice to take on the guise of Lockhart and attend the staff meeting to find out whether the teachers actually have a plan. Hermione still stood vigilant guard over the potion, partially obscuring it from Malfoy’s view as Daisy pointed to it.
“So let me get this straight. You lot brewed a successful polyjuice potion, which is difficult by N.E.W.T. standards, and you want me to use it to pretend to be Professor Lockhart in a staff meeting?”
“Yes,” Daisy and Ron said at the same time.
“Something’s going around petrifying students and the professors are all acting like nothing is amiss,” Daisy went on. “Wouldn’t it help to know whether or not they’re doing something behind the scenes? If they’re not, then we can do something, just like we did last year.”
“Last year?” Malfoy questioned. “What happened last year?”
Daisy’s eyebrows shot up. “I thought the whole school knew - at least, that’s what Dumbledore told me. The thing with You-Know-Who and the Philosopher’s Stone?”
“Extremely alarming, but not ringing any bells,” Malfoy said. “You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”
Daisy nodded. “Will you do it?”
Malfoy sighed heavily. “Fine. I do… like the idea of doing something to actually help people. So, aside from taking the polyjuice and going to a staff meeting, what do I actually need to do?”
“I hate that I’m actually starting to agree with this plan,” Neville groaned. “Malfoy, we need you to play the part of Lockhart without getting caught, and ask questions about what the teachers are going to do to prevent further petrifications. Maybe you could even try find out what happened last time the Chamber was opened? It should be easy for you I guess, since you’re about as Slytherin as they come.”
“Call me Draco, please. I’m liking being associated with the Malfoy name less and less every minute,” Draco requested, running a stressed hand through his hair. “And for the record, I’m really not ‘as Slytherin as they come’. The hat wanted to put me in Ravenclaw.”
“Huh. That explains a lot,” Daphne remarked.
“It does?” Hermione asked. “Like what? Because I still don’t buy this whole thing about giving Ma- Draco the potion.”
Daphne smirked. “It explains why Draco here has been flailing in Slytherin’s high-class social circles and having absolutely no success at shutting down the cousin rumours, or keeping his reputation intact in the face of all that. You had no clue how to handle it, did you?”
“Not even slightly,” Draco admitted. “Which means I need some time to figure out what things I can say in that meeting. How long do I have?”
Hermione sighed and checked her wristwatch - a tool that had become indispensable to her in the brewing of this particular potion. “Ten minutes, and that’s pushing it. I don’t like this, but I guess it’s the best option we’ve got.”
When the time came, Daisy followed out of the bathroom half a minute after Draco left, and swung the Cloak of Invisibility over her body.
Draco cursed his own foolish hubris as he paced down the hallways of Hogwarts, still figuring out how to produce Gilderoy Lockhart’s swaggered movements as he went. He was suitably dismissive to students who approached him, citing a meeting he was already late for. ‘Any later and it wouldn’t be fashionable’, he had been saying. How grateful he was for Granger’s voice altering charm, one that she had pushed most of her power into so that it would last long enough. Even so, he could only hope that it would all be enough.
This task was, simply put, a far bigger risk than he should have been willing to take on. If he was caught, word would get back to his father, and it would be an incredibly hard sell to convince him that his reasons were worthwhile. It would be even harder to do so without mentioning Evans and her friends - but he’d never do that. Not now, not when he was working so hard to turn over a new leaf.
So, Draco concluded, he would just have to be perfect. In addition to all the lines he’d thought up for information gathering, Draco had run through how to respond to common questions and what convincing verbal flourishes he could add here and there. He had an excuse lined up for leaving before the polyjuice wore off, and a backup in case he needed to escape earlier. After rerunning the most important lines several times over in his head, Draco arrived at the gargoyle staircase.
“Sugar Quill,” Draco enunciated clearly, and waited as the stairs raised into place. He ascended quickly, neatened up his cloak - well, a spare that had been transfigured to look like Lockhart’s, just like all the other clothing he was currently wearing. After fighting back a rising worry about all the transfigurations being undone by a suspecting professor, Draco stepped inside Professor Dumbledore’s office.
Having never been inside before, it was immensely difficult to fight off the temptation to look around and soak in all the bizarre and interesting items on display. If only he possessed a pensieve, he could review it all later in his own time.
Several professors levelled unhappy glares upon him, some more subtle and quick than others. Draco smiled Lockhart’s signature smile, and apologised. “So sorry, I was caught up by a particularly riveting piece of fan mail. I do hope I haven’t missed anything of import!”
“We were just getting started,” Professor McGonagall replied tersely. Draco felt a small dose of relief at that - it was gratifying to have further evidence that the other professors had little patience for Lockhart’s antics.
“Indeed,” Professor Dumbledore agreed, a hint of amusement showing as he peered ever so slightly down at Draco through his half-moon glasses. “Now that everyone is here, I think it would be apt to properly begin with a reminder that our O.W.L and N.E.W.T students will be returning from the break with a need to focus a great deal more on their studies. How do each of you feel these students are faring in their preparations?”
As Professor Dumbledore directed his attention around the room, each professor expressed their observations and opinions on their fifth and seventh year classes. Of more interesting note, Professor Sprout was concerned that her students were growing anxious about the volume of material in the Herbology course, and had made the decision to leave the mandrake care to other classes for the remainder of the year. Professor Vector was confident in her Magical Research class - which Draco had to infer contained a mixed year student group - specifically because the Weasley twins provided a great deal of motivation and inspiration to the others.
After Professor Grubbly-Plank’s utterly plain report, it was time for Draco to respond. Fortunately, he had prepared for this. “It brings me great pride to know how motivated my students are to pursue self-study outside of class and truly evolve their understanding of the materials; I’m sure they’ll do just fine under my continued tutelage.”
Professor Babbling coughed suddenly, and Professor McGonagall only sighed. Draco took both of those reactions as indicators he was continuing to conduct an effective impersonation.
“Very good,” Professor Dumbledore said rather plainly. He then directed the meeting through a discussion of how to handle complaints from Hogsmeade residents about the weekend trips students took - apparently there were threats to file formal complaints with the Ministry if the school did not take action on improving student behaviour. Professor Dumbledore was remarkably hands-off about the whole thing, and seemed content with letting Professors McGonagall and Sinistra duke it out about what the best solution would be.
By the end of that conversation, half an hour had passed. Draco couldn’t afford to stay much longer, because of course he and everyone else hadn’t even thought to make sure he had additional polyjuice to maintain the disguise for longer. He had to act, and get the critical conversation to happen now.
“How goes the progress on finding the elusive Chamber of Secrets?” Draco asked, hoping his tone of bravado sufficiently overshadowed any sense of urgency that slipped through. “I simply can’t wait to go and take care of that nasty business! Of course, I’m sure my fans would love to read of such a tale, and it would be remiss of me to leave them behind just because I’ve taken up a new adventure of teaching!”
Dumbledore tutted in time with Professor Snape’s barely restrained groan. “A very noble sentiment, Gilderoy, even if we’ve all heard it countless times before. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do just yet. I have it on good authority that only a Parselmouth can open Salazar Slytherin’s Chamber, and you must know how rare they are. I have put out a call to hire such a person to aid in locating and opening the chamber, but the earliest this individual can arrive is after the school year is complete. For now, we must simply bide our time.”
“Albus,” Professor McGonagall crowed, “I still must insist that we implement tighter curfews and travel regulations within the school to protect the students!”
Dumbledore nodded. “Indeed. As it stands, I do not believe such measures are necessary just yet. Let our students enjoy their freedoms at school, and should another attack take place I will reconsider.”
“Why, Minerva,” Draco suppressed a shudder at the thought of how Professor McGonagall might respond to a student calling her by her first name. His father would certainly hear about the lack of tact, though that was the last of Draco’s concerns if his presence here was discovered. “Our students are completely safe; I assure you that I have upheld my practice of petrification counter-curses. Such a shame that I wasn’t there for the victims so far, but I’ll ensure my presence and awareness is redoubled.”
Professor McGonagall visibly rolled her eyes. Draco flashed a smile. It was really becoming very apparent how awful he had been, for this act to be so easy.
“I certainly look forward to your contributions, Gilderoy,” Dumbledore said, and then moved on quickly to the next order of business.
Draco found himself distracted as the meeting moved on; Professor Dumbledore had been excessively dismissive about the whole matter, and in doing so provided a clear answer that the Hogwarts staff were being patently irresponsible about the threat to Hogwarts students. There was no mention of which students were in danger, no indication that the professors had even discussed what constituted ‘enemies of the heir’ if not muggleborns and half-bloods - seeing as the pureblood Zacharias Smith had been the most recent victim. Just… nothing.
“That old bastard is useless,” Draco hissed as he stormed back into the bathroom, arriving a minute after Daisy had. He had reverted to his own form now, but still wore Lockhart-sized clothes that hung over his form in a rather silly way. “He said that he’s hiring a Parselmouth to come and open the chamber after the school year is over. When Professor McGonagall insisted on adding additional safety measures to keep everyone safe, he said no.”
Neville groaned. “Should I write to my nan? I should probably write to her, see if she can do something about this - maybe she could sway the Ministry to force Professor Dumbledore’s hand? But… I’m not sure that my nan would actually take me seriously…”
“Maybe if it was a joint effort?” Daphne suggested. “We could recycle my old plan from last year and cause a mass outrage amongst all the parents? That might force Dumbledore to do the right thing, at least.”
Draco shook his head. “No, I’ve learned the hard way that such strategies don’t work. At least, not to the extent we need. It wouldn’t be enough to just tell parents that there have been petrifications, we’d need to also say that the headmaster has actively decided on doing nothing. The problem there is that we’re not supposed to know that, which makes it way too risky - we can’t exactly say that I spied on a meeting while disguised with polyjuice potion. Dumbledore could easily refute the authenticity of our story, and then we lose any credibility to make a difference.”
Daisy stared at the tiles on the floor. Counting them wasn’t very interesting, but it stilled her mind enough that she could search for whatever detail she was missing. There was something important that had been said that felt off, and she couldn’t quite place-
Parselmouths.
“Why doesn’t Dumbledore just ask me to open the Chamber?” Daisy questioned aloud. “If he needs a Parselmouth, shouldn’t he just be asking me to open it so the teachers can go find whatever monster is causing the petrifications and sort this whole thing out?”
“Huh,” said Hermione. “That’s a really good question. It wouldn’t even be endangering a student if all you did was open the Chamber and then let the teachers handle the rest. In that case - I propose we move onto the next stage of the plan. We hit the library, and try and figure out what the monster is.”
“Ugh, the library,” Ron groaned. “I suppose I have to come and help with that too?”
Hermione rolled her eyes. “Yes, Ron. Besides, there are ways I can get you to help that don’t involve you reading heavy texts.”
“Would it be horrible if I suggested we wait until the start of term to get the research going?” Daphne questioned, looking a slight bit guilty. “It’s just… this is a lot, and we need to take breaks. It also wouldn’t hurt to take some time to get ahead on schoolwork.”
Hermione sighed, and relented. “I suppose you’re right. Look, why don’t we wait until next sunday? Daisy’s got the Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw quidditch match the day before that, and it’ll give us all a chance to rest our brains and then warm them up again with a week of class.”
“Yeah, I don’t think Oliver would be too happy with me if I missed training to solve the mystery of Slytherin’s monster,” Daisy chuckled a little awkwardly. She knew that Daphne was right and taking a break was a good idea, but the idea of not doing anything for a while made her feel antsy.
Daphne turned to help Hermione clean up the remains of the polyjuice potion and everyone else started clearing out. Draco insisted on being the last to leave so he didn’t get caught with them, which surprisingly caused less irritation amongst Daisy’s friends - at least, as far as she could tell.
“Maybe you are an alright guy, Draco,” Ron said before leaving, clapping a hand on Draco’s shoulder. “I know our families don’t really get on, but I reckon if you keep this up, we could be proper mates.”
Draco chuckled nervously and said nothing in response, but Daisy caught him fighting off a smile as Ron left. Daisy turned to leave as well, but she just couldn’t shake the feeling that she needed to be doing more, and sooner.
At least they had another lead, and the group was one step closer to protecting the school from yet another danger.
Notes:
Little insight into my author mind on this: I'm really enjoying the little ways here and there Daisy's feeling more and more driven to take things into her own hands, rather than accidentally falling into a Plot:tm: and seeing it through. It's a big sort of theme that will be pursued throughout the seven books of this fic - a sort of complicated nuanced look at youth empowerment.
Also, not sure how many of you picked up on this based on things that have happened in book 1, but a prophecy was referenced in this chapter! Here it is, because it'll probably never be explicitly mentioned or expanded upon beyond the fact that it happened in-fic
A turned dragon standing alone
will find that through which he may atone
With another face and with questions to ask,
He will be more than up to the task.Anyway, see you back for the next chapter after my break! It's part written, and I think I'll make it even better by coming back to it with fresh eyes later.
Chapter 33: The Diary
Notes:
Sup, y'all! I ended up suddenly motivated to write more DE and finished up this chapter! It's pretty safe to say that I'll bring the fic off hiatus, at least for a little bit. I have every intention to at least finish book 2 before taking another break, but I will still be working on my various MCU fics as well!
CWs: bullying, allusions to deadnaming (though it's not outright stated here, myrtle is trans in this fic)
Thanks so much to nachtwaechterin for beta reading this for me!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“I’ve heard rumours that Madam Hooch got fired,” Daisy told the unmoving, stony form of Colin Creevey. “Is it bad that I’m a little relieved? She was a good flier, but people kept getting hurt in her classes and during quidditch games in ways she should have been able to stop. I guess I’ll find out when I go down to the game today, and I’ll let you know next time I’m here. I don’t envy the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw teams for having to play the same week the new term starts!”
Given how early it was, the hospital wing was almost eerily quiet – which only made Daisy want to keep talking so that the air wasn’t so full of silence. Plus, telling Colin even the most mundane of things made her feel a little less pained by all of what was happening. Ever since Draco had returned from that staff meeting and it had been established that the teachers really weren’t doing anything, Daisy and her friends had spent at least half of their spare time scouring the library. They’d studied so many different magical creatures that Daisy barely had room in her brain to remember her classwork from the week.
So, talking to Colin helped her keep her mind afloat. “Prathart is still an absolute disaster. During classes this week he decided to teach us all about the horrible dangers of perfectly harmless garden plants and how we have to be wary because even the ones deemed safe can supposedly cause harm to an unaware wix. Neville almost burst out laughing right in the middle of the lesson, because everything Prathart said was just so wrong. The guy actually screamed a little later in the lesson when Daphne shouted that there was a cornish pixie next to him! I still don’t get why Hermione is so hung up on him, really.
“Our little defense club has been making pretty good progress, though! We’ve been studying up on how to keep spaces from attracting common home pests, though I can’t quite get a handle on the air freshening spell we’re supposed to learn. I dunno why, but I’ve been noticing that I have more trouble than the others with the simpler domestic cleaning spells. It’s a little frustrating, but I’ll just have to work harder!”
Madam Pomfrey bustled out of her office and gave Daisy a small, appreciative smile – because apparently not many people thought to come and talk to the petrification victims. Daisy returned the smile, and then kept on talking. “I think we’re starting to make some progress on figuring out what Slytherin’s monster is. We’re looking for creatures that are either known to be able to cause petrification or could otherwise be able to anyway that are small or able to turn invisible, because the monster is getting around undetected somehow. There’s like twenty different creatures we’ve found, so we’re taking turns researching them and narrowing the list down. If we can figure out what it is, we can figure out how to stop it.”
For another half hour, Daisy chattered away almost mindlessly to Colin, filling the silence and loosening the overwhelm on her own mind. Eventually she had to get up and leave though, because she needed to eat something before the quidditch match started. Breakfast was the unexciting usual that Daisy had now grown accustomed to, so she made quick work of her food while listening to Ron rattle off predictions for how the game would go. It sounded like he didn’t have much faith in Suyin, thinking Cedric would be the one to catch the snitch. Daisy wasn’t so sure that was true.
Oliver waylaid Daisy on her path to the quidditch pitch, pulling her away from her group of friends to talk strategy. To Oliver, a game that Gryffindor’s team wasn’t playing in was a game they had to watch and analyse in order to better the team’s skills. That was without exception.
“I want you to watch Suyin and Cedric closely, Daisy,” Oliver instructed her. Daisy nodded in understanding, even if she was still a little distracted. It had been a bit hard to focus lately, ever since the confirmation of the teachers’ inaction. “Neither of them are as fast as you, but they’re both more experienced. Pay attention to their techniques and manoeuvres, and pick a couple tricks you don’t know to practice in training for the next few weeks. Our match against Ravenclaw is in a month, so keep that in mind. Either mirroring Suyin’s skills or borrowing from how Cedric handles her could be just what you need, okay?”
“Okay,” Daisy agreed, and then ran off to catch up with her friends. Up ahead, she could see Daphne and Tracy splitting off from Ron, Hermione and Neville. This time, Daisy decided to go join the two Slytherin girls. If they were surprised by Daisy coming to hang out in the Slytherin stands, they didn’t show it.
“Who do you think will win?” Daisy signed, making a little idle chatter before the game started.
“Ravenclaw,” both girls signed immediately and without hesitation, and exchanged a grin. Daisy chuckled. She happened to agree with them, and not just because she expected Suyin to outplay Cedric. The Hufflepuff chasers had been disorganised in their last game, the new players not quite sure how to work together with one another yet. Maybe they’d have improved on that by now, but it probably wouldn’t be enough.
Down on the field, there was no sign of Madam Hooch. Instead, a tall, muscular brown-skinned woman with bright pink hair marched out, carrying the ball case under one arm with ease. Rather than robes, she wore ripped jeans and a spiked leather jacket. Maybe the rumours of Madam Hooch being fired were true after all. Daisy waited curiously for the woman to reach the middle of the field, drop the case down and then point her wand to her throat. A moment later, her voice boomed out across the pitch so everyone could hear.
“Good morning, all! I’m Melody Vishwakarma, your new flying instructor as of today, having arrived last night. Yes, I used to play for the Harpies. No, I don’t do autographs. Madam Hooch has been let off for frankly irresponsible commitment to student safety. Call me Madam or Ma’am or Miss and I will dock house points. You can call me Coach Vishwakarma or Coach Vishie, or Sir. Only my girlfriends get to call me by my first name,” the new flying instructor barked out. “Understood? Great, let’s get this game started!”
Coach Vishwakarma kicked the case open, and set the golden snitch free, followed by the bludgers. She then tossed the quaffle up into the air, and the game began. Daisy watched as the Ravenclaws scored a goal in the first thirty seconds, almost laughing when the Hufflepuff chasers could only squabble with one another in response. Things got noisy, then.
The Slytherins were all rooting for Hufflepuff to win in order to keep Ravenclaw from getting too many points, because it bettered their odds of winning the house cup. Accordingly, many of them were trying to cheer on the bickering chasers to try and get them to play better.
With all the thoughts that had been rampaging through Daisy’s mind and stressing her out, a headache started to build up. She wished she knew some kind of deafening spell to block out the noise, but those were usually only taught in fourth year. Daisy tried to put up with it as the game continued, but it was getting a bit much. Focusing on Suyin and Cedric was getting harder and harder, and Daisy wasn’t sure there was anything she could do to fix that.
With a resigned sigh, Daisy signed to Daphne and Tracy to let them know she was going back to her dorm to rest, and then quickly made her way back towards the castle. Hopefully Oliver didn’t find out. Or maybe he’d be okay with it when Daisy told him that the further away she got from all the noise, the less her head hurt.
On her way back to her dorm, Daisy spotted something off. Her better judgement said not to investigate, not now of all times when there wasn’t even anyone with her, but… there was water flooded out of Myrtle’s bathroom. From what she knew, that normally wasn’t all that surprising – sometimes Myrtle got upset and made water gush out of the toilets and taps. But now, when there was a monster on the loose? Maybe Daisy could find out something helpful.
Instead of choosing safety, Daisy turned and went into the bathroom. Up by the window, Daisy saw Myrtle curled up in a fit of tears. Down on the floor below was a small black book.
“Hi Myrtle,” Daisy said softly, wanting to alert the ghost to her presence without startling her. At the same time, she walked forward to pick up the book. Something felt strange about it.
“Oh, it’s just you,” Myrtle sniffled. “You’re okay.”
“Did someone upset you?” Daisy asked. It was awful how people always picked on Myrtle, and nothing had been done about it.
Myrtle groaned. “As if I wasn’t in a bad enough mood from people calling me names, especially that wrong one, someone came in and threw a book at me! Why do people always throw things at me? Ten points if it hits my head, one point for anywhere else, right? Except I’m not having any fun, but people don’t care about how poor moaning Myrtle feels, do they?”
“That’s awful,” Daisy tried, not knowing how to cheer Myrtle up. “Would talking to the other ghosts help, maybe?”
“I don’t know, maybe,” Myrtle hummed. “Sir Nicholas is nice to me, but he’s always so busy trying to join that Headless Hunt of his.”
Daisy eyed the book in her hands. “You don’t have to answer if it’s too upsetting, but did you see who threw this? Maybe I could talk to them.”
Myrtle shook her head, and sobbed some more. Not sure what else to do to help, Daisy awkwardly slipped out of the bathroom. She didn’t want to make things worse or bother the very upset ghost, so she figured it would be better to just leave. With the book in hand, Daisy made her way back to her dorm. She wasted absolutely no time in kicking off her shoes and jumping onto her bed.
With nobody else in the dorm room, Daisy finally gave the book a proper look over. She wasn’t sure why, but it felt right to give her attention to the book now that she was alone. Inspecting the small black book properly revealed it to be a diary belonging to someone named ‘Tom Marvolo Riddle’. When Daisy opened it to look at the pages… they were all blank.
But there was something about it that Daisy could just feel needed to be known. After all, why would someone throw an ordinary blank diary into a flooded bathroom if they wanted to get rid of it, rather than just throw it in a bin? Or better yet, pass it off to someone else to use?
Daisy spent ten minutes flipping through the pages, making absolutely sure that there wasn’t writing on one obscure hidden page somewhere. And there was still nothing. Thinking through what else she could do to try and understand this strange book, Daisy moved to her desk, took a quill and dipped it in ink. Then, she wrote.
‘Is there magic bound to this book?’
The question seemed like an obvious start. It was a simple yes or no question, and maybe something would happen to the ink if it was enchanted somehow? Or maybe the ink would just sit there, revealing this to be a completely ordinary diary. Daisy hadn’t heard of anyone named Tom Marvolo Riddle, though she could ask her friends if anyone knew the name. The wixen community tied to Hogwarts was tight enough that someone had to know the name if Tom was a student here now or in the past. Even if not, maybe someone would know the name anyway.
But then the ink from Daisy’s writing disappeared, fading away as though it had been drained out from underneath. In its place appeared new words.
‘Yes. Who are you?’
Daisy considered the book that had been clearly quite angrily discarded. A magical book capable of answering a question that someone had attempted and failed to ruin. Even despite the flood of water, the pages were completely dry. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to answer that question with too much information.
‘A Hogwarts student who found this book.’
‘How delightful. I was once a Hogwarts student, too.’
Daisy definitely needed to see if anyone was familiar with that name on the front cover.
‘Are you Tom Marvolo Riddle?’
‘ Indeed I am.’
‘How are you talking through this book?’
‘ A clever bit of magic, not dissimilar to a Pensieve.’
‘I don’t know what that is.’
‘Ah. In that case, it would be easiest to describe this as a portion of my memories being stored into the book. A handy way to reflect on events, or carefully consider ideas. If it has been long enough since I created this diary, it might even serve as a record of the past – of my time. Perhaps I might be of service to you?’
‘When were you created?’
‘During the year 1943.’
‘Do you know anything about the Chamber of Secrets, or Slytherin’s Monster?’
Daisy knew it was bold to ask this mysterious diary those questions, and perhaps a little hasty. But Daisy had heard rumours and theories that the chamber had been opened fifty years ago. Nothing substantiated, but it was worth a shot if this diary was created around that time.
‘A little. Why do you ask?’
‘The chamber has been opened and people are getting hurt. There are rumours it was opened in your time. Are they true?’
‘Unfortunately they are.’
‘Then what can you tell me?’
‘Perhaps it’s better if I were to show you.’
Before Daisy could write again and ask what Tom meant by showing her, she felt a pulling sensation, and her vision went dark. Barely a moment later, she found herself standing in the halls of Hogwarts, except… it all looked different. Like it was a little foggy, and ever so slightly drained of colour.
Daisy walked down the corridor she found herself in, coming to one of the front halls of the school. There were stairs leading up, and an older student stood around the middle of them.
“Hello?” Daisy called out, but the student did not respond or even acknowledge her existence. Well, Tom had mentioned something about memories and a record of the past – maybe this was just a memory? So she approached the student, who was staring at the next flight of stairs rather intently. When Daisy turned her attention in that same direction, she saw some unfamiliar looking adults carrying a stretcher. White cloth covered the body on it. Daisy just hoped that didn’t mean the person on the stretcher was dead. Her gut said they were. The limp hand hanging from one side only added to that theory.
“Riddle?” A voice boomed from behind. Daisy turned, and saw Dumbledore. He looked younger, yet still quite old. “Come.”
“Professor Dumbledore,” the student – who was clearly Tom Marvolo Riddle – acknowledged.
“It is not wise to be wandering around at this late hour, Tom,” Dumbledore advised, though it sounded more like Tom was being chastised.
“Yes, professor,” Tom bowed his head a little, and then looked back up at Dumbledore. “I suppose- I just had to see for myself if the rumours were true.”
“I’m afraid they are, Tom,” Dumbledore responded bluntly and with little patience. “They are true.”
“About the school as well? I don’t have a home to go to. They wouldn’t really close Hogwarts, would they, professor?”
Dumbledore tipped his head forward a little. “I understand, Tom, but I’m afraid that Headmaster Dippet may have no choice.”
“Sir, if it all stopped – if the person responsible was caught…” Tom trailed off.
“Is there something you wish to tell me?” Dumbledore asked.
Tom shook his head. “No, sir. Nothing.”
With that, Dumbledore dismissed Tom, who went up the rest of the stairs and down the corridor that came after. Daisy moved to catch up – after all, Tom’s diary had said it would show Daisy answers to her questions. She couldn’t help but notice the way Tom moved with intent, marching down a clear path in the corridors. Maybe he just walked like that, or maybe there was something more to it. Daisy wasn’t sure.
Tom came to a stop outside a door sandwiched between a pair of stone columns. He pulled out his wand, and rushed the door open. “Evening, Hagrid.”
Hagrid?
“I’m going to have to turn you in, Hagrid,” Tom declared. Daisy peered into the room and saw a very tall student hunching over a wooden chest. “I don’t think you meant it to kill anyone, but-”
“You can’t, you don’t understand!” Hagrid exclaimed, because that was definitely his voice, albeit a little higher and less gruff.
“The dead girl’s parents will be here tomorrow,” Tom stated, his wand kept trained on the young Hagrid. “The least Hogwarts can do is make sure the thing that killed their daughter is slaughtered.”
“It wasn’t him!” Hagrid protested. “Aragog never killed no one! Never!”
Daisy could only watch the memory as Tom threatened Hagrid several times, and then blasted the chest open. A too-large spider rushed out of the chest and fled. Daisy recognised the creature; it was one of the ones she had studied. Ron, who’s job it was to catalogue the possible creatures in books Hermione had given him, had seen the page describing it and squealed before tossing it to Daisy.
The creature was called an acromantula – this one must have been a baby judging by how small it was, because Daisy knew that adult ones wouldn’t have even fit in that small room Hagrid had been keeping the spider. Acromantulas definitely couldn’t cause petrification, and were noticeable enough to not be able to sneak around all that well. They also didn’t tend to bother smaller spider species at all – smaller spiders that, in Daisy’s time, were fleeing the castle in droves.
As Daisy was pulled out of the memory and back into her dorm room, she realised something concerning – that Tom was probably lying to her. If he said anything about Hagrid or his acromantula pet being responsible for the events connected to the chamber, it would be either a misunderstanding or a lie. She had to update the others.
And talk to Hagrid himself.
Notes:
Vishie's full name is Marudhur Kumaresh Melody Vishwakarma. The name structure follows typical Tamil name patterns: [village name] [father's name] [first name] [surname]. If she were to write it in a formal letter or something, she'd write M. K. Melody Vishwakarma.
Daisy and the crew know more, sooner. That may influence the timeline (significantly).
Chapter 34: Cruel Master
Notes:
Okay first things first in this note, the cws.
cw for violent self harm
If you can't safely or just dont want to see that, skip ahead as soon as you see Dobby and go to the next horizontal line scene break thing. I'll summarise the plot content you'd have missed in the end notes.I drove myself into a bit of a hole by shunting the plot timeline forward a bunch but. hey. i can dig myself out of this its fineeeee
Thanks so much to nachtwaechterin for beta reading this for me!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Daisy was wrong to think she would be able to approach Hagrid and speak to him about what she’d seen in Tom Riddle’s Diary. Every single time she had tried, Hagrid was busily hurrying about or not taking visitors, no matter how much Daisy urged him of how important it was. At the very least his main focus was working with Professor Sprout to tend to the mandrake patch, so that all of them would grow to full maturation and be suitable for use in the cures. At least something good was being done by the teachers.
It also didn’t help that Daisy’s update to the others had been depressingly unhelpful. There was no new information to narrow down the list of possible creatures, nor were any from the current list compellingly likely enough to warrant further investigation. The update had mostly just evoked concern from Daisy’s friends, who worried about how sensible or safe it was to interact at all with a book that could talk back to her. Even so, they all agreed it was best not to turn it in to the teachers.
At one point in their fourth hushed library meeting of the second week in the new term, Neville had offered the idea of the spiders being somehow important, especially after Daisy’s mention of Hagrid’s pet acromantula.
“Maybe one of these creatures might be causing the spiders to all flee the castle?” Neville had proposed.
Another half an hour was then spent furiously combing through the remaining stack of fourteen magical creatures, none of which had any such impact on arachnid habitats or behaviour. There were no creatures that was small or capable of invisibility that fit the bill. Daphne had almost suggested that it could be a niffler – a small, mischievous creature with a highly proficient tendency towards both stealth and kleptomania. Nifflers did eat spiders from time to time, but not enough to make them flee in droves. Not even if a niffler had somehow come into the possession of some magical artifact that was causing the petrifications as it scurried around.
Another research session came to a close and they were no closer to answers. With half an hour until Herbology, Daisy decided to go back to her dorm and see if she could get anything more out of that diary. Even if Tom Riddle was a liar of some kind, there was always the possibility he’d let slip something more that Daisy could use. That Diary was the only link they had to the previous opening of the chamber right now, when Hagrid was so incredibly unavailable.
“I’ll see you guys in class,” Daisy said quietly and signed before leaving the library.
Ron was quick to get up and follow. “I’ll come with you, I don’t think we should be travelling alone too much.”
Daisy nodded, not minding the company at all, and together they headed quickly back to Gryffindor tower. It was rather peaceful in the tower, with most students in their various classes. Right after lunch on a Thursday afternoon, only the first and second years had a free period, and most students were in either the library or a supervised study hall. Only a puffy-eyed Ginny sat in the common room, staring at a textbook and not looking like any of the words on the page were sinking in.
“You alright, Ginny?” Ron called out to her.
Ginny hastily nodded while also backing into her chair, and then quickly looked back down at her book. Daisy continued to be worried about her – not only had she not stopped being anxious and withdrawn all year, it seemed like she was getting worse. Maybe Daisy could speak to Ron and the twins about getting someone like Madam Pomfrey to check in on the youngest Weasley?
But for now, until it was time for the next class, Daisy’s priority was elsewhere. “I’m going to go see if I can learn anything helpful from that diary. I’ll meet you down here in fifteen minutes?”
“Alright,” Ron said as Daisy began ascending the stairs.
One floor up, and she started hearing murmurs.
Outside her dorm room door, the sound of a voice was clear as day. It had a middling pitch, and a rasp to it that made it sound not quite human. There was something in her room. As quietly as she could, Daisy drew her wand and pushed the door open.
Standing beside her bed and reaching under her pillow was a creature Daisy had never seen before, at least not in person. And maybe ‘creature’ wasn’t quite accurate, but she didn’t know whether or not ‘person’ fit either. The being in her room stood a little over a metre tall, with rounded ears that came to a point at the ends, and fuzzy looking tan skin. All the being had on it was a baggy rag-like fabric that had been fashioned into clothing. Everything Daisy saw matched the descriptions she had learned from Andromeda.
“Are you an elf?” Daisy suddenly asked aloud in a bout of curiosity that probably wasn’t so well placed when the elf had just grabbed Tom Riddle’s diary from beneath her pillow. The elf scrambled backwards, almost tripping over their own feet.
“Yes Miss!” the elf responded quickly as though they couldn’t not. “Dobby is just leaving! Dobby apologises for the intrusion, miss.”
“Wait!” Daisy called, before Dobby left. She knew full well that they could apparate through wards, and if she didn’t convince the elf to stay, the diary would be gone. “I need that diary, you can’t take it.”
Dobby’s already large blue eyes widened further. “No, miss cannot be saying so! This book is bad, very bad. Dobby is going against his master’s orders to keep Hogwarts safe, even though he will have to punish himself for it later! Please, miss, tell nobody that Dobby was here!”
Daisy let out a hitched gasp. As if the slavery itself wasn’t messed up enough. “Punish yourself? Dobby, that’s awful!”
That time, it was Dobby’s turn to gasp. “Miss is very kind to worry about Dobby, but Dobby must be going.”
Daisy shook her head and took a few cautious steps towards the elf. “No, please. That diary could help me and my friends figure out what’s happening and stop people from getting hurt, we need it!”
“Miss is trying to stop the dangers?” Dobby then asked quietly, making no moves to leave. “Dobby admits, taking this diary away would only be stopping the problem for a little while. Dobby was using house elf magics to be finding the twisted book’s magics easily but Dobby is still not able to be stopping the dangers fully.”
“Right, well I want to stop it for good!” Daisy exclaimed, though she tried not to be too loud. “Do you know anything about who might have opened the chamber?”
Dobby winced, and set the diary back down on Daisy’s bed. “Dobby wishes to… but Master’s orders- No. Dobby will help Miss. Dobby can do this.”
Before Daisy could say anything, ask anything or try to understand more about this situation, a sad look passed across Dobby’s face, and he opened his mouth once more. When he spoke, every single word sounded more and more strained. “Dobby’s master gave this diary to a student… to control them into opening the chamber… to be causing harms to the enemies of… He Who Must Not Be-”
The next thing that happened was probably the most horrifying thing Daisy had seen in her entire life so far. With tears in his eyes, the elf hurled himself into Daisy’s bedside table, slamming his head against it while yelling “bad Dobby!” over and over again. When Daisy rushed to Dobby’s side to try and stop him, he just held a hand out in her way. After several horrifying thuds, Dobby finally stopped and stepped away from the bedside table, small lines of blood now running from the top of his head.
“Dobby is sorry Miss had to be seeing that,” Dobby sniffled. “Unfortunately this is Dobby’s living.”
“Oh Dobby,” Daisy whispered, the tears in her eyes now matching the elf’s. “Would you like to sit down and rest?”
“Sit down? Miss would be allowing Dobby to sit down?” Dobby practically wailed. “Miss is such a kind miss, unlike… Dobby mustn’t say that.”
“Will you get hurt if I say it?” Daisy asked.
Dobby shook his head. Something almost akin to a grin tugged at his lips.
Daisy returned the smile, albeit a little wider. It wasn’t a happy smile, though. “Your master is awful, Dobby. I know that elves like being bound to wixen households, but I’ve been learning from my mum about what elven society was like over a thousand years ago before the Elfbind, and it sounds incredible. I wish you could… you deserve better.”
At that, Dobby sobbed. “Dobby is wishing to be free! Other house elves is not understanding, but Dobby wishes to be serving no master! But Dobby must be going now. Dobby hopes that Miss is succeeding in saving Hogwarts.”
“I hope so too, Dobby,” Daisy agreed. “If I ever get the chance, if I find out who your master is, maybe I can try and free you? And I could introduce you to my mum! Thank you, Dobby. You’re very brave.”
For a moment, Dobby had looked at Daisy in awe of her and what she was saying, but then quickly looked down and away. Sadness returned to his face, and with a snap of his fingers, he was gone. Thanks to him, and the price he had chosen to pay, Daisy now had invaluable information about the chamber. That somebody who wanted to hurt Voldemort’s enemies had given this to a student. That the diary itself might have been controlling someone and making them cause the petrifications.
If Daisy was able to get rid of the diary, would the attacks stop? But Dobby had seemed sure that taking the diary away would only stop things temporarily. Destroy it, then? Or maybe she actually could go to the teachers now, tell them what she learned and have them deal with the diary? Regardless of what she ended up doing, Daisy believed that the diary could control someone’s mind, especially after it had sucked her into a memory. This information was everything.
Daisy quickly hid the diary back under her pillow and got ready to leave for Herbology.
When she and the other girls came back from class, the room was in total disarray. Daisy’s belongings were thrown about everywhere. A pit formed in her stomach and she rushed to check for the diary in her bed.
It had only been a little over an hour since Dobby had agreed to leave the diary behind and told Daisy that it was at the centre of everything, and now the diary was gone.
Though they didn’t have a free period the next day, Daisy, Ron, Hermione, Neville and Daphne met again at the library after class. They weren’t going to stop until they figured this out. Every day they didn’t have an answer was another day students could get petrified, or worse. And even if the diary was gone, Daisy had still learned something new.
“Guys,” Daisy whispered to get everybody’s attention before even one of them could crack open a book. The official plan for the day was to brainstorm what kinds of creatures they might have missed, if the remaining narrowed list hadn’t been right. First, they needed to know what Daisy did. “Yesterday I met a house elf named Dobby who was trying to take the diary. Apparently his master gave it to a student here so that the diary would control them into causing all these petrifications, to hurt the enemies of You Know Who. And now the diary is gone again.”
Daphne’s eyes thinned. “I doubt a student could be petrifying people on their own.”
“Not even if this book is some kind of powerful magic?” Ron suggested. “Maybe they’re using the diary for it?”
Hermione shook her head. “No, there are no known human spells that can cause petrification, only magical artifacts imbued with the properties of certain creatures. It should have been noticeable… unless, what if it wasn’t? We need to look up any kind of subtle ways to cause petrifications, maybe in the jinxes and hexes section!”
Of course, they didn’t find anything outside of the restricted section that might be helpful. Daisy supposed she could always come back late at night under her Invisibility Cloak to search the restricted section herself, but things had gone poorly last time she’d tried that. Dinner was fast approaching, and it seemed like another day’s research had come up with nothing.
“Maybe we should start from the top again tomorrow,” Daphne groaned dejectedly as they were all packing up. “Every cause of petrification we can find. Forget everything we know and look for different angles from there.”
“I’m staying,” Hermione insisted, refusing to unbury her face from a rather thick tome. “I just know I can figure this out. It feels like there’s something staring me in the face, but I don’t know what!”
And Daisy was feeling the exact same thing. Like there was something she’d learned that was useful. Maybe that was just desperation playing tricks on her mind. She just… didn’t want to give up.
A thought crossed her mind just as Daisy was grabbing her bag to leave. It didn’t feel like much, but at this point the group’s search for answers was at a stage of accepting any ideas. “What about… creatures that can cause petrification and can be controlled by other magic? Like if the diary is controlling a student, could that student control something else?”
“Mate, save it for tomorrow,” Ron encouraged her. “We can only work so hard before we crash and burn.”
Daisy sighed in defeat. “You’re right. Let’s head back? Hermione, you really should come with us.”
It took a moment for Daisy to realise that Hermione had been staring at her with an open jaw. “Daisy, you’re right! I think I’ve got it! You guys go ahead, I’ll go check the book I’m thinking of, and we can meet up tomorrow so I can tell you if I’m right!”
Neville tapped his cane against the ground impatiently. “C’mon Hermione, if we leave you hear alone you’ll be here until Madam Pince kicks you out. Maybe write your idea down for tomorrow?”
Hermione shook her head adamantly, and rushed off into the library stacks.
“I’ll stay with her,” Daphne offered. “I’ll make sure she leaves before dinner’s over.”
When Daisy finally saw why she, Ron, Neville and Tracey too had been grimly escorted to the hospital wing, she broke down in sobs.
There had been an attack in the library, and two more students had been petrified.
Notes:
Sorry not sorry :D
So for those who skipped for the CW, Dobby was going to take the diary but daisy managed to convince him to leave it, and dobby also told daisy some valuable information about how the diary is controlling whoever has been using it. Daisy also talks shit about dobby's master and when dobby expresses an intent to be free, she offers to help free him if she ever gets the chance, and to introduce him to Andromeda too. Also the diary is gone again, has been stolen.
Chapter 35: Don't Go Alone
Notes:
Thanks so much to nachtwaechterin for beta reading this for me!
Things are moving along, but have a fluff to go along with the stress because Daisy is downright not having a good time.
CWs: a sort-of depiction of mild mania (it was only semi-intentional and I have little to no experience with mania so idk if I've portrayed it in a way that reflects that)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hollow. That was what Daisy felt, looking across at Daphne and Hermione laying unmoving in their hospital beds. She’d been given the front row seats, in between and half a metre back from the two beds, with nobody standing in her way. She had the best view in the room, from which she had no choice but to take in the reality of what had happened.
“I’ll stay with her. I’ll make sure she leaves before dinner.”
Daphne’s last words played through Daisy’s mind as she cast her gaze towards the girl’s now-stony face. All Daphne had wanted was to make sure Hermione was okay and didn’t push too hard. Maybe it was the feelings Daisy knew Daphne had for her. Maybe that was the driving force that led to this. Or maybe Daphne would have done this for anyone. No, probably not anyone. Had it been anyone other than Hermione or Daisy herself, Daphne wouldn’t be laying here unable to move or speak or anything.
“You guys go ahead, I’ll go check the book I’m thinking of, and we can meet up tomorrow so I can tell you if I’m right!”
That should have been the red flag, the alarm bells that drove Daisy to act and make things different. They had been researching Slytherin’s Monster to put an end to attacks that had already petrified two other students and Mr. Filch’s cat. They should have taken more precautions, agreed on more rules. And now Hermione had paid the price. For all Daisy knew, she’d probably found the answer, only to be unable to tell anyone.
They had gone too far. They’d all gone too far, gotten involved in matters they should never had been a part of. But in truth, Daisy knew it was unavoidable. She and her friends cared too much. When they saw inaction from the teachers, leading to other students being put in danger, they all just had to do something.
“I don’t understand,” Tracey whimpered, standing on the other side of Daphne’s bed. She was reaching out, gingerly holding onto Daphne’s outstretched, frozen hand as though afraid that too much force might shatter her. Tears flowed readily from the girl’s eyes. Tracey was also one of Daphne’s closest friends, and knew nothing about what Daphne had been up to. Because Daphne had said Tracey couldn’t keep a secret. And… Daisy trusted Daphne, she was usually right about these things – which meant she couldn’t even tell Tracey the truth.
“It’s rotten luck,” Ron grumbled. Daisy wondered if other people might think he was being insensitive. She knew better – she knew Ron was beating himself up about this, and probably even berating himself for not having more words to describe how awful this situation was.
Neville was the only one to remain silent. His hands shook, but his cane didn’t clatter or tap against the ground – clearly, the sticking charm at the base was working. Daisy wondered what was going through his mind – Neville had been growing this year, speaking his mind more. He had good insights, and a lot of care to give. For all people saw Neville as a struggling student who could only cast a small portion of the spells his peers knew, they missed how strong he was. How committed he was to doing right.
Daisy wanted to know what he thought. Judging by how Ron lingered, he did too. The three of them waited until Tracey had left before they started speaking. It wasn’t as simple as leaving first and heading towards the Gryffindor dorms, since they were now to be escorted back by a teacher. Here was where they could talk, while Madam Pomfrey was busy in her office and Professor McGonagall was giving them the respect of waiting by the door.
“I think we should stop,” Neville said first, and Daisy had to do a double take. She had to replay the words in her mind, make sure that he had actually said that. He had, and maybe there was a point to it.
“Yeah mate, I think you’re right,” Ron agreed glumly. “We’re in over our heads.”
“But… we’re so close,” Daisy challenged them, weak though her words and voice may have been.
Neville shook his head. “Hermione’s brain was our best shot at getting an answer.”
He was right, but Daisy didn’t want to admit it. Hermione had a way of putting different pieces of information together and consuming even more so efficiently. Without her, they might not even have a chance at getting the answers – and last time the chamber was opened, someone had died. Maybe they were both right, maybe the best they could do now was lay low and stay safe. Get to the end of the school year when the teachers would finally take action and work it all out.
Maybe they’d all done their best, and it still wasn’t enough.
It hurt.
“In light of recent events, these new rules will be put into effect immediately: all students will return to their house common rooms by 6:00 every evening. All students will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. Students are permitted to visit the library before curfew, but must be escorted to and from the library by a prefect or teacher. Roaming the castle alone is not permitted. All students will attend mealtimes in the Great Hall at the set times. Breakfast will now be from 7:30 to 8:00. Dinner will be from 6:30 to 7:00. And… unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught, it is likely this school will be shut down.”
Things were getting worse. Everything was getting worse, and Neville was beyond worried. The Heir was going after anyone, not just muggleborns, and already there had been victims. All petrified. Neville himself wasn’t safe, not when Zach and Daphne were both in the hospital wing. What bothered him more, though, was that people he cared about would still be in danger. His friends were in danger, and two of them had already been attacked. He and the others had tried to put a stop to these attacks, and failed.
The other Gryffindors had started sticking together more often - even the troublemakers who would ignore the official instructions to never move through the corridor alone. But… it wasn’t the same for the other houses. Neville had made a few friends from the other houses, and most of them he knew were going to be safe. But one… one might not. One friend who was starting to matter to Neville, in ways that he knew he wasn’t supposed to allow. Not when he was the only remaining heir of the Longbottom family.
But all the same, Neville found himself pacing down the castle corridors, alone. Because he couldn’t not go and check on his friend from Ravenclaw, Terry Boot. Terry, who would almost certainly be on his way back from the library now - stopping by the Ravenclaw tower before heading to dinner. Alone, probably, because he’d be hidden away in some nook of the library and forgotten by the others. It wasn’t safe for him to do that.
So onward Neville marched, plotting a course to intercept the path Terry would doubtlessly take. For all his clumsiness and forgetfulness and his tendencies to get distracted easily, he at least had a good sense of direction. He fell once or twice on the way, but things were getting too scary now, and he had to check. He had to know that Terry was okay.
About four turns from the entrance to the tower, that was where Neville spotted Terry. Power-walking down the corridor with a wand in one hand and a book in another, as if the book wouldn’t get in his way if he had to cast a defensive spell. Maybe it wouldn’t affect Terry, but Neville definitely couldn’t cast spells without both hands free - not unless it was a really good day.
“Terry!” Neville called out urgently. The boy turned, and smiled. For a moment, Neville softened at that - too distracted by concern to stamp those thoughts down.
“Neville? What are you doing here?” Terry questioned as he turned to meet Neville mid-way down the otherwise empty corridor.
“You should-shouldn’t be alone, you might get petrified!” Neville hissed. He nearly tipped over, but managed to catch himself by grabbing onto Terry’s wand arm. And then letting go. Quickly.
“I-” Terry started, and then stopped. He flushed a little. “I lost track of time.”
“So get a watch? Or sit somewhere that the others will see you,” Neville insisted. “I don’t want you to get hurt. I don’t want to see any more of my friends hurt. Hermione and Daphne were found petrified just last night.”
“I’m… I’m sorry if I scared you,” Terry said quietly, and then he started laughing.
Neville’s eyes widened in confusion. “What’s so funny?”
“Oh!” Terry sounded as he restrained his laughter and collected himself. “It’s just… you came all this way for me. You really care a lot, huh?”
Neville flushed more than a little. “Um… yeah? Of course I do, you’re my-”
His words were interrupted quite abruptly, and there wasn’t much he could do about it. Not when his mouth were blocked, Terry’s lips landing on his. It was only a moment, the briefest of contact, but… All of Neville’s fear, all of his worry was quickly thrown away. He hadn’t been expecting that at all, but…
“I-” Neville tried, but that was all he could manage.
“Was that… okay?” Terry asked hesitantly. “If I overstepped… I should have asked.”
“It was-” Nevile started, and then paused. His brain and stomach were doing all sorts of acrobatics in tandem, and it was a great big effort to rein them in. He knew what that sort of thing meant. “Definitely okay. But… why? Me?”
Terry smiled again, his face close enough to Neville’s that the boy could feel the cool of his breath. “Because it’s you, Nev. I really like you. And I thought… you came all this way, I thought it might mean that you like me too. Does it?”
Neville knew the answer to that, with a great deal of certainty that had emerged from hiding all at once. He had denied himself this, denied any acceptance of what it meant when he looked at Terry in class and his heart rate picked up, when he felt all warm and anxious just from being around the boy.
But it was there - it had been there for a while. The little ways he noticed things like the dimple on the right side of Terry’s face that made it look unbalanced, but nice. Interesting, something to stare at. The mess of Terry’s hair that got periodically straightened every time he took a break from thinking through a problem. The small smiles Terry wore when he learned something new from a book. He didn’t tend to notice those sorts of things about other people, because he didn’t usually stare.
“I… um, I think so. Yeah, but… why? I, uh- why me?”
Terry took Neville’s shaky hands into his own. “You’re… uplifting. You fall over a lot, and then you get up. You mess up spells, and you try again. You stand up for what you think is right, and you called Malfoy a bitch that one time last year, which I’ll never forget. I love that I have Herbology with you, and the way you talk about plants whenever the topic comes up. And when you’re having a bad day and you’re tired and sore and you let yourself stop and rest? I think it’s really cool that you don’t push yourself too hard. You’re interesting, and you’re smart, and pretty, and so strong, and damn if I won’t let myself be so bloody gay at Hogwarts with how the muggle world is about it all. That good enough for you?”
It was hardly surprising, then, how easily Neville’s face flooded with tears. It’s not that nobody had ever said nice things to him before, but like that? He had a hard time believing he was all those things Terry said he was, but… it was like for once he could have something he wanted. For once he felt like he might just be good enough.
Terry’s hands slipped away from Neville’s for one terrifying moment, and then wrapped around his back and pulled him in tight. His face ended up on Terry’s shoulder, and he cried until his tears ran dry.
“Will you go out with me, once this is all over? Maybe during the summer break?” Terry asked, and Neville eagerly nodded into his shoulder. He wanted this, Noble Family responsibilities be damned.
“Only if you let me walk you back to your common room,” Neville whispered. “I still don’t want you to get hurt. I’ll ask one of the prefects to take me back to mine, after, or I can come in and go to dinner with you and the other Ravenclaws.”
“Deal,” Terry agreed. Neville was glad he came to check on Terry. He certainly didn’t expect this to happen, but he was glad it did.
It was Daisy’s fault. Somehow it felt like it was just her fault. If she’d pushed harder for Hermione and Daphne to leave the library with the rest of the group, they’d be fine. But then… what if the petrification victims had just been other students instead? That, too, still felt like Daisy’s fault. She could remember clearly how, back in first year, she’d told everyone not to get involved in the matters regarding the Philosopher’s Stone because they were just kids. And then they’d gotten involved anyway. Now, they’d all gotten involved again, and paid the price.
What hurt even more was that Hermione and Daphne were close to the answer; they might’ve even had it. In Hermione’s hand had been a torn slip of paper, with a large embellished ‘B’ on it. Even if Daisy went back to the library, it would take too long to find which book the paper had been torn from. Every day, when the library closed, Madam Pince cast a spell that sent every single stray book back to its place on the shelves. It’d be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Besides, Daisy couldn’t keep trying things. There was a rule against travelling the castle alone now, and there was no way Daisy would bring anyone into this anymore. If she was going to try anything, there would be no bringing Ron or Neville or even Draco along. There was definitely no asking a prefect for help, because that would just get the same treatment as the teachers gave – complete dismissal. Even if the teachers had finally done something real to keep students safe, it was too little and too late.
So, Daisy did the only things she could. She went to class and struggled to pay attention because she just couldn’t bring herself to care. She ate food at mealtimes, even if she could only stomach the idea of half-portions. She took her morning potions, but even that was an effort. She didn’t do her homework, and it took three whole days for any teacher to notice and respond – naturally, by reprimanding her. It was Professor Snape – of course it was him – who told her something about current events being no excuse for slacking. He had even dared to say that her petrified friends would be disappointed in her. But Daisy didn’t have it in her to snap back at him.
Daisy wasn’t allowed to visit the hospital wing to see her friends. She couldn’t visit Colin anymore. She couldn’t see Hermione. She wasn’t allowed to speak to Daphne, to sit by her best friend’s side. That one hurt the most, because Daphne was her best friend, and she was Daphne’s. Even if Daphne probably wouldn’t be able to hear anything while petrified, because there wasn’t much chance the hearing spell was still active, Daisy still wanted to be present for her.
On the fourth day, Daisy realised that it was still going to be another four and a half months until the Mandrakes would be ready. They were supposed to reach full maturity at the end of May, and it was only just past mid-January. It was Tuesday, the 19th of January, to be precise. For a split second, Daisy had a more peaceful thought in wondering if Daphne might still be able to see while petrified so that Daisy could sign about classwork and daily ongoings to her if ever given the chance to visit. Then, the heavier realisation hit.
The realisation that the school might close. If it did, who would tend to the Mandrakes? Where would the petrified students be kept, and how would they be treated? The whole reason they weren’t being cured sooner was that Mandrakes and their ingredients were expensive and the school was lucky to have such a full supply. Most herbologists disliked working with Mandrakes, and without the school’s crop, it would be even longer before a cure was ready.
That stirred something in Daisy. She couldn’t give up on helping her friends, especially when the price of failure was their indefinitely continued state of petrification. She had to do something. Without any new leads from Hermione’s torn piece of paper, Daisy only had one option. She had to go visit Hagrid. She had to get down to his hut and make him talk. It would be hard to reach him during the day without her missing presence being noticed. So, nighttime. With the help of her Cloak, nobody would be able to stop her.
Slipping out was easy enough; she just said she was going to the bathroom, right after having returned from dinner. Taking a long shower to relax. Someone would eventually figure out she wasn’t there, but by then Daisy would have at least reached Hagrid. She couldn’t wait until everyone was asleep, because then Hagrid might be asleep too.
The trip was stressful, but Daisy felt comforted by the fact that nobody and nothing would be able to see her. At one point she thought she heard the unpleasantly smarmy voice of Lucius Malfoy, who she had grown to dislike even more after hearing Draco out. But her mind was probably playing tricks on her. She shook it off, and completed the journey down to the hut, and then knocked on the door. When Hagrid opened it, Daisy lowered enough of her cloak that her head and that alone was visible.
“Daisy? You shouldn’t be here!” Hagrid protested immediately. “You shouldn’t even be out of your dorm!”
Daisy stared at him, resolute. “I need to talk to you, please.”
Hagrid let out a sigh, and then stepped out of the doorway so that Daisy could pass. A small part of her relished in the warmth Hagrid’s hut provided during the cold winter. The rest of her was focused only on getting answers. “Are you holding up okay? I heard about your friends, it’s terrible business is what it is.”
“I think they figured it out, Hagrid,” Daisy declared, forcing herself to sit down on the sofa so that she wouldn’t pace. She didn’t want her pacing to get her noticed by someone other than Hagrid if anybody passed by his hut at this time of night. “I think Hermione and Daphne figured out what Slytherin’s monster is, but they didn’t get to tell anyone. But maybe I can figure it out too, and because I’m a Parselmouth I can get into the chamber once I find it! I could make Dumbledore come with me, and this could all be over, Hagrid!”
“You don’t sound like yourself, Daisy. Let the adults handle this, alright? You should go get some rest,” Hagrid insisted, though his voice was gentle.
But Daisy couldn’t just stop. “Who’s Tom Riddle?”
Hagrid coughed sharply and suddenly. “Where’d you hear that name?”
“Who is he?” Daisy asked again. She needed the answer.
Hagrid sighed, and sat down across from her. “Tom Riddle was once the name of You-Know-Who, but you can’t tell anyone I told you that. It’s supposed to be kept quiet, Dumbledore’s orders. I figure you of all people have a right to know, though. Last year taught me if you want to know something, you’ll eventually figure it out yourself anyway.”
Daisy took in a deep breath, and slowly let it out again. Tom Riddle was Voldemort. Tom Riddle had opened the chamber last time, and now he’d controlled someone into doing it again. “And he killed someone fifty years ago, didn’t he? He killed someone by opening the chamber and you got framed.”
“I dunno how you know that, Daisy,” Hagrid sounded even more surprised now. “Her name was Myrtle. Sweet girl, got picked on a lot. I hear she never quite moved on, but I never saw her ghost.”
Myrtle was the one who was killed. Myrtle, who was now a ghost, and might remember some important details. Myrtle might know what the monster was, or even the location of the entrance to the chamber. Daisy could use this.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Quickly, Daisy yanked the cloak back over her head, and followed instructions when Hagrid gestured for her to hide in the corner. Only when the giant man got up and reached to open the door did Daisy even notice how shaky he was. Fang started barking, which he hadn’t done when Daisy showed up.
“Oh, Professor Dumbledore, sir,” Hagrid said.
“Good evening, Hagrid. I wonder, could we…” came the sound of Dumbledore’s voice.
“Of course. Come in, come in,” Hagrid responded, and soon Daisy saw Dumbledore enter, accompanied by a man she didn’t recognise.
“Bad business, Hagrid, bad business,” the unfamiliar man said. “Four students petrified, things have gone far enough. The Ministry’s got to act.”
“But I never- you know I never, professor,” Hagrid pleaded towards Dumbledore.
Dumbledore turned to face the unfamiliar man. “I want it understood, Cornelius, that Hagrid has my full confidence.”
“Albus, look, Hagrid’s record is against him,” Cornelius countered. “I’ve got to take him.”
“Take me? Take me where? Not Azkaban,” Hagrid exclaimed. Daisy had heard of Azkaban, and heard more than one of Dora’s rants about how it was beyond inhumane and nobody should ever be sent there.
Cornelius shook his head. “I’m afraid we have no choice, Hagrid.”
That didn’t make sense to Daisy. She knew Hagrid had been framed last time, but also that Dumbledore himself believed Hagrid to be innocent. Surely this Cornelius and the Ministry had the choice to act by finding the real culprit and helping fix things.
The door swung open again. “Already here, Fudge? Good.”
So Daisy hadn’t been imagining the sound of Lucius Malfoy’s voice before. The smug, smarmy man walked in, a cane thumping against the ground with each set of steps.
“What are you doing here? Get out of my house!” Hagrid protested, to which Lucius sneered.
“I take absolutely no pleasure being inside your… You call this a house?” Lucius hummed disapprovingly. “No, I simply called at the school and was told the headmaster was here.”
“And what exactly is it that you want with me,” Dumbledore asked.
Lucius produced a small scroll of parchment. “The other governors and I have decided it’s time for you to step aside. This is an order of suspension, signed by all twelve of us. I’m afraid we feel… you’ve rather lost your touch. Well, what with all these attacks, soon all the students of Hogwarts will be petrified.”
Daisy hated that she found herself agreeing with Lucius Malfoy, but she couldn’t deny her own opinion that Dumbledore had been neglecting to do what he could to stop the attacks. She knew that he knew he needed a Parselmouth to access the chamber, and also that he knew Daisy was one. Not once had she been asked to assist with the matter.
“Even our students with more brilliant potential are being targeted. The Greengrass girl, and the Smith boy? Tsk,” Lucius tutted, and Daisy immediately knew what he meant by that. He meant the ‘pureblood’ students who had been petrified.
“Take him away and the students won’t stand a chance,” Hagrid growled. “You mark my words, there’ll be killings next!”
“Calm yourself, Hagrid,” Dumbledore sighed. His gaze swept across the hut and passed over where Daisy was hiding, and for the barest moment she though he had stopped to look straight at her. “I will, of course, step aside. However… I would hope that any concerned students know that they will find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.”
When Dumbledore looked straight at Daisy again, she couldn’t deny the suspicion that he did know she was there, and that his words had some kind of meaning intended for her. Maybe he was finally trying to help? Or maybe Daisy was just desperately grasping at straws.
“An admirable sentiment,” Lucius said dryly, sounding unamused. He and Dumbledore then left, and Cornelius turned to follow.
“Come, Hagrid.”
But Hagrid paused, and stared right up at the ceiling before speaking. “If, uh… if anybody was looking for some stuff, then all they’d have to do would be to follow the spiders. Yep. That’d lead them right. That’s all I have to say. Oh, and someone’ll need to feed Fang while I’m away.”
Cornelius chuckled nervously, and then the two of them left.
Daisy definitely wasn’t going to follow any spiders. They had all been fleeing into the Dark Forest, and Daisy knew better than to go in there. Especially not alone. No, instead she was going straight to speak with Myrtle.
It took Daisy another two weeks to figure it out, to put all of the information together. The fact that the spiders were all fleeing the castle, because something was scaring them away. The fact that students were being petrified. The voice that Daisy and nobody else could hear. The discovery that she was a Parselmouth. The letter ‘B’ on that piece of ripped paper Hermione had. The details from Myrtle’s story about hearing hissing and then seeing a giant pair of yellow eyes before she died. The fact that Tom Riddle was Voldemort, another famous Parselmouth.
But she’d figured it all out, she’d made it to the library at last, and she’d found the ripped page in the book Hermione and Daphne had been looking at, because Hermione had figured it out. And on the bottom of the page, in ink that Madam Pince would be furious about when she found out, was one more word.
Pipes.
Slytherin’s monster was a basilisk, and it was staying hidden by moving through the school’s pipes. The reason Myrtle had died but all of the recent victims were only petrified was that every single recent victim didn’t make direct eye contact with the basilisk. As she read more words on the page, Daisy’s mind began to slow down and the exhaustion finally hit. Exhaustion from almost three weeks of going and going and going.
Daisy still didn’t know enough yet. She didn’t know how to stop a basilisk, other than by making it hear the crowing of a rooster, but there were no roosters at Hogwarts. But someone could bring a rooster here, and Daisy could open up the chamber for them. She was pretty sure she had an idea of where the entrance was, now. Too many things lined up with Myrtle’s bathroom to be a coincidence.
So, when Daisy went with the travelling group from the library back to Gryffindor Tower, she resolved to tell a teacher she trusted as soon as she could. Then the basilisk could be stopped and she could finally truly rest. It was just as well that Professor McGonagall was already in the common room when Daisy arrived.
Daisy walked up to Professor McGonagall as soon as there weren’t too many people right near the older witch anymore. She brought a hand to her mouth to cover a yawn. “Professor? Can I talk to you quickly please? It’s important.”
The professor looked down at her and smiled. “Certainly, Miss Evans. I’ve actually been a little concerned for your wellbeing lately, though I know it can’t be easy after what happened to your friends.”
Daisy nodded somberly. “I’m okay now. I figured out what the monster is, and probably where the chamber’s entrance is. You need a… a rooster.”
McGonagall squinted at her. “A rooster?” Her eyes widened a little. “You think that there’s a basilisk in the school? I think surely we would have noticed a creature so large.”
Daisy shook her head, and opened her mouth to talk. But she didn’t get a chance, because Professor McGonagall was distracted away by a commotion happening barely a metre away. Fred and George were rushing to move people away from the sofa that Ginny was sitting on. She looked like she could barely breathe.
Notes:
So daisy has figured it out, and cute gays are being cute and gay! I've had that neville/terry scene written for *months* lol
At this point in the story's calendar it's only february! Things are moving ahead far sooner, but don't worry because I have some other Plans to fill the rest of second year afterward hehehehehe
Chapter 36: Into The Chamber
Notes:
Yahaha [korok noises]!
Time for shit to hit the fan :D
CWs: negligence of adults with a duty of care
Ty nachtwaechterin for beta reading this for me and continually hyping me up!!!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
After two weeks of feeling like she had to keep on moving, searching and thinking without reprieve, Daisy had almost forgotten what it was like to have a good night’s sleep. Those two weeks had been practically all-consuming. Upon waking the day after having found the answer, it was like Daisy could see everything around her again. She actually noticed her dormmates in various states of wakefulness and readiness. A quick check revealed that it was 7:03, meaning there wasn’t all that long before the Gryffindors went down the breakfast together.
Daisy stretched a little as she got up. She didn’t rush all that much in getting dressed for the day and taking her morning potions, and yet still only took about three minutes to head down to the common room. She felt a pang of pain at not seeing Hermione sitting on a couch with a book in her lap – like she usually did in the mornings. All the same, relief came when Daisy remembered that not only had she found the answer regarding the chamber, but Professor McGonagall had been listening last night.
Ginny’s sudden panic attack had been the only thing in the way of Daisy handing over the solutions to ending the attacks, as the professor’s attention was pulled away and Daisy had been well and truly exhausted. Well, the next time Daisy saw the transfigurations professor, she would explain everything and soon after it’d all be over. All was well.
And then Ron hurtled down the boys’ stairs at a pace that was honestly reckless. He looked like he’d just run a marathon with the sweat covering his face and seeping through his clothes, but the panic smeared across his face told a different story.
“Ginny!” Ron practically demanded. “Where is she?”
Daisy hadn’t seen Ginny in the common room when she arrived. “In her dorm room, probably?”
Ron exhaled shakily, glancing towards the girls stairs that he knew he couldn’t ascend. “Are you sure? I… have a really bad feeling. I can’t explain it, I just-”
“Okay, I’ll check,” Daisy assured him, and made haste up the stairs towards the first year girls’ room. Ron had this way of being right about things with little to no explanation, especially when it mattered most. Daisy didn’t know if this was one of those moments, but there was no harm in checking to give him some peace of mind.
Daisy gently knocked on the door and waited for a response. A few seconds later the door was opened by a girl Daisy vaguely knew from sitting near one another a few times at meals. Her name was Lindy, and it looked like she had been half-way through wrapping her red hijab. “Hi Daisy! Do you need something?”
“I was just wondering if Ginny’s in there?” Daisy asked, making sure to put on a simple smile.
Linda shook her head; the fabric of her half-wrapped hijab came loose and slid down the back of her head. “No, she was gone before any of us even got up, I think. Maybe she went to the hospital wing? I know she wasn’t feeling well last night.”
Yeah, that had to be it, and it made sense. To get to the hospital wing, though, Ginny would have needed to ask a prefect to take her. Maybe she’d gone to Percy? “Alright, thanks!”
“No worries,” Lindy said, and ran back into her room while Daisy pulled the door shut.
Daisy’s next intended action was to head back down to the common room and then go up the boy’s stairs to check with Percy – as opposed to sending Ron up to him, because he was at risk of tripping and falling. She didn’t quite get that far, though. Ron was desperately questioning anyone in the common room who would listen, and it looked like he hadn’t gotten any answers yet.
Just as Daisy was about to take her first ever step up the boys’ side of the tower, a loud voice blared through the castle walls. Daisy had only ever witnessed this happen once before – two and a half weeks ago, when all students were instructed to proceed straight back to their common rooms and remain there until their heads of houses arrived.
Once again, it was Professor McGonagall’s voice. “Any students out of their towers for any reason are to return to their towers at once. All teachers please proceed to the second floor southeastern corridor immediately.”
No, that didn’t bode well at all. Something had happened. Ron’s face went pale as a shimmering ghost. There was no time to wait – if something related to the basilisk had happened again, Daisy needed to go tell Professor McGonagall immediately. To do that, she had to get out of the tower without being seen. She rushed straight back to her room, dove into her trunk and located her Cloak before returning quickly to the common room. Ron was leaned against a wall and confused students were beginning to gather and wait for a teacher to come and explain what was going on. The majority looked as though they expected something bad.
Quickly, Daisy made her way to Ron’s side. If Ginny being possibly missing and the incident causing McGonagall’s announcement were related, Ron deserved to come along.
“Ron,” Daisy whispered, getting his attention perhaps a little too easily. “I’m going to where the teachers are; I figured out what the monster is and need to tell them. You should come with.”
Ron took a breath. “How, though?”
“Get under this cloak with me and stay quiet,” Daisy instructed. “It’ll make us invisible.”
If Ron had been any calmer, he probably would have whooped and cheered at the notion of Daisy having an Invisibility Cloak – she knew just how rare they were. But right now, Ron was a boy on a mission. He did as instructed, and Daisy pulled the cloak over them. It was a little tight, but it fit enough to conceal them fully. People would notice when the tower’s entry swung open, but Ron and Daisy would be gone before anyone could stop them.
They made their way over to the mentioned corridor as quickly as they could without losing the protection of the cloak. It wouldn’t do to be caught and dragged back to their common room, after all. They were greeted by the sound of footsteps as the teachers arrived, and by bloody writing on the wall. That hadn’t happened since the message about the chamber having been opened, and the message this time was even worse than before, even without Daisy being able to see the start of it.
skeleton will lie in the chamber forever.
“As you can see, the Heir of Slytherin has left another message,” Professor McGonagall spoke wearily. “Our worst fear has been realized! A student has been taken by the monster into the Chamber itself. The students must be sent home.”
Daisy fought down panic – what she could realise now that she hadn’t even considered in the past two weeks was that if the school was closed, Professor Sprout could probably still make sure that the Mandrakes were taken care of somehow. It wasn’t a sure thing, but there was still a chance.
“This may be the end of Hogwarts if the Ministry’s whims decide it,” Madam Pomfrey grumbled. “We have to-”
The healer was interrupted by Lockhart’s rather loud arrival. “So sorry, dozed off! What have I missed?”
“A girl has been snatched by the monster, Lockhart,” Snape answered dryly. “Your moment has come at last.”
“My… moment?” Lockhart questioned.
“Weren’t you just saying last night that you’ve known all along where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?” Snape spoke as though the entire matter was a waste of his time and he wanted it over and done with. Daisy hated that, but at least Professor McGonagall was there. At least she still cared.
“It’s settled, then,” Professor McGonagall clapped. “We’ll leave you to deal with the monster, Gilderoy. Your skills, after all, are legend.”
Daisy didn’t care to listen to Lockhart’s response. She had trusted Professor McGonagall, and she was entrusting the kidnapped student’s rescue to him. For all she had seemed to be listening the previous night, it must have been fake. If she really cared, why would she let Lockhart handle this, when he was so clearly a fraud? It was a betrayal. A sinking pit formed in Daisy’s stomach, one of confusion and hate and frustration and raw anger at the teachers for neglecting their roles this much.
Ron was inching forward, and Daisy had to move with him to make sure the cloak’s cover didn’t break. And that movement brought her far enough forward to see the rest of the bloody message on the wall. To see it complete, and to understand why Ron’s breath caught and a choked noise broke through his throat and travelled a little mutely past his lips.
Ginevra Weasley’s skeleton will lie in the chamber forever.
Daisy did the only thing she could think of, to make sure that something still got done. She put a hand over Ron’s mouth, and tugged him backwards until they were down the corridor and past a set of stairs and away from anywhere the teachers could overhear.
“What do we do?” Ron whimpered, tears slipping from his eyes. “I can’t believe- I should have seen the signs!”
Daisy shook her head. Her free hand moved to rest on his shoulder. “I know where the chamber is and what’s in there. If the teachers won’t- I know you and Neville said we should stay out of it, but we have to go save her!”
“Us?” Ron questioned, beyond bewildered.
“Yes, Ron,” Daisy insisted. “Us. We’ll go to where I think the entrance is, and get it open. Then I’ll go in and do everything I can to help Ginny, while you go bring the teachers to help by whatever means necessary.”
Ron gulped, and slowly nodded. “O-okay. Let’s… let’s go.”
And so they went. Myrtle’s bathroom wasn’t far. The ghost was nowhere to be seen, but that was okay because Daisy already had a hunch about how to open the chamber from what Myrtle had told her last time. She pulled the cloak away and stepped toward the central basins while Ron remained rooted to the spot at the entrance.
“Open!” Daisy whispered, but it didn’t feel right.
“Are you sure about this?” Ron whined.
“I just need to figure out how to do this on command,” Daisy assured him. “I’m sure it’ll work.”
She tried a couple more times, but to no avail. Only normal speech came from her mind. Daisy noticed the serpentine metal shapes spread around the basin structure, and came up with a new idea. She pictured a snake in her mind – an unintentional mixture of the one she’d seen at the zoo and the one from the duelling club. Then, one more time, she opened her mouth to speak.
“Open.”
The basin rumbled, and started to split apart. The top piece floated upwards, and each individual basin slid outward, revealing a pipe in the middle. It was wide, easily enough for several of Daisy to fit through. She had been right – Daisy had found the entrance to the chamber of secrets. Remembering the words of the Sorting Hat when she’d encountered it before the winter break, Daisy knew with certainty that she had to do this.
Bravery didn’t have to exist in the absence of fear, and Daisy would push forward despite her fear because she knew what was right. She turned to face Ron, wearing as much urgency in her expression as she knew how to muster. “Go, bring the teachers here as fast as you can!”
While Ron scampered off, Daisy peered down into the pipe. She couldn’t see the other end of it, or whether it curved or not. She also didn’t know any spells to slow her own descent, so she would just have to drop in and hope for the best.
Fortunately, the pipe curved. Daisy would probably only bruise a little from how she landed before the curve started, but from there it was a gentle enough journey. After several twists and turns and a couple smaller drops, Daisy found herself laying on a pile of something that looked too much like small animal bones. She didn’t leave any time to think about it, instead getting up and starting to move down the first path she could see.
She was quickly greeted with the sight of a giant snake’s shed skin. It was ribbed and off-white and saggy and just way too big. It sat in a sloping cavern with sparsely spread stalactites and sections Daisy knew she’d have to duck and twist to get through. Off towards the end, though, she could see a large, decorated circular structure of some kind – so that was her current goal destination.
Daisy let her hands flap about as she pushed through the foul-smelling air to reach the structure – the movement helped her to not get overwhelmed, and she needed her wits about her for whatever would come next. As she drew closer, she realised that the structure was a door of some kind. It was decorated with winding snake features that all slithered out from what might have been a hinge to the left side.
“Open,” Daisy tried, because it had worked the first time and there were snakes here, after all.
It worked. One by one, the snakes jutted inwards until all of them were tucked tight towards the centre, and the circular door – or perhaps it was a gate – swung outwards. She had been right about the hinge, then. Inside lay a wet stone pathway lined with open-mouthed snake sculptures on either side. At the very end was a wall carving of an elderly-looking face.
Daisy kept her wand out, and her focus as keen as she could. Slowly and carefully, she paced down the pathway until she saw-
Ginny.
No time for cautious walking. Daisy ran ahead to check on the girl, who lay prone on the ground without any signs of movement. Next to her was the diary, which meant that she had been the one being controlled. Perhaps for the whole year, given her behaviours, which everyone had chalked up to anxiety about being at school. Everyone had failed Ginny, and she could die because of it.
Daisy’s peripheral vision caught movement just as she was about to crouch down and check for any signs of life she could. Daisy stopped herself, and turned to look. To see Tom Riddle walking towards her, in the flesh. Daisy didn’t know how that was possible, but she knew one thing – that he was Voldemort.
And oh, Daisy couldn’t fight Voldemort on her own. Even if she’d defeated Professor Quirrell and the shade of Voldemort the previous year, that had nothing to do with skill. Her infantile victory, too, was not worthy of providing her any confidence. Hopefully Ron would be quick and the teachers would arrive soon. Just like Dumbledore had advised a couple weeks ago, Daisy had asked for help. But… it felt like he’d meant more than just getting help from teachers, especially after how unhelpful they’d been so far. Had he meant… help from Hogwarts itself? The castle was magical, after all.
“I can’t do this on my own,” Daisy practically hissed. “Yeah, I need an assist. Hogwarts castle, if you have anything to offer, please.”
Nothing seemed to change. No flow of magic, no new and unexpected sounds, nothing. Well, Daisy didn’t have time to fret about that. She kept her wand trained on Tom’s form. As far as she could see, he was unarmed. He could have been hiding a wand somewhere, but it wasn’t out yet. Daisy needed to capture the advantage while she had it.
“You must be Daisy,” Tom- no, Voldemort started. “Dearest Ginny has told me-”
“TREMULUS!” Daisy howled, not willing to take chances letting him monologue. The blast that erupted out of her wand was even larger than what she’d managed during the duel with Draco. She had practiced in her spare time since then, as she always did. Accordingly, she had improved.
The vibrating blast launched the young Voldemort off the ground and into a curved wall several metres behind him. The solid thunk of the collision only further confirmed that somehow the memory bound to the diary had gained a very real physical form.
“GET HER!” he hissed in Parseltongue even as he fell back to the ground.
Daisy knew what was coming, even before her brain had caught up enough to think. The basilisk. Look it in the eyes and die, see it in a reflection and be petrified like the others. She didn’t know what to do.
From the moment Daisy heard the telltale slithering sounds grow nearer, Daisy locked her eyes onto the ground. The surface was wet enough for vague reflections to be visible, but at least this way Daisy would get petrified rather than killed. Hopefully then the teachers would arrive to save her and to save Ginny who already looked almost lifeless. Daisy was willing to make that sacrifice if she had to, but she’d still very much rather not die. She’d long since discovered all there was to live for – if a year and a half was a long time.
“How rude of you, attacking me out of nowhere like that,” Voldemort chastised her. “And here I was thinking you were some ordinary girl, not to be worried about – but you’re not, are you? I sense a connection between us. Something powerful, something familiar. I suppose you know the truth of my identity, don’t you?”
“You’re a monster, Voldemort,” Daisy growled. “And you won’t get away with this.”
The basilisk drew nearer. Daisy saw its head poke out from one of the pipes nearby.
“I saw through you, trying to frame Hagrid for your crime,” Daisy continued, hoping only that it would buy her some time. “But I figured you out, and I figured out that you had a basilisk too. Am I supposed to be scared of you, when my friends and I managed all this?”
Voldemort hummed, and took a single step towards her. “How amusing, that you’d think your little investigation matters. You’re but a child on your own. You are powerless against me, and soon I’ll be freed from that little book of mine, thanks to all this wonderful life force I’m being provided.”
“Dumbledore will-” Daisy started. She was eyeing the diary where it sat right next to Ginny. If she was being drained by it, Daisy had to find a way to destroy the book; to destroy the magic within it.
Voldemort laughed. “Dumbledore? Oh, but I’ve already done away with him. Now, enough of this. Kill the second girl, now.”
Daisy shuddered. She knew that Voldemort was right; there wasn’t anything she could do to defeat the basilisk, not on her own. She was at far too much of a disadvantage. For Voldemort, it was as easy as issuing commands to the snake-
She had issued commands to snakes before; or, she’d asked one not to hurt anybody and it had listened. Could she…
It was worth a try. “No, leave us alone!”
Only a handful of metres away, the basilisk stilled. Daisy could practically feel its eyes on her. Perhaps it was surprised that she could speak its language? Whatever reason it had to stop, Daisy was grateful. She didn’t honestly believe it would keep listening to her, but any time gained was a worthwhile victory.
“Don’t listen to her! Go, devour your next meal at once!”
And then the basilisk was sliding towards Daisy once more – because of course Voldemort had a greater influence over the snake than she did. The only actions remaining that Daisy could take were to try and help the teachers find her, and to defend herself against the gigantic snake.
“Vermillious!” Daisy cast with her wand quickly pointing towards the circular doorway she’d come through. She could only hope that her aim had been true, what with her eyes locked to the ground. She could only hope that the teachers either saw it or sensed the magic to come and find her more quickly.
Then, back to defending herself against the basilisk. Voldemort was still wandless, and hadn’t yet demonstrated any magic of his own – but Daisy couldn’t assume he didn’t have one hiding somewhere, especially when he might have taken Ginny’s.
The basilisk moved slowly, as though it was taking time to enjoy a hunt. It didn’t lash out at Daisy straight away – rather, it curved a path around her, gradually coming nearer and nearer. Before it could even make a half-circle around her, Daisy needed to get it away. She only had one spell that was powerful enough to have any hope of moving it, so that was what she’d rely on.
“Tremulus!” Daisy cast yet again, pouring all the magical power she knew how to control into the vibrations. As her spell tore its path across the room, it ripped water away from the tiles nearby, giving Daisy that little bit more chance to not get petrified. Not that it would help with the basilisk’s venom or generally giant threatening form.
And not that her spell did anything to it. The vibrations just bounced off the snake’s body and dampened away into nothing. It had been her strongest spell, too. She eyed the diary once more – it wasn’t far, but there was every chance that the basilisk would catch her before she reached it. Daisy racked her brain, trying to find anything that could buy her just a little bit more time.
Daisy didn’t know any shielding spells, and nothing else would protect her. She could try putting on her cloak, but it seemed pointless. Daisy sighed. She’d done her best, at least.
The sound coming from the entrance didn’t sound like teachers. They wouldn’t make it in time. No, it just sounded like some kind of bird squawking to make itself known.
…a bird?
What was a bird doing in the castle’s underground?
Daisy gradually dared to turn and look up. She was greeted with the sight of brilliant orange flames radiating off an almost chicken-like bird with deep red plumage. The bird was carrying something in its mouth – some kind of fabric?
And then the fabric was dropped into Daisy’s hands. She recognised what it was – the Sorting Hat. Had Hogwarts finally sent help? But what was she supposed to do with the hat? And why did it feel so heavy? It was far lighter on her head when she was sorted into her house.
Another squawk, and the basilisk was hissing in pain. Voldemort was screaming something, but Daisy couldn’t make sense of that. She was a little to preoccupied with the impossibly heavy Sorting Hat in her hands. Daisy saw something glimmer from the underside of the hat. A glimmering red, encased in silver. Taking the tip of the hat in her left hand, Daisy grasped at the red and silver something with her right.
Out came the most beautiful sword Daisy had ever seen.
Notes:
:0
Daisy Evans vs. Voldemort, Round 3!
Current score: Daisy 2 | Voldy 0
Chapter 37: Battling the Basilisk
Notes:
The battle continues!
cw: depiction of a character resigned to dying
this chapter is unbeta'd because i got impatient and really just wanted to post it djkhfksdjhg
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Professor McGonagall, is it true, what people say? That sometimes you find a blade or weapon that sits so perfectly right in your hands that you just… feel in harmony with it from the first grasp?” Dargo asked, on what must have been the third or fourth of their sword-fighting lessons.
Professor McGonagall hummed, and looked as though she was testing the weight of the blade she held. It wasn’t wooden anymore – she had explained that now that they were including some actual sparring, it was safer with proper steel blades. And, of course, some additional magic to enhance safety and make sure nobody actually got cut. “There are mixed reports on the matter, Mistrum Savifors. Some say it’s true. Some say it’s a placebo, invented by the hopeful mind. Others say the sensation is only felt with magical blades that bind to a chosen wielder. I do not favour any theory, but I prefer to keep an open mind if any are proven.”
“Huh, neat,” Dargo responded, and picked up the blade they’d wedged into the grass. “Suyin, ready to go again?”
Daisy stared down at the smaller steel blade she’d been given. It felt hefty, certainly, but something about it never felt quite right in her hands. Like it was too small, or needed just a little bit of extra weight to it. Professor McGonagall had explained that it can take time to adjust to the weight of a new weapon, so that must have been it. Or maybe there was something out there for her. Maybe Daisy was just a twelve year old kid inventing a fantasy in her mind.
Oh well, she thought to herself. Not like it matters much right now.
Daisy heard some kind of singing; for a moment, she wasn’t sure if it was the song of Fawkes the Phoenix, or coming from the blade in her hands. Sure, a phoenix’s singing could have a magical affect, and Daisy certainly felt more uplifted, less fearful. But she also felt something coming from the sword she held, and it took a couple seconds to realise there were two different songs she could hear. Fawkes’ song, and something much older – though Daisy wasn’t sure how she knew it was older. The older song latched onto her, and when Daisy’s hand moved downward, the sword went with her in a way that felt more instinctive than just a trained grasp. It felt right.
It wasn’t light by any means – the blade – but it was easy. This time, when Daisy looked up, she wasn’t afraid. Feeling a temporary calm, one that gave her the time and focus to evaluate the situation before her, Daisy saw everything. She saw Voldemort staring at the basilisk, and then at Fawkes with hate in his eyes. She saw the basilisk, how its eyes had been gouged all the way out, how it writhed in pain a mere two metres in front of her. She saw Ginny, a fraction paler than she had been before, running out of time.
Daisy had to act, and whatever she did, it had to happen quickly.
“Your lousy bird may have blinded my basilisk, but it still has other means to detect you,” Voldemort snarled. She should have been scared of him, and of the basilisk, but Daisy wouldn’t let fear control her now.
“I’m counting on it,” Daisy taunted right back, and it wasn’t a wholly empty taunt. She knew that basilisks were magically resistant, that their scales provided a very potent defense. But everything had a weakness, right? Its eyes had clearly already been one. Maybe it was weak anywhere not protected by scales? That gave Daisy a few ideas. A few options. Something she could do.
“Overconfident,” Voldemort snapped, little patience left about his mannerisms. “Keep fighting and kill the moving child.”
Daisy ran. She couldn’t pull this off just standing still, she had to find or create an opening. Another thing Professor McGonagall’s holiday lessons had taught her; look for openings when an enemy is attacking, or lure them out to attack to make one. The giant sculpted face with all its serpentine hair protruded out of the walls in ways that Daisy knew she could scale, and get an opening from above.
The basilisk lashed towards Daisy, and she dove to one side. Even if she wasn’t looking right at it, it was easy to hear the movements of something that large. She picked herself up, and kept moving. Her feet found their hold on the first snake, and she started to climb. As the basilisk picked itself up and readied to strike again, Daisy turned. She had a secure enough spot to see the snake coming, and she was ready. She had her wand in her left hand, the sword in her right, and she had a plan.
It happened as though in slow motion, from Daisy’s eyes. The snake coiled up its massive head. Daisy pointed her wand to the ground and opened her mouth to shout. The basilisk began to lance forward, striking a path straight towards Daisy.
“TREMULUS,” she yelled, and vibrations shot out to strike the ground. Fangs drew near, threatening to sink through Daisy’s whole body. The force of the quaking magic pushed back against its caster, lifting her up into the air. Venomous fangs struck against the stone sculpture, Daisy now safe up and above.
Then, she started to fall. Her spell was still going, wand now pointed behind her. It drove her forward. She jabbed the sword forward, aim locked on to the basilisk’s already injured left eye.
CLANG.
Daisy fell further, and tumbled to the ground. The sword was still in her hand. Not wedged into the basilisk’s eye like she’d hoped. It was turning its head again, alive and not at all further injured, because the sword had merely struck its scales. Daisy missed.
Voldemort laughed across the chamber, mocking Daisy for her efforts. “You’re but a child, and you think you have any power here? You don’t, but it’s cute that you tried.”
The basilisk’s maw snapped down.
There was no time to waste, Ron had to go and find Professor McGonagall, but he didn’t even know where she’d be. He couldn’t just go outside and fire off red sparks because any teacher might come, and he didn’t know which of them could actually be trusted to help. Indecision paralysed him for bare moments, but then he just turned to run. He’d get help even if he had to check every conceivable place the transfigurations professor might be.
“Her office and main classroom are good places to check,” the voice said. Something about it seemed shaky. It wasn’t usually shaky. “And maybe Dumbledore’s office since he’s gone and she’s stepped in as acting Headmistress.”
“Yeah,” Ron thought back. He started moving, wanting to get out of this bathroom and return only with the best possible help. Ginny was in danger, and so was Daisy. It wasn’t like Ron could have stopped her from going then. A guiltily selfish part of him didn’t even want to. Now he had to do his bit, though.
A harsh, grinding noise jutted into being from behind Ron. From where he’d just been. Once more, he froze.
Horror broke across his face. He didn’t want to believe what he was looking at. But it was there, and it was happening. The entrance to the chamber was sliding shut, and there wasn’t anything Ron could do to stop it. He could only hope that Professor McGonagall or some other teacher could get it open now that Ron knew where it was.
Again, he turned. This time, he ran faster than he’d ever moved in his life. He cast across his mind for the closest place to check first.
“Her office,” the voice urged. Ron ran to the teacher’s office, and shoved the door right open. She wasn’t there. She wasn’t in the classroom two doors down, either. To Dumbledore’s office, then. It was far away, and Ron wasn’t going to be able to run as fast if he wanted to make it that far. He felt guilty about that. But he did his best.
It took five minutes to reach the office. Five precious minutes, because that sinking feeling he’d had in the morning made everything scarier and more desperate. Ron didn’t know the password to get the stairs to spin into place, so he just yelled. He couldn’t even yell words, not with his mind like this. So frazzled, so scattered and terrified.
The circular stairwell descended into place, and perhaps it moved faster than Ron thought it would. Or perhaps he was just imagining things, filling in details in his mind for a part of the castle he’d only ever passed by. Ron didn’t wait for anything or anyone, instead sprinting up the stairs as fast as he could go, and barrelling straight into Professor McGonagall herself.
She looked alarmed, to say the least. There was no stern expression, no indicator that she might tell Ron off and ignore him. Only kind concern and a gentle hand that had caught him in his motion and slowed him to a stop.
Even before opening his mouth, Ron knew the words wouldn’t come out. Maybe he’d have to take her by the hand and drag her all the way to the chamber’s entrance, which sat in the same bathroom Ron and his friends had been using to work together to try stop this whole mess for the past few months. It was a bitter irony.
“Let me do it,” the voice suggested, sounding as desperate as Ron felt. “I’m gonna do it.”
And then Ron wasn’t quite Ron anymore. But at least Professor McGonagall was told what she needed to know.
Most people wouldn’t be able to even think if they had tumbled to the ground and immediately seen the venomous fangs of a giant snake bearing down on them. Daisy was no exception, because that was the kind of thing that required proper training to do. But what Daisy had been able to do was react. She’d been able to jab upwards with the hand that still firmly clutched the sword, every muscle in her abdomen and shoulders screaming at the motion.
It had definitely cut into something; it was a little hard to tell what, though. The pain now screaming through Daisy’s body made it hard to see or hear for a moment – but Daisy had felt the sensations of slight resistance from the blade that told her it had hit a mark. It took the pain slightly settling – not going way but Daisy growing used to it – for Daisy to see what had happened.
The head of the basilisk hung over her for a moment before slumping down beside her; the sword had pierced the roof of its mouth, probably cutting right into its brain. In the process, a singular fang had lodged itself into the flesh and muscle of Daisy’s upper arm. Deep red blood ran down Daisy’s hand, having run out of the giant snake’s wound, down the sword and onto her. Some blood was welling out of her own wound, but was largely stoppered by the fang.
The basilisk fang that was in her arm. The one that had lethal venom, which no human was likely to survive. Even with immediate treatment, the only surviving cases Daisy had read about went on to live with severe motor and cognitive deficits. Judging from what Daisy could recall through the pain, she had perhaps a minute to live. A minute, and then Voldemort would win, even despite Daisy having managed to slay a fully grown basilisk.
No.
Daisy couldn’t accept that. If she was going to die, she was going to die fighting and trying.
Even if she couldn’t move her right arm on her own, she was aware enough of the fact that the fang had come free of the basilisk’s body, probably yanked out as its head fell to the ground. And it had a venom powerful enough to destroy even the strongest of magics.
She barely even thought beyond the one idea that had struck her mind. There was no time to think. Only to move. All in one motion, Daisy tore herself up off the ground and ripped the fang free from her arm. She screamed and stumbled. The pain almost made her white out once more, but perhaps through sheer willpower alone, Daisy remained conscious and alert and mostly upright.
Voldemort’s diary wasn’t far. Vaguely, she could hear the teenage incarnation of the Dark Lord screaming, but Daisy ignored that. Instead of wasting even a second on whatever he had to say, she dove forward and plunged the fang deep into the heart of the book.
Voldemort screamed.
Daisy smiled, knowing she was doing something right. She took the fang out, opened the book up to reveal its pages, and struck into the book again, and again, and again. Dark inky something bled out of the book before dissipating against the stony ground.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”
Voldemort’s howls finally entered Daisy’s mind, and she turned to look up to him. A victorious grin sat on her face even as her body began to weaken. A light was shining out of Voldemort’s chest – one that made clear the outline of a growing hole in him. It spread and spread and spread, until he was nothing but wispy clumps of magic that hung in the air.
The stolen magic and energy that had once made up his body finally burst and vanished.
Slowly, colour returned to Ginny Weasley’s face. Her chest began to rise and fall more strongly, and her eyelids tensed a few times before slowly pulling open. Slowly, very slowly, Ginny began to sit up.
The basilisk fang clattered to the ground; Daisy’s arm no longer had the strength to hold it up. But that was okay, because she had won. She had at least saved Ginny, and put a stop to the attacks in the school. The mandrakes could be tended to, the petrified victims revived in three months’ time. Students could learn, play, grow and live.
But not Daisy.
A weight landed on her chest as Daisy lay on the ground, helpless.
Ah, she thought to herself, maybe that’s Ginny. It must be scary for her to see me like this.
She didn’t even have the strength to open her eyes back up and see. She didn’t have the strength to open her lips and tell Ginny that everything would be okay, or to tell her how to get out of the chamber. Well, at least Ron was getting Professor McGonagall, who could come find her down here.
There was a sting of something wet landing on the hole in Daisy’s arm. And then another sting, and another, and another. Then, a pulling sensation. Kind of like that time Daisy had been given Skele-Gro to drink, when it had painfully regrown the bones of her arm. The bone didn’t all grow connected, and had to knit itself together. That had been painful. Much more painful than this.
Because this pulling was almost pleasant. It radiated heat and something else from Daisy’s upper arm down to her fingertips, as well as up above her arm, through her shoulder and into her body. After a couple seconds that could have been an eternity, breathing felt a little easier. The weight was still there on her chest, but it was less restrictive.
It was confusing, then, how Daisy was able to move her right arm again. Maybe she had died, and this was some kind of afterlife. Maybe it was easy to move here, maybe her injuries didn’t matter. Maybe she had become a ghost, and that sensation was just her new form floating out of her body – but if so, why the weight? Besides, she would have expected things to feel cold if she had become a ghost.
A few seconds more, and Daisy could move more than just her arm. She could feel every point in her body, and she could breathe without any pain or effort. It was all a little unexpected. Wasn’t basilisk venom supposed to be the end? Had it actually been much longer? Had Daisy been taken somewhere like a hospital and given treatment that worked?
Slowly, she managed to open her eyes and look for the source of the weight on her chest.
A very red chicken looked down at her.
The chicken squawked.
No, that wasn’t a chicken. That was a phoenix. It was Fawkes, who had come to her aid before. Phoenix tears had healing powers. Professor Dumbledore had said so. Was their ability to heal that powerful? Clearly it was. Daisy slowly turned her head, and saw two things. The wound in her arm was completely gone, and she was still lying on the stone tiles of Salazar Slytherin’s secret chamber.
As the pain and the resignation all faded away, Daisy found herself more attuned to quieter, more distant sensations that had been irrelevant a minute ago. She could hear droplets of water falling and landing somewhere behind her. She could feel how cold the ground was, and the nerves on her abdomen informed her of the pointy pressure of Fawkes’ feet.
She could hear sobbing. Quiet, suppressed whimpers and sniffles that were no less intense for their reduced volume. It was coming from her right; from the only other person who was here. Daisy made to get up, and Fawkes moved right off her. Slowly, she arched her back forward and pressed her hands against the ground and hoisted herself up until she could see Ginny, curled into a ball and hiding from the entire world around her, sitting with her head pressed into her knees.
Cautiously, leaned all the way forward, practically crawling towards Ginny rather than get up. Maybe she could have walked, but Daisy didn’t trust her own body that had just come back from the brink of death. Besides, Ginny was barely a metre away – it wasn’t far.
“Ginny?” Daisy tested as softly as she could. The noise came out as more of a croak.
A sharp intake of breath preceded Ginny’s head snapping up, her eyes wide with shock. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. After trying again and failing once more, Ginny looked down at the diary. Her eyes returned towards Daisy, wide with a question. One Daisy didn’t know how to interpret.
The best she could do was guess at what Ginny might want – or need – to know. “He’s gone. The basilisk is dead, it’s over now. You’re safe.”
“B-but I…” Ginny croaked dryly, and then had to cough several times.
Daisy shook her head. “Not you. It wasn’t your fault.”
She didn’t think that Ginny believed her. Daisy remembered thinking that Dora wouldn’t have believed her about the Dursleys’ abuse. It had been such a normal in her life that nobody else ever intervened in that the idea of someone accepting it as bad and helping seemed unfathomable… until it wasn’t, anymore. But that had taken time, even after riding the high of the first day of Dora and Andromeda showing their support. It would probably take time for Ginny, too.
So then the answer was to get out of here, and find someone who could help Ginny. Daisy moved to stand up, pushing her hands against the ground and trying to get one leg out underneath her. The movement was slow, and her muscles didn’t quite comply. Well, even if Fawkes had saved her life, there had to be a limit to the phoenix’s healing.
“Can you stand?” Daisy asked a little shakily. It was scary, how her body didn’t quite work properly in that moment. Now that there was no mortal danger, it felt easier to be scared. “I’m… having some trouble.”
Ginny, it turned out, was able to stand without any effort or strain. When Voldemort’s manifestation had been destroyed, all of that energy returned back to her. She tentatively offered Daisy a hand, and with the provided assistance, Daisy was able to get all the way upright. Staying upright was hard, but possible. Maybe it would be easier with something to prop her up.
Daisy eyed around the room, and saw the various objects spread astray around the chamber. Her wand across from the basilisk’s corpse, where it must have fallen free and rolled a little after the fight had come to an end. The sword right beside the snake’s stiff jaw. The Sorting Hat all the way across at the other side of the room. The diary at Ginny’s feet – but only for a moment, before Ginny leaned over and picked it up.
The diary that had started all of this. Daisy pressed a hand to her wand holster almost automatically, her mind far more preoccupied by sorting through little bits of information that jutted across her thoughts, demanding to be witnessed.
Dobby had said that his master gave the diary to a student. Ginny had the diary. Her wellbeing had deteriorated across the year, but had never truly been good. Perhaps the most energy Daisy had seen out of her was on the day they’d all gone to Diagon Alley together. There had been that confrontation with Lucius Malfoy, a man who Daisy now knew through and through was bad. She’d seen his behaviour enough, and heard of his attitudes directly from Draco. What if he’d…
“Ginny,” Daisy started as she hobbled over towards the Sorting Hat to pick it up. “Did Lucius Malfoy give you the diary?”
Ginny returned a blank, confused stare.
Daisy picked up the Sorting Hat, slow and carefully so she didn’t fall and need help getting up again. “Was it in your cauldron after that trip to the book shop?”
This time, Ginny nodded. When Daisy almost stumbled and fell on her way to pick up the sword. Ginny was there to catch her, and helped Daisy reach an arm around her shoulder. With Ginny now supporting Daisy’s weight from the left, walking was much easier. Then, when Daisy had the sword in her right hand and she started using it as an improvised walking stick, it stopped hurting as much.
“I know it’ll take you time to really believe this, but it wasn’t your fault,” Daisy told Ginny as clearly as she could. “Lucius Malfoy gave you the diary on purpose. It was his fault.”
Ginny let out another choked sob. Neither girl spoke another word as they made their way back the way Daisy had come. Fawkes flew overhead, occasionally straying off the path to explore but returning shortly after every time. Moving was a little awkward with Daisy trying to lead, but Ginny didn’t know the way around here. Maybe the fact that she had been possessed when she was down here before meant she didn’t witness it. Maybe there was a small mercy in that, if Ginny didn’t have to directly watch what Voldemort had made her do over the last half a year.
After what had to be at least ten long minutes of careful walking and climbing, the two girls made it back to the pipe Daisy had slid out of when she first entered the chamber. Just as she arrived, there was a heavy sliding noise that came from up above.
“I did it, finally!” a voice declared sounding weary and victorious and desperate all at once. It sounded mostly like Ron, but somehow different.
“Well done, Mister Weasley,” came Professor McGonagall’s voice next. “You wait here and I’ll-”
Whatever Professor McGonagall was saying got interrupted by a loud noise right beside Daisy and Ginny. Another squawk from Fawkes, who had once again returned from his bouts of curious exploration. He hung in the air in front of the two girls, flapping his wings and squawking almost expectantly. When neither girl understood his intentions, Fawkes held out a foot and shook it in Daisy’s face.
“I think he wants us to hold on?” Daisy guessed. It made sense; phoenixes could carry immensely heavy loads, and the only way out of the chamber through that pipe was upwards.
Figuring out the best way for Daisy and Ginny to both hold on had been an oddly difficult logistical exercise. Once it was completed, though, Fawkes wasted no time in launching through the pipes and soaring upwards, carrying the two girls with him. They went up and up and up, out of the chamber and back into Myrtle’s bathroom.
Professor McGonagall was there, and Ron was there, and that was all the assurance Daisy needed. Her energy was flagging, and there was nothing but willpower keeping her conscious. Even that had its limits, though, and Daisy fell wearily into the elderly professor’s arms.
Notes:
One more chapter and that'll be a wrap on the plotline of Chamber of Secrets, though there'll be a handful more chapters set through the remainder of Daisy's second year at hogwarts still!
I joked on a discord server about how I was actually gonna kill Daisy off, which is even funnier to me because I'd already written both scenes in which it looks like Daisy's done for - *before* that conversation sdkhfsdkjgh
Chapter 38: After the Chamber
Notes:
Ty nachtwaechterin for beta reading this for me and continually hyping me up!!!
CW: minors being stripped of autonomy in pretty major ways
Got some Andromeda content for you, but her badassery is far more subtle this time lol
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Daisy hoped that she wasn’t making a habit of ending up in the hospital wing at least once per year after fighting Voldemort. Or of fighting Voldemort in the first place. Thoughts of the prophecy Andromeda had once mentioned troubled her. She really just wanted to live her life and grow up like a normal kid, but this was now twice it had happened. And what made it all worse was that other people were being dragged into it. This time, Ginny Weasley’s first half a year at Hogwarts had been ruined by Voldemort’s influence.
When Daisy had awoken, Ginny was already awake and sitting upright. Supposedly very little was physically wrong with her, but the toll on her mind had been extreme. Both she and Daisy were due for at least a couple nights in the hospital wing to recover. But they were safe, and they were alive. The basilisk was dead, and the diary’s magic destroyed.
Ginny had been more than willing to part with the diary clutched to her chest when Professor McGonagall requested it of her.
“I brought it back so you’d have proof,” she had said, her voice laced with threads of bitter resentment and of a strength Daisy had not yet seen from her.
She’d then gone to sleep not long after, with the help of a sleeping potion provided by Madam Pomfrey. What Ginny needed most right now was rest. Daisy needed it too, badly. Her body was sore and aching and fragile from the damage done by the venom, but rest was not something she was permitted to have yet. She once again found herself being brought to the Headmaster’s office not long after waking.
Professor Dumbledore had already returned at the request of the school governors. It had barely been a handful of hours since Daisy and Ginny returned from the chamber, and the suspension had quickly been lifted. That meant that the adults had done something. But it was too little too late, if Ginny would have been dead before Dumbledore reached her. If Daisy could have been dead, too.
At least Daisy didn’t have to confront the headmaster without support – she had Andromeda, who had been there from the moment Daisy was woken, and she had Nym who had arrived a half hour later. Professor McGonagall had been the one responsible for hastily summoning them. Now, she and her family stood outside the office doors, waiting for Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall to call them in.
“What do you think they want me here for?” Daisy asked, because maybe Andromeda would know. Maybe she could go in there prepared, with responses more planned and less off the cuff.
Andromeda sighed, and put a hand on Daisy’s shoulder. “Doubtless not an apology. A debriefing, I’d expect. Questions about what happened, something that will allow Dumbledore to craft a story for the public and assure them that the school is now safe.”
“Don’t answer any questions you don’t want to,” Nym insisted, her fury evident. She’d arrived at the hospital wing earlier in as much a blaze of fury as Andromeda had the year before. “Merlin, I’d love to kick his wrinkled old ass!”
“Peace, Nymphadora, Dumbledore will get what’s coming to him far more fully if we play the long game,” Andromeda responded. “Rest assured that Minerva and I will be seeing to that.”
Daisy looked up at her. “Professor McGonagall? But she-”
Andromeda shook her head. “A misunderstanding. Your friend Ron made clear that you went down there out of the belief that nothing was being done. In the interaction you witnessed this morning, Minerva and Severus had merely been removing Lockhart as an obstacle. It had been her intention to come to you as soon as preparations were made so that you could open the way to the chamber for her, Severus and Fillius.”
Daisy’s eyes widened. A misunderstanding. Before she could respond in any meaningful way, the doors to the headmaster’s office swung open. Professor Dumbledore was seated at his desk, with Professor McGonagall standing by his side. Daisy, her sister and her mother walked in together. Daisy was urged into a seat on account of her physical state. Fawkes crooned at her from his perch, the magic of his voice restoring some energy to her body.
“Thank you all for coming,” Professor Dumbledore welcomed them warmly, as though nothing at all was wrong. “I hope this meeting can set all minds at ease – Andromeda, I know you wish to ensure your child’s safety and care. Nymphadora, I expect that Alastor will be eager for your report. And Miss Evans, I am eager to hear your account of the events of this morning, such that no dangers are left unattended.”
Dora huffed angrily. Daisy wondered if it was because Dumbledore had addressed her as ‘Nymphadora’, something only Andromeda was allowed to do, or because she was just so pissed at him in general. “On with it, then.”
Dumbledore nodded. He gestured towards the side of his desk closest to Daisy, where the silver sword she’d wielded sat, now free of any blood. “I was greatly intrigued to have Minerva bring the Sword of Gryffindor to me. Covered in what has been identified as the blood of a basilisk, no less. Naturally, that has been cleaned off to prevent any… accidents. It is no small thing for this sword to come to you, Miss Evans. It responds only to the calls of those it deems worthy, those who are true embodiments of the traits of a Gryffindor. And for my own phoenix to have brought it to you, you must have shown a great loyalty to me.”
Fawkes crowed angrily at Dumbledore, though he showed no signs of acknowledging the bird. Daisy herself grew tired at the comment, because in no way was she loyal to Dumbledore. “I just wanted to stop people from getting hurt.”
“Indeed,” Dumbledore responded, a twinkle in his eyes that made Daisy inexplicably uncomfortable. “A young hero much like your parents.”
“Albus,” McGonagall hissed warningly.
The headmaster closed his eyes, and let out a tired breath. “Well, I’m sure young Miss Evans would like to get back to resting, so I shall try to make this brief. I must ask, though, for you to confirm what you saw when you rescued Miss Weasley.”
Daisy shuddered. She didn’t think she was quite ready to relive it, and Andromeda had said she could refuse to answer. Maybe she could just say a little. “It was Voldemort, or some kind of manifestation of him as a teenager. The magic came from the diary, and he was draining the life out of Ginny. He was controlling a basilisk, but it’s dead now. I think the diary was controlling or possessing Ginny all year.”
The diary sat on the desk too, right next to the Sword of Gryffindor. There was no magic in it anymore, but that didn’t stop Daisy from feeling wary of it.
“I see. I do not believe Miss Weasley would choose to undertake any of the harmful actions she performed this year. Rest assured that no trouble will come to-”
The doors swung open once more. Daisy heard the tapping of a cane against the stone floor, accompanied by two sets of footsteps. She turned, and saw one Lucius Malfoy entering the room, followed by none other than the elf, Dobby. Dobby looked fearful, but relief washed over him for a moment when he saw the mangled diary sitting on the headmaster’s desk. Daisy almost smiled at him, but quickly thought better of doing so in Lucius Malfoy’s presence.
Lucius approached the desk, treating Andromeda and Nym as mere afterthoughts. Daisy watched Andromeda observe the man silently, making no reaction whatsoever to his presence. Naturally, that meant she was up to something, and Daisy sorely wanted to know what. She thought of Draco and Narcissa, who Andromeda had offered safe haven to. Haven from this man. Perhaps Andromeda’s passivity was an attempt to not invoke any of his ire or attention. Like the calm before a storm.
“So it’s true, you’ve returned,” Lucius sneered at Dumbledore. An image cropped up in Daisy’s mind of Daphne sitting with a bowl of popcorn and watching the two men oppose each other. It evoked both amusement and sorrow – Daisy missed her best friend, and wished that the Mandrakes could reach full maturity sooner. At least nobody else would get petrified now.
“When the governors learned that Arthur Weasley’s daughter was taken into the chamber, they saw fit to summon me back,” Dumbledore responded, a hint of a smile warping the edges of his lips.
“Ridiculous,” Lucius hissed. “They’ve learned nothing from your incompetence.”
Nym snorted.
“Curiously, Lucius,” Dumbledore continued, “several of them were under the impression that you would curse their families if they did not agree to suspend me in the first place.”
Lucius jabbed his cane downwards. The sound of the collision of metal and stone snapped across the room. “How dare you!”
Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. “I beg your pardon?”
Behind Lucius, Dora had morphed her hair to the same platinum blond as Lucius’, and even shifted her face to look quite like him. She opened and closed her mouth in a mockery of Lucius as he began to rant, and Daisy had to work not to start laughing.
“My sole concern has always been and will always be the welfare of this school, and of course, its students,” Lucius loomed down over Daisy for just a moment, but there was no intimidation to it when Dora copied the exact same action from behind. “The culprit has been identified, I presume?”
“Oh, yes,” McGonagall answered this time, frowning deeply at the culprit himself. Daisy wasn’t sure if the teachers knew that Lucius had planted the diary amongst Ginny’s belongings, though.
“And?” Lucius questioned expectantly, not turning to meet McGonagall’s gaze. “Who was it?”
“Voldemort,” Professor McGonagall intoned. “Acting through a cursed item imprinted with an echo of himself. Quite fortunately, the item has been sufficiently destroyed, and poses no more of a threat to this school.”
Dumbledore hummed in agreement. “I do hope that none of Voldemort’s other magical experiments fall into innocent hands. The consequences for the one responsible for such a thing would be… severe.”
“I should expect nothing less,” Lucius scoffed. He then snapped his fingers aggressively in front of Dobby’s face. The elf summoned a document that had been rolled up and sealed with wax and ribbon, which Lucius took thanklessly. “Well, allow me to attend to my true business here and be on my way, lest I continue to rudely interrupt this meeting of yours. Enclosed here you will find the formal documentation explaining that I have chosen to withdraw my son Draco’s enrolment at Hogwarts. I must admit I am quite dissatisfied with this school’s contribution to his education. He will be homeschooled for the remainder of the year, after which he will move to attend Durmstrang.”
A pit formed in Daisy’s stomach. The exact thing Draco had predicted was happening. Had he found out that Draco’s ideologies and allegiances were shifting? If so, Draco could be in actual danger. At least he had somewhere he could escape to if things got bad, because he deserved better. He was just starting to make amends, and Daisy could tell that the person he was becoming was good.
“I see.” Dumbledore took the document, and set it aside on his desk. “A shame to lose a bright young mind. I wish you and your son all the best.”
Lucius nodded, turned on the spot and swept out of the room with Dobby in tow. Dora was quick to dispel her transformation, Lucius none the wiser.
But Daisy wasn’t thinking about that anymore. She wanted to help Draco if she could, and she also still wanted to help Dobby. She had promised to try and help Dobby gain his freedom, and this might be the only chance she had to do so.
“Excuse me for a moment,” Andromeda said after clearing her throat. “Daisy, dear, could you please step outside with me for a brief word?”
Daisy saw Andromeda stow something away under her coat, but it happened too fast for Daisy to know what it was. She rose out of the chair without needing any assistance, and followed Andromeda outside of the office. Once out of Dumbledore’s sight, Andromeda retrieved not one but two items from beneath her coat. In one hand she held the damaged diary, and in the other was… Daisy’s Cloak of Invisibility?
“Your friend Ron passed this cloak off to me upon my arrival and asked me to return it to you. Apparently you left it behind when you went down into the chamber. A very useful item indeed,” Andromeda remarked, handing the cloak back to her. “Which could be quite useful at this moment in time. I wonder if you’d be able to return this diary to its owner? I’m sure Lucius would appreciate the chance to have his loyal elf return it to the rest of his collection. And if you get a chance, do remind my nephew of my earlier offer.”
Daisy’s eyes widened in recognition, and Andromeda smiled approvingly at the sight. She then produced a small green potion from a pouch at her waist, uncorked the vial and handed it to Daisy.
“Drink this, it will restore some of your strength temporarily,” Andromeda instructed.
Daisy nodded, and drank the Wiggenweld potion in one large gulp before taking the diary and running down the stairs. Layered in her mother’s words had been an additional, implied task. Lucius was likely to hand off the diary to Dobby, which meant… Daisy could help to free him. Once at the bottom of the stairs, Daisy quickly cast her mind about for the smallest item of clothing she had. A sock. That would have to do. She took one off and stuffed it carefully inside the diary, making sure it wasn’t visible from the outside. Then, she took off after the sound of Lucius’s obnoxiously loud cane. It took only a minute to catch up.
“Mister Malfoy!” Daisy called out, grabbing the man’s attention. He turned just as she was closing the space between them, and Daisy drew close enough to him to hold out the diary. She made sure to hold it right up close to him so he had little choice but to take it. “This is yours, isn’t it?”
Lucius squinted, just a little. Still, his hand closed around the book and took it from her. “Mine? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, I think you do, sir,” Daisy retorted. This was a chance she couldn’t give up, one to let her anger at the man known. “I think you slipped the diary into Ginny’s cauldron with that other book you took, back at Diagon Alley. But if it isn’t yours, what’s the harm in disposing of it? It’s not in such great condition now, is it?”
“It is indeed a tattered piece of rubbish,” Lucius frowned at it. He played the part of an innocent well – albeit a rather dislikeable one. Still, Daisy knew better. She knew he was responsible for all this harm. “Dobby, take this and dispose of it.”
Lucius handed Dobby the book, and the elf took it as ordered. Daisy didn’t dare try and communicate anything to the elf, not even directly, not yet. Not until Dobby opened the book and saw what was inside, or until she could speak to him without being noticed by Lucius’s discerning gaze.
“I think you ought to be careful with what accusations you throw around, Miss… Evans, was it? A muggle name, and I see that you’ve been taken in by the disgrace of the Noble family of Black. Perhaps you ought to take some time to truly learn of our customs before you gallivant about in a society you know little of,” Lucius hissed, and then turned around. “Come, Dobby.”
This was the opportunity she needed. Daisy turned and leaned to whisper to Dobby as quickly and quietly as she could. “Open it.”
Dobby blinked up at Daisy, and then did as she instructed. His large eyes widened even more when he saw the sock that lay within. Daisy felt some kind of magic release, ever so subtle as it was, and Dobby grinned as widely as his mouth would allow. Daisy knew better than to risk a confrontation with Lucius after this, though, and swung the cloak over her whole body while the man was still facing away. She took careful steps back, but made sure to stay nearby to see what happened next.
It took Lucius a while to realise that the elf was not following his instruction, perhaps because he was so used to the complete servitude guaranteed by the Elfbind. “Dobby?”
The elf laughed. “Master has given Dobby a sock!”
“What?” Lucius spat, and began turning back to face Dobby. “I didn’t give you a-”
The look of sheer baffled frustration on his face when he saw the sock now in Dobby’s hand was a beautiful sight to behold. The confusion mixed in when he noticed that Daisy wasn’t anywhere he could see made it even better.
“Master has presented Dobby with clothes,” Dobby continued, and moved to pull the sock over one of his feet. “Dobby is free.”
“I did no such thing,” Lucius barked, and drew his wand. Daisy reached for hers, just in case. But she knew that elves were powerful, and guessed that Dobby would be fine. Dobby stood defiantly, holding out a hand as though to challenge the cruel man. After a few seconds-long stalemate, Lucius thought better of the fight and stowed his wand back away before storming off down the corridor.
Dobby snapped his fingers, and he disappeared. Daisy knew she’d see the elf again, so she set off to complete her next task. There was no doubt that Lucius would be headed straight for the Slytherin dorms, so Daisy had to get there faster – or at least fast enough to have a word with Draco before he left. She set off along a different path towards the dungeons, moving as fast as she could while remaining under the cover of her cloak.
She arrived outside the Slytherin common room entrance at the same time that Lucius did. By some means, he had the code to enter, and the portrait guarding the entrance swung open. Daisy slipped in after him before it could close. Maybe she hadn’t beaten Lucius here, but Draco would surely get at least a moment to himself, right? And Daisy had a way to signal him that only the two of them knew.
She watched silently as Lucius paced proudly – which surely had to be an act, after the incident with Dobby – through the common room and located Draco. She hung silently nearby as Lucius explained that Draco would be leaving Hogwarts today, for good. She witnessed the slightest notes of fear on Draco’s face that he had failed to successfully mask. She just needed a moment of privacy.
“Boys, I trust you can appreciate that my son might want a moment to himself as he gathers his belongings. Let us all move downstairs and give him some space,” Lucius commanded, and every single second year Slytherin boy obeyed. Lucius was at the top of the food chain in his social circle, and nobody disobeyed him. “Draco, my son, you have five minutes. Meet me downstairs when you are ready.”
“Yes, father,” Draco responded as neutrally as he could.
Lucius and the other boys all went downstairs. Taking the chance for what it was, Daisy slipped inside the room before Draco could pull the door shut.
“Draco,” Daisy whispered, and pulled just enough of the cloak away for her head to be visible. She held a finger to her lips, reminding Draco not to expose her presence. Draco’s eyes widened in surprise, and he glanced down to where the rest of Daisy’s body should have been visible, but wasn’t.
“What are you doing here?” he whispered back. “How did you get in?”
“I followed your father,” Daisy explained. “Mum sent me. Lucius is pulling you out of Hogwarts.”
“To send me to Durmstrang, no doubt,” Draco bemoaned, defeated. “I’ll be eaten alive there.”
Daisy shook her head. “Mum wanted me to remind you of her offer from before. That you and your mum can come to our place if you need somewhere safe to go.”
Draco practically collapsed downward onto his bed. “She thinks just like my father does, she’d never agree to going to stay with Aunt Andromeda! I could take the Knight Bus on my own, I suppose, but… I can’t just leave her. She might believe in blood purism and all of the associated bigotries, but she’s still my mother and she’s never hurt me.”
Daisy frowned. Loving family was new to her, but she could say with a great deal of certainty that she wouldn’t want to leave Dora or Andromeda behind in a dangerous situation either. “Just… you deserve a chance to live your own life free of your father’s expectations. Maybe… if I see Dobby again I can ask him if he’ll keep an eye on you? But it’s up to him, and I don’t know if he’ll agree.”
Draco sat back up with an inquisitive look on his face. “Dobby? How do you know Dobby?”
Daisy sighed. “It’s a long story, but Dobby’s free now, like he wanted to be. And maybe he’d agree to help? Did Dobby get along well with you and your mother?”
Draco shook his head guiltily. “I… we treated him just as badly. I doubt he’d agree to do anything for us. You’d better go, or you’ll get caught. I… thank you, Daisy.”
“Stay safe,” Daisy urged, and pulled the cloak back over her head. She couldn’t exactly leave until Draco opened the door, but it was better that she didn’t speak anymore. Getting discovered would be bad for everyone involved.
Andromeda and Nym weren’t able to stay for much longer after the meeting, but Daisy made sure to let her mum know that she had succeeded in talking with Draco. Now, Andromeda could be prepared for her sister and nephew to show up unannounced at some point if they chose to escape Lucius.
Daisy had been ordered back into bed by a very stern Madam Pomfrey who had no shortage of disapproving words to share with Andromeda for giving Daisy a Wiggenweld potion while she was still recovering. Under other circumstances, Daisy’s now even more sore muscles might agree – but she didn’t regret drinking the potion when it had allowed her to free Dobby and speak briefly with Draco before he was taken away.
Daisy’s last act before her energy failed was to push her bed right up against Ginny’s. After everything she’d been through, Ginny deserved better than to be alone. Daisy could understand some of what she was going through on a mental level, and wanted to be there for her. Ginny, who was already awake again, didn’t protest.
A couple hours passed in restful silence before Madam Pomfrey brought the two girls their dinner. The food was quite plain, but at least it looked nutritious.
“How can you willingly be this close to me?” Ginny asked after she’d finished eating, the first words she’d spoken directly to Daisy since they were back in the chamber.
“Why shouldn’t I?” Daisy questioned back. “I thought you’d want a friend right about now.”
Ginny’s arms wrapped around her chest and she held herself tightly. Daisy wanted nothing more than to reach out and offer a hand in comfort, but she also didn’t want to do anything that might upset or startle the younger girl. “A friend? You don’t even know me.”
“I do a little,” Daisy countered gently. “Stuff Ron’s told me. You sounded like the kind of person I would want to be friends with, and I can always get to know you more!”
Ginny shook her head harshly. “You don’t get it! I… I did all of those things, hurt all those people! My voice told that big snake to hurt your friends because they were getting too close to the truth, because I overheard you talking about how Hermione though she’d figured it out.”
“That wasn’t you,” Daisy insisted. It hurt her too to know that her friends were petrified because of something she had said, but it wasn’t Ginny’s fault. It was Voldemort and Lucius Malfoy who made all that happen. “I don’t blame you, okay?”
“You should,” Ginny stressed, tears running down her face. “You said before it wasn’t my fault, but… I was the one who told Tom about Zacharias, because he was mean to you and you were always so nice to me. Then that boy got petrified, and I was… happy about it.”
Daisy took in a deep breath, and then admitted something she hadn’t told anyone before. “So was I… just a little bit. Zach pretended to be my friend for a whole year but he was making fun of me the whole time, and it hurt. Of course I don’t want anyone getting hurt but there was… there was this small part of me that thought ‘if it was going to be anyone, at least it was him’.”
Ginny’s jaw dropped open a little. “But isn’t that… bad?”
“Maybe?” Daisy shrugged. “Nobody’s perfect, though. But I don’t blame you, because that was Voldemort messing with your head and controlling you.”
“…oh.” Ginny uttered after a moment’s stretched silence. “But…”
She cried some more.
“Do you want a hug?” Daisy offered, trying for something that would provide Ginny just a little bit of comfort. Ginny rolled over, and cried into Daisy’s shoulder while the older girl hugged her.
“I’m not stupid,” Ginny finally choked out after a few minutes. “If that was… if it was really You-Know-Who… I wouldn’t have been able to beat him. But how is anybody gonna trust me?”
“If people think this was at all your fault, then they just suck,” Daisy declared defiantly. Then, she had an idea. An idea that was okay because she was going to trust Ginny fully. Ginny needed to know that she could be trusted that much, and Daisy did want to be her friend anyway. “I’ve survived against You-Know-Who three times now and every time it was because I had help. We’re just kids. You-Know-Who manipulated the entire continent in the war, so I think anyone who thinks an eleven year old girl should be able to resist him isn’t worth listening to.”
Ginny suddenly sat upright. “Three times? What do you-”
“I trust you, Ginny,” Daisy said firmly, and slipped the glamour ring off her finger.
The girl’s jaw dropped open as the scar on Daisy’s forehead became visible – though only a bit of it, with Daisy’s hair in the way. “But that means you’re-”
Daisy frowned. Not because of Ginny, but because the world had decided who she was supposed to be before she got the chance to figure things out for herself. “I mean… I don’t want to be. I just want to be Daisy, you know? Not some famous person for something I don’t even remember.”
Ginny looked straight at Daisy, and smiled. “I think Daisy Evans is way cooler than… him. But why would you tell me?”
Daisy slipped the ring back on. She didn’t want anyone else to see. “To prove that you deserve to be trusted. I haven’t actually told anyone myself. Only a few people know – two of my friends figured it out, and my family and some of the teachers know because I only got to be Daisy since a bit before the start of my first year.”
“So you’re… like my brother Charlie?” Ginny asked. “Trans?”
Daisy nodded, and found herself smiling. It was nice to be able to tell someone and know that it was okay. “But it’s a secret for now, I’m not ready to tell people yet. I grew up with muggles and they can be really awful about it, and I think maybe people would be weird if they knew my other secret.”
“Okay, I won’t tell anyone,” Ginny promised. “I think it’s really cool though, how you and Charlie and all the others like you are.”
“Oh,” Daisy managed. That was an even deeper contrast from how the muggle world – especially the Dursleys – would have treated her. “So… how are you doing? This year must have sucked for you so much.”
Ginny shrugged. “I’m trying not to think about it too hard. Madam Pomfrey says I should go see a mind healer soon. Mum and Dad were here while you were asleep this morning, and they agreed.”
“That’s good, right?” Daisy offered, because maybe someone like that could help Ginny properly recover.
“I guess,” Ginny responded. “But mum and dad are also pulling me out of Hogwarts until next year.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, they decided it would be better for me to be at home while I’m recovering,” Ginny gritted out, sounding wholeheartedly unhappy about it. “They didn’t even ask what I wanted.”
“I’ll write to you lots,” Daisy promised.
“You’d do that?”
“Of course, we’re friends now.”
“Oh.”
“Do you want another hug?” Daisy offered.
Ginny nodded, and Daisy pulled her in tight.
Notes:
Aaaaand that's a wrap on the canon plotline for Year 2, but I have more planned, and there's still another 3-4 months of the school year anyway! I'm still deciding whether I want to make one of the plotlines whumpy or not, guess you'll all have to wait and see!
Chapter 39: Back to Normal
Notes:
Heyoooooo! So I planned out this mini arc for the rest of the chapters before the end of book 2, so hopefully the chapters will roll out as I have time (and I'll be able to go full swing into writing again from November basically through to July next year, so get hyped for way more content then).
content warnings:
- familial manipulation & abuseThanks to nachtwaechterin for beta reading! Go read haw fics!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Dear Ginny,
I hope you’re settling okay back at the Burrow, and that your first session with the mind healer went okay! Things are weird here, because the curfew and all the other rules got lifted and most people don’t quite understand why. But now I can visit all the people who were petrified again, and I’ll keep spending time updating them on things when possible until the end of May when they can be cured.
There’s no defense teacher anymore since Prathart ran away, so defense classes are cancelled until the school can find a replacement. I’d say I’m disappointed but the classes haven’t been very good so far anyway, and my friends and I have been learning more studying together anyway so we’ll just do that again, I think.
I don’t really know what kind of stuff you’re interested in yet other than quidditch, which Ron mentioned you really like! Maybe you could tell me about things you like when you reply? You probably already know I’m on the quidditch team and I love that, and I’ve also learned a bit of sword fighting from Professor McGonagall which is really cool too. Other than that I really really like marvel comics – its a muggle thing, maybe I can show you over the holidays or even send you some to read by owl! Looking forward to hearing back from you!
From,
Daisy Evans
“Good afternoon, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor,” Professor McGonagall greeted the class. She wore a weary look, one that spoke of the recent events at Hogwarts, and the surely great stress she felt in trying to manage the transition back to ‘normal’ now that the school was safe. “I am pleased to see that you are all here on time now that you no longer require escorting to class.”
Some nervous glances were exchanged between students around the room. Just like Daisy had said in the letter she wrote and sent to Ginny after lunch, people were confused about how and why it was suddenly safe again. The official story that the teachers had located and slain a basilisk was just too unbelievable for some, even though it was almost the truth. Well, Daisy knew that it was safe, and she was sure people would start to relax when time passed with no more attacks.
“Today you will be working on transfiguring beetles into buttons,” Professor McGonagall declared next. “We have already spent several lessons on working on the steps to transfigure most of the properties involved; size, texture and colour. All that is left for you to work on is shape. That said, if any students feel they need revision in the prior content I would ask that you meet me now at the back of the classroom. For the rest of you, I will be distributing the beetles shortly.”
Daisy decided she wanted to try the transfiguration first, and see how well her attempt went. Transfiguration was probably the one class that hadn’t slipped through the cracks for her in the past few weeks; after that experience with the troll a year prior, Daisy had started taking transfiguration especially seriously.
The beetles were distributed across the desks, and one landed in front of Daisy with a soft tap. She inspected it as it slowly began to crawl along the wooden surface and explored its way around this new environment. Vaguely, the ideas for how to correctly transfigure it were swimming around her mind and it took only a little effort to summon the information before pointing her wand at the creature and channeling magical energy forward. It took a little bit longer than usual, but the beetle shrunk down, rounded out into a circle and went just a little bit more gray. Not perfect, but certainly a good first attempt. With that as evidence that Daisy had held onto enough of what she’d learned, she opted not to go to the back of the classroom, instead remaining seated to get more practice on her own.
It was hard with things just returning to normal all of a sudden, but Daisy soaked in the lack of stress and danger with a fond appreciation. Things would be okay now, and that was what mattered.
After several practice runs with the transfiguration spell, including time to write down some notes on what Daisy thought she needed to fix or improve on, someone pulled up a chair beside her and sat down. Daisy turned, to see an uncharacteristically nervous freckled face, with a low hanging ginger fringe that hadn’t been tended to in a while, what with all the recent stressful events. “Er... alright, Daisy?”
“Sure. You, Ron?” Daisy asked her friend. For the last few days, he had been acting like he didn’t quite know how to talk to her anymore.
Ron hummed. “I guess, yeah. I only needed a few of Professor McGonagall’s revision tips, so I’m gonna give this spell a go. Shame Hermione isn’t here, she always has good advice for transfiguration.”
“She just knows how to correct your pronunciation,” Daisy teased. “How are you doing, really?”
Ron shrugged, and set his wand down on the desk. His beetle looked at it nervously, and started scurrying away. “I dunno. It’s just like... I feel like I could barely do anything to help. And that was my sister down there. I’m just glad she’s okay, really.”
Daisy transfigured her beetle into a button once more, and this time it started to take on the more plastic-like sheen she had been working towards. “Even I just got lucky, and I’m glad I did. But it’s over now, and she’ll be okay. Ginny seems pretty tough.”
The boy chuckled a little. “Yeah. Merlin, yeah, she is. I just- Percy, Fred, George and I... we all know that. We should have figured out something was wrong.”
The sentiment made Daisy think of her comics. She’d read the early issues of the Young Avengers, a new comic series that had been released during the last school year, and seen a bunch of teenage wannabe heroes mess up because they were just kids. But then they figured out how to do things better along the way. “Next time, then. Right? I mean... you can’t expect to be able to beat Kang the Con- I mean, You-Know-Who so easily, can you?”
Ron raised an eyebrow at her. “What in Merlin’s name is a kangthecon?”
Daisy snorted. “Oh, uh. Kang the Conquerer. He’s a villain in the comics I read. Maybe you can borrow some of them later? I think you might actually really like them.”
“You mean those non-moving picture books you’re always reading?” Ron asked, and Daisy nodded. “Oh, huh. Maybe, yeah. And I guess you’re right. It’s just... scary, is all.”
“It really is,” Daisy agreed, shuddering as she remembered just what it had been like to be down in the Chamber. It had been cold, and a little dark, and completely and utterly terrifying. Only sheer adrenaline had kept her going. And now there was so much to worry about, and so little support. Her dormmates knew that something had been going on for her lately and were always rather nice, but she couldn’t talk to them like she could the rest of her friends. Usually she would go to Daphne first, but Daphne was going to be in a hospital bed until the end of May. “You can talk to me about it, you know?”
“Yeah?” Ron questioned, looking up at her before picking up his wand and grabbing the runaway beetle and setting it back in front of him. “You’ve changed a lot since we first met, you know? In a good way, I mean!”
While Ron started working on shifting his beetle rather successfully into a circular shape with a few holes in the middle, Daisy considered his words. She knew he was right; now, Daisy knew that her life wasn’t going to be ripped out from under her. The Dursleys were in her past, and she had friends and family who were there to stay. Thanks to that, she didn’t think she was changing as much as she was figuring out what kind of person she could be away from all of that.
“I reckon you’re right,” Daisy agreed. “Your wandwork needs to be a little more circular, so the shaping will be less work.”
“Oh, thanks,” Ron said, and gave it another go. This time, he managed to get that reflective sheen, too.
If Draco had been asked a year ago if he ever expected himself to be pulled out of Hogwarts, he would be able to give one answer on the spot. It would have been that his father had decided he was better off continuing his education at Durmstrang due to a drop in the quality of education at the Scottish school. He would have said he was perfectly fine with it, and that he was looking forward to all the new opportunities. He would have been happy to follow his father’s lead. He wouldn’t have suspected that anything might be wrong, because why should anything be wrong? Draco’s father knew best.
At least, that’s what he would have thought, once. Now, all he felt in the decision was fear. Fear of what Durmstrang would be like, fear of what kind of person he would have to become to survive there. Fear of the hold it would give his father over him, what with the man’s ‘friends’ who were associated with the school. Former death eaters and their associates. People who would be keeping a close eye on him and making sure he was behaving in a manner befitting of a Malfoy. People who would ensure that Draco didn’t get to decide what kind of person he wanted to be for himself.
It was a small relief that Draco had several months to prepare himself for the change. He had time to learn how to present himself at the school, how to survive there. Or maybe he could just run away. It was a near-unfathomable idea, but would it really be that hard to call the Knight Bus and go to Aunt Andromeda’s place, just like he’d been offered? But no, Draco didn’t want to leave his mother behind, and he doubted she would agree to such a thing. She may believe firmly in ideals that Draco was quite heavily questioning, but she had never been anything but kind to him, and supportive of his endeavors. Not like father. She didn’t impose all these heavy expectations onto him. She really just wanted him to be happy. For that, he couldn’t simply leave her behind. He would miss her too much.
So Draco would learn all about who he needed to be, and he would survive. If he could make it out the other end, finish school at Durmstrang and impress his father enough, he’d earn the freedom to do what he wanted. Maybe, if he figured out how to be shrewd enough, he could make preparations along the way. Forge connections and gather resources to set out on his own, to amass the power needed to diverge from his father’s path later. If only he could figure out how. He just wasn’t very good at the whole Slytherin thing, and it was a miracle he’d even made it this far.
But if Draco was anything, he was prepared to research, learn and put in the work. One day, he’d be his own person and make his own decisions about what to believe, what to do and who to be. Maybe, just maybe, he could find time for something he actually liked doing. Studying alchemy certainly would be wonderful. And so above all else, Draco would be patient, and he wouldn’t step on any toes.
“Draco, my son, come in,” Lucius’s voice commanded from outside his study.
Draco brushed off a small piece of lint from his shoulder, and stepped inside. It was important to make sure he was well dressed in his father’s presence; anything to give him less of an excuse to reprimand his son. “I’m here, father.”
“Good,” Lucius responded. He was sat at his desk with a small mound of parchment in front of him - no doubt the enrolment forms and various letters to call in favours so that he could get Draco a spot at the Northern European school. He had, of course, been boasting about being able to call in such favours with ease only a day prior. “I will require your presence again this evening to further discuss your educational regimen for the remainder of time until the following school year. For now, take this book and begin to study it. You will need a strong grasp of the Norwegian language before your first classes, and I expect nothing less than perfection from you.”
Draco bit back a sigh. Aside from English, the only other language he had learned was French, having begun studying it two years prior. Although it had been at his father’s command, with the Malfoy family having historic ties to France and deeming a knowledge of the language to be an essential trait for every heir, Draco had truly only pursued it with any fervor due to the fact that Nicolas Flamel was French. If he ever got the opportunity to meet and study under the famed alchemist, he wanted to impress the man with a fluency in his mother tongue. Even wanting to impress his father hadn’t been motivation enough for the study of the language. Thus, he knew that having to learn Norwegian would be a far less enjoyable task, but he had to succeed at it all the same.
“Yes, father. I will begin at once,” Draco declared. “With whom should I begin to practice the language when I am prepared to do so?”
“I will arrange for a tutor in one week’s time,” Lucius answered. “And Draco? Do not get any foolish ideas such as writing to any students at Hogwarts. You have been enough of an embarassment as is, and I won’t have you making a fool of yourself in front of any of your peers again.”
“Of course, father,” Draco said simply, and slipped out of the office as politely as he could. He saved the sigh of relief for when he returned to his room, not wanting to risk any prying eyes or ears hearing it from him. His father had been talking about his ‘appropriate’ peers in Slytherin, rather than Daisy or any of her friends. He still didn’t know. If he had, his words would have come with far more anger. And that? That was something to hold on to. Even if he couldn’t owl any of them, he still held that one thing secret from his father. That alone was safe, and he was going to treasure it.
Hi Daisy!!
It’s definitely really weird being back at the Burrow. Is it weird that I miss school? I mean, I was so stressed when I was there because of you-know-what but I just want to be back there. I’m not some fragile little child like my parents think! The mind healer was okay. We didn’t really talk about anything all that stressful, he just wanted to get to know me. He did say that the next sessions might start getting harder, so I guess I’ll find out soon. Mum gets really upset when I try to do anything to physical, but she’s starting to realise already that if she tells me I can’t fly around in the backyard, I’m gonna find ways to do it anyway.
I definitely want to join the Gryffindor quidditch team next year if I can! I always fancied myself a chaser, and even if I only get to be a reserve I think it’d be pretty wicked. I just need something to do to pass the time, honestly. Who knows, maybe I’ll spend the entire time until the school year ends practicing, and I’ll be the best chaser in the whole school by the time I come back!
I can totally believe that Prathart ran away! He was honestly pretty useless. I hope they find you someone good soon. Defense always sounded fun when Bill would tell me about it, and I want a teacher I can learn cool spells from!!
I like quidditch (which you know) and also sometimes I try to sneak away the Prophet articles about competitive duelling stuff. And... I don’t know, maybe cooking? Mum lets me help sometimes, and it’s always lots of fun. I’ve never heard of those ‘marvel comics’ things you’ve mentioned, and you don’t have to send me any! But maybe I’ll see if I can find anything out somehow?
Thanks for writing to me, it really means a lot.
From,
Ginny Weasley
Notes:
ehehehehe poor draco :)
(it will get better, but first it has to get worse)
Chapter 40: Noble Pressures
Notes:
Thanks to nachtwaechterin for beta reading! Go read haw fics!
Content Warnings:
- disordered eating (specifically ARFID - avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder)
- Lucius being an abusive piece of shitThis chapter is set about 3 weeks after the previous one.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hi Ginny!
I sent a package of comics with Hedwig, including the first bunch of Young Avengers issues. I hope you’ll enjoy reading them! Also, great news about the Cleansweep Nine. That’s really nice of Bill to have sent you that! Now you’ll be able to practice flying even faster and get ready to try out for the team next school year.
I realised that maybe I know someone who could come and tutor you a bit while you’re stuck at home? His name is Remus Lupin, and he’s really nice. Mum thought he could make a good Defense teacher at Hogwarts, so I’ll ask her if she thinks he could help you for a bit. That way you can catch up on the stuff you missed, and maybe your mum will let you actually practice spells if he’s supervising.
I have potions today which isn’t as fun without Daphne there, and I’ll have to work extra hard to stay on Professor Snape’s good side. He’s been super judgy of my work ever since Daphne got petrified, even if my potions are turning out fine. But at least I have a quidditch match in a few days to look forward to! When I get your reply letter, I’ll respond and let you know how it went.
If you want something new to try cooking that your mum might not know about, see if you can learn about a muggle dish called pizza? It’s not really pronounced how the word looks, it’s more like peet-zah.
Looking forward to your next letter!
Daisy
Learning Norwegian from books and the incredibly snobbish tutor his father had hired was... going. Draco could finally string together some very basic sentences, after two and a half weeks of study. He was barely just starting to grasp the basic grammatical principles of the language, and had an unimpressive vocabulary to talk about the weather and weakly insult peoples’ financial status. Needless to say, this meant he was enduring impatient goading from the tutor and disappointed sneers from his father - neither of which were helpful.
When Draco had begun learning French, he had soaked in the language quickly. After two weeks he could put together correct sentences and recite every formal phrase his father expected of him. He could use the language to describe just about every aspect of draconic anatomy. Naturally, and unbeknownst to Draco at the time, that had set the bar high. What he had achieved with French was what his father expected from him with Norwegian. When Draco failed to match his prior rate of learning, his father interpreted that as him resisting.
His father thinking he was resisting the notion of moving to Durmstrang was the last thing that Draco needed. He could detect the slightest changes in the finer aspects of his father’s behaviour that betrayed a mounting anger. Slightly heavier and faster footfalls when approaching Draco’s room or study hall. A cough to clear the throat because he’d intended to speak faster than his measured vocal patterns were accustomed to - and when Lucius was at home without guests, he was less careful to mask the signs of his body’s disease. An affliction that had set into his throat years ago and given him regular periods of slight pain and inflammation. There was a reason he either spoke more slowly or quickly cast a numbing charm to his throat before speaking more quickly in front of others. If anyone were to find out that the great Lucius Malfoy suffered from a chronic ailment, his reputation would wane. Sometimes Draco fantasized about exposing his father’s illness to the Ministry.
Draco’s father was also hitting the elves more, and there was this small itch in the back of his mind whenever it happened - one that continued to remind him that if things got worse, that could be him soon. If only the stress of it helped Draco study and appease the man with greater proficiency, but no, it only distracted him. It made his body feel like something was crawling through him and needed to escape - and the only way he could ease the discomfort was to move in ways that were not allowed. The heir of house Malfoy couldn’t be seen shaking his arms and legs back and forth in such an undignified way. He couldn’t be heard repeating ever-satisfying words over and over again. The best he could manage was a tightening charm on some of his heavier undershirts, one that would make them squeeze into his body and give him some semblance of calm. At least that wasn’t obvious, and was therefore allowed.
And then there was the eating, because naturally there was no end to ways Draco could disappoint his father now. He was starting to realise that the problems with eating weren’t new - he’d just never given it much thought back when he was the perfect Malfoy heir with no reason to be afraid. He had to eat in the right way, all the time. Use the right tools for the right meal, hold them just so, and eat what food was served to him without modification. It used to be fine, even if perhaps he left numerous meals still feeling a little hungry. Now, he was too tired by the end of the day to put on the act. Unless he was served a meal he was especially used to, food felt harsh and laborous to eat, and he went to bed hungry.
Draco wondered if Durmstrang would be pleasant compared to the weeks he’d been back at the Malfoy Manor thus far. He wondered if they’d be more lax, and less critical of his every move. He wondered if people in Durmstrang’s circles wouldn’t care for Lucius Malfoy’s demands. Well, people other than the ‘friends’ his father had there. The death eaters and their associates. No, it wouldn’t be better. He’d have to stay on guard just as much, and learn how to watch these new supervisors for their little tells.
At the very least, Draco got to enjoy an afternoon tea with his mother every second day. She was often busy at work - Narcissa Malfoy worked as an enchanter. Rather than owning a shop, she took orders from only those who were ‘elite’ enough to do business with her. They would send her garments, jewels and the like, and she would weave lasting spells into them. It was a delicate art, and Draco was well aware that his mother’s skill surpassed those of the enchanters who made many of the commonplace wixen magical products. But the fact was, Narcissa made time for Draco once every two days. She listened to him talk about his studies, and never had a cruel word to say. At times she would more gently encourage him to work a little faster to impress his father more, but that was it.
Beyond that, she was kind to him, and she was interested in what he cared about. Of course Draco hadn’t slipped a single word to her about his questions about his parents’ ideologies, or how he had reached the point of near-certainty that their views were fundamentally wrong and harmful, because she believed in the blood purism and other such harmful views just as firmly as his father did. Still, he could talk to her about his interests, and he could be excited. Narcissa had promised him a small antique journal that once belonged to a moderately successful alchemist if Draco could complete his Charms and Transfiguration assignments by the mid-April deadline. Naturally, his Charms and Transfiguration assignments were progressing well.
He just had to get through these few months until the year at Durmstrang began.
After an especially challenging Charms class, Daisy was glad for a trip to the Owlery just to spend some quiet time with Hedwig. Professor Flitwick had decided some time ago that second year was the ideal time to begin learning the animation charm, animatus - which was typically found in sixth and seventh year textbooks. It was a complex spell that allowed one to enchant an inanimate object to perform set tasks. The animation charm was part of how wixen chess sets worked, among other things. It was considered especially useful in household magic to automate repetitive chores, too.
According to Professor Flitwick, learning to just have a small stone move in a square was a suitable task for a second year student, and would prepare them to have a far easier time learning more complex uses of the animation charm later on. Daisy never would have thought it would be so hard to make a stone move in a square, but it was so hard. But that lesson was over, and Daisy didn’t want to think about that anymore. She needed a break. Neville was busy with Professor Vector, Ron was having a nap and Daisy didn’t know where Tracy was. If any of them were available, she probably would have brought any or all of them to visit Hedwig too.
Upon Daisy’s arrival at the Owlery, Hedwig was quick to swoop down from her perch and land on Daisy’s arm. The owl hooted happily and nibbled a little at Daisy’s finger before taking off again and flying back outside. Daisy followed Hedwig to find her circling a patch of grass not all that far away. Doubtless she’d found some prey to catch and have a little snack. If Daisy wasn’t so tired from the loneliness that came with two of her friends still being petrified, she might have thought to bring her broom and go for a fly with the owl.
Well, Daisy wasn’t the first person to reach Hedwig’s new location - instead, a vaguely familiar first year Ravenclaw with long, almost platinum-blonde wavy hair had wandered over to that particular patch of glass and was staring off at the forest beyond. Hedwig landed on their shoulder with a satisfied hoot mere moments after they sat down, which was reason enough for Daisy to make her way over.
“She’s very decisive, isn’t she?” the Ravenclaw asked, making no effort to look at either Hedwig or Daisy.
“Do you mean Hedwig?” Daisy questioned in return.
“I do.”
“I guess she is,” Daisy then answered. “She seems to like you. I’m Daisy.”
“I know,” the Ravenclaw said. “I’m Luna Lovegood. There are lots of devas around you. They seem to like to wrestle and fight. Do you like to fight?”
“I guess? Dueling is pretty fun,” Daisy answered, a little lost at Luna’s words. “What are devas?”
A faint smile etched itself into the corners of Luna’s lips. “Interesting little creatures, a shame hardly anyone can see them. They’ve had many names around the world. Devas, rukh, celestial wisps, and so on. They like magic, and sometimes certain kinds of them flock to people, but not often. There were some following that Slytherin boy who left. Awfully bright ones, too.”
“Huh,” Daisy uttered. She’d never heard of these creatures before. Her mind stalled as she reached for something to say, but Daisy wasn’t sure where this conversation should go next.
“I was glad to find you here,” Luna continued. “I wanted to ask you something about Ginevra Weasley.”
“About Ginny?” Daisy questioned. Maybe they had been friends, and Ginny never mentioned anything about Luna?
Luna nodded. “She was nice to me once, a few weeks after the start of the school year. Someone hid my shoes, and she helped me find them. But then she started keeping to herself, and I never got to talk to her much. Now that she’s gone home, I was thinking of writing to her every now and then, to keep her some company, if even at a distance. Do you think that would be okay?”
A hum loosed itself from Daisy’s lips. “I think she’d like that. But why ask me?”
“Because you saved her from the basilisk,” Luna stated, as though it was the most simple and obvious thing in the world, but...
“How did you know that?” Daisy had to ask.
Luna shrugged. “Sometimes I see things when they happen, even if they aren’t happening in front of me. It usually happens when an unusual burst of magic is released. It... catches my attention, I suppose? I saw you save her, so I thought you might know her enough to tell me if it would be okay.”
“Oh,” Daisy managed. Seeing things like Luna had described was another thing Daisy had never heard of, but she didn’t see much point in not believing faer. “Um, well we only just started being friends recently, but I think Ginny would really like that. To have another friend writing to her until she can come back to school next year. That’s really nice of you, Luna.”
“I hope she writes back,” Luna remarked. “I would quite like to have a friend, and know what that’s like. I think Hedwig here wants to go and hunt, so I’ll leave you two alone now. Thank you, Daisy.”
“No... problem?” Daisy tried