Harry Potter 1. Dyna-Girl

**Hey! Had this idea going through my head for awhile and figured I would post something here. Not sure if this is good or not but tell me what you think. I don't own anything. Harry Potter is purely J.K. Rowling and I don't own DC either.**

**Harry Potter/DC crossover**

Danielle was exhausted.

She had been on her own for a week and was starting to lose her nerve. The Dursleys had abandoned her out in the middle of Metropolis when they had gone for a business meeting/vacation. Apparently, when Vernon found out that the meeting with Lex Luthor fell through, he needed something to take his anger out on. Just too bad that was his niece.

Berating her that it had been her fault that Lexcorp and Grunnings couldn't come to an understanding, he smacked her around a bit before leaving her barely conscious form in the closest park. Waking up, she realized that their flight back to Britain had left hours ago and she was on her own.

Something that was both a blessing and a curse, as she had been mostly on her own from the beginning. She had taken some money from the Dursleys when she knew they hadn't been looking but now that was gone. Sighing, she trudged through the alleyway she had taken up residence to see if she could take something to eat.

She didn't like stealing but what other choice was there? She was seven for goodness sake! It's not like she could have found a job or whatever for money.

Not finding anything nearby, she tried uptown for better scrounging. Walking the streets, she passed a newsstand that said that there was some new superhero in town that was starting to save people. He apparently went by Superman.

Shrugging, not believing in everything she read in a paper, she kept walking. Passing some building called 'The Daily Planet' she found some guy that looked like a total pushover. He was wearing a simple business suit and glasses and carrying a briefcase. He looked pretty buff actually but his demeanor just screamed naïve and stupid.

Smirking slightly, she passed him without looking at him, carefully snatching the guy's wallet as they passed. She had gotten pretty good at pickpocketing out of necessity and she hadn't been caught yet. Unknown to her, it was because her hand moved so fast that no one actually saw it happen.

"Hey!"

Busted, knowing that the business guy somehow knew it was her, she ran for it. Breathing heavily, she was running as fast as she could, which was actually so fast that everything was blurring around her. Looking back, she saw that he was somehow running as fast as she was. How was that possible?

Ducking into an alley, she made a few random turns and wound up completely lost with no clue where she was. The business man was nowhere in sight so that was a plus. Sighing in relief, she was about to try to figure out how to get back 'home' when she realized she had accidently walked into gang territory.

The walls were covered in graffiti and loud rock music could be heard now that she wasn't in full fight or flight mode. She took a step back when several gang members, all wearing baggy jeans, baseball caps, and t-shirts made an appearance from behind old cars or trashcans. They also were holding various weapons like guns, chains, bats, and a few broken pipes.

"Well, well," said one of the gang members, probably the leader, as he walked toward her. "What do we have here? A little runaway? A spy from that gang downtown? What should we do with her boys?"

He was a large guy maybe in his late teens or early twenties. He was holding a knife that he was spinning in his palm, obviously knowing how to use it.

"I, I just got lost," said Danielle, trying to back out of the alleyway. "I'll leave and-"

"I don't think so," said one of the other members, holding a bat. "J.C., you know that Tony is trying to take over and sending a rat is just like him." He moved closer to Danielle, smacking the bat into his palm threateningly.

Danielle was terrified and couldn't move. Breathing heavily, she figured this would be where she would die. She couldn't possibly be able to fight off all these guys at once and they were blocking all the exits.

"I think you should leave her alone."

The voice that said that was coming from above them. Looking up, she and the gang members saw a man dressed in blue tights, a red cape and a red and yellow shield emblem on his chest with an S on it. He was tall, about 6' 4", with short dark hair. He was hovering about ten feet off the ground before he landed, giving everyone except Danielle a death glare.

"Who's this flying freak?" asked one guy holding a chain. "Whatever, I'm sure we can take him."

He swung out the chain in an attempt to attack but the man just grabbed the chain and used it bring the guy closer to him. "Son, you don't want to do that." He threw him aside but it was clear he could have thrown the gang member through a brick wall if he wanted to.

"Nobody disses my crew," said the leader, holding his gun. "Get him!"

It was a pretty one sided fight as none of their weapons worked on the flying man. He either let the bats break on his chest, burned the pipes with beams of heat from his eyes, or just avoided everything.

Danielle saw this as her chance to escape. Moving over to a now free exit, she moved to make a break for it. The leader apparently saw her however and leveled his gun while the others were distracted. With a bang and a well placed shot, Danielle yelled out when she felt the bullet hit her in the leg. Not enough to kill her but it should have impeded her from leaving.

Instead, she was stunned when the bullet shattered when it hit her skin. She was completely fine. The shock of everything over the last week and this fight was too much for her and she slumped to the ground, completely unconscious.

The superhero saw Danielle shot and decided to make this quick. Taking out the rest of the gang members by knocking them out, he hurried over to the red haired girl that had passed out. He was just as surprised as Danielle had been when he didn't see any blood and that the bullet had broken against her.

Concerned, he scooped her up, finding her surprisingly light, even for him, and flew off, taking her to the one place he knew of that might hold answers.

XXXXXX

In a crystal fortress far off in the arctic, Superman lied the red haired girl that had tried to pickpocket him as Clark Kent on a bed. He was completely confused about how this seemingly ordinary girl had stopped a bullet and had only fainted from shock.

He had only been Superman for a short time, about six months, and so far he had only run into common street thugs in Metropolis so far. He had honestly fought more powerful forces back in his childhood home of Smallville Kansas. Maybe it was the tights or the cape?

The last surviving son of Krypton, he had dedicated his life to try to help people with his powers. Born Kal-El of Krypton but raised Clark Kent, mild mannered reporter for the Daily Planet, he had the perfect opportunity to learn of disasters as they were happening so he could go off to save the day.

He had just finished a hard day of work with his coworker Lois Lane and was coming out of the building as Clark Kent when he felt a hand take his wallet as he was passing a red haired girl. If it wasn't for the fact he was Kryptonian, he wouldn't have felt it as she was apparently that good.

Chasing after her more for information than anything else, he was surprised when she ran off with super speed. Figuring it was the Wally West thing all over again, he chased after her only for him to lose her. Changing into his Superman outfit that he wore under his regular clothes, he found her being threatened by those street goons. Now, he was more curious than anything else as he wondered who she was.

"Computer, scan the person on the bed for any super abilities."

A green light from the fortress scanned the young girl from head to toe, trying to find anything different about her than a normal human.

After a moment the green light faded and Superman turned to the fortress. "Anything?"

A few more moments passed before the fortress replied. "Subject is seven years old at a height of 3' 7" and 70 lbs. Found traces of malnourishment that has gone on for years but has not been life threatening until seven days ago. Physical abuse detected from various old injuries that has not been healed properly. Increased need for nourishment activated buried old Kryptonian bloodline."

"Kryptonian bloodline? She's descended from a Kryptonian?"

"Working…done. Subject comes from the Kryptonian Pev-Rell, a scientist who lived on Krypton before migrating to Earth when she was banished by the Kryptonian council a thousand years ago."

"Why was she banished?"

"Pev-Rell was banished for studying magic, which the council outlawed as it interfered with science and technology, which they felt was more important. Pev-Rell discovered super abilities on Earth in addition to magic and had three sons. Subject is descended from the youngest brother."

Superman thought about everything the computer told him. This girl was somewhat Kryptonian and needed training on how to use her powers. But he had no idea who to go to if she did indeed have magic as well. "What is her name?"

"Cannot be determined."

"Guess I'll have to ask her myself," he sighed. While he was good with the public in general so far, he really didn't know how to deal with children. He had an idea of what to do with her though but she would have to agree to it and he had no idea how she would take it.

"How long until she wakes?"

"Right now," muttered the girl before the computer could. Clutching her head in pain, she didn't know what was going on and wasn't taking any chances. Slowly opening her eyes, she looked around and saw that she was surrounded by a huge crystal room. The man from before also there but he was sitting down next to her, looking at her curiously. "What's going on?"

Superman took in a deep breath. "First, I would like to introduce myself. I'm Superman, but my real name is Clark Kent, the guy you tried to pickpocket earlier today."

The red head didn't seem remorseful or anything. "I take it you want your wallet back. Fine. I don't care anymore." She pulled out the item and threw it over her shoulder and onto the floor before slumping down on the bed, eyes closed.

"Anything wrong?"

The girl looked at him and his heart almost broke at the look in her eyes. They looked broken, like she really didn't care about her life anymore. "Anything wrong," she muttered. "I have no family, no friends, no one that cares about me at all. I could die right now and no one would lift a finger or morn for a second. Why do you even care?"

Superman was deeply disturbed by what she said but he wasn't giving her up just because she had. "No family at all?"

She sighed. "None that care for me. I was raised by my aunt and uncle but they abandoned me in the streets for me being a freak. I don't know my parents at all. I've been living on the streets for a week and I know there's no sympathy for me. I have no idea what to do."

The man of steel looked at her, concerned. She seemed so lost and confused, with no one to turn to. "If you want to, I know of a couple that could take you in. My parents are used to supernatural powers and you definitely showed off some. They could help you."

She seemed to go through several emotions; relief, anxiety, suspicion, depression, and happiness, to name a few. Finally, she sighed. "Fine. I'll meet them and see where we go from there."

Clark nodded and held out his hand, which she looked at dubiously. "Can I at least know your name?"

She looked at him, as if gauging his worth. Finally, she took the hand. "I'm Danielle."

He rose an eyebrow. "Just Danielle? What about your last name?"

Danielle shrugged, now getting off the bed. "Never found out. My aunt and uncle never told me and I only found out my first name on my first day of school."

Clark repressed the urge to find these people and let him know of his displeasure. Finally, he turned to her again. "How about we get you some food at my parent's house? Maybe get you some clothes that fit you?"

Danielle looked at the clothes she was wearing and had to admit that she could use some new ones. She was wearing some of Dudley's old cast offs when the Dursleys left her and they were huge for her then. Now it looked she was swimming in her clothes after she had lost weight she couldn't afford to lose in the first place.

She took the superhero's hand, figuring that she could have picked worse people to go with.

XXXXX

Martha Kent was a hard working wife for an even harder working husband on their farm in Smallville. While it didn't bring in a huge amount of money, the farm was their life and it was enough for them to live comfortably as long as they didn't buy anything too extragavent. It was a comfortable life and they were happy with it.

Almost twenty-five years ago, they had had quite a shock. Martha had still been reeling with the news that she couldn't get pregnant due to some injury she got when she was younger. Jonathan, her husband, had been just as devastated that he would never be a father but he never loved his wife less. The week after had changed that.

While driving home from the store, a sudden meteor shower had rained down space rocks onto the sleepy town of Smallville, almost killing several people. Stopping the car when they saw a huge something that wasn't a rock almost hit them from the sky, they found that it was an alien space craft.

Martha, despite Jonathan's warning, moved closer to the spaceship and found a sleeping baby boy inside. To Martha, it was perfect. She figured out pretty quickly that he was probably the last of his kind and his real parents must have wanted him to survive.

Packing the boy and the spaceship into the truck, they named him Clark Kent and filed the proper paperwork to adopt him officially. When no one claimed him as theirs, which Martha knew no one would anyway, the courts had proclaimed them Clark's legal guardians and parents.

Raising him had proven to be a challenge but they wouldn't have traded it for the world. Yes, it was a bit harder than normal parents when their son was using super speed without him knowing about it until later, or that he could lift the tractor without trying, but they got through it. The big shocker however when he showed them that he could fly, although considering his other gifts, it shouldn't have been.

After he graduated from high school, Clark went to the Arctic and formed the Fortress of Solitude where he got training on how to use his powers from experts. Now he was working at the Daily Planet as a reporter while helping people as Superman.

Martha knew that the world needed a symbol of hope and justice in the world and if that was her son, than she would be proud of him for that. At least he should be better than that vigilante over in Gotham that terrified the criminals by dressing like a giant bat.

She was currently cleaning up the kitchen after some baking when she heard a soft thud outside that meant that Clark was home. Smiling, she knew that it was now dinner time and her boy had come home for the meal. "Come in Clark!"

The screen door opened to reveal Clark in his everyday clothes, usual for spending time on the farm, and someone else. Martha saw that it was a girl about the age of six to eight with dark red hair, hazel eyes, and dressed in dirty clothes that were far too big for her. The girl was looking around curiously while holding Clark's hand, although it was clear that she wasn't used to an adult doing so.

"Clark, good to see you," said Martha, happy that he was home. "And who's this?"

"Hello Ma, good to see you again. This is Danielle, we ran into each other and she seems to be gifted if you catch my drift." Clark made sure to leave the implied fact that the young girl had powers out there.

"Ah," Martha got the hint right away and bent down to look at the young girl in the eyes. "Glad to meet you dear. Are you hungry?"

Before Danielle could reply, a loud rumble from her stomach got their attention and she blushed. "Yes, Mrs. Kent, that would be nice."

At least the girls had manners, even if she looked like she had come out of a dumpster. Clark looked at her and told her in a quiet voice that Danielle couldn't hear. "She's had some hard times recently and hasn't been eating regularly. If you could start her off with something light-"

Martha nodded right away. She knew that people who weren't used to big meals instantly started eating like that, their bodies wouldn't accept it right away. Still, the poor girl looked so thin that she had to stop her instincts of feeding her half the food in their pantry right away.

"We're just waiting for your father, Clark, he should be here soon," said Martha. "Dinner is almost ready so it shouldn't take too long. Danielle, would you like to clean up?"

Danielle didn't look like she knew how to answer that. "Mrs. Kent, I would love to but I don't have any other clothes with me, so-"

"It's alright dear," said Martha, smiling. "I never like to just throw anything away so I think there's still some of my old clothes lying around. They probably won't fit you perfectly but they'll last until we can go shopping."

Danielle was about to say something else when Clark smiled and bent down to her. "You might as well just let her do it. You're fighting a losing battle here."

The girl hesitated, before nodding. "Could you show me where the bathroom is then?"

Clark nodded. "Sure, and Ma-"

"Clean clothes as well will be waiting for her," she finished for him. She had a feeling what her son was going to ask of her and she had to admit, while raising a son was rewarding, she never thought she would care for a daughter or granddaughter before. The poor dear had obviously had a hard life but it would get better, she was sure of it.

Going off to find some of her old clothes when she was Danielle's size, she managed to find some outfits that would fit her. Choosing something that the red head might like, Clark found her in her closet. "Thanks for this Ma."

Martha waved him off. "No problem dear, it looks like she needs it." She paused for a moment. "Are you planning on having her stay here for awhile?"

Clark sighed. "I really haven't thought that far ahead yet. I think that the farm would be good for her though. Ma, I saw that she has at least some of the powers I have and might have some I don't. I didn't think that the government would be a good idea to handle her case, thanks to her powers, and she doesn't even know her last name."

Martha's eyes widened. "Poor dear." She picked up the clothes. "Your father and I will talk about this but I think we would be willing to take her in. I always wanted another female influence in the house. Lana was good to have around here but after you two didn't work out-"

"Ma, please," said Clark, now blushing. He really didn't want to talk about his childhood crush and sweetheart.

Martha smiled, "Sorry dear, but you have to admit that you walked into that one."

The man of steel just sighed.

Meanwhile, Danielle was amazed that she got the whole bathroom to herself. The Dursleys never gave her enough time to do even half of the things she wanted to do and now she apparently had all the time in the world. Taking off Dudley's old clothes, she looked at herself in the mirror.

She grimaced, the past week had not been kind to her. Her usually immaculate dark red hair was dirty and tangled, like she had rolled around in dirt and grease. Her ribs were clearly visible and her stomach had sunken in, giving her a starved look. Just below her collarbone, was a scar in the shape of a bolt of lightning that she had never been able to understand. Looking down, she saw that her leg where the bullet had hit her looked perfect, like nothing had happened at all.

Everything suddenly came crashing down on her and she had to hug herself to keep from falling apart. Failing that, she sank to her knees, tears coming to her eyes. What was going on with her? By all rights, she should at least have felt pain from being shot and instead, nothing had happened. How had she run so fast that everything was a blur?

Taking deep breaths, hoping that Clark could help her through her problems, she finally started the shower. She would have taken a bath to relax her more but the amount of dirt on her body proved that to be a bad idea.

Deeming the water temperature acceptable, she couldn't stop the moan from coming out of her mouth as wonderful warm water hit her body. It had been so long since she had had the luxury of a shower that she was taking full advantage of it.

Letting the water wash away most of the dirt, she grabbed the soap and started scrubbing the rest of it off her body. The wet washcloth managed to clear her body of dirt and grime, leaving it the pale shade she had had before. Letting go of the cloth, she reached for the shampoo, hoping that Martha wouldn't mind if she used some of hers.

By the time she was done, she felt much better now that she was clean. She still looked like a skeleton, but now it didn't bother her as much. Seeing some clothes for her, she held them up finding that it was nice red and yellow summer dress. Not really her style but just glad that she could change out of Dudley's rags, she relished putting them on. Since when did having clean clothes touch her skin become such a luxury?

Looking into the mirror again, she smiled that the dress hid the malnourished body she had. Taking a hairbrush, she started brushing out her waist length red hair. Working out the few knots the washing had put into it, she was happy with the smooth glossy look it had again. The Dursleys had never understood the fact that she liked her hair, especially Petunia who gave her a haircut about twice a week only for it to grow back the next night.

Satisfied with her new look, she looked at the rags she had called clothes at one point and happily threw them away, never wanting to look at or wear them again. Leaving the bathroom, she wondered for how much longer she could enjoy this. Martha seemed nice but could she put up with her? True, she had raised Clark who also had powers or whatever she had but would it be extended to her? Only time would tell.

XXXXX

Jonathan Kent had apparently been told the situation before he had entered the house so he didn't look surprised at Danielle's presence. He seemed to be a kind and gentle man who loved his farm and his family, willing to do anything to protect either one. And until further notice, that included Danielle. Overall, the Kents decided to treat her as family and while it was strange, she had to admit that it was nice. When dinner was done, Danielle moved over to do the dishes when Martha stopped her with a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I'll do that dear. Why don't you go up to the room Clark and I prepared for you?"

Danielle looked at her like a deer in the headlights. Before she slowly nodded and went up the staircase where Clark was waiting for her, waiting to show her to a spare bedroom.

When she was out of sight, Martha looked over at Jonathan. "Poor dear. You think she was forced to clean up after her aunt and uncle?"

Jonathan glanced at where Danielle had went up the stairs and nodded with a glare. "Sadly, I would think yes. Danielle seems to have been almost trained to put up with anything they could come up with, including cooking and cleaning."

"She's only seven," said Martha sadly, starting to do the dishes. "No child should have to do that."

"I agree," said Jonathan. "But there are quite a few monsters in the world." He paused and smiled. "Looks like I have some help for the farm now. At least part time."

"Jonathan!"

**(One year later)**

"Catch me if you can Clark!"

Clark just grinned and let the powerful eight year old run off at super speed around the farm house. It was one of his few days off but Perry could do without him for the day. At least Lois should be happy for the extra work.

Danielle had grown a little in the year she had been on the farm and it was suiting her. Proper food and exercise had put some meat on her bones that she didn't look unhealthy anymore. Thanks to her powers, she would never get overweight, but would get toned enough to be a healthy young woman.

Spending time on the farm was also a great way of getting away from Metropolis for the moment. There were rumors of Luthor Corp being taken away from Lionel Luthor for his son Lex. They were only rumors but if they were believed, Lex was worse than his father in the art of business.

While he was thinking, a sudden blur crashed into his side and he fell into the dirt from the impact. It didn't hurt him, of course, but it was still a surprise as she was still learning about her strength. "Dani."

Danielle or Dani as some of her new classmates now called her, maturely stuck her tongue out. "Oh, come on. I've been wanting to show you that I could fly all week!"

The fact that an eight year old girl found out she could fly when it had taken him until he was eighteen for that power didn't sting as much as he thought it would. Danielle had been focused on her powers and had a good handle on them. The super speed had been a problem at first when it came to the brakes but she got it in the end.

"Yes, and it's impressive that you can fly," said Clark, ruffling her hair. Danielle mock pouted at her hair getting messed up but bounced back quickly.

"I can lift the tractor now too!" she said, excitedly. "I can't lift much more than that though but still, I think that it's cool."

"Very cool," said Clark, happy that she was happy and content with her life now. "How's school?"

Danielle shrugged. "Okay. I learn all the material extremely quickly so I'm a bit bored in class but my classmates are alright."

That hadn't changed for her as far as Clark had figured out. She didn't trust easily so she didn't have a lot of friends. Still, he rather she had a few good friends instead of a lot of fair weathered ones that would abandon her when it was convenient.

"Well, just hang in there and I'm sure you'll have fun in class," said Clark. He sighed as the sun reached its peak in the sky. "How about some lunch?"

Danielle nodded and they made their way to the farm house. The man of steel knowing that her life here was much better than it had been, at least.

After lunch, they both helped Jonathan with the farm work. It turned out that one adult Kryptonian and a child with some Kryptonian powers could do all the chores on the farm in about fifteen minutes with Jonathan directing them. Super speed, strength and flight all made everything too easy so Danielle developed a game to it. Like she would feed the animals in the barn but only use one hand or harvest the ready crops without her feet touching the ground.

In the year she had worked on the farm, she had developed a nice tan but the sun couldn't burn her. She tried to remain as polite to the Kents as much as she could and it was only a matter of time before she was legally adopted. Her name was now Danielle 'Dani' Kent.

Adopting her was actually much simpler than the Kents thought it would be as the British government didn't actually have her birth certificate. There had been nothing to really identify her as a British citizen other than her records at the primary school she had attended but there had been nothing to find when it came to her parents. The Dursleys had been identified as her legal guardians but Danielle had pointed out some crimes they had committed. Apparently, the British government didn't like people who avoided paying their taxes and abandoning their niece in another country counted as child abuse.

Petunia and Vernon had been found guilty of all charges and were now spending twenty years behind bars. Margery Dursley had been caught of running a dog breeding center without a license and avoiding her taxes as well. Dudley was in a juvinal correction facility for bullying and vandalism. Pity he was only eight.

Overall, Danielle was much happier with her life now than she had been.

XXXXX

"And now, we present the most famous super-heroine in the world: Dyna-Girl!"

Danielle, now thirteen, was in her room on the Kent farm and dressed in her own superhero outfit. Her dark red hair was allowed to fall down her back and out of her face. She was dressed in bright red knee high boots, red tights with the crest of the house of El on her chest, like Superman's, elbow length red fingerless gloves and a red cape over her shoulders. Overall, she had taken Superman's costume, turned the whole thing red, and feminized it to suit her. She looked at herself in the mirror and had to admit, find her something so people wouldn't recognize her for a human disguise and no one would know it was her.

"Oh, no! Brainiac is sending evil robots after me!" Danielle shouted, turning around her room to face the imaginary threat. "Take this!" She pretended to smash the various robots sent after her, smashing them into make believe pieces. She even fired a few blasts of heat vision from her eyes and through the open window harmlessly.

"Come out, Brainiac!" she mock shouted. "I know you are out there!" Flying out the window and into the nearby barn, she encountered a large bail of hay that was shaped to look like a person…sort of.

"There you are! Eat this!" Danielle used super strength to punch the dummy and knocked its head clean off. A few more quick jabs and the pretend menace was defeated.

"And the crowd goes wild," the red head made several heroic poses for the make believe cameras. "No, please, people, no pictures. I'm a busy superhero and I must be off to face the next threat to the planet."

The door of the barn opened. "Danielle?"

"Ack!"

Jumping back in surprise, she accidently crashed into a support beam of the barn, knocking over a heavy bail of hay. It pulled a rope that tightened around her ankle and hoisted her into the air, upside down and about ten feet off the ground.

Blood rushing to her head, she managed to make out Clark with someone else with him that she didn't know. Clark looked both amused and exhasperated.

"Dani, have you been playing around again?"

"Uh, no." She tried to ignore the lecture she would get from him…again…from him catching her. "I was, you know, hanging around in the barn when you scared me. Shame on you, Clark, scaring a poor defenseless teenage girl."

"Uh, huh. And the costume?"

Danielle realized that she was still wearing what she hoped would be her superhero costume when Clark finally allowed her to go out and stop some bad guys with him. "Um. My new night clothes." Even she knew how stupid that sounded. "I was insipired by you and I always wanted to see what sleeping with a cape was like so I…" she trailed off, already knowing that it wouldn't work. "Can you at least let me down?" She was slowly revolving on the spot, still dangling from her ankle.

Clark sighed and flew up to disintangle the knot and allowed her to float to the ground. "So, who were you beating up today?"

Danielle sighed as she got her bearings back. "Brainiac. Come on Clark, Dyna-Girl could help you out with some of these bad guys! I've already teamed up with some other heroes and we've done pretty well." Sure, she had teamed up with the Teen Titans once or twice and not for one of their more dangerous villains but still, how could she save the day if she hardly ever got a chance?

A giggle got her attention and she looked at the new arrival for the first time. The new comer was a girl that looked a little older than her, maybe about fourteen or fifteen. Her blonde hair was shorter than hers as it only went down to her shoulders and she had the most amazingly blue eyes she had ever seen.

"Dani, this is Kara," said Clark. "I went back to where Krypton was and found a distress signal from a nearby planet still transmitting. I found Kara there."

Kara shook her head and offered her hand. "Kara Zor-El, Kal's cousin." Danielle nodded and shook the hand, knowing that Kal was short for Clark's real name of Kal-El of Krypton. "So, I guess you already have a head start on me for the powers, huh?"

Danielle chuckled. "A bit. I've been training for the last six years and I think I got a pretty good handle on them. By the way, would my Kryptonian name be Dan-Rell or something? With my Kryptonian ancestor being Pev-Rell."

That actually made Kara stop to think about it. "That's mostly for the males in our society, really. You could go for the whole Danielle Pev-Rell if you wanted to go by your full name."

Clark chuckled. "Well, looks like you two have made a friend in each other. Sorry girls but I got to get back to the Planet. Lois will lose it if I keep her waiting any longer."

Danielle's shoulders slumped slightly but otherwise nodded. Clark was quickly becoming an older brother figure to her as she saw the elder Kents as her parents. Maybe Kara could be her older sister or something.

XXXXX

**Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, October 31**

"The Durmstrang champion is…Viktor Krum!"

"No surprises there," said Ron as Krum stood up from the Slytherin table, shook Dumbledore's hand, and going through the door off the hall.

"Bravo, Viktor!" shouted Karkaroff so loudly that everyone in the Great Hall could hear him, despite all the cheering. "Knew you had it in you!"

The clapping and chatting died down. Now everyone's attention was focused again on the goblet, which, seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!"

"It's her, Ron," said David as the French beauty stood up gracefully from her seat before gliding up to Dumbledore as well.

"Oh, look, they're all disappointed," said Hermione, looking at the other Beauxbatons students. Disappointed was a bit of an understatement as most of the French students had burst into tears with their heads in their arms.

Once the applause died down and Fleur was in the other room as well, everyone focused on the goblet of fire again. Now that the champions from the other schools had been chosen, the Hogwarts champion was next. The excitement felt from the student body was almost overwhelming.

The goblet flashed again and shot out a third piece of parchment, which Dumbledore caught.

"The Hogwarts champion is…Cedric Diggory!"

"Oh, no," David and Ron both moaned but they were drowned out from the huge applause and cheers from the Hufflepuff table and most of the female population as Cedric stood and made his way to Dumbledore.

"Is it just me, or does he seem to sparkle a bit?" asked David as he watched Cedric go through the door as well.

"Don't be stupid, David," whispered Hermione as she finished clapping.

_"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as at last the tumult died down. "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real —"_

_But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was apparent to everybody what had distracted him._

_The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame shot suddenly into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment._

_Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read out – _David Potter.

David just sat there, a puzzled look on his face. He hadn't entered, why would his name come out of the goblet?

He became very aware of the entire hall looking at him, whispers breaking out everywhere as the students discussed this with their neighbors. Looking at Ron and Hermione, they looked just as confused as he did.

"David Potter!" said Dumbledore again. "David, up here, please."

Hermione gave David a little push to get him out of his seat and he numbly walked toward the headmaster. The whispers were getting louder as everyone stared at him.

When he reached Dumbledore however, the goblet of fire turned red for a fifth time. David, Dumbledore, and the rest of the school watched as, yet again, another piece of parchment came out. Dumbledore, now fully wishing that this night would end as soon as possible, cleared his throat.

"Danielle formerly Potter."

David was now totally confused as he didn't even have a sister.

**Jump City**

"You can't stop me, I'm Control Freak," the portly villain laughed. If there was one thing that Danielle had learned about this guy, was that he watched way too much television. Control Freak was just a guy that had a remote control that could bring television characters to life in the real world. He himself looked like the usual comic book geek. He was overweight, had put his longish hair into a ponytail, and was dressed in an overcoat.

"Does he always talk like that," Dani asked the big guy next to her. Cyborg, the half man, half machine muscle of the Teen Titans just rolled his one human eye.

"Pretty much." He turned his arm into a sonic cannon and pointed at the pudgy villain.

"Give up Control Freak," said Robin, as he prepared a birdarang. "It never ends well for you."

"You will be the one to surrender to me, Titans," yelled Control Freak as he pulled out his remote. With a flash, he summoned Lord Barangrang from the show clash of the planets. The masked villain from the show brought out a double bladed light sword and held it in an offensive position.

The green shape shifter Beast Boy turned into a T-Rex and roared at the costumed villain holding the sword. It was enough to knock the guy on his butt and drop his sword.

Control Freak summoned a hideous monster from some horror movie but Dani punched through it, making it fade to static. At the same time, a blast of green energy hit Lord Barangrang, forcing him to fade as well.

"You will do well to stay away now please!" yelled the Tameranian, Starfire.

Control Freak was now sweating. He summoned a swamp monster like creature and pulled out his own double bladed light sword. How he managed to get that from the show he saw it in, was a mystery. "Whoo, hah!" activating his rocket boots that he got from other show, he launched himself at the Titans.

"Azeroth, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Black energy wrapped around Control Freak, preventing him from actually going anywhere. Two blasts of heat vision destroyed the rocket boots and he fell flat on his face. Looking up, he saw a blast of Cyborg's sonic cannon and Robin's staff had finished off the swamp monster.

Turning to the exit of the video store for a quick escape, a movie rack blocked his way. Turning around, he came face to face with Raven, who covered herself in dark energy to make herself look scarier than she really was.

Wetting himself, the tubby villain shakily held the light sword against her but it was swatted out of his hand by a green tail. Beast Boy turned back to human from the kangaroo he had been and held up the now deactivated light sword.

"Man, this is sweet. What do you think Robin, can I keep it, huh, huh, huh?"

Robin glared at him. "What do you think?"

Beast Boy groaned. "Oh, come on!" he raised his hands in the air. "You can keep stuff from previous battles but I can't?"

"Man, you think we would trust you with something like that?" asked Cyborg. He was already handcuffing Control Freak for the police, who were on their way. "That's just asking for trouble."

"Indeed. It is the asking for the trouble," said Starfire, once again mangling the English language slightly.

Raven solved the problem by surrounding the light sword with black energy and caused it to shatter. "There, problem solved."

"Oh, man!"

"Well, I had a fun time," said Dani, as the police showed up to take Control Freak away. "You guys busy or are you in the mood for pizza or something?"

"I could go for some food," said Robin.

Cyborg grinned. "Boo-yah! Everyone in the T-car!"

"I thought it only held five," said Dani, pointing out there were six of them. "You can drive, I'll fly there."

"Sounds like a plan," said Cyborg, running toward his car.

"I will go with you," Starfire said, looking at her. "I prefer the feeling of flight to riding in a vehicle. Raven, would you like to fly with us?"

"Whatever."

Danielle smiled and the three girls took off, figuring this would be the closest thing to normal teenage time out that she could get to. She was fourteen now, she needed time away from the farm and with teens her own age. Especially since Kara was still working on her powers and unable to come with them. That, and the blonde Kryptonian was spending time with Barbara in Gotham.

She had finally been able to join Clark on some of his missions and fights against some of his lesser villains. True, Toy Man wasn't that much of a challenge, but at least that fight had shown her that while Kryptonite did affect her, it had nowhere near the effect on her as it did Clark. That was a mystery right there. She had all of Clark's powers, but she had some resistance to a glowing green rock that he didn't.

She had trained a little with various other heroes at Clark's insistence. Bruce Wayne had loved the chance to train someone with Kryptonian powers, under a red solar lamp that neutralized her powers, of course. Learning advanced martial arts had been interesting and she figured she had some chance of surviving without her powers.

The Teen Titans were always willing to allow her the use of their training facilities. Flying through hoops, seeing how much she could lift, target practice for her heat vision, even Raven helped her with some mediation techniques.

Zatanna, mistress of stage magic, had taken time from her show in Vegas to teach her some basics of magic. She wasn't very good at it, and she was struggling to adapt to saying words backwards to use spells, but she was getting better. She had no idea if she had magic or not, but if she did, she was fairly sure that that was not how her magical powers worked. Still, she was an older female influence and anything she could come up with was beneficial to her.

Both Bruce and Zatanna had promised to look at who her birth parents were but so far, even the almighty Batman with his Bat computer had failed. The most he could find was something on a Lily Evans but she had vanished years ago, right after she turned eleven. Danielle's maternal grandparents had apparently been killed in a terrorist attack, but that was all the information on that route.

Still, she was making a name for herself in the superhero community. Dyna-girl was getting more and more exposure but she was known as Superman's sidekick who worked for some other heroes once in a while. That S-word, sidekick, was going to haunt her for a while, she knew it.

XXXXX

**Hogwarts, Headmaster's office, November 2**

Headmaster Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, silently pondering what to do with this situation.

When the name of David Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, came out of the Goblet of Fire, he had been surprised but he guessed he shouldn't have been. Trouble always seemed to follow that boy and his parents, James and Lily, were always asking questions of why he had been in trouble in the first place.

First year the Philosopher's Stone and Voldemort, the year after that was the Chamber of Secrets, and this year was the Tri-Wizard Tournament. The tournament was supposed to promote interschool unity and fostering goodwill toward other countries. Now it seemed like a joke and Britain as a whole was paying for it.

When David's twin sister, Danielle, had her name come out of the goblet as well, that required a headache potion.

Lily and James were both currently in his office, as were Minerva, Severus, and Alastor. James was pacing back and forth, trying to get a handle on the situation. The others were either in shock or grumbling under their breaths. Dumbledore couldn't really blame them. It had taken hours the previous day to sooth any ruffled feathers with Maxime and Karkaroff.

"Let me see if I got this right," said James as he continued his pacing. "The goblet of fire, the same magical artifact that was protected by an age line that you drew yourself, Headmaster, spewed out the names of both my son, and the daughter I've never known."

"Correct."

"The same daughter that you said was a squib and would be better off in the Muggle world, which is why we gave her to Lily's sister."

Lily hiccupped but she didn't say anything.

"Oh, and let's not forget that we found out that Petunia Dursley had been arrested for avoiding taxes and then abandoning our daughter in America of all places."

Dumbledore sighed. "That does seem to be the problem, yes."

"That is putting it mildly, Albus," said Severus, sneering at the room at large. "Shall we also mention that the goblet of fire can only choose witches and wizards and not squibs?"

"Yes, Severus, it seems that I was mistaken all those years ago," said Dumbledore, feeling his age and then some.

"How is this even possible," said Minerva. "Danielle Potter isn't even registered as a citizen of Britain anymore. She couldn't have entered herself into the Tournament."

Dumbledore sighed as he brought out his wand. With everyone watching, he dimmed the lights so the only source of light came from the fireplace. "The Goblet of Fire creates a binding magical contract to the chosen champion."

He waved his wand and a smoky substance appeared in the air. The smoke formed three names, Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delecour, and Victor Krum.

"The Goblet selects the best representative from each of the three schools, the one with the best chance to show their school's preferences and skills. That is why it is important to write the school the champion is representing."

Another wave of his wand and the name 'Hogwarts' appeared under Cedric's name. The same thing happened for Fleur and Viktor's schools.

"However, whoever put the Potter children's names in the Goblet, was tampering with an incredibly powerful magical artifact. One that works in a very specific way."

The smoke vanished and was replaced by the names, David Potter and Danielle Potter.

"Our perpatrator seemed to have outsmarted themselves in their scheme. Using a confundus charm is the only way for the Goblet to forget that only three schools compete and only three champions may be chosen. I detected two confundus charms on the Goblet when I checked it. The first one was to make sure that David Potter would come out of the Goblet. The other charm was to accept the other piece of parchment."

Under the name of David Potter, floated the words 'Boy-Who-Lived.'

"The Goblet is under a powerful enchantment, however, and it cannot be fooled by someone putting in someone else's name. Nor does it allow a person putting in their name under a different school. When the parchment read that David as the Boy-Who-Lived, it was forced to accept it, but it could not be fooled. The Goblet knew that there was no David Potter that was a Boy-Who-Lived."

The words under David's name vanished, before reappearing under Danielle's name. It rearranged to show 'Girl-Who-Lived.'

"The Goblet was forced to accept David's name from the first Confundus charm. However, the closest thing to a Child-Who-Lived, would be Danielle. Thus, the Goblet changed the writing on the parchment, to show the one true, Child-Who-Lived."

James gulped. "So, Danielle really…"

"Survived Voldemort's killing curse and is the Chosen One. Yes, my dear boy, I believe so."

No one said anything. The full weight of Dumbledore's words seemed to hit a chord with everyone present.

Dumbledore continued. "Luckily, there is a spell that we could use. There is a precedence of a champion that had to go back to their home country for a family emergency and could not come back in time for a task, even with standard travel magic. This spell, when combined with the goblet of fire, tracks the location of the champion and brings them to caster. In theory, we could use it, no matter where Danielle is, to bring her to Hogwarts."

"Do you think that wise, Albus?" asked Minerva. "I know she must compete in the tournament to keep her magic and probably her life, but wouldn't she be disconcerted and frightened at being dragged to Hogwarts against her will?"

"What other choice do we have?" grumbled Alastor Moody. "Have to make her compete somehow. At least this would bring her here."

Dumbledore looked at the room in general and while he could tell that some didn't like it, they didn't have an alternate solution either. "I'll prepare the spell, she should be here by dinner time tomorrow."

XXXXX

"Put your back into it more!"

Danielle gritted her teeth and continued her sparring with Kara. They were surprisingly in the Bat cave, at Barbara's insistence, and with the red solar lamps, it was a pretty even match. She moved to jab high and tried for a feint to Kara's unprotected left side, only for the blonde Kryptonian to not fall for the feint and block her move.

Kara dropped suddenly and knocked Danielle's feet from under her, sending her crashing to the ground. Growling slightly, the red head rolled to avoid another blow and was on her feet in an instant, jabbing at Kara's side before she recovered. The blonde couldn't block in time and was knocked back, holding her now bruised arm. It looked slightly bad but a minute in the sunlight would heal it in no time.

"Come on! Is this all you got?"

Danielle ignored Barbara as she was jumping up and down, encouraging both on. Danielle had worked with her on a mission against Catwoman once but the other red head was closer to Kara for some reason.

After sparring for an hour, Barbara Gordon turned off the red solar lamps and let the two other girls rest for a moment. "Not bad. Of course, if Bruce was here, he would critique every move you made and tell you how stupid each one was."

Kara groaned as she felt every bruise. "A perfectionist, huh? Jor-El was the same."

"Is that why your father didn't like him that much?" asked Danielle as she downed a whole bottle of water Barbara brought her.

"Eh," said Kara, chugging her own water. "They didn't particularly like each other but they didn't hate each other. They helped each other with various projects the other could help them with but otherwise they were pretty cordial with each other." She laughed, "although, I do have a few funny stories about them that would have even Kal roll over laughing."

Danielle didn't say anything but nodded, smiling. She knew that Clark didn't have the best sense of humor, taking himself a little too seriously. Of course, he was nowhere near as bad as Bruce, who thought that smiling should be a capital offense.

She sighed, laying on the floor of the gym, eyes closed. "This is the best."

"What?" asked Barbara, laughing a little. "Covered in sweat and on the floor of a cold cave?"

"No," said Danielle, now thoughtful. "Hanging out with you two, having friends in general."

She didn't notice Kara nor Barbara's dark looks. Danielle didn't talk about her past a lot but when she did, it was never pleasant.

"Uh, Dani, why are you glowing?" asked Barbara, looking worried.

"Huh?" The red head looked at herself and noticed that her body was giving off a faint blue and red glow. "Okay, what's going on?" She stood up and tried to shake the glow off, but nothing happened.

Kara was getting nervous. "With the red solar lamps, our powers at a minimum. Dani, go outside into the sun, now."

Danielle nodded and ran toward the exit of the Bat cave. Unfortunately, she was forced to run a human pace and the glow was spreading to the rest of her body, getting brighter. Breaking out into open air, she watched as her bruises healed, thanks to her powers, but the glow persisted.

"This isn't good."

Turning around she saw Kara and Barbara were right behind her, looking worried. They got even more so when her body started to fade, like she was becoming transparent.

"Kara! Barbara!" Even her voice was starting to sound far away, like it was coming from a great distance.

"Teleportation," muttered Kara. "You're being teleported somewhere against your will."

Danielle looked at Barbara, her voice sounding more distant all the time. "Barb, check the tracking device Bruce slipped on me months ago. Find where I'm-" She was gone.

Both girls looked at each other, nodded, and ran back into the Bat cave. If Kara knew anything, it was that she didn't want to be the one to tell Clark that Dani had vanished into thin air while she couldn't do anything. The blonde growled. Dani was family, and she fought for family.

It was an hour later before the girls found anything. The tracking device, which Kara was going to have a long talk to Bruce about since he did it without her knowing about it, had died moments after it got where Danielle had been sent. Barbara used the Bat computer and found that the last place it sent any kind of signal was some place in Northern Scotland.

"I'm going," said Kara, determined. It would take a while before she was up for flying but she was going to go after her sister.

"You can't go for another couple of hours in the sun," said Barbara, looking worried. "According to the signal, I'm saying magic is involved in this."

Kara almost winced. Magic affected Kryptonians on Earth just as much as it did regular humans.

"We'll find her," said Barbara, reassuringly. She printed out the corridinants of Danielle's last known location and handed it Kara. "Just go there when you're ready and you'll find her."

Kara nodded and sighed. "Thanks for this Barb."

The red headed girl smirked. "Never a dull moment with you, is there?"

XXXXX

**Hogwarts Great Hall**

Danielle blinked as one moment she had been standing in front of the entrance to the Bat cave. Now she was standing in some large room she had never been in before. It was full of people, lit by thousands of candles floating in midair. Four long tables were stretched from end to end, hundreds of people sitting at them while a shorter table perpendicular to the four long tables were at the head of the room. The ceiling was impressive though, as it extremely tall, and seemed to show off the sky outside. Banners hung on the walls depecting a red and gold lion, a yellow and black badger, a blue and bronze eagle, and a green and silver serpent.

"Ah, Danielle Potter, good of you to come."

Danielle turned around at the shorter table and saw some weird old man wearing a bathrobe talking to her. He looked impossibly old, with a long silver beard and half-moon glasses.

She frowned and got into a fighting position, barely aware of everyone staring at her. "Who are you and why did you bring me here?" she asked dangerously. She had no reason to suspect him of being an enemy, but nothing to tell her he was a friend either.

The old man smiled grandfatherly. "My name is Albus Dumbledore, and you are at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We came up with an issue and you were summoned to be here to solve a problem we have."

Danielle frowned again, not relaxing her stance at all. She might not have her full powers but she had enough to get out of this freak show if she had to.

"Come on lass, get up there," a voice grumbled and tried to push her toward the head table.

That proved to be a mistake. Still in fight or flight mode, Danielle growled, grabbed whoever had pushed her, flipped him over her head and slammed him into the floor.

The entire hall was silent as she showed off her strength but she didn't care. She bent down at the heavily scarred man who had touched her. "Don't get close to me again, bastard." She looked at the old man who had spoken earlier, who looked surprised at the move she had used. "You said you summoned me here? Am I a prisoner or can I leave and bring someone with me I trust with this?"

The old man, Dumbledore, raised his hands in a peaceful gesture, like he didn't want to start a fight. "You are not a prisoner here but I ask you do hear my out. Is there anyone you can contact that you trust to be at the meeting?"

Danielle thought about two people she would like to get involved if this whole thing was about magic. "Yeah. You have a phone on you." She had taken her phone out of her pocket so it wouldn't get destroyed during her sparring session.

Dumbledore shook his head. "I'm afraid we don't have phones here."

"Seriously?" asked Danielle, looking at what she figured were the students at this school. "A few hundred teenagers behind me and none of them have a phone? Are you sure they're teenagers?"

A woman stood up from behind Dumbledore. She looked she was getting on in years but didn't look nearly as old as he did. She was also wearing a robe, an emerald one, and she seemed to exclude a sense of authority, like it would be unwise to cross her.

"Electronics don't work around magic, Miss Potter, so phones wouldn't be able to function on the grounds. We do have a fireplace over there."

"Why would I want a fireplace?" asked Danielle, confused at the seeming non-sequitor.

Danielle thought about that and figured that would be her new project, making electronics work in magical areas. Maybe Zatanna could help. "Why do you call me Potter? That's not my last name."

Dumbledore shook his head. "The magic that brought you here wouldn't have worked if you weren't Danielle Potter."

Before he could say anymore, there was a sound like a sonic boom outside the room. While none of the people in the room seemed to know what it was, Danielle was all too aware of it and smiled. "Dumbledore, or whatever your name is, you might want to open the doors over there if you want them to survive the onslaught."

Dumbledore could only look at her oddly before a huge smashing noise got their attention. If Danielle had to guess, Kara had just knocked the front doors down. A second later, another smash and the doors on the other end of the room exploded inwards, sending bits of broken wood everywhere, causing many of the students to cower under the tables for cover.

Kara was seen, breathing heavily, recovering from smashing the door down.

Danielle's smile grew wider. "Hey, Kara! Over here!"

"Dani!"

Not bothering to hide the fact she could fly, Kara zoomed forward and wrapped her in a tight hug. Danielle could only laugh as she hugged the blonde girl.

"What happened? One moment you were there and the next you were gone? What is this place? This is the last place your tracking device showed before it overloaded and broke. I had to get here fast before the others got here. Well, why aren't you answering my questions?"

Danielle laughed and hugged her again. "Kara, calm down. Apparently I was kidnapped by magic and the old man over there was just explaining everything when you broke the doors down. Really though, did you have to break the doors that much? You could have just knocked."

Kara shrugged, not apologetic at all that she had smashed the doors in her quest to get to Danielle quickly. "Not my fault they kidnapped you."

"We did not kidnap anyone," said Dumbledore, as he worked to restore calm to the hall. "Danielle was chosen to compete in a tournament and if she had failed to compete, she would lose her magic and possibly die."

Danielle cocked her head to the side and then slapped her forehead. "That's why I kept blowing up random things when I was younger! I thought it was a coincidence at first. And I never got much of a reaction from Zatanna so I pretty much ignored magic in general."

"Headmaster Dumbledore," said another man with a goatee and robes of some shaggy fur. "You cannot possibly be thinking of allowing her compete, are you? She obviously has never been trained in magic even!"

"Her name came out of the goblet of fire, Igor," said Dumbledore. "She has to compete under a binding magical contract."

"Whoa, whoa," said Danielle, shaking her hands. "I didn't sign any contract. Do I need a lawyer or something? And what's up with the magically binding thing? Am I being brainwashed into competing in this thing against my will?"

Before Dumbledore could answer, there was a call of a raven from nowhere.

"Oh great, she got here," said Kara, shaking her head.

The whole room watched in fear as a huge black raven made of black energy formed around the hall before it shrank to reveal what looked to be a teenage girl in a dark cloak, obscuring her face.

"Hey Raven!" shouted Danielle, having fun now. "Glad you could make it."

Raven rolled her eyes as she took off her hood, showing her dark blue, almost black hair and pale skin. "I heard you were in trouble with magic and figured I could help."

Both the blonde Kryptonian and the girl with Kryptonian powers could hear the whispers amongst the students.

"Wow, is that Raven of the Teen Titans?"

"Who's Raven? Looks like a dark magic user to me."

"Did you see that black raven thingy, now that was impressive."

"My feet are cold!"

"What's more impressive, the raven thingy or the girl breaking down the doors?"

"This is Danielle Potter? I thought she would know magic at least."

"So," said Danielle, trying to drown out the chatter. "Rachel, what do you know about binding magical contracts?"

"They only work on magicals," said Raven, shrugging. "Obviously you have some magic or else it wouldn't have worked. I would need to see the actual contract to see if there is a loophole to get you out though."

"And if I don't compete in this tournament thing?"

"If the contract is voided, the person it affects would drain that person of their magic, which almost always results in death," said Rachel. She turned to Dumbledore, who was looking shaken by how everything was going. "I take it you are the one in charge? Would you happen to have a copy of the contract in general?"

Dumbledore took a few calming breaths. "I do, it is in my office. I take it you would like to go over it?"

Rachel nodded. Danielle sighed. "Sorry to get you into this Raven. Hope you weren't doing anything too important at the time."

Raven shrugged. "Only being annoyed by Beast Boy and Cyborg. Starfire kept trying to get me to go the mall as well, so this is actually more interesting. I've never actually been to Hogwarts before."

"You've heard of this place before?" asked Kara, looking around the place with distaste.

"Only rumors," said Raven. Everyone seemed to want to hear how she thought of the school. "From what I gathered, magic users aren't that rare in the world but they work in the shadows, oblivating memories of magic from non-magicals just because they can. Hogwarts is supposed to be one of the most premier schools of magic on earth but the standards have fallen in the last century. Magical Britain as a whole is stuck in the Victorian era and refuses to adapt to the twenty-first century. Hogwarts itself trains witches and wizards on how to live in their magical world but does nothing to help them live in the real world without magic. I personally don't see the point of teaching children and teenagers on how to only live in half of the world but I personally don't care. They also have a very narrow minded view of what makes a magical. I have magic, but because it's different from theirs, they would just call me a dark magical creature and be done with it, not even trying to figure out how my branch of magic is different from theirs.

"Then again, I'm from the dimension of Azaroth, I'm not from earth, so they wouldn't classify me as human anyway."

"Are you quite done giving a detailed account of Magical Britain," said the older woman that Danielle didn't know her name. "We have more important things to attend to."

Behind her, three figures stepped forward. Danielle saw that the woman looked like an older version of her, just with emerald green eyes instead of her own hazel. The man with her had raven black hair, glasses, and her hazel eyes. The third figure was a boy that looked like a younger version of the man, complete with glasses that held the woman's emerald eyes.

"Danielle?" asked the woman, looking hopeful.

Danielle looked back and forth between the three of them, looking for the joke. Her eyes widened when she realized it wasn't one. "Oh, you got to be kidding? Really! All these years without contact, and now you decide to spring my supposed parents at me!" She looked at a surprised Dumbledore. "Tell me these people aren't going to say they're my parents."

Dumbledore looked shocked at her anger but nodded.

Danielle groaned. "Really! I mean, REALLY! What, I'm supposed to forgive them just like that when they let the Dursleys abandon me in Metropolis! I lived on the streets! I could have been killed by gang members every day for a week before I was found! No, these two are not my parents! I found parents and they actually cared about me enough to worry about me, not dump me at my abusive aunt and uncle's just so they could dump me in turn!"

"Danielle-" started the man that was supposed to be her father.

"You are no family to me!" Danielle screamed at him. Kara actually had to hold her back so she wouldn't fly at them and kill them with her bare hands. "You lost that the moment I walked into the Dursleys house for the first time!" She wheeled on Dumbledore. "Give Raven the damned contract so she can find a loophole that will get me out of this mess! I am not staying here with _them!_" she pointed at the Potters.

"Miss Potter-" said the older woman from before.

"No! My name is Danielle Kent. I was adopted by the Kents in America and that is my name now. I don't care if I was born a Potter. They never raised me to be one and I certainly don't care now!"

She couldn't take this anymore. Using super speed, she zoomed out of the hall and out the front doors and onto the grounds. Kara hesitated a moment before she flew after her, leaving Raven alone with a few hundred stunned people and staff members, thinking that they could have gone about that better.

Danielle ran. Not knowing the area, she crashed into more than a few trees through a forest right next to the castle she had been taken to. Running through the trees and through a few giant spiders, she finally came to a stop in front of a cliff over looking the ocean. Sitting down on a nearby rock, she wondered what the heck she was supposed to do now.

She was apparently stuck in some tournament she wanted nothing to do with. Would her Kryptonian powers block this binding magical contract? She had no idea and didn't want to test it out. The fact that she had magic didn't even seem important. She hadn't been using it for years, relying on her other powers, that it didn't seem worth the hassle of learning.

At least now she had a good idea about why Kryptonite never seemed to affect her that much, her own magic must have been blocking the radiation somewhat. It didn't completely stop it, but it helped and she had a higher tolerance against Kryptonite than Clark or Kara did.

She wrapped her arms around herself, thinking.

Her parents had come to her. That made her angry. They were her family! How could they just abandon her to the Dursleys when she was younger? Was she that much of a failure when she was born they hadn't wanted anything to do with her? And why did they want her now, when she had moved on.

She never really thought about her birth parents. When she was at the Dursleys, she had been told they had died in a car crash so she never bothered hoping they were alive. Then, she was abandoned in Metropolis and she met the Kents soon after. Jonathan and Martha Kent were the only real parents she had ever known.

Clark filled in the role of big brother while Kara did the same with a slightly older sister. Dick, Barbara, and Tim were a kind of cousin to her while Bruce had taken the position of a sort of crazy uncle. She had a family already, she didn't need _them!_

She heard a lot of crashing behind her and some pretty colorful language in what little Kryptonian she knew. Kara had been teaching her a little of the language but it was mostly swear words. She supposed it would be a good thing to know if she was injured or something in a fight, but she wouldn't want to have a conversation in the tongue.

"Dani! Oh for the love of Rao, come out already!"

Danielle sighed and fired a blast of heat vision at the sky, alerting Kara to her location. When the blonde showed up, she looked like she had lost a fight with several trees. Leaves stuck to her clothes, she had a few twigs in her hair, and she was covered in blood and guts.

"There you are," said Kara, shaking her head. "I fight through trees and giant spiders for you and you just take off. I swear, one of those spiders had to be the size of a pick-up truck when I killed it." She sat down on a rock near the red head, not bothering to get the gore off of her clothes. "Want to tell me what's wrong?"

Danielle sighed and looked at her. "What am I supposed to do? My parents came out to see me." She shook her head. "For years, I thought they were dead. The Dursleys had taken me in and they hated me, I figured that my parents had been killed in some accident or something so they couldn't take care of me. I was then abandoned in Metropolis before Clark could find me." She looked at Kara in the eyes. "Then, all of a sudden, I'm told that my parents are still alive, perfectly happy and healthy, and they never even bothered to look for me." She fell silent. "Why did they abandon me?" she asked softly.

Kara moved over and wrapped the overwhelmed red head into a hug. "I can't tell you what to do, Dani, but I think you need their side of the story. I mean, if you only know that Jor-El sent his son to earth without knowing that Krypton was doomed, what would you think of him?"

Danielle sighed and nodded, figuring she had a point. "And if they try to make me forgive them?"

"Don't," said Kara. "Let them know your displeasure at their abandoning you, but at least hear them out. Get all the sides of the story before making up your mind. Who knows, they might have had a good reason."

Danielle stared at her, disbelieving, but nodded again. She needed all the facts before she made a decision, at least Bruce had taught her that.

"Does Clark know?"

Kara knew what she was talking about. "Not yet. I'm going to wait until Raven goes through the contract to see if there is a loophole that can get you out. If there isn't, well, hopefully Kal won't destroy the castle." She knew how much the red head meant to her cousin. "And who knows, if you are stuck in this thing, at least you get to learn magic."

Danielle looked thoughtful but eventually dismissed it. "I went all this time without magic, I think I could survive without it. The only reason I'm even considering this tournament in the first place is that it might kill me if I don't compete. Besides, I would like to see the look on their faces when they realize I'm using my powers to compete."

Kara laughed and hugged her tighter. "Just so you know, I'll help in anyway I can. I'll even stay in the castle with you to help you, if I can. What do you say?"

"It would be nice to know at least one person here," Danielle mused. She stood up. "Thanks Kara."

"It's what sisters are for," said the blonde, smiling.

"Before we go up to the castle though, I think you need to clean up."

Kara noticed the blood and gore on her clothes for the first time and blushed. "Right, should probably deal with that." She dived into the water below for a few moments then came zooming out, spinning quickly to dry her clothes. Dizzy, she landed next to an amused Danielle. "Oh Rao, don't let me do that without more practice first."

"Not going to throw up, are you?" asked Danielle, still amused by the whole thing.

"No, but I'm dizzy and almost nauseous."

Danielle chuckled and helped her. "Come on, I think we should get back to the castle."

It didn't take long for them to fly back to the castle, Danielle guiding Kara back the whole way so she didn't accidently crash into a tree or something. When they landed on the grounds, Danielle whistled.

"You know, I wasn't paying attention at the time but this castle is huge."

Kara nodded. "Yeah. I was kind of trying to save you at the time when I smashed the front door so I wasn't paying too much attention to it at the time. It does look beautiful at night."

The fact that Northern Scotland was about six or seven hours ahead of Gotham when Danielle was taken meant that it was nighttime when she arrived. The red head sighed and made her way inside, Kara following behind her.

**Hogwarts, Headmaster's office**

"Okay," said Danielle. She and Kara were sitting on a large couch that had been conjured for them for this meeting. Along with them and Dumbledore were the heads of the four houses, the two other headmasters of their schools, the same scarred creepy man that Danielle had pounded into the floor earlier, and the elder Potters. "Some nutcase calling himself Voldemort tried to kill my brother and I when we were a year old, he supposedly died but has come back a few times in some form or other over the last few years, and I was thrown to the Dursleys because you thought I was a squid."

"Squib," Dumbledore corrected her. He was not happy that she wasn't alone for this meeting but she had refused to go without her adopted sister.

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Now, years later, I'm involved in this deadly magical tournament that has killed people in the past because a flaming cup spewed out my name and bound me to a binding magical contract, despite the fact that this is my first time in this school in my life."

"That is essentially correct," said Dumbledore.

"And you gave Raven the contract so she could hopefully find some sort of loophole?" asked Kara. "It's pretty obvious that Dani doesn't want to be here and this whole thing took us by surprise."

"Yes, I gave her a copy of the contract," said Dumbledore, still slightly scared of the other woman that had come out of black shadows. "I doubt that she will find a loophole, but it is possible that she could find something that I overlooked."

"Okay," said Danielle, pinching the bridge of her nose. "What efforts have been taken to find who put my name in this cup anyway?"

Dumbledore glanced over at the greasy haired man for a moment before turned to face her again. "Since the goblet of fire didn't leave any trace of who did it, the best we can do is to let things unfold. Hopefully we can catch whoever did this when they make their next move."

That seemed unsatisfactory to Danielle but she let it go…for now. Kara looked like she was going to argue but Danielle stopped her, figuring she might as well let this play out.

"Fine. Now, about this tournament. If I do have to compete, which is a strong possibility, would I have to stay here for the school year or can I leave and just be back for the three tasks?"

"It's tradition for the champions to stay at the school chosen to host the tournament," said Dumbledore. "In extreme cases, you may leave the school and it's grounds for extended periods of time but you would have to live at the school."

Danielle sighed and nodded, feeling more resentful of these people by the minute. "Okay, I can do that. I trust that you have a spare room for me. Since I am not your student, I am not going to stay with them. I also request a lenient schedule for me to learn at my own pace. I barely know the first things about magic except that it's a kind of energy that some people can manipulate and others can't."

Dumbledore frowned slightly. "I would prefer you to be sorted and stay with the students your own age, but we do have married quarters that have gone unused for years. We could open on up for you and any guests you bring."

"If I may speak, headmaster," said the greasy haired man. "Is it wise to allow a Potter to have such special favoritism? Shouldn't we treat her like an ordinary student?"

"That would be fine, sir," said Danielle before Dumbledore could. "But I am not a student here. I was taken against my will to a strange place with strange people telling me that I have magic and I must compete in a deadly tournament or else I might die. I think that a private room is the least this school could give me while I'm here."

Kara grinned at her reasoning while the greasy haired man scowled, but he looked like he did that on a regular basis.

"So," said the giant of a woman that was the headmistress of the French school in the tournament. "I take it you do not care about winning this tournament."

Danielle shrugged. "I couldn't care less if I win or not. What does the winner get anyway?"

"Respect for the school, one thousand galleons, and a trophy."

The red head arched an eyebrow. "That's it? For a deadly tournament that has killed not only champions but judges, people in the stands, and innocent civilians minding their own business? How much is a thousand galleons in real money anyway?"

Dumbledore frowned at her lack of respect toward everything magical but answered. "One galleon is five pounds in Britain."

Danielle did the math in her head. "So a thousand of these galleons would five thousand pounds, which is the equivalent of just over seven thousand, five hundred dollars in America." She paused. "Nope, not worth it. Not for a tournament that would put lives in danger. A trophy fades over time, and I would like to ask if anyone here even remembers the name of the last tournament winner."

That made everyone in the room pause. Nobody knew what the name of the last winner of the tournament was, or even what school he or she was from.

"If there is no other choice, I'll compete," said Danielle. "Would I have to know now of what the first task is or should we wait for Raven to get back?"

The other foreign headmaster smiled nastily at her. "The rules state that the first task is a secret. We could not tell you what it is even if you do compete."

Danielle frowned but nodded, not wanting to get into a fight with the man. Kara however, growled. "Who comes up with a deadly tournament and not even lets the ones competing what they're up against? Are you trying to get the champions killed?"

"I assure you, that we are taking precautions to minimize possible damage this year," said Dumbledore. "We have looked at all three tasks and removed anything that could cause a fatality."

It didn't fully calm Kara down but she didn't voice her opposition to it again, she just fumed silently.

"If that is all," said Danielle. "Could someone please guide Kara and I to our rooms? I think that this is enough for one night."

Many of the people in the room nodded in agreement and Dumbledore said, "Dobby?"

Danielle and Kara jumped when they saw a diminuative creature appear out of nowhere. He, they could tell it was a he, looked to be about two feet tall with enormous green eyes, pointed bat-like ears, and a long pointed nose. He seemed to be wearing an odd assortment of clothes that mismatched beautifully.

"Headmaster Dumbledore called for Dobby," said the creature.

"Yes, Dobby, take these two young ladies to one of the married quarters. And please assign them a personal house elf for as long as they are staying here."

Dobby nodded, his ears flapping. "Right away, headmaster Dumbledore." Holding out his hand, Danielle looked at Kara dubiously before taking his hand and following him as they walked out of the office.

"Interesting daughter you got there, Potter," said Snape as soon as the two girls were out of hearing range. Little did he know, but the two girls could still hear him with their enhanced hearing.

James frowned and glared at Snape. "At least I have a daughter, Snivilus. And besides, she just wasn't brought up a Potter. Once we spend more time together, that'll change."

While a few people reluctantly agreed, Fillius and Pomona, looked at each other and shook their heads. Neither had blind loyalty to Dumbledore nor his overly optimistic view on this situation. They both had seen the way that it had only been Kara that had stopped Danielle from outright attacking the Potters and to be honest, they didn't know if they would have lifted a finger to help them.

Fillius Flitwick was smart enough to know that any kind of trust between parent and child had been destroyed by the Potters and it wouldn't even start to begin to heal for years to come, and only if Danielle wanted it.

Pomona Sprout was a Hufflepuff, and she knew all about loyalty. Any kind of family loyalty Danielle might have had with the Potters had died and was good and buried. If possible, she actually wanted to meet the girl's adopted family and thank them for raising one of their own.

"Minerva," said Dumbledore. "Could I impose upon you to take young Danielle shopping at Diagon Alley tomorrow morning for her school supplies. At the least, we could get her a wand."

Professor McGongall nodded. She had no classes the next morning so she could manage that.

Danielle and Kara meanwhile followed the creature known as Dobby through the various hallways of the castle. Both girls were fascinated by the moving paintings and the moving staircases, but they did have to question the safety of that last one.

"Magic," said Kara in awe. "You know, magic was banned on the Kryptonian council. Since it messes with technology, they thought that magic wasn't worth it and focused on the sciences."

Danielle had to admit, there was some logic to that statement. Of course, there was much more logic in allowing any Kryptonian magic users to learn their craft and assist others who focused on science. Using the best of both elements to advance their society.

On the fifth floor of the castle, they were being led through a hallway that seemed dusty from disuse, like the students and staff didn't come this way anymore.

"This is your room," said Dobby, pointing at a painting. It showed an image of a lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake, all surrounding a large letter H. "Just tell the painting any password you want and it will allow you to enter."

Danielle thought for a moment before she shrugged. "Daily Planet."

The four animals seemed to nod to her and the wall behind the painting opened to reveal the rooms beyond. Once inside, both girls figured it could have been much worse. The main room was large with an attached kitchenette for making small meals. Several doors on the opposite end of the room probably led to the bedrooms and a bathroom. The room itself was done in a tasteful combination of red, yellow, blue and green, which seemed to be the school colors.

Kara flopped onto the nearest couch, sighing heavily. "Well, this will do for now."

Danielle nodded and found that Dobby was still there. "Headmaster Dumbledore would like to tells you that you will have a personal elf tomorrow." Without saying another word, he popped out.

"Strange creature," Danielle mused, as she sat down with a sigh. "Well, this isn't how I figured I would spend my school year. Kara, do you think you could tell the others what's going on and explain at least some of the situation to Smallville High. Tell them I won't be able to make it to class this year."

Kara nodded. "Lucky. I still have to go to school in Smallville, tell Clark, Ma and Pa what's going on, and try to talk Bruce and Clark into not blowing up the castle."

Danielle chuckled and nodded. "Yes, I can imagine that they will not be happy. Tell Ma and Pa that I'll try to visit them as much as I can. Just because I'm stuck here for the school year, doesn't mean I can't try to sneak out."

The blonde smirked, then yawned. "I'm beat. You have one of the bedrooms and I'll have the other?"

Not having any nightclothes, they would have to make due with what they had before Kara could pick up some stuff from the farm house. Luckily, Danielle's sparring clothes had dried out somewhat and she could sleep in them, but she would need clean clothes and a shower the next morning.

XXXXX

Danielle didn't know to laugh or cry at what she was seeing.

She was walking down some place called Diagon Alley with the same stern lady from last night and they were shopping in London for magical supplies. What was so bad, though was that everyone was wearing a bathrobe, even the little children running around with their parents.

"Seriously. Why do you wear bathrobes?" Danielle asked the woman who said she was to call her Professor McGonagall. "Are you that afraid of jeans or something?"

Professor McGonagall didn't look amused. "It is simply what the wizarding world wears, Miss Potter."

"Whatever," she shook her head. In retrospect, most of her friends wore tights and spandex half of the time so wearing robes didn't sound _too_ strange. But in her opinion, only Raven could probably pull it off and still make it halfway decent. "So what classes are you trying to get me into again?"

"Transfiguration, for one. The art of turning something into something else."

"Like turning a flower into a sword or something?" Hmm, that could be useful…

"If you wish," sniffed Professor McGonagall, her opinion on that idea making itself known. "There are charms."

"Yay, I get to levitate stuff!" Danielle proclaimed sarcastically.

"Potions."

"Isn't that a bit too clichéd? The whole potion making witch image?"

Professor McGonagall was now ignoring her. "Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Hmm. Blowing up stuff. I could grow to like that." In fact, she could come to like that very much.

Danielle could now almost feel the older woman ignoring her comments now. That was impressive.

"Herbology."

"Nah. I kill every plant I touch. Now I know another red head in Gotham that really likes plants-"

"And those are just the core classes," said McGonagall, talking over her. She didn't feel obligated to mention History of Magic. Even she knew that class was worthless. "You may take any of the several electives we also offer."

Danielle just nodded, looking around the Alley again. _'This place is like a rennisance fair. How do they get anything done?_' She was now really wishing she could have taken Kara with her on this little journey but she had left early that morning to get some things from Smallville for her. Raven still wasn't back yet and McGonagall had just transfigured her clothes the previous day into something more comfortable. She had been forced to ask the professor nicely to just give her jeans and a t-shirt instead of robes, though.

The various shops on the long cobbled street in London had things that might have been sold in the normal world several hundred years ago: cauldrons, parchment, quills, steamer trunks, robes, and others. She stared at a store selling flying brooms. Wasn't that just too clichéd?

Shaking her head, she just let the Professor buy things she thought she needed for the year. Danielle allowed herself to window shop, mentally wondering why someone bought a two ended newt from a magical creature shop. What was the point of an animal if it didn't have a head? The ingredients in the apothecary both looked and smelled disgusting when they got her potion supplies. Macbeth witches, eat your heart out.

She put her foot down on buying robes, though. She wasn't a student of Hogwarts and had no reason to wear robes, especially since the other foreign dignitaries could wear whatever the Rao they wanted.

The last place they went was some store called Ollivander's Wand shop. The shop was small, dusty, and the inside was covered with shelves all the way to the ceiling. Looking at the place dubiously, she watched McGonagall ring a bell at the counter, making a door open just out of sight.

The man that approached the counter must have been Mr. Ollivander himself. He looked old, possibly in his sixties or seventies. Whisps of white hair covered his head and his eyes had a strange look, appearing far too large for his face and gray pupils.

"Ah, Minerva. Wonderful to see you again," said Mr. Ollivander. He then looked at Danielle, who was eyeing him curiously. "And who is this."

"Danielle Kent," she said, before McGonagall could say anything. "But she says it used to be Danielle Potter."

"Ah," Ollivander nodded but didn't say anything. She had to admire the man about that at least, not wanting to create any friction between them about a possibly sore subject. "Well, since you are here, I suppose we must find you a wand. Here, try this. Oak and unicorn hair wand, nine and a quarter inches, quite whippy."

No sooner had Danielle took the wand when it shuddered in her hand and exploded in a shower of splinters.

"Ah," said Danielle as the two adults recovered. "I don't think so."

"No," said Ollivander, shaking the dust off of his suit. "I believe not. Hmm." He pondered something in his head for a moment before he left through the door from before that probably led into a workshop. After a moment, he came back carrying a staff. "Try this, just to satisfy my curiosity."

"Really Garrick?" asked McGonagall. "A staff. No witch or wizard has needed a staff for several hundred years."

"Just a hunch, Minerva. Humor me for a moment, will you?"

Danielle was starting to like this old man. Taking the staff, she didn't feel anything at all. At least with the wand, she had felt energy leaving her and into the strip of wood, making it explode. As for this, though, nothing happened. She even tried pushing the same kind of energy as before into it and still didn't get a reaction.

"Is something supposed to happen?"

Mr. Ollivander frowned and took the staff back. "Tell me, Miss. What are your experiences with magic? Have you ever used it consciously before?"

Danielle thought about it and shook her head. "No. I've made things explode when I was angry and just brushed it off at the time though." She wasn't going to tell him that she had once been angry at Brainiac when he was getting away and somehow something on his ship exploded, allowing Clark to catch him. Or another time when Metallo had thrown a piece of Kryptonite at her and, in panic, made the rock turn to ash before it could get too close to her.

"Hmm," said Ollivander again. "Could you try to summon a ball of light, then? Just focus on whatever energy you can and create it in your palm."

Danielle nodded slowly, seeing what he was getting at. McGonagall apparently didn't as she looked ready to yell at him for wasting her time. Rolling her eyes at the woman, she concentrated on this magic thing everyone kept telling her she had and focused on it appearing in her hand.

After training to use her powers, this wasn't that difficult and a small, almost miniscule ball of light appeared in her open palm.

"How did she do that?" asked McGonagall in a Scottish brogue as the ball of light vanished, leaving the younger girl winded slightly, "That was supposed to be impossible!"

"If I could interrupt," Ollivander said, cutting the woman off. Oh yeah, she was starting to like this old man. He personally closed his eyes and created a bigger ball of light than Danielle had before letting it vanish again. "That is all I can do, unfortunately, but I would say that our young friend here is either simply too powerful for a wand, or something is blocking most of her magic.

"I would think the latter as she couldn't power the staff at all when all witches or wizards could power it slightly. Miss, do you happen to have any other abilities?"

Danielle weighed the pros and cons of telling him before slowly nodding. "Yeah. I have several other powers. I take it that that is a problem?"

"Indeed. It seems that your magic won't come without pulling on your various other powers in the process. That was why the wand overloaded and exploded as it couldn't recognize your other powers. The staff didn't have the same reaction as the wand as it could only accept pure magic, nothing else along with it, so it rejected your magic entirely. I must say, this is fascinating on a professional level."

"Garrick," said McGonagall tiredly. "Is it possible to suit her a wand at all?"

Ollivander blinked. "Minerva. We are talking about a person who supposedly has numerous abilities that has nothing to do with magic, am I correct?" Danielle nodded. "If she had one or even several magical gifts, it wouldn't matter as I could work around that. As it is, no wand or any focus item that I know of will ever work for her. Or at least, none that I make or am capable of producing. If anything, I would recommend working on wandless magic, my dear, as it is the only kind you are most likely capable of producing."

Danielle shrugged, not really caring. So this was one more power to work on. Big deal. She had mastered flight, super speed, enhanced strength, heat vision, X-ray vision, and freeze breath. Learning magic couldn't be that hard, with or without a wand.

McGonagall wasn't happy but nodded, leaving the shop. Danielle shook her head.

"Is not being able to use a wand that bad?"

"No, my dear," said Ollivander. "The Ministry of Magic just prefers to have everyone use wands as a form of regulation. That, and it is believed that wandless magic is a myth or extremely hard and ultimately useless overall that no one ever tries to learn it."

Danielle frowned. "That sounds stupid. Who wants to rely on a bit of very breakable wood to use their powers? I know magic users that don't use a focus item at all and nothing stops them."

She was thinking of Zatanna and Raven. Not exactly the same as they have completely different branches of magic than she did, apparently, but neither used a focus item to use their powers. That's what made the Titan's enemy Mumbo Jumbo so easy to defeat. Without his wand, he was powerless. The same with a lot of villains she knew like Control Freak and his remote or Toy Man and his toys.

"I do apologize for not being able to help you, Miss Kent," Ollivander said, sounding truly apologetic.

"Oh, nothing to be sorry about," Danielle said, smiling. "Better we know now than use someone else's wand by accident and blowing it up. Besides, you answered a few questions I had about magic in general that I haven't asked anyone yet without knowing it."

Mr. Ollivander nodded, smiling as well. "Well, my dear, I'm afraid that Professor McGonagall is waiting for you to take you back. I do believe that we will see each other soon."

"Oh, why is that?"

"I was asked to do a little ceremony with the various Tri-Wizard champions in a few days to check on their wands. Make sure they hadn't used dark magic to gain an unfair advantage or something. That kind of thing."

Danielle nodded, shaking the old man's hand. "I have to say, Mr. Ollivander, you are the first really nice wizard in Britain I have met so far."

Mr. Ollivander laughed. "Good to know. Now off with you before McGonagall kills me."

Danielle nodded again and left the store, seeing the old Professor waiting for her impatiently. _'Man, who drove a batmobile up her ass?'_ she thought as the other woman did some strange thing that felt like she was sucked through a straw.

**I have more but if you want more, too bad, for now at least. I might come back to this later…maybe.**


	2. Brother My Brother

**I couldn't get this song out of my head! The only way to make it stop was to write it down. Here, read and see if it gets into your head too. By the way, this ****_is _****the song that was played in the first Pokemon movie but this has nothing to do with that movie.**

Daniel Riddle glared at Harry Potter with a look of pure loathing. How dare that smug little ba***** dare to steal one of his father's prophecy spheres!

Harry looked at his brother with a sad glance. How had it come to this? One moment he was fighting for his life in that graveyard against Voldemort, the next Daniel, Dumbledore and Sirius came to save him. They had, but Daniel had been left behind.

Left behind for Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

He had wanted to go out and save him multiple times but every time it had come out a dead end. It was worse when he wasn't allowed to go out and save him. The Dursleys and then Dumbledore had him caged like a good boy at Number four and Hogwarts.

Now, he was facing his brother again for the first time in a year, and his brother didn't know they were related anymore. Daniel had apparently been oblivated of his entire life and rewritten to think that Voldemort and Bellatrix were his parents. Harry and several of his friends had gone with him in an attempt to save Sirius at the Department of Mysteries but the prophecy sphere Voldemort was after smashed and no one heard what it said.

He was standing in the Ministry atrium, Voldemort and Daniel standing there with looks of hatred on their faces when they looked at him.

"Daniel," Voldemort hissed. "Deal with Potter. I have a feeling that Dumbledore is not far behind."

Daniel gave a cruel smirk and stepped closer to Harry. "It will be my…pleasure. Father." He pulled out his wand.

"Daniel," Harry muttered just loud enough for Daniel to hear. "What happened to you? We're brothers."

Daniel snorted. "I was raised by my parents, Potter. Your tricks won't work on me. Diffindo!"

Harry dodged the beam of light and shot out a stunner that was deflected easily.

"Looks like you're not even trying!" Daniel retaliated by firing bone breakers, cutting curses, and even a few blasting hexes. Harry wasn't fighting with the intensity he had against the Death Eaters before, this was his brother.

"Daniel!"

They both looked at each other, then both looked over at the newcomer, Daphne. Daniel's girlfriend before he vanished.

Daniel looked coldly at her, "and who are you?" he had to admit, she did look sort of familiar…

Daphne, who had adopted her full ice queen mask almost full time after her boyfriend had vanished, looked at him sadly. "Daphne Greengrass, Daniel. Please, remember who you are. All the good times we had."

Daniel started looking at her a little uneasily, like he was remembering something but it was being blocked by something else. "Blood traitor," he spat. "I'll deal with you right after Potter."

Harry winced at the thought of fighting him but he had to. Dumbledore had arrived and was dueling Voldemort but he had to focus on the threat in front of him first. "Daphne, stay back. I have to deal with him."

Daphne looked unsure but nodded anyway. The blonde Slytherin felt that this was something Harry had to do.

**(Begin Brother My Brother)**

**Brother my brother**

**Tell me what are fighting for**

Daniel conjured a flock of birds that he turned into falcons before sending them at Harry, who dodged and ducked before setting them on fire.

**We've got to end this war**

**We should love one another**

Harry shot out overpowered stunners that Daniel conjured a block of marble to take the hit before banishing the pieces at Harry. Harry turned them around before turning them into spikes that Daniel quickly jumped out of the way of.

**Oh, can't we just pretend**

**This war never began**

Daniel made fire in the shape of a giant griffin that he sent at Harry, only for him to put it out by summoning the water from the fountain.

**We can try**

**Brother my brother**

Harry fired spells like crazy but Daniel brought out his light sword spell and deflected them into the walls, floor, or back at Harry.

**We face each other from different sides**

**The anger burns can't remember why**

Harry stopped firing spells and brought out his own light sword spell, the one he got from Daniel who made the spell himself. Daniel glared at the boy who had stolen his own spell and rushed in, his own red blade met Harry's green in a shower of sparks.

**It's kind of crazy to cause so much pain**

**Our foolish pride makes us hate this way**

Daniel swiped at him with furious moves and overpowering stunts but Harry was faster and dodged them all. Daniel used wandless magic to send a chunk of the fountain that broke in Dumbledore and Voldemort's duel at him but Harry just cut it in half and kept going.

**We watch our world fall apart**

**Tell me what good is winning**

**When you lose your heart**

While Dumbledore was dueling Voldemort and Harry was against Daniel, Daphne had been attacked by Bellatrix who had been pinned down until now. Dodging the attack at the last moment, Daphne and the insane Death Eater started their own duel.

**Brother my brother**

**Tell me what are fighting for**

Daniel threw his sword at Harry, who blocked it at the last moment. Shocked that his opponent would throw away his weapon, Harry almost got hit by a wandless bone breaker that he deflected with his own sword.

**Isn't life worth so much more**

**We should love one another**

Summoning his wand back into his hand, Daniel shot out a modified stunner that moved much faster than normal. Harry blocked it with his sword before canceling the sword effect on his wand.

**Oh, can't we just pretend**

**This war never began**

A stray spell from Daphne forced Daniel to put up a shield, making the beam of light bounce off and hit Bellatrix from behind.

**Tell me why**

**Brother my brother**

Daniel growled before cursing Daphne, who flew through the air and landed on the far end of the atrium. She wasn't dead but she would be forced to spend a few days in the hospital wing. Harry retaliated by firing a blasting hex.

**Yes**

**We can try**

**Brother my brother**

**Yes**

A blasting hex from Daniel's own wand hit the one coming at him, forcing them both to blow up in the center.

**Let's take a moment and look deep inside**

**And say we'll learn to give love a try**

Both Harry and Daniel were breathing heavily but neither would back down. Daniel screamed in rage and fired a borderline dark curse at Harry, who dodged it by moving slightly before sending ropes from his wand at him.

**When matters differ as we seem to be**

**There's so much more to me than what you see**

The ropes burned in midair and fell to ashes on the floor. An ice spear was shot at Harry only for it to zoom upward and stick itself into the ceiling of the atrium.

**You don't have to be this way**

**Think about the consequences**

**Turn around and walk away**

Harry and Daniel looked at each other, standing about twenty feet from each other. (Camera pans around them in a giant circle, focusing on both of their faces).

**Brother my brother**

**Tell me what are fighting for**

Both combatants send out a bolt of pure magic from their wands at the same time, only to make a giant explosion in the center of the makeshift arena.

**Isn't life worth so much more**

**We should love one another**

When the smoke dies down, Harry is forced to banish a huge wolf coming right at him, making it crash into a wall. The wolf turns back to human form and Daniel sends more spells at Harry.

**Oh, can't we just pretend**

**This war never began**

Harry transfigures a piece of rubble from the fountain into a lion and sends it at Daniel, only for him to shoot a blasting curse at it, forcing it to turn back to normal.

**Tell me why**

**Brother my brother**

Daniel aims his wand and fires his own rapid fire arrow spell, forcing Harry to put up a powerful shield to block the attack.

**Brother my brother**

**Tell me what are fighting for**

Just when the arrows stop firing, a stray spell from Voldemort hits the ground near Harry, causing it to detonate, blowing him and Daniel into a nearby wall.

**Isn't life worth so much more**

**We should love one another**

Both out of magic, they just stare at each other, panting. Putting away their wands, they both run at each other and start raining blows on each other Muggle style.

**Oh, can't we just pretend**

**This war never began**

The two traded blows until Harry got in a lucky shot and sent Daniel to the ground. Rolling to the side and jumping up to his feet, Daniel aimed most of his blows for Harry's head.

**Tell me why**

**Brother my brother**

Sweeping Harry's legs, Daniel put his foot on Harry's chest, keeping him on the floor.

**Ooh, cliffhanger! Too bad, this was a one-shot and I have no plan on continuing it. Tell me what you think.**


	3. Night Fury

**I have no idea what I was thinking of when I wrote this. I think I was bored and started scribbling some random plot line but I'm not sure. It was stuck in some random file of mine and I figured I would post it. I have no idea what I was planning at the time I wrote it, but it could be fun to continue one day.**

**Just Harry Potter**

Nightfury jumped from rooftop to rooftop, watching for any danger. After doing this for a few years, she had gotten pretty good at it. At first, she hadn't really approved of the name the police and newspapers had given her, but she had accepted it.

Only her grandmother knew who she really was but it wasn't likely she would tell. After all, they really only had each other now, outside of a few friends.

She stopped jumping when she saw the scene below her. Some criminals had clearly been in a hurry to escape the scene of a crime and had crashed into an ambulance; which was on fire. People were running around in a panic, which didn't make it easy for the fire department.

Sighing, Nightfury jumped down onto the street below, not wincing at all after jumping down fifty feet. Everyone backed away from her in awe as she went to work. Using nothing more than her hand, she slit the ambulance door open and dragged out the still alive driver and passenger; luckily there hadn't been a patient in the back.

She moved on to the criminal's car and did the same. The only difference was that one of the thugs still had a gun and panicked, firing at her. Everyone gasped but she just plucked the bullet out of the air and pinched a nerve on the guy's neck. The thug went down like a ton of bricks.

Dusting off her gloved hands, she waved at the police who had just arrived and jumped a good sixty feet in the air and back onto the rooftop she was on before. She then turned and vanished into thin air.

* * *

A second later, a loud pop sounded and Dorea Potter came out to greet her grand-daughter. She was as strict as always but Nightfury could tell she was relieved to see her. "You had to stop them yourself, huh?"

Nightfury shrugged, "I was there, I could save the people trapped and the bystanders weren't helping."

Dorea sighed, "you should see the news."

Following her grandmother, who had been more of a parent than her own had been, into the living room they saw the news on television.

A reporter was talking in front of a crime scene, "Yes Bob, Nightfury was here. Eyewitness accounts stated that she dropped out of nowhere, cut the people free and left without a trace. No one is sure how she did it but she somehow caught a bullet that had been aimed at her. The chief of police of London has stated that Nightfury should have left this to professionals and would like to see her arrested. More news will be brought to you, when we hear more."

Dorea looked at her fourteen year old grand-daughter, "do I need to tell you to stay out of their way again, Danielle?"

Nightfury, now Danielle, shrugged uncaringly, "they can't catch me, and I'm helping people they can't, they should be thanking me."

Dorea sighed, "Danielle, I know you're special, but please stay out of trouble."

Nightfury just smiled.

* * *

The next day was normal. Dorea did have a few chores and talked to/visited her friends while Danielle was in the garage. The house they lived in was a normal two story house on the outskirts of London. Danielle was busy working on her latest project.

She had gotten a lot of inspiration from the movie 'Star Wars' when she had made her outfit. Black pants and shirt, like Luke Skywalker had worn when he had faced his father in episode six. She had even used her magic like Jedi used the Force, it seemed to fit.

Right now, she was working on a speeder bike. She loved the idea of Luke and Leia zipping between the trees and shooting stormtroopers on the forest moon of Endor and figured she could do the same with magic. She had studied what George Lucas had called "repulsar-lift" technology but found it wouldn't work on Earth.

She had remembered what her supposed godfather had said about his flying motorcycle once and she used that as a template. Dorea hadn't really approved but Danielle really wanted to try it, so she had relented.

She wondered for a moment what her parents and their friends would say if they saw her now. Nothing good she bet. She was covered in grease, her long red hair tied in a ponytail, and she was tired from enchanting the runes into the bike, but she was happy. The bike was about ten feet long, from the tip of the nose to the end of the exhaust ports. The seat was about in the middle and if she could manage it, have a laser blaster under the carriage. Some modifications from the original design included an invisibility feature. She was sure that someone would notice a giant flying vehicle otherwise.

* * *

A few days later on Halloween, Danielle was patrolling London again. She was excastic though as she got to take her bike. She was hovering about a foot off the ground and had used the invisibility feature to avoid traffic. '_Take that Sirius!'_

Everything seemed normal, until a sudden explosion from the nearby art museum got her attention. Wondering who would be stupid enough to rob that place in broad daylight, she turned her bike and zoomed toward the museum.

Getting there a moment later, she saw that the front door was totaled. Burly guys in ski masks with guns were guarding the entrance, the doors seemed to have been blown off their hinges. She shook her head at the unoriginality at the look, ski masks and guns? Way too cliché.

Hopping off the bike on the side of the building, she jumped up to the roof of the building and looked down into the glass dome to the scene inside. Seeing about two dozen thugs stealing paintings, she also noticed a few were holding some people hostage.

Lightly growling at the cowardly behavior, she ran through the door on the roof into the building. Quickly knocking out any thugs she saw, she made her way into the main lobby where the hostages were. Storing the thugs she knocked out in a nearby closet, she snuck into the lobby undetected.

She saw why as what looked to be the leader was talking on a cell phone.

"Look just give us the plane we want and we won't kill any hostages!"

Frowning, Nightfury made a head count. There were about twenty hostages and five thugs in the room, including the leader. She supposed that the rest of the thugs that weren't sleeping in a closet were elsewhere. If she could take out the leader…

"No! We want access to the airport and a plane on the runway in ten minutes!" the leader guy fired off a warning shot at the nearest wall to prove he was serious. "If our demands are not met, we kill one hostage every half hour! You have ten minutes!"

Before Nightfury could move, or think that the leader had seen too many movies, a lackey from another room came in. "Sir! About ten men have vanished sir!"

Cursing under her breath, Nightfury tried working out a plan. She couldn't just hide behind the information booth for too much longer.

The leader growled, "is there a little hero in here?" he asked, more to himself. He lifted his gun, "alright! If someone is here, show yourself! If not, I may have to have a little fun here," his eyes kept going to a few teenage girls amongst the hostages.

Absolutely disgusted and thinking that he couldn't be any more clichéd, Nightfury stood up and walked to the leader in plain sight, aware that multiple guns were pointed at her.

The man grinned, "well, well, Nightfury, we meet at last. I was expecting someone…older." A few grunts sniggered stupidly, "now then," he raised his gun, "shall we end this?"

Thinking that he sounded like a corny villain from a Saturday morning cartoon, Nightfury smiled. Raising her hands over her head like she was surrendering, she concentrated and felt her magic in her fingertips. Without warning, bolts of lightning raced down her hands and arched to all of the thugs. Every villain was fried in bolts of electricity just like how the Emperor used it against Luke.

Panting slightly at the drain of her magic, she grinned at the knocked out and slightly smoking criminals. Gesturing for the hostages to follow her, she quickly knocked out the guards by the front door and led everyone out safely.

Seeing that the police were cheering at the return of the hostages, she calmly walked back to her bike, knowing that the cops would deal with the criminals inside. She knew that the chief wouldn't like her for what she did, stealing his job from him, but she found it necessary.

All in all, it was a very interesting Halloween.

* * *

Dorea had heard everything the next day of course and had approved of the whole plan. As someone who had been born a Black, she was all for plans that used subterfuge or trickery. She was worried that Danielle would simply electrocute anyone she saw but figured that that was unlikely. They laughed over breakfast over how clichéd the leader had been and the guy's face when he had been zapped.

Their breakfast was interrupted by a large brown owl flying through the window. Danielle had never seen that owl before but knew where it had come from, the crest of the letter very clearly came from Hogwarts.

As a rule, they never really talked about the magical school or even the magical world in general. Her parents had disowned her, after all, in favor of her stupid brother David. She hadn't seen them in years but knew that if Hogwarts was writing to her, it would be bad, very bad.

Dorea read the letter quickly and sighed, "you need to go to Hogwarts."

Well, that was blunt. Danielle snorted, "and why, would I want to go to that dump?"

Dorea smiled at her for a moment, "apparently, the 'all powerful headmaster' decided to bring back the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

"Didn't that kill a lot of people?"

"Yes, but that didn't stop the old man and the Ministry from bringing it back."

Danielle stared at her, "Grandmother, what aren't you telling me?"

Dorea sighed, "only that your name somehow came out of the Goblet of Fire and you have to compete. Never mind the fact that you have never even been to the castle."

Danielle looked at her in disbelief, "you got to be kidding me. Why would I want to enter that deathtrap? How would I even enter if I wasn't at the school?"

Dorea shook her head, "I don't know but it looks like you have no choice. You have to go."

It took a while but Danielle finally agreed, knowing that it wouldn't end well for the students at Hogwarts. After sending Dumbledore a note saying that she would be at the castle the next day, they went on a shopping trip for everything she would need. Everything seemed ordinary for her, until they got to Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. She shook her head.

"No! A million times no! I am not wearing the Hogwarts uniform." She liked her outfits just fine the way they were, thank you.

Dorea smiled, knowing better than to argue with her, "you still need a dress, the Yule Ball is a tradition and as a champion, you'll be opening."

Eyes wide with horror, they spent the next hour trying on dresses. Danielle wanted to grab one and be done with it but her grandmother wouldn't hear of it. After getting her measurements, Madame Malkin and Dorea spent twenty minutes alone on the colors and another fifteen on the material. The only good part was that she would be getting it later that month through owl.

Dorea cheered her up though by taking her out to her favorite resteraunt.

"How are you getting to Hogwarts tomorrow?"

Danielle smirked, "since I'm being made to do this, I was going to arrive with a bang."

Dorea smiled, "can't wait."

* * *

All three headmasters and their students were waiting for the arrival of their fifth champion. Dumbledore sighed, he didn't stop this from happening so this was at least partially his fault. Now he had to deal with both Potter twins being champions. David had gotten his name pulled out as well but when his sister's came out, there had been pandemonium. Many didn't even know that David had a sister in the first place. He also should have done a better job at getting the girl to come to Hogwarts but Lily and James said that they hadn't wanted their precious David's education disrupted by her. So they had just dumped at her James' mother's place and hoped for the best.

Dumbledore saw that James and Lily were in the crowd. Lily was now the Muggle-studies professor while James was an auror guarding the students just in case something went wrong. They were standing by David, as if afraid that Danielle would come in the middle of the night and take him away; idiots.

"Pleasure to see you again, headmaster."

Turning, Dumbledore came face to face with Dorea Potter. She had approached him and the other headmasters so silently that he hadn't noticed her arrival.

"Dorea, good to see you again. May I ask, where is your grand-daughter?"

She smiled, "she'll be here soon. She wanted to make a grand entrance." She then glared in distaste at her son, his wife, and her grandson.

Dumbledore nodded and turned to Madame Maxime and Karkaroff, "Danielle will be here soon."

Maxime and Karkaroff nodded, Maxime wearily and Karkaroff disdainfully. Both had made their own displeasure about the Potters competing known.

All conversations were suddenly cut off when a sudden revving noise could be heard throughout the grounds. Dumbledore saw Dorea smiling at him as a large dust cloud seemed to be moving toward them up the drive.

The cause of the cloud was revealed when it got close. Dumbledore managed to make out what looked to be a large hover bike was tearing up the driveway.

The hover bike came close to them and then turned in a wide circle around the crowd, sending mud everywhere. Finally coming to a stop, the figure on the bike jumped about twenty feet in the air, flipped, and landed about ten feet away from the crowd.

After seeing the crowd stare at the figure, the helmet was removed to reveal the dark red hair. She looked at the crowd with disdain before looking at Dumbledore, who gulped.

"What's this about me being a champion?" Everyone just stared at her, from all three schools. Danielle shook her head, "can't even answer a simple question, wizards."

That snapped Dumbledore out of his trance, "Ms Potter, good to meet you at last."

Danielle gave him a bored expression, "I'm sure, now what about me being a champion? I don't even go to any of your three schools."

"Perhaps we could talk about this inside?" asked Dumbledore, hoping to settle this matter quietly.

Danielle nodded, "fine, where's your garage? I'm not going to leave my baby out here in the damp northern Scotland ground."

Dumbledore could hear Minerva almost growl at that but answered quickly, "I'm sure we can find a place for your bike. Perhaps we could talk in my office now?"

Danielle shrugged, "fine." She reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked to be the keys to the bike. Clicking it, the headlights of the bike flashed once to 'lock' it, meaning that anyone who tried to ride it would find it wouldn't work.

**I'm thinking of using a part of this in Britain's Bad Girl but I'm not sure. I love the part about the hover bike but I would have to fine tune it a bit before I do something like that in a real story.**


	4. Harry's life is a video game!

**Okay (laughs like crazy) I saw this and had to at least try it! Turns out, I can't do it very well but at least you can see my failure and try to avoid it. I have no love for this at all and I'm going to abandon it, but you should at least see it.**

**Harry Potter**

Harry knew he was dying. The basilisk venom had spread throughout his body and his breaths were coming out in painful gasps.

"Fascinating, isn't it?" asked Tom Riddle as calmly watched the young Potter suffer. "How quickly the venom travels through the body. You'll be dead soon, Harry Potter. Take your time, I'm in no hurry."

Harry's vision was going black around the edges. He saw Fawkes fly over to him, something black in his talons. With a flump, the thing was revealed to be Riddle's diary.

"Funny," said Tom, looking at the diary. "What a silly little book can do, especially in the hands of a silly little girl."

With some effort, Harry managed to grab the book and open it. "What are you doing?" asked Tom, starting to get worried. Harry didn't bother to answer as he took out the basilisk fang he had pulled from his arm, raising it for a strike, determined to take out Riddle if he was going to die anyway.

"Stop!"

It was too late for Riddle as Harry stabbed the book with the fang, causing a large hole to appear in Tom's chest. Snarling at the younger boy, Tom made a lunge for Harry again but Harry stabbed the book again making another hole in Tom's face this time. Harry closed the book and stabbed the book a third time through the front cover.

With a scream, Tom's body exploded in a bright light, his wand falling to the floor with a clatter. Harry smiled as he saw Ginny suddenly wake up with a gasp. That was the last thing he saw before everything went black, not moving any more.

**GAME OVER**

Harry was standing in blank nothingness but the words over his head made him confused. What game was being referred to? A text box appeared out of nowhere.

**Harry has fallen, Voldemort comes back and rules Britain. Too bad.**

**Points earned.**

**Age twelve: 120 points**

**'Defeated' Voldemort: 1 point**

**Survived Dursleys: 25 points**

**Became youngest Seeker in a century: 30 points**

**Defeated a troll: 20 points (plus 10 Gryffindor bonus)**

**Befriended Hermione: 40 points**

**Earned life debt (Hermione): 15 points**

**Won Quidditch matches (4): 40 points (plus 20 Gryffindor bonus)**

**Rescued Norbert: 5 points**

**Passed traps 'protecting' the stone: 25 points**

**Defeated Quirrelmort: 100 points**

**Escaped Aragog: 30 points**

**Discovered Chamber of Secrets: 40 points**

**'Defeated' Lockhart: 1 point**

**Killed Basilisk: 100 points**

**Defeated Riddlemort: 100 points**

**Earned life debt (Ginny): 15 points**

**Subtotal: 1047 points**

**Died a virgin: -100 points**

**Befriended Ron: -50 points**

**Trusted Dumbledore: -50 points**

**Trapped by Mirror of Erised: -10 points**

**Caught breaking rules (2): -20 points**

**House turned on you (2): -200 points**

**Crashed car into Whomping Willow: -25 points (plus 20 Gryffindor bonus)**

**Subtotal: -435 points**

**Final total: 612 points**

**Total Ranking: HERO BUT STUPID HARRY!**

**Unlocked:**

**LOVED BY THE WEASLEYS: UNLOCKED WEASLEY HARRY!**

**BLIND FAITH IN DUMBLEDORE!**

Wait, what? WHAT!

Harry looked like his whole world was crashing around him. His whole life had been a video game? What kind of sick joke was that? Now what? He was getting angry, his whole life had been a lie, what else wasn't true? And what did the text box mean by negative points for befriending Ron and trusting Dumbledore?

Argh! So many questions and no answers made him very frustrated.

The scene around him no longer looked like blank nothingness anymore but a pixilated version of Hogwarts. Music started playing along with the picture of Hogwarts: doo doo da dum doo dum. Words came on the screen in front of him.

**Continue?**

**Yes/No**

What did that mean? Could he continue to the afterlife or would he go back to Hogwarts if he continued. He had no idea what to do anymore.

**New Game**

**Play as Harry James Potter!**

**Load Game**

**Load a saved game**

**Extras**

**Controls**

Harry had to think about that. He had a new start and maybe he could do things his way. "Okay then, load games."

The scene shifted to show that there were no games saved on his life. This being the first time he had died and he hadn't saved at all throughout his life.

"Oh great, shouldn't someone have told me to save on my own life?" Harry yelled, realizing that he would have to start from the beginning. "Fine, extras."

A new screen popped up.

**Difficulty (Hard)**

**Cheats**

**Bonuses**

Harry looked at the screen for a moment before smirking. "Difficulty Easy."

The screen that popped up was less than encouraging. **Easy difficulty only unlocked after defeating Voldemort for good on Normal, Hard or Intense ranking.**

"Of course," said Harry, dully. "Normal then. Now, cheats."

The only thing that Harry could see was for him to enter a cheat code but since he didn't know any, he had to close that window. **Cheats can only be unlocked by finding enough golden snitches in a level.**

"Alright then, what about bonuses?"

The window that popped up had various things like: **Tutorial hints, map, auto-save, and mother's eyes** all were checked with 'NO' while the others like **'Core bound' and 'Perma-death' **were marked with a 'YES.'

"What the fuck! My core was bound! And what does 'Mother's eyes' even mean?"

A smaller window showed him what the bonus was. **While James had horrible eyesight and needed glasses, Lily had perfect 20/20 vision. If checked Yes, Harry will not need glasses while he does if checked No.**

"Okay, that is full of wrong right there," Harry muttered. "Mother's eyes, Tutorial hints, map, auto-save all check yes. Core bound and perma-death check no.

Harry looked at the other options. "What about controls?"

A new window popped up.

**At any time, you can access any of these features.**

**Inventory: see every item, weapon, and piece of armor you have collected.**

**Mini map: see a map of the area you are in and the people around. Can only see what you have explored and the people you have met, all others will be grayed out.**

**Status sheet: see the list of stats Harry has, can be called up at any time. Includes level, strength, speed, and others.**

They were all checked as off.

"Of course they are," said Harry dully. "Turn them all on."

The game did so and went back to the title screen, waiting for Harry to make up his mind. Harry shrugged, "might as well do this right. New game."

A door appeared for him out of nowhere and Harry made his way to it. On the other side of the door was a room with multiple versions of him behind panes of glass. A new screen appeared.

**Choose your avatar.**

Only two were unlocked that Harry could choose from. One was standard Harry and another was 'Weasley Harry' that looked like he did but was chubbier and out of shape.

"With Mrs. Weasley's cooking, I can understand that." He looked at another Harry that looked like him as well but looked smarter, happier and more in shape.

**Granger Harry, locked. Must know Hermione's parents names to unlock.**

"That's it? That's easy, they're…um. What were their names? Damn it!" He looked at the other versions of him and how they were unlocked.

One looked like a cross between himself and Riddle with the snake like appearance.

**Dark Harry, must become the new dark lord to unlock.**

"Um, no."

**Ninja Harry.**

"Oh heck yes!"

**Must leave Dursleys on your own and go to Japan to unlock.**

"Damn it!"

One had Harry as a girl, a female version of him.

**Fem-Harry. Must use gender altering potion to unlock.**

"There's a gender altering potion!" Yep, he would never use that.

**Dragon slayer Harry, must defeat dragon in fourth year to unlock.**

"There's going to be a dragon in my fourth year? Fantastic."

**Male Veela Harry, Must seduce Fleur Delecour to unlock.**

"Who's Fleur?"

**Superhero Harry. Must go to Smallville Kansas and train under Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne to unlock.**

"That sounds cool."

**Demigod Harry. Must find Camp Half-Blood to Unlock.**

"What's camp half-blood?"

**Dragon Rider Harry. Learn the Ancient Language to unlock.**

"I have no idea what language they're talking about."

**Jedi Harry. Must watch all three Star Wars movies to unlock.**

"Damn, I've only seen scenes of the fourth movie."

After looking at the hundreds of various Harry's to unlock, he shrugged and went with standard Harry. There were other characters he could play as, as well but they were all locked at the moment. Too bad to, he would have liked playing as Ron or Hermione. Other characters included Neville, Sirius Black, and there was a locked section of creating his own character. Seeing as it was his only choice, he played as himself as he remembered it. He would have to grow up with the Dursleys instead of the Weasleys but he knew what to expect this time around. He could survive this.

**Standard Harry:**

**Strength: 1**

**Dexterity: 1**

**Constitution: 1**

**Intelligence: 1**

**Wisdom: 0**

**Charisma: 0**

**Harry who has lived with the Dursleys after Hagrid drops him off. "I'm Harry, but who wants to be 'just Harry?'"**

Harry shrugged and nodded before everything went black.

XXXXXX

Harry groaned as he woke up, then he groaned even louder as he realized where he was. He was in the cupboard under the stairs. The second thing he noticed was that he was much smaller than he had been, like he was younger.

"Stats menu."

A window popped up. **Harry's stats: GET OUT OF THE CUPBOARD AND DO SOMETHING! THEN YOU GET STATS, LAZY!**

Muttering under his breath, he couldn't even move before the door to the cupboard banged open to reveal the large red face of his uncle.

"Boy! Get out here and make yourself useful!" With that said, Vernon grabbed Harry roughly and almost threw him out of the cupboard, making him crash into the opposite wall.

Groaning as pain filled his senses, Vernon left.

With a ding, another window popped up. **Too bad, you have taken damage.** "No, really?" Harry said sarcastically. He could see two little hearts on the bottom of his vision, those were red and beating but the others were grayed out. **The hearts are your health meter. All hearts are measured in four units and it's game over if all of your hearts are depleted. You gain health by eating, drinking potions, or certain healing spells. With your small and scrawny state, it will take a while to get to max health. You can increase your health meter by increasing your constitution stat. Enjoy!**

Rolling his eyes, he made his way to the kitchen, the two hearts on the bottom of his vision beating and trying to get his attention. Ignoring it, he got to the kitchen to see Vernon and Dudley sitting at the kitchen table while Petunia was at the sink, cleaning the various work surfaces.

When he entered, he saw that there was a floating exclamation point over the stove. Looking at the Dursleys, they either couldn't see it or were ignoring it. Shrugging, he stepped in front of the stove and another window popped up with a ding.

**Ever wanted to cook? Have a desire to work as a famous chef? Well, this is as good a start as any! Your mission is to make the Dursleys breakfast. You must make a full serving of ten eggs, eight strips of bacon, a large stack of pancakes, a pot of coffee, and a carafe of orange juice. As this is a tutorial, you have unlimited time and ingredients to work your culinary magic. Later, you will have a limited number of resources to make your dishes along with a time limit. Perfect food increases your cooking stat by one point while imperfect food by half a point. Imperfect food will still increase your health meter but only perfect food will do so fully and will pass this mission. Food can be stored in your inventory for later consumption without fear of it going bad or cold. Have fun!**

Harry looked over at the Dursleys and found them all frozen in time. Petunia couldn't move and Vernon was half way through flipping through a newspaper.

Looking down at the stove, Harry saw that it was some sort of mini-game that involved stirring, flipping, and gauging time.

It was then that Harry's Slytherin side came to him. What if he ruined the food on purpose and stored it in his inventory for later use? Then he would have tons of slightly burnt bacon or partially runny eggs and would never go hungry again!

Smirking, he started to get to work.

What seemed like a full day of cooking, roughly twelve hours later, Harry was pleased with his progress. His inventory was now full of partially ruined food and he had enough to not go hungry for days, if not weeks. His cooking skills had steadily gone up until it had maxed out at one hundred. He now found that it was harder to ruin the food than it was to make it perfect as his stats indicated that he was a 'Master Chef.'

Figuring that he had gotten as much out of his mini-game as he could, he easily finished the mission and fed the Dursleys breakfast, who hadn't moved at all while Harry was cooking. While it should be nighttime, at least, the sun hadn't gone down at all and was still stuck at eight o'clock in the morning.

Finishing the mission, time restarted and the Dursleys could move again. Harry didn't even complain about being given only a small amount of the food he had cooked as he now had an inventory full of over crisped bacon.

When breakfast was over, Vernon gave him a list of chores to do and left him to it. Harry just nodded, glad that his health meter was full again.

Standing in the front yard, Harry smirked as he saw the auto-save feature saved his game. There was a little ding that came up with a window.** Save a lot and save often. You never know when something might happen and you have to go back. The auto-save feature helps but you can save your game wherever you are by simply saying 'save game.' If you die, you can load your game from your last save spot. Have fun!**

Shaking his head, Harry brought up the mini map. It only showed the Dursley's house and everything within a block radius. Only a few buildings were lit up showing that he could enter, including the Dursley's house and Mrs. Figg's house. He figured that when he got there, he could go inside his old primary school as well.

"Stats sheet."

With a ding, a window popped in front of him showing a full 3D model of his body as it was now. He started with the stats.

**Harry Potter, age ten.**

**Strength- needed for lifting heavy objects, power behind physical attacks, and overall wellbeing. Current level: 1**

**Intelligence- needed for non-magical knowledge and common sense. Current level: 1**

**Constitution- level of stamina. The higher this stat, the more hearts in your health meter and the size of your stamina bar. Current level: 1**

**Dexterity- needed for long range weapons and precision work. Current level: 1**

**Wisdom- needed for magical knowledge. Increase to improve your magical core to use more magic. Current level: 0**

**Charisma: How well liked you are in your neighborhood. A score of 0 is a loser and people will turn on you like that while a score of 100 will be the fame of Merlin and Dumbledore combined. Current level: 0**

**To increase your stats, work on them during missions, get stat books, or level up.**

Snorting, Harry started exploring the neighborhood. He could see three bronze exclamation points around the Dursley's house that were chore related but he honestly wanted to get everything this game had to offer. He saw that the map moved with him as he walked and there was even a small compass just in case he got lost. Wishing he could have had this in his first life, his first goal was to clear out the grayed out areas.

Harry smirked as he started running, wanting to get this done with faster.

He didn't even make it to the next door neighbor's mailbox before he was gasping and wheezing. He felt like he was about to die again and was about to throw up. "What's…going…on?" He had used to outrun Dudley and his gang of bullies! How could he be out of shape now?"

Another window popped up with a ding. **Your stamina meter is empty.** A little arrow showed off a meter in Harry's vision that he had ignored when he had started running. It had fallen to the bottom but was slowly building back up. **With a Constitution stat of 1, you can't run very far or very fast before it drops to zero. When Harry is tired, his stamina will slowly recharge but he won't be able to run again until it's full. Working on it will improve it and you can improve it by leveling up. Have a great game!**

Harry glared at the sky and made a rude hand gesture. Normally, he was better behaved than this but this game was starting to piss him off. He took off again, this time jogging instead of the full out sprint he had done before. While he watched his stamina bar going down, he slowed down to walk just long enough for the bar to slowly go back up before jogging again. He repeated this process time and time again and after about half an hour, it he got a ding; **\+ 1 to Constitution.**

Feeling grateful that he got something out of it, he looked around to notice that he was now on Wysteria Walk, a couple of streets over from Private Drive. His previous life time had given him a very good sense of where everything in the area was.

Deciding to explore everything he could, he checked his map and sure enough, it had been slowly filling in the grayed out spaces as he had run. Noticing that he was standing in front of a house he couldn't go inside, he got curious. Walking up the drive, he stared at the door. It was painted on! Why hadn't he noticed in his first time line?

**Gold:** **Just thought I would try it. I'm sure someone else could do it better. Until next time!**


	5. Late Valentine's day omake

**Okay, first things first. I was honestly expecting more reviews. The last chapter has been up for a while and I barely got anything. And the few I did get were mostly just 'good job' 'Write more' and 'Update soon.' While I was glad for that, I was expecting more from the thousands of people who read the last chapter.**

**Second thing second. This has nothing to do with anything. It was bouncing around in my head and I had to write it down. See if you like it or not, but I HAD to type it out.**

**Third thing last. I HATE VALENTINE'S DAY! No offense to the people who do but I personally hate it more than I hate Twilght, and that's a lot.**

**I know that this was on my Hunters of Artemis story but now that I have this thing, this actually goes better here.**

**Go, Omake! Use funny scene! Critical hit!**

In a posh bedroom in the middle of Scotland, a certain middle aged blonde woman was sleeping in the large bed. With no warning, an air horn popped up from behind the bed, rotating as if searching for its target. Spotting the woman, the air horn jumped in joy and moved along to the victim's ear. A finger was slowly placed on the button on top and slowly pressed down to create a huge noise that rattled the windows.

Gold popped up from behind the air horn, looking to see if she had woken her up. Only to be disappointed to see that the woman was still sawing logs.

"Darn it! Why didn't that work!"

"You're just not trying hard enough," said his sister Silver. She pulled out the two cymbals she conveniently carried in her bag and and slammed them together, several times. The echoing noise reverberated throughout the room but failed to wake their target.

"Okay, how did that not work!" Silver shouted, throwing the cymbals at the blonde woman, who only grunted as the musical instruments crashed into her head and rolled over, still fast asleep.

"I did not come all the way to Scotland for this only to be denied!" Gold yelled. "I need to make my point across! People are begging for the next chapter of 'Hunters of Artemis.'"

"Only in your dreams," Silver muttered. "The lack of reviews from the last chapter should prove that."

"Shut up. Okay, what else is loud and obnoxious?"

Gold pulled the drum kit he had in his pocket and played a solo. Nothing. He played, badly, on the trumpet he had brought. Nothing. He thought about it, snapped his fingers, "I Got it!" His cell phone played right in the woman's ear. Nothing.

"WAKE UP!"

"Think people will get that reference?" Silver asked. "Nobody has commented on all the Supergirl references in the last chapter of 'Lost Hero.'"

"Shut up. I need to yell at her for only now realizing she messed up when she was writing cannon."

"I agree with you there, but we can't do anything until she wakes up." The woman was still snoring.

"This is like in 'Paper Mario 2, the Thousand Year Door' when Mario is trying to wake up General White by jumping on him repeatedly and nothing happens until you do it for like the tenth time," Gold muttered. He loved that game, had when he first got it, still did now.

"Yeah, yeah," said Silver, starting to get bored. "By the way, why did you wait until after Valentine's day to write this? This would have been better then."

"Didn't get around to it," he shrugged. "I was busy doing actually important things that had nothing to do with love and was busy until now."

"You just hate it because you don't have a girlfriend."

"And you hate that holiday because you don't have a boyfriend. So we're even, nyah. I hate it when parents say 'oh, it's just because you don't have anyone to share it with, you'll change your tune someday.' I hate that! That's why I like Hunters of Artemis. Danielle won't fall for anyone so I can avoid the whole love thing entirely."

"There is Percy and Annabeth," Silver reminded him. Then there is that stupid love triangle between Leo, Hazel and Frank. Not to mention that Leo seems to have a crush on Calypso now for anyone who has read House of Hades. Sorry for the spoiler!"

"Yeah, I guess," said Gold. "I'm not even going to get involved with what Riordan did to Nico when he met Eros, god of love. Not my thing. I'm not going to get involved at all."

"Don't say that!" Silver shouted. "Now everyone will think you're homophobic or something!"

"Stupid political correctness," Gold snorted. "I liked it back in the day when guys were tough and not afraid to show it. The time with action movies and explosives and car crashes. Not this stupid namby pamby Twilght Edward pretty boy nonsense. And really, just because I don't support what Riordan did to Nico does not make me homophobic. I don't hate people who are that way, I just want them to stay the heck away from me. And what about you? I joke around when a reviewer just brings up the idea of Danielle with Thalia or someone and you get all defensive and shout out against it."

"That's different!" Silver shouted.

"Uh huh. Sure." he sighed. "Honestly, I'm still getting people who want Danielle paired with Nico, Apollo or someone else. I'm shouting from the rooftops that I won't pair her up and various reviewers still don't get it. I'm starting to think the occasional reader of fan fiction might not be too bright."

"Can we talk about something else now?" Silver suggested. She looked at the sleeping woman again. "Do you think she would wake up if we joked that we did own Harry Potter even if we don't?"

The woman instantly woke up and looked around. "I OWN HARRY POTTER! I AM ROWLING! HEAR ME ROAR!" she looked around. "Huh? Who are you?"

Gold smirked and brought out an official looking scroll. "Joanne Rowling," he said in a pompous voice that reminded everyone of Percy Weasley. "You are hearby charged with admitting that you came up with THE WORST PAIRING IN THE HISTORY OF FICTION! We at least do give you credit that you admitted your mistake that Hermione and Ron would make a good pairing without strenuous marriage counseling, but you still shouldn't have done it in the first place. Also, Harry and Ginny suck as a pairing as well and I want that to rot in Tartarus.

"Now, my closing statement." Gold cleared his throat, sprayed breath freshener into his mouth and cleared his throat some more. He then turned around and dropped his pants, effectively mooning J.K. Rowling in all of his glory.

"Oh, look at me," said Gold, making his voice high pitched as he started talking out of his backside. "I'm J.K. Rowling. I thought that Ron and Hermione would make a good pairing. I'm also getting Pottermore out but too slowly for real fans and nothing they really want after all this time. I thought that Casual Vacancy was a good idea for a book, even though it flopped faster than Snape having a chance with Lily."

"Oh, that is harsh," said Silver, watching as Rowling's face was getting redder and redder in anger. "We should probably run. She probably won't like that you drew all over her original book covers."

"YOU DID WHAT! I'LL KILL YOU!"

"RUN AWAY!" Both siblings ran for the exit as fast as they could, Gold pulling up his pants the whole way.

"Totally worth it," Gold said, smirking.

**MAN! I'VE BEEN WAITING TO DO THAT EVER SINCE I HEARD ROWLING SAY THAT HARRY/HERMIONE WAS THE BETTER PAIRING. By the way, I really don't own any of this stuff and I'm just having fun for everyone's amusement. My sister and I really are Harry/Hermione fans and I just can't see Hermione being happy staying with Ron if she had the choice between him and Harry. I can see her dating Ron, I just can't see them staying together. I was telling everyone I knew 'I told you so!' when I heard Rowling say what she did.**

**I'll think of a new omake when I post the next chapter. I got one in mind but I guess I better write out the actual chapter first. Darn.**

**In the words of Emmet the construction builder in the Lego movie: "AWESOME. G-O-S-H!"**

**"I only work in black. And sometimes a very dark gray." See if you get that reference.**


	6. Avalon

**Okay, so my sister and I came up with this and I included the characters she came up with but all of this is me. I had the idea, I'm just borrowing her characters. I just thought this would be amusing for me. I don't own anything. Harry Potter is Rowling, Eragon is Christopher Palolini and the original characters are a combination of me (Gold) and my sister (Silver).**

**Harry Potter/Eragon/random**

"No, no, Danielle. NO!" Lily sat bolt upright in bed, panting as she went through her nightmare again. She slowly realized that she was in her and James's room in Potter manor. She tried to focus on her dream but it was slowly dwindling from her mind, like trying to keep water through her fingers.

Quietly getting out of bed without disturbing James, she went to the bathroom and splashed some water in her face, still shaking.

It had been six years. Six long years since her precious daughter had run away from home. Six years she had been feeling guilty for effectively driving her away from her with neglect. She felt the hot tears run down her face as she thought about it.

Danielle would be about fourteen now, the same age as her twin brother David, about to start Hogwarts in September. She had been the Muggle-Studies teacher there ever since Albus Dumbledore had came to her for the job and she had accepted right away, all in the hope of running into her precious daughter that looked so much like she had at that age.

She groaned and leaned her forehead against the mirror. She had been having the nightmare for years now, always the same one, and it always hurt her. In the dream, Danielle always looked at her with sadness, always asking, "why?" before she herself had driven the stake between them.

To be honest, she knew why. She knew why she had driven her daughter away from her. But, like a fool, she had ignored the signs until it was too late. Always doting on David for being the 'chosen one' and rubbing it into the faces of those snooty purebloods that she had given birth to the boy-who-lived. At the same time, she pretended that Danielle hadn't existed, ignoring her cries for help, smothering her brother when she gave nothing to her.

"How can I fix this?"

"The same nightmare?"

Lily turned around to see James, his messy black hair even messier with sleep but he looked alert enough to see that his wife was hurting.

Lily choked back a sob and hugged her husband tightly. "It just keeps getting worse James! I failed as a mother! We don't even know where she is!"

James nodded sadly, rubbing his wife's back. "I know Lils, I failed to. If she is still out there, we will find her though, I promise."

Lily nodded into his shoulder, feeling tired from her late night cry.

James sighed and brought Lily back to bed, hoping that Danielle was still out there to give his wife some peace of mind.

* * *

Danielle, fourteen, was sparing. Her sword clanging as it rang against her opponent's strike for strike. Her opponent, a good friend, was smiling as if she hadn't a care in the world and simply twirled her blade around and tried to attack Danielle's unprotected left side but found it blocked. Danielle was starting to sweat, she wasn't as graceful as the elves but she could hold her own, but even she had her limits and they had been sparing for hours.

On the sidelines, a few people were watching intently.

"You think Arya will win?"

"Probably, she has been sword fighting for over a hundred years. Danielle is giving it all she has though."

"Yeah but remember that in a real fight, Danielle would beat her with magic. This is just for sword training."

Danielle, panting but determined to keep it up for as long as possible, it didn't help that her opponent was gorgeous. Even during a mock battle like this, Arya, princess of the elves, looked stunning. Her chestnut brown skin, her raven black hair, her various scars that she had gotten over the years, it was all perfect as she continued with her fluid motions. Not one move was misplaced, each combination moved flawlessly into the next one.

Finally, one of them had to give. Arya performed a move that sent the blade clattering out of Danielle's hands.

Arya smiled, "a valiant effort as always, Danielle."

Danielle nodded with a smile as well and went to get her sword. She was better at magic anyway but sparing was a good ability to have and she was getting better.

Their friends came over to greet them.

"You'll get her next time Danielle," said Fiona. Danielle smiled at the small girl. She was tiny, about five feet tall, but had stunning blue eyes and hair so deep blue that it looked black. Her clothes, as always, hid the fact that she could sprout wings at any time, not like any of them really cared, they knew she was the princess of the fairies.

"Yeah, don't feel bad about it, you're still the best with magic," said Emily. As the only other pure human in their group, Danielle found a great friendship with her. They both had red hair, though hers was a deeper shade than Emily's, and was a master at potions and healing magic. Offensive magic wasn't her speciality though so that was where Danielle came in; her spells could even make Merlin run in fear, and it had on occasion.

Emily's best friend, the great dragon Lucy was behind her as always and didn't have anything to say. She had been scared of the great thirty foot long dragon at first but it was revealed that she had more intelligence than most people she knew so it was pretty easy to ignore the fact that she was a dragon.

The last person in their group just grinned and stretched, "well, that was an exciting battle. Who's up for food? I'm game."

Fiona rolled her eyes, "Tigra, you would eat all the time if you could."

Tigra looked affronted, before conceding defeat, "yeah, probably. But can I help it if I'm a growing kitten?"

Danielle smiled at the cat girl. Despite her name, the girl's coat that covered her body was cream white, not orange and black, and the hair on her head was a platinum blonde. Her amber eyes glowed with excitement at the thought of food though and the ears on top of her head twitched slightly, as did the tail that came out of her shorts.

"We do not have any other obligations for today," said Arya. "What shall we do?"

Lucy answered for them by laying on the grass, "I say a nice nap is in order." She snapped her jaws in what was unmistakenly a yawn. "I have been flying all day and I need the rest."

Not wanting to argue with a huge fire-breathing flying lizard, they let her nap while they hung out near a nearby lake.

After some time had passed, Danielle asked Arya a question. "Where's Firnen?" asking about the forest green dragon that had hatched for her elf friend at the end of the war she had fought in to overthrow an evil king a while ago.

Arya sighed, "he is not far but he is distraught. He is taking Saphira's leaving harder than I thought he would. He will be fine but I believe he needs some time to adjust."

Danielle nodded and watched Tigra attempt at catching some fish in the lake. "What about Eragon?"

Arya scowled at the thought of that particular person. "I honestly don't care about him right now. He simply left, knowing that we could be together, to train the next generation of Dragon Riders. I do not want to think about him right now."

Danielle nodded and wisely didn't say anything. Arya was mild mannered about a lot of things but talking about the guy she liked for a while, only to leave her when she was willing to give him a chance, was a sore subject.

Emily stretched near she was by the water's edge. "Well, who needs him? If he would just wait around a little, he would have known that you didn't want to be queen of the elves and you could have gone with him, right?"

Arya nodded, "yes, I do not need him!"

"Good for you," said Tigra, extracting her claws and about to get a big fish. "Guys are over rated anyway. Who cares?"

Fiona gave an unlady like snort, "you only say that because you have not found the right person yet."

Tigra shrugged and leaned forward, totally focused on her goal. That goal proved to be fruitless however when a simple whack to her head from a certain dragon's tail knocked her over the edge and she fell into the water. Coughing and spluttering, she looked annoyed.

"Do you realize how long it will take to dry my fur?" she shrieked. "Emily, tell that lizard of yours to knock it off!"

Emily barely glanced at Lucy's direction, "Lucy, don't do it again."

Lucy grunted in response, "she was too close to the water. She would have fallen in anyway."

That was all it took for everyone to laugh as Tigra stalked out of the water, shaking the water out of her fur.

"There, now we're even," after she had gotten everyone wet.

Before they could retort however, a sudden glow got their attention behind them. The glow was revealed to show that it was a woman standing before them. She had jet black hair that fell down her waist and decorated with gold and silver bands. She was wearing a gossamer silk blue dress that fell to her feet and almost seemed to float as she approached them.

"Queen Naias," they all said, bowing to the ruler of the island.

Queen Naias, also known as the 'Lady of the Lake' smiled at seeing them. "Rise, I have much to tell you." When they were all giving her their undivided attention, she began. "As you know, I have been watching the human world for thousands of years. What I foresaw, with the help of Mydrrin Emrys and his wife Morgan Le Fey, is a great threat to man kind.

"While I would normally pass this off as a strictly human matter and leave it be, I saw that the one behind this calls himself Lord Voldemort."

Danielle gritted her teeth, she knew that name!

The Queen continued, "Voldemort, also known by his real name as Tom Riddle, must be stopped. He is not content with the human world, but will seek to take over this, the mythical island of Avalon as well."

"We will not allow him to take this island, milady," said Danielle with certainty.

Queen Naias nodded, smiling, "yes. Riddle has come up with a plan that involves the Tri-Wizard tournament at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Because of that, I recommend that you should participate and uncover his schemes."

Fiona blinked, "but that would require-"

"Us to become students," Arya finished.

Queen Naias nodded, "I know that it would be hard to go, especially you Danielle, but this would be the best way. I have already talked to the headmasters of the three schools and they are agreeable to be having a fourth school participate in the Tri-Wizard tournament. You do not need to win this tournament, just find Riddle and disrupt his plans."

Tigra smirked, "would we get to set our own classes? What about living quarters?"

"As your own school, you would set your own schedule and may attend any of the classes being offered whenever you wish. As for living quarters, the other two schools have their own structures and I am afraid you are on your own. May I recommend that you use the forest on the grounds though?"

Arya nodded, already liking this plan.

"Good, I am sorry about pushing this on you but it is of great importance. Lucy, I am afraid that as a dragon, you would not be accepted well, you as well Tigra, I recommend practicing your human forms."

Tigra's ears drooped, "ahh, I hate my human form."

Lucy looked annoyed too, "me too. Forcing all of my being into a human body is just plain irritating."

Queen Naias looked at them, "I will leave you to your own devices then. I suggest that you take a full dozen of our best and brightest, including yourselves. Danielle, you have the most experience with the magical world in Britain so I will trust your judgment in this matter. I do not care how but Riddle must be stopped. You leave in one week."

They all bowed again, "of course your majesty."

Satisfied, she left.

When she was gone, Tigra fist pumped, "yeah, a mission. About time."

Danielle nodded, she was excited too but she hoped that she could handle seeing her parents again.

* * *

Professor McGonagall was in the D's, yet Lily was hoping against hope that she was there. Sure, she saw no mane of red hair, but she still hoped.

"Ethan, Lucas."

Okay, so the E's weren't going so well but she still hoped that she could hug her little girl again. To tell her that she was sorry.

"McJohnson, William."

Please let her be here, please.

"Parzing, Ulysses."

"Pegran, Mathew."

"Puente, Sandra."

Lily could feel her excitement ebb out of her and simply leaned back into her chair. Her baby girl wasn't here again. But she couldn't give up. Maybe next year.

* * *

"David, do you think your mum will ever get over this?" asked Hermione as she watched the sorting. She had been friends with David and Ron for a few years now, ever since they had saved her from that troll in first year, but she did wish that she had some friends that didn't try to use her for her brains.

David shrugged, "I don't know, I hope so though. I just want her to stop crying over my sister." The fact that he had a sister at all had been all over the papers and wireless. After she had run away, the Potters had gone from one of the most successful and popular families, to one of the most hated. Even the Weasleys had more political sway in the Wizengamot than they did, and that was near zero. The shame of driving away their mysterious daughter had deprived them of most of their allies in fear of the media circus focusing on them as well.

David frowned. He personally didn't want anything to do with his sister. She wasn't necessary to him, he just wanted people to focus on something other than him or her.

Ron, who had been moaning for food for the last half hour, had been seriously considering sucking on a spoon to do something. He had heard about the conversation though, "don't worry mate. Your mum will get over it eventually."

David nodded but inside he doubted it. Lily had been wasting away over the last six years. She had sort of crumpled inside of herself and refused to come out. His father James had been demoted in the Auror field and it had taken years to get back to his old rank. He was still on thin ice though. His father had taken the blow hard as well but did show remorse and wanted to fix things, the problem was that he didn't know how to do that.

His thoughts were broken when the sorting ended and Dumbledore stood up for his usual start of term feast.

"Welcome, welcome to Hogwarts, both old and new students. I think it would be better to start the announcements now before you become befuddled by our excellent feast. To all first years, please note that the forbidden forest is forbidden to all students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all those below third year. I would like to remind you that magic is not allowed in the corridors between classes. For the full list of banned items, anyone may find it on Mr. Filch's office door.

"Lastly, I regret to inform you that the interhouse Quidditch tournament will not be held this year."

Dumbledore had to wait for the outraged yelling to die down for him to continue.

"This is because that there is another special event that will be hosted at Hogwarts this year. I am pleased to announce, that this year, we will be hosting the Tri-Wizard Tournament."

"You're joking!" yelled out Fred and George Weasley at the same time.

Dumbledore chuckled lightly, "I assure you Mr. and Mr. Weasley, that I am not joking. Although now that you mention it, I did hear a good one over the summer about a hag, a troll, and a leprechan, who all walked into a bar-"

He was cut off by a stern look from Professor McGonagall.

"Ah, but perhaps this is not the time…yes. Where was I? Ah yes. While we are hosting something similar to the Tri-Wizard Tournament, the ones that have set it up, have decided to add a spin to it. While a normal Tri-Wizard has three schools competing for honor and glory, I would like to announce that a fourth school has been allowed to come to Hogwarts. This new Quad-Wizard Tournament will have four champions, one from each school, and four tasks instead of three.

"These four schools are Beauxbatons, Durmstrang, and the Avalon Academy of First Magic. They will be arriving in one week, September 8, and will be staying here for the rest of the school year. The Champions will be chosen on Halloween.

"Now, while I am sure that you will all love to bring honor and glory to Hogwarts, I must tell you that these tasks are dangerous. While the Ministries have worked to make sure that they are as safe as possible, it is the consensus that only older students will be able to handle them. Therefore, we are issuing an age limit of those seventeen and older will be able to compete."

There was a matter of yelling at the idea of setting the bar at seventeen before Dumbledore managed to calm everyone down. "This is to make sure that no one will be injured. This tournament has claimed lives in the past, and we are trying to make sure that that does not happen this time.

"Now, I believe that is everything of importance. Let the feast begin!"

As the food appeared on the golden plates on the tables, everyone immideately started talking about the tournament, and who would be able to compete. Ron had started as soon as the food first appeared and was unable to say anything until he had eaten enough food for a small army.

"Ah, that's better," he said as he rubbed his stomach.

Hermione shook her head as she calmly cut up her potatoes. "You could use some manners, Ronald."

Ron looked at her, "what? I'm hungry."

David rolled his eyes at them. They argued like this all the time so he usually just ignored it. He then remembered something. "Hey, Hermione, I've heard of the first two schools that Dumbledore spoke of, but I haven't heard of the third one."

Hermione nodded, "yes, I was pondering that too. The only thing that I can think is that since Avalon is the name of the sacred island that Merlin himself created, the students there must be powerful."

Ron snorted into his potatoes, "right. And where is this school?"

Hermione shrugged, "don't know. Legend says that Merlin hid the island far away so that only those he wished to could find it. Rumor has it that he himself went there along with King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake and will only come back to Britain if there is a grave danger coming."

Ron and David looked at each other.

"Well," said David. "Do we even know if these students are even coming from this island? It could just be the name of the school, you know."

Hermione nodded, "true, but I don't know anything about it. I could check the library, but I don't know if they would have anything."

David and Ron just nodded. If anyone could find anything about this school, it would be Hermione.

* * *

Danielle was too busy packing to see that she had a visitor right away. She loved doing things the magical way as all she had to do was just wave her hand and everything that she wanted to bring with her shrunk themselves and folded neatly into her bag. Even after all this time, she loved seeing magic, and now that she had the strength and speed of an elf…it was even better.

A cough got her attention and Danielle quickly summoned her staff and pointed it at the intruder's neck, only to realize that it was her mentor for the last six years.

"Oh, Mydrin Emmrys, my apologies for my rash behavior."

Mydrin Emmrys, also known as Merlin, just chuckled. "My dear, you have nothing to apologize for. It was I that came in here unannounced."

Danielle smiled, she loved apprenticing under Merlin. Morgan Le Fey was nice to her too but she was tutoring Emily all of the time so it was hard to meet with her.

Merlin continued, "my dear, I am sorry that you are going to Hogwarts but to stop the threat of Voldemort, it is necessary."

Danielle nodded unhappily, "I would like to avoid my parents and David. Would it be better to use a glamour charm to hide my features?"

"Yes, at least at first. It is no secret that you will probably be entered in this tournament and represent the best that Avalon has to offer." At Danielle's motion to protest, Merlin continued. "I have never taught anyone as clever as you. You are as good with magic as I was when I was your age, your sword work is excellent for a human, and you have the potential to do great things. It saddens me that I must tell you what I want to tell you now."

"Master?"

Merlin sighed. "When you came to us those six years ago, I did a sweep of your magic and your potential abilities. You have the power to rival myself, even at that young age, but I also found some terrible things."

He sat down in one of the chairs in her room and she sat down too, feeling that she would need it.

"When you came here, I scanned your magic and found that there was something blocking a good portion of it. I did some checking and found that it is what is known as a Horcrux."

Danielle tilted her head to the side, "I'm afraid I have never heard of that term."

Merlin nodded, "understandable as a Horcrux is the darkest of dark magic. A horcrux is the name of something that a wizard has placed a bit of their soul into to prevent them from dying. Even if the wizard's body fails, if the horcrux still exists, then the person cannot die. The horrible part is that in order to create one, a dark witch or wizard must perform a murder based ritual, usually the death of an innocent."

Danielle felt herself getting sick. "And I was a horcrux? How?"

"I found it inside of you and cleansed you in a spring here on Avalon to remove the horcrux. I believe that the dark lord Voldemort had accidently transferred a part of his soul into you on the night he tried to kill you. In doing so, I unlocked a lot of magic that it was draining from you."

Danielle smiled, "thank you for that master."

Merlin nodded, "yes, I also found another thing you should be aware of as well. Danielle, I found that your magic is extremely powerful. As of right now, you are more powerful than myself or Morgan Le Fey. Once you hit your majority, you would be more powerful than the both of us put together."

"Master, that's not true."

"Yes, it is."

They talked for several more hours. Merlin did his best to tell her everything she needed to know and her absorbing the information as usual. It was late at night when he told her to get to bed so she would make it to Hogwarts the next morning.

* * *

The next day, Merlin found the various students he had trained personally ready and willing to get to Scotland. Emily and Lucy in her human form were checking their things while complaining about being a human. Lucy had ruby red hair, the same shade as her scales, and looked almost like Emily's sister. Danielle was sitting on a fallen tree in the woods they were in, bag over her shoulder and waiting for Merlin to create the portal. Arya was simply standing in place, showing off her patience. Fiona was fluttering around the trees in her fairy form, three inches tall and flying with her little fairy wings. Tigra was sharpening her claws on a tree, having decided to forgo transforming into her human form to scare everyone at the castle. The only guys coming were Richard and Obelix, boyfriends to Emily and Lucy. Richard had a Robin Hood thing going for him as he did steal, but only from those who actually deserved it. Obelix was in his own human form, normally being an emerald green dragon, and looked like a burly guy with hair the same color as his scales had been.

"Well," said Merlin. "Are you eight ready?" Getting nods from all around him, he pulled out his staff. "You might want to stand back."

Banging his staff into the ground, a pulse of magic came out of the earth itself and hovered a few feet above the air, forming a giant disk of magic. The disk lightened and became a portal to the Hogwarts grounds.

"Well, that should do it. Remember, enter the tournament, find Riddle, finish him and get back here. Got it?"

Getting nods again, he put away his staff. "Right then, I'm not allowed to go myself yet so I am putting one of you in charge. Danielle, you know the most about wizard magic, you're in charge."

Danielle sighed and stood up, "very well, if I must." She moved her hand over her face and her features changed. Her face became more angular, her hair turned from a deep red to an inky black, and her skin became more tan. "There, that should keep anyone from recognizing me. Let's go people!"

There was a great cheer and one by one, they went through the portal. Merlin waved them off one last time and they were off.

The portal, it turned out, had set them right in the middle of the Hogwarts grounds. It was late afternoon and the student body of the castle was making their way down to greet their guests.

"Oh," said Tigra. "We should prank them!"

Danielle looked at the others and no one seemed to disagree. "Okay then. I'll turn us invisible and make them wait for us. When the time is right, Arya and Fiona will sing to the trees to make our home here. Okay?"

She got nods, especially from Arya and Fiona. They loved plants and were the best when it came to singing to the trees. The plan was to shape the outer most trees into their camp site. If done right in front of everyone at Hogwarts, she was sure it could cause quite a show.

* * *

Hermione had made sure to remind her friends over and over again that they were meeting the foreign schools that day, but somehow they never seemed to get it through their thick skulls. They kept saying, 'we have plenty of time,' before running off to play chess or plan more Quidditch plays. Honestly, it was like she was combination of big sister and mother to those two.

She honestly wished that she could find someone to have a stimulating conversation with but everyone either couldn't handle her intelligence or were scared off by David. It wasn't like it was new to her, it was the same back at her old school as well, but she did hope that these new students would be able to help her in this regard; especially the Avalon students.

She had tried to study all she could about this mysterious school but hadn't found anything, just some background information about Avalon itself that she already knew. It was like the school didn't exist.

Following David and Ron out of the doors to the grounds and got in line with everyone else. The students were arranged by house and year so she was standing with the other Gryffindor fourth years with Lavender and Parvati.

Professor McGonagall was examining them all. "Mr. Finnegan, straighten your hat. Ms. Patil, take that ridiculous thing out of your hair."

Parvati frowned as she removed a large ornamental butterfly out of her hair.

Professor McGonagall then looked at the two that needed the most improvement. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, need I remind you that we are trying to impress these other schools!"

David had somehow managed to have his shirt untucked, his robes fastened wrong, and even his shoelaces were untied. Not to mention that the whole ensamble was just plain filthy. Ron looked even worse but was accompanied by various food stains on his clothes. Hermione was just glad that none of their habits had rubbed off on her.

Figuring that this was the best that she would get from those two, Professor McGonagall marched them to the proper place onto the grounds to stand near the other houses and their heads of houses.

The four blocks of students were arranged in a semi-circle on the grounds near the lake, with the other staff members in between the students.

They waited in some tense silence before muttered conversations broke out between the various students.

"How do you think they'll get here? The train?" asked Ron.

"I don't think so, not from that far away," said Hermione.

"Maybe they can apperate," said David. "Maybe it's possible that they can do it from where ever they come from."

"You can't apperate inside the Hogwarts grounds, haven't I told you enough times?" said Hermione.

"Ah, Hermione," said David. "Who is to say they can't apperate to Hogsmeade or right outside the gates and then walk here?"

Hermione didn't have an answer to that and fell silent. After about ten minutes of waiting, a student shouted, "what is that? In the sky!"

Everyone looked up and saw something huge in the distance.

"That's too large to be a broom," said David.

"It's a dragon!" shouted a first year, losing her head completely.

"Don't be stupid," said Dennis Creevy, another first year. "It's a flying house."

Dennis's guess was closer. As the object came closer, Hermione saw that it was a huge carriage, roughly the size of a three-story manor that was flying toward them. It was being pulled by about two dozen winged horses, each the size of an elephant, and was getting closer all the time.

"They're going to crash!" said the same excited first year. Hermione rolled her eyes, they wouldn't crash, she was sure of that.

The carriage hit the ground with a huge crash, bouncing on its golden wheels until they came to a full complete stop. The horses settled down, each stomping their hooves that were the size of dinner plates.

The door, ordained with the Beauxbatons crest of two crossed wands with three stars coming from each, opened to reveal a boy in his late teens coming out of the carriage. He fiddled with something beneath the door, and a set of steps unfolded. Hermione then saw why the size of the house and the horses were so important. Out stepped an enormous woman that was draped in elegant robes of silk, a gleaming necklace of opals around her neck.

It could be the fact that she had seen Hagrid so often, but this woman looked especially large. She doubted that there was an even an inch difference in their heights.

Noticing the foreign students for the first time, she saw that they're about a dozen boys and girls in their late teens. They all wore the same color of powder blue, the girls in skirts and blouses and the boys in tailored pants and dress shirts. They weren't wearing cloaks but a few had wrapped scarves or mufflers around their heads.

'Honestly, it wasn't that cold,' thought Hermione. Sure, the south of France was much warmer than Northern Scotland, but they should have been told how cold it could have been here.

The giant woman strode forward, her students following in her large shadow.

"Dumbly-dore," she spoke in a deep, throaty voice. "I hope I find you well."

Dumbledore bowed and kissed the back of her hand. "In excellent form Madame Maxime, welcome to Hogwarts." While Dumbledore was tall in his own right, the tip of his hat could barely tickle her chin.

"Has Igor arrived yet?" Madame Maxime asked.

"No, you are the first to arrive. Would you like to wait out here, or would you like to go inside and warm up a trifle?"

Since it wasn't that cold in early September, Madame Maxime came up with her answer quickly. "We shall wait for the others. Could you find someone to tend to the 'orses? They are very strong."

"I shall have our Care of Magical Creatures teacher handle them."

Madame Maxime seemed to doubt that any mere teacher could handle the horses. "If you are sure?"

Dumbledore smiled, "I assure you that Hagrid would be more than up to the task."

"Very well, could you tell this 'agrid that the 'orses only drink single malt whiskey?"

"It shall be attended to."

Madame Maxime seemed to accept the answer and guided her students to an empty spot.

Dumbledore nodded and the Beauxbaton students joined the semi-circle, making sure to stay far enough away from the Hogwarts students.

"David, I think I'm in love," said Ron as he was looking at one of the French girls. The girl in question had a scarf around her neck and from what Hermione could make out, had silvery blonde hair.

"Honestly Ronald, you couldn't have fallen in love that quickly," hissed Hermione.

"I don't know," said David. "That girl does seem more than human."

Hermione shook her head and they settled for waiting again. They didn't have to wait long as the Weasley twin's friend Lee Jordan suddenly shouted, "the lake! Look at the lake!"

Looking at the glassy smooth surface of the lake, Hermione saw it was no longer smooth. What seemed to be a giant whirlpool had appeared on the surface, as if a giant plug had been pulled from the bottom of the lake.

Than a large wooden pole emerged from the center, then rose higher and higher so it towered over even the Beauxbaton's carriage.

"It's a mast!" David said in wonder.

Sure enough, the rigging could be seen rising as well. Then the bow appeared, then finally what looked like a huge skeletal ship that had been pulled from the bottom of the ocean rose out of the lake. The whole ship seemed to give an almost spooky green glow and the portholes shone like creepy eyes.

When the ship was floating on the surface, it moved closer to the edge of the lake before a gangplank was lowered and hit the ground. No one spoke as about a dozen boys and girls that seemed to built along the lines of Crabbe and Goyle walked down to the ground. Then Hermione realized that they were wearing some sort of matted fur robes.

What seemed to be the headmaster walked down as well after his students. His black hair was streamed with gray and his robes were made of a more slivery fur of a finer material than the students. He also had a goatee, which did not fully hide his rather weak chin. When he smiled at Dumbledore with his yellowish teeth, it did not fully reach his eyes.

"Ah, Albus," said the Durmstrang headmaster in a fruity, unctuous tone. "My dear fellow, how are you?"

"Blooming, thank you Igor," said Dumbledore. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I believe that you know Madame Maxime here?"

The two foreign heads of schools greeted each other.

"Albus," said Karkaroff. "Would you mind terribly if my star pupil could go inside? Viktor has a bit of a small head cold."

One of the Durmstrang boys seemed to roll his eyes, "I vill be fine, headmaster. I vather wait for the third school."

Ron seemed to gape at the boy even more than he had at the Beauxbaton's girl. "David…its Krum." David nodded but Ron wasn't done. "Krum David! Viktor Krum!"

Hermione rolled her eyes again at the sight of various girls starting to fight over who would get his autograph first. A group even started to fight over a tube of lipstick and asking if Krum would sign with that.

"Now then, Albus," said Karkaroff. "Is the third school yet to appear?"

Dumbledore nodded, "yes, it seems that we shall have to wait for a while longer."

Karkaroff nodded, "we shall have to wait for them old friend. We shall wait over there." He moved his students to join the semi-circle on the opposite side of the French students.

The students from all three schools started to wonder how the Avalon school was going to show up.

"We got air and water," said Neville, who was nearby, referring to the carriage and the ship. "What are the odds that Avalon will show up by fire?"

David laughed, "I can see that. Appearing like Fawkes does."

Hermione had never seen Dumbledore's familiar teleport via flames but had admit, that would be impressive.

As they waited, a sudden breeze blew over them. Hermione shivered, she wished they would hurry up.

About ten minutes after the Durmstrang ship arrived, Hermione heard something.

"Is that…singing?"

Sure enough, there was singing in the air, in some language that she couldn't make out. It seemed to be similar to Latin, but it was something completely different, she could tell. It was like the language didn't just define magic, what was being sung felt like it _was_ magic.

Looking around, she could see that even the heads of the three schools looked confused about the singing as well. That was when she realized that there was more than one singer, there was a second that was as melodious as the first. The only thing she could tell was that both were female.

"Look at zat!" said a Beauxbatons student. He was pointing at the tree line of the forbidden forest, about a hundred yards away from where the carriage was parked.

As the singing grew louder, the branches of the trees started to shake, moving. Hermione watched in amazement as the trees started to shift and bend, as if they were dancing to the music. She then realized that the trees were making something.

Out of the branches themselves, walls grew, leaves became roofs, doors formed. When the singing finally faded, there were eight perfectly made tree houses that looked like they were made from the trees themselves. Each tree house was the size of standard two-story house but they seemed sturdy enough. If Hermione hadn't known better, she would say that they had always been there.

Then the doors opened and rope ladders fell to the grass and eight teenage students slid down quickly.

Instead of having a dress code, it seemed that the six girls and two boys could dress however they wanted. Everything from t-shirts and jeans to a girl wearing an old fashioned tunic and leggings. Heck, one girl was wearing a shimmering green dress that trailed along the ground.

A raven haired girl that looked in her late teens with sharp features seemed to be the leader and led the others toward the three other schools. She then approached the three other heads.

"Dumbledore, Karkaroff, and Maxime, it is a pleasure to meet you in person. Please, call me Alpha," she said as she offered her hand to three heads. The girl seemed to have a trace of a British accent, but it had been muted so it was almost non-existent.

Dumbledore shook her hand, "it is a pleasure to meet someone from the fabled island of Avalon. If I may dare say so however, I expected you to be older."

The girl, Alpha, smiled and chuckled, "I am not the headmaster, headmaster. Our head could not be here due to certain situations that had arised at the last moment. He has asked me to take over in his stead as he has appointed me the temporarily leader."

Hermione was stunned. The girl looked about sixteen to eighteen, and she had apparently been given a position of power like that? And who was this mysterious headmaster?

Karkaroff and Maxime looked flustered at not actually meeting the headmaster but Dumbledore managed to reign his surprise. "It is a shame to hear that. Will you be the leader for long?"

Alpha smiled again, "for now. I'm afraid that our headmaster has more important things to address on a daily basis than some small tournament such as this. Now then, I believe that my fellow students would like to go inside for some warmth and food."

Dumbledore nodded, "of course. The welcome feast will start momentarily. Please, follow us."

Hermione managed to get a better look at the students from Avalon as they passed and no two were the same, that was for sure. While a couple of them looked like standard humans, one boy had emerald green hair! And she was stunned to see that a girl was a cream furred cat girl!

Ron looked at the cat girl, "Merlin, wonder how that happened? Hermione, are there natural cat girls?"

Hermione shook her head, "of course not Ronald. I'm sure she had some accident or something."

The cat girl seemed to have heard her however, and turned to face her, scowling under her fur. Giving a short hiss in her direction before she continued to the castle.

"Or maybe not," Hermione muttered.

**I love the Ancient Language, so many possibilities. And I'm still anguishing the fact that Arya and Eragon don't wind up with each other at the end of the series. I love their characters, they should be together. Stupid destiny forcing Eragon to leave Alegasia forever. I see Arya as sad that he left but not wanting to pine after him forever, actually moving on if Eragon doesn't wise up and go out with her when he had the chance. Naturally, I see Eragon not liking that and fighting anyone for her honor, even if Arya is more than capable of protecting herself.**


	7. Complete Insanity

**This has nothing to do with anything, it's just for fun and a few things I've been thinking of. This isn't a plot, or a story, just me having fun. Which is what this site is all about, need I remind you.**

The stage is set, the dark curtains are pulled back, and a single spotlight shone on the two people on the stage, both sitting in armchairs by a fake fireplace set.

"Good evening," said The Golden Dragon Lord (aka Gold), to the cameras in front of him. "My sister Silver and I thank you for joining us this evening. We are here tonight to talk about a very serious crime, right Silver?"

Silver nodded. "Indeed. Everyone knows what this is, but very few manage to even try to stop it. Of course, we are talking about bad fan fiction on this site. Gold, what do you describe as a bad fan fiction?"

"Well, I would say that a bad story, or fic if you so desire, can have a multitude of different things. But a truly bad fan fiction has a combination of several." He sighed. "Let's start off with something we all know, a fic with no plot."

"Now that is truly horrible," said Silver, nodding somberly. "Why would anyone do that?"

"I wish I knew, but many fan fiction writers see no problem with simply writing down a simple one chapter fic that is essentially an endless ramble. This includes a fic that simply a paring the author likes and wants to write them being together, never mind the need for a plot or if it is even believable in the fandom it is in. Like…Draco/Hermione fics."

Silver shuddered. "I believe you mean those one chapter fics that simply has them together, despite the fact that they hate each other in cannon, and them being together with no build up and no purpose to them getting together?"

"Exactly. Many will of these will have two characters, even a beloved pairing like Percy/Annabeth or Remus/Tonks, with just them cuddling in bed or one lamenting the fact that one died while the other didn't. It truly is disturbing how so many authors do this. Yes, it is amusing to simply write down what a person's favorite couple will do while alone, but I think people are intelligent enough to actually want a well paced story that builds up to it in a believable way with sound character development."

"And one-shots?"

"Amusing at times, but shouldn't be taken seriously. There is no way a person can get much plot and character development in just a few thousand words and one chapter. And yet, there are still authors out there that expect these one-shots to be taken seriously."

"Truly tragic," said Silver, shaking her head. "What else makes a bad fan fiction? Maybe, characters that don't act the way they do in cannon?"

"There is that, yes," said Gold, nodding sagely. "This is why character development is important. If an author wants a character to act a certain way, one has to flush out their personalities and then alter various situations so the character grows as the story continues. Fan fiction gives authors characters already from the fandom they come from, so their personalities are already established. That just leaves an author to alter things in the plot that gives a person a reason they act the way they do.

"Take Harry Potter for instance. Due to his upbringing with the Dursleys, it would be easy to rewrite his entire personality where he's a bully that likes torturing others to make himself feel better, what with growing up in a cupboard under the stairs and everything. Other things like paring him up with Draco," he paused and shuddered in disgust, "is highly unlikely as J.K. Rowling points out that he is not inclined that way, and neither is Draco, as they marry Ginny Weasley and Astoria Greengrass respectively. To make them be together, the author would have to come up with some sort of reason why they suddenly turn from straight to homosexual, which is again, unlikely."

"The biggest contributor to this is probably those people that like Roxas and Axel from Kingdom Hearts to be together," said Silver, making a face.

"Ah yes, AkuRoku or something like that. Now that actually is impossible as when they were friends, mind you, _friends,_ they are Nobodies. Meaning they have no hearts. They have no emotions like love. They are physically incapable of falling for each other, even when people think they belong together. Never mind that Roxas eventually falls for Namine, a girl, while Axel is still looking when he comes back as a human, but fan girls seem to like this paring when it, again, makes no sense."

"You said that character development is important to any good story. I take it that Twilight is out."

"Oh yes. It is certainly out. I know you only read the first book," Silver made another face, "while I actually read all four, but Edward and Bella have terrible developments throughout the story. Bella and Edward are almost exactly the same in the end as they are int he beginning. Well, no, that's not _entirely_ true as Edward is worse.

"Edward goes from being a creepy stalker who watches Bella as she sleeps to get himself used to her scent so he doesn't kill her, to making large decisions for her despite her protests, and then making assumptions on what she wants even when she tells him different. He makes no attempt to turn her into a sparkly vampire, even when she's begging for it, but he actually sucks the venom out of her arm when James bites her in the first book, preventing her from turning when she does want it eventually. Edward breaks up with her and then removes his family from Forks Washington, despite what the other Cullens want, and then removes any trace he had been in her life at all. He wants her to 'have a happy human life' even when she's telling him she doesn't want that at all.

"At the end of the first book, when Bella is in the hospital from James's attack, Edward sees her and actually tells her that he'll stay _only_ as long as it is in their best interests. Even then, Edward reveals that he does plan on dumping Bella when she ceases to be amusing for him, but she is so blinded by love for him that she wants to stay with him despite that. And of course, he hit all of her buttons on the way out in New Moon, using the incident on her birthday and that paper cut as an excuse to leave. He tells her that he's a vampire, he'll bounce back quickly and that she was simply a distraction to him, implying that he never did love her and her fascination with him was completely one sided.

"Bella had put everything she had into that relationship, and he ripped out her heart and stomped on it as she collapsed on the ground, making Sam the wolf bring her back to her house. After that, she's comatose for months and only starts to move around for her father, who doesn't really help himself, just persuades her to go out with friends. She had no friends to talk to without editing everything to pieces, and the only other person she can talk to is Jacob, who is biased against Vampires anyway.

"And yet, even after all of the torture he puts her through, she still hops on a plane with Alice to save him in Voltera Italy. The Cullens come back, true, but by that point, Edward is even worse. He insists in not turning Bella into a vampire, again, despite what she wants, and starts making her plan for college while preventing her from talking to any of the wolves. He actually made her want to disobey him just to get time away from him. Now that is an abusive relationship.

"Even at the end of the series, Edward takes away another choice of Bella's by not only trying to get her to abort her daughter, but also turns her into a vampire just to save her life, not because she wanted it. And out of all of this, Bella just takes everything, making her the worse main female character I have ever seen as she is so submissive. Brave when she needs to be, but when it comes to Edward, it takes her something drastic to even think he might be wrong about something. Despite being over one hundred years old, he is still a child, and it shows."

"Wow," said Silver, staring at him. "But you have to admit, Jacob did grow with the story, even if the others didn't. He goes from a goofy kid, to a wolf who hates vampires, to eventually imprinting on a new born girl. Though that is disturbing and wrong right there, he isn't the same at the end as he is in the start of the series."

"True. Now, let's continue, shall we? Another thing that makes a bad story is bad grammar. While a relatively harmless thing, the best of stories will fall flat if the author doesn't even split their paragraphs accordingly. A good plot and good characters are useless if one cannot follow the story because the screen shows a huge block of text from start to finish."

"Yes, I've had to deal that a few times," said Silver.

Gold nodded to her. "Proper punctuation, few spelling errors, and more is just proper English. Or any other language. Is it realistic for every typo to be fixed? Of course not. I've even seen errors in proper books like in a couple of the Percy Jackson books and Harry Potter. But the story still has to flow so that it makes sense and that is impossible when a person refuses to put up quotation marks to show when a person is talking."

"The point of all of this is that a good story needs at least a good plot, decent character development, being able to be read by the target audience, and a fan fiction story requires an author to at least try to stick with the character's personality," Silver summed up.

Gold nodded. "Now, I would like to introduce my guest that I've been wanting to meet for about a year now. She's my flagship character and the one I go to when I have an idea, please welcome Danielle!"

Canned applause came from the speakers of the stage as Danielle, dressed in her Hunt uniform from Hunters of Artemis and looking thirteen, came onto the stage and took a seat next to Gold and Silver.

"Wonderful to finally meet you," said Gold, shaking her hand. Danielle returned it and did the same to Silver.

"I have to admit, I didn't think I would get to meet you like this," Danielle smirked, relaxing into her chair.

"Danielle," said Silver, leaning forward. "My brother Gold has put you into several plot lines already. You've been everything from a Hunter of Artemis, to Britain's Bad Girl, a superhero with Superman and Supergirl, a rouge vigilante, a powerful magical trained by Merlin on the island of Avalon, and Gold has plans to make you a Keyblade wielder, a Pokemon trainer, and even a high elf from Middle Earth. Tell me, what is like to play so many different roles?"

Danielle laughed a little. "It's a little overwhelming, actually. Every story I have to have a slightly different personality and my relationship with my parents are different as well. In some I hate them and I want them to burn, in others I'm willing to forgive them and actually do so. But I've been forced to be an actress because of him," she pointed at Gold, "so I guess I'm okay with it."

"What is the biggest threat to you personally, you think?" Silver asked.

"To be honest, I think it was when I was playing Dyna-Girl in the DC crossover," said Danielle. "With Kryptonian powers and magic, it's a little hard to not become a Mary Sue and that is my greatest fear. I don't want to be perfect, I want to have flaws, but it really is too easy for me to become that. The same with any main character, really."

"Are you looking forward to any future projects my brother is coming up with?"

Danielle smiled again. "Well, a sequel to Hunters of Artemis will probably be in order. If Riordan is going to do what we think he might and make a Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles crossover, then the Hunters might get involved in that as well. Personally, I hope I wouldn't be forced to pick sides between them but I have to follow my goddess and Thalia to the end."

"What do you think of the rumors that you should wind up with Thalia?"

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Okay, first, everyone has made that claim at least at some point. I've been told many times when I was on the set for Hunters of Artemis that some crazy fan thinks that I should be with a girl because of the oath I made means I have to give up the company of men. Thalia and both agreed when we were on set that we're just friends. Really good friends. But still, just friends. And no, I am not going to fall for Apollo, Hades, Nico, Reyna or any of the other people that have been suggested for me. At least, not in that story," she gave a look at Gold, who smirked.

"What can I say, I am a guy."

Silver whacked him upside the head. "Sorry about that. But I really am against the whole girl/girl relationship thing. Right?" she glared at her brother.

"Uh, right," said Gold, a little meekly now. "Anyway, what do you think of the script I gave you for the opposite of Britain's Bad Girl?"

Danielle shook her head. "I'm not sure, to be honest. I only read the rough draft of the script and I'm a little concerned about the whole Mary Sue thing. 'Britain's Good Girl' might be a tough sell after everyone sees me as a punk chick in Bad Girl. I mean, in Good Girl, you have me as a literal Angel."

"Yes, you die because of the Dursleys and the big guy upstairs takes pity on you and become an Angel," said Gold, not seeing where she was going with this. "What's so wrong with that?"

"Nothing, just a little weird. I mean, my first job with you and I'm a Hunter of Artemis, who's part of Greek Mythology. Now in Good Girl, you have me talking to God and Jesus a few times before being trained on using angelic powers. Isn't that a little strange? The whole Christian faith doesn't take well to polytheistic religions, like the Greek and Roman gods were at one point."

"True, but again, it's just a rough draft at this point," Gold agreed. "And I would want to finish a story before I actually start it."

"So, Danielle, anything you would like to tell us before we let you go?" asked Silver.

"Not really, I've said everything I wanted to," she said, smiling again. She shook their hands one more time before turning to leave, she stopped though. "By the way, if you try to turn me into a sparkly vampire or a wolf shifter in a Twilight world, I will sue you," she said in a completely serious voice.

"Will do," Gold nodded. "I have no plans for anything Twilight or anything from Stephanie Meyer in the near future."

"Good."

"Well, that's our show," said Gold, standing to take a bow to the audience. "I have no idea how the people who run this site will take this chapter but I think it was fun to write and that is what's important. See you next time!"

Silver meanwhile was flipping through a script Gold had written, her face turned furious. "Gold, this script where you have Danielle as a high elf and help Harry defeat Voldemort has her falling for HERMIONE!"

"Oh…crud," he muttered, taking a step back. "Run away!" And thus, the author was forced to run for his life while his sister chased him into the nearby duck pond.

**You know, that was extremely easy and fun to write. Everyone should try this at some point, I think. Until next time, my peeps!**


	8. Britain's much badder girl

**Okay, this little one-shot is actually kind of dark for my standards. I meant it to be funny and it kind of is in the beginning but overall it became depressing and dark. Still not sure how that happened, to be honest, but that's the life of a writer, isn't it? You write and somehow the end result isn't what you thought it would be, going in a completely different direction then you had thought it would. Well, here is a little plot bunny for you but I'm not sure if any of you would enjoy it.**

**(Story start)**

_**Harry heard the final, quavering note from the bagpipe with relief. The Weird Sisters stopped playing, applause filled the hall once more, and Harry let go of Parvati at once.**_

_"__**Let's sit down, shall we?"**_

_"__**Oh - but - this is a really good one!" Parvati said as the Weird Sisters struck up a new song, which was much faster.**_

_"__**No, I don't like it," Harry lied, and he led her away from the dance floor,**__**past Fred and Angelina, who were dancing so exhuberantly that people around them were backing away in fear of injury, and over to the table where Ron and Padma were sitting.**_

_"__**How's it going?" Harry asked Ron, sitting down and opening a bottle of butterbeer.**_

_**Ron didn't answer. He was glaring at Hermione and Krum, who were dancing nearby.**_

_**Padma was sitting with her arms and legs crossed, one foot jiggling in time to the music. Every now and then she threw a disgruntled look at Ron, who was completely ignoring her.**_

_**Parvati sat down on Harry's other side, crossed her arms and legs too, and within minutes was asked to dance by a boy from Beauxbatons.**_

_"__**You don't mind, do you, Harry?" Parvati said.**_

_"__**What?" said Harry, who was now watching Cho and Cedric.**_

_"__**Oh never mind," snapped Parvati, and she went off with the boy from Beauxbatons. When the song ended, she did not return.**_

_**Hermione came over and sat down in Parvati's empty chair. She was a bit pink in the face from dancing.**_

_"__**Hi," said Harry. Ron didn't say anything.**_

_"__**It's hot, isn't it?" said Hermione, fanning herself with her hand. "Viktor's just gone to get some drinks."**_

_**Ron gave her a withering look. "Viktor?" he said. "Hasn't he asked you to call him Vicky yet?"**_

_**Hermione looked at him in surprise. "What's up with you?" she said.**_

_"__**If you don't know," said Ron scathingly, "I'm not going to tell you."**_

_**Hermione stared at him, then at Harry, who shrugged.**_

_"__**Ron, what -?"**_

Before Ron could answer, however, the doors burst open to reveal a sight that no one could have seen coming. Danielle Potter, not wearing a dress like the other girls but an ordinary t-shirt and jeans came in with a far off look in her eyes. She was swaying as she got closer to the dance floor, not even aware that everyone was looking at her in shock.

"Ohh, it's you guysss," Danielle slurred, taking a deep pull from the bottle in her hand that everyone could make out as firewhiskey. "I was wondering what was going on."

She was obviously drunk, the smell of alcohol strong enough for even Dumbledore to make out. Staggering toward the dance floor, she somehow managed to make it to the headmaster, who was looking concerned and not a little annoyed about what was going on.

The band stopped and all the dancers looked at the sister of the Boy-Who-Lived a little concerned.

"Danielle, my dear girl, I suggest-"

"You suggest!" Danielle yelled, pointed a finger at him. "You bastard! You crazy, crazy…bastard!" She was somehow able to point at him, glaring, while taking another drink from the bottle. "You sent my mother to the cactus factory, didn't you!"

Lily Potter, Muggle Studies teacher, shook her head at the scene her daughter was making. "Danielle, you will stop doing this right now."

"Oh, jump into the lake you…bitch!" Danielle drunkenly staggered toward the woman that looked like an older version of her. "You never loved me…you have a precious boy-who-saved, or Boy-Who-Shaved or something." She looked at all of them, eyes unfocused. "I wonder, did anyone remember I'm a champion too? No, of courssse not. Because I'm worthless to all of you.

"Well, I didn't ask for this bastard," she pointed to Dumbledore, "to not know SQUAT! Voldemonkey, or whatever his fake name was, attacked that night but no one knows what happened, do they?" She looked at Dumbledore with a look of drunken loathing. "You hate me, I get it, but the least you could do is hide it, you…bastard." She gave the bottle another pull.

"Miss Potter, who much have you been drinking tonight?" Dumbledore asked, wondering why Professor McGonagall hadn't escorted the young red head out of the Great Hall yet. The deputy headmistress in question was in shock, as she had never seen a student do anything like this before.

"Ah, worried about my health, Albie? That's a first. I've only had…one, two, four bottles before getting here, not counting this one." Danielle slurred, swaying on the spot again. She suddenly looked happy. "Come on! Where's my friends? I want to party! Oh right, I have no friends, don't I? No friends, no date to this effing thing, no nothing! Not even parents who love me!"

She was getting more indignant and her voice louder as she kept going. It was like a train wreck. Brutal, but unable to look away.

"I bet no one even bothered to remind me I was supposed to open this thing, huh? Damned McGonagall, stupid bint for ignoring me too."

Professor McGonagall now frowned. She was sure she had reminded the girl she had to have a date for the ball. Then again, she might have asked Pomona to do it. She was a little fuzzy on the details.

"Oh, Harry! Good to see you man!" Danielle rushed forward to give her brother a hug but stumbled and hugged Hermione instead, who looked scared that this girl had her in a tight embrace, bottle still in hand.

"Oh, Harry, why don't you like me?" Danielle asked in a loud voice, hugging Hermione even tighter. "I know you've been spreading lies about me for the past…decade but is it too much to ask for you to hug me back?"

Hermione looked terrified and made no effort to hug Danielle back.

The brunette therefore was stunned when she felt tears on her shoulder. "Harry!" Danielle's voice was now hysterical. "Why doesn't anyone love me? Does Dumbledore hate me that much he made my own parents ignore me and hate me?"

Before anyone could do or say anything else, Hermione blinked when she realized that Danielle had fallen asleep on her shoulder, the now empty bottle of firewhiskey falling to the floor where the anti-breaking charm stopped it from smashing into tiny pieces. Apparently, even at her drunkest, Danielle had foreseen that coming.

Professor McGonagall looked at Dumbledore and Lily with a look that promised that they would talk about this later and brought out her wand, levitating the sleeping red haired girl off of Hermione and out of the Great Hall, toward the Hospital Wing.

Dumbledore was seething. The ball being ruined by a drunk girl that had caused a lot of people, including several Ministry officials to look at him with growing mistrust. This would need some damage control, that was for certain.

XXXXXX

The next morning, Danielle woke up but didn't open her eyes. She had a pounding headache and was sure that she would be blinded by sunlight when she opened them. Concentrating on breathing, she tried to remember why she was hung over. Something about the Yule Ball that she was supposed to be opening and nobody asking her? No one telling her that she had to open the thing in the first place? It was all a blur and her mind was still trying to make sense of it all.

"I know you are awake, Miss Potter," said the voice of Madame Pomfrey somewhere to her right. "You can stop the act."

Danielle groaned as she curled up into a ball. "Make the sun turn off and you got a deal," she moaned, trying to control her headache.

Pomfrey didn't turn off the sun but she did roll her eyes and dimmed the lights in the hospital wing, preventing the young teen from going blind. "There, you can open your eyes without worrying."

The auburn haired girl groaned again but did open her eyes, blinking as she looked around the darkened room. "Thanks. What happened last night?" Noticing for the first time she was in the hospital wing, she felt her heart sink. "Oh Merlin, I'm not pregnant am I?"

"No, Miss Potter," Madame Pomfrey now looked highly amused as she smiled at her, "you're not pregnant. You did come in with a very nasty hangover though so I'm going to ask you to drink this." She handed her a vial of orange goop that looked to have the consistency of honey.

"Hangover cure, huh?" Danielle asked rhetorically as she took the potion and downed it in one gulp, grimacing at the foul taste. "I don't know why I expect any potion to taste good anymore. So, what happened?"

"Well, you did cause a commotion as you stumbled into the Yule Ball drunk off your arse and started ranting, raving and hugging Hermione Granger thinking she was Harry."

"Oh Merlin," Danielle shook her head, glad that her headache was dying down to a more manageable level. "She hates me…I think. I'm not sure to be honest. Still, I probably livened things up at the ball so I'm not too sorry about that at least."

She paused for a few moments. "Okay, I remember drowning my sorrows in an empty classroom with a few bottles of Firewhiskey early yesterday evening. Then I think I was going to go to bed around nine or ten before everything is a blur. I don't remember anything after that."

Madame Pomfrey sighed and sat down on a nearby chair. "Where did you get the bottles of booze?"

Danielle chuckled, "secret passageway into Hogsmede yesterday. I have to tell Albaforth thanks for giving me so many bottles as I think I only paid for three but I got four. Sweet old guy."

"Danielle," Pomfrey sighed again. "Allowing a minor to be sold alcohol in unethical and illegal."

"Actually it's not," Danielle shrugged. "Illegal, I mean. Thanks to stupid Purebloods, the minimum age a witch or wizard can drink is fourteen if they are from a magical house. Of course, everyone THINKS it's seventeen but certain people know differently."

"That is neither here nor there," Pomfrey told her sternly. "You have some explaining to do on why you embarrassed your family and Hogwarts as a whole last night."

Danielle shrugged. "Why not? I'm a champion despite the fact that I'm not of age. Nobody is doing anything to find out why I'm in this thing in the first place. It's all Dumbledore's fault as he could have called the whole thing a tie before the first task and redrawn the names, or at least allow me to come up with a replacement champion but now it's too late for that. Of course, that in addition to the fact that he doesn't even know that Moody is a fake-"

"Wait, what?" Pomfrey demanded, staring at her in both shock and horror.

"You didn't know?" Danielle asked, sounding confused, "that's weird. I thought that everyone who knew Moody would know that it's a fake teaching us in defense. He trained me a bit before Hogwarts and Dumbledore's known him longer than I have and the imposter is doing things the real Moody would never do. I mean, really, using the Imperious Curse on students? Moody would never do that, no matter how paranoid he is."

"He's used that curse on students?" Pomfrey nearly screeched, wondering why she had been informed on that lesson.

Danielle yawned, still tired from everything that happened last night. "Either Dumbledore knows and is allowing it to happen or he can't tell the difference between an old friend and an imposter. Not sure which is worse, to be honest. I mean, really, Harry has dear old dad's old map, clearly showing that Moody is in his office while Barty Crouch is lecturing us in the defense classroom during class time." She smiled as she thought of Barty Crouch, his Hitler mustache always made her think of 'De Fuhrer's Face' whenever she saw him. She loved that Donald Duck cartoon.

"Wha…" Pomfrey seemed dazed and confused at what she was learning. "How? How could Dumbledore not know any of this if there is proof like this map? How could Barty Crouch do anything like this if I've seen him and Moody in the same place? What's going on?"

Danielle shrugged, not really caring. "Beats me but Dumbledore doesn't have access to the map. I have no clue about Moody and Crouch being in the same room at the same time as I saw that too right after I was selected as a champion in that anti-chamber off the Great Hall. If I had to guess though, I would say that either Polyjuice potion is behind this or really powerful glamors that even Dumbledore can't see through."

"No, glamors aren't that powerful," Pomfrey said, more to herself than to the auburn haired teen.

After several minutes of allowing the Hogwarts matron to think, Danielle cleared her throat. "Uh, sorry but what time is it? I'm starving."

"Oh, my apologies Danielle," Pomfrey said, looking flustered. "It's about eleven now. Lunch should start being served in about half an hour."

"Figures," said Danielle. "Am I being forced to stay here or can I go?"

Pomfrey sighed and shook her head. "You're free to go as the only thing wrong with you was the hangover, which is gone now. You may go."

"Thanks." Danielle got up and stretched before leaving the Hospital Wing. She liked Madame Pomfrey a lot as she had seen her often during her last year. That was when the bullying really started and she had ended up in the hospital wing at least once or twice a week.

She was trying to be the better person and just ignore it all but she couldn't handle it forever. She was close to snapping and using deadly force if she needed to make it stop.

As she walked through the halls on Christmas Day, she saw that the castle probably held a record number of people staying for the holidays because of the Yule Ball and the tournament. Everyone turned to stare at her as she passed them but she had no idea if that was the fact of who she was or because of her little show the previous night in the Great Hall. Most gave her a look of scorn while some gave her critical looks, like she cared. She had stopped worrying about what these sheep thought years ago.

As the Great Hall wasn't serving lunch yet, she descended the marble staircase into the Entrance Hall and headed out toward the grounds, using a warming charm on herself to dispatch of the cold.

It didn't take long before she was standing next to a beach near the lake, sitting on a nearby rock, lost in thought. Everyone in the castle either hated, disliked, ignored, or were bullies to her in one way or another. She was just the sister to the Boy-Who-Lived after all. What did they care if she was bullied or ridiculed when they had their 'Chosen One?' Her parents, Lily and James Potter, didn't have any time for her and neither did any of the other professors.

The only two exceptions to that rule and the only two people who cared about her in some form or manner were Pomfrey and Moody. Pomfrey was a caring person when she wanted to be and had given her an ear to all of her frustrations in her life. She wouldn't say that Madame Pomfrey was family or anything but she could at least tell her things if she needed to confess something. Moody had been a sort of mentor ever since she was seven, giving her pointers on how to use magic without a wand and how to defend herself.

When she had heard that Moody had become her Defense teacher here at Hogwarts, she had been thrilled that an old friend would be teaching her more in a classroom setting. Sadly, it had taken all but a week to figure out that the man pretending to be Moody wasn't who he said he was. It had taken her a week as the man seemed to be avoiding her so she hadn't been able to get a good look at him.

She was certain he was not Alastor Moody however when she had questioned him after cornering him one day and found that he knew nothing of his personal life he had told her a bit of. Danielle was probably one of the very few people on earth who knew about Alex Moody, Mad-Eye's adult daughter working in the British Navy. The fact that her current defense professor didn't know his own daughter…that was troubling on so many levels.

"Hey skank!"

Mentally grimacing at the annoying voice, Danielle turned and saw several of her usual tormentors. Just daddy's girls that thought it would be fun to pick on the social outcast at school. All bark and no bite, but they could bark so loudly that Fluffy would be envious, and he had three heads.

"Hello Marietta, how nice to see you," Danielle said as sarcastically as possible, jumping onto the ground from the rock she had been sitting on.

Marietta Edgecombe smirked. "Ah, is little baby Pottette sad that her parents don't love her?" she said in a mock baby voice. Her gang of syncopants giggled.

Danielle rolled her eyes. "Wow, good one," she said dully. "Bet you worked with Malfoy on that one Edgecombe. How my suck up brother has a crush on your best friend I have no idea but Chang at least has some class. What's your excuse?"

Marietta glared at her, being backed up by Mandy Brocklehurst, Lilith Moon and Sally Anne-Perks. Millicent Bulstrode was in the background, but she started to look uncomfortable about being a part of this.

"You're just a loser freak like that Lovegood girl," Marietta snarled, trying to back her to the water's edge, and failing when Danielle didn't move. "She's crazy, but she's not some attention seeking whore like you."

"Doesn't one have to not be a virgin to be a whore?" Danielle asked, almost rhetorically. "Nope, still got that. Bet you lost yours in your second year, huh Edgecombe?" She knew she was playing with fire here but in all honesty, she was a much larger flame that could easily beat any of them without trying.

"You little bitch!" Marietta screeched, probably proving what Danielle said was true. Before Danielle could react, the other girl actually slapped Danielle across the face with her palm, heaving through all of her anger.

Danielle had to admit, she had been expecting a magical attack so being struck by an open palm hadn't been something she had been watching out for. It stung, but she had gone through much worse and she actually started to laugh.

"Wow, way to go Edgecombe. You actually can hit like a girl," Danielle gave a deadly smirk that looked almost feral, making the other girls take a step back. "Too bad I need something to take out my anger and frustration out on and you just volunteered."

"Please," Edgecombe rolled her eyes. "What are you going to do about it? You need a few bottles of booze to actually do anything and even then it's just to embarrass yourself."

Danielle's smirk grew wider. "I actually don't remember all of last night but thank you for filling some gaps. By the way, as for slapping me, are you a witch, or not?"

"Wha-?"

That was as far as Marietta got before she got hit by a non-verbal curse and was thrown back several yards before hovering upside down by the ankle, about eight or nine feet off the ground.

"That was fun," Danielle chuckled, enjoying seeing the show as Marietta was struggling to keep her skirt around her knees, not like it did much.

"Don't just stand there!" the Ravenclaw shouted. "Do something! Get her!"

Danielle rolled her eyes again as the other girls in Edgecombe's posse brought out their wands. _'What kind of magic should I use to win? One powerful spell or many embarrassing ones? Oh, decisions, decisions.'_

She silently sidestepped a stunner shot at her from Brocklehurst while ducking under a tickling charm sent by Moon.

"Oh, come on!" Danielle said, raising her hands in the air. "You can do better than that!" A banisher from Perks almost clipped her shoulder and she was forced to bring up a wandless shield to block another stunner.

"Okay, you know what, I'm through playing around!" Danielle growled. She needed to get out of this funk she was in and beating up the very people that bullied her was perfect. Ducking under a blasting curse sent at her from Edgecombe, now on the ground again, she activated her light sword spell and started blocking and parrying the spells either into the ground or back at their casters, forcing them to avoid their own spells.

Holding out her hand, she levitated Perks off the ground and threw her into Brocklehurst, doing her best impression of using the Force. Channeling magic into her legs, she 'Force Jumped' over the spells being shot at her and blasted Moon back, causing her to collapse into a heap as she crashed into Perks and Brocklehurst, who were just starting to stand again.

Blocking another stunner from Edgecombe, she growled as she lifted her hand and clenched it into a fist. Edgecombe's eyes widened as she suddenly was lifted a few inches off the ground, her throat closing, making it almost impossible to breathe.

"Ah, I see you like the Force Choke," Danielle said, deadly calmness coming off of her in waves. She walked closer to Marietta, her smile becoming more and more feral. "For those that don't know, meaning you, you dumb bint, I'm using magic to recreate one of the signiture moves used by Darth Vader from the movie Star Wars. If I wanted to, I could close your windpipe entirely, forcing you to stop breathing. I could kill extremely easily, couldn't I?"

She finally used a banishing charm wandlessly, ending the suffocation of the girl in the snow, who was gasping and wheezing, trying to get her breath back as she found she could breathe again.

Danielle deactivated her light sword. "Come near me again, and I can't promise I won't kill you. Think I won't? Try me. I can use magic without a wand so if I'm expelled and my wand snapped, it means squat. You've given me more than enough reason to kill you as you've tormented me for three and a half years. So again, try my patience. I. Dare. You."

"You…wouldn't dare," Marietta said shakily, trying to scramble away from this girl, now totally terrified. "Your parents are of the light. You can't kill me."

Danielle now threw her head back and laughed, filled with evil intentions and no humor at all. "You think I care what affiliation my parents are? You think I care what they think? No, I don't care at all!"

"What do you want from me?" Marietta asked, knowing who had all the power at the moment.

"Just for you to leave me alone for the rest of our days here at Hogwarts," Danielle smirked. "That goes for all of your little gang. Oh, by the way," she calmly stepped aside and avoided a spell that was aimed at her back, shot at her by Lilith Moon.

Danielle turned to her, glaring before grabbing Moon with magic and slammed her into the snow near her, making her moan in pain. "I don't like cowards that attack while my back is turned," she hissed. Grinning wickedly, she let out a blast of blue lightning out of her hands and zapped Moon, making her cry out in pain. She stopped, "you know, I bet this is only second to the Cruciatus Curse. Oh, I love Force Lightning but I've never had a chance to use it until now. Now, what do you say for trying to curse me like a coward?"

Moon was breathing heavily, her clothes smoking as she tried to recover from the lightning. "F*** you!"

Danielle rolled her eyes and shot another blast of lightning, making her shriek in agony again. "You know, I didn't think you were that stupid. For a Ravenclaw, you're not very intelligent or wise, huh?" Just for the heck of it, she blasted her one more time and did the same to Edgecombe, who was trying to get away.

"You have no idea how good this feels," Danielle laughed, binding all of the girls together with magic and shooting them all with lightning.

A few minutes later she was walking back to the castle, leaving the four unconscious girls hanging upside down from a tree branch. Bulstrode had wandered off at some point but as she hadn't done anything to her, she didn't particularly care.

Now then, who else was she going to get revenge on?

**Okay, I needed to get that out of my system. I think you can see the point it stopped being funny and Danielle started getting violent. In case I didn't get my point across earlier, I love Star Wars and I do think that many of the things Jedi and Sith can do with the Force can be copied or mimicked with magic. Plus, I think Danielle really could do that if she finally snapped and went nuts, maybe being as bad as the Emperor or Darth Vader. Hey, bullying does that to a person if no one is careful.**

**I'm working on various things and various plots but tell me what you think below. Reviews are always appreciated.**


	9. Crazy fan girls and their ideas

**(Sighs) Okay, so I wrote this because I had the idea but I don't think I'm going to continue this. It's a hilarious idea and I love the person who came up with it for Kingdom Hearts but I don't think it has the same potential for Harry Potter. That, and I need to be more original with my ideas but man, it's HARD when you have a kind of writer's block. I'm coming up with plot after plot, each more stupid and lame then the last, and I'm only writing a small fraction of the ones I am coming up with and I'm posting even less.**

**(Sighs again) Here, see what you think and maybe someone else will continue this for me but I doubt it.**

Harry was frustrated.

Voldemort was back, Dumbledore was ignoring him, he was sure Umbridge was trying to kill him, and Ron and Hermione were busy doing their own things.

Skipping stones across the lake next to the great castle of Hogwarts behind him, he just tried to forget for a little while everything that was happening around him, at least for a little while.

"Harry!"

Turning, the Boy-Who-Lived saw that Hermione was coming up to him, shaking her head. "Honestly, Harry, you know it's freezing out here."

That was true. Snow was covering the grounds and the lake was partially frozen. Not the part he was skipping rocks, but in some other places here and there. It was a Saturday morning in early December and he hadn't even noticed the cold in his cousin's old castoffs.

"Hermione, anything you want?" asked Harry, a little coldly. He was angsty and just wanted to be left alone for the moment. "Come to me about the DA again?"

"I'm worried about you, Harry," Hermione said, looking concerned. "I know a lot happened at the end of last year and this year but you can't just shut us out."

"You don't know what I'm feeling, Hermione," said Harry, looking broodingly over the lake. "I saw a person die right in front of me, and it was my fault as I told Cedric to take the cup with me."

"Did you cast the Killing Curse yourself?" asked Hermione, a little hotly.

"No, but-"

"Then it wasn't your fault," she said, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, you can be such-"

"Well, what do you know, look who I found?"

Turning, they glared at the person who had spoken.

"Draco," said Harry, coolly. "To what do we owe this…pleasure?"

"Just wanted to talk like old times, Scar Head," said Malfoy, smirking as he swaggered up to them. "Just want to know if you and Weasel will eventually fight for the Mudblood here eventually? Everyone's already waiting to pay to see _that_ battle."

Harry pulled out his wand but Hermione grabbed his arm, giving him a look of warning. "Aren't we a little old for this juvenile name calling, Malfoy?" She asked, glaring at him. "Besides, we're wondering when you and Parkinson finally get arrested for indecent exposure." She had seen Malfoy and Parkinson alone together in a broom closet WAY more than she needed to.

Draco flushed red in anger and pulled out his wand. "You'll pay for that Mudblood."

"SQUEEE!"

"LIEK, I KNOW, RIGHT!"

"Huh?" in unison, the three turned to see what seemed to be two crazy girls standing in the snow near them. One was dressed in pink, had greasy hair and had braces. The other was dressed in purple and was jumping up and down in joy, purple fairy wings on her back. The one in pink was holding a pen and a notebook.

"Isn't Draco, like, the coolest?" asked the one in pink, before she rushed forward and crashed into Draco, knocking him off his feet and into the snow. "Hey hot stuff!"

"Get off me!" Draco yelled, trying to get off but finding that for having such scrawny arms, the girl in pink was actually pretty strong.

"SQUEEE!

Harry and Hermione turned to see the one in purple had vanished. That was until the tiny tot had jumped onto both of their backs, slamming them face first into the snow. "SQUEEE, I JUST JUMPED HARRY AND HERMIONE, I COULD DIE!"

"Oh, she's asking to die alright," Harry muttered darkly. He managed to roll away to dislodge the girl but found himself face to face with the girl in purple. Before he could do anything however, the girl had actually kissed him on the nose.

"Oh…my…God, I just kissed Harry Potter!" she squealed. She jumped up and down in the snow, clapping her hands in amazement. "I could just die, again!"

"What is with these crazy girls?" Hermione wondered. She was about to pull out her wand when she found herself frozen, the girl in pink's pen trained on her like a wand.

"Uh-uh," the girl smirked, wagging her finger in front of her like she was a bad girl. "You can't stop Drarry and Dramione Day! This is, like, perfect fanfic material!"

"Drarry and Dramione day?" asked Draco, who was still lying on his back, struggling to get up. "Is that some stupid Muggle holiday or something?"

"No," said Harry, who was shooting stunners at both girls, only for them to dodge the spells easily. "They're just crazy. A little help though?"

"Wish I could, Potter," Draco drawled. "But the girl in pink drooled on me."

"So?"

"So it's like glue! I can't get up Scar Head!"

Hermione, now back in the fight as the girl in pink couldn't hold her in time and dodge spells at the same time, shouted back, "Just take off your cloak then!" She kept firing her own stunners but they all just made craters in the grounds for all the good they did.

"Wow, couldn't have figured that out," Draco said as if she was slow. He was able to take off his cloak though, leaving him in just the shirt he was wearing underneath.

A flash instantly blinded him and he took a step back. The girl in pink was holding a digital camera and was taking pictures. "Yeah baby! Take it off, take it all off!"

"Crazy stupid girl," Draco snarled, shooting off a spell that shattered her camera.

"SQUEEE! Draco just destroyed my camera! Well, not to worry my little bishi, I have a spare." She dug in her pockets and pulled out a cell phone, taking pictures with that.

While Draco was busy with the girl in pink, Harry and Hermione were having more than their fair share of trouble with the girl in purple. She had managed to get Hermione somehow stuck in a tree while flipping Harry onto his face, his butt sticking into the air. She squealed like her friend and started taking pictures of it like crazy.

"That is so hot!" She turned to her friend. "Is it time?"

The girl in pink nodded and froze not only Draco but also Harry and Hermione in time. "It's time for true love you three. Tee-hee. Drarry and Dramione will always triumph in the end!"

Waving her pen like a wand, a pink portal opened up on the ground. Pink tentacles started coming out of them and wrapped themselves around the three teens, pulling them into a pink vortex.

XXXXX

When Harry came to, he was extremely disconcerted. He was sitting in the hospital wing of Hogwarts so his first thought was that both of those crazy girls had injured him in some way and he was being treated. He didn't find any injuries though.

"Ah, good evening Mr. Potter."

Harry blinked as he saw that Dumbledore had come through the door to the hospital wing. He was smiling grandfatherly at him with his eye twinkle coming out full blast. With him was Snape, who was glaring at him as usual.

"Sir?" Harry said, standing up. "Why am I here? Did you catch those crazy girls?"

"Crazy girls?" asked Dumbledore, confused. "I think you might have been dreaming, my boy. No, you fainted, from happiness no doubt, when I told you the good news in my office."

"Good news?"

"Yes, it seems you are a little confused yourself, my boy. I told you that young Mr. Malfoy had come into his creature inheritance. As it turns out, he is the very first male Veela in the history of the world."

Harry looked at him dubiously. He knew that Veela were a race of beautiful women with allure powers that could turn into giant bird like creatures if they wanted to, but he had never heard of a male Veela.

Then again, how are there pure Veela out there if they were all women? Was it possible for them to breed amongst themselves? Or were there no such thing as a half or quarter Veela, you either were or you weren't.

Dumbledore's words broke him from his tangent. "Yes, Draco is now pure male Veela. As such, he can only have one true mate for the rest of his life or risk becoming insane. I'm so glad that he chose you, my boy."

Harry gagged, wondering if Dumbledore was pulling a prank on him. "Are you saying that-?"

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded sagely, his eyes twinkling. "The wedding between you and Draco will take place tonight. I have to say, young Draco is so excited he was saying he was going to spend a full five hours on his hair instead of only three."

"I'M GOING TO BE HARRY POTTER-MALFOY!" Harry was in shock, there was no way Dumbledore would do this to him. This had to be a nightmare, it had to be.

"Foolish boy," Snape sneered at him. "You'll be Harry Malfoy. What, did you expect Draco to become a Potter?"

"It's for the Greater Good, my boy," said Dumbledore, smiling at the thought. "If you don't do this, young Draco will head straight to Voldemort and become insane with bloodlust. You don't want that, do you?"

"I do if it'll get me out of this wedding!" Harry almost shouted, his voice much higher pitched than normal. "Besides, he'll go over to Voldemort anyway."

"I am truly sorry you feel that way, my boy," Dumbledore sighed. "But, I know you will do it for the Greater Good, even if you don't want to. See you then."

Harry stared as Dumbledore and Snape left the hospital wing. There was only one thing left for him to do, he ran for it.

Rushing out of the hospital wing, he shot up onto the floor above and was on his way to the Gryffindor dorms to grab his stuff when he ran into Hermione.

"Hermione! Thank Merlin. You have to help me out here!" Harry said in a rush, eager for his friend to help him get out of this mess.

"Of course I'll help Harry," Hermione beamed at him. "And I think it's a great thing you're doing, to marry Draco and prevent him and his family from turning over to Voldemort. Now, we have to do your hair and suit before the wedding…"

"What?" Harry gaped at her. "Hermione, I am NOT marrying Draco Malfoy of all people!"

"Of course you are, Harry," said Hermione, like it was most obvious thing in the world. "I mean, you have had a crush on him ever since first year."

"I…what? No, I thought I might be falling for Ginny," Harry said, confused at why his friend was acting like this.

"Ginny?" Hermione giggled. That was strange, Hermione _never_ giggled. "Oh Harry, are you still a little confused when she gave you that love potion? I mean, come on, why would _anyone_ look at Ginny Weasley? Wasn't she the girl that was arrested on line theft of the House of Potter when she used a love potion on you while high on the magical versions of Speed, Crack, Marijuana, and Excasty while totally drunk at the same time? The same Ginny who's making out with a different guy every hour and almost crashed her broom into the stands and hit Professor McGonagall?"

"Ginny wouldn't do any of that!" Harry shouted at Hermione, now backing away from her. "You, those two girls did this to you, didn't they? You're not the real Hermione!"

"Harry, I'm your best friend," said Hermione, now giving him a puppy dog look, lower lip quivering. "You do what I say because I'm always there for you."

"Hermione would never give me that look," Harry said, hotly. "You're a fake!"

Turning around, he instead ran for the Entrance Hall, wanting nothing more than to escape and figure all of this out. Those two girls were behind this, he knew it. That girl with the pen and the notebook must have sent him into a twisted and warped version of Hogwarts where Malfoy was a male Veela and Hermione wasn't acting like herself at all.

Getting to the Entrance Hall, he almost killed himself as someone popped some confetti in his face just as he was coming down from the marble staircase.

"Hawwy!"

Harry looked up to see Draco coming right at him. He blinked as he looked like a much more feminine version of himself. His platinum blond hair now reached down to his ankles while he was wearing the tightest pink outfit he had ever seen. He stopped his line of thinking when he thought he heard a girl squeal in happiness at the direction his thoughts were going. How had anyone thought that making pink leather was a good idea?

Before he could stand on his own, Malfoy had picked him up and hugged him. "Hawwy, good to see you again. I know we're not supposed to see each other until the wedding, but since it's like in an hour, I forgive you Hawwy."

"Why, are you pronouncing the R's in my name like W's?"

"Isn't it, like, super adorable?" Draco fluttered his long, too long for a guy, eyelashes and batted them at him. He sighed in happiness. "Isn't this wonderful Hawwy? In no time, we'll be married and we'll be starting a family."

Harry choked when he heard that. "Say what?" he shouted.

"Didn't anyone tell you?" Draco said in a chipper voice that sounded way too happy. "Male Veela can get their mates pregnant. Ah, male pregnancy, it's, like, the most pure form of love in the world. Isn't it?"

"NO!" Harry struggled to get out of his grip and finally pushed Draco back into some wedding guests. He hadn't noticed until now but the entire Entrance Hall was filling with people that he supposed were for his 'wedding.'

Draco hadn't seem perturbed at all when Harry had pushed him backward. In fact, he looked more jubilant than ever. "Ah, looking at the guests, Hawwy? Well, you can make out Dumbledore and his husband Grindelwald over there. Severus and his husband Filius. Oh, and of course there's Sirius and his fiancé Remus."

"What!" Harry looked over and sure enough, he saw all the people Malfoy had told him about were acting like couples. He almost gagged when he saw Sirius and Remus acting all lovely dovey with each other. Wasn't Sirius supposed to be a womanizer back in the day? Of course, that was just a rumor as far as he knew, but it certainly fit in with the man's personality as he knew it.

"Hawwy?" Draco sniffed, tears starting to flow from his eyes, which made Harry mentally roll his eyes, wanting nothing more than to get away from him and find those two crazy girls and kill them. "What's the matter? Don't you lowve me anymore?"

"Frankly, no, I'd rather be eaten by the Giant Squid in the lake," said Harry with no sympathy at all. "How is male pregnancy possible anyway? Don't guys need a certain thing needed to carry a child that we lack?"

"It's magic silly," said Draco, bouncing back quickly and giving off a girlish giggle that Harry hoped that he would never hear again. "Oh look, my bridesmaids are here."

Looking, Harry saw that it was Hermione and Pansy, who were both wearing dresses that matched the sparkling green dress that he just noticed that Draco was wearing. How he had changed so quickly he had no idea.

Okay, he needed to stop this now.

"I am not marrying you, Draco," said Harry, growling at him. "I hate you." Pulling out his wand before anyone could react, he blasted the blond gender confused wizard across the Entrance Hall and ran for it, trying to make it to the front doors. He was stopped when Draco had apparently recovered and tackled him from behind.

"But Hawwy, I lowve you!"

"NO! It's those girls. They caused this!"

"I won't let anyone drive us apart Hawwy!"

"That's it!" Harry brought his leg up and it collided with Draco's manhood. Sadly, it looked like nothing had happened, like if he had nothing to cause him pain in the first place. Recovering from his faux pas, Harry punched Draco in the face and kicked him in the jaw, knocking the male/female wizard/witch on the floor, out cold.

"Well, that's not the way to do it."

Harry turned around to see that he was now alone in the Entrance Hall, even Draco/Draconia was gone. "You two!"

The two crazy girls were standing off to the side, looking disappointed. "Dang, I thought that that might work," said the one in pink.

"Well, he just needs to feel the love, doesn't he," said the one in purple. "Ohh, can I do the honors?"

"Like, of course!" Pinkie said, handing her the pen and notebook.

"Oh no you don't!" Harry rushed for them only to be caught in time again.

"Have fun!" Purple summoned another one of those pink portals and Harry was sucked in.

XXXXX

Hermione woke up feeling completely confused.

She was lying on some bed in some apartment in some town that she didn't know. Looking out the window, she frowned as she saw how generic it was. There was no sense of individuality at all and it started to creep her out. There was snow on the ground but all of the houses looked the same, even the gardens had the exact same plants in the exact same places.

Weird.

Needing to figure out what was going on and needing to find Harry, she just grabbed some clothes from a nearby wardrobe, putting them on. Making her way out of the apartment, she didn't feel that bad that she had stolen clothes from someone. They had fit her perfectly and figured she had a bigger need of them than the person they belonged to.

Tugging her jacket closer to keep her warm, she walked down the road, trying to figure out where she was. Reaching for her wand to at least use a warming charm, she found it wasn't there. Frowning, she realized she couldn't feel her magic at all. That was disturbing.

'_What kind of place is this,'_ she thought, looking at the houses in slight disgust as all the random generic people she saw all looked the same. _'I bet it was those two girls. They sent me somewhere. But where? And where are Harry and Malfoy?'_

The thought that she was almost worried about Malfoy of all people really showed how much she needed to find someone who wasn't generic.

_'How powerful are those girls that that they can block my magic? How did they get the power to conjure portals to send me somewhere I've never been to before? And the fact that they can stop time for me is actually really disturbing. Something isn't right.'_

Stepping into what she thought was downtown of whatever town she was in, she started passing random generic shops instead of houses.

"Hey, 'Mione!"

Turning in the direction of the shout, she saw Draco run up to her. But he looked…different. He still had the blond hair, grey eyes and slightly arrogant smirk, but he was dressed completely in Muggle attire, dark jeans and a dark green jumper.

"What, Malfoy?" Hermione asked, thankful that she had found someone she knew at least. "Did those two girls send you here too?"

"Girls?" Draco asked, confused. "What, you mean Pansy and Astoria? They did tell me to hurry up and get here if that's what you're asking, but you know how they are. Anyway, you want to get a coffee?"

Now Hermione was very confused but she was willing to play along for now. "Uh, sure." Since when did Malfoy know what coffee was? "Better than pumpkin juice anyway."

"Who would turn pumpkins into a juice?" Draco asked, actually confused as they entered a nearby café.

"You're serious?" Hermione asked, looking at him. "We've only been drinking it since our first year at Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts Finishing School for Girls," Draco nodded, "but I never went there so I wouldn't know, would I?"

Something was seriously wrong here.

_'Hogwarts is a school for girls here? Okay, I'm either having a bad dream or those two crazy girls sent me to some alternate world without magic. I'm not sure which is worse, honestly but I'm going with the alternate universe.'_

Sitting down at a table, Hermione stared at the boy who had tormented her for years, looking like he was just a normal person grabbing a drink with a girl. "What's up with you Malfoy? And where's Harry?"

"Potter is around," Draco shrugged. "You know how it is, police work is never done, is it?"

Hermione was about to say something else when a waitress came up. "Hello, may I take your order?"

"One triple shot mocha macculito frappacino with tons of foam," Draco said immediately. "Hermione?"

Now extremely confused, especially since he called her by her first name instead of 'Granger' or 'Mudblood,' she looked at the generic waitress. "Same," she said simply. The peppy waitress nodded and left.

"What are we doing here, Malfoy? Shouldn't you be with Pansy?"

"Pansy's an all right girl but she's like a sister to me," said Draco, now confused. "As to what we're doing here, we agreed to celebrate our two month anniversary of dating with a date here. Why?"

Hermione gagged. She dating Draco Malfoy of all people! No, that would never happen. "Wouldn't your father kill us if we are even seen in the same room together?"

"Why would he do that? My father is a wealthy business man running a successful R&amp;D company. If anything, he approves. Why are you being so strange?"

Lucius Malfoy, not being an evil dark wizard working with Voldemort? Okay, the world was ending.

"Your father is not working for the evil Dark Wizard Voldemort as a Death Eater, trying to take over the world?"

"No," said Draco, slowly, looking at her concerned. "That evil terrorist group was caught years ago. I was a part of a gang called the 'Slytherins' though. But you knew that, of course. Hermione, what's with you?"

"Those two girls did this, didn't they?" said Hermione, getting angry. "They sent us here to some strange world where we're dating and magic apparently doesn't exist."

Draco didn't seem to hear anything beyond 'two girls' though. "For the last time, I think that Pansy and Astoria are sisters!" Draco nearly shouted. "All this time together and you still don't trust me. I don't complain when you spend time with Ron or Harry, but you do when I hang out with two girls I think are family!"

"None of this is real! Get over it Malfoy!"

"Oh, so now you're dumping me? Telling me that this never meant anything to you!"

"Malfoy."

"Coffees!"

The waitress was back with two foaming cups of complicated coffee but Draco had stood up. He grabbed one of the cups and threw it Hermione in anger, making her shout out in pain when the hot liquid hit her.

"That's for playing with me!" Draco shouted as he left.

Hermione wiped herself off with several napkins. "What just happened?"

"Oh, why did you have to say that?" said a familiar voice.

Hermione turned around and saw that it was those two girls again. "You two! Where did you send me? Where's Harry?"

Before she could lunge at them, Hermione found herself trapped in time again.

"Where is my magic," Hermione growled, unable to move.

"Oh Hermione, you're attractive enough without the power of magic," said the girl in purple.

"Sigh," said the girl in pink. She actually said 'sigh.' "That's not the way into a guy's heart. Maybe we should try again."

"Ooh!" shouted the girl in purple, whispering something in her friend's ear.

"SQUEE! I LOVE IT!" With a flash of the pen in her hand, Hermione was sent into another pink abyss.

XXXXX

Draco found himself standing in some weird room he had never seen before. The last thing he remembered were those two strange girls along with Potter and the mudblood. Then pink. Nothing but the color pink.

He heard a sneeze behind him and instantly spun around, shouting, "Reducto!" Not taking any chances.

Instead of a beam of light coming out of his wand, he noticed a few things. First, there was no jet of magic. Second, he didn't even have his wand. And finally, he had just accidently slapped the girl who had sneezed in his general direction in the face.

"Mr. Malfoy, would you kindly sit down now," said a man at the front of the room.

Draco blinked and saw that he was standing in the middle of what looked to be a classroom. About two dozen other students were looking at him as if he had grown a second head, probably for slapping some poor girl he didn't even recognize.

Looking up at the teacher again, he didn't recognize him either but he was glaring at Draco for interrupting his lecture.

"Come on Teach," said a voice that Draco recognized and he turned around. Harry freaking Potter was sitting at a desk next to his and he was smirking at the teacher. "He didn't mean it. Drakey here is just dealing with something. Right?"

Draco looked at him, confused as to what was going on but nodded. "Yeah, just dealing with something," he muttered, sitting down again.

"Well, make sure it doesn't happen again," the teacher said, giving Draco another look before returning to his lecture.

Draco was now really confused and looked at everyone. He didn't recognize anyone there, except for Potter, and even he didn't look right.

_'Those two girls had something to do with this,'_ he thought. He clenched his hand into a fist. _'Stupid girls. Did they think they could get away with doing something like this to the heir of the House of Malfoy? When my father hears about this-"_

He was cut off from this internal tirade when the bell rang. As the other students got up to leave, the teacher looked at him. "Mr. Malfoy, stay behind for a moment."

"But-"

"Don't worry," said Potter, grinning at him. "I'll be right outside while you talk to Teach. Okay?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

"That's the spirit!"

When it was just him and the teacher, Draco swaggered up to him, looking expectant. "Mr. Malfoy, I would appreciate it in the future if you do not attack one of your fellow students if they sneeze at you."

The teacher sighed as he closed his briefcase. "Mr. Malfoy, I know you are still upset about the loss of your mother a few weeks ago-"

_'My mother? What's he babbling about?'_

"But you have to get a grip and focus on your studies. Need I remind you that the upcoming exam is worth ninety-five percent of your overall grade?"

"Uh-"

"I thought so. Now, get a move on to your next class."

"…Sure," Draco said, completely confused at what just happened. He watched as the teacher left, leaving him in an empty classroom. Thinking hard, he figured that all he needed was to find some way of contacting his father, he would solve everything, he was sure of it.

Wondering if this school had a fireplace to make a floo call, or just access to an owl, he left the classroom.

Harry had been waiting for him by leaning against the wall next to the door, arms crossed. He noticed when the door opened revealing Draco though.

"Hey Drake. What did the teacher want?"

"Why would I tell you Potter? Where are we, anyway?" Draco was annoyed as he had never been in this place before and his magic wasn't working for some reason.

"Uh, this is a high school, Drake," said Harry, lifting an eyebrow at him. "See?" he gestured to a large sign near them and Draco saw that they were in the: 'Hogwarts Gotham Forks Narnia Alagasia Destiny Islands High School.' Go Wizards!

"What," said Draco, slowly, "is going on? One moment I'm fighting those two girls with you and Granger, the next I'm here."

"Hermione Granger is president of the debate team," Harry said like it was obvious. "She doesn't have the motive to harm a fly, much less two girls that were harassing you. Was it Pansy and Astoria again? I know we made if official only a week ago but I would have thought they would have taken a hint."

"What are you babbling about, Potter?" asked Draco, annoyed.

"Man, Drake, what's with you?" asked Harry, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, I know we've only been dating for a week, but-"

"Whoa, wait, what? Why would I sully myself with dating you of all people, scar head?" Draco took a step back. This wasn't Potter, it was some duplicate looking like him. "I got to get out of here."

Harry grabbed his shoulder, preventing him from getting away. "Look, Drake, if this is about your mom-"

_'My mother is fine, why is everyone so obsessed about asking about her?'_ "You got until the count of three to let me go, Potter," Draco hissed, glaring at him. "One."

"I know you were closer to your dad, but I didn't think you would be like this-"

"Two."

"Are you planning on skipping school again today? I could join you, no need for-"

"THREE!"

Draco might not have his wand, but he knew how to defend himself in case something bad happened and knew the biggest weak point in the male body.

He should know, Daphne Greengrass kneed him there a few times when he had asked her out.

Taking a leaf out of her book, Draco put all of his weight into his knee and hit Potter's groin as hard as he could, hoping it would distract him long enough to get out of here. Sadly, two certain girls that were important to the story had never learned much about typical male anatomy so Draco's efforts were pretty much in vain. Harry grunted a bit in pain but didn't fall over in a collapsed heap like Draco expected.

"Get away from me!"

Harry just shook his head. "Drake, we should get to the nurse or something. She can help-"

"I don't need your help, scar head," Draco growled at him. "Just, get out of here!"

Harry sniffed before running off, tears in his eyes.

Now Draco was really confused as to what was going on here.

"Oh dear, you aren't doing it right either," said a voice behind him.

Wheeling around, Draco saw it was those two girls who had attacked him before. "You two! Send me back to Hogwarts with magic now!"

"Tee-hee," said the girl in purple, stopping Draco from moving as he lunged at them. "You and Harry are going to get together sometime."

"He's the son of blood traitor and a mudblood!" Draco yelled at them. "I would never sully myself to be with either him or Granger!"

"Ooh," said the girl in pink. She turned to her friend, "are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"LIKE, TOTALLY!"

The next thing Draco saw was pink as a portal opened under him.

**First, I would like to apologize to the actual person who came up with this for Kingdom Hearts as I seem to have ripped off your first two chapters, oops. Well, not the male Veela thing but you get the idea. Fangirls really like that idea for some reason, I have no idea but it either makes perfect sense, to get pure 100% Veela as they are all women in Rowlings's world, or it's the delusions of a crazy female mind. Not sure. Hmm...**

**Anyway, I had planned on a bunch of crazy alternate universes where Harry/Hermione/Draco are forced to pair up with each other, mostly Draco as fans love him for some reason I have no idea of, until they finally defeated the two fangirls with the help of Gold, Silver and maybe Danielle as well but I think I'll pass. (Sighs) I really do come up with crazy plots and situations, don't I?**

**By the way, I just want to say that male pregnancy is a horrible, evil, twisted and disturbing concept and will never work outside of that one Fairly Odd Parents episode where it was Cosmo that carried Poof. And even then we don't see how it really worked, what with it being a kid's show and everything. How is possible? What biological or scientific evidence can ANYONE actually give to support it outside of a delusional female mind? Even with magic?**

**Anyway, I am planning a sort of parody/crack fic that does have a crazy fan girl at the end that is the main bad guy. Not these two as they are rather tame but a sick and twisted one that plans on taking on all of Cannon, warping it to suit her own desires so that even Rowling would have to bow down and obey her.**

**Scary.**

**Anyway, that might not be for a while but it is an idea I had. Again, if anyone wants to do it before I can, go for it, I don't mind. This plot above is dead, though I did have fun writing a male Veela Draco, but I have other ideas. Not sure if they would work, but, they might. I'm rambling now so I'll sign off for now. Peace out!**


	10. Harry Potter, elves and dragons Oh my!

**Shh! Listen, this story is hidden from my sister Silver. She has no idea about it and I never plan on telling her. Why? Simple. I thought I would try my hand in a female/female pairing for this plot. If she ever learns about it…let's say I think the hospital would be the best place for me. She's scary when she wants to be.**

**Anyway, this plot, not the pairing, has been on my mind ever since I actually read the Lord of the Rings a while ago. I only saw a few of the movies but I read the books, strange huh? I thought that the Inheritance Cycle would mix in perfectly with Lord of the Rings so this is really a three-way crossover. No idea how people will like that but that's why I'm doing this. To test out my plots before actually putting in too much effort into a story.**

**Oh yeah, some Ron bashing here but I've never really liked him anyway and I think he's an idiot. Sorry to the few people who like him but I never have.**

**By the way, the Inheritance Cycle is the official name for the Eragon books by Christopher Paolini. Lord of the Rings is of course Tollkin. **

**Well, enjoy and I don't own anything.**

"What is it?" he asked as he reached the dressing table, which was heaped high with what looked and smelled like dirty laundry.

"There," she said, pointing at the shapeless mass.

And in the instant that he looked away, his eyes raking the tangled mess for a sword hilt, a ruby, she moved weirdly: He saw it out of the corner of his eye; panic made him turn and horror paralyzed him as he saw the old body collapsing and the great snake pouring from the place where her neck had been.

The snake struck as he raised his wand: The force of the bite to his forearm sent the wand spinning up toward the ceiling; its light swung dizzyingly around the room and was extinguished: Then a powerful blow from the tail to his midriff knocked the breath out of him: He fell backward onto the dressing table, into the mound of filthy clothing –

He rolled sideways, narrowly avoiding the snake's tail, which thrashed down upon the table where he had been a second earlier: Fragments of the glass surface rained upon him as he hit the floor. From below he heard Hermione call, "Harry?"

He could not get enough breath into his lungs to call back: Then a heavy smooth mass smashed him to the floor and he felt it slide over him, powerful, muscular –

"No!" he gasped, pinned to the floor.

"Yes," whispered the voice. "Yesss…hold you…hold you…"

"Accio…Accio Wand…"

But nothing happened and he needed his hands to try to force the snake from him as it coiled itself around his torso, squeezing the air from him, pressing the Horcrux hard into his chest, a circle of ice that throbbed with life, inches from his own frantic heart, and his brain was flooding with cold, white light, all thought obliterated, his own breath drowned, distant footsteps, everything going…

A metal heart was banging outside his chest, and now he was flying, flying with triumph in his heart, without need of broomstick or thestral…

He was abruptly awake in the sour-smelling darkness of the dirty laundry in the room; Nagini had released him. He scrambled up and saw the snake outlined against the landing light: it struck, and Hermione dived aside with a shriek; her deflected curse hit the curtained window, which shattered. Frozen air filled the room as Harry ducked to avoid another shower of broken glass and his foot slipped on a pencil-like something – his wand –

He bent and snatched it up, but now the room was full of the snake, its tail thrashing; Hermione was nowhere to be seen and for a moment Harry thought the worst, but then there was a loud bang and a flash of red light, and the snake flew into their air, smacking Harry hard in the face as it went, coil after heavy coil rising up to the ceiling. Harry raised his wand, but as he did so, his scar seared more painfully, more powerfully than it had done in years.

"He's coming! Hermione, he's coming!"

As he yelled the snake fell, hissing wildly. Everything was chaos: It smashed shelves from the wall, and splintered china flew everywhere as Harry jumped over the bed and seized the dark shape he knew to be Hermione –

She shrieked with pain as he pulled her back across the bed: The snake reared again, but Harry knew that worse than the snake was coming, was perhaps already at the gate, his head was going to split open with the pain from his scar –

The snake lunged as he took a running leap, dragging Hermione with him; as it struck, Hermione screamed, "Confringo!" and her spell flew around the room, exploding the wardrobe mirror and ricocheting back at them, bouncing from floor to ceiling; Harry felt the heat of it sear the back of his hand.

He only barely realized that there was another person who had entered the room moments ago. "What the bloody hell!"

XXXXX

Danielle was just getting back to Godric's Hallow when she realized that it was covered in snow. How long had she been gone? Looking back, it didn't seem like long but time moved differently between the two worlds. One month here could equal twenty years there or vice versa, it was always changing.

Using a time spell, she found that it was almost midnight, Christmas Eve, 1997. The red head sighed as she realized how important it was for her to meet up with her old friend. Bathilda must be going crazy from not meeting her sooner. Usually they spent all of Christmas together since they really had no one else now.

Running for the right house, she took a moment to glance at the nearby ruin and paid her respects for Lily and James. If only…

A scream got her attention and she saw the house she was running to seemed to be in chaos. Bright flashes of light she recognized as spells were seen and one of the windows blew out, creating a shower of glass falling onto the snow.

Worried for her friend, she rushed inside and was met with a scent she knew all too well, raw meat. Orcs loved the stuff for some reason and she had met them too often in her adventures.

Hearing that the fight was going on upstairs, she ran up the steps, two at a time. What she saw, she hadn't expected. An absolutely giant snake was attacking two teenagers that looked to be her age. One was a boy with raven black hair, glasses, and she could just barely make out a scar on his forehead. He was carrying a girl with bushy brown hair under his arms but they both seemed wounded.

"What the bloody hell!"

Figuring that the snake was in the wrong here, she summoned her sword into her hand. A large glowing blue broadsword made completely of magical energy came into her grasp. Growling, she brought the blade down and managed to cut through the tough scales of the snake, effectively cutting it in half.

There was a loud screaming sound from the now dead reptile, a horrible tortured screaming not only from the snake, but also from the boy and a man down in the front yard. Hurrying to the window, she grimaced at the sight of Lord Voldemort. He didn't look to be in the best of shape, but the anger in his face was a dead give away to his emotions.

She had never actually seen Voldemort until now, and she had to say, he did look like a snake. She had seen scarier things before but there was no doubt that the dark lord down there was powerful.

Turning around, she saw that the boy had collapsed, completely passed out, and the girl looked like she was trying to come up with a plan.

All the while, Voldemort was coming up the drive.

"Whoever you are," Danielle said, looking at the girl. "I have a safe house. I think our options are pretty limited right now. So, can I take you there?"

The girl looked conflicted, not sure what to do or who to trust. Danielle couldn't blame her but the brunette took in the bite wound the boy had gotten from the snake and nodded. Knowing that he didn't have long before he bled out and it might be beyond her to heal.

Danielle quickly grabbed the boy's wrist in her hand and took the girl's in her other, strangely feeling some sort of tingling when she touched the brunette. Deciding to be worried about that later, Voldemort was almost literally on top of them now, she disaperated with an almost silent pop.

The moment after the three teens vanished, Voldemort blasted the door open to reveal nothing but a ruined room and his dead familiar. He made sure to make all of Godric's Hallow heard his yell of outrage that his prey had gotten away from him.

XXXXXX

With another soft pop, the three teens crash landed in the front yard in the middle of a nice two story house. That was as far as Hermione saw before she pulled out her wand and held it in place in front of the red haired stranger's face. The girl had gone cross eyed in keeping the wand in sight but she didn't care. She had been attacked by Nagini and had almost run into Voldemort, all the while Harry was bleeding out next to them. She wasn't taking any chances.

"Who are you and where are we?" she hissed, trying to be as scary as possible.

The girl just rose her hands in a motion of surrender. "Easy there. This is my house. My name is Danielle Evans and I was just trying to see my old friend Bathilda Bagshot for our annual Christmas evening. I was late and just got back into town less than half an hour ago."

Hermione gave her a searching look but nodded, her answer satisfactory…for now. Danielle let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and gestured to Harry on the ground. "Is it okay for me to heal him now. In case you didn't know, he's poisoned by that snake and has a pretty nasty gash from the bite."

The bushy haired girl nodded, not putting away her wand just yet. Danielle gave her a weak smile and hoisted Harry into a fireman's lift over her shoulder, carrying him to the front door.

"Where are we?"

The door opened to reveal a modest living room that, even though it was spotless, seemed to emit a sense of disuse, like the owner hadn't been back in a while.

Danielle smiled as she went up the stairs, "I told you, my house. If you want me to be more specific, we're still in Godric's Hallow."

"What!" yelled Hermione, putting her wand to her again. "I thought you said this was safe?"

"It is," Danielle looked like she just wanted to put Harry down now, she was clearly stronger than she looked but Harry had to weigh a lot. "I have just about every magical protection I could think of, and many I couldn't, on this place. It's impossible for anyone without my permission to find and that includes the snake faced bastard that almost killed us."

"Language," said Hermione. She had corrected Harry and Ron, mostly Ron, on their manners so many times that it now seemed like an instinct. Something she couldn't really control.

Danielle didn't roll her eyes, make a witty comment, or anything; just looked at her oddly before focusing on Harry again. Opening a door in the upper hallway, Hermione was sure that magic was involved in making the room inside bigger than it should on the outside.

The room was sparsely furnished but it had a slightly welcoming feel. Placing Harry on the large bed, Hermione looked and saw a desk, chair, a door that led to a closet, and a nice looking carpet. Turning on the lights showed the chandelier that hung from the ceiling.

Danielle was busy removing Harry's clothes so she could make out the various wounds the boy had.

"Yikes, he has certainly had a few adventures, hasn't he?" Hermione looked worried as her eyes ran over all of Harry's scars. The one on his arm from a basilisk fang, another from the dagger Wormtail used to bring back Voldemort, the almost invisible ones on the back of his hand that Umbridge had put there. All of that wasn't to mention the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Danielle didn't seem to know who he was though and she hadn't noticed the scar on his head. "Don't worry, your boyfriend will be fine."

Hermione blushed, despite the situation. "He's not my-" She was cut off when the red head closed her eyes and started chanting over Harry's body.

"Waise heil! Waise heil! Waise heil!"

Hermione watched, enchanted, as not only did the bite wound close, but he seemed to be breathing easier. He still looked like he was having a bad dream, however. Muttering something else, the raven haired boy calmed down and was sleeping like a baby. Chuckling, Danielle took the locket that had been around his neck and placed it on the desk next to the bed.

The bushy haired Gryffindor looked at Danielle, not sure what kind of magic that was. She had never seen anything like that. True, the red haired girl seemed to be a little tired but otherwise fine. "Who are you?"

Danielle smiled gently, though it didn't reach her eyes. "Fricai onr eka eddyr," she said in a strange tongue that Hermione didn't recognize. "I am your friend. Or, at least, I don't mean you any harm and I'm willing to give you food and shelter for the night." She sighed in weariness and stretched. "Well, that was more than I thought I would have to do when I got here. You want a drink? I want a drink."

Hermione watched as the girl left the room and back in the direction of the stairs. Seeing that Harry was asleep now and she wasn't needed, she decided to follow the girl.

When she got downstairs, she found the kitchen easily and Danielle was pouring some golden liquid from a bottle into a glass. Sitting down in one of the chairs at the table with a groan, she took a sip of the liqueur. "You may join me if you want."

Hermione jumped and sat down as well, mildly wondering what the drink was. It didn't look like any kind of butterbeer, fire whiskey or other drink she could remember. "What is that?"

If possible, Hermione could have died right then and there. What kind of question was that at a time like this?"

Danielle didn't seem offended though. "This is called faelnirv. A present from my aunt a while back and a good drink. It's probably a little strong for you but right now, it hits the spot after healing your boyfriend and killing that snake."

Hermione blushed again but narrowed her eyes. "Harry is not my boyfriend."

"Pity," Danielle grinned at her. "You should have one by now. You're attractive enough."

The book worm's cheeks grew warm at being complimented but got distracted right away. Danielle moved some hair out of her face revealing that she had pointed ears under her dark red hair. While slightly pointed ears wasn't too unusual, hers was too prominent to be a mere genetic mutation.

"Anyway," said Danielle, bringing Hermione's attention back on her face instead of her ears. "Who do I have the pleasure of talking to? I introduced myself earlier, seems fair to know who I saved from being snake chow."

"Oh, uh, right. I'm Hermione Granger. The boy upstairs is Harry Potter."

Danielle just barely held in her gasp as she glanced to the doorway where they could see the stairs. "Really? Well, that's interesting that I would save two-thirds of the golden trio."

"Golden trio?"

"You really didn't know that that is what people call you," Danielle seemed surprised. "Sirius told me that a few years ago. Apparently he overheard a few Hufflepuffs using that term when he was staying at Hogwarts as a dog."

Hermione blinked. "You knew Sirius?" As far as she knew, very few people knew that Sirius had been innocent when he was alive.

Danielle nodded absentmindedly, swirling the contents of her glass before taking another sip. "He was passing through Godric's Hallow on his way up to Hogwarts. I was there to look at the monument to James and Lily when a big black dog showed up. He recognized me and I took him to my house at that time. I cleaned him up as well as I could before he told me he had to run off again. Honestly, I told him to capture the rat, not try to kill him."

Hermione didn't know what to say to that. She was talking to someone who had known Sirius so…

"Did he say anything about Harry?"

"Hmm," Danielle was lost in thought for a moment before realizing that she was asked a question. "He just said that he had to protect him, no matter the cost. I did ask if there was a chance for me to meet him…but he couldn't promise anything."

Hermione decided to fall silent for a moment and poured herself her own glass. Studying Danielle, she had to admit that the red head in front of her was attractive. Long dark red hair that fell down to her hips, which had achieved curves that she knew she would never be able to compete with. She had been wearing a dark green traveling cloak when she had gotten to Bathilda's but the strange girl had thrown it over a nearby chair to reveal the forest green tunic underneath. Her skin was perfect and almost shining in the dimly lit kitchen. Combined with the pointed ears and…

"You're not human, are you?"

The words were out of Hermione's mouth before she could stop them or put up her usual censor. She was so stupid! This girl had given her shelter and she had probably just offended her!

Danielle rose an eyebrow but otherwise didn't comment for a few moments. Just watching her, as if wondering what kind of riddle she presented. She finally gave Hermione a soft distant smile. "No, I'm not." Hermione looked slightly confused and she elaborated. "Human. I'm pretty sure you can guess though. I heard that you were the brains of the 'golden trio.'"

The bushy haired girl was sure that this conversation wasn't going the way the red head had wanted. Still, the question was asked and she couldn't take it back now.

"Well," Hermione started, as if afraid of offending her host any more than before, taking a sip of her glass to keep her hands busy. As the golden liquid entered her mouth, she thought she could taste apples and something else she couldn't identify. It was strong though and she coughed as it went down her throat.

Danielle chuckled slightly and muttered a word she didn't recognize. Her airway cleared instantly. "I told you that it was strong."

"Right," said Hermione, eyes streaming slightly. "I'm sorry. You've been a good hostess and I suddenly ask you that."

Danielle looked at her for a moment before sighing. "It's okay, miss Granger. Everyone asks eventually. I would have been astounded if you hadn't." She took in a breath. "I'm an elf."

Now, Hermione had heard of elves, of course. But so far, all of her experience had been with house elves. She had read several books that were not required for school work, however and several of them had been the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy as well as 'The Hobbit.' She had a good idea of what Danielle was then, but still…

"An elf, huh?" she allowed that to digest for a moment. "Like in the works of Tolken?"

To her surprise, Danielle laughed slightly. "Exactly like that, actually. Tolken was a genius, he didn't create a story, he simply saw it happen from another world." At Hermione's confused look, Danielle continued. "Every kind of story you read, whether it be 'Lord of the Rings,' 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,' 'Alice in Wonderland,' or 'The Wizard of Oz' is real somewhere. I've only been to one other world besides this one and it's the one where I have family members."

"Why are you here then?"

"I was born and raised in this world, actually," said Danielle, now looking self-conscious. "Let's just say that my grandfather was an elf as well and he fell for a human girl and leave it at that."

Hermione wanted to continue that line of questioning but the other girl was looking uncomfortable so she let it go. "Well, thank you for your help out there. With Nagini and Voldemort."

Danielle nodded, looking happy about the subject change. "I'm just sorry that I couldn't have helped Bathilda. She was a good friend." She paused for a few moments. "My only friend," she whispered so low that Hermione almost didn't catch it. "It's getting late, it's already one in the morning. I have plenty of spare bedrooms and you can help yourself."

Hermione was actually a little surprised by the abrupt end to their conversation. She watched Danielle rise from the table and go back up the stairs, leaving the now empty glass on the kitchen counter. Hermione, lost in thought, finally decided to find a bed for the night. Figuring she could ask more questions in the morning.

Going up the stairs, she saw that the doors had labels on them of what were inside, something she hadn't noticed last time. Looking at the various doors, she was curious when she saw that one door said 'treasure room.' Shrugging, knowing that she wasn't going to steal anything, she opened the door.

Her jaw dropped when she saw the room. It was absolutely huge, nothing that would fit in a house of this size normally. Instead of a room, it looked more like a large cave, complete with torches on the walls. The far end of the cave had huge boxes of gold and jewels overflowing onto the floor. Suits of armor in all kinds of metals adorned the walls behind glass cases. And hanging from he ceiling was a banner that read 'welcome to the Bat Cave.'

Hermione shook her head as she closed the door, wondering how anyone could get so much gold. Picking a door that read 'guest bedroom' she found that it led to what could pass as a hotel room. The bed looked far more comfortable than the one Harry was sleeping on, complete with television and mini-fridge.

Not caring about any of that at the moment, she simply took her night clothes out of her bag, changed, and passed out in moments of laying down on the soft bed.

XXXXX

Danielle sat on the back patio of her home, looking over her yard and lost in thought. Hermione really hadn't asked any insensitive questions and they were innocent enough but…it was complicated. While she was still had some human in her, she didn't actually have to sleep so she had been active for a while.

In a way, she was grateful that she had made the backyard so large as it increased the number of things she had to do every morning. She had turned the already large plot of land into her own personal farm.

Neat rows held just about every kind of fruit, vegetable, and herbs one could think of. Large trees holding apples, grapefruit, oranges, and others were along the fence, all holding fruit worth dying for. The center and the main part of the yard held corn, potatoes, various squashes, tomatoes, and carrots. Another part was reserved for various berry bushes holding raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, and a small vineyard full of grapes.

The best part was that it all took almost no effort. Thanks to her aunties Arya and Arwyn, she could sing to the plants to help them grow and ripen in minutes as well as drive away pests and diseases. She wasn't feeling too thankful for that now though as she was thinking of her past, as depressing as it was, and wondering what having Harry Potter and Hermione Granger in her home would mean to her.

She had been wanting to meet Harry for years now but had assumed that it would never happen. Dumbledore…no, she didn't want to think about him now. Insensitive old ba*****.

"Wow, you grew all of this?" asked a voice from behind her.

Danielle mentally cursed that she had been so distracted that she hadn't heard the human's footsteps. Usually they trampled like blood crazed Urgals so she had no problem hearing them, but this time…uncle Elrond would be so disappointed in her.

"Yeah," said Danielle, not looking at Hermione but at the sunrise just coming over the fence. "Not that hard."

Hermione rubbed her arms self-conciously. "Um, I wanted to apologize for any insensitive questions I asked."

Danielle sighed and turned to face the bushy haired girl, who looked nervous in the early morning sunlight. "No problem," she said with a fake smile. "Standard questions for someone you just met, right? And besides, I am not fully human so I stand out a bit."

The Gryffindor girl just stared at her, trying to figure her out. Finally, she asked a neutral question. "How long will Harry be out?"

Danielle quickly did the math in her head. "If I did it right, which I did, he should wake up later this morning. You can help yourself to any of the food in the refrigerator. I don't mind." She really didn't, Harry was…anyway, she was just trying to help.

Hermione quirked an eyebrow and sat down on one of the patio chairs. "What kind of magic did you use last night? I've never seen anything like it. Certainly nothing from the Hogwarts library or from what house elves are capable of."

Danielle snorted at the thought of house elves. "I doubt that you would have. What I used was essentially pure magic at its basest form. Magic itself." At Hermione's confused expression, she elaborated. "Magic is all around us, Miss Granger, it shapes us, holds us and binds the universe together. Magic on its own is dangerous without anyone or anything to guide it but can be used to do just about anything, within reason.

"Thousands of years ago, an elf managed to harness magic to do what he wanted and his comrades, along with himself, bound the very nature of magic to a single language. The Ancient Language, which has no name, doesn't just describe something. The language is that thing. That force of nature itself. The words, Waise Heali, or 'be healed' doesn't just tell someone what I wanted to happen. I spoke those words to Harry Potter and my magic made it so, because the Ancient Language made it so."

Hermione looked impressed and awed by the improptu speech from the red head. "Wow. Wait, why do we use Latin though? I've never heard of this."

"Latin is close enough to the Ancient Language for the magic to work but it would never be perfect. As for why you've never heard of it, that would be the differences between the various worlds. While elves were the ones to first use magic, humans tried to make their own tongues work for magic and when they succeeded to a certain degree, Latin, you simply wrote the elves out of the history books."

The red head sat down, eyes closed, trying not to be disappointed when Hermione and Harry would eventually leave. She didn't know if she could handle that.

Hermione was going to go on a tirade of elf rights when she saw the expression on the other girl's face, like she was prepared for the worst and was bracing herself. Frowning, she moved closer so she was sitting right next to her. "What's wrong? Can I help?"

Danielle opened her eyes and turned to Hermione. The other girl looked concerned for her welfare but she would leave. They would all leave her eventually. "Nothing is the matter Miss Granger. I just have a lot on my mind."

Hermione frowned again but asked a question she had gotten the previous night. "Why haven't I seen you at Hogwarts? I mean, I heard that elves don't age but you don't look ancient or anything."

At this, Danielle couldn't help but chuckle. "No, I'm not old. I'm actually only seventeen, so I'm extremely young for an elf. Yes, we are immortal but we can be killed, I'll eventually stop aging somewhere in my early to mid twenties and won't start again, albeit slowly, until I'm around for several hundred years. As for why I wasn't in Hogwarts, well, Dumbledore refused to allow me to come, actually."

She expected a lot of things when she said that. Hermione to call her dark if the great Dumbledore refused to allow her entry, pity that she couldn't go to Hogwarts, that kind of thing.

What she hadn't expected was for Hermione to get angry. "What? Why wouldn't he let you go to Hogwarts? Is it the fact you're an elf? What was wrong with him?"

Danielle cocked her head to the side and watched as Hermione got angry at Dumbledore on her behalf. To be honest, she wasn't that angry at Dumbledore. She only wanted to go to Hogwarts to be close to…a few certain people. She couldn't have learned the unique branches of magic that only elves could learn at Hogwarts and was glad to have gone to Middle Earth and Alegasia for training.

"Miss Granger, how much longer are you going to rant?" she asked curiously. It was…different to see someone actually defend her, whether or not she needed it.

"But-" Hermione saw the red head's look and calmed down, still wondering why Dumbledore wouldn't have let this girl into Hogwarts. "You should have gone."

Danielle shrugged, relaxing more into her chair. "I did ask, several times, to at least visit if I'm not going to a student. The headmaster didn't think it would be a good idea for even a short stay. Too bad, I wanted to see a sorting ceremony, the goblet of fire, the various tasks, and others. I wanted to at least meet a few of the teachers, see if Dumbledore's reaction to me was universal or it was just him. Well, at least I got to see Sirius and Remus a few times in the last few years."

Hermione was feeling more and more of her heart going out to this girl. She got to go to Hogwarts and witness all of what Danielle had just described and she had been denied that. All because of Dumbledore for some strange reason.

She was going to say something when there was a sound like a gong that got her attention. Danielle sighed and stood up. "My apologies, miss Granger, but I have to take that." With that, she walked through the glass doors and back into the house.

Curious, Hermione got up as well and followed the elf into the house. She saw Danielle go to a large mirror that hung on the wall of the living room, only it wasn't reflecting the room. The mirror held the image of another person, a woman, who had dark hair and also the pointed ears that Danielle had. The other person was wearing a tunic as well and seemed to emit a much more regal personality than the red head.

"Hello aunt Arwyn," said Danielle, sounding a little happier at seeing the person. "Anything I can do for you?"

Arwyn smiled and shook her head. "Nay, Danielle. I heard you came back from Elismera and was wondering if you got home safely. Also, how is Arya?"

"Thank you for your concern, Arwyn, I got here safely. Arya is still holding in there after Eragon left but she's getting more and more erratic the longer she's stuck on the throne. It's only a matter of time before she packs up her dragon and heads off to join him, wherever he is. How is Frodo doing?"

Arwyn sighed. "Better now but he was depressed for months. Bilbo was like a father to him, it is a shame that he finally passed away but he will be missed. I liked that little hobbit."

Danielle smiled. "Just be glad that that ring is gone or it would be even worse. Is Frodo still with Samantha?"

"Yes, they are doing well and expecting."

"Really? Tell them congratulations from me. They deserve it after she followed him from the Shire, across Middle Earth and made it through Gollem and Mordor. I trust that Gandalf is planning their party?"

"Of course, he wouldn't want to miss it. Anything to distract him from the tedious task of cleaning up after Saruman."

Danielle laughed, "I bet. How is Aragorn doing? Are you two still…?"

Arwyn nodded happily. "Aragorn is doing fine, being a king suits him now that the Fellowship completed their task of destroying the ring. My father even gave him his blessing."

"About time. I'm happy for you two."

Arwyn seemed to think what Danielle was thinking. "You will find someone yourself, Danielle. Don't lose hope. It took Arya a hundred years to find her chosen mate."

Danielle sighed. "I know. But, Arya still had lovers before she found her chosen. And now that she's bonded to a dragon…she's never alone. Besides, I'm not fully elf. What if-"

Arwyn cut her off. "What if you don't find your chosen? What if you don't have a chosen? Danielle, I told you that you do. It takes time, just wait and you will find him or her. You're young, be patient."

The red head sighed again but nodded. "Alright, thanks for that, Arwyn svit-kona." She put two fingers to her lips and rose them to Arwyn. "Atra du evarinya ono varda."

Arwyn looked at her a little sadly before doing the same. "Atra esterni ono thelduin, Danielle Evans."

Danielle closed her eyes and didn't even notice when the image in the mirror vanished to be replaced with a reflection of the room, a normal mirror once more. Hermione was shocked when she saw a tear leak from the red head's closed eye lid. Taking a deep breath, Hermione made enough noise to alert her presence before sitting down on one of the chairs in the room.

The red headed elf waved her hand over her face and it was back to what it looked like before the mirror call. She looked over at the bushy haired girl nearby. "Sorry about that. Just my aunt, wanted to check up on me."

Hermione nodded, looking at her closely. If she hadn't seen that tear herself, she wouldn't have known it had been there. "So, you've been to Middle Earth? What's Gandalf like?"

Danielle looked her oddly, before breaking out in a smile. "Fun, actually. Never late, never early-"

"A wizard is always on time," finished Hermione, smiling, remembering that line from 'Lord of the Rings.' "Are you telling me you saw the ring?" she asked, leaning forward in her chair.

Danielle laughed slightly, sitting down herself. "Yes, that thing was nasty. A bit of Sauron's soul was stuck inside that thing and was powerful. Luckily Frodo was able to throw it into Mount Doom in Mordor or all of Middle Earth would be doomed."

"And you met Bilbo and Frodo?"

"Bilbo was actually a really nice hobbit," said Danielle, remembering the guy fondly. "Time moves differently between the words and I just happened to have been around when Gandalf asked him if he would like to have an adventure. I joined in about half way through the quest and I helped the dwarves and Bilbo get past the dragon. Thorin didn't like me at first, of course, but he didn't like any elves back then. I swear, Smaug was huge."

"You saw Smaug?" asked Hermione eagerly.

"I did," said Danielle, laughing a little. "How else do you think I got all of that treasure upstairs? That dragon was a horder, no question about that."

"I thought that Frodo was friends with a guy named Sam? Who's Samantha?"

Danielle suddenly grimaced. "You heard that? How much did you hear?"

Hermione realized what she had just said. "Oh, uh, I just heard a few things. I didn't hear the whole thing."

The red head didn't sound convinced but let it go. "That was one of the few things Tolkein got wrong. Sam really was Samantha. She and Frodo really did love each other, that was why she traveled with him throughout all of Middle Earth just to destroy a ring." She paused for a moment. "Why did you bring a soul fragment in here? From everything I detected last night and early this morning, you brought two fragments in the house."

"Ah," she hesitated, she wasn't supposed to tell anyone about the horcruxes after all. But then, Danielle did seem to know more about them than anyone else. "We really shouldn't talk about it until Harry wakes up." She answered diplomatically.

Danielle quirked an eyebrow but said nothing about it. She had seen soul fragments before in the ring and two weaker forces that were extremely similar were in this house. Still, if Hermione said it was okay for now…

"So, what did you think of Sirius?" Hermione asked, trying to change the subject.

Danielle smirked. "Sirius was a lot of fun. I liked him a lot. He was always joking that the big bad elf was a simple farmer here and a warrior in Middle Earth. Remus was okay, but I don't think he ever really liked me. He was cautious of me and constantly kept thinking I was going to go an a killing spree."

"Why would he do that?" asked Hermione, outraged. She liked Professor Lupin but Danielle so far had been nothing but the perfect host while she herself had threatened and insulted her.

Danielle shrugged. "Pick a reason. I'm an elf so I'm technically part of the Seelie court, or the good fae of the world. I've never been to a meeting or anything but they include elves, high fairies, merpeople, and Veelas. Werewolves like Remus are part of the Unseelie court or the darker fae, which also include vampires, goblins, and orcs. Typically, we don't get along but we have put our differences aside in recent years.

"Dumbledore also doesn't like me for some reason I've never been able to figure out. It could be that I'm an elf, an unofficial member of the Seelie court, or something else entirely. The fact that Remus trusts Dumbledore implicitly could be all the proof he needs to not get close to me."

Hermione looked at Danielle and saw that the red head honestly didn't care about what Professor Lupin had to say. Although, now that she thought about it, Dumbledore hadn't really liked Fleur Delecour either and she was a quarter Veela. Did Dumbledore not like any Fae or just the Seelie court as he liked Professor Lupin just fine. Hagrid was part giant and they were part of the Unseelie court and the headmaster liked him just fine.

Before she could say anything, Danielle stood up. "Any breakfast, miss Granger? I could do with some food."

Hermione nodded and they went into the kitchen. Opening Danielle's pantry, Hermione found fruits, nuts and grains. The refrigerator proved to be the same, heavy on the produce and with some jams, honey, and milk.

"Vegetarian?"

Danielle chuckled as pulled some cereal from a cupboard and poured herself a bowl. "All elves are vegetarian, miss Granger. At least, all the ones I know are and I met quite a few." She pulled out a loaf of bread from the pantry as well and put into a toaster, letting it warm before pulling out the honey. "Just something for you to get used to the longer you're here. I used to trade some of my fruits and vegetables with Bathilda for eggs but I suppose I'll have to make due without her now."

Her voice got lower as she kept talking until it was barely a whisper. She shook herself and pulled out a jug of orange juice. "Here, I grew the oranges myself. I'm not a fan of pumpkin juice."

Hermione nodded and prepared her own breakfast. "I'm not a fan of pumpkin juice either but after so long with it at Hogwarts, it grew on my somewhat. I still prefer apple or orange juice but I'll make due." She paused as she cut herself a piece of bread. "You miss her, don't you?"

Danielle stopped for a moment before continuing to set the table. "She was my only real friend, so yes, I do miss her. But, life goes on. I would go back to give her a proper burial but I'm sure that Voldemort is hanging around for that."

"I'm sorry," said Hermione quietly, pouring herself some milk from a flask.

"Don't worry about it," said Danielle mechanically, like it was supposed to be what she would say in this situation. "Not your fault." She changed the subject. "So, how long do you think Harry will want to stay here?"

Hermione snorted as she brought her bowl over to the table as well. "He'll probably want to leave as soon as possible. Is this place really safe?"

Danielle nodded, getting their toast from the toaster along with the honey. "As safe as you can get. I have wards from this world and from Middle Earth on this place. Gandalf and Elrond taught me more tricks than I know what to do with and it all went into this house. When you take on Orcs and Urgals, you learn to defend yourself."

The bushy haired girl nodded absentmindedly, wondering what it would take to keep Harry here for a few days at most.

They ate in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. The quiet was nice though, like they respected the other enough to voice any concerns the other might have if they had any.

They were just finishing when Danielle looked up suddenly. "Harry's awake. You might want to go talk to him before he get's worried and blasts the door down."

Hermione, figuring that that was very possible, nodded and left.

XXXXX

While Danielle cleaned up the kitchen, Hermione headed up the stairs. She figured she was the best person to tell Harry where they were as he trusted her while he hadn't met Danielle yet.

Knocking on the door, Hermione called out. "Harry, it's me, you awake?"

A moment's pause, "yeah, come in."

Opening the door, she found Harry sitting up in bed, he was frowning but otherwise in good spirits.

"Harry!" Hermione gave him her patented 'Hermione Hug' tm and had him sprawled on his back on the bed. She continued the hug for several more moments before realizing that he was naked from the waist up. "Thank Merlin you're alright Harry. We got out of there luckily and we're safe here. Don't worry about that."

Harry nodded slowly but looked at her. "Hermione, we thought we were safe in a lot of places and we wind up attacked. You sure we're safe here?"

Hermione smiled and nodded. "You don't remember what happened last night, do you?" At the shake of his head, she went on. "We were in danger of the snake, Nagini was going to kill us if Voldemort hadn't. You were only half conscious when it happened. Just when Voldemort was about to show up, a girl named Danielle came to save us. She killed Nagini and brought us here to her house. We are still in Godric's Hallow but I checked and all of the wards she told me about are up around the house. Really Harry, she might have thrown everything on this house but the Fidileous charm. This might be safer than Hogwarts at the moment since Snape is Headmaster."

Harry thought for a moment before seemingly remembering the horcrux. Hermione pointed to it on the desk beside the bed. "Danielle was able to heal you last night and you seemed to have slept well. You are well rested, aren't you?"

He smiled as much as he was able. "Yes, Hermione, no nightmares last night. I thought I had some at the beginning but they left pretty quickly. So, who's this Danielle? I don't remember hearing her name before."

Hermione hesitated. "All I know about her is some of her history. She was friends with Bathilda Bagshot and was coming over late for Christmas, that was why she was at the house at all when she found us instead. She told me that she knew Sirius and Professor Lupin but I don't think she knows that Sirius is gone yet. She's been away for a while and just got back in town last night."

Harry sighed and put on a shirt that Hermione dug out of her beaded handbag. "Better go meet her then. Anything else?"

"Ah, yes," said Hermione, looking at him. "Harry, I was in no condition to heal you when we got here, your wounds were pretty bad. But, I think that Danielle healed you more than we guessed."

"Huh?" He went over to a mirror and examined his body. To his amazement, most of his scars were gone. The basilisk fang scar, the one that Pettigrew gave him, even the ones Umbridge caused during his detentions, all gone. The only one that stayed was the one on his forehead. "How?" To his knowledge, not even Madame Pomfrey could do that.

Hermione smiled at him. "You also got a scar on your chest, from when the locket burned into it. It's gone now as well. She tried to explain what kind of magic she used but it went over my head a bit."

To her surprise, Harry chuckled. "The great Hermione Granger, not understanding how magic works. That's a first."

Hermione mock scowled and slapped his arm slightly. "Prat."

Harry grinned and looked around before frowning. "Hermione, where's my wand?"

Hermione tensed, her expression pained. "Harry, before Danielle showed up and killed Nagini, I did try to get us out of there. I fired a blasting curse and it started bouncing around the room. It hit…it must have hit…"

"Hermione, where's my wand?"

Hermione tried to hide her tears before she reached into her bag and pulled out Harry's wand. It was broken cleanly in two. The two pieces held together by just a strand of Phoenix feather.

Harry gingerly took the wand from her, holding it like he had lost one of his best friends. "Mend it," he said, his throat dry. "Please."

Hermione was now really trying to hold her tears back. "Harry, it might not be possible. When Ron broke his wand…it wasn't the same afterwards." She hiccupped a little at saying Ron's name.

"Please, Hermione, just try."

Hermione nodded slowly and pulled out her own wand. "R, reparo."

The two pieces sealed themselves. Harry held it, "Lumos."

The wand sparked feebly before going out. He pointed it at Hermione's wand. "Expellearmas."

Her wand wiggled a little but didn't leave her hand. The use of magic was apparently too much for the wand and it broke in two again.

Harry sighed and put the two pieces into his Moke skin purse also on the desk, now too full of broken and damaged objects to accept anymore.

"Harry?"

"Well," Said Harry, not hearing Hermione's voice. "I guess I'll be using yours for a while, won't I?"

Hermione bit her lip before nodding. "Why don't we get some breakfast, Harry? Just a warning, Danielle is a vegetarian so you won't get any meat or anything but it's better than nothing."

Harry nodded, not really feeling anything at the moment. He allowed himself to be directed out of the room and down the stairs, Hermione leading him the entire way. After a moment, it seemed the shock wore off and he seemed fine. "Thanks, Hermione."

She looked at him in surprise.

He continued. "You were brilliant out there. We might be dead right now if it hadn't been for you."

Hermione smiled and gently hugged him, encouraging him to hug her back. He did so and they stayed still at the bottom of the stairs, just letting out their emotions.

When they separated, Hermione took his hand again. "Come on, you need to meet our host. Manners and all that."

Harry smiled and allowed himself to be pulled into a kitchen. He had to admit, it was much more modern than what he expected. Kitchen appliances on the counter, digital clocks, he thought they might be in some Muggle house if he hadn't known better. Standing in front of the counter was a girl about his age of seventeen, peeling carrots and potatoes and chopping them into bite sized pieces.

She turned to see them and he had to admit, she was a looker. She did appear to be in her late teens and had dark red hair, a forest green t-shirt, emerald eyes, and a full female figure. His breath hitched. He had seen that face, not just once when he looked at the Mirror of Erised but also in the graveyard when his and Voldemort's wands connected. This young woman looked just like…

"Mum!"

Danielle visibly winced at his tone and put down the knife she had been using. She got a look at Harry for the first time and had to admit, he looked just like the various descriptions she had gotten from Sirius. His messy black hair, emerald eyes, his slightly shorter than average stature and the slightly malnourished look was spot on.

Drying her hands on a nearby towel, she glanced from a confused Hermione to a still shocked Harry. "Hello Harry. I'm Danielle Evans."

She mentally winced at how stupid that sounded but she couldn't take it back now. She continued. "I think I have a story to tell. How about in the living room?"

Hermione nodded and grabbed some homemade breakfast bars on the counter for Harry, getting the go ahead from Danielle. The red head closed her eyes and sighed, what was she supposed to do now?

Sitting in the living room about a minute later, she still didn't know how to handle this. Harry was going back and forth between shock and slight anger, though hearing about his temper, Danielle wasn't that surprised at that.

Taking the comfortable armchair while the other two took the couch next to it, she smiled a little which Harry took suspiciously.

"Well, this meeting is going well," Danielle said softly, too quiet for the two humans to hear. "Harry, I know what you are thinking and no, I'm not Lily Potter. I might look like her but I'm not her inferi, I'm not using polyjuice to look like her, I'm willing to swear on my life and my magic that my name really is Danielle Evans and I'm not a clone of Lily."

Harry looked a little less suspicious but still glared at her. Hermione just looked awkward about the situation.

Danielle sighed again and started. "I was going to tell you this Hermione but I figured that Harry should be here for this as well. Before we begin, I swear on my life and my magic that everything I am about to tell you is the truth and I'm not lying at all. I swear that I am not deceiving you and I am only telling the truth and I will not harm either of you." A flash of magic sealed the oath.

"You didn't have to do that," said Hermione, horror struck that the red head would swear something that could kill her.

"Would Harry believe anything I said otherwise," Danielle countered, looking at Harry. "I do look like a clone of Lily but I promise you that I am not."

She took in a deep breath. "My name is Danielle Evans but at one point it was Danielle Potter." Hermione gasped a little and Harry raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "Hermione knows that I'm actually a high elf, I'm not fully human, Harry. I managed to get the whole story of how that worked.

"Our grandfather was the king of the elves in the forests of Du Weldenvarden in the country of Alegasia at the time. Yes, Harry, I know there is no country named that here on earth but, as I told Hermione last night and this morning, there are a variety of various worlds out there if one knows how to travel them. Alegasia is another country separate but part of the same world as Middle Earth, Hermione, just so you know.

"While it wasn't needed, our grandfather, king Evander, did come to earth every now and then to see how his ancestor's original home world was doing. It wasn't that hard to hide that he was an elf so he passed as human but I've never been good at those spells. Anyway, let's just say that he was attracted to a pretty human girl. I'll spare you the details."

Harry frowned. "You say that you're a high elf, but how does this affect me?"

"I'm getting there," said Danielle. "Being king, Evander had to go back to Alegasia but did come to help the human girl every now and then. I'm sure you can imagine the scandal that he was mated and had a daughter and he still went with a human in another world. Anyway, I don't know all the details but she wasn't too financially secure, she couldn't afford to raise a child."

"Adoption?" asked Hermione.

Danielle nodded. "I was told that she had a daughter and the young girl was adopted a few days later by a nice family." She turned to Harry. "That family was the Evans family."

Harry was stunned. "My mum was adopted? Why didn't anyone ever tell me?"

"Probably because no one knew," said Danielle, shrugging. "You have to admit, I've seen photos of Lily and Petunia and they don't anything like each other. Lily didn't even look like her adopted parents, and still no one questioned it. I personally think that Grandfather Evander placed a mild spell on his child so no one would question it. From what I heard, Lily did get some elven features but she was only half elf. She didn't get the pointed ears, speed or strength but did get some of the elven beauty. There is a reason people call us the 'fair folk.'"

"I always heard that mum was gorgeous," said Harry, shaking his head. "But I never expected this."

Danielle shrugged again. "I don't personally understand it all either but…oh well. I'm pretty sure you know how it worked after that. Mum met James Potter and even though he was a bit stuck up and arrogant in his early years, eventually turned into someone mum could love. As for us, well…

"Lily gave birth to twins on July 31, 1980. From how it was explained to me, I was told that Lily's latent elf gene went to me while none of it went to you. I became almost full elf, with just the bare essentials from James for my conception. I'm 99% elf and only 1% human while you are all human. I got the pointed ears, enhanced senses, speed, strength and magic. I also got all the stigma of being what I am."

"I've never heard of high elves being discriminated against," said Hermione.

"Not from wizards, no," said Danielle. "On that Halloween night of 1981, Voldemort attacked. He turned you into the boy-who-lived and into the 'chosen one.' When Hagrid showed up, he only had plans for Harry. Harry, I honestly don't know why but Dumbledore hated me the moment he saw me when I was a baby. He took one look at me, saw that I was an elf, and turned his back on me. Hagrid and Sirius arrived that night and there was only one child, you. Dumbledore had apparently gotten there first, left you there for Hagrid to bring to the Dursleys, and I was sent to an orphanage."

"You what?" Shouted Hermione, standing up in her anger. Harry looked at her curiously, but didn't say anything, wanting to know more.

Danielle looked taken aback by Hermione's outburst but continued. "I stayed in the orphanage until I was about five. By then, I couldn't take it anymore. The other children saw me as different and picked on me, constantly. No one wanted to adopt me, of course, so eventually I ran away."

Hermione frowned but was also saddened by the little girl in the story. She would have probably done the same at that age.

"I knew no one would miss me and apparently Dumbledore hadn't tried too hard to find some place for me as I wound up here in Godric's Hallow, not that I knew what this place was called then. Apparently, all elves are gifted in nature magic and I was able to make a decent sized tree house for myself. Food was no problem as berries and fruit trees like to grow around me. I lived like that for maybe a year before I ran into Bathilda. She was nearby and she didn't seem scared of me like everyone else had, so we became fast friends. It helped that her family didn't contact her anymore and we both now had someone to talk to.

"When I was seven, I started learning everything I needed to know about being an elf. Grandfather Evander had had a brother named Elrond and he managed to find me on one of his searches for family members. He brought me to Rivendell in Middle Earth and taught me everything I needed to know. It was…hard, to deal with elves after living amongst humans for so long. Especially since they don't particularily like human/elf hybrids and they saw me as one."

"Not your fault," Hermione muttered, too quietly for Harry to hear but not for Danielle and her enhanced hearing.

The red head continued like she hadn't heard though. "The years alternated between living here, in Rivendell, or in Elismera with my aunt Arya, or Evander's legilitimate daughter. I think I did pretty well in helping Bilbo with the dragon, Frodo with the ring and aunt Arya had me do some small things to help against a dark king from taking over. I still spent time here every now and then though. I bought this house with my cut from helping the defeat of Smaug and the battle of five armies and warded the heck out of it. Voldemort can't find it even if he knew where to look. I helped Sirius clean up for a bit after he broke out of Azkaban, looked after him both before and after he left the country. He was one of the few who knew about me, being my godfather as well as yours Harry. I just came back from Elismera and a training session when I realized that today is Christmas day and I always spent Christmas eve with Bathilda. That's when I found you two."

Danielle took the opportunity to look out the window, not wanting to look at her two guests. She knew what would happen, it always happened. Elves didn't like her, humans didn't like her, it was just a fact of life.

Harry shook his head, as if wondering what had happened to his family. "And Dumbledore never thought it would be a good idea to bring you up? You are apparently my twin sister? I think you might be an important detail."

"To be honest," said Danielle. "Dumbledore hated me and told me so several times when we ran into each other. I'm pretty sure he never wanted you to know about me." She wasn't angry, she wasn't upset, she was just…detatched. She sighed, "I should work on the stew some more. Feel free to do whatever you wish." She left.

In the kitchen, she found the carrots and potatoes exactly where she had left them and they didn't seem so appetizing anymore. The closest person she had been to was Bathilda and now she was gone. Elves in general didn't believe in an afterlife but she hoped that her friend found some happiness now. Sirius was a fun guy to talk to and to get his take on certain situations but she hadn't talked to him in over a year. She had no idea what happened to him. Remus was out, he never really liked her and she wasn't overly fond of him.

On the other side, she really had no one there as well. The only one that treated her with some sort of respect was aunt Arwyn and that was more of a goodwill friendship. They were family but not close family. She only got that much from the older female elf because she liked the human king Aragorn, but it apparently wasn't enough to prevent all those other elves from picking on her. Aunt Arya was…cordial, at best. The queen of the Du Weldenvarden didn't pick on her, but didn't treat her with much respect either. She was a fountain of knowledge though so she sucked up her pride and tried to treat her as a mentor but the queen just didn't like her that much.

Elrond was complicated to say the least. It was like he wanted to protect family from humans and her world, but was dismayed that she didn't know the standard elven customs right away. She was too 'human' for him and her uncle really didn't like humans in general, even after the ring was destroyed.

Getting back to her knife, she started cutting more carrots and putting them into the giant stew pot for dinner. It was barely ten in the morning but having it simmer on a low flame all day made it taste better in her opinion.

She was starting on the celery when Hermione joined her. The bushy haired girl didn't say anything, offer to help, or even look at her, just stand there peacefully. Danielle didn't know what to say so she continued her work of washing the stalks before cutting off the leafy parts for her compost heap. Finishing with that, she cut the celery in half before slicing it into many small bite sized pieces, putting that into the pot as well.

"I'm sorry."

Danielle paused before getting back to work, this time on an onion. "No apologies are-"

"I'm sorry for you being alone all this time," Hermione continued. Danielle looked over and saw that Hermione was staring at her with concern, pity, and something else that she couldn't identify. That was an accomplishment in itself as she had seen a lot. The bushy haired girl gently took her hand in her own, Danielle feeling some sort of shock going through them.

The red haired elf looked at her, sure she had felt that too. Danielle didn't say anything though, just slowly squeezed the fingers interlaced with her own. The shock came back but not as strongly as before, more comforting than anything else.

"I heard a bit of that conversation with Arwyn," said Hermione, looking at her.

"Miss Granger-"

"I saw you cry."

Danielle stopped moving, letting her hand fall out of Hermione's. She hadn't expected that. Danielle always had to be strong in either Middle Earth or Alegasia. It was always like the other elves were judging her, silently disapproving of her conception, her human background. That was why she had to be strong, show that she wasn't affected by the stares, the criticisms, the outright insults.

Hermione was starting to think that she had moved too fast, too soon. She knew next to nothing about elves or relationships in general but she didn't think it was a good sign when they froze on you. Danielle had stopped moving entirely, still as a statue and she had to admit, she could never do that. It had to be an elf thing.

"I have to go," Danielle muttered, just loud enough for Hermione to hear her.

"Wait. I-"

Danielle disapperated and reappeared outside in the backyard, sitting on one of the lounge chairs. From what Hermione could see of her, the red head had wrapped her arms around herself and was slowly rocking back and forth. Yeah, she had pushed too hard.

Harry appeared in the kitchen, having heard the sound of appertion. "What's wrong?"

Hermione sighed. Gesturing toward the back patio. "I think I blew it." She turned to him. "So, what's it like to have a sister now?"

Harry shook his head, looking a bit lost. "I don't really think of her as my sister right now. We just met. Sounds like her life was rough though."

"Makes me feel bad for threatening her when we first got here," said Hermione, sighing. "I was cautious though and I didn't know who she was."

"Moody would be proud," said Harry with a bit of a smile. "Come on, we need a new plan."

Hermione nodded mutely, not wanting to move but allowed Harry to pull her up the stairs. Something was telling her to go outside and comfort the other woman but decided to go with Harry anyway.

Hours later, Hermione came down with no idea what they had accomplished other than stating they needed to destroy the horcrux. She was coming into the kitchen when she stopped dead in her tracks.

Danielle was sitting at the table, drinking tea while occasionally taking a bite of a scone. What was strange, however, was that she wasn't alone. Sitting with her was a boy about their age with fiery red hair, second hand clothes, and a rucksack on the floor next to him. He was also drinking from a tea cup while inhaling several of the pastries himself.

"Ron?" Hermione asked, utterly stunned. The last time she had seen him was when he had angrily left because the horcrux was affecting him worse than ever. Now he was drinking tea next to Danielle without a care in the world.

Ron turned around and stared at Hermione, as if unsure what he should do next. Danielle silently stood up and made her way to the doorway, knowing that these two needed to settle their differences.

The red headed boy stood up as well, making his way slowly to Hermione. The bushy haired girl didn't stop him, just looked at him like a dream walker would.

Suddenly, Hermione launched herself at Ron and was punching as much of him as she could reach.

"Ow. Bloody, geroff. Hermione!"

"You come back after weeks and weeks!" shouted Hermione, accenting each word with a blow.

The shouting attracted Harry who ran downstairs as fast as he could go but stopped when he saw what was going on. He looked at Danielle, who just looked amused, before holding him back, allowing Hermione to vent her feelings.

"Did you even know what you did to me!" shouted Hermione hotly. "I called for you, I begged for you to come back!"

"Hermione-" Said Ron feebly.

"Where's my wand?" said Hermione quietly. She turned to Harry, not surprised or caring how he got there. "Where's my wand Harry?"

"Hermione…" said Harry, worried about his best friend.

"YOU GIVE ME MY WAND RIGHT NOW HARRY JAMES POTTER!"

"Okay, enough of this," said Danielle. She looked at Hermione and muttered something. The bushy haired Gryffindor was instantly sealed inside her own bubble about three meters in diameter. Hermione glared at her, in which she got an amused look in return, huffed, and sat down in the only chair that was in her bubble.

"Hermione," said Danielle, looking right at her. "I found Ron right outside the ward line and recognized who he was. I let him in so he could apologize for being a git but he can't do that if you knock him out, even if he does deserve it. If I let you go, do you promise to be an adult about it and listen to him, or do I keep you in there until you calm down?"

Hermione glared at her but found that it didn't do anything other than amuse her further. Finally, she huffed again and wrapped her arms and legs around herself so tightly, it would be a wonder if she untangled herself in several years.

Danielle shrugged. "Suit yourself. Ron, go ahead."

Ron looked between them all a little nervously but Hermione seemed to be locked up for the moment. "Look, I wanted to come back the moment I left. I felt horrible about it but I instantly got myself captured by a gang of snatchers."

"A gang of what?" asked Harry.

"Snatchers. People who go around catching others for the bounty. Anyway, I was caught and I couldn't go anywhere for a while. I was outnumbered and they had taken my wand."

"What did you tell them?"

"Said I was Stun Shunpike," said Ron. "First name I came up with."

"And they bought that?"

"They weren't the brightest, one of them was definitely part troll, the smell of him." He looked over at Hermione to see how she would take his crack at humor. She just stared stonily back at him. "Anyway, they started getting into a fight over whether I was a Stan or not. It was a bit pathetic, to be honest. While they were distracted, I knocked out the guy holding me and took his wand, stunned the guy holding mine and I disapperated back to our camp site. Didn't do it too well that time, splinched myself." He held up his right hand, which showed two missing fingernails. "I was too late though as you had already gone by the time I got there."

Hermione looked at Danielle and the elf girl altered the spell so they could hear her. "My, what a gripping story," said Hermione, with a tone of wanting to wound. "Imagine losing fingernails Harry. Meanwhile, we went to Godric's Hallow and Danielle saved us by killing the snake before you-know-who could come for us himself."

Ron grimaced. "Yeah, she told me that before you came down."

Danielle cleared her throat. "Um, now that everyone is here, I suppose this is the moment when I suggest that you destroy the soul fragment. That locket is evil and cursed, right?"

Ron looked over at Harry. "You told her about the horcruxes? She didn't tell me that."

"No," said Harry. "She knew about it before we got here, apparently."

Danielle laughed slightly, a nice laugh that didn't reach her eyes. "When you see a soul fragment getting thrown into a volcano, it's hard to forget about them. I have the proper magic to destroy it if you want me to." She looked hopeful, like she could be of some use to their journey.

Harry went up to get the locket and Danielle removed the spell on Hermione, allowing her out of the bubble she had been in. The bushy haired girl lightly glared at her but otherwise shrugged it off and stood up, angrier at Ron than at the red headed girl.

Ron was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, looking awkward. "Er, nice place you have here."

Hermione glared at him but Danielle lightly smiled. "Thanks. Bathilda told me about it and I had enough to afford it so I figured I would treat myself. It came fully furnished, which is lucky since I would have no clue how to do it myself."

Ron nodded but it was clear that he had no real idea of what she just said. They didn't have to wait much longer for Harry to come back with the locket. Now that it and Danielle were in the same room again, it was ticking frantically, trying to get away from her.

"Ugh," said Danielle as Harry put the locket on the table. "Not as bad as the ring, but still bad."

Hermione grinned. "Too bad the locket didn't turn any of us invisible."

Danielle smirked while Harry and Ron looked confused. "The ring was no mere soul fragment. 'One ring to rule them all' and all that. Who wants the honors?" She summoned a dagger out of pure magical energy into her hand and offered it to the group.

Harry looked at the energy dagger. "That'll destroy the horcrux?"

Danielle nodded and they looked at each other. Ron frowned. "I'll do it. It affected me worse than you two, I should do it." He took the dagger.

"You sure mate?" asked Harry, looking at the locket that was jumping slightly in its attempt to escape. "It'll fight. The diary put up a fight back in our second year."

Ron nodded, something glinting in his blue eyes.

Harry looked at the locket again and held it down. Imagining the emeralds inlaid into the metal were snakes, he hissed, "open."

With a click, the locket stopped moving as the doors opened. Behind the little glass doors had a living blinking eye, dark and handsome as Tom Riddle's eyes had been before he turned them scarlet and slit-pupiled.

"Stab," said Harry, as he held the locket against the table.

Ron raised the dagger in his shaking hands: The point dangled over the frantically swiveling eyes, and Harry gripped the horcrux tightly, bracing himself, already imagining blood pouring from the empty windows.

Then a voice hissed from the horcrux.

_"I have see your heart, and it is mine."_

"Don't listen to it, stab it!" shouted Harry.

Danielle could see that Ron's resolve was starting to weaken but she couldn't do anything yet. This was Ron's test to prove himself.

"Least loved, by the mother who craved a daughter. Least loved, by the girl who prefers your best friend. Always pushed into the background."

Hermione stiffened next to Danielle and looked up at the other woman, who was watching Ron's face, not paying attention to anything else. Ron was letting the dagger point fall more and more, listening to this voice shout out his worst fears.

"Ron!" shouted Hermione. "Just stab the thing already!"

Ron seemed to get some confidence back from that shout and he moved forward, the blade rising again.

The eyes behind the windows burned scarlet and a fearsome wind created of magic burst forth, knocking everyone down, even their elven hostess. When they looked up, they saw the strangest thing.

Two large bubbles were coming out of the two windows. They grew larger and morphed into heads, then torsos, arms and legs, until only their feet were still in the windows of the locket, like two trees with the same trunk.

The two figures were easily dark shadow versions of Harry and Hermione and they sneered at Ron, who looked terrified.

Harry tried to seize the locket but just burned his fingers on the hot metal. Danielle reached out and pulled him back. "Harry, it's his fight," she whispered, loud enough for him to hear. "He has to be the one to defeat it."

"But-" Harry trailed off, knowing that it was true. Hermione looked ready to go out and help as well but wasn't sure how. Her earlier anger at Ron had apparently evaporated as she watched, concerned as Ron stared the darker, more attractive versions of them.

"Why return?" said Riddle Harry. "We were better off without you, happier without you, glad of your absence…we laughed at your stupidity, your cowardice, your presumption-"

"Presumption!" cried out the Riddle-Hermione, who was more wild and beautiful than the real Hermione. She swayed, cackling, before Ron, who looked horrified yet transfixed, the dagger dangling uselessly at his side. "Who could look at you, who would ever look at you, beside Harry Potter? What have you ever done, compared to the Chosen One? What are you, compared to the Boy-Who-Lived?"

"Ron, stab it, STAB IT!" yelled out Harry from the safety zone. It was taking everything in him to not try to stab it himself but he knew Danielle was right, it was Ron's fight. Ron didn't move. His eyes were wide, and the Riddle-Harry and the Riddle-Hermione were reflected in them, their hair swirling like flames, their eyes shining red, their voices lifted in an evil duet.

"Your mother confessed," sneered Riddle-Harry, while Riddle-Hermione jeered, "that she would have preferred me as a son, would be glad to exchange…"

"Who wouldn't prefer him, what woman would take you, you are nothing, nothing, nothing, to him," crooned Riddle-Hermione and she stretched like a snake and entwined herself around Riddle-Harry, wrapping him a close embrace: their lips met.

On the floor in front of them, Ron's face filled with anguish. He raised the dagger high, his arms shaking.

"Do it, Ron!" shouted both Harry and Hermione at the same time.

Ron looked toward them and they thought they had almost seen some scarlet in his eyes.

"Ron-?"

The dagger flashed, plunged: Danielle pulled everyone down out of the way, there was a clang of metal, and a long, drawn out scream. When they looked up, they almost expected some new monstrosity they had to face next, but there was nothing to fight.

The monstrous forms of Harry and Hermione were gone. There was only Ron, standing there with the dagger held slackly in his hand, looking down at the shattered remains of the locket on the table.

While Harry stepped around to examine the remains of the horcrux, Hermione rushed forward and hugged Ron, who seemed to only barely sense her presence. The dagger slipped from his fingers and vanished into the magic from whence it was made.

Danielle watched them all, happy that the soul fragment was gone but felt a strange pang of loss when she saw Hermione and Ron hugging like that. Swallowing heavily, she left for the back garden without a word, letting the golden trio to their celebration, not looking back at all.

Concentrating on taking deep breaths, she sat down at on one of the benches in the garden, idly wondering if she could get a fountain or something that always pours clean water for some background noise. She could still hear her guests with her hearing but she blocked out what they were saying, not wanting to be blamed for evesdropping.

She had no idea why she felt this way. Why would she feel so sad when she saw Hermione and Ron like that? They were their own people, she couldn't tell them to do anything else or make them stop. It had nothing to do with her.

Then why did she feel like her heart was ripped out of her chest?

She had no idea how long she sat in the garden, lost in thought, until she realized that the sun was much lower in the sky. It wasn't night time but it was late afternoon. Judging by the position of the sun, she must have been outside for five hours without moving from her spot, she sighed and didn't want to go inside.

Now that the soul fragment was gone, Harry would surely want to keep moving. Why he had to do this himself, she had no idea but blamed Dumbledore out of habit. Everything always came back to that man.

"Um, hi."

Blinking, the red haired elf looked up and saw Hermione standing near her, looking unsure of herself and biting her bottom lip nervously. "Uh, can I sit down?"

Danielle just nodded and moved over a little to make room for the bushy haired girl.

Hermione nodded in thanks and sat down, looking around at the various plants. She smiled, "I think you would like our friend Neville. He's the best I've seen in Herbology."

The red haired elf smiled gently at the idea of meeting someone. "I think I would like that. Of course, I've been trained on how to sing to the plants to help them grow. I don't think he could top that."

"Sing to the plants?" asked Hermione, grinning. "That actually works?"

Danielle nodded and stood up. "Wait here, I'll show you something."

Hermione shrugged and waited as Danielle went through the various pathways through the garden. Finally, she bent down to pick something up before coming back, carrying a pot of earth in it.

"Watch this."

Hermione watched as Danielle closed her eyes and started to sing in that strange language of hers. She was stunned at the musical quality of just one voice and wondered if it was an elven thing to sound so perfect. She couldn't understand the words but that didn't detract from the song at all, if anything, it made it better as it added a mysterious, unknown quality to it that she wouldn't mind learning more about.

The song was long and filled with a lot of lower notes along with a few high ones. She closed her eyes and could imagine herself in a forest clearing, surrounded by nature. Tall trees, fresh grass, a whispering wind that winded through everything, and something gentle that might have been a rainfall.

Feeling strangely energized, Hermione opened her eyes to see that the song, which was still going, had an effect on the pot of earth Danielle was holding. Leafs sprang from the earth, slowly at first but gathering speed as a stem followed. Faster and faster, the plant grew and the bulb at the top split open to reveal a beautiful red rose. The flower finally grew to its maximum size and stopped growing, a wonderful rose now where there had only been fresh soil a moment ago.

Danielle stopped singing and opened her eyes to find Hermione in awe at the power of nature magic. Smiling a little, she said a word in the Ancient Language and all the thorns fell off the rose before she cut the stem near the base, handing it to the bushy haired girl. "That, Miss Granger, is magic."

Hermione took the rose, still slightly in shock at the display in front of her. She had never would have guessed that something like that was possible. True, there were a few spells that caused a plant to grow faster than normal but they were always dangerous to the plants as the wizards were forcing them to grow faster than normal.

"That was amazing," she said softly. Danielle smiled at her some more and sat down next to her again. "I've seen something like that before but it was bad for the plants and never on a seed to a full rose in about a minute. The spells were said to almost kill the plants."

"Not too surprising, Miss Granger," said Danielle. "I looked up those spells too and they were designed for the wrong purposes. They force a plant to grow by overriding the plant's magic with the caster's so they grow their way."

"But a plant can't use magic. At least, not most of them."

"No, they can't. But it doesn't mean that even mundane plants don't have any magic at all." Danielle looked at her straight in the eye. "Everything that is alive has magic. That includes everything. People, animals, and plants. Even people who can't use magic still have some, just not enough to use it.

"What I did was not force my will on the plant but gave it enough of my magic to its own to grow. I didn't order the rose to grow the way it did, I directed it as it grew naturally, just sped up to a faster pace. Humans like to 'control' things so things are exactly to their liking but elves prefer to guide things and allow things to work for us."

"Sounds like your magic is more instinctual and emotion based than human magic."

"You would think that we are the only ones that could do this magic but no, not really." Danielle shook her head. "I could use human magic and you could use elven. It's all about our unique styles of using magic that tells us how to do things. The only real difference between our two styles, is that you people use your powers to order magic into forcing something to happen that you approve of while I guide it there on it's own way there.

"Of course this is extremely oversimplified and there are exceptions where we borrow each others styles for certain feats of magic but that is the overall truth."

Hermione sat back in her seat, looking at her. It had been a long time since anyone had come along with anything that could resemble a logical conversation about the basic elements of magic. In fact, she couldn't even remember the last time anyone had expressed an interest.

"I never really thought about it," said Hermione. "I've only been surrounded by other Hogwarts students and never got to study how anyone else used theirs."

Danielle shrugged, relaxing into her seat as well. "I didn't really expect you to know everything. Actually, I would have been amazed if you had. Very few humans bother learning how centaurs, merpeople, goblins, or house elves use their own branches of magic. That's one of the reasons why the Ministry doesn't allow any of them to hold wands. They don't want to give them any chances of learning human magic as well as their own brands, despite that some other species just aren't capable of it."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence and Danielle got curious. "Where are Harry and Ron?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron went off to take a nap. I guess he deserves it after he destroyed that horcrux but he barely said anything to me after he did it. Harry, I think, is thinking about our quest and probably brooding about it."

"You would think that destroying a soul fragment would do him some good."

Hermione nodded. "You would think that…" She took in a deep breath. "Can I ask what is really bothering you? I can tell you're not happy right now."

Danielle winced and looked away, a pained expression on her face. "Miss Granger, I know you're trying to help but-"

Hermione cut her off by rounding on her. "Please? You've been an excellent host, helped us with the horcrux, gave us food and shelter, and you are Harry's long lost sister. I just want to help."

The elf girl next to her looked indecisive before sighing. After breathing in and out for a few moments, she turned to look at her. "First, what you have to understand here Miss Granger-"

"Hermione."

Danielle paused, "Sorry?"

"Hermione. Please, you can call me by my first name."

Danielle blinked and nodded. "Alright then. Hermione. What you have to understand is that I am not a full blooded elf, no matter how diluted my human blood is, it's still there." She closed her eyes and sighed. "That's half the problem right there. When I was first brought to Rivendell by Uncle Elrond, he was under the impression that I at least knew the basics."

She shook her head. "Personally, I think he was an idiot to assume a young girl, elf or not,that just because I am technically an elf, it means that I should instinctively know everything about it. Apparently, he had never met an elf that had never learned the ancient greetings, the proper way to say hello or good bye, the subtle differences between a meeting of various people in the social hierarchy of our culture, and so on. I was completely ignorant of all of that when I first arrived."

Hermione frowned. "But, it wasn't your fault! Of course you wouldn't know any of that!"

Danielle rolled her eyes, "try telling him that. To him, humans and everything about them was the cause of all of the evil in the world. Sauron was a human, and he created the ring and started a war. Aragorn's ancestor was the one to temporarily kill him and take the ring, but he was a human and he lost the ring in a river without destroying it in the fires of Mordor, like Elrond had told him to. Then the ring was found by Smeagle who became Gollem but that is neither here nor there. The point is that my own uncle Elrond blamed humans for the whole mess in the first place and he saw me, who is still part human, as an abomination."

Hermione gasped.

Danielle sighed and leaned back into her seat, eyes closed. "He doesn't out right say it but I can tell that he only brought me to Rivendell to prevent humans from polluting my mind any further. He is also put off by my human background and won't forget the insult I apparently made to him by greeting him as my uncle Elrond. I didn't use any of the elven customs of greeting him and said hello like a common human. I know better now, of course, but to him the damage is done and I can't fit in with elven society.

"His daughter Arwyn, my cousin, I think of more as an aunt as she is so much older than me and the only one that does treat me with any kind of respect. She fell for the human king Aragorn so she understands my plight better than most but is too worried about her father to test his patience. And since Elrond is one of the most influential elves in all of Middle Earth…I'm not really welcome anywhere there. I met a few elves that didn't really care, like Legolas and Lady Loreien, but they didn't offer any support either."

"So you aren't supported by any elves in your own culture," said Hermione, incredulously. This actually explained a lot about her, like why she was so guarded and seemed almost desperate to help them in their time of need.

Danielle just nodded wearily. "Queen Arya of Du Weldenvarden, in the country of Alegasia, a continent over from Middle Earth, is the only other elf I'm sort of on good terms with. She doesn't hate me, as we are technically related, her father was King Evander, my grandfather, after all, but we aren't close. She actually has less of a problem with the whole 'blood purity' thing as she does that I'm a scandal of the royal family, being an illegitmate child."

"Again," said Hermione hotly. "Not like you had any choice in that!"

Danielle shrugged, but the pain was still in her eyes. "I've grown used to it. Aunt Arya is still a fountain of knowledge and I'm allowed to use her library for study and research but its always clear that she would rather I left her presence forever. She can't back out of the agreement she made with Arwyn though and that was that I needed training on how to 'act like a proper elf' and not like a human that was going as an elf on Halloween."

Hermione shook her head in disgust. "Is that all?" she asked, almost rhetorically.

Danielle sighed and slumped her shoulders, looking off into the distance. "As much as I want to talk about right now. A few other things here and there but nothing too bad."

Hermione felt bad about bringing up these obviously painful memories. Moving over slightly, she closed the distance between them so they were only about three inches apart. "If possible, would offering my friendship help any?" When Danielle turned to face her, she continued. "At least you wouldn't be alone all the time."

Danielle frowned slightly. "I'm not some charity case. Just because I don't get along well with other elves, doesn't mean I don't have friends." She remembered that she was somewhat close to Gandalf, Frodo, Aragorn, Gimli, Saphira, Roran, Katrina, and even Orik to a certain degree. It wasn't like she was totally alone, just in the elven tense.

Hermione rose her hands. "I didn't mean it like that. I just wanted to be your friend."

The elf stared at her for a bit before sighing again and nodding. "Sorry, but I do spend time with humans, dwarves and even a dragon and they don't find me repulsive or anything."

"You're friends with a dragon?"

"Saphira is an awesome dragon," said Danielle, now smiling at her. "She's bonded to the human rider Eragon and they make an unstoppable team. They defeated the foul king Galbatorix and restored peace to the country of Alegasia. Eragon's an okay guy but Saphira is the one that can hold the better conversation. And before you ask, no, she can't actually talk but she can communicate through her mind with telepathy."

"Wow. Wait, how come Saphira can't talk but Smaug the dragon could?"

"Differences in species," Danielle shrugged. "They're both dragons but from two different countries and that's just what happened after the split of the two continents. Dragons are actually rare in both countries but Eragon is helping the dragon's get their population up again."

Hermione shook her head. "Must be a difference between the two worlds since our dragons here are nothing like that. They can't hold a conversation or anything, just fly around and breathe fire."

Danielle frowned again, but not at her. "The dragons here have the potential to be like the ones there but Wizards take that away from them. Tell me, Hermione, what would intelligent dragons do to the Magical economy here?"

The bushy haired girl thought about the strange question. "Well, it would drastically reduce the amount of dragon made items."

Danielle nodded. "It would cause the sale of such items to sky rocket since people like Ollivander couldn't make dragon wands anymore. That would make people start dragon hunts to bring them in and create an illegal dragon trade. In the end, everything would go back to where they are now where the dragons would be unable to voice their complaints or even escape somewhere safe for them. So unless I can make a portal to Middle Earth or Alegasia, I'm afraid they're stuck here."

Hermione widened her eyes as she thought about that. The red head's view seemed a little pessimistic but overall sounded likely.

"What's an elf's chosen one?" she asked, remembering the conversation between Danielle and Arwyn. "You said something like that in the mirror and…" she trailed off.

Danielle winced again at how much Hermione must have heard. She sighed and didn't answer for several minutes. "An elf's chosen, Hermione, is their one true mate. The one they can't live without and the one they are willing to spend the rest of their life with."

She turned to the bushy haired girl. "I'm assuming you don't know anything about elven mating customs so I'll start from the beginning I suppose." She sighed again. "Since elves are essentially immortal and can't die from old age, we don't really have marriage. Can you imagine staying with someone for hundreds of years without being tired of them for all that time?"

Hermione thought about it and shook her head. "Maybe several decades, but being with the same person for centuries without getting tired of them seems like a stretch."

Danielle nodded absentmindedly. "That's why when elves choose to stay with someone, romantically, it's a mutual agreement that they will stay with each other as long as they want. They can stay together for a day, months, centuries, or however long they want. When they want to separate, they just agree to go their separate ways with nothing holding them back.

"An elf's chosen however, that's different. An elf's chosen is the elf's one true mate and they will be together forever. Elves instinctively know when they meet their other half and all other relationships become secondary to both of them. It's always mutual and nothing will separate them. Every elf has a chosen out there but few have found them, as far as I know. My aunt Arwyn found hers in Aragorn. Aunt Arya found hers in the dragon rider Eragon. Even lady Lorien found hers with her mate. It seems to be a matter of time but…I don't know."

Hermione thought about that for a moment. "Your grandfather hadn't found his chosen, had he?"

Danielle sighed and shook her head. "He was king of Du Weldenvarden, he needed a queen. They were mated, they had a daughter, but no, they weren't chosen mates. If they had been, he wouldn't have cheated on her and had my mother." She turned to Hermione again. "In elven society, having a child is the ultimate expression of love, as we do live forever there is no pressure to keep the population up like humans do. The fact that my grandfather had two children when neither woman he loved was his true mate…that's what makes it such a scandal. Everyone is willing to overlook it in the case of Queen Arya, as she is the legitimate child, but not for me."

The bushy haired Gryffindor felt sorry for her. "What makes you so sure you don't have a chosen?"

"Look at me, Hermione. I'm an elf that was raised as a human. I'll outlive any human by a long shot and elves don't like me simply because of my history. I try, I really do, but I'm shunned from both societies. I've made friends with various humans, dwarves, and even hobbits, but when it comes to even a temporary mate, I'm stuck." She looked over at the far fence, arms around herself, staring off into space. "I'll help you against Voldemort if you wish, I'll even contribute in the final battle, but then I'll go back to Middle Earth and hopefully I can find someone there to help in the next battle."

"Are you sure that you don't have a mate?" Hermione asked again. She held out her hand and gently took Danielle's, feeling the spark between them again. The red head didn't flinch but quickly took her hand out of Hermione's.

"What are you implying, Hermione?" Danielle looked like she was close to tears now. "Are you saying that you want to be with me? Us trying to be mates? It wouldn't work. I'm partially immortal, you're human-"

"So what?" asked Hermione, hotly. "Are you just going to try to live out the rest of your life alone then? Don't you deserve some happiness?"

"Hermione-"

"No! You saved Harry and I from Nagini and Voldemort. You gave us the tools required to destroy that Horcrux. You are Harry's sister, damn it! As far as I'm concerned you are as much of our group as Harry or Ron is!"

Danielle watched as Hermione ranted, slightly touched that she was already considered a member of their group. She had been a part of groups before but had never really been seen as an important member. The closest would be when Gandalf had allowed her to join the group to the Lonely Mountain to face Smaug the dragon. Now that wizard was truly one of a kind.

Realizing that Hermione had grabbed her hand sometime during her rant, she did admit that the small shocks going through her body felt slightly comforting. Like she wasn't alone in this anymore. Could she find a group where she was truly accepted?

She was surprised when Hermione finally wore herself out from her rant and was lying her head on her shoulder, still huffing slightly. Slowly, she moved an arm and wrapped it around the bushy haired girl's waist, taking it as a good sign when the girl didn't throw her off and instead just snuggled into her deeper.

The constant contact with her was sending pleasurable shivers up her spine. She had no idea what was going on but she didn't want it to end.

"Feel better?" Hermione asked, slightly sleepily as she rested her head on the red head's shoulder.

Danielle thought about that. She did feel better that the bushy haired girl wasn't running even after she revealed so much about elven culture. Strictly speaking, she wasn't supposed to reveal that much to an outsider but felt that Hermione could be trusted with the various secrets. It wasn't like she could do much with them anyway, unless she found a way to travel to Middle Earth or Alegasia and that was impossible without her.

"Danielle," Hermione whispered loud enough for her to hear. "I, I want to try something."

The elf in question looked at her, questioningly. Hermione bit her lip slightly before moving closer to her and met her lips with hers. Danielle's eyes widened at her first kiss but couldn't stop the slight moan that left her when she felt the sparks fly between them. It didn't take long for her to kiss Hermione back, which caused her to moan a little in return.

They finally separated, breathing slightly heavily, staring at each other. "Well," said Danielle, getting her breath back. "That was…interesting."

Hermione nodded. "Yeah."

Danielle frowned. "Wait, what about Ron? I thought that…"

"I thought at one point too," Hermione finished. "But, we never did click in that way. Besides, we always fight. I don't want that in a lasting relationship."

"Does he know that?"

"I told him. Hopefully he'll listen," said Hermione, uncaringly. She bit her lip shyly. "Does this mean, we can give us a try?"

Danielle looked at her and smiled. "I would love to." She pulled the girl closer to her slightly and met her lips with hers in another gentle kiss. Hermione reciprocated eagerly, making up for her lack of talent with enthusiasm.

They stayed like that for a while, talking softly and sharing the occasional kiss but mostly just enjoying each other's company. Danielle finally sighed when it started getting dark. "We should go inside and eat."

Hermione was about to say something when her stomach growled for her. She blushed as Danielle chuckled. "Now I know we have to eat."

Helping her new girlfriend off the bench, Danielle led her to the house where they had a big cauldron full of stew waiting for them.

Dinner was mostly quiet. Ron complained a little about the lack of meat in the dish but otherwise shut up when Hermione was about to yell at him. Harry said nothing, just eating and lost in thought.

After the meal was over, Ron went off back to the room he had found while Harry and Hermione helped Danielle with the dishes. After putting the rest of the stew into the refigerator for leftovers, the dishes were done in no time.

"You okay?" asked Danielle. Hermione had been quiet for the last hour or so, seemingly lost in thought. Harry saw as well and listened in.

Hermione sighed. "All of this, reminded me of my parents. I used to do this with my mum and dad every so often. Just wondering what they are up to."

Danielle hummed and smiled slightly. "I do have a way for us to see if they are okay." Hermione whipped her head around and stared at her. "I take it you want to try, then?"

"Of course I want to try," said Hermione, smiling happily now. "What do we have to do?"

Danielle smiled at Hermione being happy. "Follow me."

The three of them went to the mirror in the living room, the two Hogwarts students looking confused. "Okay, now this is called scrying."

"Scrying?" asked Hermione, now excited. "This was supposed to be lost for centuries."

"Maybe here, but not where I learned magic," said Danielle, grinning. "For it to work, you just focus on what you want or who you want to see. Have a clear picture in your mind of the target, look at any reflective surface and say the words 'Dramur Kopa.'"

Hermione listened intently and nodded. "Okay, let's give it a try." She turned to the mirror and closed her eyes, muttering the words under her breath. Finally she opened her eyes and said, "Dramur Kopa."

The mirror went blank for a moment, before an image slowly appeared in the surface. It was fuzzy at first but it finally showed two figures. One was a man about that looked to be in his mid to late thirties and a woman that looked like an older version of Hermione. They were both just sitting around, reading something. The problem was that everything other than the two figures was white. They were sitting, but they couldn't see the chairs. They were reading but they couldn't see the books.

Hermione frowned. "What's wrong? Did I do it right?"

Danielle smiled gently. "That's the problem with scrying, you can only see what you have personally seen before. Have you ever been where your parents are now?"

"No."

"Than you can only see your parents, but not where they are or the items they are holding. If they were at your house, you would be able to see that as well."

Hermione sighed and nodded, watching as the picture faded to be replaced with a reflection of the room again. "At least I know they're safe." She moved forward and allowed Danielle to bring her into a hug, needing it after seeing her parents again.

Harry was fascinated with this however. "Can I try?"

Danielle nodded and he moved in front of the mirror himself. Eyes closed, he did the same as Hermione, muttering the words to himself first before saying the incantation out loud. The mirror shimmered and showed the whole of the Burrow living room. She watched as an older red headed woman was seen cooking something while a younger girl ran around, chasing two older twins, also with red hair.

"Well, at least we know that the Weasleys are okay," said Harry as the image shifted slightly to show an office building and a balding red headed man working at a desk. The image shifted again to show a younger red headed man with a blonde beauty in his arms and another one that looked like he was sleeping. "Arthur, Bill and Charlie are okay."

Danielle nodded, feeling the drain on her magic to keep the spell going now. She didn't say anything when the image changed again to show a Remus along with a pregnant woman younger than him.

"Wow, Tonks is pregnant," said Harry, shaking his head.

The red headed elf was now starting to sweat as she tried to keep the spell active. "Anyone else?"

Harry shook his head and the spell ended, making Danielle sigh in relief, allowing the spell to end and the mirror to turn back to normal.

Hermione noticed and glared at her. "You were providing the magic for the spell, weren't you?" When Danielle nodded, she frowned. "You didn't have to do that. How draining is that spell?"

"Pretty draining, actually," Danielle admitted. "Especially if it goes on for that long. Luckily it was just the basic spell that doesn't allow you to talk to the person on the other end. Now that is draining."

Hermione gave her a look saying they were going to be talking later. She gulped, but oddly felt comforted that someone actually cared enough for her to yell at her if she did something stupid or magically draining.

Harry looked between them for a moment before shrugging. "I think it's been a long day. I'll see you in the morning, girls."

Both girls nodded, watching Harry go up the stairs to his room. Hermione turned to face Danielle. "You know, I was wondering why all three of our rooms are different. Harry's looks like a standard room from the Leaky Cauldron. Ron's is almost exactly the same as the one in his room at the Burrow. And mine is could have been taken from a hotel suite from a fancy Muggle hotel."

Danielle smiled and chuckled. "I designed my bedrooms to change based on what the person staying there feels would be suitable at that time. Harry was sick from poison, unconscious and injured, he didn't care what his room looked like at the time so it gave him the bare essentials. Ron is comforted by familiar surroundings apparently, that's why his room looks so close to it."

"And since I'm from the Muggle world, I have stayed in hotel suits before," Hermione mused. "Would Harry's look different now if he wanted it to?"

Danielle nodded. "It probably has already. If you go check on him now it has probably changed into whatever room he would find the most comfortable."

Hermione stared at her intently. "You are going to tell me how to cast those spells."

The elf smiled and gently kissed her, which Hermione gave an approving sound to. "Deal."

"Now then, why did you drain your magic to power our scrying?"

Danielle sighed and pulled her onto the nearby couch. "Hermione, I'm trying to help. I really am. How am I supposed to help if I don't do things for you guys every now and then? The magical drain isn't that bad once one gets used to it. I just hadn't kept up that spell for that long before personally."

Hermione didn't looked convinced before nodding, resting her head on Danielle's shoulder again. "You don't have to do things for us, though." She said, closing her eyes. "I wouldn't think less of you if I had to power my own spells."

Danielle sighed again, her arm twitching, wanting to wrap them around Hermione but not sure if she should. "I just want to feel useful," she said, softly, not looking at her.

"You are already." Hermione turned to look at her. "Just letting us stay here is helping us. We were running up and down the countryside in a tent before we came here and you offered us food and shelter."

Danielle nodded, still not looking at her. "I'm sorry, but I've been alone for so long, that…"

"That you don't know what to do now?" Hermione finished, trying to look in Danielle's eyes and failing to catch them. "I think you are doing a great job so far."

"Really?" Danielle sounded vulnerable, like Hermione could break her if she said the wrong thing.

Hermione looked at her with pity and purposely put her arm around her, surprising her. "You aren't alone, Danielle. I promise you that."

"This is a war, Hermione," Danielle pointed out. "How can you promise that?"

Hermione smiled and kissed her gently. "We care and protect each other, that way, we both come out of this alive."

"And if you come out of this experiment and find that you don't want to be with me?" asked Danielle, sounding almost afraid. "I know what teens are like, Hermione. You might want to be with me now, but are you sure you might want me in the next few years? Or even months?"

The bushy haired girl looked at her right in the eyes. "I won't pretend that I'll be with you forever, I don't know what the future holds. But I can promise you, that I don't enter relationships lightly. If I'm with you, I weighed the pros and cons and found that being with you was better than being without you."

Danielle only looked slightly mollified at that. She knew that this could only be temporary. It was elven for this to not to last forever and human to expect that this could just be a curiosity and nothing else. Still, she hoped that this lasted a while. She liked the warm sparks traveling up her body whenever she and Hermione touched.

Hermione stifled a yawn and Danielle smiled at her. "Tired?"

"A little, but I can stay up later." She paused for a moment. "Can I see your room? I haven't seen it yet."

Danielle nodded and got up, helping Hermione stand as well. Going up the stairs, she led the bushy haired girl past the doors in the hallway. "My room is on the far end of the hall. I don't spend all my time there, but it's a nice quiet haven in case I need it."

Hermione smiled and followed the red headed elf that was slowly but surely winning her heart. In her opinion, Danielle was everything she could want in a boyfriend or girlfriend. She was smart, caring, passionate about things she cared about, and opened doors for her that she had never known. The fact that she was female didn't really have anything to do with it. She had always been attracted more to guys but more than a few girls had caught her attention too.

Some of her blamed that on the fact that her two best friends were boys and she had no real female friends.

The door at the end of the hall didn't have a label like the other doors and Danielle opened it, allowing Hermione to enter.

Hermione took one look and was impressed. The room was far larger than it should in a house of this size but that was easily explainable with magic. A large bookcase stood along one wall next to a door leading to a bathroom. Above the bookcase held tons of scrolls, all sealed with all sorts of secret magics. The wall opposite the bookcase held shelves full of rare oddities from Middle Earth, Alegasia, and a few from Godric's Hallow, Hermione saw that a few looked handmade.

A large four poster bed with emerald curtains around it dominated the room, with forest green blankets and large enough for more than one person.

"I, I don't really spend a lot of time in this room," said Danielle, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "I have a library that contains more information. The bed is really more for appearances as I don't actually sleep but go into a meditative state that is actually more restful than sleep. I could lead you back to your room if…"

She trailed off when Hermione had taken off toward the bookcases, looking at the various titles.

"Aren't you tired?" asked Danielle, curious on how Hermione could apparently lose all sense of tiredness when confronted with books.

"Hmm?" Hermione was reading a book on the recent history of Alegasia and didn't seem interested in putting it down.

Giving up, she led the bushy haired girl toward the arm chair near the book case and prepared for bed. Going into the closet, she changed into her night clothes in there before coming back out, finding that Hermione hadn't moved.

Sighing, now wondering if Hermione was just pitying her and using her for information, she sat cross legged on her bed. Closing her eyes, she had some trouble entering her meditation for the night but finally managed it, going over all of her recent thoughts and emotions.

XXXXX

Hermione read late into the night, she only stopped when she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. The book she found was just so fascinating. It detailed how the Dragon Rider Eragon worked together with the resistance movement, the Varden, and the elves in defeating the evil king Galbatorix. The book mentioned Queen Arya, how she became a dragon rider herself shortly after the war and how Eragon had left Alegasia to form a new order of riders. Danielle herself had been mentioned and the book had described how the red headed elf had given the Varden much needed information on the enemy and how she had personally slain several war generals.

The book was recent, written by a man named Joed from a town on a coast before he and his wife had fled and joined the Varden with Eragon's cousin Roran. She could always ask Danielle if she had met the man, he sounded rather approachable in the book.

Looking over at the red headed elf, she saw that she was slightly floating. Danielle was cross legged, eyes closed, hovering an inch or two above the blanket on the bed.

Hermione frowned slightly when she saw her. Every time she looked at her, she got some sort of knot in her stomach. Every time they touched, a spark went down her spine. The few times they had kissed had been electric.

But Danielle was so closed off, refusing to say anything much about herself personally. She had been told about how humans and elves differed on several key points, even how their magics were different and the story of her conception, but nothing about her likes and dislikes, her hopes and dreams, and only the basics of her personality.

According to the book, Danielle had been a fierce warrior, going into large scale battles against humans and troll like creatures called Urgals. The elf girl in front of her, however, looked vulnerable, soft and quiet. Maybe all the bloodshed was starting to haunt her.

Hermione looked at her watch and found that it was near midnight. She should get to bed. Marking her place in the book she had been reading, she stood up, stretching. Glancing at Danielle again, the red head's eye lids were moving, like she was dreaming. Even her lips were moving slightly.

Not sure what to do, she stepped in front of Danielle, watching for a moment. Just like earlier that day, tears started leaking from Danielle's eyelids, and her expression became pained.

That was an expression that she was getting a lot around her. She was still angry at hearing of all the people that ignored her and belittled her just because she wasn't a pure elf. The book didn't go into detail on that subject, but it was enough to know that she had been mostly alone for years with hardly anyone to turn to.

Eyes fluttered open and Danielle stared at her, tears stopping as she looked at her.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?"

Hermione shook her head. "Just about to." She smiled. "See you in the morning?"

Danielle nodded once. "Yeah."

On impulse, Hermione gave her a kiss on the cheek and left, not seeing the slight smile on Danielle's face.

Back in the room she had claimed for herself, Hermione reflected on everything as she layed on her bed. She knew nothing about relationships and she was essentially flying blind. Usually she would ask her parents or even Professor McGonagall about this, but none of them could help her this time.

She needed advice but had no idea where to turn.

XXXXX

Thunk

Danielle reached for another arrow as she worked on her target practice. She was good with a bow and didn't want to get rusty as she practiced. It was early in the morning, no one else should be awake at this point, and she needed to let off some steam.

Thunk.

She had to admit, Hermione was beautiful but she was giving off mixed signals and she didn't know what to do. She outright said that she didn't know if whatever they had would last forever but she still wanted to be with her for the time being. Hermione ignored her as she studied one of her books, but then kissed her on the cheek before she left for the night.

Thunk.

She had no clue what to do anymore. She had watched several relationships with other people develop but she had no idea what to do herself. Were she and Hermione going out? Were they girlfriends now? Should she try courting her? Would she even accept half of the things she had done in the past few years?

Thunk.

She wanted to scream her frustrations out. She was lonely, not doubt about that, but she wanted to be with someone because they wanted to, not out of some duty or pity. Hermione had honestly seemed interested, but was that because she actually cared about her, or was it because she was curious about elven culture and wanted to know more, using her to get that.

Thunk.

What was she supposed to do? If she were to ask the elves, the few that wouldn't outright ignore her or throw things at her would probably tell her to follow her heart and see where it led her. The problem was, she didn't know if her heart would lead to her joy or sadness. Was Hermione her mate? Her chosen? Could she see herself staying with her in several years?

"Impressive."

Danielle looked around and saw Harry watching her. He was studying the target, which was the top of a taller than average wooden post a hundred feet away. About ten arrows were seen imbedded in the wood, all impaled upon each other so they split the wood of the one previous.

"Practice, young Harry," said Danielle wearily. "Lots and lots of practice." She fired another arrow, barely even looking at it. She didn't even need to watch as she knew she split the wood of the previous arrow. "Can I help you this morning?"

Harry shook his head, sighing. "What's going on between you and Hermione?"

The next arrow went flying a good five feet away from the wooden post, sailing into a neighbor's yard. A quick spell and the arrow came zooming back into her hand.

"I don't know, "she admitted, putting the arrow back into her quiver. She put the bow down. "I told her about a few things and she seemed determined to make sure I wasn't alone anymore. I don't know how she's going to accomplish that but she seems to be starting by seeing if we work as a couple."

"And, do you want to?"

"Yes…no… I don't know." She looked at Harry, tears starting in her eyes. "She seems to want to be with me, but for the wrong reasons. Or maybe for the right ones and she hasn't told me yet." She sighed. "I don't want pity, but it feels like she is with me because of that.

"Harry. I don't belong with either elf or human. Elves think I'm strange and shun me because of my being raised human. Humans know that something is different about me and steer clear just in case." She shook her head and started to unstring her bow. "I can't be with humans anyway. I should just tell that to Hermione right now before she tries too hard."

"Why can't you be with her?"

"Partial immortality, Harry. I can die, but only if I'm killed. I'll outlive any human partner by a long shot so I'm stuck with elves. Dwarves live longer than humans but not long enough for me." She sighed, "I could agree to give up my immortality, then I would age like a human, but it can only be with my one true mate, my chosen." She looked at Harry in the eyes. "I'll probably go back to Middle Earth or Alegasia permanetely after Voldemort is defeated, Harry. At least there I can learn magics that only other elves can teach me."

"And then what?"

"I don't know. Fight in the next war. Act as a body guard for some king. Be a mercenary and work for whoever wants to pay me the most. Try to find Eragon as he tries to start training the next generation of dragon riders. At least Saphira liked me. The only one truly keeping me here is Sirius and he hasn't contacted me in the last year or so."

Harry winced. "Yeah, about that. Sirius kind of died in battle about a year and a half ago."

Danielle sighed. "Well, there goes that plan. Remus and I don't get along. The Order I'm sure wouldn't like me hanging around too long if Dumbledore didn't like me." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "What am I going to do?"

She honestly didn't know what to do with her life. Living her life as a hermit didn't sound too bad at the moment.

Before Harry could say anything, a sniff got their attention. Hermione was standing nearby, looking at her sadly.

Danielle sighed again. "You have a knack of listening in on other people's conversations, Hermione." She picked up her bow and walked to the garden shed nearby, dropping off the bow, string and quiver. She would have to make more arrows later to replace the ones that had shattered.

When she turned around to go back to the house, Hermione was standing in front of her and Harry was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you really think so little of me?" asked Hermione, sadly. "I said I wont abandon you, Danielle."

"My track record says otherwise," said Danielle as she closed the doors of the garden shed behind her. "What do you want me to say, Hermione? I'll outlive you easily. You're human, you'll bounce back easily. You shouldn't give up your happiness to stay with me."

"Stop that!" Hermione was now crying softly. "Just stop that, please. A lot of people, male or female, would be lucky to have you. With you, I've been feeling things I've never felt with anyone else before. I can't say that I am in love with you yet, but I could easily see myself doing so."

She came closer and brought a surprised red haired elf into a tight embrace. "Please, don't be down on yourself so much." She pressed her lips against Danielle's and they both felt the same spark travel through each other, making both shiver into the other. Danielle could easily see herself with Hermione as well, but she knew it wouldn't last. The bushy haired girl would age while she stayed the same.

Danielle allowed herself to be held, wishing that they could be together. "A lot of people won't like you for being with me," she cautioned. "The Order, the Death Eaters, just about every elf in both Middle Earth and Alegasia, and others, just to name a few."

"I don't care," said Hermione, staring into her emerald eyes.

"You honestly don't know a lot about me personally."

"I know enough to know that I want to be with you. We have time to get to know each other."

"I'm partially immortal. You would have to deal with me not aging."

"I'll cross that bridge when we get to it," her mind was already whirring with possibilities. "Besides, you said that an elf could surrender their immortality for their chosen if they didn't have it."

"Only if you were my chosen," Danielle said softly. "And I honestly don't know if you are. I would have to ask Aunt Arwyn, Elrond, or Arya."

Hermione frowned. "I thought elves could instinctively know if they met their chosen?"

Danielle shrugged helplessly. "I never got those lessons. A trained senior elf can tell if an elf couple is chosen or not. I guess I could ask Gladir, but I would have to find Eragon…hmm. Arya might change her opinion of me if I could find him."

"Gladir?"

"Huge golden dragon that taught Saphira everything she knows. He's currently helping Eragon with his new academy."

"You have some interesting friends," Hermione smiled, tightening their embrace and drawing her closer. Their foreheads were now touching and Danielle felt the spark again, still wondering what that meant.

"How about some breakfast?" asked Danielle, now smiling a little. She really wanted to give this a try and if it was possible it could work.

"I think that would be a wonderful idea," said Hermione, taking her hand.

Leading them up to the house, Danielle saw that the others were awake as well. Harry was smiling gently, looking at them approvingly. Ron however, looked murderously at their entertwined fingers.

"Well, let's see what kind of food I have," said Danielle, slipping her hand out of Hermione's and instantly missing the warmth it provided.

Breakfast was incredibly awkward for her. Everyone had a combination of vegetarian dishes like cereal, oatmeal, and unfertilized eggs along with toast, bagels and fresh fruit. All she could feel though was Ron's glare as he grumbled about the lack of bacon or any other meat products.

Hermione was apparently aware of Ron's mutterings as she kept throwing dirty looks at him while Harry was staying out of it, even though it looked like he was going to side with Hermione.

After the meal was over, everyone drifted off to do their own thing while Danielle cleaned up. Taking the dishes to the sink, she used a quick spell to clean the big pans on their own so she could do the smaller ones by hand. She hated doing the big ones by herself and magic didn't make a real difference on those anyway.

Hermione was still sitting at her place at the table, watching her perform magic.

A few minutes later, Harry came into the room, looking grim. "We have a problem."

Danielle frowned and motioned for him to continue.

"I was trying that scrying spell again in your mirror and checked on a few other people I know," said Harry. "Most of them are doing fine, but then I checked on Luna."

"What's wrong with her?" asked Hermione, standing as well.

Harry shook his head. "I couldn't see where she was, but by her position it looked she was chained to a wall or something. Her clothes and face were dirty and she seemed to be unconscious."

Hermione grimaced. "I might not have been too close to Luna but it sounds like she's in trouble."

Harry nodded. "True, but I have no idea where she is," it sounded like he was getting frustrated.

"The girl is barmy," said Ron from the doorframe. "But she doesn't deserve that. The big question is where she would be."

"A Death Eater meeting place," said Hermione. "But the only places I can think of are the old pureblood manors that make up his followers."

"I could probably track her down," said Danielle, wanting to be helpful. "I know how to disguise myself and no one knows who I am. It would be easy for me to find out where she is."

Hermione shook her head. "Too dangerous for you to go alone."

Danielle smiled, honestly touched at someone actually caring enough about her to say that. Whenever she did things like this, everyone just told her to do it faster, not caring about her safety.

"I still have the best chance to do this, but I would have to go alone. You three stand out too much and would slow me down." Hermione still didn't look convinced. "You could watch me in the mirror if you really wanted to. I'll even teach you how to alter the spell so you can hear what I'm saying."

Harry looked concerned but nodded, obviously not comfortable with the idea of doing nothing. Ron didn't say anything, he just glared at her. Hermione appeared undecided before she rushed forward and engulfed her in a hug.

"Come back to me, please," she whispered.

"I'll do my best."

It didn't take long before Hermione got the modified scrying spell down perfectly. When she looked back at Danielle, she saw she had altered her appearance.

The red haired elf had put up some spells to look like she had rounded ears, a slightly less exotic face and had softened her features to a more human likeness. She was also wearing traditional dark witches robes instead of her usual tunic. Overall, she looked like she would have if born a human instead of an elf.

Hermione found herself missing the elfin features.

"I don't know how you wear these things," she muttered, tugging on the robes so it molded to her body a little more for better mobility. She looked at the mirror and sighed. "I was never good at these body modification spells. It won't last long, but long enough I think."

Hermione hugged her again from behind. "Be careful. Bring back Luna."

Danielle smiled and allowed the witch to hug her. "Hey. I'll be fine. I've done these kinds of things before."

Pulling away from Hermione, she gave her a smile and made for the door. With a soft pop, she disaperated.

Hermione sighed as Harry and Ron joined her in the living room. "Let's get this over with." She looked at the mirror. "Dramur Kopa." Focusing on the sound as well as the picture, the mirror shimmered and showed a picture of the Leaky Cauldron.

"What's she doing there?" asked Ron.

They watched as Danielle went through the pub, cloak around her and hood up, and waved her hand to open the barrier into Diagon Alley. Walking down the high street that was completely disserted, she turned and marched into Knockturn Alley.

"Looks like she's getting information," muttered Harry. It made sense. They had no idea where Luna was, and they needed to get that information before rushing off anywhere.

They saw Danielle frown as she looked around at the dark witches and wizards. A hag tried to approach her but the elf simply grabbed the hag's arm and pinched a bunch of nerves on her shoulder. The hag collapsed against the street, completely unconscious.

"Okay, that was awesome," said Harry, wondering if she could teach him that.

Danielle snorted and closed her eyes, focusing on the surrounding area before going right for a man coming out of a nearby store.

Hermione gasped. "That's Dolohov. The man who attacked me at the Department of Mysteries."

Through the mirror, they saw Danielle smirk. "Hey," she said in a flirty voice at Dolohov that made Hermione's blood boil. "Want to have some fun?"

The Death Eater saw her, smirked, and nodded. He followed her into an abandoned courtyard near the alley. Once they were there, Danielle waved her hand and the mirror showed the words 'Silencing ward.'

"Okay, that's useful," said Harry.

"Well, this is cozy," said Danielle through the mirror, obviously being sarcastic. Dolohov apparently didn't sense it as he raised his hands, apparently trying to get her cloak off. What he wasn't expecting was for Danielle to jump backwards slightly and perform a roundhouse kick to the head that knocked him down.

"Bloody hell!" shouted Ron.

Danielle reached into Dolohov's cloak pocket and pulled out his wand, which she promptly snapped in half in front of him. She lifted the man against the wall. "Alright, scum. I'm looking for a girl, goes by the name of Luna. You know where she is?"

Dolohov flailed in her grasp but he couldn't break her grip. "Go to hell!"

"I doubt it, but it is a possibility," said Danielle calmly. She smirked and Dolohov suddenly screamed as he was being shocked with hundreds of volts of electricity.

The man slumped, his body smoking slightly.

"Want to tell me what I want to know now?" she asked sweetly. "Or do you want to go through that again at full power?"

"Alright, fine! Luna Lovegood. She's at Malfoy Manor, in the basement with the others."

"What others?" she growled.

"Some goblin, a mudblood and the wandmaker. Happy now you little bint?"

Danielle glared at him and threw him against the opposite wall. "Where is Malfoy Manor?"

Dolohov was about to disappearate out when a boot was stomped down on his chest, removing any signs of escaping. Five minutes later, she had directions to Malfoy Manor from a place she could get to. She couldn't apperate there directly as she didn't know where it was.

"Thank you for your cooperation," she said sweetly before blasting him out of the courtyard and back into Knockturn Alley. Snorting at his broken body, she disaperated to a town near Malfoy Manor.

"Wow, that was…interesting," said Harry.

"Interesting?" said Ron, incredulously. "She bloody well tortured that guy."

"The same man who almost killed me, Ron," said Hermione softly. "It makes you wonder. If we had killed him back then, he wouldn't have done any of the evil things he's done since then."

Harry looked uncomfortable. "I don't like the idea of killing anyone. But if it came down between a Death Eater or any of the people I care about, well, it wouldn't be a hard decision. But, I don't think I could kill."

No one said anything, going over what they saw and head. When their attention turned back to the mirror, they saw that Danielle had apperated to large manor house with a large wrought iron fence surrounding the property. She grimaced at seeing the iron but knew she had to do this.

"Oh, great," said Hermione. "I think that fence is iron."

"Why is iron a bad thing?" asked Harry.

"Danielle is an elf," said Hermione. "Because of that, she's a minor member of the seelie court of the fae. To them, iron can be poisonous."

They watched as Danielle took in a deep breath, before taking a running head start and jumping over the ten foot high fence. Flipping at the top, she landed on the other side with little problem.

Getting closer to the manor, she wrapped her cloak around herself tightly before peering through several windows. Seeing one that looked empty, she traced her finger around the glass of the window and vanished the glass itself, crawling inside.

After that, they couldn't see the inner house, only Danielle moving around invisible hallways and doors.

"Why can't we see anything anymore?" asked Ron.

"Because none of us have been inside Malfoy Manor," said Harry. He frowned, "How could we have seen the outside of the manor though?"

Ron looked sheepish. "Dad once brought me to Malfoy Manor on some business but he didn't actually let me go inside. I stayed with Charlie right outside while dad and Bill handled the actual work."

Nodding they watched Danielle move down an invisible hallway, knocking out a stunned Peter Pettigrew in the process. Closing her eyes again, she focused on something before snapping her eyes open and running down a different hallway, opening a door they couldn't see and rushing down some stairs.

Opening another door at the bottom of the stairs, the mirror showed Luna, Dean Thomas, a goblin, and Mr. Ollivander.

"Oh, good, help has arrived," said Luna, dreamily. At least she was awake.

"Can any of you stand if I break the chains?" asked Danielle. When she got an affirmative from all of them, she single handedly broke the chains holding them against the wall with her bare hands.

"A high elf?" asked the goblin.

"I could leave you here," Danielle commented lightly, already knowing she wasn't going to do that.

The goblin scowled but allowed himself to be lifted to his feet.

"Who are you?" asked Mr. Ollivander. "I don't believe we've met before."

"Danielle Evans. And I suggest we get out of here, now."

Running toward the door, she motioned for everyone to follow her for their jail break. She summoned an energy sword and gave it to the goblin to cover their rear, ignoring the look of glee on his face to be holding a weapon again.

Slowly, they made their way through the manor. They knocked out a few Death Eaters along the way, but otherwise didn't run into any trouble.

That was until they ran into Bellatrix.

She had apparently been aware of what was going on since the beginning as she fired a killing curse at Danielle from behind. Hermione screamed at what she saw through the mirror but the elf ducked down at inhuman speed, the curse hitting the wall behind her and creating a large hole.

"Bellatrix LeStrange," she said. "Looks like I get to meet you at last."

"Looks like I get someone new to play with," said Bellatrix, her voice high pitched and child like. It was almost like she was a little girl who got a new toy for Christmas.

"Slytha seithr!"

Danielle's shout made not only Bellatrix fall to the ground, snoring, but also every female magical in the manor, including Luna.

"Damn," she muttered. She focused only on Luna. "Vakna."

Luna blinked as she woke up, not sure why she was on the floor.

"Let's go."

When they got to the front yard, they broke out in a run for the front gate. Not going to jump over it this time, she simply shouted. "Jierda!"

The iron fence exploded with a powerful force and was blasted off its hinges. A sound like an alarm echoed over the manor. Danielle wasn't done yet though.

"Brisinger!"

A jet of white hot fire shot out of her hand and struck the manor. Nothing caught aflame, but the blast itself rained rubble from the roof and fell on a few wizards as they were coming out. The goblin smirked and threw the energy sword at them, impaling one in the chest, killing him instantly.

"Hold my hand."

Everyone gathered around her and she dissaperated with a crack, using magic from their surroundings to power the use of magic. As she left, the nearby trees and bushes withered and died, along with an albino peacock that was too close at the time.

The mirror shifted to her backyard garden and Hermione ended the spell on the mirror, rushing outside as fast as she could, Harry behind her and Ron bringing up the rear.

Danielle sighed in relief that she was home. "Alright, I got rooms for all of you upstairs." She said, addressing the people she had saved. "You can stay as long as you like, I don't mind." When the goblin was about to say something, she cut him off. "Yes, I have a room just for a goblin, don't worry." In truth, the rooms changed themselves to what the occupant would find the most comfortable, but it worked on any magical creature so she was covered.

"Danielle!"

She looked up just in time for Hermione to run into her arms, knocking even her back a few steps.

"Hermione."

"I saw it, everything," she muttered, her face in Danielle's shoulder. Danielle hesitantly put her arms around her, her disguise spell finally wearing off to be replaced with her usual features.

"Oh, a frumpkin," said Luna, dreamily.

"A what?" asked Danielle, looking at the blonde. Luna didn't seem embarrassed though. "A frumpkin. They are elf like creatures that change their appearance whenever they wish."

Danielle opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Closed it again. She looked at Hermione, "is she alright in the head?" she whispered too low for Luna to hear.

The bushy haired girl just shrugged slightly. "I don't know." While they had been talking, Harry and Ron had led their new guests into the house and up the stairs to find them rooms. "It's just so good to have you back."

"I wasn't gone that long. And I didn't get into any real danger."

"No real danger? Bellatrix found you!"

"And she's probably still snoring," said Danielle, not sure why Hermione was blowing it out of proportion. "I wasn't really in any danger. I've done this kind of thing before."

"Still…" Hermione just sighed as she continued the hug, squeezing Danielle tighter.

Danielle sighed. "I think we need to talk."

Hermione nodded against her shoulder, refusing to let her go.

"Just let me make sure my new guests are alright and we'll have that talk. Here in the backyard or in my room?"

Hermione smiled. "Your room, please."

Danielle nodded and led her back into the house, almost running into Luna on the way in.

"Very nice house you have here," Luna commented. "Very few nargles."

There was something wrong with this girl, she was sure. But she smiled when she got an idea. "Hey, Luna," said Danielle. "Do you know what a Balrog is?"

The blonde haired girl's eyes widened and her eyebrows threatened to disappear into her hairline. "A large giant like creature made of shadows and fire," she shivered, surprising both Danielle and Hermione when she knew. "I much prefer the Ents. They are much nicer gentle giants."

Danielle's look slowly turned to happiness. "I think you and Gandalf the White would get along very well."

Luna slowly nodded, turning to go up the stairs. "I much prefer Ratagast the Brown. He seemed nice." She gave her a smile and went up to the room she had claimed.

"Strange girl," Danielle commented. "Though, I have to admit, she apparently did read the Lord of the Rings books."

"What was all that about" asked Hermione.

Danielle shrugged. "I wanted to know if she knew what those animals were, or who Gandalf was. She seems to know things she shouldn't but that's just my impression."

Hermione nodded. "Luna's been that way for as long as I've known her. She's an odd one, but has your back when you need it."

Danielle nodded and they went up to the others they had saved. She learned that the boy their age she had saved was Dean Thomas, a Muggleborn that was on the run from the Ministry that Voldemort was in control of. The goblin's name was Griphook and his room shifted to look like an underground cave with smokeless torches lighting the room instead of a window. The little creature was glaring at her, like he wanted to do her bodily harm but couldn't since she had saved his life.

Mr. Ollivander had created a room very similar to Dean. Both rooms looked like private bedrooms that they probably had at their homes. Luna, she just had to say, had a…unique quality to her. Her room looked like a cross between a dorm room and a fun house mirror as it was large and backwards. The door to her closet opened to the bathroom, the bathroom door led to the hallway, and there even chairs on the ceiling.

She wasn't going to comment on that. She was just glad she had put so many spare bedrooms in her home when she was renovating it with magic.

After going through everyone and asking if they needed anything, she found herself being dragged back to her room with Hermione pulling her there.

When Danielle started for the two armchairs by the bookcase, Hermione shook her head and made her sit on her bed, herself quickly following.

It was a very odd scene for the red haired elf. She was sitting cross legged on her bed with Hermione, her possible chosen, in the same position in front of her.

Hermione sighed. "Danielle, I want us to be together, but for that work, we need to be honest with each other. We need to know more about each other than the mere basics. I want to know your hopes. You dreams. Your aspirations for the future. All the small details of your past and what you plan for the future. I want to learn everything in your mind and I want you to do the same thing to me. I want to tell you everything about me, as well."

"I want that too," said Danielle, softly. Her eyes were low, focusing on the door in front of her. "I do want to tell you everything and learn everything about you in return. But I have no idea where to start."

Hermione smiled gently. "I would be surprised if you did. I'll go first, shall I? First, my full name is Hermione Jean Granger. My parents are Dan and Emma Granger and both work as dentists."

She glared when Danielle started coughing to cover up might have been a snigger.

"Honestly. Being a dentist is a perfectly respectable job."

"I'm sorry," said Danielle, controlling her cough. "It just…took me by surprise, is all."

Hermione rolled her eyes, now smiling again. "At least you knew what a dentist was. Most people at Hogwarts don't. Getting back on track, I guess I didn't have the best childhood." Danielle looked concerned. "It was mostly my school mates back in my old primary school. I was the teacher's pet. I didn't look very attractive and the kids used to make fun of my bushy hair or over sized teeth."

"Your teeth don't look big to me," Danielle blurted out. She blushed and looked away.

Hermione giggled. She then looked amazed. She NEVER giggled. "I got hit by a curse in my fourth year that made my teeth grow. When the school nurse was shrinking them, I let her put them to a more normal size."

Danielle cocked her head to the side but nodded, understanding that. Everyone, whether they be human or elf, had some insecurities about how they looked. She herself was self-conscious about her features sometimes. Wondering if she looked better when she disguised herself as human or not.

"I found out I was witch when I was about eleven and a half." Hermione continued. "Late to find out I had magic but I was born on September 19 so I missed going to Hogwarts the previous September 1. Our transfiguration teacher, Professor McGonagall, was the one to tell my parents and I about magic. She even turned our table into a pig and back again to prove that magic is real."

She mentally chuckled at that. She would have liked to see that.

"The first two months at Hogwarts weren't really fun. Yes, I was learning magic, but I still wasn't making any friends. I was too bossy. Too nagging to make any real connections with anyone. It wasn't until Ron made me cry and run into a bathroom after saying hurtful things to me that I started to make friends. On Halloween in my first year, a troll came after me in the girl's bathroom and I was a defenseless twelve year old girl who could barely defend myself. Harry and Ron saved me but not before it destroyed most of the bathroom, with me helpless to stop it."

Her words were getting softer and softer the more she went on. She started shaking slightly, wrapping arms around herself slightly.

Danielle frowned and moved forward, pulling her into her arms. Hermione was startled at first but relaxed as she rested against the red head's chest, her head close to other girl's heart. Soothing arms rubbed her back as she held her and the shivering stopped.

Hermione sniffed and looked up at her. "Sorry."

Danielle shook her head, smiling. "No need to apologize, Hermione. You couldn't have done anything." She personally wanted to kill whoever would dare release a troll into a school full of children but she would have to settle for comforting Hermione.

Hermione relaxed some more and shifted her position so she was lying on her back, her head in Danielle's lap. The red head was surprised slightly but she hesitantly started playing with her chestnut brown curls. Hermione hummed her approval as she lied there, allowing Danielle to soothingly run her fingers through her hair.

"Year after year, I helped Harry with whatever problem was going on at the time," Hermione continued. "Someone trying to steal the philosopher's stone first year. Attacks on students and the Chamber of Secrets second year, Dementors and a possible murderer third year, a deadly tournament fourth year, a corrupt government fifth year, teenage hormones last year and now we're dealing with horcruxes."

"Wow. Almost makes me glad I never went to Hogwarts."

Hermione laughed as Danielle fingered her hair, relaxing her. "You know, it's funny. All these years of helping Harry and his adventures and I don't think we ever…really sat down and acted like teenagers.

"Well, we did, every now and then. We would just get up and start joking around, just for the heck of it. But it was always overshadowed by what evil was coming next." She sighed. "I never talked to Harry or Ron like this. And I really don't have any female friends."

"What about Ron's sister or your dorm mates?"

"Just those and nothing more. Ginny is…complicated. She wants Harry but I don't think she's ever grown out of the fangirlness of being friends with THE Harry Potter. That, and she just wants me to help her snag him as a boyfriend. They tried dating last year, but I don't think it would really work out between them."

"Oh?"

"I love Harry like a brother, as such, I know what he needs in a relationship. He needs someone who's never been under the 'Boy-Who-Lived' hype and is with 'Just Harry.' Harry is different than the legend, and very few people see that."

"He needs real friends. Not people who will use him for his fame."

"Exactly. As for my dorm mates. Well, we really don't have a lot in common. Lavender is ditsy and obsessed with make up and fashion. Parvati is nice enough but she follows Lavender everywhere. Fay is so shy, I doubt that people even know she's in our dorm as well. Overall, I really don't have anything in common with any of them."

"Hmm," Danielle hummed, still threading her fingers through the chestnut brown locks. Hermione looked ready to fall asleep. Her eyes were closed slightly. Her breathing was deepening. Her words were slurring slightly. She chuckled slightly. It was barely noon and Hermione was ready for some shut eye in her lap.

"Last year was probably one of the craziest," Hermione muttered, half asleep now. "Harry getting a crush on Ginny out of nowhere. Me doing crazy things I wouldn't ordinarily do, like getting jealous of a book of all things. Ron and Lavender making out and me getting jealous because of that. Dumbledore dying." Her eyes fluttered closed. "Horcruxes and Snape leaving." She drifted off.

Danielle continued to stroke her hair, content with her life at the moment.

Wait?

Harry falling for Ginny out of nowhere? Hermione doing things she wouldn't do normally?

She needed more information but that sounded like…

She was getting ahead of herself. She needed more information. But still…

She could worry about that later. Right at that moment, she had an adorable brunette in her lap. She could get used to this.

This whole situation was strange to her too. She had spent her entire life alone. She never really got any approval to anything she did. Gandalf encouraged her and Arwyn guided her in her own way but…she was starved for positive reinforcement. Hermione was offering that.

She never made friends other than Bathilda, not really. She was friendly to several people she knew, but she didn't consider them friends.

Danielle took in a deep breath, continuing to move her fingers through Hermione's hair. She wasn't sure how long they stayed like that but Hermione didn't stay asleep for long. Only an hour or so after she drifted off she started stirring, fluttering her eyes open.

"Hmm. How long was I out?"

"Only about an hour. Sleep well?"

"I did, actually." She blushed slightly, realizing that Danielle was still stroking her hair. "Have you been doing that this whole time?"

Her tone was slightly teasing, smiling gently at her.

Danielle chuckled, blushing slightly too. "I like doing it. And yes, I was." She fell silent for a moment. "I suppose it's my turn to tell you my life story."

"You don't have to today," Hermione said, sitting up and facing her. "I don't want to pressure you."

"I should, though," said Danielle, now leaning against the headboard. She took a few moments to collect her thoughts. "Well, my full name should be Danielle Lily Potter. Because I look like a clone of my mother, however, and I really don't have anything of my father in me, I don't consider myself a Potter."

"You are Harry's sister, though," Hermione said, looking into her eyes. "You should be a Potter."

"I know, but I consider myself an Evans," Danielle had no problem with that. "It's what was on my files at the orphanage and it's what I called myself for several years. It wasn't until I was about thirteen or fourteen when I found out my last name was supposed to be Potter."

Hermione took her hand again, both of them feeling the small pulse of electricity running through them.

"Like I said earlier, Elrond brought me to Rivendell when I was about seven and had his daughter Arwyn teach me what I needed to know about elfin customs. It was, annoying, to be honest that everyone had these expectations of me when I didn't even know who many of these people were. Elrond had barely introduced himself an hour previously and he expected me to know everything."

She sighed and continued. "My classes were mostly a combination of fencing, archery, reading/writing, ettiquite, magic, and sometimes horseback riding. I did well in my classes, I think, but it was never good enough for him. It was never good enough for anybody."

Her voice got softer until Hermione could barely hear it. Arms reaching out, she surprised Danielle when she made her turn around and lie down in her lap, their positions from earlier reversing.

"Hermione-"

"Please?"

"I-" She finally stopped arguing and Hermione started running her hand through _her_ hair. It was…strangely comforting. She couldn't remember the last time she was held, relaxing like this. She honestly didn't know what to do now that the bushy haired girl was doing this to her, instead of the other way around.

She slowly closed her eyes and just focused on Hermione's fingers going through her hair. It was soothing. It was relaxing. It felt like she was getting pampered. Was this what it felt for Hermione just a bit ago? She could now see why Hermione had fallen asleep on her.

She couldn't stop the soft build-up of tears now. No one had ever done this with her before. She felt…loved.

It both excited and terrified her at the same time.

Hermione continued to wind her fingers through the dark red hair, stroking her scalp.

"Hmm. Hermione, if you want me to continue, you should probably stop doing that."

Hermione smiled at her, a little concerned about the tears threatening to fall. "What's wrong? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Danielle shook her head. "No. It's just, this is so relaxing." She paused. "I'm not used to something like this. It's almost like I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop and find this was just a dream."

"This is no dream, I assure you," said Hermione gently. "Now then, I believe you were telling me a story."

"Hmm." She paused. "Years passed in Rivendell and when I was about thirteen, Gandalf was passing through the city to go to the Shire. I didn't know who he was, though I had heard of all the stories about him, and he offered to take me with him when he passed through again.

"He showed up about a month later with a Hobbit named Bilbo and thirteen dwarves. He explained the quest to me and I agreed to go with them. Partially to see more of Middle Earth, partially to get away from Elrond, who was getting annoying to be around. Our company made sixteen when I joined and we went off to the Lonely Mountain. Everything you read in Tolkein's book is true. Bilbo did get the ring from Gollem, or Smeagle, whatever. We went though the forest of Mirkwood and wound up at Smaug's mountain. Smaug was killed by a warrior a town over when he flew over and I participated in the battle of five armies when everyone wanted to fight over the treasure.

"Gandalf helped me get some of the treasure and left to get Bilbo home. I came back here after the adventure and met up with Bathilda. Time moves differently between the worlds but in this case, they were moving pretty evenly as I would be thirteen if I had stayed, anyway."

"Like Narnia," Hermione mused, still stroking the red hair, thinking of time moving differently between worlds.

Danielle chuckled. "I should see if I can get there, actually. I used the money I got for helping against Smaug the dragon and bought this house. I stayed here for a little while when Sirius showed up. He introduced himself and recognized who I was, even if I didn't know at the time. Sirius was a great houseguest and helped me renovate the house the way I wanted it to, even helping me set up the wards around the place.

"He left for Hogwarts to look after Harry and track down Pettigrew. I told him to capture the rat, not kill him, as it would be the only way to get a trial and declared innocent. I guess he forgot in the heat of the moment or something as when he came back on a hippogriff in June, he told me everything he knew. He also figured out you and Harry must have messed with time to get him out so fast."

She playfully glared at Hermione for tinkering around with abstract concept of time before falling into light laughter. Hermione grumbled but didn't say anything, still smiling and running her fingers through the dark red hair.

"Like I said, time moves differently between the two worlds," Danielle commented. "When I went back to Rivendell about a year after I came back here, I found I was gone for about twenty years there. Elrond was busy with something else and didn't want to deal with me so he sent me to Alegasia to spend time with my sort of Aunt Arya."

"The one that really doesn't like you," Hermione muttered low enough that if Danielle were human, she wouldn't have heard it.

Danielle sighed. "Yeah, that one." She ignored Hermione start at being heard. "It was a bad time for her as the country of Alegasia was currently fighting a war. Much like Sauron of Middle Earth was a cruel and evil king, the country was under a war led by the king Galbatorix. Unlike Sauron though, this guy was a dragon rider."

"I never really got that from the book I read earlier," Hermione admitted. "What does it mean that he was bonded to a dragon?"

"A dragon rider bond is probably the most binding two souls can get without the use of dark magic," Danielle explained. "In the country of Alegasia, elves had moved there from Middle Earth hundreds of years before Galbatorix made the scene. Elves and dragons couldn't understand each other and an elf killed a dragon one day thinking it was some mere beast. Dragons are as smart as people, though and they killed the elf responsible.

"That started a war between the two species with horrible casualties on both sides. In comparison, the American civil war would probably be close. Finally, one day an elf named Eragon found a pure white dragon egg abandoned. No one knows what happened to the egg's parents, if they were killed or just away at the time, but Eragon took the egg and to his surprise, it hatched for him.

"When Eragon and the white dragon touched, it created a bond the likes of which cannot be duplicated here on this world. The two souls touched and were bonded for life, each of them gaining skills and abilities from the other. The dragon's mind becomes more docile, though still fearsome, and more capable of complicated thought processes, making them less instinct driven. The elf shares in the dragon's long life as their lives had been as short as humans back then, as well as a boost on overall speed, strength, and magic.

"Eragon and his dragon were the very first like this and together they waited until their bond matured before stopping the fighting. Dragons and elves came to an understanding and created the first dragon riders, to make sure this never happened again. They would be the watchers, to prevent things getting bad before it happened. Every year, the dragons would donate a number of eggs to the elves and whoever the dragon picks would be a rider.

"It was deeper than that, though. The bond between the dragons and elves fundamentally changed both species permanently. Giving every elf the extended life span we now have, and increased cognition skills to every dragon. For hundreds of years, the dragon riders went though Alegasia to act as peacekeepers, healers, scholars, and more.

"When humans found Alegasia as well, they did as all humans are want to do and tried to take over the country."

"Hey," said Hermione, who had been silent throughout the entire story. "We are not that bad!"

Danielle chuckled, smiling to show her that she didn't personally lump all humans together. "Anyway, humans declared war on the elves and tried to take over. It was almost hilarious as elves won every single time and the humans had no idea how to counter opponents who were that strong or fast. Dragon Riders stayed out of that conflict, I think, though they did try to convince the human armies to stop. Finally, one of the generals couldn't take it anymore, knocked out their king, and handled a peace treaty between humans and elves without the king present."

Both girls laughed at that.

"As an act of good faith, the elves allowed the spell between dragons and elves to be altered slightly to allow humans the ability to become riders. That decision is still being debated about whether or not it was a good idea. Everything was at peace again until a certain little snot of a human dragon rider named Galbatorix went mad with power.

"He and a few friends had apparently taken their dragons and camped out in the woods as a good outing. Unfortunately, they were attacked by troll/ogre like monsters called Urgals. Most of them escaped in time but Galbatorix's dragon was killed in the process."

Hermione gasped but didn't say anything.

Danielle sighed. "You have to understand that when either a dragon or the rider is killed and the other survives, it usually causes a great depression for the survivor. Imagine being bonded to someone so they always live in your head and then to have that ripped away suddenly. It's literally half of yourself had died and the other half doesn't want to live.

"Galbatorix tried to ask the council for another dragon but they refused, as no one can be bonded to any more than one dragon in their lifetime. That was the last straw for him. He and another rider named Morzan teamed up, ambushed a random rider, killed the rider and kidnapped the dragon. Galbatorix spent years and years of magic and training to get a bastardized version of his old bond with the new dragon, completely enslaving him to his will instead of them being partners.

"He and his twelve minions, twelve other dragon riders that didn't agree with the council, including Morzan, killed the council one by one and then hunted the other riders to extinction. Galbatorix personally killed the elf Varel, who was the leader of the riders at that time, and took the throne and his sword for himself. He became the dark king that ruled over half of Alegasia. The only parts he couldn't take control over were the elven forest kingdom of Du Weldenvarden, the dwarf kingdom of the Boer Mountains, and a little country to the south named Surda. Everything else was fair game.

"One by one, the twelve Foresworn, the twelve riders that betrayed the council, were either killed off or died by mysterious circumstances. Some were suicide when they found that their dragons had lost their intelligence when they betrayed the council. Morzan was killed by his former fellow student Brom, in revenge when he killed Brom's dragon Saphira. As far as I can tell, Brom was one of the lucky few who kept most of his sanity after his dragon was killed.

"Roughly a hundred years after Galbatorix took over, the princess of the elves, Arya, was looking over one of the last three dragon eggs. She was transporting the egg to the various elven cities and the human resistance in hopes that it would hatch so a new dragon rider could rid the world of the dark king. She was ambushed, kidnapped, and was forced to send the egg to Brom for safe keeping."

"Let me guess," said Hermione. "It didn't get to him."

"Actually, it went to Brom's son Eragon. Named after the first dragon rider, Eragon and Brom trained in the basics of what he needed to know about being a dragon rider. Brom died in a battle protecting his son while Eragon and a new friend of his named Murtaugh, managed to rescue Arya and headed to the resistance movement. Eragon used his limited training to good use and teamed up with Arya to win the resistance a major victory.

"Moving to Du Weldenvarden, Eragon trained under the only council member who had survived the king's purge and the one who had trained Brom. I arrived in Du Weldenvarden around the same time and the queen and the princess did not seem to like me that much."

That was sugar coating it and they both knew it. The two rulers had hated her and only tolerated her presence as a favor for Elrond. Hermione seemed to sense her distress and bent down to give her a peck on the lips. Danielle smiled up at her and relaxed deeper into the brunette's lap.

"My job was essentially espionage. I was supposed to go around the enemy camps, find information that would help the elves against the various human armies that had allied with Galbatorix, and find their weak spots. I was…told to use everything I had to find everything I could and I was forced to, many times."

Danielle shivered in memory and grew silent. Hermione saw the tears in Danielle's eyes and knew what she meant. She still had to ask though.

"Did…were you forced to…sleep, with them?"

Danielle shuddered again and nodded. "It…wasn't that hard, to be honest. A few of my weak glamour spells to make me pass as human, a good prods in the right direction, and you'd be surprised what arrogant male generals were willing to tell. Especially after a good…roll in the hay…so to speak."

She finally couldn't keep up her façade of strength and broke down, crying her eyes out in the other girl's lap.

Hermione was stunned at what she had heard and looked down at the crying girl in her lap. Lifting Danielle in a sitting position, she brought her into a deep hug. Trying to give the other girl the support she so clearly needed. She herself couldn't even begin to understand the horror of what the red head had gone through but she could give her a shoulder to cry on, which was what she was doing.

Danielle was clinging to Hermione like a lifeline. She couldn't handle this anymore. It was simply too much to bear alone and cried out all of her frustrations. She had felt everything and remembered everything. The dirty hands clawing at her clothes, the looks of the elves who thought that she was finally doing something worthwhile in the war, the images of all the men who had used her like she was nothing but a piece of meat.

Yes, she had used her…skills to good use. She had single handedly brought the elfin army war tactics the enemy was planning on using before a battle and had personally assassinated a total of twelve war generals. That was sadly the best part.

She had enjoyed killing the bastards after they had had their way with her and told her everything she needed to know. She had enjoyed seeing the look of terror on their faces when they realized who and what she was before they died.

It made her feel like a monster. She had killed people who had no chance of defending themselves at the time and had enjoyed it. She relished in the chance to show those bastards some of the torment she got on a daily basis from her own people.

She didn't even care that she was crying onto Hermione's shoulder. She didn't care that she was getting that spot on her shirt wet. What she did care, however, was that Hermione had her arms around her and hadn't tried to leave the room. That meant the world to her.

Hermione was holding the sobbing girl close to her, rubbing soothing circles into her back. She knew there was more than what the red head had told her but to her it didn't matter. Danielle was currently hurting and in pain and needed her, and she was determined to see that she got it.

Danielle's sobs slowly died down into slow hiccups, her head still resting on the brunette's shoulder.

"Feel better?" asked Hermione, knowing full well she wasn't.

"Better," said Danielle, looking anywhere but at her. "Not great. But better."

Hermione chuckled, causing her body to vibrate slightly against her as she did so. "At least you didn't say you were fine. Harry always does that. He would say he was fine if he was in a full body cast and Voldemort was torturing him personally."

Danielle shook her head, still sniffing a little. "Hermione. He's a guy."

That made Hermione laugh, tightening her grip on Danielle's back and waist. "True." She looked concerned. "Do you want to tell me the rest later? We should probably get lunch at some point, though."

Danielle nodded, her eyes still puffy and red. "Thank you," she muttered, almost too softly for her to hear.

"About what?"

"You! For being here, for not running when I told you about my past, for not seeing me as an elf, but as a thinking feeling person." She looked ready to burst into tears again. "Thank you."

Hermione smiled and hugged her again. "I think that all of this should have happened a long time ago. Now then, let's go eat."

Danielle nodded, not smiling but looking better.

Lunch was an odd affair. Since there wasn't a specific cook in the house, Harry decided to take over the position. He turned out to be a good chef and came up with various dishes to satisfy everyone. Even Griphook the goblin didn't have anything too bad to say about his rather raw steak.

Danielle's pantry was altered and charmed to automatically refill with whatever was taken and place the correct amount of money from her treasure chest into the right cash registers at the local super market. While she didn't eat meat herself, she had a few meat products around now just in case someone did want it, on the off chance she had visitors. That and since she had a garden full of fruits and vegetables, they always had enough food. The pantry itself was based on the one she had seen in Bag End in the Shire and had just about everything one could think of.

Harry was doing fine in this new environment, seemingly liking the small break in the action and he was mostly upbeat about them destroying another horcrux. Ron was sulky and sullen, not saying much and glaring at everyone as he ate whatever was put in front of him. The dreamy blonde Luna was just happy to have her grandfather, Mr. Ollivander, there with her as he was telling her everything she knew about her mother, which she craved more than anything. Dean just ate his food, not sure how he fit into this kind of dynamic with everyone else. Griphook ate his food and left, not bothering to talk to anyone or be sociable in any way, which was normal for a goblin.

Danielle ate her sandwich in silence, holding Hermione's hand under the table that had been enlarged to fit all of them. She wasn't saying anything but there was an underlying sense of awkwardness around the table, and some taste of tension that was growing as the meal went on. All she could get though was that Hermione was looking in Ron's direction every now and then, glaring at him slightly.

Releaved that everyone started to drift off to do whatever they wanted to do for the rest of the day, she had all the dishes fly off toward the sink counter, ready for whoever wanted to do the dishes.

When the room was mostly empty, Hermione gestured toward the staircase. Nodding, she was interrupted by Ron.

"You don't think I know what's going on, do you?" the boy hissed at her, poking her in the chest.

Danielle frowned and saw that Hermione had walked up to the top of the stairs and Harry was outside. Everyone else was exploring the house.

"No, Ron. What am I doing?"

Ron got right into her face and she had to take a step back to prevent themselves from falling over each other. "I'm onto your plan, Danielle, or whatever your real name is. You come into our lives to ruin everything and even steal Hermione away from me? I don't think so."

"Hermione is not a possession, Ron," said Danielle, wondering what was going on with this boy. "I am not trying to steal her or anything."

"Bull****!" Ron yelled. He started backing her into a corner of the living room. "You show up and claim to have killed that snake when you were the only one to see what had happened. You just so happen to have the ability to summon weapons that could destroy horcruxes, and know what they are before we do. You easily defeat that Death Eater Dolohov and break into Malfoy Manor to save everyone. Well, I can see what you're doing and it won't work.

"You think you can destroy our dynamic as a trio? We were doing fine without you, whore, and we don't need you now. I don't know what spell you put on Hermione to think she likes you but she'll snap back to her senses eventually and you'll be alone again!"

Danielle winced. She truly wasn't planning anything, much less anything nefarious, but the fear that Hermione would want nothing to do with her cut deep. It happened to everyone else she had ever met. Why should Hermione be any different?

Ron apparently sensed weakness as he continued. "You're pathetic! You show us a few fancy tricks with a mirror and a few fancy words and you think we trust you? Harry never wanted a sister like you and you know it! You're just a filthy elfin slut!"

"Shut up," Danielle muttered, tears prickling her eyes. "Stop."

"Or what? You think Hermione would want to be with a crybaby that can't even protect her in this war? You can't do anything that nobody else here can't do. You're worthless. You're trash. A dark creature."

"Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" Danielle yelled, dropping to the knees, her head in her hands. She needed to get away, away from everyone here. Magic was pouring out of her in a shield but she was losing control, fast. A harsh wind was covering her and cutting into the room, tearing to shreds the furniture, the paintings, and putting deep gouges into the walls.

She had to get away, she had to find someone to calm her down. Hermione? No. Hermione was…going to leave her? But she comforted her when she was at her weakest. Could the girl be pitying her? What were these sparks traveling between them every time they touched?

The wind was getting more and more out of control. She didn't even notice that the entire house was watching her, nor could she hear their yells for her to calm down.

It was all a lie. Nobody cared about her. She could drop dead at any moment and no one would shed a tear. But…Hermione? Harry? Sparks? What did it mean?

"Letta, letta! LETTA! Get out of my head!" she didn't know if she thought that or screamed it, she just wanted Ron to stop. Stop telling her the truth. She wasn't worth being loved. She already knew that, but the truth hurt.

"Danielle! DANIELLE!"

Was that Hermione? She didn't know if that was the voice penetrating her mind or someone else. What did it matter though? She was a bodyguard, mercenary, spy. She wasn't someone who was capable of feeling the happiness she had when Hermione was stroking her fingers through her hair earlier.

"DANIELLE!"

"WORTHLESS!"

"MAELA!" The word for quiet in the Ancient Language shut off all sound in the area but the wind still threatened to bring the house down around them. She wasn't aware of Hermione yelling at Ron, or at least trying to. She wasn't aware that Harry was glaring at the red headed boy too. All she cared about was trying to get the boy's words out of her head.

Though she knew he was telling the truth.

No one cared about her at all. Her parents were dead. The only family she had left hated her. She had no friends. What was the point of living anymore?

She was only vaguely aware of the bushy haired girl approaching her, despite the wind. The girl placed a hand on Danielle's shoulder, causing the red headed elf to snap her head to Hermione's attention, making her gasp with Danielle's eyes glowed with a spooky green light. Hermione didn't stop though.

"Danielle, please, he wasn't telling the truth. You aren't worthless."

In some part of her mind, she wondered how Hermione could still talk when her previous spell had shut off all sound in the area. She couldn't trust the girl with anything she said though. It was all a lie, everything.

"No. You're lying." She screamed out a horrible long drawn out note. She faced Hermione again. "THORTA DU ILUMEO!"

Now she would hear everything from Hermione's voice. She was now forced to tell the truth until she ended the spell. It was better than that silly truth potion veritiserum as the spell took away the ability to lie, not block it like the potion did.

Danielle was now floating slightly in the air, a couple of inches off the floor. Her eyes were still glowing green. Hermione gulped, but grasped the elf's hand, sending the spark through their bodies.

"Please, Dani, calm down. What Ron was saying, neither Harry or agree. Please, stop scaring me and talk to me as you are much stronger than this. You fought warlords and evil generals by sacrificing so much of your own happiness but I want to make that better. Please, calm down, for me." She paused. "I care about you. We've only known each other for a short time but I feel like I've known you forever. Just…come back to me."

The truth spell meant she couldn't lie. Danielle knew that. Slowly, the more rational part of her brain took control again and she lowered to the ground. The wind slowly died to reveal the destroyed room and the red headed elf girl.

With a huge gasp, she blinked and her eyes were their normal emerald color, not glowing at all. She took in the room and at all the people hiding behind what was left of the furniture. Everyone in the house, terrified of her. HER!

Wetting her lips, she took a step away from everyone. She noticed that Hermione was still holding her hand, not letting go.

"You. Are. Not. Worthless." Hermione said slowly and passionately.

Taking a gulp of air, she closed her eyes and disapperated with Hermione with a pop.

XXXXXX

When Hermione opened her eyes, she found that Danielle had taken them to a large cliff overlooking the ocean. The elf in question was sitting on a large flat rock providing a great view of the dark water of the Atlantic Ocean near Britain. Her arms were wrapped around herself, and she was shivering horribly. Her eyes were closed and seemed to be muttering something under her breath.

Hermione took in a deep breath, and sat next to the red head. Taking her hand in hers, she saw it as a good sign when she didn't let her go.

After what seemed to be hours, but were only about twenty minutes of silence, Danielle took in a shuddering breath. "You're not scared?"

"Of what?" asked Hermione, honestly curious.

"Of me?" she muttered. She shuddered again. "Everyone back at the house. The room's destroyed. I…I…" she couldn't continue.

Hermione turned to face her and brought her into a hug, almost scared at how much she was trembling. "Don't listen to Ron," she whispered in her ear. "He's jealous and worried about losing me to you. You are not worthless. You are not a freak of nature. You are worth any sort of love and compassion owed to you. Merlin knows karma has to be on your side now."

Danielle didn't laugh, smile, or even sniff. She felt…empty. "I'm scared, Hermione. You might not be but I am. That was the first time I lost control of my magic like that. You are all lucky I didn't kill someone by accident."

"But you didn't."

"But I could have!" Danielle shouted and a flock of seagulls flew off over the water. She was near tears again, amazed she had any more to shed after everything else that had happened. "Hermione, my magic makes it far too easy to kill someone. You may have a killing curse but it really doesn't take much for my magic to cause serious damage. There are a list of words in the Ancient Language that could do anything to simply snap a person's spine, instantly give a person a heart attack so they keel over, disengage their brain so it stops working, or simply have them spontainiously combust. All with one word and as much magic as it takes for you to do a levitation charm."

Hermione gulped.

Danielle shuddered again and looked out at the ocean. "My magic makes it so that when I use it, it takes as much energy out of me as if I did it the mundane way. It really doesn't take a lot of energy to effortlessly kill someone if one is creative enough. Even worse, most of my wards can block your magic, but none of yours can touch me." She looked at her hands in disgust. "If I really wanted to, I could decimate the entire army of Death Eaters right now and win without much of a struggle. All of this power, and if I lose it…" she didn't finish her thought.

Hermione thought of that for all but a second before realizing that she didn't care. Wrapping an arm around Danielle's waist, she pulled her closer, having the other girl's head resting on her shoulder. For all of her power, Danielle was simply a girl that had had no love in her life. Much like Harry, but this girl on her shoulder had been mocked and ridiculed, used, by the very people she was supposed to be accepted by.

Harry had been seen as a hero. Danielle had never been one.

"I…am going to kill Ronald Billius Weasley." Hermione said calmly, fire in her eyes. Ron may have been her friend for years but no one went out of their way to hurt her new friend and girlfriend the way he had. She still had to talk to her about what they were, though. Were they girlfriends? They had hugged a lot and kissed a few times but that was all. Danielle seemed like a girl who desperately needed love and affection as she had been so starved of it for her entire life but she was willing to put her entire being into this relationship. At the same time though, she had no idea of how to do it.

She looked at Danielle in the eyes and she saw the lost look in them. Yes, Danielle was lost. But with help, she could be found again.

Smiling gently, she leaned closer and captured the red head's lips with hers, moaning a little at the sweet taste and electric tingles up her spine. The other girl had been surprised at first but tentatively kissed back, causing both girls to moan a bit as they deepened the kiss.

The kiss didn't go too deep or too passionate, but it was more for an emotional release than anything else. They finally separated when the need for air was too much for them, both of them panting. Hermione was glad that the lost look in the other girl's eyes lessened slightly, she would find something for them to do together after this mess with Voldemort was defeated.

She blinked. She was already thinking of having plans with her after the war. She smiled. That was good, very good, in her opinion.

"How could Dumbledore never like you?" asked Hermione, teasingly. "You are adorable and perfect girlfriend material."

"G, girlfriends?" Danielle stuttered, looking like a deer in the headlights. "I, I guess that is the logical step, isn't it?"

Hermione laughed and kissed her again, this time Danielle reacted much quicker and kissed her back at once. Hermione moaned as she and Danielle lied down on the rock and continued.

Danielle was the one who pulled away that time, breathing heavily. "Hermione, I…"

"Yes?" Hermione was looking far too sexy when she looked like that.

"Please. If we do this, could we go slow?" she wasn't opposed to kisses or steamy make out sessions, but she didn't want them to suddenly fly toward their clothes ripping off or anything.

Hermione smiled and pecked her lips again. "Done. Take as much time as you want. I'll be there, waiting for you."

Danielle nodded, still looking dumbfounded that anyone would want her, HER. She gazed out over the water, wondering what to do or say to her now.

"I would like a girlfriend," she whispered. She turned to Hermione. "You know, it's entirely possible that the Ministry would try to register me as a dark creature, right?"

Hermione scowled. "They better not."

"They technically don't know about me," said Danielle. "Dumbledore tried to abandon me in the non-magical world and destroyed a lot of important documents like my birth certificate. My magic is different enough from a human's so they can't track me like that. I go in there, and the first thing that people are going to do is label me as a dark creature because I'm not human."

The bushy haired girl sighed, pulling the other girl close to her. "I don't care. I really don't want to hear Dumbledore's name right now." She frowned slightly. "Where are we?"

"The shores of Dover," Danielle shrugged. "I heard about it and explored it once. I found it peaceful so I come here every now and then to think."

Hermione smiled and kissed her again. "Thank you for bringing me here."

Danielle smiled sheepishly. "I just wanted to get out of the house to calm down. I didn't even know you were with me when I left. I figured you wouldn't like it if I had stayed and accidently killed Ron."

"He would deserve it, at this rate," Hermione growled. She sighed again. "He's always been more Harry's friend than mine. We argue all the time, he never has any tact with anyone, and he chews with his mouth open. I thought I liked him at one point, but that's gone now."

Danielle frowned this time. "Hermione," she said slowly. "You said earlier that you did things last year that you ordinarily wouldn't do. You were jealous of a girl dating Ron and a book that Harry had. Breaking the rules to help Ron by cursing someone else. Do you do things like that all the time?"

"No," she shook her head. "I-" She stopped, thinking, "I, just had an attraction to Ron out of nowhere. Why would I like him? Why would I be jealous of a book, even if it had been written in?" She was stumped. That wasn't like her.

"Do you think you were potioned?" Danielle suggested, softly, carefully. "Love and jealously potions aren't that hard to make. I know of a recipe that could show if you were under a potion at all in the past few years."

"You do?" asked Hermione. She thought about it and nodded. "Do it. Wait, give some to Harry too. He was acting strange last year as well with Ginny. It's possible that he could have been drugged as well."

Danielle nodded. If nothing else, it would show them clean of potions for the last few years. "I'll get working on that when we get back."

"Great." Hermione paused. "You want to go back now?"

Danielle didn't have to think about that for long. "Not really. I like it here and I don't want to face everyone else right now."

Hermione nodded, getting up and gently pulling Danielle toward a bench near them by the cliff face. It didn't take long for Hermione to pull the other girl's head into her lap so she could play with her hair again. Danielle was about to protest but stopped when she felt the girl's minstrations through her hair and was forced to relax. This was quickly becoming her favorite position.

"You were saying before we were interrupted by lunch and an idiot?"

Danielle chuckled and closed her eyes for a moment, truly feeling relaxed for the first time since they left her room earlier. "Hmm. Using my 'skills' I did help lead the elfin armies to numerous victories. The final battle had Eragon and Arya work together with Murtagh to kill the dark king and his dragon. I helped Eragon's cousin Roran take on a behemoth of a war general and just barely won. The same general killed the queen of Du Weldenvarden in that same battle, leaving princess Arya the throne.

"Eragon and his dragon Saphira wound up leaving Alegasia to create a new dragon rider academy and left Arya at home with her the dragon that had hatched for her almost right after the battle. With the king's death, a sort of constitutional monarchy was created with hints of democracy. Not the best system but far better than it was.

"I left to come back here, by this point, I was fifteen."

"You've done so much at such a young age," Hermione whispered. She was ready to cry this time, holding her hand while continuing to stroke her hair.

"Hmm. That feels nice…" Danielle trailed off, her eyes half closed. "Sirius took the chance to tell me what was going on while I was gone. I heard that Harry's name had been entered into the Goblet of Fire the previous year and Tom returned. As far as I can tell, he jumped between London and my house all throughout your fifth year."

"He left headquarters?" Hermione asked.

"Since he came to the house a lot, I guess he did," Danielle smiled at her. "He brought Remus with him sometimes but stopped after the third time when he threatened to curse me after I criticized something that Dumbledore was doing. Honestly, I just told him that Dumbledore was an idiot for not telling Harry what was going on."

Hermione laughed. "I think we all thought the same thing, but no one actually said it."

"Sirius told me late into April that year that the Order was guarding a prophecy and Tom wanted it. He didn't know the exact wording, but we both figured out what it said."

"How?" Hermione asked, slightly stunned.

Danielle chuckled. "Hermione. The prophecy was clearly about Tom and Harry. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that one has to kill the other. Besides, Tom wouldn't stop trying to kill him anyway."

Hermione shook her head. "When you say it like that, it does seem rather obvious."

Danielle shrugged. "Personally, I don't think it was worth guarding for a whole year by the Order when they could have focused on more important things. When things died down and everyone found that Tom was back, I figured I would lie low and head back to Middle Earth. It wasn't like I could help the Order or the Ministry, after all."

"Stupid Dumbledore," Hermione grumbled.

"I wound up in Rivendell again only to find out that Frodo had just arrived at Elrond's with the ring. I hung around for a bit until the fellowship was formed and I volunteered to go, mostly to get away from everyone again. Gandalf, Gimli and Samantha were the only ones eager for me to come. Gandalf had seen me in action while Gimli's father had been part of the original thirteen dwarves I traveled with to take back Erabor. Samantha just loved elves in general, excited she could travel with both Legolas and I."

"I take it Legolas was okay with that?"

"He actually was, to be honest. He was a prince of the elfin kingdom in the forests of Mirkwood but he didn't have anything against me personally. He wouldn't go against Elrond for me, but we could have a decent conversation without him insulting me. We traveled to the Misty Mountains and through the Mines of Moria. We lost Gandalf temporarily in the mine due to a Balrog but he got better.

"One of our fellowship died when he wanted the ring from Frodo and he and Samantha left for Mordor while the rest of us went after the hobbits Merry and Pippen after they were kidnapped by Orcs. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and I all went after them and we ran into Gandalf the White. We saved the two Hobbits and defeated the wizard Saruman before he could help Sauron anymore than he had.

"We worked together to distract Sauron so I could help Frodo and Samantha sneak into Mount Doom and throw the ring into it. Gollem and Frodo still fought over the ring, though, and the nasty little creature fell into the magma of the volcano with the ring. Without the ring and his soul anchor, Sauron was defeated relatively easily, as the ring held a lot of his power.

"I helped everyone I could before going to Du Weldenvarden again to study on magics I couldn't before. Queen Arya allowed me to, for my services in the war, but I could tell she wanted me gone. I finally left to come back here when I realized that I showed up in Godric's Hallow late on Christmas Eve. I made my way over to what used to be James and Lily's house before hearing a scream in Bathilda's house. You know the rest."

Hermione hummed as she thought over the story, tangling her fingers in the dark red locks of the elf girl in her lap. The tale she had heard was almost the same as she had read in her books but Danielle had lived it, hadn't read anything about it. And she thought being a witch was bad.

Her mind went back and forth over everything Danielle had said since they had met a few days ago. Merlin. How was this girl so important to her after only a couple of days? Still, in that time, they had held each other as they cried, supported each other, and learned the other's deepest darkest secrets. She was even willing to go against Ron for her, but that wasn't too surprising as the red headed boy was insensitive and had the emotional range of a teaspoon.

Wait. Danielle had said something about two soul pieces being brought into her house that night. The first was the locket. What was the…

"Danielle?"

"Hmm?"

"When we first got to your house, you said that we brought in two soul pieces, correct?"

Danielle nodded. "Yes. I sensed two pieces of soul fragments. Both were with Harry at the time."

Hermione frowned. "But, there was only the locket. We only had one."

It was Danielle's turn to frown. "No. There were two. One was destroyed, but the other one is still with Harry. It's faint, but it is there."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Hermione asked loudly.

Danielle winced. "I thought you knew already. You didn't seem concerned about it so I thought you had a plan to deal with it and you hadn't told me. I'm actually surprised that Harry is still sane or himself at the moment as the soul piece is inside his scar."

"What!" She ignored Danielle as she winced again. "There's a horcrux in Harry's scar?"

Danielle slowly nodded. "That was what I sensed when we first brought him in, yes."

"But…" Hermione was going over everything in her mind that she knew about horcruxes. "But, they need the item they are in to survive. It's impossible to remove the soul piece from something without destroying it. Harry-"

Her eyes widened. Harry had to die. It was the only explanation.

"Please tell me you know of a spell to get rid of the horcrux in Harry's scar," Hermione asked her.

Danielle thought about it and shook her head. "Not off the top of my head, no. But the library back at the house should have something that might work. This might be a case where elfin magic beats human." She paused. "Unless you want to stab him with a magic knife on his scar and try to get a phoenix to cry on the wound. That's all I got for the moment."

Hermione was clearly trying hard to not work herself into a frenzy. "Okay. We'll take a look at your library, which I still haven't seen I might add, and see if it's possible."

They lapsed into silence after that, both lost in thought. Danielle had sat up when Hermione had started yelling and now she was lying her head on Hermione's shoulder, just like the bushy haired girl had her head on top of hers.

A passing local of Dover passed and shook her head, smiling. "Young love," she muttered before continuing on her way.

Danielle mentally frowned. Love? Was that what she was feeling? She cared a lot about Hermione but she wasn't sure if she loved her. She needed advice and guidance on this but had no idea where to turn. Arywn maybe but she didn't know if they could carry out a lengthly conversation with her without Elrond finding out.

Putting that out of her mind, she just enjoyed the feeling of having Hermione's arms around her back while her own had snaked around the other girl's waist.

Dusk was approaching before they finally decided that they had spent enough time there before they decided they had to go back. The sky was just starting to turn a purple/blue color and the stars were just starting to come out.

"I've always loved the stars," Danielle muttered. She and Hermione were standing, both holding hands. "The constellations are different here than they are in Middle Earth but they are no less amazing."

"I would love to see that," Hermione said equally as softly.

Danielle nodded but internally grimaced. Hermione wanted to come with her to Middle Earth? While she could do that easily, she didn't want Hermione anywhere near several people she knew without her watching.

She gripped Hermione's hand tighter, before turning on the spot and vanishing back to the house with a soft pop.

XXXXX

Harry was pacing back and forth in his room, which now resembled his dorm room at Hogwarts, with a certain red haired boy on the bed, staring at him. The Potter heir was furious, that much was obvious. The subject of his anger was right next to him but he had to play this carefully.

"Let me get this straight," said Harry, finally turning to look at Ron. "You, in your infinite wisdom, decide it would be a good idea to insult the person supplying us with food and a roof over our heads, not to mention a place to plan our next move. You hit her with every one of her fears and insecurities at the same time, and cause her to have a mental break down."

"She-"

"Not to mention," said Harry, silencing him with a glare, "she is my long lost twin sister, that Dumbledore decided to keep from me, and a possible love interest toward Hermione, a girl who has been our friend for over seven years." He sighed and rubbed his face behind his glasses. "What am I to do with you, Ron?"

"Dumbledore forbade her from becoming a student," Ron said quickly. "He must have his reasons."

"Yes," said Harry, coldly. "Because robbing me of my childhood and my sister was what Dumbledore would do to protect me. From what I know of her, Ron, was that Danielle had possibly a worse childhood and life than I have had. From what Hermione has told me, she fought in huge armies that numbered tens of thousands, she had battled at least two dark lords, and still nobody to turn to when she needs it.

"Now she has found Hermione. And it is clearly our friend that is holding all of the cards there. Danielle literally doesn't know how to betray her even if she wanted to, and she is much more fragile than Hermione. Just when she is getting comfortable with us all, even the ones that SHE had rescued from Malfoy Manor, you decide to attack her out of nowhere. Is that correct or did I miss something?"

Ron was fidgeting, not looking at anything but at Harry. "How did she know about the horcruxes then?"

"She had experienced one when a previous dark lord she had fought had created one, or something similar."

"She's not human."

"Neither is Dobby, and we love him. Fleur and Hagrid are also only part human. Should I stop trusting them too?"

"Aren't you worried about her messing up the group dynamic?"

"Not really. She's my sister. If anything, Luna is a better candidate of disrupting how we work as a team."

"She took Hermione from me!"

"Ah, now we get to the heart of the matter," said Harry, ignoring Ron's outburst. "From what I could see, Hermione liked you last year. But as we were going through our days in the tent without you, she told me that she was wondering what she saw in you in the first place." Ron deflated. "Sorry Ron, but I think you leaving shook her enough that she wanted to at least look at someone else. That, and I'm sorry, but I can't really see you two together for too long."

"What do you mean?"

"Honestly, mate, you two are incompatible. What do you two actually have in common?"

"Well," said Ron, thinking hard. "She's a Gryffindor."

"So is a quarter of the school," Harry deadpanned. "Not good enough."

"She's been our friend for all these years and went with us on our adventures."

"Technically, you were the one who put her in the girl's bathroom in the first place," Harry reminded him. "I was the one who dragged you in there to warn her about the troll."

"I knocked the troll out."

"Correct me if I'm wrong but you cast the first spell that came to mind and luckily it worked for us in the end. Was that honestly what you were planning on doing that day?"

Ron sighed and shook his head. "I, I liked her since fourth year. Since the Yule Ball."

"You got a strange way of showing it then," said Harry, looking right at him. "I watched you, Ron. You ruined her time at the ball by insulting her intelligence by going with Krum. You call her a know-it-all at least once a day. You made out with Lavender all last year where you knew she was watching."

"Alright!" said Ron, loudly. "I get it!"

"I don't think you do, Ron," said Harry sadly. "You like chess and Quidditch. Hermione doesn't like either. She told me that she had to do everything when you two were prefects while you were taking confiscated items for yourself. You like goofing off. She likes studying. What do you two really have in common except for being my friends? Would you two even speak to each other if it hadn't been for me?"

"I don't know!" Ron said hotly, now standing. "I just…"

"You can't even come up with a reason for staying with her," said Harry, getting in Ron's face. "Hermione told me that Danielle can challenge her intellectually and actually understands magic in ways Hermione can't, and that fascinates her. Danielle can back it up with street smarts as well as book smarts, if what we saw her doing to save Luna and the others is any indication. She thinks outside the box but doesn't go over the top, just the thing that Hermione needs to balance her studying. Admit it, Ron, at the very least, they fancy each other and I am going to accept it. Will it last forever? I have no idea but I will be supportive no matter what they decide."

He sighed again. "Is it the fact they are both girls? Is that the problem?"

Ron shook his head. "No. The Wizarding World doesn't really care about that. If the rumors I heard about Dumbledore are true…"

"Yeah, let's not go there," said Harry. "I honestly just want to see them happy, is that too much to ask? Danielle is the only blood family I have left and I am going to be in contact with her for as long as I can. Hermione is like a sister to me and if they are happy together, then so be it. Have you seen Hermione lately, Ron? When she's not glowering at you, she's happy. You can see it, she is happy."

Ron grimaced and sat back down, sighing. "I, I don't know what to do. That horcrux really messed up my thinking."

"Stay up here for as long as you need," said Harry, clapping him on the back. "I think we're just lucky Danielle didn't blow up the house when she lost control of her magic. Don't antagonize her again if you want to keep breathing."

Harry left Ron to his thoughts as he went through the door and down the hallway to the kitchen. Hopefully Ron would think about what he said and move on from this fixation on Hermione but he wouldn't count on it. Passing through the living room, he shook his head at Luna pretending to 'preserve the crime scene,' as it were. Although, he had to admit, the blonde did look fairly attractive as she conjured the police tape-

No! Bad Potter! He liked Ginny! Didn't he?

Now that he was away from the Weasley girl, he started losing interest in her. Ginny was attractive but in a kind of 'girl-next-door' kind of way. She wasn't overly girly and was actually more of a tomboy. Their conversations were mostly how much they liked each other and snogging, none of the meaningful discussions he had had with Luna since he had known her.

Luna on the other hand had helped him with the loss of Sirius. He had tried to help her find her things but she just didn't let it bother her, continuing to do what she was doing. The odd Ravenclaw was strange, that was for certain, but he found her quirks refreshingly adorable. She was unique, that was for certain.

It started getting dark by the time the back door opened to reveal Hermione and Danielle, who looked much better than before. He blinked though, Hermione was giggling and the red headed elf girl was shaking with silent laughter.

"You saw his face when you set his robes on fire?" Danielle asked, ready to fall to the floor laughing.

Hermione nodded, giggling like mad. Which was amazing as Hermione NEVER giggled. "I did! It was priceless. It was like this!" She contorted her face to make a passable expression of Snape's had back in their first year. Danielle howled with laughter and almost dragged Hermione onto the floor with her. "Makes me wonder if he would melt if someone had dumped water on him."

"Oh No!" said Danielle in a fake voice. "I'm melting! I'm melting! Oh, what a world, what a world!"

Hermione moved on from giggles to full laughter as she helped Danielle up from the floor, who was gasping for breath.

"Having fun?" asked Harry, amused at both girls who hadn't noticed he was there yet.

"Harry!" Danielle cried out. "Please, tell me you know of some of the pranks dad and his friends did at Hogwarts! I need more!"

Harry laughed slightly, shaking his head. "Yeah. Sirius told me a few the couple of times he could. I'll tell you while I'm making dinner. Come on."

Hermione was still giggling. "Harry, remember Umbridge's face when Fred and George shot fireworks at her. Or that huge flaming dragon firework in the Great Hall that tried to eat her!"

"Oh no way!" Danielle laughed. "You have to tell me about that! Sounds as good as Gandalf's fireworks."

"Oh, they were," Hermione nodded. "They get into the firework industry together, they would sweep up the market."

Danielle nodded, still smiling. "I saw a duplicate of the one he fired at Bilbo's party. The one that turned into a giant firery dragon, swoops over the crowd, and explodes in a shower of sparks."

"I read about that!" Hermione said loudly as they sat down at the kitchen table. "It sounded amazing."

They talked for a few more minutes then let Harry tell them some of the pranks Sirius had told him about. Both girls laughed when Harry told them that Sirius, Remus and Pettigrew had all levitated the giant squid, James standing on top of it, and rose them up to the girl's dormitory so he could serenade Lily.

As it turned out, Lily's scream could actually be heard all the way into the Slytherin dungeons. McGonagall had not been happy and the giant squid had never trusted any of them again after that.

"Harry," said Hermione, looking at him. He was working on both a vegetarian dish and a sort of beef stir fry over rice for everyone else. "We need to tell you a few things."

"That can't be good," said Harry, earlier joviality gone.

"No," Hermione agreed. "Danielle and I were talking, and we figured out a few things we wanted to talk to you about." She gripped the other's girl hand and smiled when she squeezed back. "One thing is what happened last year."

"Last year was pretty crazy," said Harry, stirring some of the vegetables in a large pan. "Anything in particular?"

Hermione let out a deep breath. "Harry, even you have to admit that I wasn't acting normally last year. I mean, I cheated at your quidditch try outs to help Ron get the position of Keeper. Does that sound like me? Then I'm pining after him while he's snogging Lavender and I was jealous over that stupid Half-Blood Prince book. Face it Harry, that wasn't normal for me."

Harry slowly nodded, now cutting up a zuchinni and shredding it. "I didn't want to say anything at the time but now that you mention it…You did take all year to find anything on Ellien Prince. Despite that fact that you can find anything in the library quickly and easily before."

Hermione nodded wearily. "Danielle and I were both thinking that it would be best if we checked to see if I had been under any potions last year. At least a love or jealously potion. Maybe nothing would come of it, but better safe than sorry."

"Couldn't hurt," said Harry, "I suppose. I take it there is a reason for telling me this?"

Danielle smiled reassuringly at Hermione, who gripped her hand again. "I wanted to find out if you had been under any potions as well, Harry. Danielle, how does it work?"

The elf cleared her throat. "It's actually a potion made by some humans about a century ago. I can have Hermione check it out before I actually brew it. Basically, it shows any potions that the drinker have drunk in the past few years. If I wanted, I could strengthen it so it showed all potions the drinker has ever taken."

Harry was now putting grated cheese on one of the dishes. "As long as it doesn't poison me, I think it's safe. Like I said, better safe than sorry. I'm pretty sure I'm not under a potion, but I guess this potion of yours will tell me what I already know."

"Thanks Harry," said Hermione, standing up and hugging him. Harry chuckled and returned the hug. Danielle smiled, watching them. She might be Harry's blood sister, but Hermione might as well be his real one, the way they act around each other.

"Ah, Harry," Hermione continued. "There is something else."

"Isn't there always?"

"This is pretty big though, Harry," said Danielle, getting what Hermione wanted to tell him. "Should I tell him, or do you want to?"

Hermione gave her the go ahead.

Danielle sighed. "Harry, when you and Hermione first showed up at the house, you brought the locket in, right?"

"Yeah," said Harry, slowly. Now confused.

"Well, there was more than one soul fragment that entered my house that night." Danielle was rubbing the back of her head, now nervous.

Harry was now really confused. "But, there was only the locket. We only had one horcrux."

Danielle shook her head. "No, Harry. There were two. One was destroyed when Ron stabbed the locket. The other, though, is still here. It's in your scar, Harry."

Harry immediately tensed up and clapped a hand to his forehead. "My, my scar? That…" he paused. His eyes widened in horror. "The connection. That's how I can get a glimpse of his mind. Dumbledore said Voldemort put a bit of himself in me that Halloween night. But…"

Hermione was now near tears. "Harry. It makes sense. Your power of parseltongue. This connection with Voldemort's mind. And a horcrux cannot survive without the item it's encased in. You're-"

"A living horcrux," said Harry as he slumped onto the table. He looked defeated. His shoulders were slumped, his eyes were dimmed and he looked miserable.

Danielle had the foresight to turn off the stove. "Harry. I have a huge library filled with human, elf, dwarf and even orc magic. If there is any way of purging this soul fragment from you without you dying that even Dumbledore couldn't have found, it's here."

"I…" Harry trailed off, still lost in thought. "How long has Dumbledore known?" he asked quietly.

Hermione shook her head, sitting down again. "I wish I knew. I find it hard to think that he hadn't known after all this time. He was an expert on finding and destroying these things after all."

"He must have planned on me to die," said Harry softly. "If that is the only way he could find of getting this thing out of me."

"After dinner, I'm going to the library," said Danielle. "I'll translate as many scrolls and books from the Ancient Language to English as I can if they have a hint of an idea of how to get that thing out of you. I'd rather you didn't stab yourself with my knife or fall into a volcano."

Harry didn't laugh, but he did smile softly. "Thank you."

Danielle clapped him on the shoulder. "That's what family is for. And trust me, you are my only real blood family at this point."

"After dealing with the Dursleys, I totally agree," said Harry, nodding with a bit of his old fire back.

Dinner was almost as awkward as lunch had been. Hermione was not just glowering at Ron, but sending him death glares. Danielle tried to calm her down by squeezing her hand, and it seemed to work, but only for a while before the brunette was back to it. Harry was moving his food around, not eating much. Too bad, his vegetarian lasigna was really good. The few times he wasn't morose, he was glancing at her, Hermione and strangely enough Luna. The blonde seemed to know something was up with Harry but just offered silent companionship to him until he was ready to spill his secrets on his own time.

Ron just focused on his food, not looking at anyone and bolted to his room as soon as the meal was over. The others thanked Harry for the food before they focused on either healing from their injuries at Malfoy Manor or try to figure out what they would do now.

Danielle left the kitchen after the meal only to find herself in the destroyed living room. She grimaced as she looked at the destruction, just glad that her mirror had been enchanted to be unbreakable.

Sighing, she muttered a few words on the Ancient Language when Hermione walked in. She watched as the furniture repaired itself, holes were sealed, paint restored, and even the fire reignited in the fireplace.

"Not bad," said Hermione, looking over everything. Of course, she was playing it down a lot. What Danielle had just done was probably something only Dumbledore could probably do with just one spell.

Danielle nodded. "Come on, I'll show you the library."

She started pulling Hermione up the stairs, and Harry decided to run after them. For some strange reason, Luna also followed them as they went to the room that was labeled library.

Hermione's jaw dropped as soon as she saw the library. Instead of a few collection of bookshelves that she had been expecting, she saw a room that could be compared to the library of the Disney film 'Beauty and the Beast.'

The room was enormous. The ceiling rose to at least thirty feet above them and the walls were floor to ceiling bookshelves, filled with books, scrolls, and other forms of the printed word. The room had to as large as the Hogwarts library and it was filled with magics that the school had never had access to.

"I believe the wrackspurts are making Hermione drool," said Luna, looking around the room in wonder as well.

Hermione quickly closed her mouth and checked it for saliva, relieved that she found none. She looked at Danielle, who was obviously waiting for the girl's approval.

"I, uh, didn't know how large a space I would need for a library so I just it made it huge. When I started collecting books about everything I could think might be helpful, I had to enlarge the space a few times to hold everything. I have works here from Middle Earth, Alegasia, non-magical book stores, and Diagon Alley. There are quite a few pieces of literature from Shakespere, Tolken, Mark Twain, and others. I have books on just about every kind of magic one could think of and various versions of it that only work for a certain race. What do you think?"

Hermione walked toward her, making the red head tense for a moment. Then she brought Danielle's face close to hers and brought her into a steamy kiss that almost short circuited the elf girl's brain. When she let the poor girl go after several long moments, both were panting from lack of oxygen.

"Marry me?" Hermione asked. "I need to use this library!"

Danielle blinked and Harry burst out laughing.

"Hermione!" Harry gasped. "You'll marry someone just because they have a huge library?"

Hermione blushed but brought Danielle into another kiss.

"Let's talk about marriage later," Luna suggested. "How do we find anything in this place?"

Danielle shook off the cobwebs from her mind from that last kiss and moved over to centermost table in the room. She gestured at the piece of paper lying innocently on the table top.

"This is the command paper. Simply write on it the subject you are looking for and the library brings you the books and scrolls on the subject you want. Try it out."

Hermione nodded happily and picked up the pen next to the paper. "Nice. Actual paper instead of parchment."

"I never really liked parchment," Danielle shrugged. "Paper is a better quality and a lot cheaper to make and sell."

The bushy haired girl wrote 'Horcruxes' on the paper and watched, fascinated, as several books from around the library flew onto the large table.

"All these books have some sort of reference to what you wrote down," Danielle said. "It's up to you to actually look through them though. When you are done with the book, just leave it lying on one of the tables and the library will put it away tonight."

One by one, Harry and Luna also put in their requests for books and more came flying from the shelves and onto the table. Danielle put in hers for rituals to purge soul fragments and got a couple of old scrolls written in the Ancient Language.

'Fun,' she thought. 'I get to translate all night.'

Within moments, everyone was camped out on their own and started reading. Harry was looking up more advanced defensive spells while Luna was nearby and looking up something on magizoology. Hermione was reading two different books at the same time and was pouring over both, writing on a spare piece of paper several notes.

Danielle had been taught how to read and write in the Ancient Language but the work she was pouring over was extremely dry and old. It seemed to have been written by some elf a few hundred years before the construction of Rivendell even, back when dwarves lived the mines of Moria.

_Soul fragments are the darkest of dark magics and must not fall into the wrong hands or the consequences shall be dire. An emotional attachment, from either a hapless victim or the original themselves, can form a link that draws magic into the fragment, strengthening it. If enough energy is gathered, the fragment can create a life of its own._

_The act of splitting the soul is a dark foul art that requires a complex ritual and the murder of an innocent, usually a child. Other methods of splitting the soul can be used, but are not as effective. The soul is meant to be whole. It will try as hard and as many times as possible to reunite and become one once more._

_A soul fragment can be imbued with more of the caster's power than it has already, but if the container is destroyed, so does the power from the caster. Enchanting the container is impossible for anyone but the creator but it always takes the new enchant much better than an average object._

_While not proven, theories have arisen that multiple soul fragments from the same person could be possible. The theory was abandoned however when it was discovered under artificial simulations that the soul would become unstable and collapse under its own weight after it is split six or seven times. The simulations also proved that sanity is lost every time the soul is split._

_Extreme measures must be taken to destroy the container of a soul fragment as it must go beyond conventional means. Simple magics will not work as it will either have no effect or fix itself immediately._

Danielle sighed. This was great background information but she needed something on organic soul fragments. Going down the scroll a bit, she found something interesting.

_When the thought of elfin or human bound soul fragments was aroused to the sacred council, it was laughed out of court. However, this does give thought to the idea._

_An organic creature being used as a container for a soul fragment should be unthinkable, but it is theoritcally possible. The main problem is the soul fragment must be weaker than the host or it will take over the host's body. Mental strength would be needed to resist the lure of the soul fragment._

_Destruction is the only way of removing an inorganic soul container, however, an organic container has a slim possibility of surviving._

_When I proposed this idea to the council, they laughed me out of the room, and refused to hear of my work. They spoke that it was impractical as they had never heard of an organic soul container. Fools! I, Saruman the White, will prove them wrong! Gandalf especially seems anxious about this talk of splitting the soul. He is a fool. He should go back to the study of Halflings while I handle this important magical discovery. Edmual, the elf that helped me work on this scroll, has begged me to reconsider this way of thinking._

_It is true that I do not know of any practical use of this research but I feel it is worth studying. I will continue this for now and go back to my study of magic rings when the time is right. If my theory is correct, however, it is possible to use this method of putting part of one's soul inside another and give the container some of the caster's powers. Imagine the possibilities! _

_Removing the soul fragment shouldn't be too hard with this ritual I will diagram below. I do not wish for anyone to actually go through with this, it is all purely theoritical, but if we could test this in a controlled environment, the possibilities are endless._

Danielle looked at the diagram for the ritual and used her admitidly limited knowledge of such things to examine it. The idea was sound enough that it might work, but she didn't know if she wanted to test it right away. Essentially, one put the person or creature with the soul fragment in the center of a pentagram made of white sand while a minimum of three people chanted in the Ancient Language. The more people involved, the easier it was to remove the soul fragment.

The incantation Saruman wrote out needed some work, but it was a good start for someone who didn't know as much of the language as an elf did. The hard part was containing the soul fragment before it was passed from the organic container into an inorganic one or a different organic one.

In theory, she could transfer the soul fragment into a rat or something and kill that instead of Harry. Or just put the fragment into a random fork or something and destroy that. Either way, Harry becomes soul fragment free.

She frowned. She didn't know everything but she was sure Voldemort had other soul containers out there and they had no idea where they were. She should see if it was possible to access the memories of the soul fragment before they destroyed it, to find the locations of the containers.

She sighed, rubbing her face as she saved the scroll and rerolled it properly to open on the section she wanted. Looking around, she saw Harry and Luna now reading side by side, not even realizing how close they were. Hermione was pouring over several other books that she doubted would be very useful. The girl had just asked for information on soul fragments, not how to remove them from organic containers.

Sighing, she asked for a book on potions and started researching the one that detected any other potions the drinker had taken. It didn't take long to find, thanks to an index at the back of the book, and found that the potion was relatively simple to make and only required to be brewed for twelve hours.

"I'm going to bed," Harry announced to the room at large. Danielle nodded and Luna decided to leave as well. That left Danielle and Hermione alone in the room.

"Find anything?"

Hermione shook her head. "No, nothing. I found out a lot, but not how to remove it from Harry without killing him. I even found how Voldemort could have enchanted them to only be destroyed in the place they were created but luckily he seemed to have missed that one. What's that?" She gestured toward the scroll.

Danielle smiled. "Unless you can read in the Ancient Language of the elves, I'm afraid you can't read it."

"We'll see about that." Hermione snatched the scroll and unrolled it. She quickly looked at it and found that it was, indeed, written in a language that she had never seen before. "Ugh. I can't make out anything."

"What you are holding are research notes written by Saruman the White centuries before Smaug the dragon had attacked the city of Erabor. I'm not sure how I found it, but it's here and it might hold the secret to getting that soul fragment out of Harry."

"Really?"

"I just have to tweak a few things Saruman came up with, but in theory, it should work." Danielle was happy that Hermione was happy with the news. "I'll get back to you when I figure some more things out. On that route, I looked up the potion that I was telling you about earlier. Here." She held out the very human potion book for Hermione to read and after looking it over, nodded.

"That should work," Hermione mused. "When can you make it?"

"If I start right now, it should be done by about nine tomorrow morning. Want to see the potion's lab?"

Hermione nodded eagerly and they both left the library, Danielle carrying the scroll and book with her. She shrunk the scroll and put it carefully in her pocket while they headed down the stairs. Going down the stairs and into the kitchen, Danielle opened another door almost hidden entirely and revealed another short staircase that led down. The next door revealed a well lit potions lab with all kinds of cauldrons, ingredients, shelves stocked with preserved potions, and few books specializing on potions in general.

"Not bad," Hermione nodded, noting the large windows near the ceiling for some ventalation, something that Snape's dungeon never had. She had always thought that was a health hazard, with all the fumes coming from the cauldrons, but had never actually voiced it to either Snape or Slughorn.

Scanning the recipe, the red head took the right cauldron and put it on the burner, adding the right amount of water to it before starting it. The ingredients weren't that hard to put together and Hermione was impressed that the elf girl knew the difference between shredding, chopping, and dicing. Adding the right things at the right time, she stirred several times counter clock-wise before adding some beetle's eyes and the knot grass.

The potion turned a perfect shade of pale pink, like the book said was supposed to happen. Danielle turned down the flame but didn't cut it off entirely. "Now we let it simmer for the night and at nine, it should be done." She turned to Hermione. "You might not like the results, you know."

"I know," said Hermione. "But at the same time, I need to know. I was so out of character last year, I should know if I was under potions."

Danielle nodded and led the brunette out of the potions lab. Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, Hermione followed her to her room at the end of the hall upstairs.

"Anything else you want to tell me Hermione?" Danielle asked, cocking her head to the side. "Don't you want to sleep in your own room?"

Hermione shrugged. "Not really." She sat down on the bed, cross-legged. "I was just wondering a few things."

"Like."

"Are you happy?"

Danielle was taken by surprise by the question but thought about it for a few moments. She had to admit to herself that she was much happier in general than she usually was. "I would have to say…yes. Or at least, I'm much happier now than I had been." She sat down on the bed as well, curling into a lotus position and taking deep calming breaths. "I, I like this, whatever we have now, Hermione. I like it a lot."

"As do I," Hermione admitted. She had gone on a couple of dates before but they had never really worked for her. Krum was just a friend that she wrote to every now and then now. And the less she thought of Cormac McClaggen the better. She had only gone to that Christmas party last year with him to annoy Ron, anyway. Now she was wondering what she was thinking when she did that. That wasn't her.

Hermione moved slightly and straddled Danielle's hips, wrapping her arms around the other girl. Danielle looked hesitant so she took intiative and kissed her, soundly. Danielle moaned as she kissed her back, eyes closing as she just enjoyed the feelings between them.

"You know," said Hermione, now smiling as they separated. "You can kiss me too. You don't have to wait for me to do it."

Danielle's shoulders slumped slightly. "I know. On some level, I know. But…it's so far out of my comfort zone. I don't want to do it at the wrong moment and have you angry at me."

Hermione smiled and kissed her again. "Don't worry about that. I promise, I won't be angry at you for disrupting my studying for something like this." She kissed Danielle again.

Danielle hummed in approval as the kiss became more heated. Hermione seemed determined to press everything she had into this kiss and her tongue was asking for entry into the red head's mouth. Danielle, startled, accidently allowed the tongue to slip in and felt the strong muscle exploring. Feeling she had to do something, she tried to do the same thing with her own tongue, which Hermione approved of whole heartedly.

The kiss became even more heated as Hermione ran her fingers through Danielle's hair and across her back. The shivers of pleasure going through her spine and the kiss were wearing down on her defenses against things like this and her resolve was crumbling.

Panting around the dance of tongues, Hermione gently moved one of her hands from around Danielle's back and gently cupped one of the red head's breasts.

The feeling of arousal shot through her body like a wildfire. This needed to stop. Now!

"NO!"

Danielle ripped away from Hermione with as much strength as she could and fell off the bed, pushing Hermione into the pillow against the headboard. Hermione scrambled to her knees and found the red head on the floor, panting and muttering under her breath in the Ancient Language.

"Too…fast…" Danielle muttered in English, eyes screwed shut.

Hermione got off the bed and knelt down next to her. "I'm sorry. I guess I got carried away."

"You think?" Danielle asked slightly sarcastically. She was still breathing heavily and was trying to slow down her heartbeat. Waiting for the arousal to completely flush out of her system. After a few more calming breaths, she spoke in a softer voice. "Sorry about that. But we can't go too far too fast. And that was definitely too fast too soon."

Hermione grimaced and nodded. "Yeah. I just…got lost in the moment. You did seem to enjoy it though." She blushed a bright red. "And your breast is very soft."

Danielle groaned as she lied on the floor. "Hermione, please don't say things like that now. I'm trying to get rid of my hormones, not act on them."

Hermione stared at her. "Why not? I can understand wanting to wait, Merlin, I don't think I'm ready for that yet. But why can't we get a little heated?"

The elf girl sighed, debating what to tell her. "Hermione…high elves are fickle creatures about a lot of things. It's really not that strange for an elf to find a temporary lover for one night and never see that person again with nothing going on between them. We have a…high libido, though. Very high. At this point, if I do give in to my…instincts and hormones. Well, let's say we won't leave the bedroom for a few days."

Hermione gaped at her. "Surely you can control yourself better than that."

Danielle shook her head. "If it was anyone else, maybe. All those…bastards I slept with for war information. I was able to block out most of it and focus on the job. If you are my chosen, however, well, I don't think I would have it in me to stop. That's why I had to stop us from going too far just now."

Hermione nodded, her head down. "Got it. No groping."

Danielle sighed. "I don't mind kissing or even having things get a little heated, Hermione, but you have to understand that even a little arousal could tip me over the edge."

"Being melodramatic?" Hermione asked, teasing.

Danielle's expression told her that she wasn't kidding around however. "I wish." She finally stood up and sat on the bed again, resting her head against the headboard. After a moment's hesitation, Hermione did as well, sitting next to her. "Enhanced strength is also a thing I tend to worry about."

"Really?"

Danielle nodded. "I am physically stronger than you are. A few wrong moves on my part could cause some nasty bruises."

"I still don't care, you know," said Hermione, now snuggling into her side as she rested on the pillow. "Still, who knew I could turn you into a sexual deviant?"

Danielle mock glared at her, to which Hermione grinned back, not feeling sorry at all. She sighed again. "At least I'm not as bad as a Veela. Now they have sexual stamina. High elves are good, but not that good."

Hermione giggled next to her. "We have a friend who's quarter Veela. We went to her wedding last summer. She married Ron's eldest brother Bill."

Danielle nodded, looking thoughtful. "Quarter Veela, huh? As far as I can tell, they have the allure powers but it's nowhere near as strong as a full blooded one. For the most part, they have an affinity for fire but can only go full avian bird mode if they are truly scared or angry. They can also shoot up to ten fireballs in five seconds that could cause massive explosions. I wouldn't want to anger one, that's for sure."

Hermione was about to say something when she yawned cutely.

Danielle giggled this time. "That was adorable, you know that right?"

"That was not adorable," Hermione huffed, smiling.

"Sorry, dear, but that was adorable, but I care about you anyway."

Hermione swatted her arm. "Prat."

Danielle smiled, pretending that her blow had hurt her. "Oh, my new girlfriend is abusing me," she mock sobbed. "Whatever shall I do? I'm now trapped in a loveless relationship with no way out."

"Shut up," Hermione said sleepily. She got even more tired when the red head started playing with her hair, moving her fingers through the bushy mane.

"Sleep," said Danielle softly. "I'll be here all night."

Hermione nodded. They were still in their day clothes but it didn't seem to matter to the elf girl, so why should she care? She found herself drifting off with her head on Danielle's chest, listening to her heartbeat and a hand running across her spine.

After Danielle was sure that Hermione was asleep, she waved her hand and turned both of their clothes into something more suitable for sleeping, banishing their shoes onto the floor next to the bed as well.

Smiling at seeing Hermione's contented sleeping face, she found herself drifting into those waking dreams she was so fond of as well.

**As you can see, I have never been in a relationship in my life. (Sighs) I'm twenty-five and I've never been on a date, that is so sad. Anyway, I know I was kind of pushing Danielle and Hermione together pretty quickly but then again, they are in a war and their situation is kind of unique so I guess I can be forgiven somewhat.**

**I know that a few people will hate me for what I did to Danielle here, making her a wuss after all of the awesome stories she's been in, but again, her situation and living arrangements are completely different then what I normally do for her. She had no supportive parental figure, no real friends, she's ostracized by the elves as well as most humans, and she was so desperate for approval, she was willing to do anything. Even if that meant being 'used' for war information. For the record, I hate that idea as much as anyone else and it was just to push her and Hermione together faster. The bushy haired brunette is offering something she wants and she's taking it with both hands, but on the other hand, Danielle has no clue how to do that so Hermione is the one in charge of that relationship.**

**Sorry but I'm trying to diversify Danielle a bit here with my stories.**

**Anyway, this is probably the closest I've ever come to an M rating. I specialize in T and below, not M. So, you know what to do. Tell me what you think and if I'm wasting my time or not. I wouldn't mind continuing this plot but I have soooo many others waiting in the wings. **


	11. The Mask

**Okay, this has got to be one of the most random and funniest things I might have written. It makes almost no sense and I have no idea where it might be going in the future but I had the idea and I'm sticking to it. The Mask was a great movie back in the 90's with Jim Carrey in case you were wondering. He's not in this, but if you look up the movie you'll see how funny it was while still having a great plot at the same time. I have no idea how many of you actually know the movie or it's less successful sequel, but if you read you'll figure out a lot about it anyway.**

**Harry Potter/ The Mask**

"As if you could have held off You-Know-Who, you little Huffleslut! Get out of my house!"

"Gladly!"

Danielle stormed off away from her father, trying not to shed tears of frustation at the conversation she had just had. James was a bastard, no other way of saying it, and being thrown out of the house was a blessing in disguise as far as she was concerned.

Her name had come out of the goblet of fire the last school year and next thing she knew, she was slandered and berated for something that wasn't her fault. To make matters worse, she was now disowned from the Potter family, despite actually winning the Tri-Wizard tournament. Now Voldemort was back and while everyone believed Dumbledore and Snape when they confirmed it, she was now kicked out of the house.

Growling, thankful that she still had her wand at least, she waved it when she got to her room and everything she owned was shrunk down and flew into her school trunk. Once everything was sorted neatly, she remembered a box in the attic that was labeled 'camping equipment' and summoned that as well.

Glad that the large wooden box that was more of a crate than anything else was with her, she shrunk that as well and stuffed it into her pocket. Shrinking the trunk as well, she hung that on a chain around her neck before storming off. She had no idea where she was going but anywhere was better than Potter Manor at the moment.

She had been fairly sure her parents would disown her at some point, they kept hinting at it for years after all, but she was still stunned that they actually did it. Apparently, winning the Tri-Wizard tournament was enough for them to finally throw her out. As if she wanted all that stupid fame David had for being the 'Boy-Who-Lived.'

Now she had no friends, no family, and no home.

Whatever. She had made do with terrible odds before, she would do it again if she had to.

Sighing in frustration and anger, she couldn't resist slamming the front door so violently that it almost snapped off its hinges as she left. Snickering, she made her way down the drive a good hundred feet before the tears finally started to fall. She was angry, mentally exausted, furious, and sad all at the same time and she was starting to fall apart. Bastard he might be, but James was still her father and his words hurt.

Finally, she ran the last few hundred yards to the front gate and ran. She had no destination in mind, just to get away from the manor and everyone inside.

Where could she go though? She had no one. Moody, maybe? No, he was so paranoid about attacks that she had no idea where he lived. Sirius and Remus were out, they hated her almost as much as her parents did right now. She had no friends she could stay with. Stupid David for leaving her friendless.

XXXXX

Danielle didn't stop moving until it was almost sundown. By then, she was somewhere in the woods about an hour from London and so tired, she had to sit down. Her tears had dried a long time ago, now she was just miserable. She was just glad that she still had all thousand galleons she won for winning the Tournament. Not that it would last forever, but it was better than nothing.

With Voldemort back, she wasn't too sure how safe the magical world was and figured she should stay in the non-magical world for the moment, just to play it safe. She refused to use that offensive term 'Muggle' as it just reaked of wizarding ignorance and arrogance. 'Oh, I have magic so let's call a group of people different than me a funny sounding word that they have no control over.'

Witches and wizards made her sick most of the time.

Now that daylight was dwindling, she pulled out that box of camping supplies from her pocket and enlarged it. Hoping that there was a tent, magical or otherwise, in there, it took her several minutes to pry the top of the crate off. Seriously, what the heck people?

Tossing the top of the crate somewhere else, she looked inside and just found packing peanuts. Raising an eyebrow, she dug through the material, looking for something she could use to spend the night in. If worse came to worse, she could try to take the Knight Bus to the Leaky Cauldron, but she would rather avoid spending any of her money if she didn't have to. She had no idea how long it would have to last.

Finally finding something, she pulled out, not a tent or even a sleeping bag, but another small box. Frowning, she broke the lock by banging it on the crate and opened it. The only thing inside was a green wooden mask. What the hell?

"Seriously? Oh son of a-" Danielle growled, wondering why her parents or ancestors had put a mask in a crate labeled 'camping supplies.' What kind of sick joke was that? Now she had no shelter for the night.

Sighing, sitting on a fallen tree, she glared at the mask in her hand. Flipping it over so she was looking at the inside, the newly risen moonlight shone on the mask, making a sheen of light make the mask shine.

Okay, that was weird.

It was like a shine of light glowed from one end of the mask to the other. Curiosity was getting the better of her, and she found her hands rising the mask to her face. Realizing that it was magic, probably a compulsion charm to put it on, she tried to fight it but it was too strong. She was not prepared for this kind of magic at all and the mask was getting closer to her face.

The wooden mask finally connected with her skin.

She instantly knew something was wrong. The mask latched onto her face and was slowly encompassing her head, leaving her dark red hair. She screamed out and tried to claw it off but it wouldn't budge. Lightning flashed and the mask was sealed, making her spin in a cartoony whirlwind, like the Tasmanion Devil from the Looney Toons.

When she stopped, her whole head was covered in what was now green skin. She was dressed in a smart looking suit and had a creepy disturbing smile on her face.

"Ooh, smokin!" The Mask said, grinning cheerfully if not a bit insane. "Let's see here, no home, little money, honey, do you ever need some help!" She opened a pocket of her suit and a moth flew out. "Can't make the scene if I don't have the green," she said, smirking. "I better make a little stop."

Making a gesture for running, she sped down with crazy speed down the hill and into London proper.

The goblins of Gringotts were just finishing up some business, rotating their shifts for their late night clientele. The bank was open twenty-four hours a day for vampires, hags, and others who couldn't get away for banking needs during the day.

The tellers were doing their usual routine when the door suddenly burst open revealing a young woman with a green face and red hair.

"Honey, I'm home!" she yelled for all to see. She sped up to a free goblin, who looked surprised at the blur the woman had been an instant earlier.

"Ah, name please?"

The Mask got a thoughtful look on her face. "Hmm, closer," she crooked her finger at the goblin, making the little creature come closer to her. "Closer." The goblin moved closer. "No, closer."

When they were only a few inches apart, the woman smiled. "MY NAME ISN'T IMPORTANT LITTLE BABY MAN!"

The goblin she had been talking to fell over in his shock at the volume she had yelled in his ear. Before he could do anything, the woman was already standing in front of the doors to the vaults.

"Oooh, what does this thing do?"

"Stop her!" yelled several goblins, trying to stop the woman that was now stealing a Gringotts cart.

"Oh, dang it," she said. "I never got my license on driving mine carts. Well, FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING!"

Pulling a rocket out of her pocket, the Mask fixed it onto the cart and it fired, sending her zooming down the tracks at a speed no normal goblin cart could manage on its own.

"Faster!" She yelled, laughing like crazy. She finally found a couple of vaults and jumped out of the cart, leaving it rocketing down into the distance before exploding. "And to think, that could have been me. Hah, hah!"

Looking at the vault in front of her, she smiled insanely and blurred around the doors. When she was done, the entire door was covered in dynamite. "I always forget, do I use one stick or one hundred?"

'Duh,' said the voice in her head. 'Of course you use a hundred!'

"Thanks voice in my head. Of course, what was I thinking, more is always better!"

Pushing the detonator, the huge explosion actually managed to blow the door to smithereens. Blurring into the vault, she grinned. "Oh yes, JACKPOT!"

The vault in question belonged to the Malfoys and had quite a lot of coin inside, as well as dark magical artifacts. The Mask just pulled out a huge bag with the symbol of the British pound on it and started zooming around the vault, filling the bag to the brim with galleons.

"Let's see here," she was now sorting through the dark magical items. "Junk. Trash. Yuck, trash. Definitely junk. Is that a sword? How tacky. Ooh, a pimp cane!"

As she walked out of the vault with the bag of galleons slung over her shoulder and twirling her new cane, she stopped when she saw a huge squadron of goblins armed with swords standing in front of her.

"Oh no," she said dramatically in a girly voice, placing her hand on her head as she leaned back. "It's the attack of the munchkins!"

The goblins apparently didn't like being called that and they started rushing forward, swords ready to slash at her.

Spinning around in a cloud of crazy, she came out of it dressed as a pirate with a sword of her own and a parrot on her shoulder. "Argh, I'll make you walk the plank, you silly livers!"

"Squawk, goblins with swords. Goblins with swords."

"Yes, that you Polly. Now leave me, you bird brain."

"You don't have to be so rude, you know," said the bird in a sophisticated British accent this time. "I was just trying to be helpful."

She didn't have any time to reply as goblins with pointy swords were trying to attack her. She blocked one of the blows, jumped up and bounced off another's head, and did a handstand on the head of a third.

"Get off of me!"

"But you're so comfy!" she said before jumping onto another goblin when the first tried to attack his friend in an attempt to get at her. "Now that's just plain rude."

"Surrender green human and you'll only die painlessly!"

"Nope, I stand corrected. That is rude." She started to tear up with tears that were drenching the goblin she was sitting on. "And I thought we were the best of friends!"

"DIE!"

Spinning in the tornado of insanity again and now with two swords, she was able to knock out the rest of the goblins with little effort. "Well that was fun!" She pulled out a few dozen grenades from her pocket and threw them at the other vault on the ledge she was on. The following explosion breaking down that door as well.

"If at first you succeed, then keep doing it until you get bored."

It took very little time to steal everything that wasn't nailed down. Then she took the nailed down stuff too. Then she took the nails themselves, figuring she might as well be polite in cleaning up.

"So many nails," she said, shaking her head. "So little time."

Stepping out of the second vault after emptying that too, the Mask just looked at the tracks, which now had no cart, and smirked. Putting her thumb in her mouth, she blew hard and her body started to inflate. A moment later, she was a giant ball that jumped on the tracks, rolling down to the lower levels before more goblins could show up.

Rolling down the tracks, she managed to avoid the various traps set up to stop intruders and finally reached the more secure vaults. Turning back to normal, or what could pass as normal for the Mask, she was now standing in a huge circular area that led to the vaults and was guarded by a massive dragon.

"SQUUUEEEE!"

Jumping up and down in delight, the Mask ran at the dragon, arms outstretched, avoiding the fire and giving the winged reptile a hug. "YOU'RE SO CUTE! I WILL CALL YOU SQUISHIE, AND YOU WILL BE MINE, YOU WILL BE MY SQUISHIE!"

The dragon, completely confused by this point, tried to throw the strange human off and managed to knock the Mask onto her back by one of the vaults.

"Bad Squishie, bad," she said sternly. She pulled out a copy of the Daily Prophet out of her pocket, rolled into a tube and whacked the dragon on the nose. "Bad Squishie!" The dragon roared and she whacked it again. "Don't make me punish you!"

The dragon finally realized who the stronger of the two were and bowed it's head submissively. The Mask sighed and scratched the massive dragon behind a horn. "Good Squishie. Who's a good dragon? You are. Yes you are!"

The dragon's tail was whipping back and forth like a playful cat and seemed to enjoy the attention.

"Good, now, stay here while I loot this place to the ground, m'kay?"

The dragon nodded and the Mask moved over to one of the vaults. Since the coat of arms over the vault said it belonged to the Lestranges, she figured she would destroy that first. Pulling a rocket launcher out of her pocket, she aimed at the door and fired, blowing the door to kingdom come.

Blowing the smoke from the barrel of the launcher calmly, like she did it all the time, she threw it over her shoulder and started looting the Lestrange vault as well. Bluring around the vault, she took everything, leaving nothing in it's place. "Hmm, some of this stuff is better then what Lucy boy had in his vault. Ooh, nice cup!"

Spotting a golden cup with a badger on it on a high shelf, she stretched out her arm and grabbed it, instantly telling that there was something dark and evil in it.

'I am Lord Voldemort,' said one of the numerous voices in the Mask's head as she held the cup. 'You will die a horrible…what? No! No, stay away! AAAAAHHHHHHHH!'

The Mask wasn't sure what had happened but there was a scream of something and the cup exploded, black mist dissipated as it did so. Shrugging, figuring the cup was tacky anyway, she picked up her booty, and her bag of goodies she got from the vault as well, and walked right out of the vault.

Only to run into what seemed to be a hundred armed and furious goblins and human employees of the bank.

"Surrender green human," said a goblin way in the back. "It's all over."

Thinking about that for all of 1.3945364049 seconds, the Mask had a better idea in mind. She stuffed the huge bag in her pocket and made a pose. "Hit it!"

Various spotlights snapped on in harmony, focusing on her and giving her a light. Music started playing from nowhere and the Mask was now dressed in a purple and black tanktop and skinny jeans. She started to sing, much to the amazement to the various people and goblins watching her.

**Everything is awesome**

**Everything is cool when you're part of a team**

**Everything is awesome when we're living our dream**

Dancing around and singing, none of the humans or goblins seemed too impressed, until she waved her hands in front of one of the guards, causing him to blink and sing as well.

**Everything is better when we stick together**

The Mask smirked and started moving around him, now both of them were singing in harmony.

**Side by side, you and I gonna win forever, let's party forever**

**We're the same, I'm like you, you're like me, we're all working in harmony**

Now several of the goblins had caught whatever the human from before had and were singing with each other.

**Everything is awesome**

**Everything is cool when you're part of a team**

**Everything is awesome when we're living our dream**

The Mask took over, counting down from three and soon most of the army was singing.

**(Wooo)**

**3, 2, 1. Go**

**Have you heard the news, everyone's talking**

**Life is good 'cause everything's awesome**

**Lost my job, it's a new opportunity**

**More free time for my awesome community**

Disco lights came out of nowhere and humans and goblins were dancing in the cave together, weapons completely forgotten on the floor.

**I feel more awesome than an awesome possum**

**Dip my body in chocolate frostin'**

**Three years later, wash off the frostin'**

**Smellin' like a blossom, everything is awesome**

**Stepped in mud, got new brown shoes**

**It's awesome to win, and it's awesome to lose (it's awesome to lose)**

Starting a conga line, the Mask was in front and directed traffic throughout the cave. Even the dragon was moving to the beat, being careful not to attack anyone with its tail or wings.

**Everything is better when we stick together**

**Side by side, you and I, gonna win forever, let's party forever**

**We're the same, I'm like you, you're like me, we're all working in harmony**

Strobe lights were now dazzling everyone, distracting the new goblins and humans that had just arrived. Shrugging, they started dancing as well, completely caught up in the spell that the Mask had used on the whole room.

**Everything is awesome**

**Everything is cool when you're part of a team**

**Everything is awesome when we're living our dream**

The Mask conjured a stage with a microphone and started naming off awesome things with the guy that fallen first, now singing together, much to the amusement of the crowd.

**Blue skies, bouncy springs**

**We just named two awesome things**

**A Nobel prize, a piece of string**

**You know what's awesome? EVERYTHING!**

**Dogs with fleas, allergies,**

**A book of Greek antiquities**

**Brand new pants, a very old vest**

**Awesome items are the best**

Everyone was nodding their heads and rocking out, completely forgetting why they were there in the first place. The way the cave was being used, one would think it was always being used like this.

**Trees, frogs, clogs**

**They're awesome**

**Rocks, clocks, and socks**

**They're awesome**

**Figs, and jigs, and twigs**

**That's awesome**

**Everything you see, or think, or say**

**Is awesome**

The music had hit a solo and the Mask slipped off the stage, smirking as the whole room was partying and not noticing her at all anymore. She quietly moved toward Squishie and managed to break the chains holding the poor dragon down. Squishie didn't even it was free, still moving its body to the music and rocking.

**Everything is awesome**

**Everything is cool when you're part of a team**

**Everything is awesome when we're living our dream**

Just as the music was dying down, no one even bothered to notice the Mask slapping the dragon on the hindquarters. "Yah mule! Yah!"

Realizing that it was free, Squishie unfurled its wings for the first time in years and launched itself into the air, not bothering the party below it at all.

On the surface, goblins were running around in panic and hysteria, trying to figure out what the heck was going on. All they knew was that three vaults had just been looted to the ground and now most of their army were partying with music coming from nowhere.

They were stunned therefore when a blast of hot fire created a huge hole in the middle of the bank lobby. A massive dragon head burst out of the hole, followed closely by the rest of its body, pulling itself out with the same green human on its back.

The Mask was calmly roasting marshmellows on a stick with the leftover fire from the dragon. "Fly Squishie! Fly like the wind!"

Squishie nodded and launched itself toward the ceiling, shattering the glass roof with help from the Mask, who blasted it with firecrackers. Sitting on the roof of the bank in the early morning hours, the dragon simply took its first breath of fresh air in what was probably years. Then, the dragon extended its huge wings fully for the first time and launched itself off the roof, flying in a random direction, the Mask laughing, wooping and yelling in joy on Squishie's back.

XXXXX

Danielle woke up with a massive hangover that morning.

She had no clue where she was or what had happened the previous night, just random bursts of memory that were so jumbled, a puzzle would be envious and her head was killing her. Blinking in the early morning sunlight but keeping her eyes closed so she wouldn't go blind, she tried to figure out why she was in a bed, a soft one too, when she couldn't remember how she had gotten there.

Something green, maybe? She sort of remembered a mask, an old wooden one in that box of camping supplies she got from Potter Manor, but nothing after that.

Groaning as she felt her head throb, she tried to simply calm her breathing and clear her mind, hoping that would help.

"That was some night last night, huh?"

Wait…

She wasn't alone in bed.

Moving her hands over her body, she felt herself blush as she realized she was naked. She was under the blankets of whatever bed she was in so that was marginally better but not by much.

Slowly opening her eyes, she was glad when she didn't suddenly lose her sight, though her headache only got worse, she looked around. She looked to be in a large bedroom in some sort of fancy hotel suite. The room looked like absolute chaos hit this place though. The walls were a surprising mix of green, blue, purple and yellow, like some typical piece of abstract art. The bed looked to be in shreds now that she got a good look at it and…were those scorch marks on the ceiling? What had happened last night?

Turning to whoever was in the bed with her, she saw that it was a cute blonde girl so that was something. She looked to be a little older then her, maybe sixteen or so, and she didn't seem embarrassed at all at being naked in front of her, smiling flirtasiously. The odd thing about her was that her eyes were amber colored, which was an unusual eye color for anyone.

"What…happened?" Danielle asked, a little shakily, almost afraid of the answer.

"You rocked my world last night sweetie," the blonde girl said, smiling and relaxing against the headboard with a happy sigh. "I have to admit, I didn't expect you keep going after that third hour, but you wore me out. Good of you to have broken me out of that place. The goblins there were terrible."

"Huh?" She was now really confused. "Uh, would you mind looking away while I get some clothes on?"

"You don't have anything I haven't seen before, but fine, if you insist."

"Thanks," the auburn haired girl blushed as she almost ran for the bathroom, summoning her clothes to her with her wand that she had left on the nightstand. The girl laughed but Danielle was mortified too much to really notice, now really trying to remember what had happened the previous night.

Putting her clothes on quickly, she stepped out of the bathroom and looked away quickly as the girl hadn't moved to put on her own. "Please, put something on."

"Uh, yeah, I don't actually have anything."

"What?"

"Wow, you really don't remember anything do you?" The girl said, shaking her head with a smile. "Here, I think the whole thing is in today's Daily Prophet."

Spotting a newspaper near her, she saw it was the Prophet and opened it to the first page. She felt her heart sink.

**Break in at Gringotts!**

The article was not good. Someone, and she had a sinking worry she knew who it was, had broke into the bank, looted three vaults: Malfoy, Nott and Lestrange, and then distracted everyone as she escaped on the back of a dragon.

The Ministry was demanding answers from the goblins but they had rudely told them to jump off a cliff and leave them to their work, upgrading the protections so nothing like this happened again.

Taking a deep breath, she looked at the blonde girl, who smiled at her. "You saved me from the goblins mistress. Squishie is here to help you with anything you want. My life is yours now."

Danielle's right eye twitched, fully realizing what had happened. "Wait…you're the dragon from…"

"You had quite a few reality changing powers last night," the girl…Squishie…said, a look of happiness on her face. "Yes, you turned me into a cute human girl after you got this suite, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Right," Danielle muttered, trying not to look at her body. Though she had to admit, this Mask person she had become the previous night had very good taste. "Uh, how about some breakfast and I can try to come up with something to do now?"

"Very well Mistress." She stood up, but made no effort to cover herself. Made sense as before now, she never needed clothes as a dragon, but Danielle was sure she would get them arrested the moment they left the suite.

"Let's get you some clothes after we eat," Danielle blushed. "And, I'm sorry but Squishie is not a real human name. We should come up with a new name for you as well."

"As you wish Mistress."

"You're going to call me that a lot, aren't you?"

The former dragon smirked. "Of course Mistress."

Danielle was sure that this would be the start of a very long day.

**Well, that was exciting, right kids? I have to say, that was both hard and enjoyable to write as I was trying to make the Mask as insane and crazy as possible. I got a lot from both the movie with Jim Carrey and what little I know of the mercenary Deadpool from Marvel, both are about equal in levels of crazy. The Horcrux in the cup couldn't stand a chance against a power as ancient and powerful as the Mask and was destroyed pretty easily.**

**In case you didn't know, the mask is a powerful artifact created by Loki, trickster of the Norse gods. And no, not the same Loki that opened a portal over New York for an alien invasion but a completely different one. The mask works in causing chaos and mayhem that works in sync with a person's personality. If one is a generally good person but a little on the fun side, then prepare for a wild ride with cartoonish antics and random insanity. If the user is evil or just a bad person in general, that person will become dark and demonic with similar powers. The mask only works at night and automatically comes off in the sunlight, leaving the person with no memory of what happened, though extended use will allow them more control and more memories.**

**I have more planned and really, with this kind of power, Voldemort is going to be defeated relatively easily. This would probably be more along the lines of crazy things the Mask does and how Danielle uses it to have fun and the various antics she has with it. Remember, with that thing, she can almost literally do anything she wants. Having all the power of a classic cartoon character and everyone knows what that means. Cartoons can't die and are made for total insanity. Wizarding world beware!**

**Oh yeah, the song was 'Everything is Awesome' played in the Lego movie and a great song. Something similar happened in the movie 'The Mask' and I took it from there, only with a different song, of course.**

**Tell me what you think and we'll see if I continue with the crazy. I enjoyed writing it.**


	12. I need some advice!

**Yo! What up? Okay, so I know you might be aware that was I thinking of a Kingdom Hearts story with Danielle being a keyblade wielder and I have a bit written. It's not done, but I would like you to know that was planning on turning into a…musical!**

**Dun, dun, dun!**

**I know what you are thinking, 'No, don't do it! Nobody likes musicals!' Well, I won't do it if you don't want me to but considering that Kingdom Hearts is at least partially Disney, and since there are tons of songs in just about every Disney movie ever, I figured why not? Here, I have an example of what I might do.**

Voldemort, the evil Dark Lord of all of Magical Britain, stared down at the various Death Eaters from the upper floor of Riddle Manor. They were all looking up at him, some of them frowning when that Potter brat had revealed that he was actually a Half-Blood. His father was a Muggle after all.

"I take it that some of you will think you can use this information against me," Voldemort said in a quiet voice. Everyone shuddered but some continued to give his looks of mistrust. "My father may have been a Muggle, but the blood of Salazar Slytherin runs through my veins. Is there anyone here who actually thinks they can take me in a duel?"

Everyone who had been giving him funny looks instantly looked away, now slightly embarrassed.

"Fools!" Voldemort yelled down at them. "Mistake me for some weakling, and you will pay. But even with my strength, we need to unite together to bring us total rule over all of Britain!"

Some of the Death Eaters cheered but some still looked uneasy.

"You need to be prepared!" Voldemort snarled at them, walking down the stairs until he was among them.

**_I never thought Purebloods essential,_**

**_But they're crude and unspeakably plain._**

Voldemort sang as he strode around the room, staring at various Death eaters.

**_Maybe they've a _****glimmer****_ of potential_**

**_If allied to my vision and brain_****.**

**_I know that your powers of retention_**

**_Are as wet as a warthog's backside_**

**_But thick as you are, pay attention!_**

The Dark Lord glared at them all, daring them all to argue with him.

**_My words are a matter of pride_**

**_It's clear from your vacant expressions_**

**_The lights are not all on upstairs_**

He waved his hand in front of Crabbe and Goyle's faces and they didn't even notice, a dumb look on their faces.

**_But we're talking kings and successions_**

**_Even you can't be caught unawares!_**

**_So, prepare for the chance of a lifetime_**

**_Be prepared for sensational news_**

**_A shining, new era_**

**_Is tiptoeing nearer._**

Lucius Malfoy looked at him and sang back. **_And where do we feature?_**

Voldemort glared at him.

**_Just listen to teacher_****!**

**_I know it sounds sordid_**

**_But you'll be rewarded_**

**_When at last, I am given my dues_**

**_And injustice deliciously squared_**

**_Be prepared!_**

Bellatrix was now dancing around, smiling and laughing.

**Yeah, be prepared! We'll be prepared!"** She then looked confused.** For what? **

**For the death of the Headmaster! **

**Why? Is he sick? **

**No, fool, we're gonna kill him. And that Potter brat, too. **

**Great idea! Who needs a Headmaster?**

Bellatrix and Yaxley started dancing around each other, singing.

**No Head! No Head! La-la-la-la-la-la! **

Voldemort snapped at them.

**Idiots! There will be a Headmaster! **

Now Goyle was really confused.

**But you said, uh... **

**_I_**** will be headmaster! Stick with me, and you'll never go hungry again! **

All of the Death Eaters started singing.

**Yay! All right! Long live the king! **

**Long live the king! Long live the king!**

All of the Death Eaters started marching military style past Voldemort in formation, while he watched from above.

**_King, king, king, king, king, king!_**

**_It's great that we'll soon be connected_**

**_With a king who'll be all time adored_**

Voldemort smirked.

**_Of course, quid pro quo, you're expected_**

**_To take certain duties on board_**

**_The future is littered with prizes_**

**_And though I'm the main addressee_**

**_The point that I must emphasize is_**

Everyone listened closely.

**_You won't get a sniff without me!_**

**_So prepare for the coup of the century_**

**_Be prepared for the murkiest scam:_**

**_ Oooh... la, la, la!_**

**_Meticulous planning_**

**_Tenacity spanning_**

**_Decades of denial_**

**_Is simply why I'll_**

**_Be king, undisputed_**

**_Respected, _**

**_Saluted_**

**_And seen, for the wonder I am_**

**_Yes, my wand and ambitions are bared_**

**_Be prepared!_**

**(Song end)**

**That is the kind of thing I was thinking of. Of course, I still should alter the song a little but still, that was awesome, right? Voldemort and the Death Eaters singing Scar's song from 'The Lion King.' Well, I think it works.**

**The various other songs I was thinking would include:**

**"You got a friend in me." Toy Story**

**"A place I belong." Hercules**

**"Sugar Rush." Wreck it Ralph**

**"Oogie Boogie." Nightmare Before Christmas**

**"Happy." Despicable Me 2**

**"Simple and Clean." Utada Hikaru (I probably spelled that wrong, sorry)**

**And various others. I'm starting to get in the mood to add songs to my stories and while I won't do it for all of them, I'm hoping I'm not overstepping my boundaries by doing so. Just be glad that I'm not doing anything like "Gaston" from Beauty and the Beast. I hate that guy. **

**As for Danielle going to the Kingdom Hearts world, I was planning on NOT starting with Kingdom Hearts 1. Sora, Riku and Kairi are awesome, don't get me wrong, but the unsung heroes of Birth By Sleep, Aqua, Terra and Ventus are, I think, more powerful and important in the long run. Especially Aqua, I like her. She gives up almost everything, even her Keyblade, for her friends and what does she get? Trapped in the realm of darkness for over a decade. Yeah, that's fair.**

**Anyway, tell me what you think of turning it into a musical as if you don't want me to do it, I'll have to alter the story a lot and take out the songs I've already put in, which would suck but as I haven't gotten that far yet, it won't be that bad.**


	13. The Death of My Immortal Chapters 1-15

**Okay, so if you haven't read My Immortal, I strongly recommend you at least try to read some of it. It's the worst Fanfiction in the history of Fanfiction with it's Mary Sue main character, horrible plot (of what little there is) and terrible grammar and spelling. Just about everyone and their mother have all made fun of it at some point but I hope this is original enough to keep some people's attention. I only did the first fifteen chapters here and I am planning on finishing it but I have to do it in small doses or my IQ will go down into the single digits. Enjoy…maybe. Tara is a very horrible writer and I wouldn't blame you if you go into cardiac arrest after only a few chapters.**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. All props to go those that actually own this and anything else I can come up with. Though I wouldn't want to own My Immortal anyway.

With a groan, Gold woke up with a splitting headache, wondering what the heck happened to him. The last thing he remembered was working on some other side project when he thought he saw something red knock him out with a mallet.

Blinking, he looked over and saw his sister Silver waking up next to him, rubbing the back of her head and looking around. "Where are we?"

Glancing around the room, Gold figured they were someone's basement. Various things like couches, chairs, a popcorn machine and a soda fountain could be seen as well as several instruments of torture like a rack, an iron maiden and even an iPod with the music to "It's a Small World After All" ready to be played.

"I don't know but we have to get out of here." Helping her up, he was just about to find a staircase when another figure bounded into the room.

"Hey there writer man! What's happening?"

The newcomer was a guy probably six feet tall at least and was dressed in a red and black jumpsuit and matching mask. Twin katanas strapped to his back and he had a couple of clearly loaded pistols. It didn't take very long to figure out who he was.

"Deadpool," Gold rolled his eyes and glared at him, "what are we doing here?"

"Well," the merc with a mouth seemed to grin under his mask. "You know how I wanted to work for you since Megamatt09 isn't paying me enough for all the freelance I do for him?"

"I turned you down," Gold reminded him. "Besides, I know he doesn't pay you and I don't pay any of my actors either. They're just happy to accept the work. I know I don't pay Danielle just like Megamatt09 doesn't pay Harry, Kara, or any of the other characters in his scripts."

Silver nodded. "It's true. None of the writers actually pay their actors when they write their stories. is free anyway. We can't get any money out of our stories on that site so we can't pay the actors."

Deadpool waved that aside. "That doesn't matter buddy, because I had a super awesome idea!" He was now bouncing up and down in excitement and Gold might have stopped him if he could have. Sadly, he didn't want one of those katanas to cut him in half.

"And that would be?"

"I was going to read to you my most bestest and most favoritist story of all time!" Deadpool shouted, squealing like a little girl. "I found it on Fanfiction and it is the best story ever! Also, I rigged this whole block with explosives that will take out everyone if you don't read it with me."

Gold and Silver looked at each other and slowly nodded. "Guess we have no choice then," Silver said, grimacing at the story that Deadpool would come up with. "As long as it's not stupid or anything."

"Oh my Stan Lee no!" the crazy mercenary said, smirking and breaking the fourth wall like he usually does. "Just relax and sit down and let ol' uncle Deadpool spin you a manly yarn."

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Gold asked himself as he and Silver sat down on one of the couches.

Deadpool bounced up and down and settled himself on a chair near them, pulling out the story and some reading glasses, which he put on over his mask, making them mostly useless. "Now then, I know that in the beginning, Fanfiction was terrible. Horrible plots, awful character development and just plain sucky writers. Then, there was a beacon, a noble story that burst out and transformed how people looked at Fanfiction forever!"

"Harry Potter and the Champion's Champion?" Gold asked.

"No."

"Emerald Flight?" Silver asked.

"No."

"Harry Potter and the Curses Cure?"

"No."

"Dark Phoenix?"

"No."

"Flames of Life?"

"No."

"AkuRoWhat? That's not a word!?"

"Good one since I'm in it, but no."

"Those Lacking Spines?"

"Isn't that that Kingdom Hearts one? Still no."

Gold thought for a moment. "His Angel?"

"No."

"Oh," Silver grinned. "It's Deprived, right? I loved that story when you told me about it Gold. Harry's a badass in that one."

"NO!" Deadpool shouted, glaring at them both. When they stopped making suggestions, he smirked and continued. "No, the story I am reading to you today is the probably the best one of them all. My Immortal."

"NNNNOOOOOOOOO!" Gold and Silver both shivered, this was not going to be fun.

"YYYYEEEEEEESSSS!"

Deadpool grinned. "It's such an epic love story between Ebony and Draco and even Vampire get's in there. Oh, the writing is so amazing and Tara, the writer, is a genius!"

"It's the worst Fanfiction in the history of Fanfiction," Gold deadpanned staring at the crazy Marvel character. What Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were thinking when they okayed him was a mystery.

"Now, since no story of reading My Immortal would be complete without them, might I introduce my other four guests!"

Deadpool ripped off a curtain they hadn't noticed before and four bound and gagged bodies were shown wriggling and trying to escape from under the coffee table they had been stashed.

"You kidnapped, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Draco?" Silver asked, stunned as she quickly moved to untie them.

"Hey," Deadpool shrugged. "I at least needed Draco and Vampire."

"His name is Harry," Gold glared at him as Silver got the gag out of Hermione's mouth.

"Help us! He's crazy!" Hermione shouted, still trying to free herself from the ropes binding her.

"He said something about reading to us the best story ever told," Harry continued for Hermione, rubbing his wrists as Gold untied him.

"And I'm going to do it too, scar boy, or I'll blow up the whole block," the Merc with a Mouth smirked as the four magic users understood that he wasn't playing around. "Now, I'll just start reading, shall I?" He cleared his throat several times before opening the book he was holding.

**Chapter 1**

**AN: Special fangz (get it, coz Im goffik) **

"What does 'goffic' mean?" Ron asked, confused why there was an author's note before the story even started.

"Tara obviously means gothic," Gold explained, not sure how he felt about being in the same room as Ron and Draco. He didn't really put either of them in a good light in any of his stories. "Basically dressing in black, being sad and depressed all the time and enjoying it. I don't get it, personally."

"Stupid Muggles," Draco muttered.

**2 my gf (ew not in that way) raven, bloodytears666 4 helpin me wif da story and spelling. **

"Raven obviously didn't do a good job in helping her," Silver commented, seeing all the spelling errors from the book Deadpool was holding.

**U rok! Justin ur da luv of my deprzzing life u rok 2!**

**MCR ROX!**

"MCR?"

"Gothic band, Harry," Gold shrugged, not looking forward to this.

**Hi my name is Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way **

"What kind of name is that?" Hermione asked before she could stop herself. She had been told that this story was set in Hogwarts and the main character was a student but she couldn't recall anyone with a name like that.

"The same person who came up with Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," Harry responded, dully.

**and I have ebony black hair (that's how I got my name) **

"So Draco should be named 'Blondie' then," Gold smirked. Draco growled but didn't say anything at the moment. Ready to call his father the moment he was free.

**with purple streaks and red tips that reaches my mid-back and icy blue eyes like limpid tears **

"Okay, limped tears for eyes are impossible," Hermione said, shaking her head.

"How do you know?" Deadpool glared at her.

"Limped means transparent or see through. I can't see anyone having eyes that are see though."

Deadpool huffed but continued to read.

**and a lot of people tell me I look like Amy Lee (AN: if you don't know who she is get da hell out of here!).**

"Can we?"

"No."

"Curses, foiled again."

**I'm not related to Gerard Way but I wish I was because he's a major fucking hottie.**

"It's really telling when a person admits she wants to date or be with a family member," Gold shrugged, smirking. "Though knowing Draco, he'll probably marry his cousin or something."

"Watch it," Draco sneered at him.

**I'm a vampire, but my teeth are straight and white. **

"Gold, save me from the scary not vampire," Silver said, mock-shivering but internally laughing.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you from the useless pretty boy fairy vampires," Gold laughed.

**I have pale white skin. I'm also a witch, and I got to a magical school called Hogwarts in England **

"Cough, Scotland, cough," said Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Gold and Silver. Deadpool ignored them.

**where I'm in the seventh year (I'm seventeen). **

"No, really?" Draco drawled, wishing he could leave more then anything else. Hermione was still trying to figure out if there were any Ebony's in Hogwarts.

**I'm a goth (in case you couldn't tell) **

"How are we supposed to know if we can't see her?" Ron asked.

**and I wear mostly black. I love Hot Topic and I buy all of my clothes from there.**

"They really don't have anything really gothic," Silver said, rubbing the back of her head. Hermione nodded, not seeing anything really dark or depressing in that store either.

**For example today I was wearing a black corset with matching lace around it an da black leather miniskirt, pink fishnets and black combat boots. I was wearing black lipstick, white foundation, black eyeliner and red eye shadow.**

"That was…oddly descriptive," Harry muttered.

**I was walking outside Hogwarts. It was snowing and raining so there was no sun, **

_Duh._

**which I was very happy about. A lot of preps stared at me. I put up my middle finger at them.**

"Okay, that's just rude," Hermione huffed, crossing her arms.

**"Hey Ebony!" shouted a voice. I looked up. It was…Draco Malfoy!**

Draco started gagging, looking disgusted that he was in this story. Harry and Ron sniggered while Gold actually felt sorry for the guy.

**"What's up Draco?" I asked.**

**"Nothing." he said shyly.**

"Why am I shy here?" Draco asked, wondering if this Tara person knew him at all.

Gold and Silver both sighed. "Tara has no clue what any of you four are like so prepare for some major out of character-ness.

"That makes me feel so much better," Hermione said, sarcastically.

**But then, I heard my friends call me and I had to go away.**

"What the…" Harry sounded confused. "She and Draco start a conversation but it stops when he says three words to her?"

"Tara isn't the best writer, Harry," Gold muttered, hoping that Deadpool wouldn't start pulling out his guns when he said that.

The Merc with a Mouth just continued like he hadn't heard them.

**AN: is it good? PLZ tell me fangz!**

"This Tara person is asking if her writing is okay?" Ron asked, sounding confused.

"This is a Fanfiction," Silver shrugged, glaring at Ron because she could. "People all over the world can read it and leave reviews on what they think of it. Doesn't mean it's any good, but…"

"Got it, let's just continue," Harry said quickly to stop Ron from asking another question.

**Chapter 2**

"That whole thing was just one chapter?" Hermione asked, incredulously. "That wasn't even a thousand words!"

"With our comments and the intro up top, we've already broken that easily," Deadpool smirked before turning back to the book.

"Intro? What is he talking about?" asked Draco, sounding confused.

"Ignore him, he's crazy," Gold shrugged.

"You're just jealous that my little speech right here is breaking the two thousand word mark for this story," Deadpool grinned, looking right out at the audience reading this before returning his attention to the book.

**AN: Fangz 2 bloodytearz666 4 helpin me wif da chapta! BTW preps stop flaming ma story ok!**

Gold and Silver laughed. "Flames are negative reviews insulting a story. Tara isn't going to stop getting them anytime soon."

**The next day I woke up in my bedroom. **

"Where else is she going to wake up?" Draco drawled, feeling that this was a giant waste of time.

**It was snowing and raining again. I opened the door of my coffin and drank some blood from a bottle I had. **

"Because we all have bottles of blood like that near our beds."

**My coffin was black ebony inside and inside was hot pink velvet with black lace on the ends. **

"Wait, wait," Hermione said, holding up her hands. "I thought she was goth."

"She is. At least, according to her she is."

"How is pink velvet in her…coffin, gothic?"

"Hermione," said Silver, looking at her carefully. "She's an idiot."

**I got out of my coffin and took of my giant MCR t-shirt which I used for pajamas.**

"That poor t-shirt"

**Instead, I put on a black leather dress, a pentagram necklace, combat boots and black fishnets on. I put on four pairs of earrings in my pierced ears, and put my hair in a kind of messy bun.**

"Again, how is this gothic? At least her hair gives it away, a bun is not gothic."

**My friend Willow (AN: Raven dis is u!) **

"Ah, how cute," Silver said, smirking. "She's putting her friend into the story."

Gold stared at her, clearly remembering a certain sister of his begging to put her into his stories as an original character. *Cough, Elizabeth, cough* **(AN: Not really her name, she came up with it).**

**woke up then and grinned at me. She flipped her long waist-length raven black hair with pink streaks and opened her forest green eyes. **

"If she was grinning at her, that kind of implies that her eyes were already open," Harry muttered, rolling his own eyes.

**She put on her Marilyn Manson t-shirt with a black mini, fishnets and pointy high-heeled boots. We put on our makeup (black lipstick white foundation and black eyeliner.)**

"Okay," said Hermione, throwing her hands into the air. "Why would they wear white foundation if they're pale vampires?" When everyone stared at her, she blushed slightly. "You try staying in a dorm with Lavender and Parvati and not learning anything about makeup."

**"OMFG, I saw you talking to Draco Malfoy yesterday!" she said excitedly.**

**"Yeah? So?" I said, blushing.**

**"Do you like Draco?" she asked as we went out of the Slytherin common room and into the Great Hall.**

"This actually sounds like a real conversation between two teen girls," Gold said, nodding. "What do you know, Tara did _something_ right."

**"No I so fucking don't!" I shouted.**

"No need to shout girl."

**"Yeah, right!" she exclaimed. Just then, Draco walked up to me.**

**"Hi," he said.**

**"Hi." I replied flirtily.**

Draco gagged. He had Pansy, why would he need this Ebony chick?

**"Guess what." he said.**

**"What?" I asked.**

**"Well, Good Charlotte are having a concert in Hogsmede." he told me.**

"I don't even know who that is," Draco said, shaking his head at the idiocy of that statement.

"They're a depressing non-magical band that is somehow doing a performance in the entirely magical village of Hogsmede," Gold sighed. "How this is supposed to make sense, I have no idea."

**"Oh. My. Fucking. God!" I screamed. I love GC. They are my favorite band, besides MCR.**

"No, really?" Silver said sarcastically.

**"Well…do you want to go with me?" he asked.**

Ron snorted in amusement and Draco gave him a death glare.

"Why would I go out with some freak vampire girl?" Draco demanded. The idea of him going out with _anyone_ not pureblooded human was an insult to the very Malfoy name.

**I gasped.**

"Ooh, another end to a chapter," Gold said, wondering how many more chapters there was in this train wreck.

"Short chapters make people feel smart," Deadpool said wisely. Though considering he might just be repeating what a voice in his head said to him, it kind of diminished the statement a bit.

"No," Silver said like he was an idiot. "Finishing long chapters makes a person feel smart as that proves they have a better attention span than a squirrel."

Hermione had to agree to that.

**Chapter 3**

**AN: STOP FLAMMING DA STORY PREPZ OK! **

"Seriously, prepz?" Harry asked.

"Normal rational thinking people, Harry," Hermione told him, shaking her head.

**Odderwize fangs 2 da goffik ppl 4 da good reviews!**

"This thing got good reviews?" Gold asked, stunned that anyone was that stupid.

**FANGS AGEN RAVEN! Oh yeah, BTW I don't own dis or da lyrics 4 Good Chralotte.**

"She's destroying the Harry Potter world so much, she might as well own it," Silver muttered.

**On the night of the concert I put on my black lace-up boots with high heels. Underneath them were ripped red fishnets. Then I put on a black leather minidress with all this corset stuff on the back and front. I put on matching fishnet on my arms.**

"Her constant over descriptions of the smallest thing she's wearing is getting painful," said Harry.

**I straightened my hair and made it look all spiky.**

"Is that even possible?" Hermione asked. "How can your hair look straight and spiky at the same time?"

**I felt a little depressed then, so I slit one of my wrists. **

Hermione opened her mouth again, then closed it. "I'm starting not to care and I hope a Death Eater kills her."

"We've reached that point ever since the first chapter, Hermione," Gold said, nodding solemnly.

"Why is she depressed if she's going on a date?" Draco asked, actually sounding curious.

"Because she's going with you," Ron smirked. Draco made a move to stand when Gold and Silver pushed him back down, glaring at him.

**I read a depressing book while I waited for it to stop bleeding and listend to some GC.**

"If she slit her wrist like that then it won't heal on it's own," Silver shook her head. "She'd need to go to a hospital, or more likely Madame Pomfrey as she's in Hogwarts."

"Doesn't even tell us which book she's reading," Hermione muttered darkly.

"Knowing her it's probably Romeo and Juliet or something that's a little depressing but not really something a goth would read," Gold smirked. He had long ago figured out that Ebony was just a poser and not really gothic but he would let the story tell the others.

**I painted my nails black and put on TONS of black eyeliner. Then I put on some black lipstick. I didn't put on foundation because I was pale anyway. **

"She did it earlier," Harry pointed out. "Why's she not doing it now?"

"It's Ebony, that's all we need to know, Harry."

**I drank some human blood so I was ready to go to the concert.**

**I went outside. Draco was waiting there in front of his flying car. **

Both Ron and Draco laughed for different reasons. Draco would never have a flying car after what Weasel senior did before his second year and Ron couldn't see Draco having anything connected to the non-magical world.

**He was wearing a Simple Plan t-shirt (They would play at the show too), **

"Okay," Silver said, raising her hand and laughing. "If this is seventh year for Ebony and I'm guessing for Draco and the others, then this would be about 1997 to 1999. I heard that Simple Plan was going by a different band name until some time in 2008. There wouldn't be any t-shirts with that name yet."

**baggy black skater pants, black nail polish and a little eyeliner (AN: A lot fo kewl boiz wer it ok!).**

"What guys wear eyeliner?" Ron asked, incredulously.

**"Hi Draco!" I said in a depressed voice.**

"She used an exclamation mark but she said it in a depressed voice?" Hermione asked. "Does that make any sense at all?"

"No!"

**"Hi Ebony." he said back. We walked into his flying black Mercedes-Benz (the license plate said 666) **

"I guess that's supposed to be cool or something."

**and flew to the place with the concert. On the way we listened excitedly to Good Charlotte and Marilyn Manson. We both smoked cigarettes and drugs.**

"And then they crashed into the stage because they were stupid enough to do drugs while flying a car and they both died. The End." Draco said, wanting this story to be over with already.

**When we got there, we both hopped out of the car.**

"Dang, they're still alive."

**We went to the mosh pit at the front of the stage and jumped up and down and listened to Good Charlotte**

"Again, I thought they were supposed to be goth," Hermione said. "Jumping up and down at a concert is not gothic."

**_"You come in cold, you're covered in blood They're all so happy you've arrived The doctor cuts your cord, hands you to your mom She sets you free into this life."_**** Sang Joel (I don't own da lyrics 2 dat song).**

"Obviously," Gold said while trying to get Deadpool's singing voice out of his head. It was fairly awful. "All the words were spelled correctly."

**"Joel is so fucking hot." I said to Draco, pointing to him as he sung, filling the club with his amazing voice.**

"Did she really just say that to a guy she's on a date with?" Hermione said, wondering what was wrong with Ebony's head.

**Suddenly Draco looked sad.**

"Even I can tell what she did wrong," said Harry, knowing that he did something similar on his date with Cho.

**"What's wrong?" I asked as we moshed to the music.**

"She's really asking that?" Silver asked. "And how do you 'mosh' to music?"

**Then I caught on.**

"Hey, she's not completely stupid," Harry pointed out, though it was a rather weak attempt at defending her.

**"Hey, it's ok I don't like him better than YOU!" I said.**

**"Really?" asked Draco sensitively and he put his arm around me all protective.**

"Why would I be sensitive or protect someone who pretty much insulted me on a date?" Draco asked, not liking this version of himself at all.

**"Really." I said. "Besides I don't even know Joel and he's going out with Hilary fucking Duff. I fucking hate that little bitch." I said disgustedly, thinking of her ugly blonde face.**

"You can say a lot of things about Hilary Duff," Gold said, nodding, "but ugly isn't one of them. Now Lindsey Lohan, I can understand, but not Hilary."

**The night went on really well, and I had a great time. So did Draco. **

"Even though she pretty much insulted me."

**After the concert, we drank some beer **

"Ah, underage drinking," Deadpool said, smiling fondly at good memories.

**and asked Benji and Joel for their autographs and photos with them.**

**We got GC concert tees. Draco and I crawled back into the Mercedes-Benz, **

"Pfft," Gold smirked. "They were so drunk they had to crawl back to the car?"

"How could Ebony drink beer if she's a vampire?" Hermione asked, smirking as well. She had long given up on this story making sense.

**but Draco didn't go back into Hogwarts, instead he drove the car into…the Forbidden Forest!**

"Oh no, fake suspense!" Silver laughed, not bothering to hide the humor she felt at all.

**Chapter 4**

**AN: I sed stup flaming ok ebony's name is ENOBY nut mary su**

"Her name is Enoby now?" Harry asked, smiling. "Well, there goes the Ebony theory."

"And she really is a Mary Sue," Gold said, thinking of Bella Swan now. "Everyone loves her, she has no flaws that hinders the plot, of what very little there is, and she has a stupid name. Yeah, that's a Mary Sue."

**OK! DRACO IS SOO IN LUV wif her dat he is acting defrent! **

Draco snorted. "In this Tara girl's dreams."

**dey nu eechodder b4 ok!**

"Shouldn't that have been something to mention before?" Ron asked. "You know, in the actual plot."

"What plot?" Harry asked.

**"DRACO!" I shouted. "What the fuck do you think you are doing?"**

"I ask that question to myself all the time," Ron muttered.

**Draco didn't answer but he stopped the flying car and he walked out of it. I walked out of it too, curiously.**

"She walked out of the story and right into the giant spider colony in the forest. The spiders ate her and Aragog died because of all the makeup she was wearing. The end," Gold said, smirking.

**"What the fucking hell?" I asked angrily.**

**"Ebony?" he asked.**

"No, it's Enoby now," Hermione said, laughing now. "Didn't you get the message Draco?"

**"What?" I snapped.**

**Draco leaned in extra-close and I looked into his gothic red eyes (he was wearing color contacts) **

"This makes less sense the longer it goes on," said Draco, wondering why he would wear contacts when he didn't even need glasses.

**which revealed so much depressing sorrow and evilness and suddenly I didn't feel mad anymore.**

"Well, at least she admitted he's evil," Harry smirked, laughing at the expression the real Draco was giving him.

**And then…suddenly just as I Draco kissed me passionately. **

"Ugh, my stomach," Draco said, holding himself and looking sick.

**Draco climbed on top of me and we started to make out keenly against a tree. **

"That poor tree."

**He took of my top and I took of his clothes. I even took of my bra.**

"Wait, was he wearing her bra or was she?" Ron asked, laughing at how stupid this sounded.

"She was taking off his clothes, so I'm not sure." Silver laughed.

**Then he put his thingie into my you-know-what and we did it for the first time.**

For a moment, there was instant silence before all six of them, with the exception of Deadpool, laughed out loud.

"'His thingie'?" Hermione laughed.

"Her 'You-know-what?'" Silver snickered.

"Is this supposed to be a sex scene or stand up comedy?" Gold asked rhetorically,

**"Oh! Oh! Oh!" I screamed. I was beginning to get an orgasm.**

"I'm surprised she knows what that is," Hermione giggled, not being able to stop laughing. "Or that she spelled it right."

"This is the saddest thing I've ever heard," Draco said, his face actually turning pink from the usual pale it normally was, he was laughing so hard.

**We started to kiss everywhere and my pale body became all warm.**

"But she's a vampire!" Harry laughed. "She can't feel warm."

**And then…**

**"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING YOU MOTHERFUKERS!"**

"Ooh, trouble in paradise," Gold snickered, knowing who it was.

**It was…Dumbledore!"**

"Oh sure," said Hermione, snorting. "Dumbledore just happens to be wandering around the forest and just happens to catch Enoby and gothic Draco having sex."

**Chapter 5**

**AN: STOP Flaming! if you flam it menz ur a prep or a posr! Da only reason Dumbledeor swor is coz he had a hedache. **

"That doesn't make any sense," said Harry. "Why would Dumbledore swear at two students just because he had a headache?"

"You're still looking for sense in this story?" Ron asked.

**ok an on top of dat he wuz mad at dem 4 having sexx!**

"Against the rules, but not serious enough to swear at them," Hermione grumbled.

**PS im not updating umtil I get five good revoiws!**

"And thus Tara never got farther because no one in their right mind would give this a good review," Gold smirked.

**Dumbledore made and Draco and I follow him. He kept shouting at us angrily.**

"Okay, I can see him doing that," Harry nodded.

**"You ludacris fools!" he shouted.**

"Ludacris is an American rapper," Gold said, raising an eyebrow. "I think Tara meant ludicrous."

**I started to cry tears of blood down my pallid face.**

"Tears of blood? That can't be healthy."

"She's a vampire, remember? I think they did that in the Vampire Chronicles or something but not in the Harry Potter universe."

**Draco comforted me. When we went back to the castle Dumbledore took us to Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall who were both looking very angry.**

"Again, totally understandable," Harry said.

**"They were having sexual intercourse in the Forbidden Forest!" He yelled in a furious voice.**

"Which is stupid in the extreme and against the rules, but I don't think Dumbledore would really personally care that much," Hermione shrugged. "Especially if it's somebody like Ebony doing it."

**"Why did you do such a thing, you mediocre dunces?" asked Professor McGonagall.**

"That sounds more like what Professor Snape would say," Draco mused.

**"How dare you?" demanded Professor Snape.**

"And that sounds more like Professor McGonagall," said Silver.

**And then Draco shrieked. "BECAUSE I LOVE HER!"**

"Is that really supposed to work?" Gold asked. "'Oh, why did you kill that person? BECAUSE I WAS ANGRY!' That has to be one of the dumbest lines ever."

"And there is no way I would actually say that," Draco said, shaking his head.

**Everyone was quiet. Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall still looked mad but Professor Snape said. "Fine. Very well. You may go up to your rooms."**

"Perks of being Slytherin, or is he just that stupid?" Silver asked.

"He's just that stupid," Draco assured her. "Trust me, I know."

**Draco and I went upstairs while the teachers glared at us.**

**"Are you okay, Ebony?" Draco asked me gently.**

"No, her real name is Enoby," Hermione said sarcastically.

**"Yeah, I guess." I lied.**

**I went to the girl's dorm and brushed my teeth and my hair and changed into a low-cut black floor-length dress with red lace all around it and black high hells.**

"I thought she was going to bed?" Harry asked. "Why is she wearing a dress and heels to go to bed?"

"Harry-"

"I know, she's stupid, but still, that doesn't make any sense to wear heels to bed."

**When I came out…**

**Draco was standing in front of the bathroom, and he started to sing "I just wanna live" by Good Charlotte.**

"And now she has me serenading her," Draco said in disgust.

**I was so flattered, even though he wasn't supposed to be there.**

**We hugged and kissed. After that, we said goodnight and he reluctantly went back to his room.**

"I'm actually kind of surprised they didn't do 'it' again," Hermione smirked, shaking her head at the stupidity.

"What? Put his 'You-know-what' into her hole and do it?" Ron laughed.

"Everyone is just jealous that Tara is an amazing writer," Deadpool sighed, shaking his head at them.

"In her dreams," Silver muttered.

**Chapter 6**

**AN: shjt up prepz ok! PS I wnot update ubtil u give me goood revows!**

"She's updating so I guess she either got tired of waiting several years for good reviews or someone was stupid enough to give her what she wanted," Gold commented.

"More like she gave herself the good reviews," Silver huffed.

**The next day I woke up in my coffin. I put on a black miniskirt that ws ripped around the end and a matching top with red skulls all over it and high heeled boots that were black. I put on two pairs of skull earrings, and two crosses in my ears. I spray painted my hair with purple.**

"She…spray painted her hair purple?" Hermione asked, looking at the book. "She means she died it, right? Spray paint could be bad for her hair."

Silver shrugged. "Does it matter? Besides, Tonks is the only one that can pull off pink or purple hair anyway."

"Touche."

**In the Great Hall, I ate some Count Chocula cereal with blood instead of milk, and a glass of red blood.**

"Yeah, not that nasty green blood," Ron laughed. "Red is so much healthier."

"She's a vampire, she's not supposed to eat regular cereal anyway," Harry reminded him.

**Suddenly someone bumped into me. All the blood spilled over my top.**

**"Bastard!" I shouted angrily.**

"That's actually a standard response," Gold shrugged.

**I regretted saying it when I looked up cause I was looking into the pale white face of a gothic boy with spiky black hair and red streaks in it. **

"Oh great, who is this supposed to be," Harry muttered, knowing that there were no boys in Slytherin that looked like that.

**He was wearing so much black eyeliner that I was going down his face and he was wearing black lipstick. He didn't have glasses anymore and he was wearing red contact lenses just like Draco's and there was no scar on his forehead anymore.**

"Scar on his forehead," Everyone turned to Harry, who started to pale at the implication.

**He had a manly stubble on his chin. **

"Only one stubble," Silver smirked. "Yeah, that's sexy alright."

**He had a sexy English accent.**

"He hasn't spoken yet. And the school is in Britain, we all have English accents."

**He looked exactly like Joel Madden. He was so sexy that my body went all hot when I saw him kind of like an erection only I'm a girl so I didn't get one you sicko.**

"That's…actually rather nightmare inducing," Gold blinked.

"And why is she implying that we're all sexual perverts in this story?" Hermione asked. "When she was talking about her 'girlfriend' Raven, she said 'ew, not in that way' and now she's calling us sicko's for a kind of sexual reference that she made herself. I didn't think about that at all and then she brought it up herself."

**"I'm so sorry." he said in a shy voice.**

**"That's all right. What's your name?" I questioned.**

**"My name is Harry Potter, although most people call me Vampire these days." he grumbled.**

Harry gagged and started to dry heave over the couch.

**"Why?" I exclaimed.**

**"Because I love the taste of human blood." he giggled. **

"I'm supposedly all depressed, drink human blood and I giggle about it?" Harry asked, wondering if that made any kind of sense at all.

**"Well, I am a vampire." I confessed.**

"No, really?" Draco drawled. Ebony had revealed it in the first chapter.

**"Really?" he whimpered.**

"Why am I whimpering?"

**"Yeah." I roared.**

"And now she's roaring," Hermione face palmed. "Doesn't that mean an exclamation point should have been in there? And roaring is not a suitable response for this kind of 'conversation.'"

**We sat down to talk for a while.**

**Then Draco came up behind me and told me he had a surprise for me so I went away with him.**

"Oh yeah, just leave Vampire alone at the table without a word of good-bye," Gold rolled his eyes. "You see Draco, you instantly leave, simple as that."

**Chapter 7**

**AN: wel ok u guyz im only writting dis cuz I got 5 god reviuws n BTW I wont rite da nxt chapter til I git TIN good vons! STO FLAMING OR ILL REPORT U!**

"Okay," said Silver, glaring at the book. "She somehow got five good reviews, heaven knows how she did that, but now she's holding out for more. In addition to that, she plans on stopping us from flaming by 'reporting us' when there isn't anyone to report to in the first place."

"That sounds about right," Gold nodded.

**Evony isn't a Marie Sue ok she isn't perfect**

"Now her name is Evony!" Hermione cried, throwing her hands into the air. "Is her name Ebony, Enoby or Evony?"

"Yes."

**SHES A SATANITS! n she has problemz shes depressed 4 godz sake!**

"Why is she depressed?" Gold snarled, ready to stand. "Tara has done nothing to say why this Ebony chick is depressed or even a half-way decent back story! We know nothing about Ebony's past or her family history. And being a Satanist is not personality flaw! Where is Tara getting her facts as this is the worst story I've ever heard!"

"She's Ebony," Deadpool said in a happy voice that countered Gold's angry expression completely. "She doesn't need anything like character development as she's perfect just the way she is."

"Go back to work for Megamatt09!"

"Probably will after this, actually."

Gold fumed silently. He couldn't stand writers like Tara. Prissy little girls that believed that everything they wrote is golden despite it being a big bag of cr-

**Draco and I held our pale white hands with black nail polish as we went upstairs. **

"Why is there so much detail on their hands?" Silver asked, trying to calm her brother down so he wouldn't rant again.

**I was wearing red Satanist sings on my nails in red nail polish (AN: c doez dat sound lik a Maru Sue 2 u?).**

"Considering that, again, being a Satanist isn't a personality flaw, then yes, she's still a Mary Sue," Gold snarled at the book.

**I waved to Vampire. Dark misery was in his depressed eyes.**

**I guess he was jealous of me that I was going out with Draco.**

"Oh for the love of…is everything about this Ebony chick! How narcissistic can she get?" Gold was about to stand and rant when Silver pulled him onto the couch, trying to calm him down.

"Well," said Harry, trying to get rid of the tension in the air that only Deadpool couldn't feel. "It couldn't have had anything to do with me being threatened by Voldemort every year. No, I have to be depressed that some girl went with Draco and not me."

**Anyway, I went upstairs excitedly with Draco.**

**We went to his room and locked the door.**

**Then…**

"Oh Merlin, another horrible sex scene," Ron muttered in horror.

**We started frenching passively **

"Okay, two things wrong with that right there," Hermione said, looking annoyed. "It's either kissing or French kissing. There's no such thing as 'frenching.' For all we know they could be doing the Can-Can or waving begets in the air. Passively means they are just accepting it without doing anything back. Does she mean passionately?" She was starting to want to strangle this Tara girl for her lack of understanding of the English language.

**and we took off each others clothes enthusiastically. He felt me up before I took of my top. Then I took off my black leather bra **

Hermione and Silver winced at the thought of wearing a bra made of black leather.

**and he took off his pant.**

**We went on the bed and started making out naked and then he put his boy's thingy in mine and we HAD SEX. (c is dat stupid?)**

"Very much so, yes," Gold muttered, starting to calm down but still angry at the horribly written sex scene.

"Wait," Ron held up his hand. "He put his 'boy thingy' in hers? She earlier commented that she didn't-"

"Enough, Ron," Gold cut him off. "We're trying to keep this rated T at highest. That means no talking about basic human anatomy."

"But-"

"Leave it!"

**"Oh Draco, Draco!" I screamed while getting an orgasm when all of a sudden I saw a tattoo I had never seen before on Draco's arm. **

They apparently had had sex before and she never noticed the tattoo?" Hermione asked.

**It was a black heart with an arrow through it. On it in bloody gothic writing were the words…Vampire!**

Dun, dun, dun...

**I was so angry.**

"Because gothic Draco apparently dated Vampire at one point?" Silver asked.

"Remember, Vampire is Harry here," said Gold, shaking his head. He personally didn't approve of all the idiots saying that those two belonged together as they HATED each other throughout all seven books and even into the epilogue.

Draco and Harry both had to run into the bathroom to empty their stomachs at the thought of being with each other. Harry liked Ginny, Draco liked Pansy/Astoria, two arch rivals do not belong together.

**"You bastard!" I shouted angrily, jumping out of the bed.**

**"No! No! But you don't understand!" Draco pleaded. But I knew too much.**

"All she knows is that Draco had a tattoo with Vampire on it," Ron rolled his eyes. "She doesn't know anything."

**"No, you fucking idiot!" I shouted. "You probably have AIDs anyway!"**

"That is an unfair stereotype and we all know it," said Hermione, huffing and crossing her arms.

**I put on my clothes all huffily and then stomped out. Draco ran out even though he was naked. He had a really big you-know-what but I was too mad to care.**

"They apparently had sex twice and she's just getting a first look at how big he is?" Silver asked, wondering what was wrong with this girl.

**I stomped out and did so until I was in Vampire's classroom when he was having a lesion with Professor Snape and some other people.**

"Because Snape and I are the only ones of importance, apparently," Harry said weakly, getting back from the bathroom.

**"VAMPIRE POTTER, YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" I yelled.**

"That will get everyone's attention," Gold commented.

**Chapter 8**

**AN: stop flassing ok! if u do de prep!**

"Remember people, don't flass Tara," Silver laughed. "It's okay to flame her, just don't flass her."

Everyone except Deadpool smirked.

**Everyone in the class stared at me **

"Duh, she just interrupted a class and started swearing at Vampire Potter," Ron said like it was obvious. "Of course everyone is staring at her."

**and then Draco came into the room even though he was naked and started begging me to take him back.**

**"Ebony, it's not what you think!" Draco screamed sadly.**

Hermione rolled her eyes. "How can you scream sadly," she asked, wearily. "And second, I thought her name was Enoby?"

**My friend B'loody Mary Smith smiled at me understatedly. **

"Okay, who is this?" Hermione asked, not really wanting to know.

**She flipped her long waste-length gothic black hair and opened her crimson eyes like blood that she was wearing contact lenses on. She had pale white skin that she was wearing white make up on.**

"Why would anyone wear white makeup if they already had pale white skin?" Hermione demanded.

**Hermione was kidnapped when she was born. **

The bushy haired brunette's eye started twitching.

**Her real parents were vampires and one of them is a witch but Voldemort killed her mother and her father committed suicide because he was depressed about it.**

"Hermione, if you want to blow something up, I recommend going outside first," Harry told her, not liking how red his best friend was looking.

**She still has nightmares about it and she is very haunted and depressed. It also turns out her real name is Smith and not Granger. (Since she has converted to Satanism she is in Slytherin now not Gryffindoor.)**

"Excuse me," Hermione said, standing up. "I need to find something that deserves to explode." She got up and walked up the stairs, not even Deadpool stopping her from what could be a bloodbath.

**"What is it that you desire, you ridiculous dimwit!" Snape demanded angrily in his cold voice but I ignored him.**

"That sounded really weird," Draco muttered, a little scared of Granger at how deadly calm she had been before she had left.

**"Vampire, I can't believe you cheated on me with Draco!" I shouted at him.**

**Everyone gasped.**

"Why does everyone care?" Gold asked. "Oh, right, this world revolves around Ebony and everything about her."

**I don't know why Ebony was so mad at me.**

"Whoa, sudden point of view change," Silver said, frowning. "Tara needs to tell us when she's changing the perspective."

**I had went out with Vampire (I'm bi and so is Ebony) **

"Of course they are."

**for a while but then he broke my heart. He dumped me because he liked Britney, a stupid preppy fucker.**

"Apparently he dumped her or they didn't work out if Vampire is alone now," Harry commented, not seeing this Vampire person as him at all.

**We were good friends now. He had gone through horrible problems, and now he was gothic. (Haha, like I would hang out with a prep.)**

"Voldemort's been trying to kill me since I was a year old and I haven't turned gothic," Harry said, shrugging. "A bit murderous and angsty, I'll admit, but not gothic, suicidal or anything like that."

**"But I'm not going out with Draco anymore!" said Vampire.**

**"Yeah fucking right! Fuck off, you bastard!"**

"Ebony needs to meet my mum," said Ron. "She'll clean her mouth out."

Knowing Molly Weasley, everyone, even Deadpool, nodded.

**I screamed. I ran out of the room and into the Forbidden Forest **

"Why is the forbidden forest right outside the potions or defense classroom?"

**where I had lost my virility to Draco and then I started to bust into tears.**

"Virility is being strong and being the epitome of male," said Hermione as she came back down the stairs. "I would say she meant virginity but that's too easy."

"Feeling okay?" Harry asked.

"Yes," she sighed and sat back down. "I don't know how you dealt with it with Vampire Potter but this Tara's version of me was horrible."

"Trust us, we know," said both Harry and Draco at the same time.

**Chapter 9**

**AN: stop flaming ok! I dntn red all da boox! **

"I think she said she didn't read all of the Harry Potter books," Gold said, trying to understand what she said. "Meaning, she doesn't know what happens in all seven years you go to Hogwarts. If that's the case, why is she writing this in the first place?"

He really did have a problem with people writing Fanfiction for a fandom when the person in question didn't have all of the facts or even try to cover their mistakes before writing.

**Dis is from the movie ok so itz nut my folt if dumbeldor swers! **

"Books? Movie?" Hermione was really confused.

"J.K. Rowling, a person from our world, wrote what happens in your seven years at Hogwarts," Silver shrugged. "It was so popular they made it into a series of movies. The Dumbledore from the first two films, Richard Harris, was awesome and just like the Dumbledore you know but he died after that. Michael Gambon took over for the rest of the years and he…was as bad as Richard Harris was good. Gambon swore as Dumbledore and otherwise did and said things Dumbledore wouldn't do."

"Kind of implies that Tara only saw, maybe the fourth movie at most," Gold added. Yeah, that was a smart idea when writing a Fanfiction. Only skim a few of the books and see maybe one of the movies.

**besuizds I SED HE HAD A HEDACHE! **

"Doesn't excuse him for swearing,"

**and the reason snap dosen't like harry now is coz hes christian and vampire is a Satanist!**

"No," said Silver slowly. "Snape doesn't like Harry because James Potter was an arrogant bully to him for most of their years at Hogwarts."

Harry shrugged. He had gotten used to the fact that his father had been a bully.

**MCR ROX!**

"Random comment is random," Gold smirked.

**I was so mad and sad.**

"She's a poet and she didn't even know it," Ron laughed.

**I couldn't believe Draco for cheating on me.**

"Because he/I didn't."

**I began to cry against the tree where I did it with Draco.**

"That poor tree."

**Then all of a suddenly, an horrible man with red eyes and no nose and everything started flying towards me on a broomstick! **

"What is Voldemort doing on school grounds and why would he be bothered by Ebony?" Harry asked, curious.

**He didn't have a nose (basically like Voldemort in the movie) and he was wearing all black but it was obvious he wasn't gothic.**

"She already commented he didn't have a nose," said Hermione, sighing. "And how can she tell if he's gothic or not?"

**It was…Voldemort!**

"Pretty obvious from the no nose and the bald head."

**"No!" I shouted in a scared voice but then Voldemort shouted "Imperious!" and I couldn't run away.**

"It's imperio," Draco muttered.

**"Crookshanks!" I shouted at him. **

"Hey, leave my cat out of this!"

**Voldemort fell of his broom and started to scream. I felt bad for him even though I'm a sadist so stopped.**

"It's like Tara just took random words from the book and turned them into spells," Gold said, shaking his head.

"And a sadist is someone who enjoys inflicting pain on others," Hermione nodded. "If anything, she wouldn't want to stop torturing Voldemort."

**"Ebony." He yelled. "Thou must kill Vampire Potter!"**

"Why is he talking in old English and why is he asking her of all people to do it?" Draco asked.

**I thought about Vampire and his sexah eyes and his gothic black hair and how his face looks just like Joel Madden. I remembered that Draco had said I didn't understand, so I thought, what if Draco went out with Vampire before I went out with him and they broke up?**

"It's a miracle, she _can_ learn!"

**"No, Voldemort!" I shouted back.**

**Voldemort gave me a gun.**

"Why would she need a gun if she can use magic?" Hermione asked. Everyone shrugged.

**"No! Please!" I begged.**

**"Thou must!" he yelled. "if thou does not, then I shall kill thy beloved Draco!"**

"Hmm, Vampire or Draco? Wow, tough choice there," Gold laughed. "One is…wait, both are pretty much the same here so there's no choice at all."

**"How did you know?" I asked in a surprised way.**

**Voldemort got a dude-ur-so-retarded look on his face. "I hath telekinesis." **

"Beware of the power of him to levitate things with his mind," Silver said, laughing as she did so. "Come on, she means telepathy but I guess it would be legilimancy here, huh?"

"Either way, it's a power to know a person's thoughts," Hermione shrugged.

**he answered cruelly. "And if you doth not kill Vampire, then thou know what will happen to Draco!" he shouted. Then he flew angrily on his broomstick.**

"How do you fly away angrily?" Harry asked, actually sounding curious. "I mean, you can fly and be angry at the same time but flying angrily doesn't make much sense."

**I was so scared and made I didn't know what to do. Suddenly Draco came into the woods.**

**"Draco!" I said. "Hi!"**

"She doesn't sound scared or mad," Draco shrugged. "If anything, she's probably putting the gun away so my gothic version doesn't actually see it."

**"Hi," he said back but his face was all sad. He was wearing white foundation and messy eyeliner kind of like a pentagram (geddit) **

"No."

**between Joel Madden and Gerard Way.**

**"Are you okay?" I asked.**

**"No." he answered.**

**"I'm sorry I got all mad at you but I thought you cheated on me." I expelled.**

"Oh, if only she was expelled," Harry said, smirking.

**"That's okay." he said all depressed and we went back into Hogwarts together making out.**

"This whole thing is making me sick," Ron grumbled.

"Just be glad you're not in the story yet, Ron," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Of course, she'll probably put you in eventually."

"Merlin, I hope not."

**Chapter 10**

**AN: stup it u gay fags** **if u donot lik ma story den fukk off!**

"I would if I could but we have an insane nutcase here that would destroy a city block if we do," Gold said, rolling his eyes at said nutcase. Deadpool ignored him.

**ps it turnz out b'loody mary isn't a muggle** **afert al n she n vampire r evil datz y dey movd houses ok!**

"I'm not a Muggle!" Hermione yelled. "I'm Muggleborn! My parents are Muggles. Lily Potter's parents were Muggles. I'm a witch and proud of it!"

**I was really scared about Vlodemort all day.**

"Considering that this Vlodemort hasn't appeared in the story yet, I'm not too worried," said Harry, smirking. "Voldemort on the other hand is worrying."

**I was even upset went to rehearsals with my gothic metal band Bloody Gothic Rose 666.**

"She has a band now?" asked Silver. "Oh Merlin…"

**I am the lead singer of it and I play guitar. People say that we sound like a cross between GC, Slipknot and MCR.**

Hermione, Gold and Silver all started paling at the possible songs 'they' were coming up with.

**The other people in the band are B'loody Mary, Vampire, Draco, Ron (although we call him Diabolo now.**

Ron choked. "How did this version of me's mother deal with that?" he shouted. "My mum would never let me become 'goffic,' and I can't see any version of her allowing me to do so."

Everyone nodded, knowing that Molly would kill anyone who would turn one of her kids into a goth if she had anything to say about it.

"Could she at least have named you Diablo and not Diabolo?" Gold asked, sounding annoyed, "that's bugging me in the worst way."

**He has black hair now with blue streaks in it.) **

Ron shrugged, "could be worse."

Hermione huffed at this 'Bloody Mary Smith' girl.

**and Hargrid. **

Harry looked murderous at the mention of his first real friend in the magical world being insulted like this.

**Only today Draco and Vampire were depressed so they weren't coming and we wrote songs instead. **

"Wouldn't want to be in a band with you anyway Potter," Draco drawled, rolling his eyes. Harry couldn't agree more.

**I knew Draco was probably slitting his wrists (he wouldn't die because he was a vampire too and the only way you can kill a vampire is with a c-r-o-s-s (there's no way I'm writing that)**

"Ebony wore some cross earrings," Hermione sighed, shaking her head as she tried to stave off the incoming headache. "Stupid hypocrite."

**or a steak)**

"It's spelled stake."

**and Vampire was probably watching a depressing movie like The Corpse Bride.**

Silver sighed angrily. "If she starts saying that everything done by Tim Burton is 'goffic' than I'm going to kill someone."

Gold nodded. "Tim Burton's stuff isn't really gothic. A little creepy at times but I love 'The Nightmare Before Christmas' and 'The Corpse Bride' isn't that bad."

"'Coraline' was creepy though," Silver reminded him.

"To you." Gold smirked. "But yeah, 'Coraline' was probably his creepiest."

**I put on a black leather shirt that showed off my boobs and tiny matching miniskirt that said Simple Plan on the butt. You might think I'm a slut but I'm really not.**

"If she dresses like one, acts like one and talks like one, guess what?" Hermione smirked.

**We were singing a cover of 'Helena' and at the end of the song I suddenly bust into tears.**

"What's wrong with her this time?"

**"Ebony! Are you OK?" B'loody Mary asked in a concerted voice.**

**"What the fuck do you think?" I asked angrily. **

"How does she even have any friends is she treats them like dirt?" Harry asked. Everyone shrugged.

**And then I said. "Well, Voldemort came and the fucking bastard told me to fucking kill Harry! But I don't want to kill him, because, he's really nice, even if he did go out with Draco. But if I don't kill Harry, then Voldemort, will fucking kill Draco!" I burst into tears.**

"Whoo!" Harry was now cheering. "My name is Harry again! So long Vampire Potter!"

**Suddenly Draco jumped out from behind a wall.**

**"Why didn't you fucking tell me!" he shouted. "How could you- you- you fucking poser muggle bitch!" (c is dat out of character?)**

Draco rose an eyebrow. "I have to admit, that's better at getting me but considering my gothic version is angrier at her for keeping secrets and being a poser instead of blood

purity, this Tara girl still needs some work."

**I started to cry and cry. Draco started to cry too all sensitive. Then he ran out crying.**

"And then she ruins me again," Draco sighed, "when is this thing over?"

"Too long, Draco. Too long."

**We practiced for one more hour. Then suddenly Dumbeldore walked in angrily! His eyes were all fiery and I knew this time it wasn't cause he had a headache.**

**"What have you done!" He started to cry wisely. (c dats basically nut swering and dis time he wuz relly upset n u wil c y).**

While Hermione's eye was twitching at the horrible grammar, Ron looked confused. "How do you cry wisely?"

**"Ebony Draco has been found in his room. He committed suicide by slitting his wrists."**

"These characters slit their wrists all the time," Gold sighed, banging his head against the back of the couch. "Ebony even said that Draco couldn't die by slitting his wrist and would need a cross or a stake. She's messing with her own rules here."

Silver just patted him on the shoulder, trying to help him get over the various continuity flaws in this abomination of a story.

**Chapter 11**

**AN: i sed stup flaming up prepz!** **c if dis chaptr is srupid!1111** **it delz wit rly sris issus!**

"Somehow, I really doubt it," Harry said, shaking his head.

**sp c 4 urself if itz ztupid brw fangz 2 ma frend raven 4 hleping me!**

"Raven needs help too," Gold muttered, scowling.

**"NO!" I screamed. I was horrorfied! B'loody Mary tried to comfort me but I told her fuck off** **and I ran to my room crying myself. **

"You know," said Silver, "This could be Ebony's flaw here. She treats her friends like dirt and is just plain rude to everyone."

"Do you see any of her friends actually standing up to her about it or it being addressed in any way?" Gold asked rhetorically.

"Point taken."

**Dumbledore chased after me shouting but he had to stop when I went into my room cause he would look like a perv that way.**

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Draco is dead by suicide and Dumbledore is worried about looking like a pervert if he goes up to Ebony's room?"

"Pretty much Granger," Draco drawled, hoping his character was out of the story for good now.

**Anyway, I started crying tears of blood and then I slit both of my wrists. They got all over my clothes** **so I took them off and jumped into the bath angrily** **while I put on a Linkin Park song at full volume. **

"Draco commits suicide by slitting his wrists and dies despite being a vampire and not being able to die that way, and now she does the same thing and the only thing she gets is her clothes dirty." Harry was now banging the back of his head against the couch he was sitting in, trying to take all of this in.

**I grabbed a steak and almost stuck it into my heart to commit suicide.**

"DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!"

**I was so fucking depressed! I got out of the bathtub and put on a black low-cut dress with lace all over it sandly.**

"Sandly? I don't even want to know."

**I put on black high heels with pink metal stuff on the ends and six pairs of skull earrings.**

"Must be small earrings," Hermione commented, looking at the book strangely. "I don't think the human ear can handle so many earrings or even have the space to hold all of them."

"Good thing she's a vampire then."

**I couldn't fucking believe it. Then I looked out the window and screamed... Snap was spying on me and he was taking a video tape of me!**

Draco scowled. "She's a Slytherin apparently. There are no windows as the common room and dorms are underground by the lake. Why would Professor Snape be there anyway?"

**And Loopin was masticating to it!**

Gold rolled his eyes. "According to the dictionary here," gesturing toward the large book on the table, "masticating means 'to chew.' So why is Remus LUPIN chewing something while Snape is filming Ebony?"

"Since when are Snape and Professor Lupin friends anyway?" Harry countered. That was what was bothering him there.

**They were sitting on their broomsticks.**

"Which is pointless since Ebony's room would be underground, not in a tower," Draco said, rolling his eyes.

**"EW, YOU FUCKING PERVS, STOP LOOKING AT ME NAKED! ARE YOU PEDOS OR WHAT!" **

"What the…since when was she naked?" Hermione demanded. "It said that she got out of the bathroom wearing a black dress and heels. She was wearing clothes!" Tara was now going against something she wrote a couple of paragraphs ago. So much for continuity.

**I screamed putting on a black towel with a picture of Marilyn Mason on it.**

**Suddenly Vampire ran in.** **"Abra Kedavra!"** **he yelled at Snape and Loopin pointing his womb.**

Harry stared at the book, now horrified. "I burst into Ebony's room shouting a misspelled killing curse with a female part that I don't have? I know she means wand but this is getting ridiculous."

**I took my gun** **and shot Snape and Loopin a gazillion times** **and they both started screaming** **and the camera broke.**

"Well, at least she put that gun Voldemort gave her to good use," Silver said, shrugging sheepishly. "I don't want her to kill Remus but considering that this Remus Lupin probably isn't even a werewolf here, it's probably better if he dies."

**Suddenly, Dumblydore ran in. "Ebony, it has been revealed that someone has - NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he shouted looking at Snape and Loopin and then he waved his wand **

"Are they still in Ebony's room?" Harry asked, sounding confused, "Dumbledore didn't want to enter her room earlier and now he has no problems with it."

**and suddenly...**

**Hargrid ran outside on his broom and said everyone we need to talk.**

"I guess they jumped out the window that mysteriously appeared and now they're outside…somehow," Gold said, annoyed that Tara couldn't even keep track of where they were in the castle.

**"What do you know, Hargrid? You're just a little Hogwarts student!"**

"She turned Hagrid into a student?" Ron asked, looking confused. "He was a student back in the forties. And little is not something I would use to describe him."

"Stupid oaf," Draco muttered, too quietly for anyone to hear him.

**"I MAY BE A HOGWARTS STUDENT..." Hargirid paused angrily. "BUT I AM ALSO A SATANIST!"**

"What does that have to do with anything?"

**"This cannot be."** **Snap said in a crisp voice as blood dripped from his hand where Dumblydore's wand had shot him.**

"Those gazillion gun shot wounds Ebony gave him isn't killing him, huh?" Gold asked.

**"There must be other factors."**

**"YOU DON'T HAVE ANY!" I yelled in madly.**

"Did we miss something?" Hermione asked, sounding confused, "it feels like we missed a paragraph or two. What other factors are they talking about?"

**Loopin held up the camera triumelephantly.**

**"The lens may be ruined but the tape is still there!"**

"Professor Lupin is possibly dying of a misspelled killing curse and multiple gun shots, not to mention probably falling off his broom, and he's worried about the tape in the camera that only caught Ebony in a dress?" Harry asked. He was really glad none of the Maurders were here as they would probably find Tara for revenge on what she did to Lupin.

**I felt faint, more than I normally do like how it feels when you do not drink enough blood.**

**"Why are you doing this?" Loopin said angrily** **while he rubbed his dirty hands on his clook.**

"Again, I think we missed something," Hermione said, "I'm not following this at all. What is Ebony doing? What's going on?"

"You're not the only one confused," said Silver, trying to figure out what was going too.

**And then I heard the words that I had heard before but not from him.**

**I did not know whether to feel shocked and happy or to bite him and drink his blood because I felt faint.**

**"BECAUSE...BECAUSE..." Hargid said and he paused in the air dramitaclly, waving his wand in the air. Then swooped he in singing to the tune of a gothic version of a song by 50 Cent.**

"This is getting more and more confusing," Harry groaned. "Does this Tara girl even know what's going on in her own story? I can't follow the plot if it's written like this."

**"Because you're goffic?" Snap asked in a little afraid voice cause he was afraind it meant he was connected with Satan.**

"With everything Snape was probably forced to do with the Death Eaters, I don't think he's afraid of goths," said Gold, sounding annoyed.

**"Because I LOVE HER!"**

Now Hagrid is in love with her," Ron and Harry groaned at the same time, shaking their heads in despair.

"Is there anything Harry Potter related that Tara hasn't destroyed?" Gold asked Silver, who shook her head.

"I don't think so."

**Chapter 12**

**AN: stop f,aing ok hargrid is a pedo 2 a lot of ppl in amerikan skoolz r lik dat I wunted 2 adres da ishu!**

"Ebony is seventeen," Silver deadpanned. "The age of consent in Britain is sixteen I think and in the magical world, seventeen is legal adulthood. Hagrid sounds like he's a seventh year like every other student in this story. That's not pedophilia."

"Stop trying to find sense and logic in this story," Gold sighed, shaking his head. "It won't end well."

**how du u no snap iant kristian **

"Okay, she has a point there," said Hermione said. "But I'm fairly sure he isn't."

**plus hargrid isn't really in luv wif ebony dat was sedric ok!**

"Wait, was Cedric in love with her or was Hagrid in love with Cedric?" Ron asked, confused by the wording.

"Does it matter?" Gold shrugged. "Odds are, they were both in love with Ebony at some point."

**I was about to slit my wrists again with the silver knife that Drago had given me in case anything happened to him. **

Draco shrugged. "Well, at least the knife was given to her by some guy named Drago and not me." He knew it was his character but it was better for his sanity if he pretended otherwise.

"Kind of a weird gift to give your girlfriend," Silver frowned.

**He had told me to use it valiantly against an enemy but I knew that we must both go together.**

"Come on, do it!" everyone but Deadpool was chanting.

**"NO!" I THOUGHT IT WAS HAIRgrid but it was Vampire.**

**He started to scream. "OMFG! NOOOOO! MY SCAR HURTS!"** **and then... his eyes rolled up! You could only see his red whites.**

"So we have Vampire apparently bursting into Ebony's room again just so he can complain about a vision from Voldemort," Harry summed up.

"And how can you have whites that are red?" Hermione asked, sounding curious. "White isn't red, red isn't white, it makes no sense."

**I stopped. "How did u know?"**

"Vampire is feeling the pain the vision is giving him. That's how he knows."

**"I saw it!** **And my scar turned back into the lightning bolt!"**

**"NO!" I ran up closer. "I thought you didn't have a scar anymore!" I shouted.**

"Trust me, I've tried everything I can think of to get rid of this thing," Harry said, shaking his head. "Nothing works."

**"I do but Diabolo changed it into a pentagram for me and I always cover it up with foundation."** **he said back. **

"Wow Ron, didn't know you knew so much about altering curse scars," Harry grinned at him, making Ron roll his eyes at him.

**"Anyway my scar hurt and it turned back into the lightning bolt! Save me!** **then I had a vision of what was happening to Draco...Volfemort has him bondage!"**

"I thought he died?" Draco said, shrugging. "Well at least it's only Volfemort torturing me and not the dark lord."

**Anyway I was in the school nurse's office now recovering from my slit wrists.**

"She never needed healing before now."

**Snap and Loopin and HAHRID were there too. They were going to St. Mango's after they recovered cause they were pedofiles** **and you can't have those fucking pervs teaching in a school with lots of hot gurlz.**

"I guess St. Mangos is a mental hospital separate from St. Mungos that specializes in pedophilia," Gold shrugged, his voice telling everyone what he thought of that idea. "Besides, according to her, the 'hot gurlz' are everyone she likes and none of the 'preps' no doubt."

"Pretty much," Silver agreed.

**Dumbledore had constipated the cideo camera** **they took of me naked. **

"She wasn't naked, she was wearing a dress."

**I put up my middle finger at them.**

"Lovely."

**Anyway Hargrid came into my hospital bed holding a bouquet of pink roses.**

**"Enoby I need to tell u somethnig." he said in a v. serious voice, giving me the roses.**

Gold was trying hard not to get angry. "You don't abbreviate a minor word like 'very' in the English language. Besides, the word is useless anyway, Tara should have just taken it out in the first place."

**"Fuck off."** **I told him. "You know I fucking hate the color pink anyway, and I don't like fucked up preps like you." I snapped.**

Hermione was getting angry this time. "Her coffin has hot pink velvet in it! She's worn pink clothes in previous chapters. Why is Tara determined to make Ebony a hypocrite?"

"Not to mention that Hagrid revealed that he's Satanist so he's not a prep."

**Hargrid had been mean to me before for being gottik.**

"Ah, that explains everything," Silver said sarcastically.

"Why did she let him into her band if she hated him?" Harry asked rhetorically, knowing it was just Ebony being Enoby.

**"No Enoby." Hargrid says. "Those are not roses."**

**"What, are they goffs too you poser prep?" I asked cause I was angry that he had brought me pink roses.**

"I don't even want to know how a rose can be goth," Draco said, shaking his head.

Gold and Silver were busy humming the music to 'Painting the Roses Red' from Disney's Alice in Wonderland. If Ebony really didn't want pink roses a simple color changing charm should work.

**"I saved your life!" He yelled angrily.**

"When?" When was that?"

**"No you didn't I replied."**

Gold laughed suddenly. "With that quotation mark there, instead of after 'didn't,' can you imagine Ebony actually saying that to gothic Hagrid?"

**"You saved me from getting a Paris Hilton p- video made from your shower scene and being vued by Snap and Loopin."**

"Hagrid just admitted that Ebony saved him, not the other way around," Hermione said, shaking her head. "And according to the conversation, it wasn't a life or death situation."

**Who MASTABATED (c is dat speld rong)**

"Actually, it is."

**to it he added silently.**

**"Whatever!" I yelled angirly.**

"She's such a lovely, mild mannered girl," Ron sighed.

**He pointed his wand at the pink roses. "These aren't roses." He suddenly looked at them with an evil look in his eye and muttered Well If you wanted Honesty that's all you haD TO SAY! .**

**"That's not a spell that's an MCR song." I corrected him wisely.**

"Ebony saying anything wisely is an oxymoron."

**"I know, I was just warming up my vocal cordes." Then he screamed. "Petulus merengo mi kremicli romacio(4 all u cool goffic mcr fans out, there, that is a tribute! specially for raven I love you girl!)imo noto okayo!"**

"Wow, Hagrid can suddenly speak Japanese," Gold commented, he then frowned, "at least, I think that's Japanese."

**And then the roses turned into a huge black flame floating in the middle of the air.**

**And it was black.**

"She already said they were black."

**Now I knew he wasn't a prep.**

"That was all it took, huh?"

**"OK I believe you now wtf is Drako?"**

"Sorry Draco, but Ebony is only worried about your brothers, Drako and Drago," Harry smirked.

Draco rolled his eyes at him.

**Hairgrid rolled his eyes. I looked into the balls of flame but I could c nothing.**

"Duh, they're flames," Hermione said, grumbling. "Black flames from the pits of Hell but she's not supposed to see anything."

**"U c, Enobby," Dumblydore said, **

"Oh sweet Merlin," Hermione said, throwing her hands in the air. "Is it Ebony, Enoby, Evony, or Enobby?"

"Yes."

**watching the two of us watching the flame.** **"2 c wht iz n da** **flmes(HAHA U REVIEWRS FLAMES GEDDIT)** **u mst find urslf 1st, k?"**

"She must find that this is a terrible story and drown in the lake for everything to go back to normal."

**"I HAVE FOUND MYSELF OK YOU MEAN OLD MAN!" Hargrid yelled.**

**dUMBLydore lookd shockd.**

"Considering how much Hagrid loves Dumbledore, I am too," Harry commented. "Besides, Dumbledore was talking to Enoby, not him."

**I guess he didn't have a headache or else he would have said something back.**

**Hairgrid stormed off back into his bed. "U r a liar, prof dumbledoree!"**

"How is he a liar?" Ron asked. "Did I miss something or did Tara leave out a few paragraphs like before?"

"Tara just sucks as a writer, okay?" Gold said, wanting Deadpool to finish this already.

**Anyway when I got better**

"That was a fast recovery."

**I went upstairs and put on a black leather minidress that was all ripped on the ends with lace on it. There was some corset stuff on the front. Then I put on black fishnets and black high-heeled boots with pictures of Billie Joe Armstrong on them. I put my hair all out around me so I looked like Samara from the Ring (if u don't know who she iz ur a prep so fuk off!) and I put on blood-red lipstick, black eyeliner and black lip gloss.**

"Haven't had an over description of what she was wearing in a while," Silver noted.

"You can't really put on both lipstick and lip gloss on at the same time," Hermione muttered.

**"You look kawai, girl."**

"It's Kawaii," Gold rolled his eyes, he was doing that a lot he noticed. "It means 'cute' in Japanese."

**B'loody Mary said sadly. "Fangs (geddit) you do too." **

"Tara sucks at jokes."

**I said sadly too, but I was still upset. I slit both of my wrists feeling totally depressed and I sucked all the blood.**

"Do vampires actually have blood of their own to drink? I don't think so."

**I cried again in my bathroom and put the shades on so Snap and Loopin couldn't spy on me this time.**

Draco sighed angrily. "The Slytherin dorms don't have windows!"

**I went to some classes. Vampire was in the Hair of Magical Magic Creatures.**

"Hair of magical creatures?" Harry asked. "How much can you learn about unicorn and kneazle hair before the professor runs out of things to talk about?"

**He looked all depressed because Draco had disappeared and he had used to be in love with Draco. He was sucking some blood from a Hufflepuff.**

"Oh those Hufflepuffs," Gold shook his head and made a tsk tisk sound. "No challenge at all. A vampire wants blood and they'll just give them their necks because they have no spines."

Silver looked at him. "You made Danielle a Hufflepuff in 'Hunters of Artemis.'"

"Only because I wanted her hardworking, loyal, not in Gryffindor, and to put the house of the badger in a better light. I mean, really, Hufflepuffs only have two good members, Cedric and Tonks. That's it, really."

"Susan and Hannah?"

"What do we know about them personally?"

"Touche."

**"Hi." he said in a depressed way. "Hi back." I said in an wqually said way.**

**We both looked at each other for some time. Harry had beautiful red gothic eyes so much like Dracos. Then... we jumped on each other and started screwing each other.**

"That didn't take much effort," Draco said, rubbing his face and shaking his head. "She really is a slut, isn't she?"

"Pretty much."

**"STOP IT NOW YOU HORNY SIMPLETONS!" shouted Professor McGoggle who was watching us and so was everyone else.**

"Considering that they're making out with clothes about to start flying off, I bet they are," Hermione said with a dirty look at the book.

**"Vampire you fucker!" I said slapping him. "Stop trying to screw me. You know I loved Draco!" I shouted and then I ran away angrily.**

"Oh yeah, it's not like you jumped him or anything, it's all his fault," Harry said scathingly.

**Just then he started to scream. "OMFG! NOOOOO! MY SCAR HURTS!" and then... his eyes rolled up! You could only see his red whites.**

"Again?"

**"NO!" I ran up closer.**

**"I thought you didn't have a scar anymore!" I shouted.**

**"I do but Diabolo changed it into a pentagram for me and I always cover it up with foundation." he said back. "Anyway my scar hurt and then I had a vision of what was happening to Draco...Volfemort has him bondage!"**

"Didn't we already go over this?"

**SPECIAL FANGZ 2 RAVEN MY GOFFIX BLOOD SISTA WTF UR SUPPOZD 2 RIT DIS!11111111**

"Does Tara even know what a beta is supposed to do?" Gold asked Silver, who shrugged. "A beta is supposed to go over what is written and correct any mistakes. Raven isn't supposed to write it, she goes over it and makes corrections. It's like she's abusing her friends in both the story and in the real world."

**HEY RAVEN DO U KNOW WHERE MY SWEATER I**

"Raven should have helped her find her sweater," said Deadpool sagely, looking up from the book for the first time in a while.

"Didn't Tara take Raven's poster?" Gold asked, trying to remember what the stupid fight between them was about.

**Chapter 13**

**AN: raven fangz 4 gelpin me agen im sory ah tok ur postr of gerard but dat guy is such a fokin sexbom!**

"Hah, called it!" Gold said, fist pumping. "She did take Raven's poster, the little thief."

**PREPZ STOP FLAMIGNG!**

"NEVER!"

**Vampire and I ran up the stairs looking for Dumbledore. We were so scared.**

Harry shrugged. "They didn't really seem to care when Vampire had that vision the first time."

"I think it was a copy paste error or something," Gold mused, thinking about it.

**"Dumbledore Dumblydore!" we both yelled. Dumbledore came there.**

**"What is it that you want now you despicable snobs?" he asked angrily.**

Everyone rose their eyebrows at that. Dumbledore was usually pretty helpful in this story so far.

**"Volsemort has Draco!" we shouted at the same time.**

"I thought Voldemort had Draco," Silver smirked.

**He laughed in an evil voice.**

"Great, she's making Dumbledore evil now," Harry sighed.

**"No! Don't! We need to save Draco!" we begged.**

**"No." he said meanly. "I don't give a darn what Voldemort does to Draco. Not after how much he misbehaved in school especially with YOU Ebony."**

"Dumbledore would still care if You-Know-Who had a student though," said Ron, "even if he is Draco."

"Hey!"

**he said while he frowned looking at me. "Besides I never liked him that much anyway."** **then he walked away. Vampire started crying. **

**"My Draco!" he moaned. (AN: don't u fik gay guyz r lik so hot!)**

Gold swallowed a bit, "sorry, threw up a bit in my mouth when she wrote that. I'm fine now."

**"Its okay!" I tried to tell him but that didn't stop him. **

**He started to cry tears of blood. Then he had a brainstorm. "I had an idea!" he exclaimed.**

"You want us to jump off a cliff and die? Great idea!" Silver said with fake enthusiasm.

**"What?" I asked him.**

**"You'll see." he said. He took out his wand and did a spell. Then... suddenly we were in Voldemprt's lair!**

"I thought they were supposed to get to Voldemort's," Hermione smirked. "Who's this Voldemprt person?"

**We ran in with our wands out just as we heard a croon voice say. "Allah Kedavra"**

**It was... Voldemort!**

"And now Voldemort is apparently in Voldemprt's lair, great," Gold groaned. "And since when is Voldemort Muslim with his Allah Kedevra?"

Silver looked at him. "Not sure if that is racist or not, to be honest."

"If it is I apologize to anyone I just offended."

**Chapter 14**

"Man, that was a shorter chapter than normal," Hermione commented.

**AN: fuk off PREPZ ok! Raven fangz 4 helpin agen. im sory ah kudnt update but I wuz derperessd n I had 2 go 2 da hospital kuz I slit muh rists.**

"See, you do need to go to the hospital if you do something like that," Silver said, gesturing toward the book.

**PS im nut updating til u giv me 10 god revoiws!**

"That's the mark of a bad writer and we all know it."

**WARNING: SUM OF DIS CHAPTA IS XTREMLY SCRAY. VIOWER EXCRETION ADVISD.**

"She means that Viewer Discretion is Advised but odds are this won't be that scary."

Silver nodded, "kind of like how the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland is scary if you're six years old but isn't when you're fourteen."

"Pretty much."

**We ran to where Volcemort was. **

"Not bad, but where's Voldemort."

**It turned out that Voldemort wasn't there.** **Instead the fat guy who killed Cedric was.**

"Peter Pettigrew," said Gold, mimicking Gary Oldman playing Sirius Black in the third movie. "He's in that room. Come out come out Peter, come out and plaayy!"

**Draco was there crying tears of blood.**

"I'm apparently being tortured so that's believable I guess."

**Snaketail** **was torturing him. **

"Snaketail? SNAKETAIL!" Harry was on his feet. "HIS NICKNAME IS WORMTAIL YOU LITTLE PIECE OF-"

Hermione pulled Harry down onto the couch before he could attack and burn the book in an anger fueled rage.

**Vampire and I ran in front of Snaketail.**

**"Rid my sight you despicable preps!" **

"About time someone called them out on it."

**he shouted as we started shooting him with the gun he**

Hermione sighed wearily. "Why is he using a gun when he can use magic?"

"Because he's stupid, leave it at that."

"Works for me."

**Then suddenly he looked at me and he fell down with a lovey-dovey look in his eyes.**

**"." he said. (in dis he is sixteen yrs old so hes not a pedofile ok)**

"Ebony is seventeen so she's legally an adult in the magical world," Gold sighed just as tiredly as Hermione. "If anything, they are both legal. And why is Tara destroying everything we've once held dear by turning Peter into a sixteen year old?"

**"Huh?" I asked.**

**"Enoby I love you will you have sex with me?" asked Snaketail.**

"That came out of nowhere," Ron blinked.

**I started laughing crudely. "What the fuck? You torture my bf and then you expect me to fuck you? God, you are so fucked up you fucking bastard."**

"That actually sounds somewhat normal," Silver muttered in shock.

**I said angrily. Then I stabbed him in the heart. Blood pored out of it like a fountain.**

**"Nooooooooooooo!" he screamed. He started screaming and running around.**

**Then he fell down and died. I brust into tears sadly.**

Hermione rolled her eyes. "She says she's a sadist so killing Peter isn't really that bad for her yet she's crying. Why?"

**"Snaketail what art thou doing?"** **called Voldemort. Then... he started coming!**

**We could hear his high heels clacking to us.**

"The Dark Lord wearing high heels?" Draco said, looking like this Tara chick was crazy and had a death wish.

**So we got on our broomsticks and we flew to Hogwarts. **

"Why not just use that teleportation spell or whatever it was to get back to Hogwarts?" Gold asked, examining his fingernails that were, in his opinion, more interesting than this book.

"Because a teleportation spell doesn't exist and apperition doesn't work in Hogwarts," Hermione deadpanned.

"There are tons of teleportation spells in other fandoms," Gold shrugged. "Merlin, there's even a teleportation spell in My Little Pony."

Silver stared at him. "I don't even want to know how you know that."

**We went to my room. Vampire went away. There I started crying.**

"Is she crying because she killed Peter or for some stupid and selfish reason?" Harry asked rhetorically, knowing the answer already and it wasn't the prior one.

**"What's wrong honey?" asked Draco taking off his clothes so we could screw.** **He had a sex-pack (geddit cuz hes so sexah) and a really huge you-know-what and everything.**

"I'm tortured for possibly days and that's what's on my mind?" Draco asked, shaking his head.

**"Its so unfair!" I yielded. "Why can't I just be ugly or plain like all da other girls and preps here except for B'loody Mary, because she's not ugly or anything."**

"Thanks," Hermione muttered dryly.

**"Why would you wanna be ugly?** **I don't like the preps anyway. They are such fucking sluts." answered Draco.**

"Says the couple who humped like bunnies on their first date."

**"Yeah but everyone is in love with me! Like Snape and Loopin took a video of me naked. Hargrid says he's in love with me. Vampire likes me and now even Snaketail is in love with me! I just wanna be with you ok Draco!** **Why couldn't Satan have made me less beautiful?"**

For a moment, there was utter silence, than everyone burst out laughing. Gold even fell off the couch and rolling on the floor, he was laughing so hard.

"She's really depressed because she's too attractive?" Hermione asked, gasping for breath. "What is wrong with this girl?"

"Oh, poor baby," Harry laughed, "her life is so hard."

"Merlin she's arrogant and full of herself," Ron shook his head, still laughing every few seconds.

"Can she be any more conceded and shallow?" Draco wondered out loud, his face pink from the blood rushing to his pale skin.

"Since when is Satan in charge of determining how a person looks anyway?" Silver laughed. "I think that's more of the big guy upstairs."

** I shouted angrily. (an" don't wory enoby isn't a snob or anyfing but a lot of ppl hav told her shes pretty)**

"Who? I wouldn't, that's for certain," Gold laughed, pulling himself off the floor.

**"Im good at too many things! WHY CAN'T I JUST BE NORMAL? IT'S A FUCKING CURSE!" I shouted and then I ran away.**

"Ah, the curse of the Mary Sue," Silver said, still giggling. "Good at everything, no flaws that cause problems to the plot, a stupid name, everyone loving her the moment they see her, and surviving things that would kill a normal human."

"So Ebony and Bella Swan then," Gold summed up, still laughing.

Silver nodded. "Bella Swan get's to Forks Washington, everyone loves her right away, she catches the eye of one of the 'hottest guys in the school,' is forced into a few dangerous situations where she makes it out alive despite that it should have killed her, and becomes immortally beautiful at the end while getting out of any fighting she might have had to do. Yeah, Bella Swan is a Mary Sue."

**Chapter 15**

**AN: stup flaming ok! btw u suk frum no on evry tim sum1 flams me im gona slit muh ristsz! **

"There aren't enough bandages in the world to save her then," Harry sniggered.

**fangz 2 raven 4 hlpein!**

**"Ebony Ebony!" shouted Draco sadly. "No, please, come back!"**

**But I was too mad.**

**"Whatever! Now u can go anh have sex with Vampire!" I shouted.**

"Our textbook Mary Sue, everyone."

**I stormed into my room and closed my black door with my blood-red key. It had a picture of Marylin Manson on it.**

"Did the key or the door have the picture since it must have been a small picture if it was on the key."

**He looked so sexy in a way that reminded me of Draco and Vampire.**

Everyone rolled their eyes.

**I started to cry and weep. I took a razor and started to slit my wrists. I drank the blood all depressed. Then I looked at my black GC watch and noticed it was time to go to Biology class.**

"Since when has Hogwarts had a biology class?" Ron asked, looking at the others. They shrugged.

"You think Tara read Twilight?" Gold asked Silver quietly and she shrugged as well.

**I put on a short ripped black gothic dress that said Anarchy on the front in blood red letters and was all ripped and a spiky belt. Under that I put on ripped black fishnets and boots that said Joel all over them with blood red letters.** **I put my ebony black hair out.**

"Oh Merlin, tell me when she's done telling everyone what's wearing," Harry groaned.

** Anyway I went downstairs feeling all sad and depressed as usual.**

"So business as usual then."

**I did sum advanced Biology work.**

**I was turning a bloody pentagram into a black guitar.**

"So, she's in Transfiguration than?" Hermione asked, confused. When did turning something into something else count as biology?

**Suddenly the guitar turned to Draco!**

"That was unexpected," said Draco, perking an eyebrow. "The guitar turned into me? Was it the real me or a fake me via magic?"

"Does it really matter?"

**"Enoby I love you!" he shouted sadly. "I dnot care what those fucker preps and posers fink.** **Ur da most beautiful girl in the world. **

"That's the problem," Gold sighed, shaking his head. "She doesn't want to be the most beautiful girl in the world. She wants to be normal and average."

**Before I met you I used to want to commit suicide all the time. **

"Oh how I wished he had," Draco grumbled, arms crossed.

**Now I just wanna fucking be with you. I fucking love you!." Then... he started to sing "Da Chronicles of Life and Death" (we considered it our song now cuz we fell in love when Joel was singing it)** **right in front of the entire class! His singing voice was so amazing and gothic and sexxy like a cross** **between Gerard, Joel, Chester, Pierre and Marilyn Manson **

"So, it sounded terrible than?" Harry asked, smiling.

"Sounds like it."

**(AN: don't u fink dos guyz r so hot. if u dnot no who dey r get da fuk out od hr!) .**

"She's driving away the few people who would read this," Silver said, shaking her head. "Than she whines when we flame her and she doesn't get as many reviews as she thought she would get. It's a never ending cycle."

**"OMFG." I said after he was finished. Some fucking preps stared at us but I just stuck up my middle fingers **

"How Ebony hasn't been expelled yet I have no clue," Hermione said, staring at the book. "She's rude, intolerant of those that don't agree with her and she treats her friends like trash."

"She's the Mary Sue main character," Gold shrugged. "She's perfect in every way and the world revolves around her so they can't expel her."

"Doesn't make it right."

**(that were covered in black nail polish and were entwined with Draco's now)** **at them. "I love you!" I said and then we started to kiss just like Hilary Duff (i fukin h8 dat bitch)**

"And yet, she says she's kissing like her."

** and CMM in a Cinderella Story. **

Silver and Gold grinned at each other. "Strange how she would know that scene from a 'prep' movie, huh?" said Silver.

"True," said Gold. "Very true. You know what that means?"

"That she's a poser, fraud, and she has no clue what a goth even is?"

"Took the words right out of my mouth."

**Then we went away holding hands.**

**Loopin shouted at us but he stopped cuz everyone was clapping by how sexy we looked 2gether.**

"Nobody ever does that, ever," Hermione sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

**Then I saw a poster saying that MCR would have a concert in Hogsmede right then.**

**We looked at each other all shocked and then we went 2gether.**

"And of course, they just skip any and all classes to go a concert for a band that isn't supposed to be able to get to Hogsmede," Harry said, annoyed now.

"Sums it up Potter," Draco drawled, wondering if he could somehow get a message to his father that he was kidnapped by a psycho Marvel character. Then he remembered he had no clue where he was.

**And that was fifteen chapters. All of you still alive after reading that? I know I couldn't get that far on my own with just Tara's writing so I needed a commentary on it to keep me interested. Trust me, it only gets worse from here. After that, I almost prefer Twilight…almost. At least Stephanie Meyer came up with original characters for her Mary Sue series.**

**If I get around to it, I might do the rest of the story while keeping my brain cells intact. I was thinking of doing a short one shot crack fic of purposefully turning Danielle into a Mary Sue for the fun of it and trying to make it as stupid and random as possible but I'm not sure I'm going to. Well, until I next post something.**


	14. Danielle's life is a video game!

**Okay, I know I tried this with Harry but Danielle is my flagship character so I'm trying this with her. Yes, Danielle's life will be like a video game but not like what I tried with Harry, I changed some of the rules and it has a different game system. In my opinion, this is more like a computer role-playing game with Danielle able to play as characters not herself. I have more but I'm not sure if this will be seen as a good chapter or not so I'm not posting the whole thing. Just tell me what you think of it.**

Danielle was confused as to where she was.

She had woken up in what looked to be a lobby filled with chairs, couches, tables with outdated magazines, and a really annoying flickering light on the ceiling. A large desk with people typing away on computers was in front of her but they all ignored her, focused on their work.

Looking around her, she saw that she wasn't alone. It was a strange assortment as everyone looked like they should be dead. A few guys had bullet wounds over their bodies, one had an arrow sticking out of their head, a boy no older than eight was constantly coughing up water, and even a few older couples that were holding hands.

She tried to remember how she got here but nothing came to mind. Everyone here was obviously dead so this was clearly where someone was sent to after they died but why was she specifically here?

She wanted to get someone's attention to ask what she was doing here but everyone ignored her, too lost in their own worlds.

"Danielle Potter?"

Looking up, she saw a woman with a clipboard standing in front of her. She was short, maybe about five foot one. She had hair so dark blue that it might as well be black and was dressed in a crisp navy blue skirt and blouse. Seeing that Danielle was looking at her, the woman turned on her heel and walked through a hallway she hadn't noticed at first. Figuring that she was supposed to follow the woman, she got up and ran after her, struggling to keep up with her fast pace.

Going through the door on one end of the lobby, she found herself in some sort of hallway. There were no doors at all on either wall along with no intersections or side corridors, just the woman from before walking briskly ahead of her and she started thinking that she had done this person a great wrong at some point, with how bad she was muttering. The woman was holding her clipboard in front of her face, saying things under her breath that she couldn't hear.

Getting the sense that she wouldn't talk or simply ignore her if she said anything, Danielle just concentrated on keeping up with her.

Finally after what felt like twenty minutes of walking, they reached the first and only door they had seen so far through this hallway. The woman merely grunted at her and let herself through the door, Danielle following.

She had nod at the woman's taste. The walls were done in a rich blue color with a dark oak trim near the ceiling. There were bookcases containing books, scrolls and even stone tablets everywhere. A large desk made of mahogany took up a good portion of the floor space, a modern computer sitting on top of it.

The woman sighed and sank into a chair behind the desk, throwing the clipboard onto the wood. She snapped up to Danielle, "well? Sit down."

Seeing another chair in front of the desk, she sat down quickly, slightly scared of this woman.

The older female shuffled some papers around a bit before staring right at her, frowning. "Do you know where you are?"

Danielle thought about and figured she had an answer. "Well, judging by the people with me in the lobby, I would say that I'm dead."

The woman nodded, taking a deep breath. "Right, well, first things first. I'm Miranda, your death angel. I'm in charge of where a person goes after they die."

Danielle nodded, "um, can you tell me how I died?"

Miranda shook her head, muttering under her breath. "Yeah, figures, they never remember." In a louder voice, she continued. "The human brain tends to block out horrific memories, dying is one of them. To answer your question, you helped your brother Harry figure out how to defeat Voldemort and he managed to off the bastard. The problem is that you got hit by a random Death Eater's killing curse in the final battle, which leaves us with the present."

Danielle sank in her chair. She had always known she would die but had hoped it would have been somewhat memorable, not being taken down by a nameless goon.

"Now then," said Miranda, typing something on her computer. "We could send you to whatever afterlife that would be suitable to you, or we could do something a little experimental."

"Experimental?"

Miranda continued like she hadn't heard her. "It's a very recent idea, only implemented a couple of times so far and we have no idea how it would work but it's worth a shot. How would you like to go back? Save some of the people that died in the final battle."

Danielle had to admit, that sounded pretty good to her. Going back in time with knowledge of the future could help a lot of people if she did everything correctly. "I might be persuaded to do it, what do you have in mind?"

The older woman grinned. "Not that simple I'm afraid. First of all, it's not just going back in time, it's going into a slightly different timeline. The time we would send you to does have a Harry Potter in it but you are not his sister. Sending you there, we would have to arrange for you to be a witch living in the area of Private Drive with your new family who has just moved in.

"Furthermore, and this is the new idea we are trying out, your life in this new world will essentially be a video game."

Danielle blinked. "A video game? What, I would have hit points, an inventory, a mini map, I could die as many times as I like, that kind of game?"

Miranda nodded. "Exactly. We'll allow you to figure out your family, what your new father will do for a living, how many siblings you have and what genders they are, and so on. Every time you die, your game can be loaded from the last time you saved. We'll provide an instruction manual and everything. Doing missions will give you points to buy skills or improve them, you can level up, you can fight monsters that you couldn't before and try to defeat Voldemort and destroy his horcruxes much faster than you did last time."

Danielle thought about it and had to admit, the offer was interesting.

"Now then," said Miranda, getting her attention again. "If you agree to do this, you must agree to not tell Harry you are from a different world, alter too much too soon as that would ruin the timeline."

Danielle almost refused right then. But, the thought of saving Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Cedric, and others made her sigh in defeat. "Fine, you drive a hard bargain but I'll do it."

"Excellent. Now, sign here and we can get started." Miranda pulled out a long piece of paper with the print getting smaller and smaller the farther down it went. Danielle looked at her dubiously but took the contract and read what she could.

"No blaming or launching a lawsuit against this company of the afterlife…insanity will be taken on a case by case basis…the first party must adhere to the wishes of the second party under threat of the third party…"

Looking up at Miranda, the blue haired woman was looking as innocent as possible. Danielle figured that the metaphysical halo around the woman's head should have been replaced by little devil horns, her look was that bad.

Danielle sighed, placing the contract on the desk. "I get a chance to save as many people as I can and the only real deterrent is living my life like it's a video game. I can die as many times as I want or as many times as I need to and nothing will happen." She grew silent for a few moments before reaching for a pen. "Why not? Can't be any worse than staying dead and not helping those I want to save." She signed her name.

The contract shimmered and vanished, leaving behind a cloud of sparkles.

Miranda now looked like the cat that caught the canary. "Excellent, now, you will receive a game manual on how your life will now work but for now you get to create your new family. All I have to do is…" she trailed off before getting out of her seat and flicking the red head hard on the forehead.

"Hey! What the-" Danielle started feeling dizzy before she slumped in her seat and let the darkness take her.

XXXXX

When she opened her eyes, she looked around and saw herself somewhere completely different. Instead of an office, she was now standing in front of what seemed to be a pixilated version of Hogwarts, complete with lame theme music. It was clear that it wasn't the real castle and just a picture however when a window appeared in front of her.

New Game

Load Game

Controls

Extras

The Load Game option was grayed out but not the other three options. Sighing, realizing that she had died and now her life was a video game, she got to work. Going into Controls, she went over everything that she would have in her game. Auto save, mini-map, how to use the inventory and everything else.

Extras were fun though. When she tapped that feature, it showed off the game difficulty (Normal), the option of music playing from nowhere during battle (Yes).

There was an option for cheats but as she didn't know any cheat codes and cheats can only be unlocked in the game by collecting scattered golden snitches throughout the levels, she left that alone.

Ignoring the idea of when someone would have had to place all the snitches around the magical world and beyond, she tapped the New Game option.

The window disappeared to be replaced by another one with a ding. "Welcome to the world of magic! The first thing you must do is create your character and family that you will be spending your time with. Now then, what kind of family would you like?

"1. Both parents living together, 2. Living with your mother with a divorced/dead father, 3. Living with your father with a divorced/dead mother, or 4. Living with other family members."

Danielle had to stare at the screen. Of course she would want to live with both of her parents! She had spent her entire first lifetime living with Harry at the Dursleys and wanting to know her parents. Sure, James and Lily wouldn't be her parents in this game but it was the thought that counted.

"Number one. Both of my parents living together."

"Ding, excellent choice. Now, go over the stats for your new father figure."

The window changed to show what looked to be a small family tree. There were only three figures so far though, only herself and two figures in shadow. One of the two was glowing however and she tapped it, making it enlarge to feature a still shadowed three dimensional figure. On the side, was a list of things that she could change about him.

"Hmm, lets see. I can choose between my new father being human, part human, wizard, Muggle, squib…house affiliation if he was a wizard. Let's go with…wizard in Ravenclaw." Putting that into the screen, the next tab was what occupation he had.

Frowning, she looked at the possible options and saw that while some were available, others were grayed out with numbers next to them. "What are the numbers for?"

A smaller window opened over the larger one with text. "The numbers represent the number of character points needed to purchase the occupation. Character points can be obtained by doing missions, completing certain tasks, or in certain parts of the game. The more helpful the power or in this case occupation, the more expensive it is. Character points can be used on other characters as well to give them additional skills, family members they didn't have last time, or an increase in a skill they already have. Remember to save those points for something worth buying. Current character points: 0."

Danielle scowled, seeing that most of the high paying jobs were grayed out. "Can I alter my father's job with character points later?"

"Yes."

Nodding, she figured she could look up a few occupations to see how expensive they would be. Typing in some career choices, she had to admit that she hoped to get quite a few points to spend later. Thanks to her friend Hermione, she looked up how much a dentist would cost just because she could and whistled at the amount. No wonder her bushy haired friend had plenty of money when both of her parents were dentists.

Choosing at random the careers she could actually use, she closed her eyes and picked something. Opening them, she found that it had landed on dog breeder of all things. Shrugging, it was actually one of the better occupations and she could always try to change it later if things didn't work out.

Needing character points to alter anything else, she hit the ENTER button on the keyboard and saved the changes. The shadowed figure before was replaced by a somewhat handsome guy in his mid to late twenties with brown hair and normal non-magical clothes; the name John over the figure.

Figuring that that was a decent name for her new father in this timeline, she watched as the first shadowed figure on the family tree was replaced by John Skywalker; the other figure on top of the tree now glowing.

Tapping on that portrait, it showed off everything she needed for her new mother figure. When she got to the part of a creature inheritance though, she paused. It would be cool to have some sort of super ability or power that an ordinary witch wouldn't have.

Looking up the various mythical creatures she could choose from, she figured that she could at least look at them.

Siren- A race of beautiful women singers that can hypnotize men into doing whatever they wish. Native to Greece, they are not very popular in other parts of the world. +10 singing ability, +10 water manipulation, -10 ministry popularity. Pros: slight allure powers, healing water. Cons: weak against fire.

Curious about ministry popularity, Danielle tapped on the term.

"Ministry popularity is a stat that determines how popular a person or persons are to the magical community as a whole. The higher the stat, the faster they will respond to family emergencies and more sway they have in various government operations. In general, the Ministry does not like magical creatures with very few exceptions and sees them as inferior."

Danielle snorted. That explained why the Malfoys could get away with just about anything while Remus was wasting away after that Halloween night. She looked at some other magical creatures.

Amazon- A race of warrior women living in a completely female oriented society. Prone to violence when provoked, their stature is truly amazing. +15 strength, +10 armor, +10 ranged/close combat weapons, -10 ministry popularity, -10 ettiquite. Please note that an Amazonian warrior is always the dominant one in the relationship with no exceptions.

Smiling at the thought of having a huge muscle bound mother that ordered her husband around for a moment, she passed that option and moved on.

Werewolf- A witch or wizard infected with lycanthropy, the victim is forced to turn into a mindless wolf once a month. While potions may help, there is no cure. +10 strength, -30 ministry popularity. Pros: heightened senses. Cons: loss of sanity once a month.

Danielle shook her head, almost apologizing to Remus as she did so.

Vampire- a drinker of blood and stalker of the night. Both good and bad vampires exist but the lust for blood is strong for both as is the weakness to sunlight. +15 strength, +15 speed, +10 dark magic, +10 transfiguration, -25 ministry popularity. Pros: partial immortality, enhanced senses, shape shifter. Cons: death in sunlight, dependent on blood, weakened by religious items, light magic, and garlic. Please note that the vampire does have a hypnotic stare that could be both good or bad.

Shifter- made popular by the horrible book of Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, the shifter has the power to turn into any one animal of their choice. Animal will always be larger than normal and more powerful. +15 strength, +10 speed, -10 ministry popularity. Pros: enhanced senses, enhanced healing factor, partial immortality. Cons: a dislike of wearing shirts or bras, hair must be kept short to keep hair or fur out of the way. Please note of the dangers of 'imprinting' on someone and becoming their mate for all eternity.

Giant- A race of huge humanoid creatures, the average height is between twenty to twenty-five feet. Half giants will be closer to twelve. +20 strength, +15 spell resistance, +10 care of magical creatures, -20 ministry popularity, -15 ettiquite.

Goblin- A race of diminuative creatures that specialize in mining and forging weapons, recently into banking. Blood thirsty and ready for combat on a moment's notice, finds humor in pain and stupidity in humans. +15 weapon forging, +15 armor forging, +10 blade, -15 ministry popularity, -10 ettiquite. Pros: enhanced senses, enhanced reflexes. Cons: terrible at conversation, hatred of anything not goblin.

Dwarf- A race of diminuative creatures that specialize in mining and forging weapons and armor. A more civilized society than the goblins, their creations tend to look more professional. +5 strength, +15 weapon forging, +15 armor forging, +10 blunt, -10 ministry popularity.

Elementalist-a witch or wizard who has power over a unique element. Includes fire, water, earth, air, lightning, metal, poison, dark, light, etc. +20 specialized element, -30 opposite element. Please note that being surrounded by the element of choice heals while the opposite causes pain.

Veela- A race of beautiful women that specialize in their allure powers. Capable of making men and some women capable of losing their higher brain functions with said powers, they are always stunning to behold. When angry however, full blooded Veela sprout wings, bird like heads, and power over fire. +10 spell resistance, +15 flight, +15 fire magic, +10 sex magic, -15 ministry popularity. Pros: powerful allure, stunningly beautiful, fire magic. Cons: weakness to water, being surrounded by men and some women drooling over allure powers, bisexual.

That explains so much about Fleur, Danielle thought, shaking her head. Confused when she saw that being bisexual was a con, she tapped the window for clarification.

"Being bisexual is perfectly normal among magical creatures and many witches and wizards, however, it also leaves a person vulnerable to the allure power and love potions from both genders."

Danielle shook her head but that did make sense from a certain point of view. She had been bi in her last life but had leaned more toward girls than guys.

House elf- smaller than the high elves, these were all that remained when their cousins left this plane of existence. Specializes in their own brand of magic, the magical world uses them as maids, butlers and servants. +15 house elf magic, -50 Ministry popularity.

Danielle glared at the screen for making house elves that low in that skill. She happened to like Dobby and Winky just fine, thank you.

High elf- The elves of 'The Lord of the Rings' or 'The Inheritance Cycle.' These elves are as tall if not more so than humans and much more graceful. Known as the 'fair folk' even the men are beautiful and both genders are masters of their chosen field. +10 archery, +10 Herbology, +15 strength, +10 speed, +15 Care of Magical Creatures, +10 singing, -15 ministry popularity. Pros: partial immortality, allure power, enhanced senses, night vision, aware of surroundings during sleep, natural at ranged and close combat weapons. Cons: bisexual, pointed ears, love of riddles, increased libido.

The red head blinked. That actually sounded really good. If her mother was a high elf, than she would be as well, along with all the perks. None of the cons were that bad and the few there would be worth it. She grinned as she picked high elf for that slot.

Before she could start the occupation part however, another window popped up. "Warning, you have chosen a powerful creature inheritance. You can either pay for it with the Character points you have, or be forced to pick a flaw."

Danielle scowled but looked over the various flaws, seeing if there was one she could live with. The options included: enemy, cursed, mutant crossbreed, and bad luck.

Mutant crossbreed was right out as it would force her to look like some hideous monster. Cursed forced her to only accept half the number of experience points and skill points than if she hadn't gotten it. Bad luck would force her to constantly be in the wrong place at the wrong time and she had lived with Harry long enough to know that that was out.

Enemy was actually the best option when she tapped on that.

"The enemy flaw gives the character a mortal enemy that aims for the one that has been targeted. All enemies are ranked between 1 to 10 in levels of difficulty. Lord Voldemort being the enemy of Harry Potter is the best example with Voldemort being a level 9 enemy. Picking this flaw will give the main character an enemy of a random difficulty level. Once defeated however, the main character does not have to worry about it anymore."

Danielle grimaced but figured that this was the best option overall. She did want the enhanced senses, speed and strength of an elf and figured she could try to defeat this enemy. Hopefully they wouldn't be a high level.

She nodded for her approval and the game dinged. "Too bad, you now have an enemy. Irene the child killer, level 4. Hope you can defeat her."

Danielle gulped but nodded, just glad that she didn't get someone as bad as Voldemort as a personal enemy. Of course, now that she wasn't going to be a Potter in this life, the Dark Lord wouldn't be targeting her this time.

Once that was done, she gave her new mother the career of Herbologist and Potion master. That career would have cost her if her mother was pure human but it was just within the limits of it being free if she was half high elf. That would make Danielle quarter elf but she would still get the benefits.

Done with her new mother figure, the shadowy outline of the character changed to an attractive woman who looked like she was in her early twenties. She had the same dark red hair that she had with barely visible pointed ears poking out. The name Rachel Skywalker appeared on the bottom half of the picture.

Danielle smiled, liking that the game had made up some excuse for her dark red hair even if she wasn't the daughter of Lily Potter in this life. Now that her parents were done the shadowed figure under them showed a picture of her when she was eight years old. She figured that the game would officially start when she was that age.

Seeing a symbol for more family members she tapped that and looked over the various options for immediate family living in their house. Smirking, she picked the sister option and tapped it twice, giving herself two sisters. Next to her symbol appeared two others that looked like twin girls about the age of seven named Amanda and Roxanne Skywalker.

Nodding that she now had two younger twin sisters, she saw that Amanda had the same shade of dark red hair that she had while Roxanne had their father's brown. Shrugging it off, she noticed that all three sisters had the same pointed ears. She tapped done.

Another window popped up with a ding. "Excellent. Now, choose the area you would like to live." A map of Britain followed and she sweat dropped. Thinking it over for a moment, she shrugged and typed in Private Drive, Surrey.

The map zoomed into that area and showed off a house that she hadn't noticed in her last life. While it was still on Private Drive, it was down the street so it was partially in the country. A large farm style house with a huge backyard was shown that was filled with trees, a swing set, and even a kennel that her father would be able to work as a dog breeder.

She nodded, figuring that it was perfect. She was close enough to Number 4 so she would go to the same Primary school as Harry and keep an eye on him and for him to visit her. They might not be siblings anymore but she still had the same family protectiveness she had back in her last life.

Tapping the continue button, the window vanished and another appeared with a ding. "You have finished with the customization, congratulations! Now, it's time for you to start the tutorial level, enjoy!"

Danielle watched as everything around her went black.

XXXXXX

With a groan, Danielle woke up from the dream she had been having and sat up, rubbing her face. She had been seeing the strangest things, her life as a video game? How does that happen?

Opening her eyes, she noticed that her hands were much smaller than they used to be and she didn't recognize the bed. Eyes widening, she slowly looked over the room and realized that she was much shorter than she had been a little while ago. Scrambling out of bed, she rushed over to a mirror that hung over a vanity and looked at herself.

While most of her features were the same, she was definitely younger. She had lost the teenage curves to be replaced with childhood cuteness. Running her fingers through her hair however showed off her ears, which were pointed.

Groaning, she realized that it hadn't been a dream. Taking a closer look at herself she noticed a few more differences. Her eyes were slightly slanted, giving her a more exotic look, her nose was more petite than it had been, and her skin seemed to almost glow in the low sunlight of her room.

Releasing a breath she hadn't known she was holding, she instantly started thinking of what she was going to do now. Her first mission was to protect Harry and defeat Voldemort, of course, but knew it wasn't going to be that easy.

Curiously, she opened up her character sheet to see her stats.

**Danielle Skywalker Level 0, Age eight. 30/30 hit points.**

**Stats**

Strength: 16

Constitution: 6

Speed: 13

Agility: 8

Intelligence: 7

Wisdom: 3

**Abilities**

Archery: 10

Care of magical creatures: 15

Herbology: 10

Singing: 10

Ministry Popularity: -15

Not bad, all things considered for just starting out. Looking them up, she saw that constitution was one's stamina and the higher the stat, the more hit points she had before she died. Intelligence was her common sense and affected her non-magical knowledge while wisdom affected magical knowledge. Abilities were the various skills she had at the moment and they capped at one hundred.

Looking at the clock, she saw why she was so sleepy, it was only five in the morning. That raised another question actually, what was the date? She knew she was the same age as Harry but was it summer?

Sighing, she looked around for some clothes to put on when there was a quiet knock on the door. Curious, she went over to the door and opened it to reveal Amanda and Roxanne, her two sisters.

"Sis," said Amanda, the older one as she looked at her with puppy dog eyes. "We couldn't sleep after we woke up."

Roxanne nodded, "yeah. Want to do something?"

Danielle figured that if anything, she could learn more about her new sisters. Sitting down on the bed, she gestured for the two girls to come in, causing them to run in and jump on the bed.

Smirking, she allowed herself to fall back onto the blanket, playfully almost 'hitting' them on her way down. Amanda and Roxanne giggled as they cuddled together. Danielle sighed softly, thinking that she could get used to this, the playing and spending time with family.

"Good thing that school is out," Amanda muttered as she played with Danielle's dark red hair.

The sun suddenly got a lot brighter and illuminated the room better. It was like time was on fast forward and what had been very early morning was now seven O'clock. A perfectly respectful time to wake up and start the day.

Danielle shook her head at that just in time for the door to open to reveal a woman that looked to be in her early twenties. She had dark red hair, forest green eyes, and a figure to die for. She was wearing an emerald green bathrobe and not that surprised the three sisters were together.

Realizing that this was Rachel, her new mother figure in this life, she remained silent as Rachel grinned at the three girls on the bed. "Honestly, not even seven in the morning and you three are together. Well, come on down for breakfast. Your father made your favorites in celebration of starting another summer."

Amanda and Roxanne cheered at that and ran down out of the door and down the stairs. Danielle blinked and mentally thanked whoever designed this game for telling her what the timeline was. If it was summer, that meant that school had ended and this body had just graduated the third grade in primary school. She would be joining Harry in fourth grade in September.

Getting down to the kitchen, sure enough, all four other members of her new family were sitting around the table. Jonathan was sitting at the head of the table, reading a copy of the Daily Prophet. Amanda and Roxanne were beside the other, eating and talking in low voices. Rachel was cooking and setting down another couple of plates.

Sitting down on the only chair left and opposite the sisters, she started thinking that this was what family life should be.

Another window popped up with a ding when Rachel gave her a plate of food. "While food can be eaten to restore your health, just touching it does the same and doesn't remove the food from the plate. Keeping the food where it is allows you to keep going back to heal if you need it but actually eating the food is the only way to advance the plot."

Nodding, she ate the food in front of her, knowing that it was the only way to continue. This was only a tutorial level, she was sure there would be other ways to heal herself if she needed it.

Noticing that all the food on the various plates were vegetarian, she did remember reading somewhere that no elf likes eating meat. That did sound interesting, wondering if a new lifestyle could help her out here.

When breakfast was over, which was right after she was done, a golden exclamation mark appeared over her father's head. Looking at her mother and sisters, they continued to do what they were doing, completely ignoring it. Shrugging, she approached her father.

"Ah, Danielle. Since we just moved here, it might be a good idea to explore the neighborhood a little. What do you say?"

Before she could answer, a ding sounded and a window appeared. "You have been given a quest! Quests are missions that can be either required to continue the story, or the optional ones for special rewards. Gold missions are worth the most with silver behind that and bronze as the lowest. The harder the quest, the greater the reward. For this quest, you may explore Private Drive as much as you wish. The quest is over when you go to sleep in your room. Enjoy!"

All she had to do was explore? Done!

Going up to her room, she saw that there was a glowing book on her desk that she hadn't seen before. Picking it up, she saw it was an instruction manual for the game she was in. Frowning, she tried something. "Save game."

"Game saved."

Yeah, that was going to get some getting used to. Flipping through the pages, she found that since she was a video game character, she could die multiple times and each time she did, she could load the save game from the last place she saved. She did have to put on clothes for this mission though.

Moving to her wardrobe, she found a bunch of various kinds of clothes that all had various stats on them. "Inventory."

Her inventory screen showed off everything she owned and that included all of her clothes. Seeing that all of her clothes could be put on by dragging them onto her 3D body, she put on some underwear that increased her defense stat. It wasn't much but it was better than nothing. All of her clothes had the same kind of stats. Some increased her personality while others boosted defense or offense.

She finally got dressed in some jeans and a t-shirt that boosted her defense and personality a bit along with some shoes that increased some offensive power for physical attacks.

Walking out the front door, she watched as the sun rose higher before settling on a time that looked to be about ten or eleven. Shrugging again, she headed into the town of Little Winging, knowing the entire town layout already from her previous life. Seeing a little mini-map in her upper vision, she noticed that it was a map of the area that moved as she did. So far, most of the buildings were grayed out with only her own home glowing a faint blue light, indicating that she could enter.

Running a little down the sidewalk, she noticed that a stamina bar appeared near the bottom of her vision and slowly started to fall into the red. Slowing to a walk, she watched as the bar started to refill before running again.

Getting into a groove, she ran, let the bar refill itself, than ran again.

"Ding, your agility has increased by 1."

Danielle rolled her eyes, that had taken twenty minutes to do and she was now standing in the park near Number 4. It was the same park that she and Harry got in trouble near during the summer before fifth year thanks to some dementors.

Now that she was in the park, she noticed a bronze exclamation point was hovering near a tree. Tapping on it, it showed off the mission.

"Side quest! Rabid squirrel! A killer squirrel is harassing the local kids, it's up to you to stop it. Do you accept?"

No sooner than Danielle nod her consent when a large snarl got her attention. Turning, she just managed to see a huge killer squirrel the size of a pit bull coming after her, foam dripping from its mouth. Screaming, she held the first weapon she could find, which was a stick, and moved to the side, dodging the killer rodent. Quickly acting, she plunged the large stick into the side of her enemy and watched as it hissed in displeasure.

Grabbing another tree branch this time, she whacked the squirrel as hard as she could before stabbing it over and over with the pointy end. The squirrel finally stopped moving and she sat down in exhaustion.

"Ding, you completed your quest! You gained 10 experience points. Would you like to loot the body? If the body is glowing, that means you can take something from it."

The squirrel didn't really have anything worth taking, just a few acorns that she figured she could throw at something. She took back the long stick she had used and pulled up her armory. Sure enough, the stick had an attack power of one when equipped with the same as the acorns with a throwing skill.

Looking up her stats, she groaned as she saw she was at level zero. To get to level one, she would need ninety more experience points. Putting away her stat sheet, she saw that now that the squirrel quest was done, the grass was full of softly glowing plants. Perking an eyebrow, she plucked one of the flowers.

"Ding, acquired Dandelion."

Watching as it vanished into her inventory, she smirked and started getting to work, picking all the plants in the park. What must have been two hours later, she finally finished. She didn't feel tired at all, even though she should be. For her work though, she got one hundred dandelions, one hundred fifty bits of clover, and one hundred various kinds of acorns and rocks. She also got quite a few points of herbology for working with so many plants.

"Ding, you are a picking fool. Acquired the shovel of Hufflepuff!"

Smiling, she pulled up her inventory and saw that she now had a shovel with a badger on it. It apparently had an attack of ten and boosted her herbology skills by five when equipped.

Nodding, she had to admit that her pathetic armory needed to get filled in. She only had a shovel, a stick, a few rocks and some acorns. Yeah, she needed more weapons and fast. Especially if this was a video game and she was going to be fighting monsters on a regular basis.

Finding a gold exclamation point in the center of the park, she tapped on it. "Ding, Harry hunting! Dodge Dudley and his gang for ten minutes without him catching you to succeed. If you are caught, it's game over."

"Hey look, new meat!"

Danielle turned to see an eight year old Dudley Dursley and his gang members. Piers, Malcom and Gordon looked to be as big and stupid now as she remembered. As soon as Dudley had shouted at her, a timer set to ten minutes, which had started ticking down already, appeared in front of her eyes.

Figuring she would have to run, she turned and sprinted in the opposite direction she had seen them in. Turning around, she was glad that Dudley and his gang were slower than she was with her enhanced speed, but her stamina bar was dropping like crazy. Sighing, she jumped up and into a nearby tree.

Chuckling, she watched as her stamina bar started to refill and the rabid bullies who were just denied their treat of beating up the new kid. In all fairness, she could probably take them all on and win, but she didn't want to risk it until she went up a few levels.

"Hiding from them?"

Turning, her heart almost stopped at seeing an eight year old Harry Potter in the tree with her. Despite him being a computer program in this life, he looked just like he had back when he was eight in her last life. Actually, he looked smaller and skinnier this time. Looking back, she figured that if it was only him in the house, as opposed to both of them, the Dursleys could do a lot more to him.

"Yeah, they want the new kid," she said, pointing to the bullies now circling the tree like sharks. She suddenly grinned and pulled out her acorns. "Want to try some target practice?"

Harry looked between the acorns, Dudley and his gang, and back again before he grabbed half of the acorns. "Done."

Danielle laughed as they started throwing the acorns. She had picked up a lot of them so they didn't have to worry about her running out any time soon. At first, her aim was horrible, every shot flying wide or missing entirely. Then, she slowly got better and her aim was getting closer to hitting its mark.

Pulling up her stat sheet for a moment, she saw she had gained a few points in throwing weapons. Acorns counted as weapons? Weird. But they had been sorted into her armory so she guessed it made a small amount of sense.

As she continued to throw, and her points were increasing, they actually started hitting her targets. They didn't do much damage and she wished she could see their health bar but she was doing damage. Harry was beside her, having the time of his life as he threw the acorns and rocks as well.

One of the rocks hit Piers and he went down, not getting up again. Frowning, she pulled her damage log and saw that the rock had hit Piers in a critical hit, effectively dropping his health bar to zero and killing him. She wanted to feel bad about that but remembered that he was creepy in her last life, and had tried to hit on her a few times. Shrugging, she kept it up, seeing the damage rack up.

The timer finally stopped and Dudley and his gang, minus a now dead Piers, vanished as quickly as they had appeared.

"Thanks for that," said Harry as they climbed out of the tree. He looked at Peirs's body. "What do we do with him?"

Danielle shrugged, seeing that the body was glowing. Looting it gave her about fifteen pounds in money, a lighter, and what she identified as a switchblade.

With a ding, another window popped up. "Congratulations for avoiding Dudley and his gang! Gained 30 experience points. Gained 10 character points for succeeding the mission."

"Save game."

"Game saved."

She looked back at Harry, who didn't seem to notice that Piers's body had vanished after she had looted it. "So, I just got here, what's to do in Little Whinging?" she asked, knowing that there wasn't much.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I really don't get out of the house much. I really just hang around the neighborhood."

"So, you live with your aunt and uncle?" she asked, knowing the answer but since she was supposed to be new to the neighborhood, it made sense to ask.

Harry nodded. "Oh, sorry, I didn't introduce myself. Harry Potter."

Danielle smiled. "Danielle Skywalker. You going anywhere Harry?"

Harry shrugged. "I should get home at Number 4, my aunt and uncle don't like it when I'm out amongst the neighbors too much. See you around?"

Danielle nodded, "Yeah, I live in number 20 down the street," shaking his hand as he turned to walk off. She really wanted to help him, but couldn't see how without exposing herself. Sighing, she made to explore some more.

She started running until her stamina bar was almost at zero, walking until it refilled, than ran again. It took longer each time, but her stamina was getting better, she was gaining points. Wanting to try something, she made a flying jump and landed in a neighbor's backyard.

It was a grayed out house, meaning she couldn't enter, so she was impressed that she could get into the backyard, even if there wasn't much around. Curious, she looked at the back door and saw that it was painted on!

She had seen people walking in the streets but they had totally ignored her, like she wasn't even there. She had even waved her hand in front of one guy and he still didn't seem to notice.

Now she was standing in the backyard of a house she didn't even know could hold people inside. Smirking, she checked her map and sure enough, all the houses on this side of the street were grayed out. Getting a running head start, she started jumping over the various fences.

As it turned out, it had been sheer luck she had managed it the first time. Since her acrobatics skill was only at one now, she stumbled, tripped, and crashed into the fence headfirst. Dazed, she got to her feet, frowned, and pulled out her stat sheet. The fall wasn't that bad but her total of thirty hit points was now at twenty-nine.

Getting a new strategy, she backed up to the other end of the backyard. "Save game."

"Game saved."

She ran for the fence and tried to jump over it again but she tripped again and landed hard against a cement birdbath.

"Load save game."

She blinked when she saw she was back when she was when she saved. Smirking she tried again and again to jump over the fence, loading the save game every time she failed.

By some miracle, she managed to jump over the fence on her twentieth try. "Yeah!" Looking at her character sheet, her acrobatics had increased by one. After exploring the other empty backyard, she saved the game and tried to jump the fence again, crashing face first into the wood.

This could take awhile.

What felt like hours later she had managed to get from one end of the street to the other and back again by running and jumping. Her acrobatics skill had increased to 40 and she wasn't crashing anymore but it didn't seem to be going up any longer.

Repeating the process on the other side of the street, she didn't find much other than a golden snitch in Number 5's backyard. Standing on a garden shed, she had finally managed to catch it after it had darted around for about ten minutes. She wasn't a seeker, that much she was sure.

"Ding. Congratulations for catching a snitch! 1/200 obtained. One cheat is obtained for every five snitches you catch."

"Stupid game," she grumbled. She didn't even get to keep the snitch!

Walking around town, she was curious that the sun hadn't changed position at all. It was like time was frozen until she was complete with this portion of the game. Seeing the mailman coming down the street, she ducked down to avoid him on a whim.

"Ding. Welcome to the world of stealth. Crouching down enters you into sneak mode where people might not spot you. Remember that this is an important skill if you don't want to get caught in places you are not supposed to go."

Nodding, figuring it might come in handy, she crouched down and followed the mailman on his route. Taking a step forward in sneak mode however made her step on a rubber duck that appeared out of nowhere. Looking around, she saw that no one had noticed. Taking another step caused her to make a loud honking noise when she pressed down on a honky horn.

Figuring that this was how all skills started, with her terrible at it until she kept doing it, she kept it up. An hour later, the mail man was done with his route and she had managed to get her sneak skill up to 35. She didn't make any noise when she went into sneak mode after the first ten points she gained but it didn't get any higher by following a person that didn't know he was being stalked.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

Wondering which way to go now, Danielle shrugged and decided to look at the Surrey primary school. Looking at the mini-map, she noticed that since it was summer, the school was glowing red. Smirking, she easily made the twenty minute walk to the school, having fun by making funny faces and pretending to attack the random people in the street. The only one who gave her an odd look was Mrs. Figg as she passed by her house.

Cracking her neck slightly, she found the school. She made it perhaps ten feet away from the front door when a bush moved, getting her attention. There was a blur and the next thing she knew, she was waking up in the room with the pixilated Hogwarts.

"What was that?" she shouted. Of course, nobody answered. Sighing she opened her battle log and found that she had been attacked by whoever was in the bush and had done a total of 129 points of damage against her. And it wasn't even a critical hit!

The worse thing was that the attacker was Irene the child killer.

Danielle growled slightly. Of course she was attacked by some psycho bitch who apparently had it out for her. And lying low at the school, waiting for her? That was…actually pretty smart.

Figuring that she needed some plan on this, she tried to come up with something. "Load saved game."

She blinked as she appeared beside Number 4 again. Making her way back to the school, she found the bush Irene had hid in before and equipped her shovel and the switchblade she got from Piers's dead body. Weapons in both hands, she threw the switchblade into the right bush and when she heard a grunt of pain, she attacked with her shovel.

All she saw was some hint of blonde hair and a jet of spell light before she woke up in the main menu again.

"Bloody Hell!"

According to the battle log, she had been decapitated by a cutting curse and the switchblade had only done about twenty points of damage, not enough to kill anyone other than a toddler.

Figuring that that was a bust, she decided she needed some better stuff. "Load saved game."

In front of Number 4 again, this time she went back home with a purpose. Jumping over the fence into her backyard, she started looking for anything that might help. She had a new mother who was a high elf! There had to be something that would help. She wanted this stupid enemy dealt with already. Her mini-map was going crazy when she got to the back of the yard, for some reason. Curious, she looked at several rocks on the corner of the backyard, that was really strange for being here.

According to the map, there was something special about this strange rock formation but she had no idea what it was. Curious, she stepped forward and touched the stone formation.

_'Welcome seeker! Beyond this point is the portal to untold riches! Answer me truthfully and I will grant you passage.'_

Danielle was skeptical that a rock was talking to her but she had seen strange stuff in her life of magic and this was a video game.

"What must I do?"

_'Do you want riches and treasure for yourself, or to help those you love?'_

Danielle thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Both. I am selfish enough to want treasure for myself but I will use it to help my loved ones as much as I can. I will use all of my power to help people I care about, but for others, I don't particularly care."

The rock formation seemed to consider that for a moment.

_"You tell the truth. You do not sugarcoat your intentions and do plan on helping as many people as you can. But only those you love and no others.'_ The voice paused. _'Proceed. You may bring as many others as you wish.'_

Danielle nodded and the stone formation suddenly shook, rocking the entire backyard. The rocks then split apart to reveal a large hole with steps leading downward.

"Wow! What is that?"

Turning around, she saw Amanda and Roxanne hurrying out of the house. They were both wearing simple summer dresses and sandels.

"A portal to whimsy and wonder," Danielle deadpanned. She laughed at their stunned faces. "No, I actually think this is a dungeon or something."

"Ooh," said Amanda as she examined the stone steps. "With treasure at the end and monsters guarding it?"

"That sounds scary," Roxanne said, looking at the cave entrance nervously. "What happens if it's too dangerous?"

Danielle paused. They should have something to heal them or something if they were going into a potentially dangerous cave.

"Where's mum and dad?"

"Mum is out of the house for something and dad is doing some paperwork," said Amanda. She turned to her twin sister. "Come on Roxy! You have to admit this is cool!"

"I agree with you there," said Roxanne, her hands up in a surrendering motion. "I just think we should be careful if we're going down there."

"Do you know if mum and dad have any healing potions or something?" Danielle asked.

Roxanne nodded. "Yeah. Mum's always making some just in case we get injured by something. I'll run in and get them." She ran back into the house.

Amanda snorted but sat down on one of the rocks to wait. "Such a 'fraidy cat."

"You have to admit," said Danielle to her younger sister. "Those potions might save our lives though."

Amanda rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. Danielle thought for a moment before she opened up her armory and pulled out her switchblade.

"Here." She handed it to the other red head. "Just in case you need something to defend yourself with."

Amanda nodded and grinned, watching as the blade extend out of the handle. "What are you going to use?"

"I got a weapon, don't worry," said Danielle, smirking. She looked and saw that Roxanne was back, holding various vials of healing potions.

"These should help," she said, handing them to her eldest sister. Danielle nodded and put them into her inventory, figuring it would be the safest place to put them.

"Thanks. Here, take these just in case," she gave her the rocks she had collected. "You see something, throw those right away. Okay?"

Roxanne nodded, smiling. She had always been more of a long range fighter anyway.

With a ding, a window popped up. "Amanda and Roxanne joined your party! Be warned, though. While exploring as a group is easier, the gathered experience is divided amongst the members of the group. If you want to see the character sheet of someone other than you, just say 'character sheet' and that person's name."

Figuring that this was a good way of splitting the experience and getting some treasure at the same time, she gestured for the other two to follow her into the cavern. The stone steps led to a short hallway that led into a medium sized 'room.' The cave was fairly large and had about six other passageways they could go. Only one way was free though, the one with a large Roman numeral one over it. The others were also numbered and had iron bars over the entrances, preventing anyone going that way.

Seeing that there was only one way forward, she paused. "Save game."

"Game saved."

She turned to the other two. "Okay, looks like this is the only way forward," she pointed at the only unbarred path. "Last chance to back out."

Amanda grinned and shook her head. Roxanne looked slightly nervous but tried to be brave for her sisters and shook her head as well. Pulling up her inventory, Danielle equipped her Hufflepuff shovel and walked through the first gate.

It didn't take long to realize that the gate led into what was essentially a maze. The walls around them were twisting and turning underground passageways that were lit with flaming torches. The only thing that prevented them from getting lost was the mini-map in her upper left hand vision. Of course, it only showed what they had already uncovered but it was a great way to prevent themselves from getting lost or turned around.

Nothing came out at them until they were about fifty feet when they encountered the nasty…flobberworm.

Out the ground sprouted a thick brown worm about a foot long. It didn't do anything other than squirm around.

"That's it?" asked Amanda, sounding annoyed. "I was expecting something good!"

"Don't say that!" said Roxanne, looking around.

A sudden buzzing got their attention and about four or five doxies showed up out of nowhere. Doxies looked like fairies but they were covered in thick dark hair over their bodies and an extra pair of arms and legs. They were also poisonous.

As the doxies were busy fighting over the flobberworm, Danielle got her shovel ready before nodding to her sisters.

All three ready, Roxanne started by throwing a few rocks at the doxies. It didn't hit any but it did get their attention.

"Keep working on that, Roxy," said Danielle as the mutant fairies flew at them. "Come on Amanda!"

With an almighty banging noise, the shovel of Hufflepuff crashed into one of the doxies and knocked it out of the air and into one of the walls. Danielle was trying to play tank for the party as she started attacking the doxies with Amanda acting as support and Roxy as rearguard.

One of the doxies flew at Amanda but a rock to the face knocked it off its course so the younger red head could slash at it with her knife. The doxie was cut completely in half and landed in a bloody heap.

Danielle was swinging her shovel around and managed to cut another doxie in half before slamming the metal spade on the last one's head, knocking it to the ground.

"Heck yeah!" shouted Amanda, not bothered by the blood and guts of the doxies. "That was fun!"

Roxanne gave a weak smile. "It actually was."

Figuring that this was a good idea what fighting was going to be in this game, Danielle picked up the dead doxies and put them into her inventory. The game didn't prevent it and she might be able to do something with them. Their bodies hadn't been glowing or anything so they hadn't been carrying an item like the squirrel or Piers had.

Going through the maze, the three of them defeated minor monsters every couple hundred feet. They ran into another group of doxies and even a small squadron of garden gnomes. That fight had been embarrassing as one of the stupid gnomes had bitten her on the ankle before Amanda could kill it.

"We need better gear," said Roxanne as Danielle finished treating her wound. "Standard clothes won't cut it if we run into something really bad down here."

Amanda nodded. "Yeah. But I'm wondering how this even got here in the first place. A huge underground maze system under our backyard?"

"Hopefully there won't be anything too bad at the end," said Danielle, her ankle good as new from the healing draught she drank. Her hit points had dropped from thirty down to ten after that attack and she really didn't want to die.

They ran into a few dead ends before reaching a staircase that led farther down into the maze. What they were not expecting was for them to show up in what seemed to be a huge underground arena. The seats were empty but the gates on the other end of the arena opened to reveal their opponent.

"Here comes the boss, huh?" muttered Danielle.

The gates closed again to show that their opponent was…

"Oh, cute!" shouted Roxanne. "A bunny!"

The rabbit looked more like those cartoon rabbits that stood on their hind legs all the time but it clearly looked real. The excited brunette ran toward the rabbit before the other two could stop her.

"Roxy!"

The rabbit had looked at the small girl running at it, summoned a carrot out of nowhere, and threw it Roxanne at a blindingly fast speed.

The surprised elf girl quickly ducked and dodged the carrot but was then kicked in the ribs by the rabbit, shooting her back toward the other two.

"Ow."

Danielle sighed and pulled out one of their healing draughts. "Did you learn anything, Roxy?"

The brunette groaned as she drank the potion. "Rabbits are vicious."

"Good enough, I guess."

Amanda and Danielle prepared their weapons, which apparently meant that the rabbit was supposed to attack as it jumped into the air and started summoning and throwing large carrots at them.

Both girls were forced to jump behind the various rocks behind the arena.

"What is up with this bunny?" asked Amanda as she ducked under yet another flying vegetable.

"Beats me," said Danielle. "But it's going down."

She got out from behind the rock she had taken cover behind and doing her best at beating away the carrots. It would have almost impossible if she were human, but being quarter high elf in this universe gave her the speed needed.

A large rock was thrown from her right and bonked the rabbit on the head, dazing it slightly. That was all it took for Amanda to come out of nowhere and stab it with the switchblade.

The rabbit flailed around for a bit but Amanda cut off its head and it was instantly still.

"Ding. Amanda, Roxanne and Danielle all leveled up! Reached level one! Gained 15 extra hit points and 20 stamina."

Danielle breathed a sigh in relief. "Wow. That was a harder fight than I thought we would have to do."

Amanda and Roxanne nodded. "Got that right." Amanda grinned and made her way to the now open far gates in the arena. "Now let's see what we found!"

Danielle and Roxy both snickered slightly and they ran after their sister, Danielle putting the two pieces of the rabbit into her inventory. The gates led into a medium sized room that held several treasure chests.

"Now this is what I'm talking about," said Amanda as she tried to open the chests.

The chests they found contained three glowing books, a large gemstone, and a hunting bow.

Danielle grinned at the bow. "Okay, this is my main weapon for now."

The bow fit just right in her hand and looked perfect for her.

"Unknown magical bow acquired. Unknown gemstone acquired. Would you like to use magical detection?"

Danielle frowned. Magical detection? Figuring that that would be easier with a save feature, which she didn't have in the main part of the mazes, she left that for later. A button on the wall getting their attention now, Danielle got closer.

"Push for instant transport to backyard?" That was handy.

"Push the button Max!" shouted Amanda, causing all three of them to laugh.

Shrugging, she pushed the button and they were suddenly standing in the backyard, right outside the entrance. "Now that is handy. Save game."

"Game saved."

She held out the gemstone. "Detect."

"Detect failed."

She growled. "Detect."

"Detect failed. Gained one point of magical detection."

"Save game."

"Game saved."

"Detect."

"Critical failure. Item lost."

"Load saved game. Detect."

Danielle kept doing that over and over again, saving after every point she got in magical detection and loading if the gem got destroyed.

Finally, she got it. "Success. Acquired gemstone of the wealthy."

She looked it up and found that it had no real purpose, she could just sell it for a decent price. "Save game."

"Game saved."

She picked up the bow. "Detect."

"Critical failure. Bow destroyed. Gained one point in magical detection."

"Load saved game. Detect."

"Acquired Hunting Bow of Power. +4 strength when equipped."

"That's useful. Save game."

"Game saved."

She didn't make it two steps in any direction when the ground suddenly shook, the sky darkened slightly, and a giant statue shot out of the ground in the center of the backyard. As soon as the statue was fully out and standing like it had for years, the sky went back to normal.

"Ding, you have unlocked a sacred alter! Whenever you have anything to sacrifice to the goddess of the alter, you could obtain rare objects. Be sure to stock up on things to sacrifice before going."

Danielle made her way to the statue and found that it was indeed an alter. She didn't recognize the goddess but it didn't seem evil or anything. Shrugging, she pulled out the ten or so dead doxies from her inventory, placed them on the alter, and looked at the options. There was an option for temporarily boosting one of her stats, or turning whatever was on it into an item.

Choosing the item option, she watched as the doxies started to glow before turning into a quiver with arrows in them.

"Oh hell yes!" She grabbed the quiver.

"Unknown quiver acquired."

"Save game. Detect."

"Detect failed."

"Detect."

This went on for a bit before finding that the quiver held ten poisoned arrows that were charmed to only injure monsters. Nodding, she did the same to the gnomes she had collected and found that they turned into a simple wooden shield. Figuring that that could come in handy, she put that into her inventory and threw on the remains of the carrot throwing rabbit. The pieces of the rabbit strangely turned into a vest that boosted Herbology when worn.

"Stupid game. Save game."

"Game saved."

She turned to her sisters. "What do you want to do?"

Amanda smirked. "I want to explore some more!"

Roxanne shrugged. "I guess whatever you want to do."

"Looks like it's more monster hunting for us then," Danielle nodded. "Let's go."

Some weapon swapping later showed Amanda with the shovel, Roxanne with the knife and shield while she used the bow. If she only had ten arrows though, that might cause a problem as she had no idea how to make more or what materials she had to make them. She sighed, she needed to find some way to use magic.

Frowning, she pulled up her character sheet and selected known spells, wondering if she had any. Sure enough, other than some very basic levitation magic, there wasn't anything there that could help. Remembering the glowing books she had gotten, she pulled one out of her inventory.

"Ding. You got some skill books. Skill books are books that instantly boost one of your skills by a few points and are a great way to learn new skills at the same time."

Danielle opened the first book.

"Ding. Gained 3 blasting magic."

The second and third books were equally as good.

"Gained 3 general magic. Gained 2 potions. Learned basic potion recipes."

"Hmm." She brought up her inventory again and found that they were down to their last two healing potions. That, and she was sure that the monsters would be slightly stronger this time. "Roxy, does mum have a cauldron?"

She nodded. "Yeah, she is a potion's mistress. Duh!"

"Right, sorry." She was still getting used to having a mother figure. "Let's go make some basic healing potions if we can. Just to be on the safe side."

Amanda groaned but they still made their way to the house and snuck into their mother's potion lab. Getting a cauldron, she opened her skill list to potions.

This was way too easy, even for a video game. All she had to do was throw in the ingredients and if her skill was high enough, it would work. Looking up the basic healing potion, she found she had enough ingredients for about half a dozen vials of the stuff. If she had better ingredients, she could boost them to heal more but she didn't have any.

The first two tries resulted in minor failures. Her skill hadn't decreased but it hadn't risen either when one of her attempts actually create a rubber duck at the bottom of the cauldron. How had that happened?

The other four tries were successes though and put them into her inventory, glad that her potions skill had risen by a couple of points. The only other potion she had the recipe for was for a minor blasting elixir but she didn't have the Asphodel root for it.

Making their way back to the cave, they nodded and went into the 'reception' area again.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

"Let's go."

When they entered the cave with the Roman numeral II over it, Danielle blinked. Instead of a typical cave like the last one, they had somehow found themselves in a forest glen. The trees on either side of the path were too thick to go around, so they were stuck following the trail.

"Well, this is different."

"Got that right," said Amanda, looking around. "Wonder what we'll see here."

The mechanics worked the same as they had the first time around and Danielle saw that the map filled in the farther they went. Amanda seemed all too happy to lead the way with her shovel and took out a few minor trees and shrubs blocking their way. After a few minutes of thought, Danielle broke the tree branches of the small shrubs and a few lying on the ground and put them into her inventory. One never knew what could come in handy at some point.

The first 'monster' they saw was when they heard a Diracrawl honking as it came out from the tree line. They were a fluffy bodied bird that the non-magical population thought to be a Dodo bird. While not dangerous, they could teleport from one place to another like a phoenix.

Danielle smirked as she pulled the other two back, drawing out her bow. Setting an arrow on the string, she pulled back and let it fly. It turned out that her archery skill was high enough to hit the diracrawl without it vanishing on her and it slumped down dead.

"Nice shot," said Amanda, taking a look.

The bird didn't have anything worth taking and she stuffed the body in her inventory to sacrifice later. The next monster they ran across was a huge spider that caused Roxy to scream, panic, and thrust her knife through its head. Angry, the spider attacked again but the terrified girl beat it to death her shield and knife.

Amanda had to restrain her so she wouldn't start pulverizing the corpse.

Danielle took a look. "Hmm. Not an Aclumantula, but still a huge spider." She shrugged and found that it had dropped some leather. She stuffed both that and the spider's body into her inventory. After Roxy calmed down somewhat, they continued.

Various battles later saw them with quite a lot of feathers and leather, as well as the bodies of the monsters they killed. Not only that, but Danielle was also thinking that they needed wands or some other focus item and wood from the trees would hopefully work along with the various creature parts. She idly wondered what a Fwooper feather wand could do.

When they finally reached the staircase, they took it down only to find that another maze was on the floor below them. Figuring that this was a harder monster filled labrynth, it made sense that they would have farther to go before reaching the end. She looked at the sky and was confused that even though they went down a floor, the sun was still shining above them.

Figuring that it had something to do with being in a game, she was just glad that neither Amanda nor Roxy had noticed.

Taking a few steps forward, they encountered a rabbit, just like the one they had killed at the end of the first maze, but it had a heart over it.

"Huh?" With a ding, a window popped up.

"Capturing animals and monsters. Every now and then you will find a magical creature that you can capture and raise as a pet. Simply say 'capture' and depending on your skill in Care of Magical Creatures, you may find the beast as your new best friend. There is even a pet arena accessible from the main menu where you can battle your pet against others for various prizes."

"Nice." She turned to her sisters. "Change of plans. We're going to capture the rabbit."

Roxy's eyes widened in a huge smile, "really! Can I have him? Please?"

"Sure. But first we have to catch him. Amanda, prevent it from going anywhere but don't actually kill it. Roxy, block any of its attacks with your shield. I'll try to capture it."

Luckily, neither girl questioned her and they got to work. Roxy focused on blocking with the shield every time the rabbit jumped at her or threw a carrot at her.

"Capture."

"Capture failed."

Danielle growled as the rabbit almost hit Roxy. "Capture."

"Capture failed."

"Capture!"

"Capture successful. Unnamed rabbit transported to kennel in backyard. Would you like to name it?"

"Thumper!" Roxy yelled, not caring if it was a male or female rabbit.

Danielle laughed as she entered the name into the keyboard the game provided for her. With a ding, the rabbit was named after the one from the Disney movie Bambi.

"Shall we?" asked Amanda, slightly annoyed that they had waited around for so long. The other two sisters wisely nodded and they continued deeper into the maze. Ten minutes later, Danielle had just shot a rabid looking owl coming right at her when there was a ding.

"Well done. Amanda, Roxanne, and Danielle have grown to level 2! Gained 15 more hit points and 20 more stamina."

Reaching the next staircase, the three descended the steps and found themselves in the same boss fight arena they had fought the rabbit the last time. The only difference was when a large wooden golem came out from the other side of the arena.

"This might be tricky," Danielle muttered to the other two. They both nodded, slightly scared of the man-made monster.

The golem moved forward with a surprising speed for such a large creation and the three of them scattered. Annoyed, the golem shrugged it off and charged at Roxanne, who was closest.

Amanda came to the rescue and whacked the golem hard in the head with the shovel, but it didn't do much other than irritate it.

Working quickly, Danielle brought up her inventory and brought out a wooden tree branch. Taking out the lighter she had gotten from Piers's body, she lit the tip on fire and fit the now burning tree limb in her bow. It wasn't a great fit but it was good enough for her to fire on the golem.

The animated monster flinched at the sight of the flames on its body and tried to put it out but Danielle had pulled out one of her poisoned arrows and set it on fire as well before launching it at the monster.

The poisoned flaming arrow seemed to cause major damage when it hit the monster square in the back. Roxy and Amanda both used their own weapons and brought the monster down.

The golem thrashed slightly, but then was still.

Danielle wiped the sweat from her face, glad that they had taken down the five foot tall monster. While not that tall, they were eight and seven years old, so to them it was huge.

Just like last time, the door on the other side of the arena opened and Amanda ran for it, eager to get the treasure. Danielle and Roxy shook their heads slightly and Danielle found that the body of the golem was glowing. Touching it found that it had been holding something.

"Acquired unknown club."

Shrugging, she stuffed the body of the golem into her inventory to be sacrificed later and they followed Amanda into the other room.

"Not bad stuff here," said the other red head, looking at their loot.

The treasure from the chests were revealed to be another three skill books, a quiver full of arrows, a short sword, and what looked to be a few chunks of iron.

"Yeah," said Danielle. "Not bad." She pushed the button on the wall and they were transported to the backyard again. Once she got her bearings, Roxy ran for the kennel, eager to see her new rabbit. Well, Danielle's rabbit but it might as well be the brunette's. Amanda just shrugged, looking tired from all the exploring they had done, and went inside.

Danielle strangely felt the same as ever. She was starting to get used to this. She didn't have to eat, sleep, or feel tired in any way. She supposed she could still get mentally tired of doing the same thing over and over again, but this game seemed to have enough to keep her busy.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

She went over to the alter and started piling bodies on it, turning them into items; but not before taking feathers and hairs from the magical creatures so she could experiment with making wands.

Quite a few of the birds made strange musical instruments, like the diracrawl created a whistle with an odd design on it. The owl into a wing shaped knife. The spider into a large batch of leather. When she finally got to the golem, she had to place it perfectly so it wouldn't fall off and hit the button to get an item out of it.

There was a big flash and the golem had been turned into large green spiky suit of armor. "Not bad."

She got out all the items and started playing the detect-save-load game. The only good thing about it was that her magical detection score was getting higher all the time and it was taking fewer tries to find what they were while they vanished fewer and fewer times.

She got some interesting things, though. A whistle that randomly puts a person in a different location in the same area, a trumpet that refused to make a sound, and several other things.

"Unknown club acquired."

"Detect."

"Club of smashing. +6 destruction magic. Gained one magical detection."

"Unknown armor acquired."

"Detect."

"Detect failed."

"Detect."

"Armor of protection. +10 defense and has a healing factor of one hit point healed every ten seconds."

"Useful." She equipped the armor but had to admit that it just didn't look good enough for everyday wear. Taking it off and putting it into her inventory, she detected a few more of her weapons and items before opening the skill books.

"Gained 3 Potions. Gained 2 transfiguration. Gained 3 general magic."

She frowned. "Save game."

"Game saved."

"Main menu."

She found herself back at the main menu screen and found that there was a feature she hadn't noticed before, the pet arena.

Pulling up Extras, she looked and found a section for spending her character points. She only had ten, but she hoped she had enough to start working some magic. Clicking on skills, she found a keyboard in front of her with a waiting panel.

Typing in wands in what could be qualified as a Google search, she saw that the only skill that matched was Wandcrafting, 15/5.

The first number showed how many points were needed to buy the skill and the second number was how many character points needed after that to boost it by one point. Looking up other characters, she found that the only figure that she could give the skill to was Luna, and that wasn't useful in the slightest as she had no way of getting to her yet.

Sighing, she realized that she would have to do without magic for a while longer, or at least until she got another five character points.

Shaking her head, she went back to spending character points, wondering what she could spend ten points on. There were various things she could buy to improve the house, like adding a dungeon, a forge, or even a secret laboratory, but all were out of her price range.

Sighing, she went back and tapped Load Game to get back to the backyard in the house. Once she was back to where she had been before she had left, she looked up her character sheet and found that she had a few stat points she could spend to whatever she wanted. Shrugging, she put a point into agility, constitution and intelligence each, leaving the last point there for now.

Pulling up her armory, she saw that since Amanda and Roxy had left her party for now, she had their weapons back in her inventory. Nodding, she made her way through the house and into the front yard, going to the old primary school again. She saw Dudley's gang again, but they didn't notice her and they continued doing whatever they had been doing. She did notice that Piers was back, apparently he respawned or something.

Reaching the school, she saved the game and put on her gear. The spiky armor that was actually very light on her, the shield, the short sword and her bow. Taking the bow, she fit in one of her last poisoned arrows and fit it in, aiming right at the bush Irene the child killer had been hiding in the last time she had been here.

Letting the arrow go, she smirked when she heard the grunt of pain. Irene came out of the bush and she saw her for the first time. Irene looked to be in her mid twenties, had pale blonde hair, and was almost deathly pale. She was dressed in fashionable armor that apparently didn't protect her as much as she thought it did as her arrow was sticking out of the armor fairly deeply.

Irene shot out a cutting curse in her general direction but she dodged quickly and shot another arrow, which hit the crazy woman in the thigh.

"I will kill you, Danielle Skywalker!" Irene snarled as she shot out a blasting curse that almost took her head off.

Danielle didn't bother to retort as she fired another arrow, this time at Irene's hand. The older woman couldn't dodge it in time and the arrow hit, causing her to drop the wand. Moving in for the kill, she pulled out the short sword and swung it at Irene, only for her to block it with a short dagger.

Irene was bigger and slightly stronger than she was, however, and the older female overpowered her, cutting a deep cut into her cheek, the force knocking her to the ground. Danielle grimaced that her hit points just took a nose dive but she wasn't dead yet. The poison from that first arrow was weakening Irene enough that the blow hadn't killed her, though it should have.

Blocking Irene's next slash with her shield, she kicked out and hit Irene in the gut, making her lose the air in her lungs. Knocking the dagger away from her, Danielle stabbed the crazy bitch in the stomach.

Irene backed away, glaring hatefully at her, until she sank to her knees and collapsed, finally succumbing to the poison in her system.

Letting out a breath of relief, she pocketed the wand Irene had dropped when a window appeared with a ding. "Congratulations for defeating your foe. You killed the body she was currently using. Didn't think we would make it too easy for you, did you? Gained 30 Character points."

"Oh son of a bitch!" Irene wasn't dead, at least, not entirely. She was fairly sure that meant that she had stashed a horcrux somewhere and would only become more powerful the next time they met.

Sighing, she grabbed Irene's body and stuffed it into her inventory, figuring that she might get something out of it.

"Save game." She did not want to fight that bitch again.

"Game saved."

She took off the heavy armor and weapons, putting them back into her inventory. When that was done, she used her new found acrobatics skills and managed to jump over the fence of the primary school and into the playground. Naturally, with it being summer, there weren't any people around but she figured that she could explore a bit.

The grass was filled with various dandelions, rocks, and other glowing objects she could store in her inventory for later use. Shrugging, she spent what felt like an hour collecting more rocks, dandelions and clover, wondering what she could use all of it for.

Making her way to the library, she found that the door was locked. Made sense, it was summer after all. Thinking it over, she moved to another wall of the same building and found a window. It didn't take long before the sound of breaking glass could be heard throughout the school.

Jumping through the window, she noticed that the library really wasn't that large, perhaps the size her living room, and only had books a primary school student would find interesting.

"Burglar!"

Huh? Looking, she only had a moment before she was whacked up side the head by a demon librarian. The blow hadn't killed her but the force had knocked her into another wrinkled old lady with a ruler who was somehow able to stab her in the gut. That was the last thing she remembered before she realized she was in the main menu screen.

"Son of a…" Danielle forced herself to calm down and sighed, wondering what the hell had happened. Pulling up her damage log, she found that the first old librarian had hit her with a critical hit, which had dropped her health drastically, and the second old lady had killed her.

Sighing, she turned to the main menu. "Load saved game."

Standing in front of the school again with the remains of Irene the child killer, she headed back to her house. Once she got in the backyard, she threw the body on the alter and hit the item button.

There was a brighter than normal flash but when it died, she found that the body had turned into a book. Intrigued, she grabbed the book.

"Unknown book acquired."

"Save game. Detect."

"Detect failed. Gained one point in magical detection."

"Save game. Detect."

"Detect failed."

"Detect."

"Critical failure. Item lost."

"Load saved game. Detect."

It took what felt like hours before her magical detection went up another thirty points and she was able to detect the book.

"Acquired Book of Battle Magics."

"Sweet. Save game."

"Game saved."

Opening the book, there was a ding.

"Gained 4 Blasting magic. Gained basic battle spells."

Danielle nodded to herself and equipped the wand she got from Irene. According to her inventory, it wasn't a proper match so all of her spells would only be at a small percentage of the power it should be.

She sighed. "Save game."

"Game saved."

"Main menu."

Standing in the main menu screen, she pulled up the skill of wand crafting and saw that it was still 15 character points. She had 40 now. Hitting the purchase button, the window dinged, "You have bought the skill of wand crafting! You now know the bare basics of creating wands."

Nodding, she pulled out of that. "Load saved game."

Back in the backyard, she pulled out one of her tree branches and the switchblade. It wasn't great, but it got the job done of carving the branch into what could pass as a wand. Choosing a feather from the diracrawl, she had killed, she let her hands work without really knowing what she was doing.

The wand that was created sucked. The handle was bent, though it was straight when she started, and she figured that any kind of magic used through it would cause it to burst into flames. Luckily, she had a lot of tree branches and quite a few things to use as wand cores. Might as well get to work.

XXXXX

Hours later, she thought at least as the sun hadn't moved at all, she had created about thirty wands and all but five of them were useless. On the bright side, her wand crafting skill had risen by twenty points but it didn't seem to be increasing any more. Taking the wand that fit the best for her, she was still pretty sure it wouldn't last for very long but it was still better than the one she had gotten from Irene the Child Killer.

What she really needed was access to Diagon Alley or some other merchant so she could buy and sell things to. Wasn't that how video games worked? The hero was constantly running into merchants in various towns and the player could buy new weapons and armor if they needed it? In her old life time, she could apperate and she knew where Diagon Alley was. Sadly, it seemed that that particular power was lost as this body didn't know how to do that yet.

She guessed she could see if the house had floo powder. At least then she could get to the Leaky Cauldron.

Shrugging, she looked up the stats on the wand she had made that worked for the best out of all of them. It still didn't work for her very well, but at least now she knew that Fwooper feathers made somewhat decent wands for her. She would have to experiment with possibly using liquid cores. Maybe if high elf hair could work.

Wondering if that would work, she brought out her last tree branch and carved it into the basic shape for a wand. Pulling out one of her own hairs, she managed to put it inside the wand and sealed it. Surprisingly, the wand worked much better for her than the others had.

"Huh. Would you look at that?"

The wand wasn't perfect, but it didn't have to be and it was much more stable than the other wands she had made. Nodding to herself, she stowed all of the wands she had made into her inventory and took a look at the spell book she got from Irene's body. The spells inside included things from a basic stunner to a binding hex to one that pulled a person's spleen out of their body.

Wincing a little at that last one, she found that with a little target practice, she did pretty well with wand magic. She guessed that she needed more magic points before she could learn any of the more complicated spells.

Heading to the school again, she jumped the fence again and made it onto the school grounds. Making her way to the library again, she smirked.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

Breaking the window again, she landed in the library. Equipping her wand, she saw the first old lady librarian and blasted her with a stunner, sending her sprawling onto the ground. De-equipping her wand and bringing out her bow and quiver, she knocked an arrow and shot two more librarians in the throats with arrows.

"Ding. You killed the demon librarians. Now you must meet their boss."

"That can't be good."

It wasn't as a huge demon librarian appeared from the school office. She was old, with leathery wrinkly skin that was a dark gray. She had burning red eyes and huge bat like wings as well as claws for hands.

"SILENCE IN THE LIBRARY!"

Danielle made a heroic little whimpering sound as she was against this foe on her own, with no backup at all. Acting quickly, she shot another arrow at the boss, who caught it with her whip like tail and flung it aside.

"YOU WILL DIE, HONEY!"

Flying at her quickly, Danielle ducked under the giant bat lady and stabbed an arrow in the monster's gut. The monster screeched in pain but didn't stop trying to kill her as she slashed at her with her claws.

Ducking under a table, she put her bow and quiver back into her inventory and brought out the sword she got from earlier as well as her shield. The table was thrown aside and into the wall as the demon tried to get at her. Blocking a claw on her shield, she had to jump backwards to dodge another claw coming at her.

She managed to block one of the blows with her sword but she noticed that each block was still taking health away from her. Not much but it was adding up as she was down to only half strength already.

Getting in close, she ducked under the claws again and drove the sword deep into the monster's stomach before jumping back and out of range again. The bat lady screamed in pain and rage but she wasn't dead yet. Sighing that she had temporarily lost her sword she jumped out of the way of another blow and onto a table. Using her acrobatics skill, she flipped forward and bonked the monster on the head with her shield.

Pulling a dagger out of her inventory from sacrificing that owl, she drove the wing shaped knife into the back of the monster's neck. Rolling to the floor, she watched as the demon librarian bat lady thrashed but finally collapsed onto one of the book shelves, which fell on top of her, making her cry out one last time.

Panting, seeing that her health was near zero, she uncapped one of her last healing potions and downed it, feeling better as her health wasn't in the red any longer.

"Ding. You have went up to level 3. Gained 15 hit points and 20 stamina points. Please pick your level 3 perk."

That was new. She saw she could choose one of several choices that included Better Armor, Enhanced Senses, Night Vision, and Better Weapons. Seeing that it was the best choice, she picked Better Weapons, secretly wanting to know what each perk did.

"Excellent choice. Weapons will now do 10% more damage than usual."

Danielle nodded before she noticed that the librarian that she had hit with a stunner was waking up. She picked up her knife and threw it at the librarian, which impacted into her chest and killed her instantly like her fellows.

Sighing, she stuffed the four dead bodies into her inventory as she did with all of her weapons. All the same, she thought idly that she was getting too violent for her own good.

Looking around the school library, she saw that a few of the books were glowing slightly. Picking one up, there was a ding.

"Gained 3 Muggle Studies."

Shrugging, she picked up the others and gained another fifteen points of Muggle studies. Not really knowing what the skill did, she figured it allowed her to identify various non-magical items. Not that she really needed a skill to do that, she had lived in the non-magical world for years in her old life after all.

Checking the librarian's office, she saw that there were more glowing skill books behind a locked case on the wall. Raising an eyebrow, she took out her club of smashing and swung it at the locked case. With a jolt, it bounced off and she shuddered horribly. The glass case was still perfect, not a scratch on it.

"Ding. Locks and unlocking them. Every now and then you will run into a lock that cannot be broken by brute strength. To unlock them either a lock pick, a hairpin, a wire, or an unlocking charm is needed. Without these, it is impossible to unlock what is hidden."

Danielle grumbled. She didn't have anything that could unlock such a simple lock. All of her spells were combat based, not what she would guess to be general magical skills. Not seeing anything else that could useful in the area, she started searching the school some more but again found that all the doors were locked.

Figuring that she would need to bring something to unlock the skill books later, she left the school, jumping over the fence again.

"Hmm." She was starting to wonder what to do next. "Save game."

"Game saved."

"Main menu."

Standing in the main menu screen again, she tapped the pet arena icon. With a flash of light, she was standing in a stone courtyard with three different passageways. A fountain was splashing water into a stone pool.

The sign next to the pool read: _To fully heal your pets, simply add five pounds or one galleon into the fountain._

Useful.

Looking around, one of the booths said it was for normal pet battles. Another booth was for something called the Death Arena. A third booth was a little away from both and had a pretty brunette witch sitting at it. Her booth said 'Training.'

Going to the training girl, she smiled. "Hello, first time here?"

"Yeah," said Danielle, looking at her. "So, training, huh?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah, I train pets for a fee and what stat you want to train them in. Health, strength, speed, agility, that kind of thing you know. Just so you know, I don't train level zero pets."

Danielle looked at her pet sheet and saw that she only had one pet. Thumper the rabbit was a level one pet.

**'Thumper', Species: Rabbit. Level one. 15/15 hit points.**

**Stats**

Strength: 2

Constitution: 1

Speed: 4

Agility: 3

Intelligence: 2

Wisdom: 1

**Abilities**

Carrot Toss (Summons and throws a carrot.)

"I might come back later," she told her and the animal trainer girl nodded. Going to the normal pet battles, the guy at that booth was happy to tell her what to expect.

"Basically, you and your pet go in there and the pet to drop the other's stamina to zero first wins. There is a small fee to compete, but the winner gets their money back and a prize in the end while the loser doesn't."

Danielle nodded and signed Thumper for a battle at the lowest rank for practice. Apparently, there were two kinds of pet battles. One where she got to fight as her pet, and the other where she just watched the fight from the sidelines.

She was also told about the various kinds of pets. There were ordinary pets like Thumper, dangerous pets like a fire crab or a hippogriff, and finally legendary pets like unicorns and phoenixes.

Wondering what she would have to do get a phoenix as a pet like Dumbledore, she watched from the sidelines as Thumper was pit against a frog. She had to admit, her rabbit did a good job and only got hit by its tongue once, which was more of a glancing blow than a direct hit. The battle ended when Thumper hit the frog with a well placed carrot shot and it went down easily.

The guy she signed up in front of smiled at her as he handed her the five pounds she had paid him with, which she had taken from Piers when she had beat him up, and also a collar that rose a pet's strength by one.

Frowning, she signed up for the same match but with herself in the driver's seat. Blinking, she suddenly found herself as Thumper and across the arena from the same frog as before. This was different.

The frog started by launching its tongue at her, but she managed to dodge just in time. Concentrating, she found that summoning a carrot was actually pretty easy and launching it did a healthy amount of damage. The only thing that was slightly tricky for her to handle was moving around in a rabbit's body.

Dodging another tongue attack, she hit the frog with another carrot and it went down in a critical hit.

Finding herself in front of the same booth again, the guy smiled at her again. "Not bad. Here you go." He gave her eight pounds instead of the five she had paid him with and a collar that boosted speed. She figured fighting as Thumper gave her more of a reward than simply watching him fight.

Going to the fountain, she tossed in a couple of pounds and smirked as she pulled up her pet sheet, finding Thumper at full health.

Curious, she looked at the Death Arena booth and a seedier looking guy was running the booth. He grinned at her, which she didn't like at all. "Want to fight here, huh? Well, let me tell you, this is no kiddy fight. Your pet loses in here, and it's gone, unlike in the other arena."

"I take it you have better prizes though, right?" Danielle asked.

The guy grinned again. "Of course. But you have to risk your pet's life for it, and the fights are harder."

Danielle frowned and left, not wanting to risk Roxy's rabbit in a fight to the death. At least, not yet. She was going to have to get her own pet and fight there if she wanted those prizes.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

"Main menu."

Standing in front of the main menu screen, she wondered at what the heck she could do now. Sighing, she loaded the save game and found herself back in front of the school.

Walking around Surry, she saw another one of those glowing exclamation points. It was glowing silver, meaning it was a medium or somewhat difficult mission. Tapping it, she heard a ding.

"Your first rescue! Save the baby carriage before it rolls into open traffic."

"MY BABY!"

Looking around, she saw a baby carriage with what looked to be a few month old girl heading right into a now busy street. Gawkers and onlookers watched but didn't actually do anything to save the baby.

Sighing, she ran after the carriage with her elf speed, which was much faster than an ordinary person, and got in front of the carriage. With an almighty effort, she managed to stop it a few inches away from the curb and into the street.

A woman that looked to be in her early to mid twenties came up to her and picked up the baby girl in her arms. "Oh, you're safe." She turned to Danielle. "Thank you."

"No problem," said Danielle, sounding pleased with herself.

"Ding, you have saved your first person! Mission succeeded! Your reputation around town has increased. Gained baby token."

Danielle looked around after the window vanished and found herself alone again. No sign of the baby, the mother, or the various people in the streets. Even the street itself was quiet again.

Rolling her eyes at video game logic, she looked up the token. "Gives a character of your choice a child of any gender you choose." Huh.

Thinking, she wondered if she could use the token now or later when she had a better idea of who to use it on. Herself was out as she didn't want to deal with a little baby running around the house, the Dursleys were right out for obvious reasons.

Weasleys? No, that was out. Too many kids already. Grangers? Possibly. Malfoys? That would be amusing but she didn't want to risk another enemy at Hogwarts. Lovegoods? Hmm.

Luna had been a good friend when she had met her and since she was eight, Luna's mother was still alive at this point. It would be good to give Luna a sibling, maybe a sister? Then again, Xeno Lovegood was bad enough with only one child to support, let alone two. Maybe if she saved Luna's mom?

She sighed. Too many variables.

She then got an idea. It sounded crazy, but it might work. What about Dumbledore? As far as she could tell, he had never had any children and he could be a decent father…maybe.

She decided to table the idea for now, keeping the token for the moment to use later. Continuing her walk, she went past the local church to see that there was a golden snitch hovering a little near the top of the steeple. Remembering that enough Snitches unlocked cheats in this game, she ran after it.

Entering the church, she found the stairs to the upper levels and went to the top of the steeple. Walking precariously on the very top of the ledge, she saw that the snitch was only a few feet away, darting this way and that. Nervous at the long fall if she lost her balance, she carefully edged slowly toward it, glaring at the ball when it whacked her on the nose.

She wasn't a seeker so it was difficult to get close enough to grab it, and she tried for several minutes without success. She finally stood up, took a deep breath, and reached for it, only for it to flutter out of arms reach again. Getting impatient, she leaned forward quickly and snatched it out of the air just before it could get away again.

For a moment, she was flushed with victory. Then she realized that she had leaned too far and she lost her balance. Snitch still in hand, she fell from the top of the steeple, plummeted to earth and crashed into the sidewalk next to a flower garden.

Groaning, she lifted her head just enough to find the snitch vanish with a small window saying. "Ding, you now have 2/200 snitches in the game."

She groaned again and buried her face in the sidewalk, knowing that she was close to dying again. It took a few more minutes before she could roll over and see that she had one health point left out of her total of sixty.

Bringing out her last healing potion, she downed it and watched as she was boosted to fifty-one hit points, making her feel better instantly.

"Ow," she turned over and stared at the forever cloudless sky above her. "Save game."

"Game saved."

"These cheats better be worth it," she said to herself as she groaned, standing up.

Okay, what should she be doing at the moment? She had honestly started running out of things to do if she couldn't get to Diagon Alley to buy and sell things. Taking a calming breath, she went over her various goals.

First things first, she needed to assure Voldemort's defeat. In order to do that, she needed to destroy all of the horcruxes. Which…would be hard to do for anyone. The most reliable way to destroy them would be to go to Hogwarts and use the basilisk venom. While good, she had no way of getting there.

Sighing in frustration, she kept coming up with plan after counter-plan in her mind, trying to come up with some sort of goal that she could accomplish. The vanishing cabinet was a direct way to get to the castle, but it was in Borgain and Burks in Knockturn Alley. The other cabinet wasn't destroyed yet, if she remembered correctly, it hadn't been until early in her second year.

A lot of the horcruxes she knew the exact location of and shouldn't be too hard to get to. The cup was probably the hardest as it was in Gringotts but it might be possible to bribe the goblins to get it. The diary would fall into their hands at the beginning of second year, and the diadem would be simple once they got to Hogwarts and she got to the Room of Requirement. The locket would be tricky, but not undoable. Same with the ring. That wasn't even to mention the one in Harry's scar.

She sighed again. So many things to do and she had no idea how much time she had to do it in. There wasn't a timer as far as she knew, but she didn't know if this game was going to make huge leaps in time if she progressed far enough into the game. That, and she needed to start preparing her other friends to fight as well, just in case things got bad.

She could count on Harry, naturally. Hermione was a good friend, as was Luna. Ron was harder as he was a jealous idiot but Ginny was more level headed so she might make a good replacement.

Figuring she could worry about this later, she wanted to continue exploring Surrey for the moment.

After a few hours of searching, she had found two other golden snitches and had boosted her stamina up a few more points by running. If that wasn't enough, she had found a few hidden stashes of skill books hiding in the Surrey football field locker room. Why someone had hidden them there, she had no idea, but her general magic skill had been boosted to handle a real levitation spell. She had also found a few boxes of hairpins that she had used to start her new lockpicking skill.

She was currently standing on top of the Surrey city hall building, trying to catch yet another snitch. Growling, she feinted left and managed to grab it when the snitch had fell for the feint.

"Ding. You have caught a golden snitch! 5/200 caught. Cheat Unlocked! Bobble heads unlocked! With it active, everyone you see will look like bobble heads. Found all snitches in Surrey."

"Oh son of a bitch!" Danielle yelled to the heavens. All of that work for that? Lame! That was one cheat she wouldn't be using any time soon.

Sighing, she figured she had found everything of value in Surrey for now. She was mentally exhausted, even if she wasn't physically, and needed to get back home.

The walk back hardly took any time at all and she entered the house to find everyone doing their own thing. Amanda and Roxy were playing with Thumper, her father was spending some time his dogs, and her mother was reading on the couch.

Normal. At least for her crazy new family.

Yawning from the mental exhaustion, she went up to her room and found an exclamation point over her bed.

"Ding. Going to bed will end the mission and advance the timeline by a week. Would you like to do so?"

Shrugging, she nodded and flopped onto her bed, not bothering to take off her clothes.

Opening her eyes what felt like a few moments later, she realized she was in the main menu screen again. "Ding. Completed exploration mission! Gained 50 experience points. Would you like to continue with your story or try a side quest with a different character?"

That was new. Looking at the screen, there was a picture of her and another of Hermione. Tapping the screen with the brunette witch on it, there was a ding. "Play as Hermione as she goes through a standard school day near her home in Crawely. Mission ends when Hermione goes to bed for the day. Would you like to play as Hermione?"

She got to play as her? Why not? She really didn't know much about her bushy haired friend but figured she could learn more about her at any rate. She nodded and tapped yes.

XXXXX

Instead of waking up in her body, she woke up instead in a completely different room she didn't recognize. Groaning, she saw that it was morning and she moved her bushy brown hair out of her face. Wait. Bushy brown hair?

Getting out of bed, she rushed to a nearby bathroom and looked at herself in a mirror. Sure enough, instead of a head of dark red hair, she had a mane of brown hair that was frizzy and completely untamable. The face in the mirror was a perfect reflection of what Hermione probably looked like when she was eight, maybe nine years old. Made sense, her own body was eight at the moment and Hermione was almost a full year older than her.

If she had to guess, this would be one of the first days of school after summer just ended; maybe the first day of class.

Letting out a loud breath, she examined herself now more thoughally. The brown hair was incapable of being manageable, Hermione's eyes were brown instead of her own hazel, and she still had those large front teeth she had before Malfoy had hexed the brunette in fourth year.

"Stats sheet."

Even her voice was Hermione's. Pulling up Hermione's stats, she figured they could be worse.

**Hermione Granger: age eight. Level 0. 15/15 hit points.**

**Stats:**

Strength: 2

Constitution: 1

Speed: 2

Agility: 1

Intelligence: 10

Wisdom: 2

**Abilities:**

Muggle Studies: 55

Acrobatics: 8

Overall, not bad for an eight year old girl that was purely human. She would have to work around the weak physical stats but Hermione's intelligence was higher than her own, which was good. What was that eight in Acrobatics though? Did Hermione take yoga or something?

Shaking her head, she opened her inventory, but found that everything in her own armory wasn't here in Hermione's. Made sense as Hermione wouldn't have had the opportunity to gather weapons or anything.

Leaving the bathroom, she made her way back to Hermione's room and took it in. Just as she thought, it was full of books.

The walls were almost entirely taken up by bookshelves that were all overflowing with books. Most were books of the appropiate age level for an eight year old but there were a few medical texts in there as well. As Hermione's parents were dentists, she could understand that.

The brunette's wardrobe was severely lacking however as there were only the bare basics with nothing flashy. Hermione had always been more practical than anything else so it was in character.

Checking the clock, it seemed frozen at six-thirty in the morning. Getting into some suitable clothes for the day, jeans, a t-shirt and a sweater, she headed downstairs for breakfast.

She had to admit, Hermione's parent's house was nice. It was a large two story house that was probably four bedrooms and two baths. Looking outside, she saw a pool in the backyard.

"Morning sweetie." Turning, she saw Hermione's mother, Emma Granger, poke her head around the wall of what she figured was the kitchen. Emma looked like an older version of Hermione but who had managed to calm her hair so it fell in a curly mass down to her shoulders. Lucky. "Ready for your first day of school again."

Before she could answer, speech bubbles appeared in front of her with different choices to pick from. Well, she was Hermione at the moment. She had to stay in character somewhat. She picked the top one.

"Oh, yes. I'm off on another learning adventure." That choice was honestly the best one, she wasn't joking.

Emma chuckled as Danielle rounded the corner and sat down at the seat around the table that was her spot. "Ah, to be young and eager to learn. Just remember to do your best and make friends, alright?"

Danielle nodded and ate her breakfast. Looking at Emma again, she saw that there were more choices for conversation. "Where's dad?"

"He's getting ready to go to work. He's opening the practice today while I'm closing."

She was surprised at one of the choices she could choose. "Is it true that you were thinking of moving?" She didn't know Hermione's parents were thinking of moving at one point.

Emma sighed. "Your father and I were thinking of it. This neighborhood is upscale, but we haven't made any friends in all the years we've been here. We can literally work just about anywhere we want and this house is actually a bit big for just the three of us. Maybe a nice suburban area…"

Danielle's mind was going into thinking mode, which was actually easier with Hermione's intelligence of 10 instead of her own 8. If the Grangers were thinking of moving, she might be able to arrange it so they moved to Private Drive. That way, Hermione would be able to make friends with herself and Harry at a young age before they even got to Hogwarts. She knew that her own parents would work to keep the Grangers as friends, since as far as she knew, her own parents had no adult friends either.

Danielle finished her breakfast in silence, which didn't take long, and she looked at the clock, which spun around quickly to about seven o'clock.

"Oh, we should go," said Emma, standing. "It's a bit early but we should try to find your classroom as soon as possible. You got everything?"

Danielle smiled, and nodded. She had everything of Hermione's in her inventory so she could pull out anything she owned at any given time. Books, writing utensils, her lunch, everything was in there.

The car ride to the school took a while to get to, over half an hour, but they finally arrived. Danielle saw that the school didn't look too different than the one in Surrey, but it also seemed to give off a bad vibe, like there were enemies around.

The worst part was that she was Hermione at the moment. A girl that was fully human and had no great stats in case something went wrong.

Looking back as soon as she got out of the car, she grimaced as she saw Emma leave, waving back to her. Swallowing, she hoped this still worked. "Save game."

"Game saved."

At least she could still save. Gripping the backpack over her shoulders, which was more for show as she could pull out anything she needed from her inventory, she made her way into the school.

Walking through the front gates of the school, she found the main board that listed all the students, their new teacher, and the room number. There was even a map of the school that showed where all the buildings and rooms were.

The board was crowded with children and parents, all looking to see where their precious little 'angels' would be going.

"Well, well, well," said a voice from behind her. Turning, Danielle saw some blonde girl her age with designer clothes along with a posse of girls behind her. The girl frowned seeing her. "I have to admit, runt, I didn't think you would want to come back after last year."

Danielle frowned. She didn't like bullies and she certainly didn't like this girl. Looking at the various options to choose from, she frowned. "And what happened last year?"

The girl and her posse laughed, like they were sharing a private joke. "Oh, that is rich. She doesn't even remember us tying her to the school flag pole last year."

"She was, what, stuck there for over a day?" Another girl laughed.

Okay, Hermione hadn't told her about that. Then again, the brunette was closed mouthed about everything to do with her past. Narrowing her eyes, she tried to think of way to take them out with what she had on her. Sadly, she doubted she could get away with shoving a sharpened pencil into this girl's eye socket. Too bad, too. That would have been nice.

"Just, like, stay away from us," said the lead girl, getting closer to her, using her superior height of several inches. "Hide amongst your books like the beaver faced book worm you are. Teacher's pet."

Danielle growled. Now this girl was asking for it! "Save game."

"Game saved."

Now that she was sure that the game was saved, she summoned a pencil from her inventory, twirling it in her fingers. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this."

"Enjoy what?" the girl said, snobbishly.

"Oh, this." Danielle grinned and kneed the girl in the gut, making the girl hunch over as the air was removed from her lungs. While she was distracted and the girls behind were in shock, Danielle shoved the pencil deep into the girl's eye, causing her to shriek in pain and everyone in the area to look at them.

"Hey!"

The girl was now howling in pain with a pencil stuck in her eye. Danielle smirked. "Load saved game."

She was suddenly standing in front of this bitch and her group of syncopants, completely fine, and nobody trying to arrest her for almost killing this girl. Danielle just smiled and chose one of the options. "I'd love to help you find your brains, but I'm afraid I can't find what was never lost. You need a brain in the first place to lose. See you later."

Danielle snickered as she joined the adults and children in trying to find their kid's classroom. Strange, the line didn't seem to get smaller at all since the last time she looked. She knew she would probably pay for what she said to those girls later but she had fun seeing them so confused in trying to work out what she had said.

This was Hermione's school life before she went to Hogwarts? Ouch.

Finding the classroom, she rolled her eyes at the little kid stuff adorning the walls and the labels on the desks. Sure, she was in the third grade again, but this was just overkill. A ding got her attention. "To begin the lesson, sit down at the desk for 'Hermione Granger.'"

Humming to herself, she grinned. Nope, she wasn't going to be doing that. Time was frozen again and the students walking around in the halls were just standard characters with little to no personality. The clock was stuck at seven forty-five. Class started at eight.

Putting her backpack into her inventory for safekeeping, she headed outside into the dreary day. The weather looked like it was going to rain at any moment, though she doubted it was going to.

The first thing she was going to do would be getting some weapons. She had no doubt that this game was full of monsters everywhere and Hermione's stats weren't good enough to survive a real attack. Her own body had a health of sixty. Hermione's was only fifteen.

Slipping into the cafeteria, her mini-map was going crazy. The usual blue dot of a random person was on her map but there was also a yellow cone in front of the dot.

"Ding, stealth missions. When one is in an area you are not supposed to be in, there might be some guards, staff members, or evil person watching for intruders. The yellow field is the guard's line of sight that will turn red if that person spots an intruder. Have fun exploring!"

Sighing, figuring it couldn't be that easy, she shook her head. "Save game."

"Game saved."

Entering into sneak mode, she winced as there was a huge squeak from stepping on a dog squeaky toy that appeared out of nowhere. Luckily, it seemed that she could make all the noise she wanted as long as she didn't enter a person's line of sight. She was standing in a short hallway that led to the main cafeteria area, the kitchen next to it. All the people were in the kitchen so she worked on her sneak skills in the short hallway.

After half an hour, she wasn't making noise when she was in sneak mode and her watch and the clock on the wall were still stuck on 7:45. Perfect. After an hour of sneaking around in the hallway, her sneak skills didn't get any higher at 30 so she decided to risk the cafeteria kitchen.

Sure enough, just like she thought, the lunch ladies were working on something that might at some point could have been considered food, but they were all walking in predictable patterns. One lady that looked like Umbridge's long lost relative was simply walking in a circle around the central island in the middle of the kitchen, walking slowly and precisely.

Other cooks only looked in one direction for a short amount of time before turning to face the wall again. She snorted. This was easy.

Looking to see if anything was worth it, she nodded at the glowing kitchen knives. While not great weapons, they would be better than nothing, especially that cleaver. Timing it just right, she waited for the long lost Umbridge family member to pass her in her one direction wandering and slipped into the kitchen behind her, passing the other cook that only looked in her direction once every ten seconds.

It was sad at how predictable this was but this was a video game. It was supposed to be like this.

Grabbing the cleaver from its hook, there was a soft ding.

"Unknown non-magical cleaver acquired."

Great, now she had to detect this thing too. And, of course, Hermione's magical detection skills were at zero.

Following the moving guard and avoiding the others, she was glad that her sneak skills were increasing like crazy. Grabbing another glowing kitchen knife, she also grabbed a skill book that was just lying around. It took a while as it required perfect timing, but she was finally able to get out of the kitchen after grabbing a glowing kitchen pot and a huge cooking hammer.

It took her a lot to get the heavier things as Hermione's strength was at two. Not the 17 she was used to.

Back in the short hallway, she let out a breath of relief. "Save game."

"Game saved."

She held up the kitchen knife. "Detect."

"Detect failed."

"Detect."

"Critical failure, item lost."

"Load saved game. Detect."

"Detect failed. Gained one point in magical detection."

"Save game. Detect."

"Game saved. Detect successful. Non-magical kitchen knife of cutting, +4 blade when equipped.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

She put away the knife and pulled out the cleaver. "Detect."

It took hours of constantly detecting, saving and loading until she had gained thirty points to magical detection and finally got everything detected. The cleaver was non-magical and held an impressive amount of attack power.

The hammer was just a wooden hammer used to tenderize meat and wasn't that powerful, but the pot she had allowed her to cook her own meals as long as she had the recipes and the ingredients.

She opened her skill book.

"Gained +3 cooking skill."

Made sense. Putting all of that away, she explored the cafeteria part of the cafeteria, avoiding some sort of guard in the process, but found nothing of real interest. She found some loose change, but didn't think that counted as treasure or anything.

Opening a door in the cafeteria, she found that it connected with the administration building. Standard desks with secretaries typing at computers were scattered across the small room along with filing cabinets and drawers that probably held more papers.

Entering sneak mode again, she snuck past the secretaries and tried to find something else of interest. She found a box of hairpins that sat on some old lady's desk, but otherwise nothing worth taking.

Sneaking past the women that were more interested in their Solitare games than working, she opened a nearby door with little difficulty and snuck in.

"Ding, you are a sneaky little girl, aren't you? You have obtained fifty points in sneak skills. You can now sneak in heavy armor without making a sound!"

Useful. Looking around, she figured she was in some sort of attendance office as parents were complaining to more secretaries about why little Johnny caught a cold and couldn't make it to his first day of school.

Sneaking past them all, she avoided detection and made it to the only door that wasn't obstructed by parents. Again, no one noticed the door open of seemingly on it's own accord and she slipped inside.

This time she looked to be in a hallway that ended at an intersection. One way led to the headmistress's office while the other led to a stage in front of the cafeteria. Shrugging, she went to the stage.

Finding the door to the stage locked, she pulled out the hairpins.

"Ding, unlocking things. In order to unlock things that need unlocking, you need one or preferably several things that could do the job. This includes hairpins, wires, a lock picking set, or an unlocking charm. One could try to break the door down, but that could lead to exposure in confidential areas. Have fun!"

Ignoring the window, Danielle saved the game and tried to open the door with a hairpin. It was in the lock for only a second when the pin broke.

"Unlocking failed."

Grumbling, she pulled out another pin and tried again. This one lasted a little longer before it, too, fell apart in her hand.

"Unlocking failed. Gained one lock picking."

"Save game."

"Game saved."

She tried a third hairpin, which allowed her to try to pick the lock before it broke.

"Unlocking failed. Gained one lock picking."

It took her most of her box of hairpins and saving after gaining every point but she was finally able to open the door with several pins to spare. Grinning, she put away her box of hairpins back into her inventory and went into the stage room.

The stage was connected to the cafeteria so it could double as an auditorium when the situation called for it. The curtain was closed and there were spotlights above her, connected to a metal catwalk near the ceiling. What she didn't expect was a treasure chest on the catwalk.

Hoping that it was worth it, she tried to find a ladder or something to climb to get there. She was just about to start when a sudden hiss got her attention.

Her eyes widened when a monster entered stage right. The monster was seven feet tall for starters, she had the torso and head of a woman but double snake trunks for legs. She was dressed in a silk top that didn't hide her assets very well.

"Well, it lookssss like we have an intruder here," the monster hissed.

Danielle backed off slightly, confused. "What are you?"

The monster woman smiled, revealing her fangs. "I'm a dracanae, a snake woman. And I will be the one to kill you!" She pulled out a spear that was strapped to her back and made to attack.

Danielle pulled out a knife from her inventory but knew it wouldn't do much against a monster like this. Hermione's body wasn't fast but it was fast enough to dodge an incoming jab so she didn't get impaled.

Knowing she had to end this fight quickly, Danielle threw her knife at the monster, but missed when the dracanae deflected it easily.

"Fool, do you think you can sssstop me?"

Hermione might not be strong, but she was smart. Danielle used that to maximum effect when she brought out the cleaver from before. Just as the snake woman deflected the knife, Danielle brought the cleaver down on the spear and just barely managed to break the wooden shaft in half.

The force of the blow was strong enough to knock both halves of the spear out of the monster's hand. Danielle quickly picked up the short spear, holding it against the monster before using it to knock the woman to the ground.

The snake woman winced and was down on one knee, her own spear being used against her. Danielle jammed the spear into the monster's gut, which pierced the skin and brought the monster down, disintegrating into a golden dust for some reason.

Letting out a breath of relief, knowing that that fight could have wound up completely differently, she noticed that the a glowing necklace was left behind in the dust. Picking it up, it was a tacky thing covered in what looked to be gold and an emerald.

"Acquired unknown necklace."

She was about to move when another two snake women came onto the stage from the door on the opposite end of the stage. They hissed when they saw her holding the necklace. "Kill her!"

Uh oh. Danielle looked around and picked up the knife she had thrown at the snake woman and tried to figure out a way out of here. Looking around, she came up with a strategy quickly.

Grabbing a rope, the snake women were almost on her, both holding their own spears, she managed to cut the rope with her knife. The rope was tied to a sandbag up above her and when the rope broke, the sandbag went crashing down and she went zooming up.

With a crash, the sandbag crushed one of the snake women, turning her into dust as well.

"Ding. Well done. You have grown to level one! Gained 10 hit points and 10 stamina."

Grabbing onto the metal catwalk above her, she was just barely able to pull herself up and over the metal railing. The snake woman below her was not happy that her friend was dust and was brandishing her spear, waiting for her to get close enough to use it. She wasn't surprised, it seemed like a dead end up here.

Finding that treasure chest from earlier, she made her way over to it and opened it, shocked to find a handgun and a couple of clips of ammo.

"Acquired unknown handgun."

"Save game."

"Game saved."

"Detect."

"Detect failed."

"I will kill you, girl!"

"Detect."

"Detect successful. Acquired standard handgun. Current ammo: 10 shots."

Shrugging, figuring she didn't really have a choice at the moment, she took the gun and equipped it, sending her knife back into her inventory. Thinking, she jumped onto another sandbag and used her weight to break the rope, sending her crashing down to the floor.

The dracanea hissed but apparently was smart enough to avoid the sandbag, unlike her friend, and slithered out of the way. Danielle had jumped off the sandbag when she was about five feet from the ground and rolled to a safe landing. Holding the gun, she quickly got to her feet and managed to get close enough to the ugly snake woman and fired, point blank, into the monster's chest.

The force was enough to send the dracanea flying and hit the floor with a thud, turning to dust as well.

"Gained one gunslinger skill."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Danielle started searching the two piles of dust and found another necklace and a small gemstone.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

She was about to turn around and leave when there was a ding. "Warning, boss fight!"

"Oh, come on!"

The door from earlier burst open and a huge snake woman came onto the stage. Unlike the others, however, she was taller, maybe eight or nine feet, and wore simple armor. Instead of two snake trunks for legs, she just had one serpentine body from the waist down. Her face was more attractive and had fewer snake like attributes.

"A lamia," Danielle muttered, reading about them in the Monster Book of Monsters once. As far as she knew, they mostly hung around desert like areas and stayed away from humans. They were dangerous however and loved to feast on humans if they had the chance.

"You are knowledgeable, girl, but you will die," the lamia hissed. "This school belongs to us and my masters."

"Masters?" At least this monster didn't go overboard with the S's.

The lamia didn't seem interested in talking and brought out a huge wooden staff with a blade on each end.

"Oh, come on. Really?"

Trying to come up with some sort of strategy now, she looked around to see if she could use something to her advantage. Forced to duck under a blow that would have taken her head, she ran up the nearby ladder to the upper catwalk.

"Coward!" the lamia shouted at her. She swiped her bladed staff and a wave of energy came out at her. It hit her in the leg and she cried out in pain, seeing her hit points take a massive hit to only five points left.

Taking out her gun, she fired and by some miracle, actually hit the monster in the chest. It wasn't that strong though and the lamia was now just pissed off.

"Gained one gunslinger."

Still holding the gun, she climbed the ladder as quickly as she could, cursing Hermione's bushy hair that was trying to get into her face. At the top of the catwalk, she dodged another energy wave that almost hit her.

The lamia was now furiously shooting energy waves at her but she was so angry, the blasts were hitting everything. One of the blasts hit a spotlight above her and it crashed into the stage floor.

Thinking. Thinking. Got it!

Moving across the catwalk, she watched as the energy waves hit the targets she wanted to. The metal bar that held the spotlights was groaning under so much pressure and abuse. Positioning herself just right, she didn't have to wait long before another blast came her direction. Ducking just in time, the energy wave flew past her and hit the last cable holding the bar to the ceiling.

With a snap, the entire metal bar went zooming toward the stage floor. The lamia realized her mistake too late and failed to get out of the way in time. With a crash, the monster was crushed and turned to dust, just like her minions.

"Ding. You have went up to level 2. Gained 10 hit points and 10 stamina. Gained one Lamia token!"

Putting her gun back into her inventory, of which she had eight more shots, she went down the ladder and found the dust pile that was once a huge lamia. Searching through the dust, she finally found a huge golden sword she could barely lift.

"Acquired unknown sword."

Sighing, she stretched and yawned. "Save game."

"Game saved."

She held up the sword. "Detect."

After many tries and fails, her magical detection skill got high enough to finally detect it. "Gained legendary snake sword."

She had to admit, the snake designs on the sword were pretty cool. It had a huge attack power and was a deadly weapon that was for sure. The only problem was that it was too large and heavy for her to use it. Apparently, she needed a strength of ten or higher to use it.

Putting the sword in her inventory for later, she pulled out one of the necklaces. "Detect."

"Detect failed. Gained one magical detection."

"Detect."

"Acquired snake necklace of speed. Gain 3 speed when worn."

"Save game."

"Game saved."

She pulled out the other necklace. "Detect."

"Acquired snake necklace of speed. Gain 3 speed when worn."

Great. Two of the same item. Maybe she could sell one or something. She could apparently wear only one assessory at a time. She got out the gemstone. "Detect."

"Acquired gemstone of the wealthy."

Another item that was useless but could sell for a lot of cash, that works. Looking at the lamia token, she checked out the description.

"Gives a player of your choice the ability to turn into a lamia at their leisure."

Fun. She couldn't think of a person to use it on so she shrugged and left it in her inventory. Seeing that she had some stat points from leveling up twice, she put three of the four into strength and the last one into speed. Her strength went from 2 to 5 and speed from 1 to 2. She sighed. Hermione was so out of shape.

Thinking, she went through the door the snake women came from and found nothing but a small room with a couple of treasure chests. Opening them, she found that one had a small bag and the other another clip of ammo.

"Acquired twenty-five pounds. Acquired 10 rounds of ammo."

That was neat. She had thought at first that everything was going to be all medieval in this game with swords, bows and magic. What did it mean if she started using guns? Maybe it was because Hermione was a Muggleborn and would know more about the non-magical world.

Shrugging it off, knowing that it didn't matter, she continued wandering around. Opening the only other door in the room, she found herself outside the school. She was standing next to a sort of loading zone for the kitchen nearby and the smallish staff parking lot.

Hearing something she frowned as she followed a sort of fluttering sound. Turning around a bit, she thought it came from around a dumpster. Going that way, she found a golden snitch fluttering and flying next to the large waste reciptical. Great. She herself wasn't a seeker but she was much better than Hermione, who's speed still sucked.

Determined to get everything out of this game, she darted forward and tried to get the snitch, which darted out the way and flew around her head, taunting her. She made another grab for it but it somehow tripped her up and she fell on her butt, her hit points flashing that she only had four out of thirty five hit points left.

Sighing, she made another few passes at it until she finally grabbed it when she wasn't fooled by a feint the stupid ball made, gripping it in her hand. Smirking, she watched as the ball vanished.

"Ding, captured 6/200 snitches. Obtained all Snitches in the school."

She had a lot of work to do to get all of them. Hopefully the cheats would get better the more she got.

Getting back to the school, she went through the front gates again, checking her watch just to make sure that time still wasn't moving. Sure enough, it was still stuck at 7:45. Plenty of time to find everything.

When she was back in the school, she pulled up her inventory and took out her lunch, looking up how much each bit of food would boost her health. Grabbing the apple, she finished it quickly and saw her hit points zoom back up to her maximum of thirty-five.

Deciding to check out the playground, the moment she stepped on the grass there was an auto-save icon on her lower left hand corner of her vision. Confused, she walked around the grass a bit before the ground below her started moving.

She was just about to move when there was another quake, knocking her off her feet. "Save game!"

"Game saved."

That was the only thing she could do before the grass beneath her split apart and swallowed her, making her fall down the steep hole.

The hole itself was perhaps a few hundred feet deep but she kept crashing into the walls, floor and ceiling. She could almost feel her hit points leave her and her virtual life flashed before her eyes.

Finally, the hole ended and she was sent sprawling onto the floor, groaning. Stumbling to her feet, she looked around.

She seemed to be in a huge cavern under the school. The ceiling was now about fifteen feet above her head and the walls were covered in softly glowing crystals. There was only one way out and that was a tunnel in front of her, which she didn't know would lead out of here, into danger or both.

Not wanting to be caught defenseless, she brought out her gun and tried to strain her hearing, trying to hear if anyone or anything was coming. When nothing appeared, she relaxed slightly and thought of what her next move should be. She was stuck in a huge hole in the ground with nothing around her but glowing crystals.

Shaking her head, knowing that she wouldn't find the way out just standing around, she went up to the wall and wrapped her hand around one of the smaller crystals, trying to pull it free. It took a while but with a huge yank, her strength of five was enough to rip the chunk of crystal out of the rock. Sure enough and like she hoped, it still glowed in her hand so she had a makeshift torch.

Seeing no other choice as there was no way she could leave the way she came, she headed toward the tunnel, hoping that it would lead out of this pit. Gun in one hand and crystal in the other, she started her way down the tunnel.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

For several minutes, she didn't hear anything. The crystal in her hand shed just enough light for her to make out everything a few feet in front of her, but nothing beyond that. Once or twice, she thought she felt something behind her, but when she turned around, there was nothing.

Frowning, she was probably half way through the tunnel when there was a whistling sound. Too late, Danielle felt herself hit in the side by something and the next thing she knew, she was back in the main menu screen.

"What was that?" Angry that something had killed her, she pulled out her damage log and saw that someone had hit her with a crossbow bolt and caused over fifty points of damage. "Great. Load saved game."

Standing in front of the tunnel again, she figured this should cause for a change in strategy. Putting away her gun and pulling out her knife, she slowly walked into the tunnel, hugging the left hand wall, figuring it might be harder for who or whatever was down here with her to get the jump on her.

Just like last time, she was sure something was following her but when she shined the crystal around her, she saw nothing. Frowning, she kept her senses open as she walked. When she was halfway through the tunnel again, she heard the same whistling as before and she jumped to the side instinctively, narrowing dodging the crossbow bolt this time.

Slashing her knife in the general direction the bolt had come from, she was surprised when she actually got something with the knife. There was a squeal of something and a chittering sound but she kept slashing with the knife, getting it again and again.

Hearing the same whistling sound, she jumped to the side again and dodged, slashing in that direction as well. This time she was able to make out what she was fighting and she gagged. The creature she was fighting was about as tall as she was, so not very tall, but it was covered in coarse dark fur and beady red eyes. It was naked aside from a loincloth and even that was disgusting.

The creature squealed at the bright light in her hand so she took that opportunity to slash at the thing's throat, killing it instantly. Letting out a breath of relief, and seeing that she was alone again, she brought out her damage log to see what was going on.

The sheet of paper in her hand said that whatever had attacked her was a mole man. Really? She had found the underground city of the mole men? Stupid game.

Seeing the bodies glow slightly, she searched them and found that each had a crossbow and several bolts on them. Not sure why they hadn't burst into dust like the snake women from before, and without an alter to sacrifice them to, she wasn't sure what to do with the bodies. Shrugging, she let them alone and the bodies vanished on their own.

Picking up the crossbow, she sighed when the voice came to her again. "Acquired unknown crossbow."

"Detect."

"Acquired crossbow of the mole men. +4 firing power."

Putting away her knife, she equipped the crossbow, seeing that she currently had six bolts to fire. It was nice when her vision showed her how many bits of ammo she had whenever she wanted.

Finally leaving the tunnel she figured it must have been one of the guarded entrances to the main city. The tunnel ended to reveal an absolutely huge ceiling that must have been a hundred feet above her. The more spectacular part of her vision was the large city itself.

Probably the size of the Hogwarts school grounds, the city had a few buildings that almost reached the top of the cave. Large crystal gems were glowing all along the walls and the streets, providing illumination for the mole people going about their daily business. Or at least, that was what she hoped they would be doing.

Sadly, it looked like she wound up in front of a huge open area that was almost entirely filled with an army of mole people, all sporting some sort of armor or weapon. A bigger mole man wearing an army uniform and sunglasses, shrunken to fit him of course, was chittering away, apparently getting the troops ready for a massive invasion.

It wasn't just mole people in the army either, there were also quite a few snake women wearing their own armor and spears, while their shorter comrades were wielding clubs, crossbows, and daggers.

Wondering how she could take on this many opponents at the same time, Danielle tried working Hermione's intelligence to the max. What she needed was one huge attack that would decimate the entire army by surprise, or at least cause them to scatter and not make a cohesive fighting force.

The army looked to be about fifty strong so there wasn't a lot of them, but it was still far more than she was capable of handling on her own. Sighing in frustration, she needed to do something before the army invaded the surface. The general mole man had showed off a badly drawn diagram of what points of the school they were going emerge from and attack.

Thinking. Thinking. Done!

Sneaking into a store room, she killed the guards easily and smirked when she found what she was looking for. Gunpowder, and a lot of it. Unable to put the huge crates into her inventory, she was forced to push the heavy boxes out of the shed and place them in strategic positions by the tunnel she had come out of, figuring that was one of the places where they would go to begin the invasion.

Not having access to magic made everything harder but she was able to manage it, pushing the huge boxes of explosives where they were supposed to go. Hooking up all the boxes to several cables, she used Hermione's knowledge of Muggle Studies to good use as she rigged everything just right. Thanks to her sneak skills, she was able to get around the city undetected and steal things without anyone knowing.

"For how muccchhh longer are we working with thesssse rodentssss," a voice hissed near her as she walked back to her temporary base. Snake women.

"Only for assssss long asssss the masssstersss ssssay ssso," a second voice said. Danielle was getting really tired of these monsters emphasizing their S's. "Then, we take over the sssschool. Then the world asss well."

Melodramatic much?

Sneaking past the two arguing monsters, she managed to make it back to her hiding place, connecting the last cable to her device, ready now. This had to be a mad genius skill or something because this was crazy, but her only chance of killing most of these things in one shot.

She must have waited for about a half hour before the army finally decided to move from the central square. There were about fifty of them and three exits in this place so she figured somewhere between ten and fifteen monsters per exit.

Just when the army was about halfway through the three tunnels, Danielle pushed down on the plunger of the detonator.

Massive explosions rang out through the city of the mole men, destroying the three tunnels and crushing the large force under tons of rock and raining shrapnel. It wasn't just the tunnels to the surface, a few explosions rocked the buildings of the city itself, toppling some of the huge sky scrapers.

"Ding. Went up to level three. Gained 10 hit points and 10 stamina. Please pick your level three perk."

Danielle saw that Hermione had a different list of perks than she herself had but that just made sense as it was Hermione Granger leveling up. The perks she could choose from included: _Understanding, Muggles Rule, Better Weapons, Better Armor, Model Student _and_ Dentist Parents._

Understanding allowed her to gain one more skill point from skill books she picked up, which sounded in character for Hermione. Muggles Rule looked to be a fun one as it boosted non-magical items so they could work in magically rich atmospheres like Hogwarts. She knew what better weapons and armor did, so she didn't bother looking at them. Model Student was probably what Hermione chose in her last life as it boosted her skills in one class day as opposed to a class week. If she took Charms, for example, her charms skill would increase two or three times a week instead of only once. Dentist Parents made her almost a little sick. The perk boosted all damage she dished out but it also made her enjoy the pain she gave.

Shaking her head to rid herself of that image, she picked Understanding as her level three perk. It would be better in the long run as she was sure that there was a ton of skill books in this game.

"Ding, good choice. Hermione will now gain one more skill point than usual when using skill books."

"Ding. You have gone up to level four! Gained 10 hit points and 10 stamina. Please pick your level four perk."

Again? Well, she did just decimate a whole army of monsters in one blast. She picked Model Student this time, figuring that it would also help out in the long run.

"Good choice. Hermione will gain more points in classroom settings than normal."

Seeing that some of the monsters had survived, she equipped her gun in one hand and her crossbow in the other, Danielle rushed forward and shot anything that moved. The general mole man had watched, dumbfounded, as the entire army and most of the city were destroyed, but he quickly was shot with a crossbow bolt to the forehead.

Other monsters, not many, maybe about five, had survived and were approaching. Danielle smirked and spun her gun around. She didn't need a high gunslinger skill to just point and shoot and she took out a monster with each blast. It was at that point that she realized the downside to the gun that the crossbow didn't have. The noise of the gun going off attracted other monsters toward her while the crossbow was almost silent.

Snake women burst to dust under her bullets while the mole men just died. She had been forced to stop to reload once overall, she just kept dodging incoming spears and crossbow bolts and fired her own rounds. She ran out of bolts for her crossbow so she was forced to throw the weapon at an incoming snake woman, which dazed her enough for a gun shot to hit her gut so she disintegrated.

Finally, the monsters stopped showing up and she breathed a sigh of relief. She was alone in the huge city with no monsters around to try and kill her.

"Ding. You have cleared the city of the mole men of monsters! Gained city token! Gained digger token! Gained 20 character points."

Danielle took a moment before she laughed. She didn't have to worry about mole men anymore and she got some good stuff. Pulling up her inventory, she saw that the city token allowed her to create her own city in an area of her choice. With nowhere to use it at the moment, she left it alone for now and looked at the other token. That one wasn't as valuable as it just gave a person of her choice the ability to dig perfect underground tunnels.

The character points on the other hand, she could use those. She briefly wondered if she could use them to give Hermione a cool power she hadn't had last time.

Shaking her head, she started the lengthly process of picking up everything that had been dropped by the dead monsters. In the end, she got a few more crossbows, about two dozen bolts for them, a few sets of snake themed armor, a shield that had the face of Medusa on it, and some cool sunglasses from that general mole man.

Smirking, she flipped the sunglasses open and put them on, feeling like some cool action hero before she gunned down aliens and then walking off, pushing a detonator and blowing up a city behind her. If she herself was a high elf and specialized in classic weapons, why couldn't she have Hermione as a gunslinging spy/secret agent that blew things up to save the day?

Laughing at that thought, she searched the city of the mole men and found a lot of treasure chests. Inside them, she found a few more handguns, something that looked like an assault rifle, a sniper rifle, tons of skill books and ammo. Lots and lots of ammo.

By the time she was done, and she equipped everything she could, she looked like a badass hero ready to mow down armies. Smirking, she put away all of her new guns but kept the glasses on, they looked cool.

Finally finding what she supposed was the command tent of the general mole man guy, she started going through the papers. She frowned. Most of the papers were done in code so she couldn't read it. Damn.

Sighing, she went back into the central square and started opening skill books.

"Gained 4 gunslinger."

"Gained 3 potions. Basic potion recipes learned."

"Gained 4 transfiguration."

"Gained 4 charms."

"Gained 5 care of magical creatures."

"Gained 3 gunslinger."

"Gained 5 blasting magic."

"Gained 4 blasting magic."

"Gained 4 blade."

"Gained 4 mad science."

Wow, that was a lot.

Danielle searched the whole of the city but found nothing else. Too bad but she figured that there might be more somewhere else.

Unfortunately, she found a flaw in her plan of blowing up the tunnels. She had no way out as they were all blocked.

Sighing, she thought about it for a few moments before figuring she might as well do it the easy way and use the digger token on Hermione. While a bit odd for the bushy haired girl to have that ability, she also didn't want Hermione to be trapped down in the city of the Mole men for the rest of her life.

Taking out the token, a list of various people she could use it on appeared and she chose Hermione. The token vanished but a new ability appeared on Hermione's skill sheet. The ability to dig tunnels.

Wondering how it worked, she went up to one of the blocked up tunnels and placed a hand on the dirt wall. With a ding, a new window popped up and showed off a three dimensional grid map of the surrounding tunnels and the city. Choosing the dig option, she dragged the arrow from her location to a point just beyond the blocked tunnel on the other end.

Selecting done, the window vanished and a new tunnel just large enough for a person flashed into existence in front of her. Impressed, she followed the tunnel and when she came out the other end, it stopped right where she wanted it to.

"Nice."

Deciding to follow the bigger tunnel, she found herself climbing up a short incline. Finally, the tunnel stopped at a trap door, that she opened and climbed out of.

The trap door just so happened to have been hidden in a girl's bathroom in one of the stalls. What was with people putting secret passageways in girl's bathrooms? First Salazar Slytherin with the Chamber of Sercrets, and now this?

Rolling her eyes, she was just glad that there had been no one in the stall at the time and left the bathroom, wondering where to go next. Checking her watch, the time was still frozen at 7:45 so time still wasn't moving.

Yawning from the mental work she had done, not feeling physical tiredness at all, she went through the classrooms again, making sure she hadn't missed anything. She shook her head at the various teachers and students. Since they weren't important to the plot, they looked like cardboard cutouts with no personality. She tried talking to them but other than them saying the same thing over and over again whenever she tried, she got nothing out of them except a few etiquitte points.

She was fairly sure that those 'masters' the snake women had talked about were around here somewhere and needed to be killed. This school was overrun with monsters and it seemed that as the main character for this quest, it was down to her to save the day.

Now, where would the boss of this school of monsters be?

Oh…OH! Seriously? Way too obvious.

Turning around she headed for the administrative building, which was next to the cafeteria, and snuck inside. Sneaking around the secretaries, who were again more interested in their computers than her, she got to the same intersection that led to the Headmistress's office and the stage in front of the cafeteria.

Taking a left instead of a right however brought her to the main office hallway. She could make out the office for the Deputy headmaster and a few for other high ranking educational officials.

At the far end of the hallway was a door that read:

**_Headmistress_**

**_Ivana Humpalot_**

Danielle looked at the sky and gave it the middle finger salute for that horrible pun right there. The least Miranda could have done was give this character a better name.

Very carefully, she entered sneak mode and opened the door slowly, not wanting to get killed or yelled at for interrupting. What she saw made her heart sink.

The Headmistress was, sure enough, not human. First, she looked to be a woman maybe in her mid-twenties at oldest and had violet colored hair and eyes. She could only see the woman's back as the Headmistress was facing away from the door and that was probably the only reason she was still alive.

Poking out of the Headmistress's hair were little demon horns, out of her back had elegant black bat-like wings and a whip like tail was showing from above the woman's panties. Danielle could make out the woman's slightly claw-like hands, combined with the fact that the woman's skin had a violet shade to it that was covered in tattoos…it all combined to only one possibility.

The Headmistress was a Succubus. Great! Just what she needed!

Succubi were extremely rare in the world, most of them being hunted to extinction as most couldn't or wouldn't control their appetites. A kind of sex demon, they usually drained their victim dry of their life force after they were done 'feeding.' They were also extremely fast, stronger than the average human by a lot, magically resistant, and just all around hard to kill.

Danielle gulped. "Save game."

"Game saved."

There was only one way of defeating someone like this and that would be hard and fast. Killing them before they realized they were in danger. Simply barging in there and shooting her seemed like a pretty good idea.

Thanking Miranda that she had a save function, she equipped her assault rifle. It was the most powerful gun she had, even if she had to hold it with two hands instead of only one.

Hoping that this would work, she snuck through the door to the wall behind the headmistress, cradling her gun. Taking a deep breath, she leveled it and stood up, just in time for a loud banging noise to go off. Her head had crashed into a shelf above her that she hadn't seen.

Ivnna turned around just in time to see Danielle fire the assault rifle. A huge bang hit the succubus in the shoulder and the monster was thrown backwards into her desk but it looked like a superficial wound, one that looked more painful than it was.

Before Danielle could do anything, she found herself pinned to the floor, her gun knocked out of her hand and a clawed hand came down on her. The next thing she knew she was waking up in the Main Menu screen.

She sighed. "Should have seen that coming," she said to herself. Well, she had no one else to talk to. Thinking over a new strategy, she nodded. "Load saved game."

Finding herself back sneaking into the office, she reached for two of her hand guns instead of the huge rifle. While they did less damage, she could fire off two rounds instead of only one.

Sneaking to the side instead of the wall behind the sexual demon, she didn't get out of her crouch before she leveled the gun in her right hand and fired, into the demon's chest.

The succubus flinched as she felt the bullet hit her chest before the demon turned to spot her. Danielle held up the other gun and fired into the monster's face this time, just as she saw the clawed hand come her way. The monster was blasted back a few steps, holding her face in both hands as she tried to kill her.

Smirking now, Danielle fired again but found her bullet blocked by one of the large bat-like wings. The wing had actually stopped the bullet, allowing the monster time to recover.

Frowning, she unloaded round after round in the few spots that the wings didn't cover and while it was doing damage, the monster still stood.

Suddenly, she found herself being jerked back and she fell onto her back, the gun in her left hand slipping from her grasp and sliding under the desk, out of her reach. Realizing that it had been the monster's whip like tail that had tripped her up, she managed to stand again just as the succubus glared at her.

The bullet to the face had caused a nasty wound but it was slowly healing. While she didn't look very attractive anymore, the headmistress was still deadly and completely enraged. Danielle had to duck as a large fireball flew from the woman's hand and blasted a hole in the wall behind her.

Danielle screamed in pain as she felt a fire whip being encircled around her. She could see her hit points flashing as they were declining at an alarming rate.

"You will die for what you did to me," the succubus hissed. "My army in the mole man city was supposed to be glorious. Die little one!"

Danielle held her remaining gun and fired into the monster's chest again, trying to get her heart. After the third shot, the monster woman stumbled into the wall behind her, trying to stop the bleeding from the three additional wounds in her chest.

Finding that the whip had vanished, knowing she didn't have much time, she tried to fire again only to hear a click instead of a gun shot. Frantic, she ejected the clip and put in a new one just as the succubus lunged at her.

More gun shots rang out and Danielle had to roll out of the way as the monster almost landed on top of her. Raising the gun again, it was yanked out of her hand by the whip like tail and she was weaponless for the moment.

Both Danielle and the monster got to their feet at the same time but Danielle got out her assault rifle just in time to fire a huge blast. The shot burned a hole that went right through the succubus, a wound that couldn't just be closed with demonic magic.

Ivanna Humpalot looked at her in shock before she fell to her knees and slumped to the ground, dead.

Danielle collapsed on the floor too, exhausted after that fight.

"Ding. You have taken down one of the school's 'Masters.' Obtained Succubus token."

Great. Just what she needed. The ability to allow one of her friends to turn into a sex demon.

Seeing that Ivanna's body was glowing, she heaved herself off the floor and looted the body.

What she got was a skin tight jumpsuit that showed off a lot more than it hid but allowed for complete freedom of movement.

"Undetected jumpsuit acquired."

"Save game." She did not want to fight this psycho demon bitch again.

"Game saved."

"Detect."

"Detect failed."

"Detect."

"Jumpsuit of sexiness acquired, +7 acrobatics and +4 sex magic when equipped."

Hmm. That actually sounded pretty nice. Pulling up her inventory, she equipped the jumpsuit and watched as her normal clothes vanished and were replaced by the black, grey and blue jumpsuit. Testing out her movements, she found that the fabric moved with her. Nice.

Figuring she might as well get out of there, she left the office after collecting her guns and headed out of school administration building.

She needed to find the other 'masters' and defeat them too. She wasn't sure where they were or what they were planning but if she was the main character in this quest, then she would have to do it herself. Okay, so there were mole people under the school playground, the headmistress's office held a demon, and snake women had been seen on the stage next to the cafeteria. Where else was there in a school that could hold monsters or even one of these 'masters?'

As she walked through the corridors of the school, she was glad that she was in a game as no one looked twice at her outfit. Her whole ensemble screamed deadly sexiness and would never be allowed in a school, no matter what they taught. Here, she was fairly sure she could walk down the hallway naked and no one would care.

Pulling up her inventory, she pulled out the sandwich of her lunch and began eating, watching her hit points go back up to maximum, putting away the half she hadn't eaten yet just in case she needed it later.

Thinking, she tried to go over the various places that could house a monster. Sighing, she knew that the various classrooms was a bust, but maybe…

Turning around, she found the school's computer lab in a heartbeat. It was simple as the door was labeled 'computer lab.'

"Save game."

"Game saved."

Opening the door, she cautiously looked around, searching for anything out of the ordinary. What she hadn't expected was to find nothing at all. No treasure chests, no monsters to fight, nothing even remotely dangerous.

Sighing, she figured she could use a break and turned on one of the computers. After it had booted up, it being a model that was made back in the seventies after all, she blinked as she saw a few icons for her to choose from.

The two icons showed the internet browser and something called 'secret plans.' Sighing, pinching the bridge of her nose, she opened the 'secret plans' file and watched as it loaded.

She honestly didn't expect anything less, now that she thought about it. According to the screen, it showed a detailed plan on multiple kinds of monsters accessing the school in strategic locations around the campus. How all of this was accessable from a public computer and not on some heavily guarded flash drive was a mystery to her but…oh well. Video games were kind of stupid like that.

Examining the map, she saw that there was only one 'master' left and where his army was.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Danielle said out loud. She didn't know whether to laugh or face palm at the location she would have go to if she wanted to stop the last invasion.

Standing, she examined every one of her weapons and nodded, making for the door to the outside hallway. Of all the places to launch an invasion, no one would ever think of the headquarters of a monster army would be in the kindergarten playground.

The playground was almost right next to the computer lab too, so she was able to get a good view of it There were a few children playing around on the equipment, but they all seemed artificial. The children weren't real, she knew that, they were just computer programs, but they seemed fake even for that.

The playground itself was divided into two sections. One for the younger kids and one for the slightly older ones; not that there was much difference between them, sorry if a four year old had to play away from the five year olds!

Crouching down, she snuck past the low fence around the playground and around the playing children. Their movements just seemed wrong, though, as if it was scripted and rehearsed. There was none of the classic spontaneous behavior kids were famous for.

Frowning, she moved closer to the classroom and found that all the windows were closed and the door locked. The blinds were drawn as well so there would be no sunlight in the room.

Thinking it over, she moved over to the other walls, looking in case there was another way in than just the front door. When she found none, she sighed and tried the doorknob, which was locked.

Scowling, she pulled out her last few hairpins and started trying to unlock the door. Why no one saw it as suspicious that a classroom in front of a playground with children playing in front was locked was beyond her so she figured it was video game logic.

When she heard the lock click and swung forward slightly, she smirked and equipped her two hand guns. She wasn't taking any chances.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

Holding both guns ready, she kicked the door the rest of the way open and looked around the room, looking around for any sign of danger.

When she didn't find anything right away, she slowly entered the classroom, both guns ready to fire at a moment's notice.

The room itself was creepy. It was like a kindergarten classroom collided with a fun house mirror and an evil dungeon. The walls could be seen having happy yellow wall paper but the effect was ruined by the various pictures of death and destruction, done in crayon, pinned to them as well. Torture devices like an iron maiden and a rack were also visible. A whole wall was covered with giant mirrors, but they were curved and didn't give a very good reflection of the room.

The door suddenly slammed shut behind her.

She held out both guns, fingers on the triggers, looking around for any sort of movement and ready to fire at the smallest target that presented itself.

Three soft thumps got her attention and she turned to see that she wasn't alone in this hellish room.

Three figures were standing in front of the door, all female, all clearly powerful. Two were blonde while the third was a brunette and were wearing such sheer dresses that it put her jumpsuit of sexiness to shame. When the brunette, who was clearly the leader, smiled, she showed off fangs.

"Such a long time since we drained a girl with guns, hasn't it sisters?" The brunette asked, purring her question. "Looks a little scrawny, but I bet her blood tastes good."

"Vampires, huh?" Danielle asked, raising her guns again. She hadn't liked how hungry the three 'sisters' looked when she had said that. "I take it you three are responsible for those children out there?"

One of the blondes smirked. "Oh no, that would be our master. But they are so much fun to tease as we drain them of their blood every now and then."

"Ew," Danielle deadpanned. "I didn't need to hear that." She frowned, this room was the size of the building it was in, there wasn't any space for another room. Where was this master of theirs?

The brunette smirked. "We heard about you wiping out the army in the underground city. You will pay dearly for interrupting our plans."

"What are your plans?" Danielle asked, honestly curious.

"Once we take this school for us, monsters who have been shunned by magical society, we will take over this city. It will not be hard to eventually spread and take over all of Britain."

"A bit melodramatic, isn't it?" Danielle wondered out loud. With that, she fired two rounds, one after the other, but she hadn't aimed at the vampire girls. The bullets had hit the curtained window, hoping that it would have shattered the glass and let the sunlight through. Sadly, the glass held. "Bullet proof glass?"

The vampire girls hissed and lunged with enhanced speed, trying to tear her to pieces.

Like against Ivanna, Danielle fired round after round at the three undead vampires. While the bullets had some effect, it was not nearly enough to stop all three of them. Perhaps if there had been one, maybe two, but three? Nope.

Wishing she had some access to light magic or some holy water, the most she could do would be to hold them off. She was glad she had boosted Hermione's speed as she was just barely able to dodge some of the attacks the three sisters sent at her.

The three vampires didn't look remotely attractive anymore. In fact, their skin had turned gray and leathery, bat like wings had burst from their shoulder blades, and their clothes had been ripped off. That wasn't to mention that their faces looked more demonic than human now.

Blasting one vampire in the shoulder, the demon flinched back and growled. What she hadn't expected though was for Danielle to shove her roughly, pushing her into the wall behind her. Danielle smirked when she saw that the vampire woman had crashed into the iron maiden, impaling her body with several of the spikes, causing the vampire to wail in agony.

Unfortunately, that only made the other two monsters angry at her. Fangs exposed, they leaped at her again, again falling back when two bullets hit them in the faces this time. Pulling the triggers, she mentally sighed when she heard the double click instead of two gunshots. Out of ammo, again.

Throwing both of the handguns at the vampires, she pulled out the assault rifle and fired. Not at the two vampires, but at the window again. The window might have been able to stand the might of a handgun, but not the heavy assault rifle. The blast shattered the window, sunlight pouring in from behind the still closed curtains. The hole created by the blast, however, was enough for the vampires to shield their faces from the light.

Running, Danielle pulled, hard, on the curtains and managed to expose the entire room to the sunlight. She watched in morbid fascination as the three vampires, one removing herself from an iron maiden with some difficulty, felt the effects of the sunlight.

Their skin burned and steamed, crumbling to dust in the harsh light. It was even worse for the two huddled together when a beam of sunlight hit the mirror on the wall and reflected back on the monsters, being hit by sunlight from two angles.

Finally, there were only three piles of dust in the room and she heaved a sigh of relief.

"Ding, good job, went up to level 5. Gained 10 more hit points and 10 more stamina. Please pick your level five perk."

Rolling her eyes, Danielle picked 'Muggles Rule' so Hermione could use normal tech in magically rich areas.

"Ding, gained vampire token! Gained twisted sister token."

Odd, but useful. But a twisted sister? Yeah, she could have some fun with that.

Picking up her guns, she put them away when she saw that there were two things glowing in the dust. Picking them up, she found that they were necklaces of some sort.

"Gained unknown necklace."

"Save game."

"Game saved."

"Detect."

"Gained blood necklace. +10 health when worn. Gained one magical detection."

"Not bad," she put the necklace away. "Detect."

"Gained blood necklace. +10 health when worn."

Of course she got two of the same item. Shrugging, she saw that there was space for a necklace on her body. Equipping the necklace, it appeared around her neck and her stats said she got a temporary boost in health.

Frowning at the fact that there was still a 'master' out there, and the computer said it was here, she wasn't sure of what to do now. Getting an idea, she put her hands on the floor and focused like she had back at that rock wall in the Mole Men city. A map of the local underground appeared in her vision and she smirked when she saw that there was a large space directly under her.

Thinking hard, she left the classroom, now full of sunlight, and got outside, next to the building. Putting her hands on the ground, she focused and found what she figured was an underground laboratory. Selecting the dig feature, she dragged the arrow from her location and ended next to the lab.

Smirking when a tunnel appeared in front of her, she hopped in and started traveling. She had been careful to prevent a huge drop anywhere and the tunnel she had created was more of a steep slope, hard, but still possible. Getting to the end, she equipped her twin handguns again, ready to fire at a moment's notice.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

Walking into the large room, she saw that she was right, it was a laboratory. Strange machines were everywhere, beakers and test tubes were on some nearby work tables, and there was even a large covered something on some slab held by chains. Yep, this was a mad scientist's lab alright.

She didn't get far into the room when she heard a loud laugh.

"Soon, my precious, we will take over the school, and then the world! They didn't understand me, they said I was mad! Well, who's mad now? I will show them all!"

That was so…Saturday morning cartoonish it was sad. Before she could do anything, the mad scientist turned around and saw her, causing him to hiss at her.

"You think yourself a hero!" The guy said. He was dressed in a classic mad scientist costume, complete with the rubber gloves, goggles on his head, and the white hair that stuck everywhere. "You may have defeated my monsters, but you will never defeat me! I created them but I can unmake you just as easily!"

"Does that even make sense?" Danielle asked, holding her guns up at him. "Now, step away from the mad genius stuff before I blow your head off."

"NEVER!" Before she could act, he whipped the sheet off the slab to reveal what was underneath.

The creature under the sheet was huge, maybe eight or nine feet tall. He had greenish skin, dressed in a brown button up shirt, huge pants, and boots. Bolts were attached to his neck and he looked almost like he had been sewn together from various body parts from different people.

"You created the Frankenstein monster?" Danielle almost shouted.

The mad genius laughed. "I have brought him to life! And now, he will attack!"

The huge creature slowly stood, getting off the slab he had been resting on. There was no doubt about it, he was about nine feet tall with huge arms that could easily tear her in half. Gulping, she gritted her teeth and fired two shots into the monster's chest. The toughend skin absorbed the blow easily and the bullets bounced off, doing no damage whatsoever.

"Well, that's not good," Danielle muttered. Putting away her guns and getting out her assault rifle, she had to jump to the side when the monster had picked up a table and thrown it at her, the mad genius laughing manically all the time.

Quickly realizing that the monster was big but slow, she was easily able to run around the monster and fired a blast from the rifle in her hand, hitting it in the shoulder as the man-made creature turned around to face her.

The result was…less than impressive. The blow had caused the monster to stagger, but he looked none the worse for wear. Roaring, the monster staggered toward her, making her duck and run again.

Great, this thing was starting to learn and it seemed impervious to bullets.

Getting out of the way again, she aimed not at the monster but at the scientist, who looked so shocked that he couldn't get out of the way in time for her to fire at him instead.

The scientist guy's head exploded as well as most of his upper torso, but the monster was still lumbering toward her. Well, it looked like the scientist was not controlling the monster after all.

Reloading quickly, she put in her last shot for the rifle, pointed it at the creature and fired. The blast hit the monster in the chest and made it stumble back, crashing and destroying the table behind him in the process, but he still stood. Just…perfect.

With no more ammo for the assault rifle, she put it away and pulled out two crossbows from the Mole Men. She had about two dozen normal bolts for them but she also had about half a dozen traquilizer darts for them as well. Loading three of them in each crossbow, she jumped back and fired the darts, hitting the monster in the chest and face area.

Smirking when she saw the monster start to get sleepy, she saw the creature sit down on one of the benches, only for it to break under him and make him send the table hurtling toward her. Danielle tried to jump out of the way in time but the table crashed into her, makng her slam into the wall and drop her hit points into the red.

Staggering to her feet and kicking the table off of her, she got unsteadily to her feet and saw that the monster was just sitting on the floor, casually pulling the darts out of his shirt and neck, completely calm.

"Oh, dang it, how can I kill him now?" she said out loud. Really, the creature there just looked like the epitome of calm, with no rage at all. How could she kill him?

That answer was made apparent when the Frankenstein monster in front of her tossed her a huge machine that was about twice as big as she was. It was obvious that he wanted to play catch with her but she had to jump out of the way before she got killed.

Right. Death time for the monster!

Pulling out her sniper rifle, which was more powerful than her handguns but not as much as the assault rifle, she snuck around the walls, getting close to the monster. Dodging more flying machines of death, she finally snuck up right to the creature and pointed the sniper rifle, point blank, against the thing's head.

Pulling the trigger multiple times, she heard the shots that the monster's tough skin couldn't protect him from so close and saw the spray of the thing's blood. A few more shots and the man-made monster was truly dead. Sighing, she fired a few more times just to make sure.

It was more of a mercy killing, really. That thing should not be alive. It was man-made. Unnatural. An abomination against nature itself.

"Ding, gained one super strength token. You have defeated the last of the 'masters.' The school is now monster free! Gained 75 Character points."

Sighing in relief, she packed up her stuff and checked the room for anything of value. Other than a few skill books and a couple of treasure chests that had a few more shots for her assault rifle and even two grenades, there was nothing else.

Opening the skill books, she had to admit she could have gotten worse.

"Gained 4 mad science."

"Gained 5 general magic."

"Gained 4 Potions."

Overall, not bad at all. Getting out of the creepy secret lab, she got to the surface in no time and looked over her stuff. The super strength token, naturally, gave a person enhanced strength without giving a person extremely huge muscles. That would be amusing to give to someone like Luna. A petite girl with the ability to lift and throw huge objects several times her size.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

She got out of the secret lab and found that the sun was shining brightly and the children on the playground were now playing around happily, much more like standard kids than creepy robots.

With nothing else to do, Danielle mentally shrugged and went to the classroom Hermione had been assigned. She wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not she had defeated all of the monsters and the school was safe. Now…she was almost bored.

Slipping into the proper classroom, she took a seat at the desk labeled 'Hermione Granger' and instantly time moved forward to eight O'clock, all the desks were filled with students and the teacher came in.

Danielle's attention instantly started slipping as the teacher did the usual roll call of the class, her almost missing her name as she was playing as Hermione and not herself, and she started doing the standard opening lecture.

Blah, blah, blah, rules and conduct in this class. Blah, blah, blah, rule breaking will result in harsh punishments. Blah, blah, blah, she honestly didn't care. This was the third grade! She could probably teach this class!

"Now then, let's start off with a quick quiz," said the teacher. "Just to see how much damage control I have to do this year." The woman teaching the class obviously thought she was being funny, but she really wasn't.

Danielle sighed before taking the test, already knowing all of the answers. She herself had gotten near perfect scores in primary school before Hogwarts and Hermione was even smarter than she was. With Hermione Granger's intelligence, this was easy.

_1\. What is the capital of England?_

_2\. What is 5x2?_

_3\. What was foreshadowing?_

Sighing again, she picked up her pencil that she had summoned from her inventory and started writing answers. The capital of England was London. Five times two was ten. Foreshadowing was a literary plot device used to introduce something early in a story only for it to come back later in a very significant way.

By the sight of everyone else in the class, they didn't seem to find everything easy.

The class started up again after all of the quizzes were collected and on the teacher's desk. Danielle honestly didn't have much faith in her fellow students. Some of them were drooling on the desks. Others were looking at themselves in mirrors, like their appearance was the most important thing in the world.

"Dang it Miranda," Danielle muttered to herself. Honestly, the woman did this just to be annoying, she just knew it.

"Miss Granger, if you can talk in my class, than you can answer this question on the board."

Danielle tried to ignore the usual snickers, pointing and whispering from her various 'classmates' and looked at the board. It was a simple multiplication problem, no sweat. "Six times seven is forty-two, Ma'am."

The woman, now impressed, gave another problem. "What about this one?"

Danielle, now really bored, just stood up and did the problem on the chalkboard. "Twelve times eleven is one hundred twenty-one."

She was now really trying to ignore the stares and sneers she was getting from her classmates. "Well, what about this one?"

Danielle sighed as she watched the woman gave a much more complicated problem that was probably fifth grade material. Too bad she had been almost eighteen when she had died, this was too easy. "Fifteen times seventeen is two hundred fifty-five," she said, showing her work and how she got to that answer. "Shouldn't we allow the other students to answer a few questions as well?"

The teacher stared at her in awe and nodded. "Of course. Please, go back to your seat."

Shrugging, she yawned and sat down again, staring at the board with a glazed look in her eyes. This whole thing was just too boring for her to care. She had gone through a magical school! Having to sit through a third grade class again was irritating and annoying rolled into one.

Who could find this amusing? To relive these stupid primary school years over and over again?

Finally, the bell rang for recess and she was eager for a chance to stretch her legs. Yawning, she saved her game again and pulled out the other half of the sandwich she had eaten before, watching as her hit points got back up to maximum again.

She was just walking around a bit when a shady looking kid in an overcoat came over to her. "Hey, you uh, looking for something? Candy, homework, weapons?"

"Weapons?" Danielle looked at this kid suspiciously. What eight or nine year old would have weapons to sell on a school playground?

The kid smirked. "Thought so. Here, I got some good stuff."

Suddenly, a window opened and revealed a whole list of everything the kid had for sale, as well as how much it was. There was both a buy and a sell option but apparently there was a limit to how much she could get if she sold something.

_Pencil-50 pence_

_Pen-50 pence_

_Paper-50 pence (per five sheets)_

_Chocolate bar-1 pound_

_Gatorade-1 pound_

_Crisps-1.50 pounds_

_Sandwhich-5 pounds_

_Homework-5 pounds_

_Ammunition (handgun)-7 pounds_

_Ammunition (Assault rifle)-8 pounds_

_Ammuntion (Sniper rifle)-8 pounds_

_Rockets (3)-10 pounds_

_Calculator-15 pounds_

_Handgun-15 pounds_

_Grenade-15 pounds_

_Rocket Launcher-15 pounds_

_Assault rifle-20 pounds_

_Sniper rifle-20 pounds_

_Grenade laucher-20 pounds_

_Sword of the Master Student- price on request_

"Wow, uh, that's a lot," said Danielle, nodding. She looked over at the sell bin and pulled up her inventory. Taking out her gemstone of the wealthy, she threw it in and the little counter showed that she could get one hundred pounds out of it. Smiling, she put in one of her kitchen knives and one of the necklaces she got that boosted speed. She hit the sell button.

Having one hundred twenty pounds now, she looked over the list again and bought some more ammunition for her assault rifle and her sniper rifle. She was fine with her hand guns for the moment though she might come back for that. Buying two more grenades, that boosted her number of those up to four. She wasn't sure about the rocket launcher but she figured it was better to be safe than sorry so she bought the launcher and six rockets.

Only having about forty pounds left after that, she got another sandwich just in case she needed the health boost.

"Pleasure doing business with you," the shady kid said before walking off, being much lighter when it came to merchandise but having a lot more cash than he had had before.

Smirking that she was deadlier than before, she hadn't gone far when that mean girl from before got into her face. Really? What was this girl's problem?

"And we have our favorite punching bag here, just like last year, huh girls?" the annoying blonde said to her posse, not really noticing when they laughed a few moments too late for it to be really amusing to them. She leaned in close to Danielle's ear, "Just, like, leave us alone or we'll make your life miserable, m'kay?"

Danielle was really getting pissed at this girl. Wondering what she could do to her, she smirked. "Why don't we settle this behind that building over there?" she gestured to some portable classroom on the edge of the playground. "You and me. Or do you think I can't handle you on my own?"

The blonde girl snorted. "Yeah, right. I could, like, destroy you with one hand behind my back." She turned to her posse, "wait here for me."

They shrugged, not really caring that their leader was leaving them for a moment.

Danielle continued to smirk as she and little miss snooty princess girl went behind the building. Once she was sure they were out of earshot from anyone, a flying kick to the head knocked the blonde princess down to the ground.

"You little bitch!"

"Shut up," Danielle said calmly before yanking the girl by the hair up to her, making them at eye level. She was really glad she had boosted Hermione's strength or she doubted she could have done this before. "Listen up you little bitch," Danielle whispered. "I'm tired of you pretending to be a bully to me just to make yourself feel better. Now, here's what we are going to do, either you apologize to me and everyone else you've bullied, or I kill you. Simple as that."

Little miss princess snorted. "Yeah, right. I'm supposed to believe that you'll kill me? Let me you go you loser."

"Well, I tried," Danielle said with fake regret. She was now really happy that this little blonde girl was just a computer program, or else she might have nightmares after this. As it was, she didn't feel bad at all for killing this girl who wasn't even real.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

She really had to look over the manual again over who was real and who wasn't but she was sure she was the only one who was real in this game.

Yanking the girl's head back, she slammed her head into the wall of the building behind her. She repeated this multiple times before the blonde's face was starting to get misshapen and bloody.

Throwing the blonde down onto the ground, she was glad she didn't look anywhere near as haughty or princess like as she had been. "Okay, now you die."

Pulling something out of her inventory, the blonde girl couldn't see what she had pulled out as she tried to crawl away from her tormenter. How was she supposed to know that the brunette bookworm she teased and harassed would do this?

"This is what you get for being my tormenter for all these years, bitch. You're going to die now."

The girl believed it and her tears fell all the harder. Danielle wasn't swayed as she was sure that this girl would do the same in a heartbeat if their positions were reversed. Besides, she had killed Piers when she had been playing in her own body and he came back. Who's to say that this bully of a girl wouldn't come back if she was killed?

"Have fun in hell," Danielle said before taking out the pin of the grenade she just strapped onto the girl's clothes.

Danielle walked off in the opposite direction she had come from, looking back after about ten seconds had passed and the grenade exploded. She watched as the girl had literally exploded from a grenade. When the explosion had died down, the girl's body was mostly gone, though her now severed head landed in front of Danielle's feet.

Shrugging, she stored the head into her inventory, wondering if she could use it for something later. With that done, she snuck back around the portable classroom to the usual playground to wait until the bell rang for her to return to class.

When class started again, Danielle was once again bored out of her mind. At least when she was torturing that girl it had been entertaining. Now she was learning about things she had learned when she was a third grader.

She honestly didn't know what it meant when she didn't feel anything when she killed that girl. Was she so used to killing monsters she didn't even blink at the thought of killing someone she figured was a random computer program her life was now full of? True, she had killed Piers and he came back, but she wasn't sure if that was because he had a name and somewhat important to the overall plot line of this game.

Okay, yeah, Piers wasn't important at all but he did have a name. That girl she had killed didn't have one. Or at least, she didn't know what it was.

That annoying blonde would either show up again after respawning or she would be replaced by some equally annoying generic character with little to no personality. Yeah, she would stop worrying about it.

Now, if someone she knew was using that girl's body the same way she was using Hermione's…then there would be a problem. But that wasn't the case. She was sure about that.

Overall, her day was boring and uneventful after that. She had talked to various people just to boost Hermione's ettiquite points but she didn't get much as the students just said the same thing over and over again every time she tried. Stupid 2D characters with little to no personality. At least the adults said two things when she talked to them, not that it helped much but it was better than nothing.

Overall, she was releaved when the school day was finally over and Dan Granger came to pick her up. Hermione's mother had looked like an older version of her, so it was plain to see that Hermione inherited very little of her father in her. She saw that her bushy haired friend had got some of Dan's facial features like their cheekbones, but overall it wasn't worth mentioning.

"Have a good day sweetie?" Dan asked as Danielle got into the car.

Before Danielle could say anything, like comment on Dan's lack of reaction to her sexy jumpsuit, more word bubbles appeared in front of her. That was strange, she had used any kind of dialogue she had wanted for most of the day and now the speech bubbles were back. Weird.

"Just the first day of school, daddy," Danielle said, choosing that option. "Exciting and boring at the same time."

Dan chuckled. "Yeah, you get everything so easily that it's almost scary. Just know that we're proud of you Hermione."

Danielle nodded, relaxing as much as she could for the half hour long car ride to the house. She was ready to do something else and play in some one else's body now. Hermione's body was getting good, but it just wasn't the same as playing in her own body. Or maybe she could mix it up a bit and play in Harry's or Ginny's bodies. That would be strange.

Realizing they were back at the house, Danielle nodded to Dan Granger and headed up the stairs.

Taking a deep breath, she went over everything she had done that day as she sat in the large armchair next to the bookcase in Hermione's room. She had helped Hermione power up, gain weapons, kill monsters, get her new abilities and killed the school bully and no one had even noticed.

She had checked, no one could even remember a blonde girl that liked to torment Hermione Granger. Whether that meant she was gone for good or would come back the next day, she didn't know. She was just glad that no one even knew of the giant explosion that had killed her.

Mentally shrugging, she pulled out her game instruction manual, which had followed her into Hermione's inventory when she had switched bodies, and looked something up. She looked up 'Generic Characters.'

_Generic Characters are characters in this game that are so unimportant that they don't even have a name, or they do have a name and are unimportant to the plot. Either way, if one were to die by the main character, they would come back after either several hours to a full day. Please note that this is only if the main character kills them. If events are changed so much that another person kills a generic character or even a named character than that person will cease to exist._

_If the main character kills a named character, than the person is dead for good and can only be brought back if the game is loaded from the last save point._

Okay, so if she killed Piers, he would come back. But if say, Ginny, kills him while she's not playing as her, than the boy is dead for good. Well, at least she didn't have to worry about accidently killing random generic characters. She didn't think she had it in her to kill a person that she knew wouldn't come back.

Note to self, do not accidently kill Harry. Level him up enough so even if he is hit by a killing blow, he can survive.

Tired and ready to stop playing as Hermione, Danielle sank onto the bed and a window popped up.

"Going to bed ends the mission. Would you like to stop playing as Hermione Granger?"

"Save game."

"Game saved."

She nodded and watched as she reappeared in the main menu screen. "Ding, you completed one of Hermione's side quests! Gained 30 character points. Would you like to change reality to suit your results?"

Danielle nodded and figured she should get to work on all those points and tokens she had. Smirking, she pulled up the total character points she had and found she had one hundred fifty. Grinning now, she looked over Hermione's house as she really do something nice for her, now that she had played as her.

Looking over the various options to give Hermione's house, she shook her head and moved through some of the thing she could add. A dungeon, a lab, a portal to a fairyland, an armory…wait…hello!

An armory sounded perfect and she looked up the description.

_A structure that houses weaponry and ammunition. Capable of holding everything from guns to swords to bows to even a tank, this is the perfect addition to those loving weapons of every kind. Includes mini-lab that allows the owner to make their own weaponry as well._

Perfect! Perfect and triple perfect!

Checking to see that the armory moves if the occupants move, it did, she looked it up and saw that it would cost her one hundred character points. While steep, she was sure that if she could find some way of getting Hermione to move to Surrey, it would help her and Harry at the same time. Everybody wins!

Tapping the purchase button, there was a flash and the 3D image of Hermione's house changed. The backyard stretched as a high tech building appeared out of nowhere, obviously capable of holding everything Hermione could think of.

Getting out of that screen, she saw that she had fifty more points to spend and she had no clue what to spend it on. Shrugging, she got out of that screen as well and took out her tokens, frowning as she looked at the twisted sister token.

What did it mean by 'twisted'?

Looking it up, she saw the description.

"Ding. The twisted sister token gives a player of your choice a blood sister that is a little…loopy. She is overall sane, but can have a bit of a mean streak on her a mile long. Look out for pranks, traps, and general insanity."

Danielle frowned but actually contemplated it. She knew of a few people she would like to give a sister like that to. Hermione for starters as it would be funny to have her be balanced out by a sibling nothing like her. Then again…Hermione was now at least slightly different than what she had been before she had taken over.

Sighing, she used the token on the first person who could really use a sibling in his life. She used it on Harry.

"Ding. Harry now has a sister! What kind? Older? Younger? Twin?"

Perhaps Danielle was trying to apologize for sort of abandoning Harry but she picked twin, wishing him the best even if she wasn't his twin sister anymore.

With another ding, a window with the Potter family tree appeared. Next to Harry Potter appeared the picture of a girl with raven black hair and emerald eyes, looking like a female version of Harry. "Harry's new sister, Alexandria Potter."

Danielle shrugged. Could be worse. Though she did wonder why the game gave Alex black hair when she was Harry's real twin sister in her last life and she looked like a carbon copy of Lily.

Oh well, genetics and all that.

Having a feeling that she should wait to give Luna that super strength token when she actually met her in the game, she backed out of that window and saw that there were no side quests with other characters.

Tapping on her own picture, the window opened with a ding. "Join your father as he goes shopping in Diagon Alley. Would you like to start the mission?"

Nodding, she found herself standing in the Leaky Cauldron. John Skywalker was there and she was back in her own body. "Stat sheet."

**Danielle Skywalker Level 3, Age eight. 75/75 hit points.**

**Stats**

Strength: 17

Constitution: 8

Speed: 14

Agility: 10

Intelligence: 8

Wisdom: 4

**Abilities**

Archery: 25

Block: 6

Care of magical creatures: 20

Herbology: 25

Singing: 10

Ministry Popularity: -15

Acrobatics: 40

Sneak: 35

Throwing weapons: 15

Blasting magic: 15

Blade: 13

Ettiquite: 7

Potions: 6

Lock picking: 7

General magic: 9

Magical detection: 45

Wand crafting: 30

Not bad, but she really should start getting more abilities and boosting the ones she had. It was now that she realized how over powered she was compared to Hermione. The bushy haired girl was barely able to reach a strength stat of seven. And now she had a seventeen? Ouch.

Looking through her inventory, she nodded at that she had everything from before but nothing in Hermione's arsenal. That was for the best, she figured. It would be way too easy if everyone could pull out anything they wanted from everyone's inventory.

"Ready to go shopping sweetie?"

Danielle looked at John and nodded, smiling at him.

John opened the gate to Diagon Alley with his wand and she got to see Diagon Alley for the first time in this game. It looked pretty much the same as it had in her last life, only she was sure there were some trinkets and toys she could buy now that she couldn't last time.

"Why don't you go and pick out something for yourself?" John gave her a small bag of coins. "Buy something for you and your sisters, huh?"

"Uh, yeah, sure," she nodded, smiling back at him.

"Ding, acquired ten galleons. Buy something for yourself and your sisters to meet the requirements of the mission. Meet up with your father back at the Leaky Cauldron when you are ready to leave and end the mission."

John went off in the direction of Gringotts and she was left wondering what to do now. Shrugging, she started for what looked to be a pawn shop for magical junk. It didn't seem that special but the sign said it bought, sold, and exchanged goods so it was the best place to get rid of some excess things in her inventory.

The guy running the store looked like a nice guy when she approached. Instead of saying something, a window popped up with the choices to buy or sell something along an exit button. Picking the sell button, she saw that there was a pretty high sell limit here, meaning she could sell more things here than she could elsewhere.

Throwing in her two gemstones of the wealthy, the number she would get if she sold rose from zero to forty galleons. Not much all things considered. Putting in the various wands she had made that were relatively worthless along with a few other things the number increased to fifty-five galleons.

Hitting the sell button, the number of galleons she had rose to sixty-five, more than enough for a nice shopping spree. That wasn't even close to how much she could have sold in this one store but she didn't have anything in her inventory she wanted to get rid of. At least, not at the moment.

Exiting the store, she frowned, wondering what to do. Shrugging, she just started to window shop. When she got to Flourish and Blotts, however, she almost drooled at all the skill books on the shelves. She had to wonder if there was anything in this store that wasn't a skill book.

Picking up a random book, a window popped up.

"Ding. Skill books cannot give skill points in bookstores without paying for them first. Thought it would be easy, huh?"

Dang it.

Sighing and putting the book away, she left the book store and noticed the entrance to Knockturn Alley. Well, its not like she didn't have a save feature, after all.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

Equipping one of her daggers just in case, she carefully walked into the almost silent alley. As soon as she crossed the threshold between the two alleys, the sky got darker, all volume stopped, everything got a more depressing feel to it and she felt her inner sense of danger telling her to get out. Still, she was here and she wanted to explore, so, off she went.

A hag almost immediately leaped out of a dark alley and stood in front of her, showing off mossy green teeth and holding a plate of what looked to be whole, human fingernails.

"Lost, dear?" the hag said, grinning nastily.

Still on edge, Danielle acted without thinking and stabbed the hag in the gut with her dagger. Ripping it out and stabbing her again, the hag eventually keeled over and died, bleeding on the ground.

"Ding, gained one hag token."

Why she would want to turn a person into a hag, she had no idea but at least she had the option now. The hag's body was glowing so she looted the body.

"Acquired unknown knife."

"Detect."

"Acquired rusty knife of dullness. +1 blade when equipped."

Snorting, she put the rusty knife in her inventory and looked around. The hag's body had vanished after being killed and no one had seemed to notice. Seeing what seemed to be a street vendor, she went up to him, curious.

"What do you have here?" she asked, glaring at the man so he wouldn't try anything.

The man smiled nastily at her. "Tutorials, you little bint. Now, pay for something or leave."

Looking annoyed at the man, she looked over the various tips and tricks she could learn from this guy. "Pickpocketing?" she wondered, "hmm, fine." Putting five galleons on the tray, the guy smirked.

"Pickpocketing huh? Fine. Essentially, all you have to do is go into sneak mode so no one will notice you and go up to someone. If your skill is high enough, you can see a screen of what you can take from that person and you might not get caught."

Danielle nodded and left the creepy vender, looking up her stat sheet and saw that she now had pickpocketing as an ability to raise.

She was walking down the street and back toward Diagon Alley when she found a flyer for an underground fighting tournament. Curious, she found that she could enter with no problem and the Galleon prize for the winner was huge. The problem was that it was a fight to the death and she wouldn't have the power to save in between rounds.

This seemed perfect, but she needed some disguise so no one would recognize her. Slapping her forehead, she saved the game and went back to the main menu screen. Once there, she pulled up the menu for spending Character Points and typed in something in the keyboard.

"Metamorphmagus is the ability to alter one's appearance whenever one wishes. The more powerful the ability, the more things a person is able to change and the more disguises they have. 30/20."

Danielle grimaced. Thirty character points was a lot for the power to change her appearance and it was over half of what she had but it would be so worth it. Sighing, knowing that she did want the power, she tapped the purchase button for her character and she gained the power, going down to only twenty Character points now.

Getting out of that screen, she was facing the main menu again. "Load saved game."

Standing in Knockturn Alley again, she pulled up her stat sheet and pulled up the tab for disguises. Selecting the power of the metamorph, the screen in front of her showed her body and another blank image for her to customize a new identity. Tapping on that, she found that she couldn't alter too much yet, just several facial features about herself.

Knowing that she would have work on this, she turned her hair into a platinum blonde, her ears human round instead of elfin pointed, her nose a little less petite, and that was about all she could do with such a low level power. Naming this persona Jynx, she followed the directions on the flyer to the fighting arena.

"A little young to be fighting, aren't you runt?" the man asked, nastily.

Danielle glared at him. "My name is Jynx, now let me in or you won't find your lungs in a moment."

The guy shrugged and opened the door to let her in. Once inside, she was led to a table to sign in, which she did so.

The fight began about ten minutes later and she followed the directions she was supposed to and wound up in a huge circular arena. The stands above her in the specator arena had quite a few familiar faces to her from the final battle of Hogwarts in her last life like Walden McNair and Yaxley.

"Ladies and Gentleman!" said the announcer from somewhere above her. "Jynx here has agreed to fight eleven rounds in the death matches!" There was a sound of cheers and applauding, but Danielle looked at the guy. Eleven matches! That was more than she was told there would be! She had been told five or six at most!

"Now, let's see her first opponent!"

The doors on the other end of the arena opened slowly and revealed a cyclops. The big guy was large, maybe seven feet, and wore a lion pelt loincloth with a club in his hands. He seemed angry about something and his eye narrowed when he saw her.

Danielle opened her inventory and grabbed her sword.

"This is a fight to the death, so all tricks are allowed. Begin!"

The monster ran toward her with lumbering speed but Danielle was faster. Being part high elf really helped as she jumped over the Cyclops and slashed with her sword. She had managed to cut right through the monster and he collapsed, dissolving into dust.

"Round two, start!"

Turning, the door opened again to reveal two dracaene, snake women. They held spears and weighted nets, looking like they knew how to use them.

Sighing, Danielle dodged again before sweeping her legs under their double snake trunks, making them crash to the ground. She killed one by stabbing her in the gut but the other swung her weighted net at her. Using elf speed, she jumped over it, grabbed and used it against her. With a scream of rage, the other snake woman couldn't do anything before she was turned to dust as well when Danielle's sword cut her head off.

The other rounds were just like that. Being forced to take on more and more monsters in each round like several hellhounds and even a creature she thought might be a chupacabra. By the time she was done, she had been forced to pull out a healing potion to heal some minor injuries she had gotten.

She had just finished the tenth round when there was a ding.

"Congratulations, you have went up to level four. Gained 15 hit points and 20 stamina. Please pick your level four perk."

Seeing new options available, she decided to go for a perk labeled _Craftsman_. It essentially made it easier to make new things like weapons, armor, and even gave her a boost when she wore something she made herself.

"And now, for our eleventh and final match, here comes the champions!"

Tense and ready to fight anything, she saw that her opponents were two guys. One was huge, maybe nine feet tall and was completely white and hairless. He had fangs instead of teeth and even had a metal arm made of probably steel or iron. The other guy was a man wearing black plate armor and a helm that hid his face, but she could feel his creepy glowing eyes staring at her.

"Let me introduce to you our champions! The Pale Ork and the Dark Knight!"

There were more cheering and she gulped, maybe this wasn't the best of plans after all. The Pale Ork was the one who had almost killed Thorin Oakenshield in The Hobbit, she had read, and the Dark Knight was a terror in old medieval legends.

"Ding. Warning, Legendary Boss Fight."

"Yeah, thanks," Danielle muttered, preparing her sword. The Ork roared and hefted a huge club while the knight pulled out a flame sword. Yeah, this would be easy. Not.

Tension so thick it could be cut with a knife, The Pale Ork ran forward, club raised and ready to smash her, yelling words she couldn't understand. Instead of running away from the beast, she got closer and into the ork's guard, slashing with her sword and creating a deep cut in the creature's fleshy arm.

Rolling out of the way, she just barely dodged a blast of flames from the knight's sword.

Putting away her sword and drawing her bow, she fired arrows, one actually managing to get through the knight's guard and into his helm, going through one of the knight's eye sockets. The knight yelled in agony and tried to shoot another blast of fire but missed entirely.

Danielle didn't have time to admire her handiwork as the club of the ork got her and slammed her into the nearest wall, making her collapse into a heap. Groaning, she got up to see that her now ninety hit points had been reduced to only twenty after that blow. Stumbling to her feet, she knocked another arrow and fired, hitting the ork in the chest as he was tensing his legs, ready to jump at her.

The arrow didn't do much else though and he ripped it out, howling in pain and anger. Using the distraction, as everyone was looking at the angry ork, she knocked another arrow and shot it at the knight, still stumbling in pain. This arrow managed to go through the visor as well hit the knight's other eye, making him completely blind.

Jumping at her, the ork tried to kill her with his club when she ducked and moved out of the way, making him crash into the wall behind her instead. Pulling out her sword instead of her bow, she slashed at his back and made another deep gash. Jumping in the air brought her to the Ork's face and she slashed at its throat, cutting deep into his jugular vein.

Stumbling back, she watched as the ork fell over and quickly bled out, not moving. The knight was still staggering around and kept crashing into things. It didn't take long before he, too, fell over and stopped moving.

There was instant silence before the crowd roared in applause, Danielle putting her sword back into her inventory.

"And we have a new champion. Let's hear it for Jynx!"

There was another loud cheer for her but Danielle's eyes were on the weapons the ork and the knight had dropped. She quickly grabbed them and put them into her inventory.

"Acquired unknown gauntlet."

"Acquired unknown sword."

"Ding. You have defeated the death arena! Unlocked dark arena where you can fight more powerful opponents. You can now capture dark witches, wizards and beings like you can magical creatures and have them fight your battles for you."

That was new. She grinned at the thought of capturing someone like Umbridge and forcing her to fight for her.

When she left the arena, the guy she had signed up in front of gave her the prize money, five hundred Galleons, and she put that into her inventory. She yawned.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

Leaving Knockturn Alley, she made sure no one was watching her before turning back from Jynx to herself, figuring she might as well start spending money like crazy. She did have five hundred sixty-five galleons after all.

In Diagon Alley the first place she went to was the magical creature shop. Apparently, it was the same as capturing wild magical creatures only buying them. She wanted a pet of her own, and was sure she couldn't keep using Thumper in the animal arena. Thinking, she had always wanted a dog, as Harry had had Hedwig, but she wasn't sure about having one now. Frowning, she took a look at what they had.

Ten minutes later, she had bought a cute kneazle she had fallen in love with that she had named Rain, as she had bluish gray fur. Rain didn't have any powers beyond a standard kneazle but she was going to change that! Rain had only cost ten galleons so she had plenty of money left so she also bought a few spell books from Flourish and Blotts, detailing some good spells for magical creatures.

"Ding, gained 3 care of magical creatures."

"Ding, gained 4 care of magical creatures, learned basic breeding spells."

Nice. She looked up the stats for Rain.

**'Rain', Species: Kneazle. Level one. 15/15 hit points.**

**Stats**

Strength: 4

Constitution: 2

Speed: 4

Agility: 3

Intelligence: 2

Wisdom: 1

**Abilities**

Able to determine if someone is trustworthy or not.

Not bad as Rain was only a level one standard magical creature. She would have to see what would happen if she bred Rain and Thumper together. That would be weird, but it would be fun.

Seeing as buying Rain had counted as getting a gift for herself for this mission, she moved over to a toy store for something for Amanda and Roxy. In there, she found some pretty amusing toys. Little miniture brooms that really flew, various stuffed animals of every type, Harry Potter plushies…wait, what?

Taking a look, she grimaced as she saw that it was indeed a doll of Harry Potter, complete with the black hair, green eyes and the lightning bolt scar on it's forehead. Next to it was the complete series of Harry Potter, the children's series. Oh, she had to get this! She could show Harry and Alex this and see their reaction for the pensive memories.

Getting a shopping basket, she picked up a Harry Potter doll, the boxed set of the children's series, a huge rabbit stuffed animal for Roxy, who loved rabbits, and was looking for something for Amanda when she saw something.

In the corner of the shop was a slightly dusty pink bow. Picking it up, the label said it was a sparkle bow. All one had to do was pull the string and an arrow made of light would appear that when it hit something it would cover the area in sparkles for an hour. Oh, this was perfect!

Adding the bow to the basket, she went up to the cashier and he checked out her items. He paused at the bow. "Oh, wow, I forgot I had this here. This was really popular a few years ago but it kind of faded into obscurity since. Too bad, my niece loves this."

Danielle nodded politely and payed for her items, costing her a mere five galleons and twelve sickles. Putting the bag into her inventory to give to her sisters later, she left the shop and looked around.

"Ding," a window popped up. "You have satisfied the requirements for this mission. You could either end this mission when you go to the Leaky Cauldron, or when you go to bed in your room. Which would you rather do?"

Danielle smirked. "When I get to bed in my room."

The game dinged again and she went down the street. After spending a few galleons at Madame Malkins for some new clothes and an upgrade to the armor she had, she figured she had had enough of Diagon Alley for the moment.

Getting to the Leaky Cauldron, he found John waiting for her patiently. "Get something for everyone sweetie?"

Danielle nodded, smiling. "I did dad."

"Good. Let's go home." He pulled out a pinch of floo powder out of a bag and threw it into the fireplace. "Skywalker Ranch," John said, stepping into the flames and vanishing. Shrugging, Danielle did the same and came out in the living room in her house in Surrey.

"Ding, The Leaky Cauldron has been added to the locations you can travel to with floo powder. When you gain the power to apperate, you can get there like that too."

Made sense. Pulling out the bag of presents she had bought from the toy store out of her inventory and putting them on the table, she made sure to keep the Harry Potter doll and the books. She didn't want everyone to see she had bought that.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

"Main menu."

Appearing on the main menu screen again, she picked the pet arena, noticing that next to it there was also the dark arena that she couldn't enter yet as she had no dark creatures or wizards to sacrifice there. Tapping the pet arena made her appear in the courtyard again.

Going to the normal pet fights, she signed up Rain for the lowest ranking fight, her cat fighting on its own.

As it turned out, Rain did an excellent job against that frog. The fight hadn't really been fair as Rain had blocked the tongue attacks while pouncing, slashing at it with her claws. The toad was defeated pretty quickly after that.

"Not bad," said the wizard, giving her the entrance fee back and a collar that would boost a pet's agility. "Want to go again?"

Danielle nodded and this time wanted to be one fighting. Fighting against the same toad as a cat herself instead of watching was a little different but it didn't matter that much as she pounced, dodging the tongue and raking her claws against the toad. The fight went roughly the same as the previous one had gone and the battle was over before it really started.

Blinking as she was herself again, she got a few more coins than what she paid to start off with and walked over to the training booth. The girl looked at her curiously. "Hello, would you like me to train your pets?"

"Actually, I was hoping you could answer a few questions about something else?" Danielle said, hoping that this would work. "I was wondering about pet breeding and wondered how that worked."

"Ah," the woman nodded. "I have some information on that as well, don't worry. Essentially, in order for two pets to breed and have children, they have to be opposite genders, naturally. The children will be a combination of the two parents with various traits from both and some might even have the same special powers the parents had.

"Female pets have to fight at least five times in the pet arena to get back into shape before being able to breed again. All children will be at level zero when they are born and just so you know, I don't train level zero pets.

"You can do any two pets you want, it doesn't matter what they are as long as one is male and the other is female, but if the child is too big for the mother, there is a chance she could explode. When level zero pets are brought up to level one, you will see if it is mentally unbalanced, or if it's body can't handle a crossbreed and will need to be put down if it is. The ones that don't end up insane and have to be killed are always more powerful than their parents…as long as you don't do something stupid and throw some in breeding in there as that could screw up everything. Got it?"

Danielle nodded. "For now, thanks."

"No problem."

Nodding, figuring she would need some more pets to breed than just two, she threw a galleon into the fountain to fully heal Rain of any damage she might have taken from those two battles. "Main menu."

Standing in front of the main menu screen again, she tapped on her picture and she appeared back in her living room. Heading to the backyard, Roxy and Amanda saw her and joined her.

"Hey, there you are!" Amanda yelled happily. "You buy me anything?"

"Amanda!" Roxy scolded her, shaking her head, wearing the same.

"Actually, I did," Danielle smirked. "They're in the bag in the living room but I was going to conduct an experiment first. Want to watch?"

"Heck yeah!" the other red head shouted, following her. Roxy shrugged and went as well.

Getting into the kennel, Danielle saw the three pets inside. One was Thumper, eating a carrot in a field of hay. Rain was there, licking herself with her paw and washing her face, and the last one was her dad's dog Pepper, who was cleaning herself with her tongue.

Knowing that Pepper wasn't her dog, thus, off limits, she pulled out Thumper and Rain.

"Oh, you got a cat?" Roxy said, looking at Rain and then at then Thumper with some nervousness.

Danielle grinned. "I promise you that Rain won't hurt Thumper, okay?" Roxy nodded slowly and Danielle put the two pets into an open area. Pulling out her wand, she looked up the breeding spell and used it on the two of them.

Danielle watched a cinematic of a stork flying in through a window and flying out again, leaving a bundle of cloth. Rolling her eyes at that, she found that Thumper and Rain had had four children. One looked like a rabbit like Thumper but had a cat's tail so it looked a bit weird. Two others were cats with slightly longer ears than average, while the last one looked like a normal bluish furred cat.

"The rabbit is kind of cute," Roxy said, holding up the most rabbit looking one out of the four. It had Thumper's white fur but the cat tail was a little freaky on it. "How about…BunCat?"

Danielle shook her head while Amanda rolled her eyes. "I guess," said Danielle, rubbing the back of her head. She named the two other long eared cats, one was male and the other female, Jasmine and Alaldin. The other cat was female so she named her Aqua. Looking up their stats, she did have to admit that their stats were better than the parents. Not by much, but still, they were better.

"Hey," Danielle looked at them. "I have some friends I want you to meet down the street. Want to come?"

"Sure," Amanda smirked, nodding.

Roxy shrugged, still stroking BunCat. "I guess."

"Ding, Amanda and Roxy joined your party."

"Come on then," Rain and Thumper had been returned to their pens and they set off. Amanda insisted she see what present she got first though and loved the sparkle bow, instantly grabbing it and shooting it everywhere, making the entire living room sparkle with glitter. Roxy had loved her stuffed rabbit and had almost fainted in happiness. She still hugged Danielle for being 'the bestest sister ever' and put it in her and Amanda's room as soon as possible.

Slipping on some summer dresses, Roxy and Amanda were ready to go in no time and they followed Danielle out of the house and down the street. The sun hadn't moved since Danielle had gotten home but figured it wouldn't for a while.

It didn't take long before they reached Number 4 and Danielle could make out a particular person she knew walking along the sidewalk.

"Hey Harry," she waved at him and he slowed down to come over. "Remember me?"

"Pretty hard to forget you," Harry said with a teasing smile. He was wearing Dudley's old castoffs again but that wasn't surprising. "And who's this?"

"My sisters," Danielle introduced them. "The other red head is Amanda while the brunette is Roxanne or Roxy if you want. What are you up to?"

Harry shrugged. "Not much. Just waiting for-"

Before he could finish, a bush rustled near them and a blur shot out and crashed into Harry with a "WHHHOOOO HHHHAAAA!"

All three elf girls backed away a little but saw that it was a raven haired girl that had jumped out and knocked Harry off his feet. Danielle saw that Alex did look a lot like Lily now that she could see her properly, but with a few features from James along with his hair.

The crazy girl just jumped off Harry, smirking. "And that is why you need to be on guard, big brother," Alex said. She noticed the three other girls for the first time. "Hello, you are?"

Danielle shook her head, smiling. "Danielle. I already introduced Amanda and Roxy so I don't think I have to do that, do I?"

"Nah," the crazy girl shrugged. "Heard it all in the bushes. Alex Potter, Harry's twin sister and much cooler than he is."

Danielle had to admit that Alex made wearing Dudley's old castoffs more attractive than Harry could. Maybe giving Harry a twisted sister hadn't been a great idea after all.

"That was awesome!" Amanda yelled, jumping up and down. "That was so cool!"

"I know," said Alex while Roxy helped Harry get to his feet. "I am just that awesome, aren't I? Anyway, you three new here?"

"Just moved here a little over a week ago," Amanda said, nodding. "Hey, we have a portal to crazy adventures and magic at our house. Want to come?"

"Sure," Alex shrugged, looking at Harry. "Right, big guy?"

Harry nodded, laughing. "Yeah, okay, why not?" He and Alex probably thought that magic wasn't real at this point and was just glad to leave the area to go to someone else's house. That was both fun and sad.

Danielle would have to check her inventory to make sure she had enough weapons for everybody but she thought she had enough to arm everyone. "Save game."

"Game saved."

She pulled out the gauntlet she got for beating that ork. "Detect."

"Detect failed."

It took a while but she was able to detect both the gauntlet and the flame sword, even if she had to load the saved game a few times.

"Acquired Gauntlet of the Orks. +5 strength when equipped."

"Acquired Flame Sword of the Black Knight. +7 blade and +10 fire magic while equipped. Requires strength of 10 to wield."

As they headed over to her place, Danielle heard another ding. "Harry and Alex have joined your party."

When they got to the backyard, Alex stared at the tunnel. "You weren't kidding. Where does this go?"

"Shall we find out?" Amanda grinned before going through the passageway herself. Alex and Harry shrugged at each other and followed. When they all got to the end of the passage and found the iron bars covering some of the other exits, Alex looked at Danielle.

"What is this?"

"As far as I can figure," Danielle said. "These doors lead to a kind of dungeon with various monsters in them with a boss at the end. The numbers, or Roman Numerals rather, indicate the level or difficulty of the maze. So far, Amanda, Roxy and I cleared out the first two, so that leaves us with three more. Want to go through one?"

Before Harry could say anything, Alex smirked. "You got it. Don't we need weapons or something first though?"

Danielle nodded and started taking out weapons for them. By the time they were done picking out the ones they wanted, Roxy had the bow with a quiver on her back, Amanda had a sword, Alex wanted a knife, and Harry grabbed a club. That left Danielle with her new flame sword, which was awesome!

"Damn," Alex muttered, looking at all the weapons. "You like to keep stockpiled, don't you?"

_'You should see Hermione's arsenal,'_ Danielle thought. The brunette was the one with the impressive armory, not her, but she had a pretty good collection as well.

"Are we starting with the first or second, or just march off into number three?" Harry asked, gesturing toward the doors.

"Don't worry," Danielle said, grinning. "We'll protect you from the big bad level three monsters."

"Yeah, it'll be fun!" Amanda said, also grinning before she rushed off through the door. The others shrugged and followed her.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

The first maze had been like a cave while the second a forest clearing. Danielle was unprepared therefore to see that she was now standing in what seemed to be a watery walkway.

It was like the cave from the first maze had flooded with water and was more brightly lit. Glowing crystals gave off a sense of light and showed that it wasn't just the floor that was wet, but the walls as well as they were also covered in moss.

"Well, this is different," Roxy said, looking around.

"Right," Danielle muttered, looking around. "Follow me, I'll take the lead while the rest of you support the others." Glad that no one questioned her, she used the mini-map in her upper right hand vision to start mapping this place out. It was frustrating that the map only showed her what she had already explored, but at least when they ran into dead ends, they could see which way they still hadn't gone yet.

They didn't run into any monsters until they ran into a…duck. It was a simple mallard, greenish feathers and everything.

"That's a monster?" Harry asked, watching as the duck started to preen its feathers.

Danielle shrugged and Alex snorted. "Come on! That thing couldn't hurt a fly I bet!"

The duck had apparently heard her, however, and narrowed its eyes at Alex. That was as much warning as Alex got before a beam of energy came shooting out of the duck's eyes, making her duck for cover as the beam hit the cave wall behind her, making a huge gouge mark.

"Or maybe not," Alex muttered, turning back to the duck with an annoyed expression.

"Quack, quack!" The duck shouted at her, which seemed to be a taunt.

"Okay, now he's asking for it!" Alex rushed in and had to go into a baseball slide to dodge the next energy beam attack. Before the duck could react, Alex slashed her knife and managed to make a good gash. Wounded but not out yet, the duck met its end when Harry slammed his club into it, making it go flying and causing it to crash into the wall.

"Nice one bro!" Alex said appreciatively.

Harry grinned. "Couldn't let you have all the fun, now could I?"

Danielle smiled at seeing Harry with much more confidence than he had last time and put the duck's body in her inventory. "Let's keep going, shall we?"

They soon found the staircase that led to the lower levels and went down, finding another floor that looked exactly the same as the previous one. As soon as they descended down the steps, they were almost instantly attacked by more monsters. They had apparently just wandered into a meeting as they met by five greenish ugly humanoid monsters with claws on their hands.

Surprised, Danielle acted on instinct at this point and shot a blast of fire from her sword, which incinerated the closest of the monsters and blasted it back, but didn't kill it. A well aimed arrow from Roxy finished it however. Amanda did a pretty good job at keeping one busy with her sword, relying on her surpeior speed and strength to hold her own.

Danielle was trying to keep the three others busy so they wouldn't target Harry or Alex, who were just level one humans, not her own level four high elf self. She got a small cut from a claw to her shoulder but she recovered quickly and slashed with her sword, cutting it in half. Blasting the other two with fire, she watched as Harry swung his club and smashed one while Alex slashed with her knife, cutting its head off. Amanda had just finished with the last one by stabbing it in the gut, watching as it keeled over as well.

"Ding. Amanda and Roxanne have grown to level three. Harry and Alex have grown to level two."

Nodding, she started putting the monsters into her inventory to sacrifice later. It was just too bad she couldn't have done the same to that ork or the knight, but that arena hadn't let her.

Somehow, the next few monsters were giant fish. How they were floating in the air as they attacked, Danielle had no idea but figured it was a video game logic thing. After several minutes of more exploring and taking out monsters, they finally reached the next staircase and they headed down.

"How big is this place?" Alex asked, looking around as they got to the third floor.

"Well, the first dungeon was only one floor while the second was two," Danielle said slowly as she blasted what seemed to be an evil water sprite, who had been targeting her with a ball of water. "I would think either three or four. Three if it continues the pattern and four if the number doubles every time."

"Makes sense Alex," Harry said, smashing his way through some golems that were made of ice. His club of smashing was really good at breaking up the ice.

"I guess so," Roxy shrugged, who was listening to the conversation. She had to duck as a beam of water almost hit her and fired and arrow, hitting the demon skeleton fish that had fired on her and causing it to disintegrate.

"Damn," said Amanda, shaking her head, "I was hoping for some more pets."

Danielle nodded. She hadn't seen any animals that she could try to capture as a pet yet, which was weird. Their question was answered when they turned a corner and they saw another evil water sprite. There was a heart over her head, so it was possible to capture her, but it was black instead of the usual red.

"Huh?" Quickly taking out her instruction manual, she looked that up. _Magical creatures that can be caught as pets will have a red heart over their head so the main character can try to capture it. A black heart on the other hand can be captured, but only if the main character has a dungeon to store dark witches, wizards or magical beings._

That…sadly made a lot of sense. They had a kennel for storing magical creatures, not so much for slaves that would be thrown into the dark arena. If she remembered correctly, a dungeon was one hundred Character points, she had twenty.

Having no other choice but just to kill the sprite, as they couldn't capture her, it didn't take that long with all of them working together. Stuffing the body in her inventory, they kept walking.

"I have to say, this is fun," Harry said as they found the staircase to the bottom level.

"I'll say!" Alex smirked, almost running down the stairs.

When everyone was down on the bottom level and they found themselves in a slightly damper version of the same arena as before, they watched as the door on the other end of the stadium slowly opened and they heard a roar that got more than a few scared squeaks from Roxy.

The monster that came out was what looked to be a huge sea serpent. It had to be at least fifteen feet long so it wasn't that big compared to some but it had an actual back and flippers. It was like someone had fused a sea serpent to the Loch Ness Monster.

"This won't be good," said Harry, backing away a little.

The monster inhaled and breathed out a wave of freeze breath.

"Alex! Catch!"

The raven haired girl had been the only one in the line of fire but she managed to catch the wooden shield she was tossed and used it to block most of the effects. It was clear she took some damage, but not enough to put her in serious danger.

"Thanks," Alex managed, looking down at the frozen shield, shrugging, and throwing it like a Frisbee at the monster's head, hard. The shield smacked into the sea monster's face, making it wince slightly as it roared, the shield shattering into a thousand pieces. "Oops, sorry."

"Don't worry about that, just run!" Danielle yelled; getting Alex out of the line of fire again while Roxy started shooting arrows at the thing. It didn't do much more than annoy it but it served as a great distraction as Amanda jumped in and slashed with her sword. It didn't do much damage.

"How do we kill it?" Amanda yelled, having to dodge quickly as the monster's teeth almost got her.

Growling, Danielle blasted the thing with fire from her sword, which the monster responded with a wave of cold. The two blasts hit each other with a loud explosion that covered the arena with steam in seconds. Another blast of fire cut through the steam and hit the beast, making it go flying back a few feet before giving another roar.

Harry jumped in then, using his club and smashing into the thing's chest so hard it might have broken one of the monster's ribs. Roaring in pain and anger, it tried to snap at Harry only for Alex to distract it by slashing with her knife.

Danielle slid under the floating monster and got to the other end. Standing, she found a possible weak point and grimaced at where she wanted to stick her sword but it would work, she figured. Finding her opening, she plunged the sword straight into the monster's mouth. Screaming now in pain, Danielle shot fire through the sword and into the throat of the beast, incincerating its insides.

Consumed by fire, the beast finally fell to the ground, dead and unmoving.

Sighing in relief, she put away her sword just as the door the monster had come from opened, revealing what she figured was the standard treasure room and the way out.

"That was…interesting," Harry said, looking at her.

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?"

Harry didn't say anything.

"Yeah!" yelled out both Amanda and Alex and they both rushed for the exit. Danielle shook her head, smiling as she tried to stuff the huge monster into her inventory. When she was done, she left with Harry and Roxy into the treasure room.

Inside, they found a quiver of arrows, an actual metal shield, three skill books, and even another gemstone of the wealthy. Along with all of that, there was a few chunks of iron and steel.

"Not a bad haul," Danielle said to herself before hitting the button to transport all three of them back to the backyard. Leaving the others, she made her way to the alter and started sacrificing things. The skeleton fish turned into bone necklaces that boosted dark magic, which were way too creepy to have around so she just stuck them in her inventory. One of the water sprites turned into a scroll detailing some water moves, but she couldn't use it as she couldn't control water. The other turned into a gossimer blue silk dress that actually looked beautiful enough for a ball or other social event.

"Acquired unknown silk dress."

"Detect."

"Acquired silk dress of water control. +5 water manipulation."

"Hmm, interesting." Putting that away for the moment, she pulled out the massive sea monster and sacrificed that. It turned into a glimmering bronze and blue trident.

"Unknown trident acquired."

"Detect."

"Detect failed."

"Detect."

"Trident of water mastery acquired. +4 strength and +6 water manipulation. Gained one magical detection."

Deciding to look up water manipulation, she summoned her manual and started reading.

_The powers of the elements are out there for the truly crafty or adventurous, but should be handled with extreme caution. Out there in the world are nine orbs of power that will give one person elemental control; water, fire, earth, wind, electricity, light, dark, steel and poison. The only other way to gain the power over these elements is to either become an elementalist, have a creature inheritance that controls such an element, or temporary control through an item or weapon._

Well, that explained the flame sword. Nine orbs that would grant any one person the use of an element? She had to find those.

Saving that for later, she threw on the duck and sacrificed that, creating some goggles of all things.

"Acquired unknown goggles."

"Detect."

"Acquired goggles of laser vision. Able to shoot heat vision while equipped."

Okay, that was awesome!

"Who wants to explore some more?" Danielle asked. When she got nothing but excited looks and eager faces, they headed into the tunnel again.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

Still holding the same weapons from last time, they headed into the fourth door, Danielle was expecting anything by this point so she wasn't that surprised when she found herself in some kind of African safari. Sunlight burned down on them and shrub brush grew in lines around them, making them a path.

Leading the way again, Danielle led them through the maze of the shrub brush. They hadn't gone far when they found their first magical creature.

"Curse you all, little bitches!"

"What was that?" Alex yelled, angrily trying to find who was talking, her knife flashing angrily.

"You heard me, English pig dog! You daughters of a silly person!"

Danielle was looking around as well, looking everywhere for whatever was talking like a Monty Python character.

"Go and boil your bottoms! Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!"

"Show yourself!" Danielle yelled, holding her sword in her hand.

"You don't frighten us you foolish food troph wipers! I blow my nose at you!"

"That's it!" Danielle shot a blast of fire from her sword and into the bush that she thought the voice was coming from. What came out though, she hadn't expected. It was a creature that looked like a ferret but was a little larger than normal and was glaring at her. It also had a heart over his head.

"I wave my private parts in your general direction!" the ferret said, even angrier than before.

"Ferret wants to die," Alex said simply, stepping forward.

"No," Danielle stopped her. "Change of plans. We're catching it."

Alex looked at her like she was crazy but shrugged, preparing to stop the thing from running away. Danielle pulled out the metal shield she got and stepped forward, getting the jarvey's attention.

A jarvey was a magical ferret who's only magical ability was the power to talk. Other than that, they were a little bigger than normal but not to the extent that it was really noticeable by the non-magical population.

"Capture."

"Capture failed."

Danielle gritted her teeth as the jarvey jumped at her, blocking it with her shield. "Capture."

"Capture failed. Gained one Care of Magical Creatures."

"Capture."

"Capture successful. Would you like to name your new pet?"

Danielle smirked and typed in the name "Arthur" in the space provided. She had totally gotten the idea for the name when the jarvey was talking in Monty Python lines from "Quest for the Holy Grail" and she didn't care.

"Great," Amanda groaned, rolling her eyes. "We have an insulting overgrown rat as a pet now."

"I'm thinking it might be possible to make some talking cats to be honest," Danielle commented, smirking.

The others now nodded in understanding. Continuing, they made their way through the brush, occasionally taking down a few random monsters but none that really caused them any trouble.

Ten minutes later they had gone down a flight of stairs to the second level and were now dodging the flame breath that several mutant antelope were sending in their direction.

"Oh, come on!" Amanda yelled as she was forced to jump aside as another jet of fire came at her before she slashed it with her sword. The antelope died with its neck cut open. "How are these things even possible?"

"Don't know," Danielle yelled back, actually capturing one that had a heart over it, naming it Blaze, "just keep it up!"

"Like we have much of a choice?" Alex responded, ducking under a stream of flame and cutting a beast at the kneecaps.

When Harry looked to be in trouble, Danielle pulled out something from her inventory and threw it at him. Harry, who was now pinned against a boulder with only his club between him and the antelope, caught what the elf girl had thrown him. Grinning, the raven haired Boy-Who-Lived put on the goggles he had been thrown and shot a blast of laser vision like Cyclops from the X-Men.

Having a mid to long range attack in addition to his club, Harry made short work of the antelope, smashing it until it laid still on the yellow grass around them.

Roxy was finishing with her own opponent as well, shooting at it with her arrows, when Danielle saw that they had won. "Whew, that was tiring."

"Ding. Harry and Alex grew to level three. Blade skill has reached 50. Danielle can now wield any bladed weapon with or without a strength requirement."

Not bad. Could be better but she was doing well so she let it go.

By the time they were down to the boss fight, Amanda and Roxy had gone up to level four and she herself was on the verge of getting to level five. That would make her equal to Hermione, not that she was competing against the brunette or anything. If anything, it was her fault that Hermione was so powerful. Or at least having access to guns and her own weapons lab.

When they finally descended the steps into the arena, which still looked the same as it had in the other mazes, they all got their weapons out, ready for anything.

Danielle gulped when she heard a huge thud, then another, making the whole arena shudder. Looking, she saw that Roxy was ready to run but was determined to not abandon them, wanting to fight as well.

The gate on the other side finally opened to reveal a huge stone statue of whom Danielle thought Zeus might look like. The statue was about twenty-five feet tall, made completely of stone, and stared down at them with an unmoving facial expression.

"Okay, that's going to be hard to beat," Alex muttered.

The ones with the best chance against that thing were Danielle and Harry. Flame sword and laser vision combined might be able to defeat that thing, though it was only a slim possibility.

The statue seemed content with whatever it decided as it took a step toward them, making the arena shake again. That got the five of them moving, all going in different directions. Danielle yelled as she shot a blast of fire from her sword at the statue's face, which made a perfect bulls eye. Only to see that it hadn't done anything but make the stone a little warmer and for the statue to step in her direction.

"Hey, stay away from her!" Harry yelled, firing a blast of energy from his goggles, impacting the thing's face as well and blowing off an ear. That was the only thing it did however and it didn't stop the statue from moving.

"Harry, concentrate on the legs!" Danielle yelled, being forced to jump as the statue stomped down on the ground, sending a shockwave across the arena.

Harry did what he was told and started shooting blasts of laser vision at the statue's legs. Various bits and pieces of the stone chipped away from each blast but it wasn't having as much an effect as it could have. The others realized what he was doing and aimed for the same places as well. A huge blast of fire from Danielle's sword heated the rock and weakened it enough for Alex, Amanda and Roxy to create their own gouges with their blades and arrows.

The statue didn't like all of the attacking and leaped at them, ready to flatten them. Dodging at the last moment, the statue hit the ground and created miniture cracks in its legs.

"NOW!"

Harry and Danielle fired more blasts of laser vision and fire, this time blowing up one of the statue's legs, forcing it to topple onto it's side. Danielle grinned, but then saw that the statue simply using its hands to stand and charged at them like that.

"Oh, come on!"

Luckily, it was slower by walking with its hands then its legs so with some more blasts of fire and heat vision combined, one of its arms blew off.

Only having one arm and one leg, Danielle nodded to Harry, who nodded back, knowing what the game plan was. He looked at the ceiling of the arena and fired a few times. Bits of rock and stalagtites fell from the ceiling and impaled the statue, finally breaking it into a thousand pieces.

"Yeah!" Amanda yelled, giving Alex a high five. "We rock!"

"Pun intended?" Roxy said, smirking.

Danielle laughed a little, a bit sad that she couldn't sacrifice the statue now as it was in so many pieces but she shrugged it off. They all went through the door on the opposite side of the arena, the same entrance the statue had used, and started opening treasure chests in the room beyond.

"Acquired unknown dagger."

"Acquired unknown quiver."

"Acquired unknown necklace."

That was in addition to the various skill books she got as well as another gemstone of the wealthy.

Pushing the button on the wall, they were back in the backyard without a problem.

"I think we need some better armor," Amanda commented, looking over their gear, which was rather pathetic when it came to that.

"I'll try to work on it," Danielle said, nodding as she made her way over to the sacred alter. Piling on the various dead bodies she had stuffed into her inventory, she hit the item creation button when she put a fire breathing antelope on it. It turned into what looked to be a dagger.

"Acquired unknown dagger."

"Save game."

"Game saved."

"Detect."

"Acquired flaming dagger. +4 blade and +2 flame manipulation."

"Not bad," She took out the dagger she got from the treasure chest. "Save game. Detect."

"Game saved. Acquired bronze dagger of stabbing. +5 blade."

She pulled out the quiver. "Detect."

"Acquired limitless quiver. Able to hold an unlimited number of arrows."

"Okay, that's cool. Save game."

"Game saved."

She got out the necklace. "Detect."

"Detect failed."

"Detect."

"Acquired gold necklace of protection. +10% damage resistance."

"That could be useful." She piled on the other dead bodies of the various creatures they had killed and created items as well. The antelope had mostly turned into batches of leather but another one turned into a flaming dagger. She didn't get much out of the other stuff but at least her magical detection skill was increasing, which was a good thing.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

"Main menu."

Appearing in the main menu screen, she tapped on the pet arena and found herself in the courtyard again. She looked up Arthur's and Blaze's stats.

**'Arthur', Species: Jarvey. Level one. 10/10 hit points.**

**Stats**

Strength: 6

Constitution: 3

Speed: 7

Agility: 4

Intelligence: 3

Wisdom: 1

**Abilities**

Power to talk.

**'Blaze', Species: Antelope. Level one. 20/20 hit points.**

**Stats**

Strength: 7

Constitution: 4

Speed: 7

Agility: 4

Intelligence: 3

Wisdom: 2

**Abilities**

Fire breath.

Overall, not the worst stats she had ever seen. Going over to the standard fights, she signed Arthur up for a fight first in spectator mode while she talked to the various people watching her jarvey fight the toad to increase her etiquitte skill.

In the end, Arthur did a great job against the frog and got out with only a few glancing blows. Getting her money back along with another collar that increased agility, she signed Blaze up for the same fight.

It turned out that Blaze was a much better fighter, or at least bigger, and the fire breath did a lot of damage against the frog. She got a collar that boosted intelligence out of that battle.

Shrugging, she healed her pets and signed Blaze up for the next battle, facing against a crup instead of a frog. She winced as Blaze took some damage from a nasty bite but he had enough health to survive the attack and shot fire breath at the magical dog, setting it on fire and winning the battle.

"Ding. Blaze went up to level 2. Gained 10 hit points and 10 stamina."

"Awesome," Danielle grinned. She was sure Blaze would be her go to pet here in the arena. Thinking about it, she smirked and signed up her kneazle Rain. She figured she might as well get her cute cat in shape again so she could breed her again to see what she might get in the next generation.

While Rain was fighting the frog again, she talked to the various people in the stands to increase her etiquitte points before switching to jumping jacks to increase her athletics skill.

When Rain had fought enough times, she signed up Aqua to battle until she reached level one, as well as her other pets. One of the cats hadn't been able to handle a cross breed between a cat and a rabbit and had to put down but the others, even BunCat, had made it.

She had found that Aqua, as Rain's daughter, had slightly better stats then the others in that litter and when she reached level one, she was better then the mother. She figured that the children of her pets were inherently stronger then their parents or maybe that was just luck in the breeding.

By now she had enough collars to boost just about any of her pets stats so she traded some of the extra ones to a local shop for a stuffed rabbit toy for Roxy.

After healing all of her pets by throwing a Galleon into the fountain, she figured she had done everything she could for now. "Save game."

"Game saved."

"Main menu."

Appearing in the main menu screen, she tapped on her picture again and she appeared back at Skywalker Ranch with the others. She then headed over to the kennel, ready for some new experiments.

"Watcha doing?" Alex asked, watching Danielle going into the kennel.

"Playing with nature," Danielle smirked, picking up Aqua and Arthur, wondering if she could get some cool talking cats out of that.

"Sounds like fun," Amanda said, eager to watch.

Danielle checked to make sure that everything was in order and hit the breeding spell on her spell tab. She saw that she got four kids out of it. Two looked like standard jarveys, and the other two resembled cats with sharper then normal teeth.

"Hmm." Looking over their stats, she saw that the jarveys were nothing special, just slightly larger then normal ferrets that didn't have the power to talk anymore. Apparently that was possible. One of the cats was bigger than normal but the other one had the jarvey's brown coat color and had the power to talk. Both cats had better stats then the jarvey but were about the same as Aqua's.

"Well, that doesn't seem too worrisome," Roxy said, smiling that they hadn't lost anything but disappointed that none of the kids were rabbits.

Danielle got an idea and put the pets away. "Save game."

"Game saved."

Her next combination of Rain with Blaze made her thankful she had saved the game as Rain had exploded. Loading the save game, she tried again a few different times before she was sure that her precious kneazle wouldn't explode.

The result of that pairing were five kids. Three normal looking cats, one antelope with cat ears, and an antelope with paws instead of hooves.

"That's freaky," Harry muttered, looking at the strange antelopes with a fair amount of disgust.

"That's why we're doing this," Danielle said, taking notes of the various kids' stats. Both antelopes inherited the ability of flame breath and one of the cats did as well. Both of the other cats had some of Blaze's stats but otherwise normal. She was honestly expecting a cat with antlers or something equally weird.

Looking at the cat that could talk from when she bred Aqua and Arthur, she saw that even though the cat had the power to talk, it was mostly giberrish.

"Ding. While the power to talk is useful, only a few animals can do so with an intelligence under ten. Most pets need an intelligence score of that or higher to be able to speak proper English."

"Damn." Danielle muttered. She saw that the cat that could talk only had an intelligence of 3. Then again, she was fairly sure that Ron Weasley had an intelligence score lower than that but he was human, not a pet. Too bad.

"Save game."

"Game saved."

"Main menu."

Getting back to the main menu screen, she made sure she had no guest characters before going back to the pet arena. She spent what seemed like several hours there, fighting against that frog until all of her pets were level one. It helped that each of her pets were equipped with a collar that boosted health by ten points or else she was sure that most of her pets wouldn't have won.

The antelope that had paws instead of hooves hadn't made it when it hit level one, neither did one of the cats from that same litter but the others made it. The other litter had nothing going wrong but other then the cat that could sort of talk, there really wasn't much going on there stat or ability wise.

Getting all of her pets back in shape, she watched as Rain and Aqua were both boosted up to level three. They didn't gain any hidden special abilities but at least they got more health and stamina that way.

Saving the game and returning to the kennel, she was glad that none of others noticed she was gone.

"You got some good experiments going on here," said John, Danielle's new father, as he came to check out what was going on.

"Just some crazy ideas," Amanda said, smirking.

John laughed. "Just know that if you got some pets you don't want or need, I would be happy to find them a good home."

"Good to know, dad," Danielle smiled. Turning back to her experiments, she started thinking before wondering if something would work. Taking out a collar that boosted intelligence, she gave it to the cat that could talk and paired her up with Blaze. Saving the game and hitting the breed button, she had to try a few times before her cat would stop exploding on her and she got living kids.

This time, she did get a cat that looked to have small antlers on his head while she got a few more cats that didn't.

"I know rabbits with antlers are jackelopes," said Amanda, watching the kids, "but what are cats with antlers?"

"An abomination against nature?" Alex answered, grinning.

"Probably," Danielle said, distracted as she looked over the stats.

**'Antlered cat', Species: cat. Level zero. 5/5 hit points.**

**Stats**

Strength: 3

Constitution: 2

Speed: 3

Agility: 2

Intelligence: 8

Wisdom: 3

**Abilities**

Fire breath.

Talking.

Not bad. It seemed that she was right and that having one of the parents wearing a collar boosting a stat carried that boosted stat to the next generation. That was kind of broken when one really thought about it as with these collars, she could make super pets in no time.

She checked on the other cats and found one that she liked. The cat was almost pure white, which was a strange genetic mutation but she looked over the cat anyway.

**'Unnamed cat', Species: cat. Level zero. 5/5 hit points.**

**Stats**

Strength: 4

Constitution: 2

Speed: 3

Agility: 3

Intelligence: 10

Wisdom: 3

**Abilities**

Talking.

Okay, so the cat, which was male, didn't have the power to breathe fire like his dad did but he could talk with a high enough intelligence to hold a conversation. That was something. She named him Frost because of the white fur.

Annoyed that she would have to wait until he was at level one to see if he would live, she saved the game and made her way to the pet arena again.

It turned out that the antlered cat hadn't made it past level one as it went nuts but the others did. It was a shame as the antlered cat had been the only one to have kept both fire breathing and the power to talk. The other cats only had the power of fire breath.

Frost turned out to be a dependable pet that was powerful enough to hit level one with few problems. As she left the pet arena, she looked over at the death matches and saw that the rewards were far better then what she could get at the normal arena. While the normal arena had everything from collars to pet toys to stat enhancing potions, the death arena had rare tokens and pet related spells that she could use if she won.

Sighing, she wondered if she should sign up a pet for a death match now or wait until later. Not wanting to risk a pet's life, she decided to wait until later until she could get something better that she wouldn't mind losing.

"Save game. Main menu."

"Game saved."

Appearing back in the main menu screen, she blinked as she saw that there was a guest character she could play as. In the spot designated to a guest character was Ginny. Tapping on the window, she wondered what she would have to do.

"Play as Ginny as she has an adventure while her brothers are at Hogwarts. Would you like to play as her?"

So she would play as a ten year old Ginny while everyone else was at school. She figured this would be her only time to level Ginny up and she had nothing against the youngest Weasley. She nodded and she saw everything fade around her.

**I figured I would make Danielle an awesome speed and strength specialist, Hermione as a different version of Natasha Romanov (Black Widow), Harry and Alex as paladin like characters, Ginny as a slightly crazy light version of Bellatrix, Luna as a battle mage, and I might add some others.**

**By the way, a lot of online role playing games do this but I'm not sure how well it will be accepted. I was thinking of throwing in some 'Expansion Packs' so to speak. With each expansion Danielle finds, this world of Harry Potter will be combined with another fandom. Like if she finds a Disney expansion pack, Disney characters will be in this game as well to give her quests and attend Hogwarts as well. I think it would be fun to write Disney characters at Hogwarts, especially if I'm going to throw in several other Expansion Packs. Danielle going to Hogwarts with the gang from Camp Half-Blood, Disney, Kingdom Hearts, and others. Of course, they would all be witches and wizards, like Percy Jackson wouldn't be a demigod but a wizard with a powerful water affinity and Disney's Hercules would just be a physically strong wizard but you get the idea. Ooh, I could have Princesses Celestia and Luna and the Mane Six go to Hogwarts as well!**

**No idea why but I have ponies on the brain for some reason. I need help. I'm not even a brony. **


	15. Disney Mania

**And here I am again, posting random things that have come into my head that makes no sense whatsoever. This time, it's Disney. Yeah, I'm in a Disney mood at the moment so I wrote tons of Disney related scenes and not just with Harry Potter this time. What can I say, I'm trying to branch off into other fandoms but Harry Potter will aways have my heart. In any case, tell me what you think and review, review, review!**

Running through the woods, Naruko mentally sighed, she really should have seen this coming.

She was nine years old! Why were people so stupid as to believe she was the Kyuubi? Wasn't the Fourth Hokage supposed to be some sort of sealing master, taught by another sealing master and seen by a woman named Kushina, who was known for being a seal master herself? Why would civilians and multiple shinobi think that the seal holding back the nine tailed fox would fail?

The blonde Uzumaki rolled her eyes, people were so stupid.

For as long as she could remember, she had been hated and beaten for simply existing. Being called a 'demon' or 'freak' had been normal for her, not even learning of her name until the nice old man calling himself the Hokage had taken her for ramen a few times.

Ramen was the food of the gods, no other way of saying it.

Kicked out of the orphanage at the age of five, the caretaker not wanting to look at her anymore, she had foraged for food as best as she could until her Hokage-Jiji found her in some alley somewhere. At least the father-daughter duo that ran Ichiraku Ramen was nice to her, though they had lost quite a lot of business thanks to them now being called 'demon-lovers.' They hadn't cared though and continued to treat her like a human, which she couldn't be happier about.

When Sarutobi Hiruzen had found her in that alleyway, he had not only blown up at the village, but also his ANBU for not protecting her like they were supposed to. Getting rid of all those assigned to the happy little blonde girl, he had appointed a new ANBU code named Neko to watch her. After that, life for the young Uzumaki had gotten better, especially now that she had a small apartment to call her own.

It hadn't been a perfect life however as the village had still found some way to get around her new caretaker to chase her for a beating. She remembered when she was six and was coming home from the academy when she had the harshest beating she had had until then. Apparently, the civilians were angry that the 'demon brat' was in the same class as an Uchiha, Sasuke.

Personally, Naruko hadn't cared about him whatsoever, thinking he was an arrogant Teme with the hair of a duck's butt who only cared about his clan and getting stronger. She knew that she was a ball of sunshine sometimes so their personalities clashed a lot but that was no excuse for the village to almost kill her!

The only good thing that had come out of that meeting was that she had found out why she was hated. Lying in the street, covered in blood from multiple slash wounds, she had only barely managed to grimace before she had passed out, reappearing somewhere she had never seen before.

**(Flashback Jutsu!)**

Waking up to find herself in a dark place, Naruko looked around to find herself in what seemed to be a sewer. The floor covered in water, the blonde slowly stood to examine her surroundings, like the dark lighting and the rusty pipes running along the walls.

A loud growl got her attention and she jumped, looking around for the sound. Swallowing, the blonde made her way toward a lighted corridor to find the source of the sound. She might not know where she was but wasn't going to find out in some dark and flooded hallway.

Coming up to a large chamber with a huge set of bars in front of her, there was a large gate in the bars with a bit of paper with the kanji for _seal_ on it. It seemed strange that anything would need bars that large until she saw the massive shadow on the other side. The shadow that slammed into the bars in rage as soon as it saw her, causing her to back away in fear.

**"So, my prisoner has finally decided to grace me with her presence,"** the beast on the other side of the bars snarled. **"What do you want now? For me to save you from those idiotic villagers again?"**

Now that it stopped moving and was sort of in the light, Naruko could get a better look. The beast in question was covered in reddish fur and had nine tails swinging behind it. Those were really the only characteristics needed to know who it was.

"Kyuubi," Naruko said softly, thinking hard. "You're the reason I'm hated. You're inside the seal the fourth put on me."

The large nine tailed fox stopped trying to escape and looked at her oddly. **"How would you know that?"**

Naruko gave the fox a deadpanned stare. "It really wasn't that hard. I'm six, not stupid. You attacked Konoha six years ago, the same day I was born, the villagers keep going on and on about how I'm a demon and then there's a seal on my stomach I never knew about."

The fox stared at her for a moment before chuckling, then started laughing, and finally ended up rolling on the wet floor, laughing their head off. After several minutes, the giant Biju finally stopped, still giggling. **"Ooh, aren't you the interesting one!"** The fox was silent for a moment before nodding. **"Tell me, what do you think of the village you live in?"**

Naruko blinked as she thought of the question. The fox was completely different than she had thought it would be but it couldn't hurt to answer truthfully, right? She finally sighed. "I…really don't like the village that much. Other than the three people I like, the village never treated me well enough for me to care."

The fox considered her for a moment. **"Listen, kit, it's no secret that I don't like humans. You people are always trapping my brothers and sisters inside humans to create weapons, your fourth Hokage was no different in that regard."** The fox paused. **"I don't really like you either, but you are interesting at the moment so I'll tell you what, I'll help you be powerful enough to protect yourself."**

"Why would you do that?"

**"Because I'm the most powerful Biju so I should have the most powerful container. Anything less is just embarrassing. Plus, the more I help you power up, the fewer times you get hurt. The less you get hurt, the less I have to do to keep you alive. It's a win-win for me, as long as you don't act stupid and swear you're going to be Hokage one day every ten minutes."**

Naruko frowned. "Why would I do that? I would have to be a moron to do that."

The fox shrugged. **"Just saying."** What kind of moron would focus on becoming Hokage but not bother to take anything seriously? **"Since you agreed to work with me, there will be a mental link between us so we can communicate whenever we want."**

The nine tailed Biju seemed to think of something before it shrugged and vanished in a bright red flash, causing Naruko to shield her eyes. When the flash was gone, her jaw dropped. What had been a giant fox was now a cute raven haired girl in her late teens. Probably about five foot six, she had an aristocratic face, red eyes and tanned skin. The most noticeable trait however was not only the multiple tails swinging behind her but also that she was naked.

The teen smirked seeing Naruko's surprised look. "I'll take your surprised look as a compliment. What? You didn't think I had a gender, did you?"

Naruko shook herself and looked sheepish. "No one ever told me so…"

"Yeah, not many know I'm a girl," Kyuubi said, nodding. "Anyway, I figured if we're going to be partners, you should see my human form." She then frowned at her. "Just don't think I'm doing you a favor, kit. This is benefiting me just as much as it is you."

Naruko nodded and approached the bars. She reached out her hand. "Partners huh? Shake on it?"

Kyuubi smirked as she looked at her. "Tell you what, I see a Kekki Genki, a bloodline, buried in you. As an act of good faith, I'll activate it for you."

With that, they shook hands through the bars, the fox woman channeling Youki into the six year old. Naruko grimaced in pain but didn't cry out in pain before she passed out. Kyuubi smirked as she did her best to lay the girl on the floor gently, unable to reach through the bars thanks to the seal.

**(Flashback no Jutsu Kai!)**

That meeting between her and the Kyuubi had been a godsend as with her training, Naruko could now actually protect herself from the ignorant villagers. It didn't make everything perfect, but her speed, strength and skill with her bloodline, which she had kept a secret from everyone, had improved drastically.

If she had to guess, she was probably about mid Chunin in speed and low Chunin in strength. With no access to resistance seals or training weights, it was the best she could do for the moment. Considering she was nine years old at the moment, she thought she had done a lot in a mere three years.

The academy was still boring though, everyone but the banshee Sakura would agree to that. The clan heirs like Sasuke and Hinata especially agreed that they had learned everything Iruka-sensei taught them and with the Kyuubi herself teaching her, she was far above everyone else there.

Now she was running through the woods next to the village after some villagers decided that she was too powerful. She and Sasuke had gotten into a spar at the academy and she _might_ have shown off a little too much power in beating him.

Okay, so beating him into a wall was probably a bit of overkill but he was ticking her off and asking for it.

She sighed as she jumped from tree to tree. The villagers had chased her away from her apartment in anger she had beat 'The Last Loyal Uchiha.' She wouldn't be able to go back for a while and to be honest, she was sick and tired of Konoha. Living in the forest for a while and train on her own seemed like a good idea.

'Do you really have to go back, though?' Kyuubi questioned, raising a mental eyebrow at her container.

'Where could I go?' the blonde fired back, her blonde pigtails flying behind her as she jumped. She had used her Kage Bunshins taught to her by Kyuubi to shake off any one chasing her but it probably wouldn't last forever.

'The forest is plenty good enough for me. You could just stay there. Not to mention that I heard that Kumo treat others like you fairly.'

Naruko frowned and shook her head. 'I don't like the idea of Kumo, they did try and kidnap Hinata-san in the past. Plus, didn't you say they tried to do the same with my mom?'

'True… but I ask again, do you want to go back in the future?'

The blonde stopped in a large clearing about ten miles from the village, thinking about it. 'I…don't want to, actually. Hokage-Jiji is really the only one that treats me like a person. And if I have to hear Sakura and Ino scream about their 'SAUSUKE-KUN!' again, I think I'll go insane.'

She paused. 'I don't want to go back.' As she stood in the clearing, her bloodline flared a bit, causing the various plants nearby to grow toward her. 'Have I ever really thanked you enough for the Mokuton Kyuubi?'

She heard a smirk coming from her tenet. 'No, I don't think so. Then again, I am awesome like that. Your first Hokage did marry an Uzumaki, why wouldn't you have this bloodline somewhere in your DNA?'

Naruko nodded absentmindedly, noticing that she was alone with no chance of her being discovered for the moment. Sighing she wondered what to do next.

**(Start Let It Go)**

**The forest glows green in the forest tonight**

**Not a footprint to be seen**

**A kingdom of isolation,**

**And it looks like I'm the queen.**

Naruko ignored the Kyuubi mental question of why she was singing and continued, staring at the plants around her fondly.

**The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside**

**Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried!**

Her mask of being a happy idiot couldn't go on forever. Someday, she would have to let go and be herself, even if that meant beating up Sasuke all the time.

**Don't let them in, don't let them see**

**Be the good girl you always have to be**

**Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know**

**Well, now they know!**

She had beaten up the so called Rookie of the Year, rather badly at that, so by now the whole village probably knew she wasn't a weakling anymore. Only Kyuubi knew of her emotions, thoughts and personal feelings of everyone. Not even Hokage-Jiji knew of what was behind the mask.

Grumbling that no one really bothered to take the time to truly know her, she stalked off into the clearing, flowers and other plants growing around her.

**Let it go, let it go**

**Can't hold it back anymore**

**Let it go, let it go**

**Turn away and slam the door!**

Breaking into a run, she smiled as the plants moved to accept her, allowing her to embraced by the warm plant life.

**I don't care**

**What they're going to say**

**Let the storm rage on,**

**The village never really cared anyway!**

Walking through a larger clearing, she tore off her jacket and let it fly off in the wind, no longer needing it.

**It's funny how some distance**

**Makes everything seem small**

**And the fears that once controlled me**

**Can't get to me at all!**

No more hateful stares! No more ignorant villagers trying to kill or beat her for living! No more having to hide her true skills!

**It's time to see what I can do**

**To test the limits and break through**

**No right, no wrong, no rules for me I'm free!**

Building a large bridge out of pure wood energy, she ran across it as she released more plant chakra, causing the trees around her to shoot a few inches in height just by being around her.

**Let it go, let it go**

**I am one with the earth and sky**

**Let it go, let it go**

**You'll never see me cry!**

She was done worrying about what others thought of her. Even if was dragged back to the village, she wouldn't shed any more tears of what they said anymore.

Inside of her, the Kyuubi nodded in satisfaction. About time the kit grew a spine about what others thought about her.

**Here I stand**

**And here I'll stay**

**Let the storm rage on!**

Getting to a huge clearing, she smirked as she sent a massive amount of chakra into the ground. Using the legendary stamina from not only her Uzumaki blood but also from the Kyuubi herself, she managed to create something far larger than she had ever attempted before.

The sheer power would have toppled all five legendary Kages but she only felt a small drain on her huge reserves. Out of the ground shot out thick tree roots, leaves and more that formed more and more into a large structure. Soon, she had built a large building out of the surrounding flora and was standing in what could be a large foyer.

**My power flurries through the air into the ground**

**My soul is spiraling in wooden fractals all around**

**And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast**

She grabbed the goggles that had been on her head, a gift from her Jiji, before she snorted and threw them away.

**I'm never going back,**

**The past is in the past!**

**Let it go, let it go**

**When I'll rise like the break of dawn**

**Let it go, let it go**

**That perfect girl is gone!**

Climbing some new wooden stairs, she walked out onto a newly formed balcony as she looked down at the forest several stories above the ground.

**Here I stand**

**In the light of day**

**Let the storm rage on,**

**Ninjas never interested me anyway!**

She shut the door to her new castle, contemplating what to do with her life now.

XXXXXX

"As if you could have held of You-Know-Who, you little Huffleslut! Get out of my house!"

"Gladly!"

Danielle stormed off away from her father, trying not to shed tears of frustation at the conversation she had just had. James was a bastard, no other way of saying it, and being thrown out of the house was a blessing in disguise as far as she was concerned.

Her name had come out of the goblet of fire the last school year and next thing she knew, she was slandered and berated for something that wasn't her fault. To make matters worse, she was now disowned from the Potter family, despite actually winning the Tri-Wizard tournament. Now Voldemort was back and while everyone believed Dumbledore and Snape when they confirmed it, she was now kicked out of the house.

Growling, thankful that she still had her wand at least, she waved it when she got to her room and everything she owned was shrunk down and flew into her school trunk. Once everything was sorted neatly in her trunk, she remembered a box in the attic that was labeled 'camping equipment' and summoned that as well.

Glad that the large wooden box that was more of a crate than anything else was with her, she shrunk that as well and stuffed it into her pocket. Shrinking the trunk as well, she hung that on a chain around her neck before storming off. She had no idea where she was going but anywhere was better than Potter Manor at the moment.

She had been fairly sure her parents would disown her at some point, they kept hinting at it for years after all, but she was still stunned that they actually did it. Apparently, winning the Tri-Wizard tournament was enough for them to finally throw her out. As if she wanted all that stupid fame David had for being the 'Boy-Who-Lived.'

Now she had no friends, no family, and no home.

Whatever. She had made do with terrible odds before, she would do it again if she had to.

Sighing in frustration and anger, she couldn't resist slamming the front door so violently that it almost snapped off its hinges as she left. Snickering, she made her way down the drive a good hundred feet before the tears finally started to fall. She was angry, mentally exausted, furious, and sad all at the same time and she was starting to fall apart. Bastard he might be, but James was still her father and his words hurt.

Finally, she ran the last few hundred yards to the front gate and ran. She had no destination in mind, just to get away from the manor and everyone inside.

Where could she go though? She had no one. Moody, maybe? No, he was so paranoid about attacks that she had no idea where he lived. Sirius and Remus were out, they hated her almost as much as her parents did right now. She had no friends she could stay with. Stupid David for leaving her friendless.

XXXXX

Danielle didn't stop moving until it was almost sundown. By then, she was somewhere in the woods about an hour from London and so tired, she had to sit down. Her tears had dried a long time ago, now she was just miserable. She was just glad that she still had all thousand galleons she won for winning the Tournament. Not that it would last forever, but it was better than nothing.

With Voldemort back, she wasn't too sure how safe the magical world was and figured she should stay in the non-magical world for the moment, just to play it safe. She refused to use that offensive term 'Muggle' as it just reaked of wizarding ignorance and arrogance. 'Oh, I have magic so let's call a group of people different than me a funny sounding word that they have no control over.'

Witches and wizards made her sick most of the time.

Danielle hadn't been paying attention to where she was going and found herself in some sort of forest. Feeling that she was far enough from Potter manor, she used some apparition she had learned from the house elves and vanished with a crack.

Appearing on a huge hill somewhere in Scotland, Danielle sat down on a fallen tree, thinking. She wouldn't be able to go back to Hogwarts and now she was in the middle of nowhere. She really only had what was on her person at the moment.

On the other hand, this might be perfect. She had constantly held back both around the house and school, knowing that James wouldn't like if she was more powerful than his 'Boy-Who-Lived' son. Perhaps it was time to stop holding back.

She had tons of magic at her disposal and had had no reason to really use it. She had never felt magically exhausted or tired in any way. Looking up, she saw it was night time and she was stuck on some lonely hill with no sign of civilization. She had nothing to do but sing now.

**The grass glows green on the mountain tonight**

**Not a footprint to be seen**

**A kingdom of isolation,**

**And it looks like I'm the queen.**

Danielle sighed as she looked around several times, not seeing anything to use to further her magical studies or even food.

**The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside**

**Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried!**

She had had to tell the truth of what she had seen that night in the graveyard. Dumbledore had all but demanded to know how she had escaped Voldemort and the rest of the Order of the Phoenix had been notified as well.

Needless to say, it was the reason she had been kicked out of the Potter family. For 'lying.'

**Don't let them in, don't let them see**

**Be the good girl you always have to be**

**Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know**

**Well, now they know!**

She had shown off too many of her powers and tricks in the tournament and the Order was worried about it. She had so much potential to become the next dark lady that they had treated her like a prisoner and outcast. She still had so many more abilities she hadn't shown off yet but what was the point now?

Frowning, she let sparks of magic flow from her fingertips as a whirlwind of pure magic surrounded her as she walked along the hill.

**Let it go, let it go**

**Can't hold it back anymore**

Flames were added to the wind surrounding Danielle as the sparks at her fingertips grew to full lightning.

**Let it go, let it go**

**Turn away and slam the door!**

She threw random bursts of magic from her fingers and rearranged the landscape everywhere the magic hit, forming statues and sculptures.

**I don't care**

**What they're going to say**

**Let the storm rage on,**

**The stares never bothered me anyway!**

Letting go of the magic around her, she flew around the hill a few times before smirking at a large river in front of her.

**It's funny how some distance**

**Makes everything seem small**

**And the fears that once controlled me**

**Can't get to me at all!**

Conjuring an elaborate bridge over the river, she pushed more magic into it and allowed it to become fancier with more complicated designs.

**It's time to see what I can do**

**To test the limits and break through**

**No right, no wrong, no rules for me I'm free!**

She wanted to laugh at Hermione Granger right now, performing feats of magic that even Dumbledore and Voldemort would make green with envy. A rush of magic from her formed large working fountains and even more statues as the plant life changed to become a topiary garden.

**Let it go, let it go**

**I am one with the wind and sky**

**Let it go, let it go**

**You'll never see me cry!**

**Here I stand**

**And here I'll stay**

**Let the storm rage on!**

Taking a deep breath, she summoned more magic from within herself than ever before and forced into the ground, focusing hard on what she wanted. Slowly, several huge columns rose from the earth as Danielle conjured them, rising to the sky as walls formed between them.

**My power flurries through the air into the ground**

**My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around**

Spinning on her heel in the new throne room she had created, the marble floors were decorated with numerous runes and a large letter D.

**And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast**

She pulled out her wand, the thing that she hadn't needed since she was twelve. She hated this stupid stick, limiting her powers and a symbol of the bigoted wizarding world. Without a care, she snapped it in half and threw it to the side.

**I'm never going back,**

**The past is in the past!**

More magic shimmering around her, her clothes changed into a fancier version of what she was already wearing, not one to wear elaborate dresses.

**Let it go, let it go**

**When I'll rise like the break of dawn**

**Let it go, let it go**

**That perfect girl is gone!**

A new day coming from over the horizon, her new castle rose to tower over the hill she had landed on when she first got there. Standing on the new balcony, she sighed happily at the sunrise became visible.

**Here I stand**

**In the light of day**

**Let the storm rage on,**

**Voldemort will never bother me anyway!**

Nodding in satisfaction, Danielle left to put up the wards around her castle to keep the Ministry, non-magical population and the Order out of her new home.

XXXXXX

Nessie sighed as she walked. Who knew it would be so hard to find her mother out here in the woods? Her parents had just had another huge fight and she at least wanted to try to calm her mom down. It wasn't like any of the others would help, especially Jake, when she was like this. Too bad it was happening more and more frequently recently.

The forever sixteen year old finally found her mother in a flower-covered field in the woods, standing in the flowers with a sad look on her face. The girl sighed, wanting to help her but not sure what to say after the latest fight.

Should she speak her mind or should she lie and keep everything where they were?

After several minutes, the older woman let out a deep breath before turning to her daughter. "How bad is it at home?"

Nessie snorted, approaching her mother a little calmer than she had a few moments ago. "You should know by now mom. Most of the family is taking dad's side with a few not caring either way. Though I think Alice is with you actually."

Bella Cullen nodded as she figured that was about right. "Edward turned everything to suit himself after I stormed off, didn't he?"

The younger teen nodded with a sigh. "Why do you stay with him mom? I don't see what the big deal is."

"He was my first crush," Bella reminded her, sighing. "He was so…charming and handsome back then." She frowned and kicked a nearby rock. "How was I supposed to know we weren't mates?"

"He left you in the past, didn't he?" Nessie asked, already knowing the answer. "If you two were really mates, he wouldn't be able to leave you. It would be physically impossible for him to leave you."

Bella nodded again, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I almost lose my mind to him and he didn't care. Not really. Some stupid nonsense about saving my soul or something. Yet when I almost died giving birth to you, he was more than eager to turn me to save me, immortal soul or not."

"Pretty hypocritical to me, mom."

"I know. He told me he would only stay with me for as long as it was for the best of both of us. He left me because of a paper cut. He's bossy, controlling, hates himself for 'being a monster' and has never respected any decision I have made." She let out another breath. "How did it take this long for us to break apart?"

Nessie smiled. "On the plus side, I think Jake will be happy about this news."

Bella snorted. "Ah, Jake. If only it would have worked between us. Oh, no offense sweetie."

"None taken. Remember that I'm keeping my distance from him too. Imprinting just seems unnatural and doesn't make any sense. Wolves do mate for life but it's not at first sight or anything. Wolves can also go against an alpha if they want to and become an omega, so why couldn't Leah refuse Sam? The whole wolf shifter thing doesn't make sense."

"Every couple needs their own personal space," Bella nodded, having learnt that first hand. "The imprint is more of a slave bond than a true love at first sight story, to be honest." Vampires are at least more believable as it's over time, not instantaneous."

Nessie nodded, knowing she would never be free from Jacob for as long as he was alive. It really did seem to her that if she wanted him happy, she had be with him. She had a frightening level of power over him if she really thought about it. And what was the point anyway? She was barren as a hybrid so it wasn't like she could give birth to powerful wolf shifter pups or anything.

Bella sighed as she remembered a song she had heard a while ago so she started singing.

**The fire had glowed on our relationship**

**Not a problem to be seen**

**A kingdom of perfection,**

**And he treated me like I'm a queen.**

The early days of their relationship was so easy. Of course, she had also been a naïve little human teen girl with zero life experience, foolishly thinking that just because Edward was attractive, he would be a good guy for her.

**The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside**

**Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried!**

Her relationship had been rocky since the beginning but she didn't think it was that bad, at least when compared to others. Edward had lied to her numerous times to 'protect' her, tried to keep her away from Jacob, and refused to turn her into a vampire to 'save her soul.'

Edward had problems and she had been blinded to all of them until recently. No more!

**Don't let them in, don't let them see**

**Be the good wife you always have to be**

**Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know**

**Well, now they know!**

She had had one too many arguments with Edward for the other Cullens to ignore this time and she wasn't going to let them run her over anymore. If she had to leave Forks with Nessie with her, then so be it.

**Let it go, let it go**

**I know the truth this tiiiiime**

**Let it go, let it go**

**Edward's not worth a diiiiime**

He really wasn't.

**I don't care**

**What the Cullens will say**

**Let the storm rage on,**

**The cold truth never bothered me anyway!**

She always found out the truth anyway, even when the Cullens didn't want her to know. James. The Voltori. Victoria's army. Jacob and the wolves. The list went on and on.

**It's funny how some distance**

**Makes everything seem small**

**And the man that once controlled me**

**Can't get to me at all!**

Edward had always put humanity on a pedestal of what perfection was, something he could never obtain due to him being a vampire. Trying to persuade her to stay human, plan for her to go to college when she didn't want to, turn her into a vampire without her consent when she was dying.

If he didn't want to stay with her, then why bothering letting them get close in the first place? Just end it early and with a minimum of angst from her. Fewer people would be hurt that way.

**It's time to see what I can do**

**To test the limits and break through**

**No Cullens holding meeeee, I'm free!**

Nessie smiled and held her hand, letting her know that if her mother was leaving Forks, than she was coming with. Jacob would be okay without her…she hoped. It wasn't like she liked her father anyway.

Bella looked relieved to know her daughter was going to be there for her.

**Let it go, let it go**

**Just watch I am going to flyyyy**

**Let it go, let it go**

**You'll never see me cry!**

She was done crying over Edward when he didn't respect her and never had.

**Here I stand**

**And here I'll stay**

**Let the storm rage on!**

**My power surrounds me through the air without a sound**

**My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around**

**And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast**

**I'm never going back,**

**The past is in the past!**

She took off her wedding ring, seeing it as a slave bond connecting her with Edward. Scowling, she easily crushed it with her enhanced strength, allowing the dust in her palm to fly away in the breeze.

**Let it go, let it go**

**When I'll rise like the break of dawn**

**Let it go, let it go**

**That perfect girl is gone!**

The Cullens always tried to be the perfect family, but like any other, they had more than a few skeletons in their closet. She was sure that quite a few vampires would love to know what those might be for the right price. She snorted. This would show them to treat her like a lost puppy they had taken in all those years ago!

**Here I stand**

**In the light of day**

**Let the storm rage on,**

**Edward held me back anyway!**

"Let's go, Rensesme," Bella said, almost emotionlessly as she picked a direction and sped off, her daughter hot on her heels. Neither of them knew what they would do, but whatever it was, it could only be better than wasting their immortal lives with 'vegetarian vampires.'

XXXXXX

Danielle stood in front of her new recruits with a critical expression. Harry had asked her to take over one of the DA sessions and she was not going to be pulling any punches. "So…" She paused as everyone in the Room of Requirement looked at her. "You people think you can defend yourselves?"

A few members looked at her like she was stupid. What had they been learning for the last couple of months with Harry?

Zacharias Smith snorted, getting Danielle's attention. "We've been working hard at learning everything we need. So yeah, we can."

The red head looked faintly amused at the arrogant Hufflepuff, before shaking her head. "I asked if you could defend yourselves; not about the spells you can use. All of the magic in the world can't protect you if you don't know how to use it."

Gaining control of the Room of Requirement from Harry, she radically changed it from the large empty room it had been to a multitude of different terrains and things to practice with. Ignoring the look of awe from her new students, she looked up at a tall thirty foot high pole sticking out of the floor. Nodding, she grabbed a nearby bow and knocked an arrow, shooting and impaling the top of the pole with the arrow.

"That arrow up there is victory. Whoever can get it down without magic is excused from having to do any of my training."

Hermione looked skeptical as she looked at the arrow. "It really shouldn't be that hard for one of us to reach it…"

Danielle smirked at the smart brunette, especially as Zacharias confidently strode forward. "Hold on," she pulled out two extremely heavy weights tied to straps and gave one to Smith. "This one represents courage." Smith, upon taking the weight, felt his hand slam into the floor it was so heavy. Danielle held out the other weight. "This one represents honor." Zacharias looked fearful now as Danielle let go of the other weight in his hand now and he slumped completely to the floor, unable to lift both. "You need both to reach the arrow."

Danielle mentally sighed as the DA members now looked scared, worried or like she was crazy. Looking over at Smith, the Hufflepuff had managed to stagger to his feet, both weights strapped to his hands as he ran up at the post, scrabbling up the wood. He managed to make it up a few feet before he lost momentum and started to slip down.

Everyone was impressed by his stubbornness as he actually bit into the wooden post to stop his descent, but it wasn't enough and he lost his fight with gravity.

Danielle watched unimpressed as one by one, everyone in the DA failed to get the arrow, most not even getting half way. Cho and Marrietta were particularly disappointing as they had barely tried. As Hermione winced in pain as she landed on her side in an awkward heap, Danielle sighed deeply. "We've got a long way to go…" Asking the room for what she needed next for their training, she tossed the long wooden battle staffs toward everyone.

Everyone caught theirs, some a bit haphazardly, except for Ron, when Smith grabbed his training staff instead. Before Ron could argue or complain, Smith swept Ron's legs out from under him from behind. The Hufflepuff then threw the staff down at Ron's feet and looked innocent, pretending he hadn't done anything.

Danielle slammed her staff into the floor before using it to fling two vases into the air, that the room provided, starting to sing.

**Let's get down to business **

**To defeat our foes.**

Everyone watched in awe as the red headed Potter smashed both vases with her staff as they fell…without even looking at them!

**Did they send me daughters **

**When I asked for sons? **

Everyone tried making the same pose Danielle was in, though some looked uncertain. Cho and Marrietta smirked as they snuck a beetle they had found down Luna's shirt, causing her jerk around with her staff, accidently knocking down various other DA members.

Looking from the sidelines, Harry face palmed.

Danielle used her staff to propel her forward and attempted to stop the eccentric blonde.

**You're the saddest bunch I ever met **

**But you can bet before we're through**

Danielle got hit a few times by Luna's weak swings before straightening and taking the blonde's staff away, getting in her face with a scowl, causing Luna to gulp.

**Mister, I'll make a man out of you**

Harry sighed as he wrote something down on his clipboard, making a note to deal with Cho and Marrietta later.

Moving onto a different part of the room that looked like an archery field, Danielle used magic to fling three apples into the air before shooting three arrows at the same time from her bow. Not only did the arrows go through the apples as they flew, but also hit perfect bullseyes.

**Tranquil as a forest**

**But on fire within**

The next few minutes was full of flying arrows and apples, none of them coming anywhere close to each other, let alone the targets.

**Once you find your center, **

The next part of the training had Danielle hold a staff in her hands with a bucket of water on her head. No matter how many rocks her students threw at her, either physically or with magic, the red head was able to deflect them all.

**You are sure to win**

Hermione was up after Danielle as she wobbly held the bucket on her head as she clutched at her staff.

**You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot**

When the rocks flew at the bushy haired brunette, she moved so quickly that the bucket splashed water over her head. Unable to see due to the bucket over her eyes, she swung blindly at the rocks until she got one, hitting it like a baseball. The rock hit Smith, who was knocked to the ground.

**And you haven't got a clue**

Danielle shook her head in disappointment at Hermione, who looked sheepish and sad that she hadn't been able to do better.

**Somehow I'll make a man out of you**

Smith and Ginny were now dodging spells as everyone else started firing at them. While Ginny was only just barely able to not get hit, Smith wasn't as lucky as he fell down when a fire charm hit his pants, setting them on fire.

**[Ginny] I'm never gonna catch my breath**

**[Zacharias] Say goodbye to those who knew me**

Collin was standing in front of a cinder block as he tried to cut in half with just his hand. All he ended up getting was his hand broken.

**[Collin] Boy, was I a fool in school for cutting gym**

In a one on one sparring session, all Hermione could do was dodge as Danielle feinted to the left before punching the brunette with enough force to launch her back into a wall.

Harry sighed sadly as he dumped some water on Hermione to revive her.

**[Harry] Dani's got 'em scared to death**

**[Hermione] Hope she doesn't punch right through me**

In a heavy river simulation with wooden posts every few feet to jump across, Michael Corner was going so slow that everyone behind him crashed into each other, unable to progress.

**[Michael] Now I really wish that I knew how to swim**

**Be a man**

With a huge bulls eye on the wall and telling everyone to use the reductor curse on it, Danielle could only watch as every curse missed the large target a hundred feet away, proving that their long term accuracy sucked.

**You must be swift as a coursing river**

**Be a man**

**With all the force of a great typhoon**

Ron was about to fire his own curse when Fred and George _accidently_ bumped into his wand arm, causing his spell to fire behind him instead.

**Be a man**

**With all the strength of a raging fire**

**Mysterious as the dark side of the moon**

Harry was not amused when Ron's spell a cabinet with runes all over it that he had been leaning against, causing it to go up in smoke and fire. He made a note on that.

As it was the weekend with nothing planned for any house, everyone camped out in the room. Danielle stayed awake as she looked at the tents from her perch, along with the arrow she had shot onto the post at the beginning of the training.

**Time is racing toward us**

**Till Voldemort arrives**

The next morning saw everyone march in single file along a simulated rocky mountaintop with heavy packs on their backs. In front of the others, Harry got Danielle's attention as he pointed at the back of the group, showing that Hermione was struggling to even remain standing.

**Heed my every order**

**And you might survive**

Hermione had just fallen on her face when she saw a shadow cover her. Looking up, Danielle just gave her a disappointed look as she took the brunette's pack along with her own and turned her back on her, racing toward the front of the group again.

Hermione looked miserable as she fell back onto the floor, quietly sobbing.

After the march, Danielle came toward Hermione with a frown, shaking her head.

**You're unsuited for the rage of war**

**So pack up, go home, you're through**

**How could I make a man out of you?**

Sadly agreeing with the red head as she handed her bag back, Hermione was about to leave when she noticed the arrow again. Looking, she saw the weights Danielle had told everyone to use and frowned with determination. SHE COULD DO THIS!

Trying to climb the wooden post a few times, she could barely get a few feet up before falling back down. Looking at the heavy weights, she thought of something as her analytical mind worked overtime.

**Be a man**

**You must be swift as a coursing river**

Swinging the weights around the post by the straps, she used them as a counterbalance to climb up the wood. The weights were actually _helping_ her reach the top!

**Be a man**

**With all the force of a great typhoon**

More and more of the DA were watching at what Hermione was doing and were impressed, getting much closer than any of them had.

Almost slipping, Hermione powered through and, now dripping in sweat, made one last great effort as she got within a foot of the top.

**Be a man**

**With all the strength of a raging fire**

Danielle was coming out of her training and approaching the others when an arrow landed at her feet. Surprised, she looked up to see Hermione Granger sitting on top of the wooden post, waving at her with a smug smile.

**Mysterious as the dark side of the moon**

Danielle nodded to herself. All Hermione needed was the right push. Now the training could actually work.

**Be a man**

**You must be swift as a coursing river**

Every member of the DA was now following Hermione as they marched with their heavy loads. Not only that, but the brunette had also knocked Danielle onto her back in a spar, causing the Potter female to nod to her, proud.

**Be a man**

**With all the force of a great typhoon**

Michael was now cartwheeling across the wooden posts in the river simulation.

**Be a man**

**With all the strength of a raging fire**

Smith could now run through everyone's spell fire, not being hit by any of the magical blasts.

Collin easily used his face to split a concrete block in half, not feeling any injury whatsoever.

**Mysterious as the dark side of the moon**

As Danielle threw every member of the DA training staffs, Cho and Marrietta had caught Luna's, handing it to her with smiles instead of pranks.

Danielle nodded as they finished their training. They were ready to take on Voldemort and his Death Eaters, as well as anything else that were thrown their way. What else could she say other than that she was proud of them?

XXXXXX

"Why am I here again?" asked Hermione as she was dragged through the locker room onto the pitch. She had wanted nothing to do with this and her only desire was to curl up in an armchair with a new book, tail wrapped around her, by the fire. The pitch was covered with snow and while heating charms helped, it couldn't beat a real open flame.

"To cheer us on," Ron smirked. "I'm pretty sure we have a cheerleader outfit here somewhere." He was going to fly on Harry's Nimbus after the boy was done with his turn while flying on a school broom.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Not going to happen."

"Suit yourself," Harry said, grinning as they walked onto the pitch, only to find that someone was already there.

Hermione blinked as she recognized the figure as Danielle. The auburn haired witch was holding a clipboard and jotting down notes of some sort with an actual fountain pen in the center of the pitch. Like the others, she was dressed for the cold in a moderate jacket over her jeans and t-shirt that no doubt had a heating charm on it. Every now and then she would shake her head and scratch something out on her clipboard before making new notes.

Harry growled. "What are you doing here?"

Hearing the voice, Danielle looked around and rolled her eyes at being interrupted. "Project." She held up the clipboard, which had some complicated diagram on it Hermione couldn't make out from this distance. "I was here first and you won't bother me if you fly around. Go ahead."

Ron took a different route. "Why would you even be here if you don't have a broom." He held up the school broom he had taken from the storage shed, Harry doing the same with his own.

Danielle rolled her eyes again. "Research and notes for observation. Now, please leave me alone so I can finish." She went back to her notes, only for Harry to not like the brush off.

"How about a challenge?" Danielle looked up again and waited for him to continue. "We race around the pitch and the first one to finish five laps can stay while the other leaves."

Danielle sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before finally nodding. "Fine. I can finish this later anyway." She shrunk her clipboard with her notes and stuffed them into her pocket. She then made her way to the closer of the two goal posts, getting into a racer position. "Going to race or not?"

Harry smirked as he got onto his broom. "I meant in the air, stupid." Ron smirked as he joined Harry in the air.

Without warning, they both took off and started their lap on their brooms, leaving Danielle on the ground.

Sighing, Danielle was about to take off when Hermione put a hand on her shoulder. Looking, she was surprised to see the brunette looking worried. "Please, just leave before they humiliate you."

Danielle blinked, before smiling. "Thanks for looking out for me, Hermione, but you seem to think I'm going to lose." She took Hermione's hand off her shoulder. "And I have no intention of doing so."

"But-"

Hermione was cut off when Danielle turned around and ran after Harry and Ron. She was amazed as not only did Danielle actually somewhat catch up with the two boys on brooms on foot, but the auburn haired girl actually rose into the air and started flying! The brunette's eyes widened when Harry and Ron, who were flying casually on their brooms at a slow and steady pace, were completely surprised when the girl passed them. WITHOUT A BROOM!

Danielle smirked. It had been too long since she had flown without a broom and found that she wasn't as rusty as she thought she might be. She had passed both boys with no problem and had shown off a bit more than she usually did by flying backward, waving at both of them mockingly before zooming off. Both boys looked at each other incredulously before taking off after her, pushing their brooms to their limits.

Ten minutes after the race started, Danielle was already half way done while Harry was a good lap behind. Ron's broom had given out and crashed into the ground after the first lap when he tried to make it go over thirty miles an hour.

Hermione meanwhile was completely stunned. DANIELLE POTTER KNEW HOW TO FLY! WITHOUT A BROOM!

It should be impossible! Or at least require too much magic for a twelve year old to perform, and yet, here she was. A twelve year old Potter girl out flying a Nimbus 2000 on her own with nothing supporting her.

Danielle didn't seem worried at all that she could lose this race either. The few times she managed to see the girl's face, Hermione could tell that the other girl was enjoying herself.

As the auburn haired girl continued to almost literally fly circles around Harry, Hermione was surprised when the girl started to actually sing.

**Think of a wonderful thought **

**Any merry little thought **

**Think of Christmas, think of snow **

**Think of sleigh bells - off you go! **

**Like a reindeer in the sky **

**You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!**

Hermione watched, completely amused as Danielle flew around Harry on his broom, spinning as she flew effortlessly without one. The brunette had no idea that not only could someone fly without a broom but also look so…graceful while doing so.

**Think of the happiest things **

**It's the same as having wings **

**Take the path that moonbeams make **

**If the moon is still awake **

**You'll see him wink his eye **

**You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!**

Harry was gritting his teeth as he tried to ignore his pathetic loser of a sister. How was he supposed to know she could fly without a broom or be able to sing Disney songs at the same time?

Danielle wasn't even tired. She was easily a full lap ahead of Harry and was reaching the finishing line to end the race. Spreading her arms out, she sighed happily and simply enjoyed the feeling of flight.

**Up you go with a heigh and ho **

**To the stars beyoond the blue **

**There's a Never Land waiting for you **

**Where all your happy dreams come true **

**Every dream that you dream will come true**

Danielle sighed happily and a little wistfully, kind of wishing that her dream would come true at some point. Sadly, it didn't look like it would be possible at the moment but…she could hope…

**When there's a smile in your heart **

**There's no better time to start **

**Think of all the joy you'll find **

**When you leave the world behind **

**And bid your cares good-bye**

** You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!**

Danielle finished the race a full lap and a half ahead of Harry, twirling in midair while finishing the song. Letting out a sigh, a little sad that her fun was over, Danielle lowered herself to the ground, landing gently. Sticking her hands in her pockets, she looked at the sky, smiling wistfully.

**It's not my fault I had three different characters singing 'Let it Go'! Silver and I are sick and tired of Frozen, it having long overstayed its welcome, but the song is so popular that I didn't really have a choice but to throw it in…three times. Anyway, tell me if it's good and I'll make more. Tell me it's terrible and I won't post a few others I've written and haven't included. **


	16. Fox Girl Danielle

**You ever want to write a magical creature story just because you saw a mythical story about them from some mythology and you thought if you could turn your main character into that creature? Yeah, this is that story. I found out about the mythical Kitsunes from Japan and I fell in love with the idea. I have no idea if this would work as a story but I think I laid the foundation for one. Not to mention that I set it up for a pairing I like.**

**For those that commented on my Danielle's life is a Video Game story, I am working on that too. I'm also thinking of turning into a a full story but I have a lot of details to go through for that one. Until then, though, enjoy this one.**

Danielle yawned as she headed toward the hospital wing early in the morning. It was the Christmas holidays during her second year and she needed some Pepper-Up potion to get rid of some sort of flu she thought she might be catching. She really did not want to be sick right after Christmas day.

Entering the hospital wing, she rose an eyebrow at the privacy screens set up over one of the beds but shrugged it off, not wanting to get into anyone's business.

When she had entered, an alert was sent to Madame Pomfrey and she came out of her office almost right away. "Miss Potter? Is there anything wrong with you?"

"Just looking for something to clear a bit of a cold I'm getting," Danielle shrugged. "I'm usually pretty healthy but I figured I might as well be better safe then sorry."

"Very well then, wait here, I have something to help." Madame Pomfrey went back into her office, obviously looking for the right potion bottle.

She hadn't been waiting for long when she heard a voice from behind the privacy screens that she recognized. "Danielle?"

"Hermione?" What was the bushy haired girl she shared a dorm with be doing here? "I was wondering where you were last night. What's wrong with you?" She and Hermione didn't really get along very well but well enough for a decent conversation where they didn't try to kill each other.

"Go away!"

Danielle sighed and shook her head, wondering why Granger had to be so stubborn. "Just tell me what's going on and I'll leave you alone. What has my moronic brother done this time?"

"Harry and Ron didn't do this," Hermione's voice called back, now really getting her attention. "Just…leave!"

"And now I want to see what's wrong even more," Danielle smirked. "I'm coming in." She made her way to the bed.

"NO!"

That was more of a 'no' from a distressed girl arguing for the sake of arguing however and she ignored it. "Come on, it can't be that bad." Moving aside the screens, she blinked and smiled. "Oh, well, that is different, I have to admit."

Hermione was lying on her bed, arms crossed and glaring at her. What was different about her was that in addition to the bushy hair on her head, a soft dusting of brown fur covered her body though really wasn't that bad. Her ears had relocated to the top of her head and she had a cat tail poking out of the sheets of her bed.

"Leave me alone!"

Danielle smirked and shook her head, crossing her arms as she watched the other girl. "My idiot brother and Ron haven't checked on you yet, have they?"

Hermione winced but didn't say either way, which proved what she said was true. "I've only been here for a couple of days, I'm sure they'll come soon."

"You've been like this for days and they haven't visited yet?" Danielle asked, curious as she sat down on the cat girl's bed.

"Why do you care?" Hermione asked. She was clearly trying to be brave about this but Danielle could hear the sadness in her voice.

"You are my dorm mate," Danielle shrugged, watching her closely. "I know enough about you to be worried when you don't show up for a few nights in our dorm. Especially around Christmas." She paused as she let Hermione digest that. "Animagus transformation or Polyjuice Potion?"

"How did you-?"

"Please, it's either of the two. Plus my father and two of his best friends could turn into animals at will. You're smart, Granger, therefore it could be either one. So, which is it?"

Hermione winced as she obviously didn't want to answer. She then sighed. "Polyjuice. The hair was a cat hair instead of a human hair."

Danielle shook her head. "I'm not going to ask why you would do something as stupid as making Polyjuice potion. Just know that from I know about it, it might be irreversible."

Hermione now looked panicked but was saved from answering when Madame Pomfrey arrived with Danielle's potion. "Here you are, Miss Potter. I should tell you that it is against hospital rules to barge your way into a private bed."

Danielle shrugged, taking the potion with a grimace. "Horrible taste, just like every other potion I drink. I was really just curious why Granger here needed the extra privacy. If she was petrified, she wouldn't need it."

"Is this really irreversible, Madame Pomfrey?" Hermione asked, her voice low and full of fear.

The Hogwarts matron looked a little worried. "I…haven't been able to find anything to fully reverse the effects, Miss Granger. I'm still looking but…it looks like your body has taken the changes and has adapted to them. It seems your body sees this form is the true you and automatically resets itself to how you look now."

Hermione looked ready to cry and Danielle had an idea. "What about glamour spells in the meantime?" She looked at Madame Pomfrey. "Is it possible to set up a kind of illusion around her so that everyone sees and feels her the way she used to be while you work on the problem? It wouldn't cure her, but she would at least look normal."

"I…" Madame Pomfrey stopped, thinking. "That…is possible, I suppose. It is illegal to brew Polyjuice potion as a second year so I can't let St. Mungos take her case, but…I have no idea how to create an illusion that powerful."

"I do," Danielle shrugged and both of the others stared at her. "I'm a bit of an ancient runes fanatic. Because of that, I've been learning how to enchant objects ever since I was nine. Illusions are easy.

"Yes," she was now muttering more to herself then to the others. "A simple illusion so everyone sees how she used to look. Maybe a confundus charm built in so everyone feels skin instead of fur…the object with the enchant would have to be powered by either the surrounding magic in the atmosphere or from the wearer, should be simple enough…"

"You seem to be giving this a fair bit of thought," said Madame Pomfrey, impressed as the auburn haired girl in front of her was already thinking of which runes to use.

"Hmm, oh, yeah, no problem," Danielle muttered. "A battery runic array to store magic for a later date…illusion magic, I would need a perfect image of her and a good imagination of what she would look like in the future so it matches…maybe a sense deflector added to the confundus part…"

Hermione, who had been studying Ancient Runes in her free time, had no clue what the other girl was saying now. The whole thing was flying over her head and she was Hermione Granger!

"You really think you could help me?" she asked, looking at the other Gryffindor student.

"Huh?" Danielle turned to look at the cat girl on the bed. "Oh, yeah, give me a couple of days and I'm sure I can come up with something." She paused. "A ring, a necklace or a bracelet would work best. Do you have a preference or should I just pick?"

"A necklace would probably work the best," Madame Pomfrey said, looking between the two girls. "The more the material, the more space you have for the runes, correct?"

"Yes," Danielle said slowly, still thinking hard. "A necklace would do well. Well, I have plenty of those, shouldn't be too hard to find a good one." She looked at Hermione and nodded. "An emerald would work best for you, the green would contrast nicely with all the brown."

"An emerald?"

"Rubies, sapphires and emeralds are excellent conductors for enchants," Danielle said distractedly. "Diamonds work pretty well too but are a lot more expensive. I think I have a necklace with an emerald in it. It should work. Give me a couple of days, will you?"

As she was leaving the hospital wing, she stopped when she heard Hermione call out. "Thanks!"

Pausing, she blinked and turned back to Hermione, who looked pretty happy. Her smile seemed to light up the room and Danielle stared at her for a moment before giving her a mental shake. "Uh, no problem, I guess," she muttered before she left the room, heading back up to her room to start working. She hadn't had a new project in a while and this seemed to be a nice one.

XXXXX

Three days after Danielle's encounter with Hermione, the auburn haired girl came back to find the bushy haired cat girl was exactly where she had been the last time she had been there. Frowning, it seemed that Hermione seemed even more depressed than the last time.

"Problems, Hermione?"

Looking up, Hermione seemed to be struggling to smile. Her face was pained even through the light coat of fur and her ears were flat against her head, a sign she was depressed. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Danielle stared at her and smiled, crossing her arms. "Liar."

Hermione and Danielle stared at each other until the brunette sighed and slumped against the pillow. "Okay, it was Harry and Ron."

"Knew it."

Hermione saw that Danielle didn't look smug, just a little sad she was right. "They did visit, just now, but they were so concerned with this 'Heir of Slytherin' thing that they just wanted to know what I thought about it. They didn't ask how I was or if I would be turning back. No sense that they even wanted to help."

Danielle grumbled a bit but shook her head. "Figured as much. You've been in the hospital wing for what? Five or six days now? They really should have come to see you before now." She paused before she pulled out a box from her robes. "Here, late Christmas present."

Taking the box, Hermione glanced at her before she slowly opened it. She blinked when she saw that it was a beautiful golden necklace with a simple emerald design. It was simple, elegant and beautiful, able to go with just about anything she had. "Thank you."

"Put it on before you thank me," Danielle shrugged, though she did smile a bit.

Moving her slightly paw like fingers a little shakily, she unclasped the necklace and put it around her neck, snapping it closed again.

"Now, 3, 2, 1…"

Hermione looked down at herself and saw that what little fur she had was gone while the cat traits had vanished. She could still feel them, her tail refused to stay put after all, but looking in a nearby mirror, she marveled at seeing herself looking normal again. "It, it worked!"

"Duh," Danielle said, a little smug. That was as far as she got before Hermione rushed forward and hugged her, squeezing tightly. "Uh, there, there?" she said, petting the top of Hermione's head awkwardly.

"Sorry," said Hermione as she separated from her, smiling shyly. "It's just, well, you helped somewhat fix my own stupid mistake and actually seemed to care about what happened to me. That's more then what I can say about Harry and Ron."

Danielle shrugged, looking away from Hermione a bit. "I just thought of it as a little pet project. I'm fairly good at enchanting and this seemed like a good idea." It really had been nothing. She had tons of necklaces she never used so it wasn't like she would miss one if it was used for a good cause.

The auburn haired girl cleared her throat. "Well, good helping you Hermione but I should go." She turned to leave.

Hermione, seeing as the girl was leaving, got curious and followed her after getting permission from Madame Pomfrey. "So, where are you going?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound pushy.

Danielle looked at her as they walked through the hallways. "I'm sorry, Hermione, but why do you care? You never did before so I'm wondering why you're starting now."

The bushy haired girl looked down. It was true that they hadn't spent any time together in all the time they had been dorm mates "I just wanted to thank you for the necklace and the enchants you put on it," she said sheepishly.

Danielle still looked at her as they walked through the mostly empty third floor. She shrugged, "you mind telling me what you making Polyjuice potion for anyway?"

Hermione tensed up before sighing. "Harry, Ron and I were curious about the Chamber of Secrets and thought that Malfoy would know something. The potion was so we could sneak in and find out what he knew."

The auburn haired girl looked at her. "Why would Draco Malfoy of all people be behind the Chamber of Secrets? He's a second year, how would he even know where the entrance is?" She shook her head, "no, I thought you would have checked where the entrance of the Chamber was and then killing the monster inside instead of finding the heir of Slytherin."

Hermione scowled at Danielle for saying that but then caught onto something she said. "Wait…do you know where the entrance is?"

"Sure," Danielle shrugged. "Why wouldn't I? It's in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom behind one of the sinks. I'm just waiting for my package to get here in a few days before I go deal with the basilisk inside." She kept walking, not aware of Hermione standing still at hearing that.

"What!" Hermione caught up to her. "How did…? A basilisk…what?"

"Articulate much?" Danielle teased, making the bushy haired girl blush red. "It really was quite easy when one knew what to look for. All I did was find the news articles of every student that had actually died here at Hogwarts and found that there has only been one outside of the Tri-Wizard tournament. She was a Muggle-born fifth year Ravenclaw named Myrtle Henderson that died in a girl's bathroom." She gave Hermione a look and the bushy haired girl looked amazed. "When I talked to Myrtle she was more than willing to tell me everything she knew, how she had simply seen a big pair of eyes and had died.

"Considering that Salazar Slytherin would never use anything other than a snake for his monster within the chamber and the description Myrtle gave me it was too easy to figure out it was a basilisk, especially considering that they are powerful enough to petrify students if the stare is indirect. When Hagrid's roosters were killed earlier this year it only made more sense. Examining the sink in front of Myrtle's stall revealed a snake etched onto the tap, only able to be opened with Parseltongue, again, one of Salazar's prized gifts.

"That leaves us where we are now. Whoever is the heir of Slytherin isn't attacking anyone while the school is practically empty of students for the winter holidays so this is the perfect chance to end the snake. All I'm waiting for is the package I sent for, which should be here in a few days. Once it arrives I'll use parseltongue to open the entrance into the chamber and easily kill the beast. Simple."

Hermione stared at her, stunned at everything she had just said. "That…makes a lot of sense, really. What is this package you're expecting?"

Danielle smirked. "I talked to Hagrid and he told me who to contact if I wanted a rooster. Wasn't easy but I convinced the guy to sell me one. I ordered it so it should arrive in a few days if I'm lucky. With this plan in place, the whole Chamber of Secrets fiasco should be close to being over. The only thing I haven't planned for is getting this heir but without the basilisk, it doesn't really matter."

"We still have to find the heir though," Hermione commented, walking alongside her again after her shock had worn off. "Just in case they do something drastic when their monster is defeated."

"True, I suppose," Danielle shrugged, not really caring as the basilisk was a lot more dangerous than some pompous heir of Slytherin. As they reached the Great Hall, she looked at Hermione in confusion. "That doesn't really explain why you're being so clingy to me."

"Huh?"

Hermione suddenly realized that she was walking only a few inches away from the other girl and it looked like she was about to hold her arm. She suddenly backed away, looking extremely confused.

Danielle chuckled at seeing Hermione's red face. "Some kitten is clingy, isn't she?"

"I'm not a kitten," Hermione scowled, making her way to the Gryffindor table for lunch.

The red head shrugged and sat down opposite her. "You are part cat now," she smirked, "makes sense you would be more affectionate toward people who show you kindness. Not like I showed you much as the necklace is really nothing that special."

"It means a lot to me," Hermione muttered under her breath, fingering it around her neck. Unseen, her tail was whipping back and forth in happiness that she got something so pretty and useful, but her human pride didn't want her to admit how much it meant to her.

For most of her life, she had been alone with only her parents and books to keep her company. She went to authority figures for help and guidance because in the past, they held all of the answers for her, no matter what problem she had. Bullies picked on her whether it was for her being smart, a bookworm, her bushy hair, or her large oversized front teeth.

When she got to Hogwarts, she figured she would finally make friends and fit in with people who understood what it felt to be different. The problem was that she had been so eager to show off what she knew, she had come off as bossy, intolerable, and a know-it-all, putting people off by her scary smart intelligence. The only one who came close to her grades and intellect was the auburn haired girl sitting across from her, but she grew to see her as a rival, not a friend.

On Halloween in her first year, she had almost been killed by a troll when Ron Weasley had insulted her and sent her running into the bathroom in tears. Yes, he and Harry had defeated it and saved her life, but she was starting to understand that maybe they weren't really her friends.

Ron still insulted her at times and Harry seemed indifferent as well. Not all the time but enough to make her wonder if they were simply using her for her intelligence and work ethic. She did make them do their homework and go over it for them to make sure they got the right answers but Ron was getting on her nerves by asking her to do his homework for him.

She looked at the red head in front of her, her hair much darker then the more ginger red Ron had. Danielle had never pretended to be friends with her, despite being room mates with Parvati and Lavender, but had never acknowledged they were rivals either. The other Potter sibling was quietly brilliant, much unlike her brother, preferring to show it with her test and homework scores rather then shouting out every answer she knew. She had the decency to blush a little, remembering how she herself had blurted out every answer she could in an attempt to make her feel like she belonged in the magical world.

"What are you thinking?" Danielle asked, shaking her from her thoughts. "You kind of just spaced out for a moment."

"Oh, er, I was thinking how different we are," Hermione smiled, still a little red in the face. At Danielle's knowing look, she continued. "Like in our first Herbology lesson on mandrakes I just blurted out the answer while you obviously knew as well but didn't say anything."

Danielle laughed a little, looking more at ease as she looked around the Great Hall. "Can anyone tell me what a mandrake is?" She smirked. "Can anyone tell me what foreshadowing is? Foreshadowing is a literary plot device designed to show something early in a story only for it come back later in a very significant way. Tell me, Hermione, did you think that the mandrakes would be needed this year when Professor Sprout showed them to us?"

It was Hermione's turn to laugh. "No, I honestly didn't. When you say it like that, it does seem like foreshadowing to show us the mandrakes in the beginning of the year." She paused, looking at her. "Where did you learn enchanting? That's supposed to be an almost lost art."

Danielle shrugged, finally helping herself to the food on the table. "It's not that hard, to be honest. Enchanting is the use of runes to inscribe them onto an object to give them powers lasting for years or even decades without renewing them. The only down side to it is that it costs a lot of energy to use but with some food, I'm good to go right afterward."

"Why do most people just use charms or spells then?"

"Mostly because it's a lot faster and easier. Would you rather spend an hour or so enchanting an object so it lasts for years, or would you simply cast a spell or charm on the same object so it works right away, even if it would only last a month at most? Charming is essentially the poor man's enchanting, which is sad considering the dwindling number of enchanted objects lasting for generations out there now."

She sighed and continued. "I got into runes when I was younger, before Hogwarts and they fascinated me. The idea of giving magical power to something that would normally take dozens of spells with only a few symbols is so interesting that I had to learn it. Luckily the Potter family library had a few books on runes and I learned all I could before I got to Hogwarts, knowing I can't take the class until next year. Until then, though, I have more than enough knowledge and practice to easily manage the simpler enchants."

"The Potters used to be enchanters?"

"Not really, but runes also play a large role in warding, which the Potters are known for. Generations of Potters used to be the best warders and curse breakers in the world. I'm okay at them but my true talent is enchanting and spell creating. I suck at Arithmancy so I'm not very good at breaking down spells down to their basic components and learn how they work the way they do, but I'm trying to get better."

Hermione stared at her, impressed. She had known Harry for over a year but she had never learned the Potters had worked so much with Runes in the past. Seeing the male Potter, however, it seemed that he had the annoying habit of being an underachiever like Ron. Totally unlike his less famous sister.

She was getting a sense that the Potter female in front of her was deceiving her somewhat however. She didn't know how she knew that, or what it was, but her part kneazle senses were telling her that something was…off, about the auburn haired girl. Nothing too bad, just…different, was the best way to describe it.

Danielle meanwhile was amused when Hermione finally loaded up her plate and instantly, and probably subconsciously, took the plate filled with fish first. Smiling as she ate her sandwich, she wisely didn't say anything as the bushy haired girl tore into the seafood without abandon.

Lunch was mostly silent, both Gryffindor girls lost in thought and neither having an urge to break the peace between them. Danielle was only slightly aware that several Gryffindors down the table were giving them cautious looks, as if wondering when hell had frozen over with the two rivals enjoying a quiet lunch together.

After the food was gone, neither girl seemed that eager to leave the table.

Hermione bit her lip, looking at the softly humming Danielle. "I don't suppose I could ask you a question?"

Danielle paused and looked at her, quietly allowing her ask her question.

Taking a deep breath, the bushy haired brunette looked at her. "Was I ever your rival? That is, did you ever know that I kept trying to beat you in exams?"

Hermione watched as Danielle looked at her and then smiled a little. "I was aware that you were competing against me, but I never really cared." She continued to hum a bit, looking at the wall behind Hermione in thought. "This might be a shock, Hermione, but I am the daughter of the smartest witch of _her_ generation, took after more than just her looks, and I am constantly trying to improve myself with new skills. Because of all that, I never found any reason to encourage your rivalry against me."

Hermione stared at her, stunned. "So, you were aware that I hated you, cursed your name and did everything I could to beat you and just…never bothered to tell me you didn't care?"

Danielle smiled. "Pretty much. The rivalry between my brother and Draco only works because they both see each other as rivals. Since I never put any effort to acknowledge your little rivalry on me, I don't think we were ever true rivals."

The brunette surprisingly pouted, which actually looked pretty cute. "You could have at least humored me. If you really have all these skills in class, why don't you show it off?"

"And deny others from having the spotlight?" Danielle shrugged. "I never wanted it, anyone else can have it. That's why I'm not telling everyone that I will probably kill Slytherin's monster just before classes start again."

Before Hermione could say anything, Harry and Ron entered the Great Hall and instantly spotted the brunette. Harry grinned as they approached. "Hey Hermione, good to see you out of the hospital wing." He then turned to Danielle and his smile vanished. "What are you doing here?"

Danielle gave him a flat stare that continued for so long, the raven haired Boy-Who-Lived actually shivered. "Apparently leaving. Talk to you later Hermione." Without looking back, the auburn haired girl stood up and made for the doors, abandoning her seat to Ron who sat down instantly.

"Can you believe her?" Ron asked, grabbing as much food as possible from within arm's reach. "Actually talking to 'Mione like she knew her."

"You said it," Harry grumbled, sitting down next to Hermione, who glared at both for what they were saying. As they didn't see it, however, it went unnoticed.

XXXXXX

The next day found Harry, Ron and Hermione heading down to the Quidditch pitch for some time flying. The boys had grabbed Hermione, who was unwilling, and dragged her down to watch them. It might be the winter holidays without standard Quidditch practices but there was nothing in the rules against students flying on the pitch during their off times.

"Why am I here again?" asked Hermione as she was dragged through the locker room onto the pitch. She had wanted nothing to do with this and her only desire was to curl up in an armchair with a new book, tail wrapped around her, by the fire. The pitch was covered with snow and while heating charms helped, it couldn't beat a real open flame.

"To cheer us on," Ron smirked. "I'm pretty sure we have a cheerleader outfit here somewhere." He was going to fly on Harry's Nimbus after the boy was done with his turn while flying on a school broom.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Not going to happen."

"Suit yourself," Harry said, grinning as they walked onto the pitch, only to find that someone was already there.

Hermione blinked as she recognized the figure as Danielle. The auburn haired witch was holding a clipboard and jotting down notes of some sort with an actual fountain pen in the center of the pitch. Like the others, she was dressed for the cold in a moderate jacket over her jeans and t-shirt that no doubt had a heating charm on it. Every now and then she would shake her head and scratch something out on her clipboard before making new notes.

Harry growled. "What are you doing here?"

Hearing the voice, Danielle looked around and rolled her eyes at being interrupted. "Project." She held up the clipboard, which had some complicated diagram on it Hermione couldn't make out from this distance. "I was here first and you won't bother me if you fly around. Go ahead."

Ron took a different route. "Why would you even be here if you don't have a broom." He held up the school broom he had taken from the storage shed, Harry doing the same with his own.

Danielle rolled her eyes again. "Research and notes for observation. Now, please leave me alone so I can finish." She went back to her notes, only for Harry to not like the brush off.

"How about a challenge?" Danielle looked up again and waited for him to continue. "We race around the pitch and the first one to finish five laps can stay while the other leaves."

Danielle sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before finally nodding. "Fine. I can finish this later anyway." She shrunk her clipboard with her notes and stuffed them into her pocket. She then made her way to the closer of the two goal posts, getting into a racer position. "Going to race or not?"

Harry smirked as he got onto his broom. "I meant in the air, stupid." Ron smirked as he joined Harry in the air.

Without warning, they both took off and started their lap on their brooms, leaving Danielle on the ground.

Sighing, Danielle was about to take off when Hermione put a hand on her shoulder. Looking, she was surprised to see the brunette looking worried. "Please, just leave before they humiliate you."

Danielle blinked, before smiling. "Thanks for looking out for me, Hermione, but you seem to think I'm going to lose." She took Hermione's hand off her shoulder. "And I have no intention of doing so."

"But-"

Hermione was cut off when Danielle turned around and ran after Harry and Ron. She was amazed as not only did Danielle actually somewhat catch up with the two boys on brooms on foot, but the auburn haired girl actually rose into the air and started flying! The brunette's eyes widened when Harry and Ron, who were flying casually on their brooms at a slow and steady pace, were completely surprised when the girl passed them. WITHOUT A BROOM!

Danielle smirked. It had been too long since she had flown without a broom and found that she wasn't as rusty as she thought she might be. She had passed both boys with no problem and had shown off a bit more than she usually did by flying backward, waving at both of them mockingly before zooming off. Both boys looked at each other incredulously before taking off after her, pushing their brooms to their limits.

Ten minutes after the race started, Danielle was already half way done while Harry was a good lap behind. Ron's broom had given out and crashed into the ground after the first lap when he tried to make it go over thirty miles an hour.

Hermione meanwhile was completely stunned. DANIELLE POTTER KNEW HOW TO FLY! WITHOUT A BROOM!

It should be impossible! Or at least require too much magic for a twelve year old to perform, and yet, here she was. A twelve year old Potter girl out flying a Nimbus 2000 on her own with nothing supporting her.

Danielle didn't seem worried at all that she could lose this race either. The few times she managed to see the girl's face, Hermione could tell that the other girl was enjoying herself.

As the auburn haired girl continued to almost literally fly circles around Harry, Hermione was surprised when the girl started to actually sing.

**Think of a wonderful thought **

**Any merry little thought **

**Think of Christmas, think of snow **

**Think of sleigh bells - off you go! **

**Like a reindeer in the sky **

**You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!**

Hermione watched, completely amused as Danielle flew around Harry on his broom, spinning as she flew effortlessly without one. The brunette had no idea that not only could someone fly without a broom but also look so…graceful while doing so.

**Think of the happiest things **

**It's the same as having wings **

**Take the path that moonbeams make **

**If the moon is still awake **

**You'll see him wink his eye **

**You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!**

Harry was gritting his teeth as he tried to ignore his pathetic loser of a sister. How was he supposed to know she could fly without a broom or be able to sing Disney songs at the same time?

Danielle wasn't even tired. She was easily a full lap ahead of Harry and was reaching the finishing line to end the race. Spreading her arms out, she sighed happily and simply enjoyed the feeling of flight.

**Up you go with a heigh and ho **

**To the stars beyoond the blue **

**There's a Never Land waiting for you **

**Where all your happy dreams come true **

**Every dream that you dream will come true**

Danielle sighed happily and a little wistfully, kind of wishing that her dream would come true at some point. Sadly, it didn't look like it would be possible at the moment but…she could hope…

**When there's a smile in your heart **

**There's no better time to start **

**Think of all the joy you'll find **

**When you leave the world behind **

**And bid your cares good-bye**

** You can fly! You can fly! You can fly!**

Danielle finished the race a full lap and a half ahead of Harry, twirling in midair while finishing the song. Letting out a sigh, a little sad that her fun was over, Danielle lowered herself to the ground, landing gently. Sticking her hands in her pockets, she looked at the sky, smiling wistfully.

Hermione saw that Ron had given up after his school broom failed to work after the second lap and left for the showers. Harry looked furious but was a person of his word and left the pitch as well, glancing at Hermione as if wondering what was holding her.

The brunette looked between Danielle and Harry for a few moments before she found herself moving toward the red headed girl. There were just so many secrets and mysteries about Danielle that she wanted to find out more about her. Finding out how she could fly without a broom was just one of them.

Smiling, Hermione wondered for a moment why she was blushing. "Hi, uh, good race."

It sounded more like a question than a compliment but Danielle took it in stride apparently, turning to face her. The auburn haired girl gave a smile that seemingly looked right through her while her eyes looked…different.

Hermione was not afraid to say that she was at least slightly intimidated by those hazel eyes of Danielle's. They were not the eyes of a twelve year old but of someone much older and had seemingly seen far more than they wished to in their lifetime. More than that though, the other girl just seemed to exude an aura of maturity that Hermione was unable to replicate.

"Good to know I put on a good show," Danielle said, smiling slightly. Sighing slightly, she looked up at the sky a little wistfully. "I love flying but I really don't get to do it very often with everything else going on."

Hermione nodded. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you learn how to fly without a broom? That was amazing."

Chuckling, Danielle gave the brunette a look, as if wondering how much to tell her. "I'm self taught in the art of flying," she shrugged. "I've seen comic books of how heroes can fly and I wanted to see if I could one day. Took years of practice but I managed it, as you can tell." She then grinned slightly. "You want to learn?"

Hermione laughed and shook her head, feeling calm and at peace around the other girl. "No, not really. I didn't do well when I was learning how to fly a broom and I don't want to test my luck without one."

Shrugging, Danielle nodded. "It's pretty magically draining when you start so I'm not sure you could learn as a second year. Maybe by fourth or fifth, but I would think that it's on par with learning to be an animagus."

Whistling slightly at that, she started to wonder how much magic the Potter girl had. It was no secret that it took a lot of magic to learn how to become an animal and if this was equal to that…

"You have to be a magical power house if that's the case." She stopped as she shivered in the snow and Danielle smiled as she started making her way toward her.

"Cold?" Waving her hand and renewing the warming charm on the brunette, Danielle started for the exit of the Quidditch pitch. "Why don't we go back inside?"

Nodding, Hermione decided not to comment on the use of wandless magic and simply follow her new friend back onto the grounds proper again. "So, what were you doing out here in the first place?"

Hands in her pockets as she walked, Danielle shrugged as she pulled out her clipboard, showing off a diagram Hermione couldn't really understand. "Kind of a good thing I got to fly today as I was working on a new trick. I'm trying to figure out if it would be possible to solidify clouds enough to stand on. If I can do that, I might be able to other things to put on an areal show of sorts."

Hermione blinked and stared at her, as if wondering if that was even possible. "You weren't kidding when you said you wanted to be a spell creator. I have no idea if anyone could even do that."

"Well, if anyone can see if it's possible, it might as well be me," Danielle smirked, putting away her clipboard.

As they entered the entrance hall, Hermione was honestly smiling at her friend's enthusiasm and desire to create spells and push magic to its limits. The bushy haired girl was sure Danielle could make a great Unspeakable if she had known about what they were at the Ministry.

Danielle was about to say something else as they went through a courtyard when she noticed a certain trio of Slytherins came right for them. Her eyes narrowed as Draco Malfoy swaggered up to them with a look of superiority on him. Crabbe and Goyle flanked like bodyguards as always.

"Well, well, look what we have here. The reject and the mudblood." Draco drawled, obviously trying to find some sort of fun from them.

While Hermione fell silent and glared at him, Danielle crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Is that it?"

Draco blinked and sneered at her, Hermione looked at her surprised. "The reject of the Potter family, what do you think? Although I guess I shouldn't be so surprised two failures are together like this."

Hermione looked down, face turning red with anger. She so much wanted to punch Draco right in his smug little blonde face but her desire to not get into trouble out weighed it. Turning to see how her companion took the insults, she wasn't surprised to see Danielle look at the blond ferret with a bored expression, hands in her pockets, giving him a deadpanned stare.

Finally, Danielle sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You know, Draco, I tried to be the better person. I tried to let the insults go. I tried to simply ignore you and your little juvinile acts. But…" She smirked as a blue fireball was formed in her open palm, making everyone's eyes widen. "…Even I have limits."

Having said her piece, the fireball left her hand and started flying right toward the blond Slytherin, making him yelp and jump to the side to avoid the fire. To Hermione's amusement, all three boys started jumping out of the way of the fireball as it constantly changed directions, chasing whoever was closer at the time.

That was when Danielle added a second and a third.

Hermione was now doubling over laughing as the three boys that had tormented her throughout all her first year and part of this one were running from the balls of blue flames. She only found it funny as she could tell with her experience with magic that the balls of fire were relatively harmless. There was so little power in them that it would take hours for even all three of them to burn a sheet of parchment.

Finally, the three boys got the idea to leave as they ran out of the courtyard, being chased by the balls of fire until they were out of sight. Danielle cut the magic and the flames died, though she was smirking as she did so.

Hermione was the first to break the silence. "Okay, that was impressive."

Chuckling, Danielle shrugged and stuck her hands in her pockets. "Just a parlor trick, but thanks all the same."

"Do I really want to know how you did that?" Hermione asked, curious at what the answer would be.

Danielle hesitated before shaking her head. "Maybe later…" She trailed off, not sure what to say, really.

Once again, Hermione could tell that Danielle was hiding something and while her natural curiosity, which had only increased since becoming part cat, was demanding that she find out what it was. Out of respect for their new friendship, though, the bushy haired cat girl kept quiet.

Seeing that it was still too early for lunch, the two girls headed back to Gryffindor Tower. While they were passing through the fourth floor, however, Hermione couldn't keep silent anymore. "So, what spell did you use for the fire from earlier? The blue bell flame spell?"

Danielle missed a step as she walked but played it off as quickly and smoothly as she could, recovering quickly. Hermione frowned slightly, not sure what to think about that. '_Did she just trip? Is she hiding something? Everything about my new Kneazle powers tell me she is but…I like spending time with her and she's not doing anything bad. I can tell that much.'_

The red head looked at her companion and shrugged as calmly as she could. "Just a little fire trick I picked up from somewhere." Hermione nodded but could tell the red head was lying. "The flames were harmless as they would have made better light bulbs then actual balls of fire. Still, great for scaring the ignorant." At least she told the truth about that.

XXXXX

The day before classes started again for the new term was the same day the other students came back from their winter holidays. At breakfast, Hermione looked down the Gryffindor table to see Danielle reading a book while twirling her finger to stir her tea at the same time.

While the Great Hall was still relatively empty, she was stuck with Harry and Ron so she couldn't be with her new female friend.

Sighing, which went unnoticed by both boys, Hermione focused on her food while glancing at the red headed girl every now and then. She really hated that they were both almost forcing to choose between them and Danielle. While they hadn't said the words yet, the implication was clear as day; 'choose her or us.'

When it came down to who she would rather spend time, it really wasn't that hard. Harry and Ron, when it came down to it, really weren't her friends and never had been. Yes, they had saved her from a troll last year but they took advantage of her intelligence and she hated it. The boys promised protection but hadn't done a very good job of it so far, not to mention that Danielle had done so against Draco and his goons just the previous day to hiliarious results.

Eyes staring at the table in front of her, she ate her breakfast without complaint, never noticing before now how the school food was actually pretty bland with her new sense of taste. Her cat make over had boosted her senses tenfold over the last week and she had heard some of the things Harry and Ron had said about her, causing her to become furious the more she heard.

She needed to get away from their poisonous presences soon.

Glancing at the owls as they came in with the mail, she smiled slightly when she saw two large owls drop a large crate next to Danielle, who took it with a smile. Watching the auburn haired girl down the table stash the crate near her feet for later, the female Potter started eating her food faster than before.

Knowing what was in the crate, unseen tail whipping in excitement, Hermione did the same, wanting to be with the girl as they braved the Chamber of Secrets.

Not knowing why their female companion was eating so quickly, Harry looked at her. "So 'Mione, what do you have planned for today. No one comes back until lunch so you fancy a chess match?"

Rolling her eyes, knowing that chess was the only magical thing she truly sucked at, Hermione shook her head as she swallowed the last bite of her eggs. "No. I have some things to study in the library while it's still relatively empty." She was proud of her lie as it sounded exactly what she would do.

Ron rolled his eyes and shook her head. "Blimey 'Mione. Just go off and marry the library already."

Growling, Hermione huffed as she caught Danielle's eyes down the table, giving a small nod and smile to her, which she got in return. "I have to study, Ron. We do have to pass our end of year exams after all to get into the third year."

Honestly, she never knew why both boys would call her ''Mione.' It was such a stupid shortening of her name and she hated it when they used it. She had put up with it for a year and a half now just because they were her first friends but now that there were better prospects elsewhere…

Knowing that Harry and Ron were now drowning her out mentally, she waited for Danielle to leave the Great Hall and followed after her five minutes later to not arouse suspicion. She was fairly sure that going down into the Chamber of Secrets and killing a Basilisk was not against school rules but was at least something for the teachers to at least chaperone.

For some reason, she wanted this little adventure to be just between her and the auburn haired girl.

It turned out that Danielle was waiting for her at the top of the steps to the first floor, near Professor McGonagall's office. She was in a simple old shirt and faded jeans, clearly not wanting to get anything she might care for ruined in the Chamber. The crate with the rooster inside was by her feet, which she picked up when she saw her. Smiling slightly, she nodded. "Hermione. Figured you would be here."

Hermione smiled as well. "Couldn't miss this. We're going into the Chamber of Secrets!" While she hated the idea of the Chamber, she couldn't deny that it was a historical landmark in the history of the school. Being one of the few who had ever seen it was amazing.

Danielle nodded, while it was clear she wasn't as excited as the brunette, even she had to break a smile. "Alright, now, the entrance is in Myrtle's bathroom, in front of a sink that can only be opened by parseltongue. Now, Hermione, if we do this, you have to do what I say. I don't expect any danger once the basilisk is defeated but you never know. Got it?"

Hermione, slightly taken aback by the seriousness of the other girl's tone, nodded. "Right."

Nodding, Danielle and Hermione quickly got to the second floor and then to the slightly flooded corridor leading to the right bathroom. On the way, Danielle frowned and looked at her companion. "Did you notice that Ginny looked…off, this morning?"

They were just about to go into the bathroom when Hermione paused and looked at her, clearly thinking hard. "A little…" Hermione shrugged. "I really haven't interacted with Ginny much so I don't know what's odd for her."

Danielle nodded but she still looked troubled. Hermione didn't really know why but figured they could look into why Ginny seemed so distracted later. They really weren't friends with her so the bushy haired girl sort of ignored her, which she just now started feeling bad about.

Seeing that Myrtle was out, Hermione looked around the bathroom. It was exactly the same as she had remembered from a few weeks ago. The floor was mostly flooded from the toilets and sinks, most of the stall doors were hanging from only one hinge, and the mirrors were cracked and broken. Overall, it was the most depressing bathroom she had ever seen.

"I take it that Myrtle is out?" she asked, looking around for the ghost in question.

Danielle shrugged, shifting the crate in her hand slightly. "She told me that she likes to spend time in other bathrooms every now and then. She might be in the Prefect's bathroom for all I know." Falling silent, she went over to the sink in front of stall Myrtle had died in. "Okay, this should work."

Hermione watched the auburn haired girl swallowed and let out a long low hiss that she couldn't make out. She had known she was a Parselmouth. It had been revealed during Lockhart's dueling club when she had told Draco's summoned snake to leave the students alone. Still, hearing the hiss caused a tremor to go up her spine.

At the sound of the hiss, the sink sank into the floor revealing a pipe large enough for a full grown man to fit. Seeing Danielle nod in satisfaction, the auburn haired girl hissed two more things in parseltongue, causing the pipe to widen slightly to allow for stairs to come out of the walls of the pipe and torches to light all the way down to the bottom.

"That…was impressive," Hermione muttered, looking at Danielle in awe.

Danielle nodded, her face completely serious. "Yeah. Let's do this." Picking up the crate containing the rooster, she started heading down the spiral staircase down the pipe, Hermione following her after a few moments hesitation.

Neither girl said anything as they descended the stairs, though Hermione did squeak when the sink rose up again to block the entrance. "Don't worry," Danielle said, who didn't look concerned at all. "I had opened this entrance once before and made sure I could open it from the inside."

Hermione nodded worriedly and continued, finding herself walking right beside Danielle in fear. The walls of the pipe twisted and turned in various different directions, causing the stairs to do so as well, often in awkward angles, and were covered in green slime. Hermione didn't want to know.

"When was the last time you were here? How far did you go?"

Danielle was quiet for a moment but figured that Hermione wanted her to talk simply to distract her from the eerie silence around them. "I went down the stairs here and made it down to a large vault like door with snakes on it. I figured that the main chamber with the basilisk was there so I didn't bother going inside. As for your first question, I was here maybe around November. I just wanted to see if my research was correct and the chamber really was here."

Hermione frowned. Not at the words but at the deceit that went along with them. Danielle was lying, she knew that much from her Kneazle nature. She still knew that the girl wasn't being malicious in her lies but…

"Why are you lying to me?"

Danielle stopped walking. Frowning slightly, she turned toward the bushy haired brunette, eying her almost harshly. "What makes you think I'm lying?" she hissed, taking Hermione slightly aback by the fierce glare she was getting.

Swallowing, Hermione glared right back. "Because that cat hair I got was a Kneazle hair." She didn't have to say anything else. She knew that Danielle knew that Kneazles were, magical cats that could detect lies or falsehoods.

Danielle's eyes widened slightly before seemingly cursing herself mentally, most likely not remembering that particular fact. Finally, she sighed. "Later, Hermione. I have secrets that can't get out to the public and this isn't the time nor the place to discuss any of them. After this is over."

Hermione was actually surprised that she even got that from the auburn haired girl. She had expected her to simply close her out and not say anything. Nodding slowly, she and Danielle kept going. "Thank you."

Nodding herself, Danielle kept her eyes in front of her, keeping watch just in case. It was unlikely that the heir or the basilisk would come out at them but it was still possible.

Finally reaching the end of the pipe, they came out to find a medium sized pathway in front of them.

Again, knowing that it would calm Hermione down, she started talking to relieve some of the tense atmosphere; their small argument not making things any easier on either of them. "We're technically under the lake, which you can see by the slimy and wet walls and ceiling. I would be careful where you step as the floor is covered in small animal bones."

Hermione instantly tensed up, looking around in fear and awe. She was a small step away from the legendary Chamber of Secrets! The idea of being under the lake was very likely as she had noticed the same things Danielle had pointed out. The ceiling did not look very stable after it had gone unused for so long but she had to guess magic was involved to prevent a cave-in.

Still, everything in both her human and new feline instincts were telling her to run. She could sense that there was something down here, something evil and powerful that would not hesitate to kill them if given the chance. The very atmosphere was heavy with malice and she found herself clinging to Danielle's arm to keep herself from trembling.

If the auburn haired girl minded about being used as a lifeline, she didn't show it.

Leaving the pipe behind, they followed the narrow passageway, small bones from rodents and lizards crunching underfoot as they walked. They didn't find anything out of the ordinary until they found something that made Hermione cry out in terror, which sounded more like a loud yowl than anything else.

"WHAT IS THAT?"

Reassuring Hermione's frayed nerves, Danielle smiled as much as she could under the circumstances. "A giant snake skin, Hermione."

It was indeed. An absolutely huge snake skin, acid green in color and as thick as a tree trunk, stretched for about fifty feet or more in front of them. While she was calming down, Hermione had to admit that she was now terrified and more than glad that their plan on killing the snake didn't require magic or weapons.

"We're going to be killing something this big?" she asked in wonder. The snake must be at least sixty feet long by now.

Danielle nodded grimly. "Yeah. Let's keep moving. The door to the entrance is just ahead."

Firmly holding Danielle's hand now, they passed the giant snake skin and kept going down the passageway. About five minutes from the pipe entrance was a dead end. A large vault like door with twin snake designs guarding the true entrance into the Chamber.

Danielle cleared her throat and spoke in a hiss. Hermione watched as a smaller metallic snake came out from the giant hinge and spiraled around the round door, unlocking the various locks before going back into the hinge. Without so much as a squeak, the door slowly swung forward.

Swallowing, Hermione clenched Danielle's hand tighter than before as they walked through the door. Their first impression was that it was an overgrown sewer. The torches on the walls revealed the long hallway toward the Chamber itself, oversized snake statues sticking out of the water on either side of the hallway. The Chamber itself was a huge round room with an incredibly tall ceiling. A large statue of who the girls suspected was Salazar Slytherin himself was at the back of the room, which looked ancient and ape like.

Taking a deep breath, Danielle slid her hand out of Hermione's and reached for the crate. "Hermione, I think I know how to bring out the basilisk and I need you to keep your eyes shut the entire time. Once the snake is here, the rooster should cry out, which should kill the beast. But, if things don't work out, then I want you to run." Seeing the brunette about to argue, she cut her off. "I should be able to escape on my own, being able to fly and everything. I'm just saying that you should head to the exit as soon as possible if anything goes wrong."

Before Hermione could say anything, the crate lid was finally opened revealing a rather large live rooster. Its feathers were a beautiful plumage of red and brown and it did not look particularly happy about being in the crate for so long.

Danielle looked down at the bird. "Okay, I call out the basilisk and you crow. Got it?"

Taking another deep breath, and not letting Hermione question her about why she had talked to the rooster, though it had clucked at her, she gave a much longer series of hisses then Hermione had heard her give so far.

The bushy haired cat girl's eyes widened as she looked up at the statue of Slytherin. Whatever Danielle had said had caused the statue's mouth to open, and for something inside to writhe and slowly come out.

"GO MR. ROOSTER!" Danielle yelled, causing the bird to run forward and crow loudly several times.

It was…actually pretty anti-climatic to see the huge sixty foot long snake to flinch in pain from every crow until finally collapsing against the floor, completely demised. Hermione, slowly opening her eyes, looked stunned at seeing the absolutely huge sixty foot long snake, completely dead, lying on the floor. It was as big as she had feared and much scarier, causing her to wrap her tail around herself in terror. Even in death it still emitted a level of killing intent.

Danielle finally let out the breath of air she had been holding and relaxed a bit. "That…was both impressive and anti-climatic at the same time."

Hermione smiled weakly but even she could tell that Danielle had put on a brave front the moment she had entered the Chamber. The auburn haired girl then moved forward, examining the giant dead snake, its gaze no longer deadly so they had nothing to worry about.

They were just about to start examining the Chamber when Danielle suddenly tensed. "HERMIONE! DUCK!"

Surprised, Hermione did what she had been told and not a moment too soon as a spell hit the wall where Hermione's head had been a mere second before. Hands clenched, Danielle looked around as she got in front of Hermione. "Where are you?"

A slow clap got their attention as a voice came from one of the two pipes on either side of the statue. "Well done. I started wondering if someone would find me here." The voice was strangely both masculine and feminine at the same time but at least they now knew that the owner of the voice came from their left.

Danielle gritted her teeth while Hermione looked scared and worried. "Who are you?"

The voice now sounded amused. "Ah, well, that is a funny question. I am technically two people at the same time right now but soon I shall be only one."

"Enough with the riddles," Danielle growled, glaring at the shadowed figure that had just appeared from the pipe. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"You are quite rude, you know," the voice said. "You break into my Chamber, kill my basilisk and then threaten me."

"You attacked Hermione and almost killed Collin and Justin."

"Touché." The voice seemed to smirk. "And I've done more, planning more, but you'll never find out as I'm going to kill you both now."

Hermione tensed behind Danielle, knowing she had no real spells to defend herself with, but the auburn haired girl snorted, looking at the figure with a bored expression. "It would help if I could actually see you O mighty Heir of Slytherin."

Hermione and Danielle watched as the figure walked out into the light provided by the torches on the walls and the brunette witch gasped. That red hair, freckles, build…

"GINNY?"

Danielle frowned as she shook her head. "No. Hermione, Ginny doesn't have red eyes. So, possession?"

Ginny gave a cruel smirk, flipping the shoulder length ginger red hair over her shoulder while fingering her wand. "Smart, Potter. Very smart. Very good of you to come instead of your idiot of a brother. No, I am Tom Riddle, heir of the great Salazar Slytherin!"

The possessed Ginny turned his/her back to them and used Ginny's wand to write in flaming letters in the air TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE. Waving the wand, the letters rearranged themselves so they spelled I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.

Hermione blinked, then gulped. They were now up against the Heir of Slytherin, who was actually Voldemort possessing the body of Ginny. They needed to leave and fast. Only Dumbledore had stood a chance against Voldemort!

Turning to her companion, she was surprised when she saw that Danielle wasn't that worried. Oh, she was clearly nervous but not scared for some reason.

"So, you've been possessing the body of an eleven year old girl for the school year? Merlin, you are fairly disgusting, you know that?" She then smirked, which was the last thing Hermione felt like doing. "Besides, you might be Voldemort, but you have the power of Ginny Weasley at the moment. Not really a threat, to be honest." She then paused. "How is this even possible, anyway?"

Tom sneered at her but took out a small black book from Ginny's pocket. "My diary. I had preserved my sixteen year old self inside its pages so that one day I could resume my ancestor's noble work!" He then gave a cruel smirk himself. "And I've been leeching young Ginny of her magic for months. I have more than enough to kill you both right now."

Danielle frowned and whispered out of the corner of her mouth. "Hermione, I need you to hide and let me fight Voldemort if we have a chance of getting out of here."

Hermione momentarily glared at her. "I'm not leaving you!"

The Potter female sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before reopening them. "Hermione, I need complete concentration if I'm going to fight him and you getting in the way isn't going to help. I'm sorry but it's the truth. You don't have enough experience to handle this."

Hermione wanted to yell at her, to prove her wrong, but deep down she knew it was true. She was only a second year who didn't know of too many offensive spells. She would be more of a hindrance than a help in this fight.

"Get the diary," Danielle continued, getting the brunette's attention. "That has to be his weak point. Destroy the diary and Tom's spirit will vanish, leaving only Ginny."

They didn't have any more time to plan as they were forced to jump away from each other, Tom having lost patience and shot a blasting curse at them. "No amount of planning is going to stop me ladies," Tom mocked, grinning. "I have all the power here."

"Go!" Danielle yelled as she summoned her own wand, shooting her own spell at Tom, only for it to repelled into the nearby wall. Growling, Danielle shot out a blast of wind at her opponent, only for that to be blocked too.

While Danielle was busy battling a young Tom Riddle, Hermione had jumped behind the dead snake, using it as a shield as she tried to think of a plan. Danielle was right, she needed the diary to destroy if they wanted to stand a chance in this fight. Sneaking around to Tom's other side, she could see the black book sticking out of Ginny's back pocket. Now if only she could reach it…

Danielle was now flying around the Chamber, trying to hit Tom from the air but while she was doing a decent job in dodging, she couldn't get a good angle to return fire. Not to mention that Tom was using mostly darker, lethal curses making it more dangerous.

Seeing that it wasn't getting her anywhere, Danielle landed on the ground and fired off spells from the lower altitude. Tom, being nowhere near his old power level in an eleven year old girl's body, was getting battered as he started losing ground against the female Potter. More and more of the girl's spells were breaking through his defenses and the magic he had stored over the months were quickly depleted, now forced to rely on Ginny's own magic to defend himself, which was nowhere near enough.

Tom growled. "You might be a match for this weak form, but I don't think she is!" Turning around in a complete 180, he fired his next spell at Hermione, who was only twenty feet away as she tried to get the diary.

To the surprise of Hermione, Danielle and Tom, Hermione was somehow able to jump to the side with grace and flexibility she certainly was not able to do so at the beginning of the school year. The brunette, while surprised at her new enhanced speed and jumping ability, still scowled that she hadn't been able to get the diary.

Tom smirked as he straightened. "An illusion around the brunette? Hmm, wonder what she's hiding." He turned back to Danielle, who was trying to come up with some sort of strategy. "Your doing, I would think." Tom's smirk grew wider when Danielle paled, much to Hermione's confusion. "Illusions of that scale like the brunette has are far beyond a normal human. That means that you're not fully human, are you?"

Hermione looked between Danielle and Tom, trying to figure out what the future dark lord had just said. Danielle wasn't fully human? What magical beings or creatures specialized in illusions?

Danielle was so distracted that she hadn't noticed until it was too late that her wand had spun out of her hand, landing a good thirty feet away from her. Growling, she was forced to put up a shield to protect her from Tom's next spell, which seemed like a continuous pulse of dark magic.

"Give it up Potter! Even in this weakened body, you're no match for me!"

Hermione watched, transfixed as Danielle gritted her teeth, forcing the barrier to hold as she pumped more and more magic into the shield. When the pulse finally stopped, Tom was breathing heavily while Danielle was doubled over, panting.

But she didn't look like the Hermione had fully remembered.

Danielle's clothes had changed, meaning that they had been part of an illusion around herself. Her jeans had changed into a skirt while her t-shirt was now a tight red top. Her hands were more paw like while her nails were sharper, indicating that she could extend them for more physical combat if she wanted. The biggest changes however was that her ears had relocated to the top of her head and she had two bushy tails coming out her skirt.

Fox ears and tails.

Before Tom or Hermione could say anything, Danielle noticed she had dropped the illusion around herself and growled, sounding much more menacing now. Standing, the red head shot out a beam of pure magic from her hand, blasting Tom back and onto Ginny's back. Tails outstretched, the diary flew out from under Tom and into her hand.

"No. NO!"

Not listening to Tom, Danielle reached out with her other hand and a basilisk fang flew into it before plunging the tip of the fang into the book. Hermione watched as Tom cried out in agony before Ginny slumped to the floor, unconscious and unmoving except for breathing.

The brunette's eyes wide, she saw Danielle collapse onto the floor on her knees, breathing heavily, tails hanging limply on either side. Swallowing, she slowly got closer to the auburn haired fox girl, careful not to make any sudden movements. Danielle's eyes were closed but she had apparently sensed her as she groaned. "Get away, Hermione."

Hermione looked at her with wonder. "You…you're…"

"Now isn't the time nor the place," Danielle replied softly, opening her eyes and the brunette was surprised to see fear in those hazel eyes. After a few awkward minutes, Danielle closed her eyes again and in a flash of light, looked fully human again with the old clothes. "We have to get Ginny out of here-"

"Not until you tell me what's going on!" Hermione nearly shouted, now glaring down at her. "You found the Chamber of Secrets, you're able to handle a sixteen year old Voldemort, you can fly, which you said is supposed to be on par with the animagus transformation in difficulty, and now I find out you're some sort of fox girl!"

"Kitsune."

Hermione blinked at the odd word. "What?"

Danielle sighed as she stood up, being careful to move slowly and keep far away from Hermione. "I'm a kitsune. Magical foxes from Japan that specialize in illusions."

Hermione sighed and shook her head. "I don't care but-" She took a step closer to Danielle but the auburn haired girl took a step back, keeping them the same distance apart. The brunette let the look of hurt show on her face but Danielle had her head turned, not seeing it.

"Just forget it, Hermione. You'll get your answers after we leave this Merlin-foresaken Chamber."

"But-" She took a couple more steps forward and Danielle's eyes widened in panic.

"Just keep away from me!" Danielle yelled, stopping the brunette as the cat girl fully saw the fear and terror in her new friend's eyes. Danielle looked away again, swallowing thickly as a tear came to her eye. "Just…keep away, Hermione. At least until I give you the answers you want. Then you can go back to hating me in peace."

"I don't-"

Hermione was cut off again when Danielle walked right past her without looking at her, picking Ginny off the floor and carried her bridal style. Without even holding out her hands, her wand flew off the floor as well and settled itself in her pocket, as did the now ruined diary.

"Let's go."

Hermione didn't argue but she was now worried by how hollow Danielle's voice sounded when she said that. If Danielle's fox ears were visible she was sure they would be flattened against her head in fear. Hermione was so confused. What had made her new friend so afraid of her? Was it because she knew of her secret? She was a cat girl now, what did she care if Danielle was a fox girl?

XXXXXX

Dropping Ginny off at the hospital wing, telling Madame Pomfrey that she had simply passed out from magical exhaustion, Danielle quietly led them to the seventh floor. Hermione, curious, tried to find out where they were going to no avail, the auburn haired girl ignoring her questions.

Hermione was worried. Danielle hadn't said a word to her since they left the Chamber of Secrets and she didn't seem too eager to start. Thus, she was confused when they stopped opposite the wall of the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, teaching trolls ballet.

"Why are we-?"

She was cut off when Danielle started pacing in front of the blank wall muttering under her breath something that even her enhanced hearing couldn't make out. She was surprised when, on the other girl's third pass, a door appeared on what used to be a bare stretch of wall.

Eyes wide, Hermione barely felt herself moving as Danielle opened the door to reveal the sitting room inside. Blinking, she saw it looked like a smaller version of the Gryffindor common room. Red and gold hangings hung on the wall next to a cheerful fireplace with a flame already lit there. Comfortable looking arm chairs sat in front of the fire, ready for anyone to relax in with a nearby couch as well.

As soon as the two of them were inside, the door shut behind them, clicking shut with numerous locks latching into place. Danielle sighed at Hermione's extremely confused look, the auburn haired girl's shoulders slumped, looking exhausted. "Might as well sit Hermione, this should take a while." As she said that her appearance changed to reveal her fox like attributes, allowing Hermione to see them more clearly than she had before.

The red head's fox ears were the same color as her hair, sticking out like radar dishes, which the brunette figured could be moved in various directions like her own cat ears. The hazel eyes were slightly different as the pupils were slightly more slitted, but not really noticeable. Her nails were slightly sharper, looking slightly more like claws than what was seen on a normal human but easily concealable.

The biggest things she noticed were the tails though.

Danielle's skirt was necessary as it allowed two bushy tails, the same color of her hair and ears, to sway behind her in tandem, almost hypnotizing the brunette watching them. Just like a fox's, they looked fluffy and well cared for, with white tips like sea foam. They were easily as long as her body was tall and, unlike Hermione's own cat tail, they seemed perfectly controllable.

Groaning as she sat down in one of the arm chairs, Hermione did the same, looking at the other girl in wonder. The red head finally sighed again. "Alright. I guess you have questions for me and I know you won't stop until they're all satisfied, right?"

Hermione took a deep breath and nodded. "I…just want to know what's going on. I don't like being kept out of the loop with things around me."

Danielle gave her a flat look before shaking her head. "That attitude won't help when you're trying to get answers from someone far stronger than you, Hermione." She sighed again and stood up, starting to pace in the small room. Hermione watched her, still confused but actually enjoying watching the twin tails swing back and forth constantly. She was broken from her thoughts when she noticed Danielle was still talking.

"Why? Why can't I do it?" She muttered, looking at Hermione for a moment before pacing again. "It would be easier but…I can't!" She groaned as she paced. She finally looked at the confused brunette. "Why can't I just erase your memories of this? Why can't I just obliviate you so we can go back to how we were? Why did you get involved in this?" Her questions were getting louder and louder, her expression getting furious. She finally stopped and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Why did you have to be so damned curious about this?"

Hermione frowned at her. "I didn't make you-"

"You were going to get involved in this somehow," Danielle muttered, more to herself than to Hermione. "Just too curious for your own damned good. Constantly trying to solve mysteries like you're Velma from Scooby Doo." She fell silent for a few moments before looking at Hermione, as if wondering what the first question the cat girl would give her.

Hermione gulped at seeing the expression on Danielle's face before she took a deep breath. "How are you a kitsune? You said they were from Japan but…did you get some bad Polyjuice potion as well or…?"

Danielle shook her head, staring off at a wall for a moment before answering. "Alright…your first question forces me to tell you everything. Thanks to the Potter genes, it is supposed to be impossible for me to be a Kitsune as neither of my parents have any kind of connection to Japan at all." She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Okay. I suppose you can say that this is my second chance at life. I'm sure you've figured it out by now that I'm far stronger than any normal twelve year old girl, even if I'm not human anymore."

Hermione nodded.

Danielle nodded as well and continued. "I'm this powerful because everything I know I've learned from my previous life. You see, Hermione, I died in the future and came back because a certain goddess of death didn't want me to stay dead!" She pinched the bridge of her nose again and cut off Hermione from saying anything by holding up a hand. "Just…don't say anything right now, okay Hermione. I already have a huge headache and I don't need anything making it worse.

"I died in 1998, May to be precise, right after the final battle against Voldemort. I found out how the Dark Lord cheated death and I've been slowly but surely getting rid of his anchors keeping him to life but I'll explain about those later. The important thing right now is that there are three items that were made by Death herself, the Deathly Hallows. In my quest to stop Voldemort in my last time line, I found all three and united them, using them all at some point. I became Mistress of Death at the time I landed the final blow against Voldemort, but then I was killed by a lucky shot by some stupid Death Eater. Death didn't like how so many good people were dead before their times so she sent me back in time, kicking and screaming against my will I might add, back to my first year, last year, to prevent it from happening.

"Since then, I've been working on bringing down Voldemort and I'm getting closer and closer. Destroying the diary," she pointed at the torn and battered book now lying on a small table, "was just one more step to defeating him for good. I…"

Danielle trailed off when Hermione grabbed one of Danielle's fluffy tails as she passed and started stroking her hand through it, marveling at the softness. The red head started whimpering, trying to ignore the soothing and pleasant sensations traveling up and down her spine, her other tail wrapping around Hermione's hand as well, trying to get similar treatment.

Hermione stood up and made her way to Danielle, who was now too distracted to stop her or try to get away. "Danielle, it's okay," Hermione said in a soothing voice. The brunette had to admit, it explained so much, like how the Potter female was so powerful and knew advanced techniques like how to fly. She smiled as she petted the tails, causing Danielle to continue to whimper under her fingers. "At least now I know how you're so good at illusions."

Struggling to come back to full lucidity, Danielle shook her head slightly, though her tails stayed where they were. "Death told me she would pick a magical creature inheritance for me, one that would help defeat Voldemort. Why she chose a Kitsune, who are usually only found in magical Japan, I don't know but its come in handy so far." She paused as she considered what to say next. "I have a natural affinity toward illusions, I can hide my ears or tail whenever I want without one though, but it does get uncomfortable for me if I go too long without releasing my tails. I can transform into a fox whenever I want, so I guess I'm a natural animagus now."

Hermione smiled as she finally stopped petting the tails. "Anything else?"

Danielle thought for a moment before nodding. "I know that the more tails I have the more powerful I am, though the maximum I can have is nine. Each tail has its own separate source of magic so its like I have two magical cores I can draw magic from, which has come in handy when I'm dealing with opponents like Tom Riddle. I can talk to animals, like I did with Mr. Rooster and I can even use my tails like magical focuses."

Hermione stared at her. "You can channel magic through your tails like they were a wand?"

Danielle nodded. "I can also use magic to elongate them, harden them, and more. Though it would be more like being hit by a bull whip than a club. All of this comes at the price of my human body being weaker magically than a human, though the tails make up for that."

Hermione nodded absentmindedly, before she realized she had no idea where they were; she had been so distracted by everything else, she hadn't thought to ask. "Where are we?"

"Oh, right. This is the Room of Requirement," Danielle said, a little sheepishly. "Also known as the Come and Go Room, it appears as whatever the seeker wishes for. I asked for a quiet place to talk to you and we got this room. There are limits but for the most part, it can become any room you want."

"The headmaster must love this room."

Danielle snorted. "Dumbledore doesn't know anything about it. He learned about it in the future, about our fifth year, but at the moment he's clueless. And I'm going to make sure it stays that way."

Hermione stared at her, confused. "The headmaster always has our best interests at heart." She paused for a moment. "You say you're from the future, even if it sounds impossible, are you saying that he's-"

"He's just senile," Danielle sighed, collapsing onto the couch, tails wrapped around herself gracefully. "The Dumbledore that I know just wants Voldemort defeated his way, via his plan and no others. He thinks he's the smartest wizard around and that only he knows how to defeat him, so he came up with a plan involving sacrificing some pieces to save others. But…"

Danielle sighed again. "He died before the final battle. I was there, I faced off against Voldemort and killed him. The headmaster didn't see the carnage, the deaths, the students who fell in battle because of the Death Eaters or even the partially destroyed castle." She held her head in her hands as tears started leaking from her eyes, causing Hermione to grow depressed alongside her. "I saw everything. I was forced to kill multiple Death Eaters before they could kill me. I was put into various situations where I had to choose which students could live or die because I wasn't powerful enough to save them all. I saw Fred get killed when a wall fell on top of him. I saw Lavender get mauled to death by a crazy werewolf. I saw Colin Creevey die when he tried to face off against some nameless minion just because he wanted to help."

Danielle shook her head. "Dumbledore isn't evil, but his plan defeated Voldemort at the cost of too many witches and wizards with bright futures ahead of them. That was why I was tired of fighting. Tired of facing against Voldemort. Resistant to the idea that Death wanted me sent back in time to fix everything when all I wanted was to rest.

"No, Hermione, Dumbledore doesn't deserve to know about this room, about my coming back to do his job, or know of what I'm doing to defeat Voldemort. I respect the power he has, but he honestly doesn't know how to run a war."

Hermione blinked and sat down, looking at her. "I can't really imagine what you've gone through. And…as crazy as it sounds like…I believe you." Danielle looked at her, surprised, but Hermione just smiled. "Maybe it's my new cat like mentality, but I can tell you're not lying. In fact, my new lie detector hasn't gone off once since you started."

"Useful ability," Danielle said, giving a weak smile.

Hermione nodded, relaxing into her chair. "So, how did Voldemort actually survive that Halloween night and what does that diary have anything to do with it?"

Danielle was silent for a moment before answering. "Dumbledore told Harry this in our sixth year and I managed to learn of it as well. What Voldemort did was create things called Horcruxes. They are essentially soul anchors, meant to tie a mortal spirit to the world even if the body fails and dies." She paused, collecting her thoughts. "The problem with Horcruxes is that it requires a murder based ritual to perform, and the murder of an innocent is better, meaning a child."

Hermione paled, trying hard not to get sick. "That's…inhumane. And that diary is one?" She pointed at the innocent looking destroyed book on the table with disgust.

The red head nodded, wrapping her tails around herself tightly. "Yeah. Tom killed Myrtle in his fifth year and used her death to create the diary. But, he wouldn't be satisfied with just one soul anchor. He actually created seven."

"Seven!"

Danielle nodded again, sighing. "Yes. Well, actually he hasn't created his final Horcrux yet, he doesn't do that until just before our fourth year, but anyway. Tom is so paranoid about dying that he created that many to keep himself from death. And she's not happy about it, let me tell you. I know where and what they all are and I've been working on destroying them.

"The diary here is the second one I've destroyed. The first was the legendary diadem of Ravenclaw, that was hidden in this room." She gestured to the Room of Requirement off handedly. "A quick burst of Fiendfyre and it was gone. Though now that the basilisk is gone, I can use the venom to do it much more quickly." She showed that she had saved the fang she had used on the diary and put it away again. "The soul anchors I haven't gotten to yet are a ring in his relative's shack, a cup in Bellatrix LeStrange's vault in Gringotts, a locket in Sirius Black's house, and the last one he hasn't made yet is his pet snake Nagini."

Hermione nodded, noticing how tired looking Danielle was. The auburn haired girl looked more fox like now but she was still the powerful friend she had made about a week ago.

"It hasn't been easy, has it?" Hermione asked. "Coming back to the past and coming up with a plan to defeat You-Know-Who."

"Just say Voldemort, Hermione," Danielle yawned, her ears folding back along her head as she did so. "Or Tom Riddle. That should annoy him." Hermione wasn't sure about that but she could tell Danielle was close to taking a nap and figured she should let the red head sleep. Hesitating, she decided to do something bold and sat on the couch next to the auburn haired girl, leaning into her shoulder as she did so.

She could feel the fox girl's curious gaze on her but Danielle eventually shrugged it off and relaxed, falling asleep on the couch. Hermione smiled gently and relaxed into the red head's shoulder, drifting off as well. The last thing she did before sleep claimed her was to take off her necklace, allowing her cat like attributes to show.

XXXXXX

When Hermione woke up she found herself incredibly warm and comfortable. Yawning and opening her eyes, she noticed what seemed to be two bushy tails wrapped around her like a blanket. Blushing slightly, she looked up and her blush deepened, realizing that she was cuddling Danielle in her sleep. Carefully moving away from the red head to not wake her, she took a moment to examine her.

Danielle's dark auburn hair, much deeper than Ginny's more orange shade, fell down past her shoulders and was currently framed around her like a halo. The two fluffy looking fox ears poking out of her hair did nothing to detract from her cuteness. Her face was slightly aristocratic, but full enough to not seem like Draco Malfoy, who was all hard lines. Like she had thought before, her hands had slightly sharper than normal nails that the red head could use as claws if she so desired but currently looked like she just needed a manicure. As a twelve year old, she didn't really have a figure but Hermione could see that she might already have a large A-cup in the chest department, which was her own size. She was barefoot, but it made the brunette curious if she had pads on her feet that protected them from debris like she had now.

The most defining characteristic now, though, were the two bushy tails coming out of the red head's skirt. Resisting the urge to run her hands over the long appendages, she mentally noted that they were as red as her hair and as long as her body; though she did wonder how the human spine could split into two distinct tails each with their own magical core.

She chalked it up to magic, just to make it easier for her brain.

Thinking for a moment, Hermione nodded to herself and remembered that she had removed her necklace, dropping the illusion and showing off her kneazle like attributes. Strangely enjoying the sight of her tail now that the shock had worn off, she was brought out of her thoughts when Danielle's breathing became slightly more erratic, indicating that she was waking up. A moment later, the auburn haired girl fluttered her eyes open, blinking as she looked around.

"Have a nice sleep?" Hermione asked, quietly, not wanting to surprise her.

Danielle looked at her and still seemed confused, especially with Hermione showing her cat like traits. "Hermione? What…oh, right." Seemingly regaining her bearings, she nodded. "Room of Requirement, Chamber of Secrets, my being a kitsune…right."

Hermione nodded. "It has been a crazy day," she agreed, silently purring deep in her throat for some reason or other, which even she didn't know why. "As for the nap together-"

"It never happened," Danielle interrupted, already getting off the couch, her tone unemotional. Hermione looked at her in surprise when the fox girl continued. "It was just a flood of puberty hormones that caused us to get more emotional than normal. I'll go my way and you go yours. This never happened."

She made for the door.

"Wait!"

Hermione was on her feet as well and made her way to the other girl, tail whipping around herself in the quiet room. She was glad that Danielle had at least paused on her way to the door, but she wasn't sure what to say now. "Danielle, you don't have to leave. Leave me…" she finished quietly, though she was sure the red head still heard it.

Danielle hesitated before turning back to the brunette, her expression a cross between confused and reluctant. "Hermione…" She was cut off in surprise when the brunette hugged her, wrapping her arms around her waist and pulled her close.

"Please?"

Danielle seemingly mentally weighed the pros and cons of staying or leaving. Finally, she flicked one of her tails and used a Tempus charm, showing that her nap had only last two hours so it was about lunch time at the moment.

Hermione herself was confused why she didn't want the fox girl to leave her. She normally wasn't this clingy but…it just felt…right, having the red head near her. Noticing that her own cat tail was wrapped around one of the fox tails belonging to the red head, Hermione smiled at Danielle's own slightly uncomfortable look.

"You don't have to do this alone, you know?" Hermione said, grinning slightly, which looked kind of adorable with the cat ears. "I would be more than happy to help defeat Vo, Voldemort."

Danielle's shoulders relaxed slightly at seeing Hermione willingly use Voldemort's fake name and not some stupid moniker. Frowning in thought, she finally looked at Hermione cautiously. "What do you want in return for helping me? I learned a long time ago that nothing is free."

Hermione was slightly taken aback by the question but after a moment, realized that it made sense for the other girl to ask. Danielle had never had anything just handed to her without some sort of condition to it. After thinking for a moment, Hermione finally shrugged.

"How about you teach me some things I don't know yet and we'll call it even, deal?"

Danielle cocked her head to the side, causing Hermione to resist the urge to squeal at the cuteness. "Like what?"

"You said you knew how to enchant?" Hermione asked, curious. "How about some of that?" She frowned in thought for a moment and nodded. "Not the power to fly, I can't stand heights, but maybe I'm an animagus now? A natural one like you?"

Danielle blinked and seemed to think about it. She finally nodded slowly. "That…is possible, I suppose. All kitsune have the power to transform into foxes but you got your appearance through a potion. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if you did have the power to turn into a full kneazle…" Danielle's face suddenly turned horrorstruck. "…Oh, just thought of something we need to find out soon."

"What?"

Danielle grimaced and Hermione started getting worried. "Well…animals have something called 'Heat Cycles' that signals the time the female is the most fertile. I already checked and kitsune are exempt from that, but I don't know about you."

Hermione's expression turned terrified as well and she bit her lip. "Er…yes, we should… check with Madame Promfrey about that soon."

XXXXXX

**(Great Hall)**

Danielle smiled gently as she flipped a page of the book she was reading, barely noticing the plates and goblets on the table vanishing back to the kitchens for the house elves to wash. She and Hermione had gone to Madame Pomfrey right before lunch about their fears and the Hogwarts matron had concluded after a quick spell that Hermione would NOT go through heat. Apparently, the bushy haired girl was human enough to not get that specific trait most animals had to go through.

Hermione was beside her, looking through some notes Danielle had written herself on enchanting. It had proven to be more complicated than the brunette had thought and she was looking forward to taking Ancient Runes even more the next year.

Enchanting was all about taking runes, mostly Gaelic with some Egyptian thrown in, and inscribing them onto an object for a magical effect. A fire rune, for example, inscribed on a lighter or a cauldron could be used to start small magical fires without the use of a wand or match. Enchanting also had a much longer effect than on objects with a simple charm or spell, lasting years or even decades before running out instead of only days. On the other hand, the more complicated the effect the more runes needed to regulate and some runes were simply not compatible with each other, creating everything from simple failures to explosions. Enchanting also took a lot of energy and time depending on the effect and combined with people being lazy and simply using charms instead…enchanting was a dying art.

Still, with enchants, one could do almost anything that even spells couldn't do.

Hermione was fascinated as she read through the notes, eyes flipping through the pages at almost a blur while her unseen tail was whipping back and forth excitedly. True, enchanting was a NEWT level skill, meaning Hogwarts wouldn't start teaching it until sixth year, but it was still an interesting subject.

Finishing her book, Danielle set it down and stretched, working the kinks out of her arms as she yawned. "So." Hermione looked up at her. "When do you think everyone will figure out the Chamber of Secrets is no longer an issue?"

Hermione shrugged as she thought about it. "Not sure. It'll be pretty obvious when no one else is attacked for the rest of the year but I don't know if anyone will figure it out before then."

Danielle snorted. "Odds are, everyone will still be scared of the Chamber by our fourth year or so. Unlike in the last time line, Dumbledore doesn't know the basilisk is already defeated so he still might be worried it will open again."

"True." Hermione leaned back as she started thinking. She then sighed sadly. "What do you think of Harry and Ron?"

Danielle scowled. "I hate to say it, Hermione, but they're both brats. Harry only does well in Defense Against the Dark Arts with no attempts to improve himself in other subjects. He's also egocentric, a moron, and loves his position as 'Boy-Who-Lived' way too much.

"Ron is even worse as unlike Harry, he isn't skilled in anything that really matters. Ron makes fun of anyone who does better than him at anything and gloats about the few things he beats others in."

Danielle shrugged as shifted in her seat, ready to stand to leave the Great Hall. "I honestly don't know what you see in them."

Hermione sighed as she did the same, both girls standing to leave. "They were my first friends…though they don't act like it most of the time." At Danielle's raised eyebrow, she snorted in amusement. "Or at all, really. They saved me from that troll last year, but that's it."

The brunette fingered her necklace as they left the Great Hall, still ignoring the various students muttering how the world was ending for them to be friends. Honestly! They hadn't been that bad!

Walking without a destination in mind, both girls wandered out of the front doors and onto the grounds, wondering how to spend the rest of the day. Classes started again the next day and the rest of the students were due to arrive in a few hours. This was their last chance to truly enjoy the solitude and peace of a quiet Hogwarts before everyone else got there.

As they walked, Hermione was amused that Danielle kept looking wistfully at the sky, clear that she wanted to fly again. "So," Hermione said as they got to the lake as she turned to look at her. "Can all Kitsune fly or is it just you?"

Danielle looked at her for a moment before letting out a breath slowly. "Flying is something I was able to do before I got sucked back into my first year. I managed it in fifth year through trial and error after years of failed attempts. As for Kitsunes being able to fly…" She shrugged. "I've never met another one but from what I've been able to find out, we all have a unique element in addition to illusions.

"The elements being the five basic ones of nature: fire, water, wind, earth, and lightning. Fire is the most common but thanks to not only my power to fly but my personality as well, I have wind." She demonstrated by summoning a gust of wind to blow and surround them before letting it dissipate. Sitting down by a large tree near the lake, Hermione did the same as she continued. "I can make large gusts of wind, form it into blades and use it to boost my already perfect flying skills. It's a pretty versatile element and I think it suits me."

Hermione looked at her. "Where did you find all of this information?"

"You'd be surprised what you would find in various libraries and bookstores," Danielle shrugged. "Thanks to my illusions, I was able to get into Knockturn Alley a few times and found they have a few books on things Flourish and Blots don't. Of course, they were all of a darker nature and the books from there warned dark wizards of what to expect if they wanted to capture a Kitsune but it was still information in the end."

The bushy haired girl nodded as she relaxed against the tree she was sitting by. She finally sighed after a few moments of silence. "I really don't think I've thanked you enough for helping me fix my mistake."

Danielle made to wave it aside but Hermione continued. "I mean it. I love the necklace and the friendship with you that came with it."

The red head smiled gently and nodded before Hermione took her hand in her own, causing the fox girl to blink in surprise. Hermione smiled herself and started to sing.

**You've got a friend in me**

**You've got a friend in me**

Hermione got up and took both of Danielle's hands in her own, before turning it into a hug, causing Danielle's eyes to widen in shock.

**When the road looks rough ahead**

**And you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed**

**You just remember what your old pal said**

**Girl you've got a friend in me**

**Yeah you've got a friend in me**

Danielle laughed as Hermione removed herself from the hug and started to dance around her, making her join her as they had fun.

**You've got a friend in me**

**You've got a friend in me**

**You got troubles and I got 'em too**

**There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you**

Hermione used her wand to conjure some flowers for her new friend, which Danielle accepted and put a flower behind her ear, causing Hermione to giggle.

**We stick together, we can see it through**

**'Cause you've got a friend in me**

**You've got a friend in me**

**Some other folks might be a little bit smarter than I am**

**Bigger and stronger too**

Danielle laughed and nodded.

**Maybe**

Hermione huffed but smiled and continued.

**But none of them**

**Will ever love you the way I do**

**It's me and you girl**

The red head's eyes moistened slightly at those words, Hermione truly meant it. They were true friends now…

**And as the years go by**

**Our friendship will never die**

**You're gonna see it's our destiny**

**You've got a friend in me**

**You've got a friend in me**

**You've got a friend in me**

As the song ended, Danielle slowly allowed herself to be hugged by the brunette, wrapping her own arms around her. Hermione sighed at the contact, loving the closeness with another person. That was why she loved giving such fierce hugs to Harry and Ron, even if they never really returned them. With Danielle though…she was truly returning it and loved it even. That just made her squeeze her even tighter.

With a mental sigh, Danielle slowly pulled away and was about to say something when her eyes widened, pulling herself and Hermione out of the way as a red headed weasel almost ran into them in a full on tackle. Luckily, and funnily enough, Ron Weasley had run right past them now that his target was out of the way and he ran right into the lake.

As Ron tripped into the water and started sputtering, coughing water everywhere, Danielle was trying to figure out what was going on.

"What-?"

"Hermione!"

Turning, both girls saw that the one who had spoken was Harry, looking back and forth between them with a confused expression. Of course, it was Harry so he was usually confused by anything beyond DADA and Quidditch. He scowled at Danielle, who just looked back at him coolly, not giving anything away before turning to Hermione again.

"Mind explaining what is going on, 'Mione?"

Hermione clenched her teeth in frustration. She HATED that nickname and had ever since Harry and Ron had come up with it the previous year. She could feel Danielle tense at her flash of anger but calmed down, happy that Danielle could feel it and relax slightly, but still on edge.

The bushy haired girl actually growled at Harry, who blinked at the show of aggressiveness from the girl. "Oh, now you seem to care about me?" she said in a dangerous voice. Eyes blazing, she looked right at Harry, who flinched slightly. "Who was it who was in the hospital wing for over a week and never visited me once? Who was it who expects me to do their homework for them while not giving me the credit or even a word of thanks?"

Hermione pointed behind her toward a bemused Danielle, who was now running a hand through her hair awkwardly. "Danielle here has helped me out more in the last few days than you or Ron have in the last year! She was the one who helped me when I was stuck in the hospital wing after that polyjuice incident. She was the one who introduced me to a brand new branch of magic that neither of you have any idea in. She's the one that has an infinitely better chance of stopping Voldemort than you, Harry!"

Everyone was staring at the bushy haired girl in shock, eyes wide as she continued to rant. Danielle continued to look awkward, not wanting to get involved in this fight between friends…or at least former friends. Harry for his part was staring at her, open mouthed as Hermione kept going.

"I bet you don't even know that Ginny's been in contact with a dark cursed object and it was that Danielle that saved her from it!"

That got Ron's attention as he finally got out of the lake, dripping water. "Wait, what? Ginny had a cursed object?"

Hermione's eyes had a serious fire now as she rounded on Ron, making him jump back at how vicious she looked. Danielle was sure that if her tail and ears were visible, Hermione would look even more like a jungle cat ready to pounce. "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW AND SHE'S YOUR SISTER! GO CHECK HER!"

Ron and Harry stood rooted to their spots before they both turned and ran back to the castle, tails tucked between their legs. Hermione meanwhile was panting as she watched them leave, her chest heaving.

"Um, wow," Danielle said, approaching Hermione cautiously. "Are you feeling okay?"

Hermione nodded and she let out an annoyed breath from her nose before she smiled as she turned to the red head. "Sorry about that…I guess I had been saving that up for a while."

Danielle smiled and nodded, relaxing now that Hermione was calming down. "It's never a good idea to let things build up, Hermione. Trust me, I know from experience." She frowned and looked away slightly, obviously not a good memory for her. "Anyway, I'm willing to listen if you want to tell me anything."

Hermione smiled as well and nodded. "Thank you. I'll probably have to take you up on that offer at some point."

The red head sighed as she watched Harry and Ron run away. "You know they are going to cause problems in the future, right?"

Hermione's smile faded a little as she sighed, nodding. "I'm not to worried about Ron. The worst he can do is set his mother at me. It's Harry that that could be a problem as he actually can back up what he threatens."

"And I can send it right back at him if I have to," Danielle said, though she looked worried. "Not like I would I enjoy it, he is my brother, sadly, but I don't like showing off my power if I don't have to."

XXXXXX

The following weeks passed by in almost a blur of classes and security in the castle. Only Danielle and Hermione knew of the Chamber being a non-issue but despite the lack of action from the 'Heir of Slytherin,' the teachers and staff hadn't fully let their fear go. On the plus side, the sun was shining a lot more now and it melted the snow to reveal a green wonderland down on the grounds.

The mandrakes were growing fast and Madame Pomfrey was sure that they would be ready to cure the petrified students and Mrs. Norris by the end of the year. There had naturally been no more attacks from the now dead basilisk so the students were relaxing more, even with the professors breathing down their necks in an overprotective fashion.

Ginny was doing much better now than she had in the old timeline. She had no idea what had happened to get her in the Hospital Wing when she woke up but had assumed it had been the diary's fault so she wasn't that worried when it had simply vanished. She had still yelled at her brothers and Harry for not noticing her acting strange though, much to the amusement of everyone in the common room at the time.

Harry and Ron were distant, not sure what to think after everything that had happened. Ron had seemed to think that Danielle had somehow brainwashed Hermione but was forced to shut up when he was asked how Hermione Granger, smartest witch of her generation, could be manipulated by anyone, let alone someone like Danielle Potter, who was known for being smart but harmless overall.

Harry was…confused, to be honest.

After he had been yelled at by Hermione and then Ginny, he wasn't sure what to do now. He mostly just sat by himself with a confused look on his face, seemingly deep in thought.

Various other people were on the professor's side that they shouldn't relax just yet, that the heir of Slytherin was just biding their time. Ernie from Hufflepuff still thought that Danielle was suspicious for being a Parselmouth but no one really took that seriously as the female Potter had gone out of her way to make herself as harmless as possible.

Lockhart was claiming that he had made the attacks stop himself after a couple of months of no attacks. What was interesting was that the moment that classes had started up again, Hermione had felt so many lies and so much deceit from him from her new Kneazle senses that she was now constantly on edge around him, crush forgotten in new slight paranoia.

Danielle only confirmed her beliefs when she pulled out a large notebook that had every inaccuracy in all of Lockhart's books, all of them. Such as it being impossible, both physically and magically, to capture a ghoul with a tea strainer and how the various books had him in different places on the same day. Hermione's fury only increased when Danielle continued by explaining how Lockhart got his fame by taking people's memories with the memory charm and claiming their success for his own.

The only thing that stopped the bushy haired cat girl from marching into Lockhart's class and clawing his eyes out herself was the fact that there was no one willing to take over his class this late into the school year. She only relaxed when Danielle had confessed her plan to give a copy of the notebook to Amelia Bones around Easter. That way she would be able to arrest the man and they only had to keep their teacher for a little while longer.

When Hermione and Danielle walked into the Great Hall on February 14, the brunette was confused, wondering if she had walked into the right room.

The Great Hall was decorated for Valentines Day in the most gaudy looking pink streamers and ribbons floating everywhere. Every now and then, puffs of heart shaped confetti burst into appearance in random places around the hall, much to the grumbling of the people under them at the time. It was actually fairly hilarious to see Draco suddenly have pink confetti dumped on his head before he could do anything about it.

Up at the staff table, many of the teachers looked like they were trying not to kill a certain DADA professor. Lockhart was wearing robes of the brightest pink that day, matching with the décor wonderfully, and was beaming with such a smug look that there was no doubt who's idea this was. Professor McGonagall was trying to look stern but it was hard when there was pink sparkles on her clothes. Professor Flitwick was clearly struggling not to laugh at various people's reactions and expressions while Professor Sprout's eye was twitching. The Headmaster was thankfully not wearing pink himself though the shade of purple of his robes might have been good enough to count. He was lazily staring at the ceiling, apparently lost in thought.

Hermione stared at Danielle in slight horror as she fully took in the Great Hall before showing her Gryffindor courage by sitting next to Ginny at the house table, Danielle sitting next to her.

"Morning," Ginny said, smiling as she was trying to hide her giggles.

"Yes, morning," Danielle deadpanned as she used a little of her wind to blow the confetti off of her eggs. "I take it Sir Pompous in the pink robes started this?" She knew the answer, no doubt, but she had practiced at asking obvious questions.

The Weasley female nodded sadly. "I think it's going to get worse," she pointed up at the staff table where Lockhart was standing to make a speech.

"Good morning students and faculty," Lockhart boomed, spreading his hands wide. "And may I thank the forty-five people who have sent me valentines already today. Yes, I was the one who organized this little surprise and don't think the surprises will stop here."

He clapped his hands and a couple dozen surly looking dwarves wearing tutus and carrying harps came out of a side room. "My friendly, card carrying cupids!" Lockhart beamed. "They will be delivering your valentines throughout the day and don't think the fun is over there. I'm sure my collegues will want to get into the fun as well. Why not ask Professor Snape how to brew a love potion? And Professor Flitwick knows more about Enchanting Enchantments than anyone I've ever met!"

Professor Flitwick finally couldn't take it anymore and dissolved into full-blown laughter under the staff table, finding this both hilarious and mortifying. Professor Snape looked like the first person to ask him to make a love potion would be force-fed poison.

"Wonder who the forty-five people were," Danielle wondered idly, looking at various girls around the Great Hall, some looking both proud and guilty.

"Who really cares?" Ginny shrugged before looking right at Danielle. "You know, we've never really talked but…Madame Pomfrey told me you were the one who found me that day I was in the Hospital Wing."

"And?" Danielle asked, now curious.

"And the diary I had had mysteriously vanished the same day," Ginny commented, smiling faintly at Danielle's somewhat amused look. "You saved me from Tom?" She whispered, making sure no one other than they or Hermione could hear.

"I did what had to be done," Danielle whispered back, confirming what Ginny thought. "The diary was cursed and evil."

"I agree with you on that," the youngest Weasley said, nodding. "I planned on getting rid of it but couldn't it in time before Tom possessed me again. So…thank you, for everything that even Harry or Ron couldn't figure out."

"We couldn't just leave anyone possessed by Vo-Voldemort," Hermione stammered out, causing Ginny to shiver slightly.

"Still, thank you," Ginny smiled her thanks. "Madame Pomfrey has been working with me to get rid of any dark or lingering thoughts that might be in my head and I should be back to normal soon."

Any more conversation they could have had was cut off when the bell for morning classes went off and they were forced to separate, the three of them silently agreeing to meet again to continue their talk.

Overall, the most entertaining thing about the day was when Harry had been tackled to the floor that afternoon and given a singing valentine by a dwarf. Danielle, Hermione and Ginny had been there at the time and watched, amused, as the dwarf gave a truly horrible poem in song form that Fred and George had given him as a prank.

"Well, that was fun," Danielle commented as she and the two other girls laughed at seeing how red Harry's face had been.

Ginny was holding onto her sides as tears formed in her eyes. "I'll say! Merlin, I had no idea Fred and George were that evil. 'His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad'? Who would make such a horrible line if it wasn't for a prank?"

"I have no idea," said Hermione, laughter sparkling in her eyes. "But I can bet that a lot of pranks were pulled because of those dwarves."

"No doubt," Danielle agreed as they all claimed a small table in the Common Room that night. "So, Hermione, what did you particularly want to learn when it comes to enchanting?"

Ginny instantly looked interested as Hermione frowned thoughtfully. "Just the basics for now. I mean, I read your notes and while they gave me a lot to think about, I know there is more that can be done with them."

Danielle nodded as she shifted to 'lecture mode.' "Enchanting is, at its core, the applications of Runes in various different languages all over the world and inscribing them onto an item with magic for a magical effect. The Sorting Hat, for example, is an enchanted item with Runes inscribed to bring it to life, give it a voice, look inside a person's mind and judge their personality traits to decide which of the four houses the person would belong to. Of course, as the hat has been around for roughly a thousand years in a magically rich atmosphere, a few changes no doubt occurred from the original model Godric Gryffindor came up with."

"How do you mean?" Hermione asked, sounding interested; Ginny too seemed eager to learn more as she leaned forward as well.

Danielle smiled and leaned back in her chair. "The hat is usually in Dumbledore's office when not being used at the start of the year and the office is a natural focal point of the magic in the castle. The hat is saturated in roughly a thousand years worth of magic from spells, charms, wards, runes, and more. When an enchanted object is around so much magic, it could act…unpredictable."

"Like my dad's car?" Ginny asked, getting into this conversation now. "I wondered what happened to it when Harry and Ron crashed it into the grounds."

Danielle nodded. "The hat has had centuries worth of minds to look into in its lifetime and combined with the magic of Hogwarts, has given the hat a sort of personality of its own. Another quirk it might have is being able to converse with the castle itself, but I don't know about that. As for the car…well, it must have taken a lot of magic to fly all the way from London to Hogwarts, especially if it wasn't built to travel that long."

Ginny nodded. "Dad never meant to fly it that far."

"Than when it hit the ward line of the castle, it's possible that the car absorbed some magic from the Hogwarts grounds. As for the car apparently coming to life…I'm chalking that to the unpredictability of magic itself. Even now after centuries of study, witches and wizards barely have any clue what magic even is or its effects on people, animals or things. The car could have absorbed some magic from the wards, and got a personality of its own just like the hat, only through minutes of contact with Hogwarts magic instead of years like the hat."

Ginny and Hermione nodded, both lost in thought as they each thought of what might have happened to the car and how it reacted the way it did.

"Anyway, back on topic," Danielle continued. "Runes can be combined with various others for a variety of effects, depending on what one is hoping to achieve. Some Runes are sadly not compatible with each other and even more so with Runic formulas. Trying to combine Runes together when they are not compatible can either result in nothing happening at best, or an explosion at worst."

"What kind of Runes work the best?" Hermione asked. "You claimed that Hogwarts usually teaches Gaelic, but there are other old forms of the written word from other cultures and odds they could work better or worse."

"True," Danielle nodded in agreement. "Hogwarts mostly teaches Gaelic with a hint of Egyptian and German. What makes working with Runes more complicated is that some languages are better at certain things than others. For example, Egyptian Runes are perfect for protection wards and curses, much like one would find in an Egyptian tomb. Japanese Runes are very effective at enhancing a weapon's effectiveness. Gaelic is a good overall starter Runic language to learn as it has no severe strengths or weaknesses."

Hermione and Ginny blinked, not knowing that all this was so complicated. "And what would happen if one were to combine the styles?" Ginny asked.

Danielle smiled a little manically. "Well, first of all, that is the goal for all true enchanters. See, most people who work with Runes like enchanters, curse-breakers, warders, and others start with only one style. As they progress though, the goal becomes to combine them into something better. See, while a lot of various Runic languages are good and powerful on their own, combined, they become a real force to be reckoned with! The very nature of more than one style can either create a much more powerful effect, making an almost limitless number of possibilities, but also create even worse problems if the person gets them wrong.

"Two conflicting styles coming into contact with each other, could, in theory, blow up an entire wing of the castle if done wrong instead of just a single room if two conflicting runes from the same style."

Hermione and Ginny's eyes widened, before shuddering. "Right, let's not do that anytime soon," Hermione shivered, wanting to change the subject. She then turned to Ginny and frowned. "You know, I kind of thought you wouldn't like Harry being harassed by that dwarf, with your crush on him and all."

Ginny snorted and rolled her eyes. "Okay, I admit that I had a crush on him, but that was more of the Boy-Who-Lived than on Harry Potter." The other two girls nodded at that and she huffed. "Anyway, since you two know about that diary, I can tell you that that thing really messed me up and caused me to do a lot of thinking. I was a fan girl and I didn't like it, at all. So, I stepped back and started looking at the real Harry."

She took in a deep breath and continued, her tone almost sad now. "Harry is…not what I was expecting. Okay, he's got a rougish charm to him but he's also a bit full of himself and arrogant. Not to mention that he takes after my brother too much so he's basically a lazy moron with a special talent in flying and DADA. I guess…I found he's not really my type after all."

"Oh, Ginny…"

"It's okay," Ginny sighed as she leaned back in her chair, sighing. "Better I find out now instead of later when reality shows me I was wrong about my crush."

Danielle smiled sadly. "I think that maybe that diary had the side effect of increasing your maturity, Ginny. Or maybe you always were this smart and it took a good slap upside the head to bring it out."

Ginny laughed a little and nodded, still looking sad a bit though. "Thanks, I needed that." She finally pulled out her bag and took out everything for her homework, prompting Danielle and Hermione to do the same with what little work they had. After a moment, Ginny paused. "Um…this is embarrassing but with that diary…I might need some help in some of my classes. Do you think you could help me?"

Both Danielle and Hermione blinked before nodding. "I don't see why not," Hermione said, smiling slightly. "Danielle?"

"First year material is easy for me," Danielle shrugged, though she was smiling too. "Any questions you have I can answer."

"Thanks," Ginny sighed in relief, not sure what she would have done if they hadn't been willing to help. She desperately needed help with the material she should have learned but couldn't because of Tom possessing her. She really hadn't learned much this year and her poor grades were a result.

To Ginny's slight shock, Danielle finished her own homework extremely quickly and easily before turning to her, ready to help. Showing Danielle the Transfiguration essay she was struggling with, Danielle slowly nodded.

"Gamp's second law of Transfiguration is about size difference, not complexity," she told her, pulling out a book with a highlighted page on it, showing her the various laws of transformation magic. "That's the first law. Essentially, the bigger the size difference of what you are transfiguring into what the end result will be, the higher the magic cost. Changing a feather into a piano, for example, is more difficult than say, a wardrobe into a bookcase. Does that help?"

"It does, actually," Ginny said, taking notes on a spare sheet of parchment. "And what about the wand movements? How important are they in Transfiguration?"

"Not very," Danielle said, taking out her own wand to demonstrate. "Transfiguration really doesn't need a lot of wand movements as much as willpower. Willing an object to change into something else, or imagining it in your mind's eye, is much more important than anything else with this branch of magic. True, you should point your wand at your target and maybe tap it if you're close enough, but for the most part, it isn't important as, say, charms."

"Why?"

Danielle smiled and her eyes lit up slightly. "Charms do require the wand movements as do offensive spells as they help shape the magic into what you want. Certain movements of a wand have a particular part of a spell so it is used safely and without a possibility of it going wrong. Of course, we're all different and slight variations of wand movement and pronunciation will change the spell slightly, but only a talented master of charms would be able to tell. A charm or spell with only half the number of wand movements, or the wrong ones completely, would either cause the magic to not work the way you want to, or something completely different would happen."

Hermione instantly sat up straighter. "Like in our levitation charm class in our first year! Ron did it completely wrong and nothing happened. And when Seamus said the incantation wrong as well as the wrong wand movements, his feather exploded!"

"Exactly," Danielle nodded to her, causing Hermione to beam with praise. She turned back to Ginny, who was soaking the information like a sponge. "Charms requires the incantation, wand movements and magic all to work at the same time for it to succeed. Transfiguration on the other hand requires fewer, if any, wand movements but requires more willpower. Defense magic like Lockhart _should_ be teaching us combines the two essentially as well as the power put into the spell."

Ginny instantly turned that information into ideas for her essay and she was busy writing for the next half hour. Danielle smiled as she felt pretty good helping younger students, causing Hermione to internally giggle.

Hermione honestly liked Danielle since they became friends a couple of months ago. She was pretty much everything she wished Harry or Ron had been. The red head was patient, compassionate, not afraid of returning her hugs, and vastly intelligent. Of course, a lot of that came from everything the auburn haired witch had learned in the previous time line, but it still counted.

Sometimes she felt like a child compared to the hidden fox girl, but it was clear that Danielle valued her opinion and truly listened to her if she had something important to say, which she loved.

She wasn't sure why her heart beat just slightly faster when she looked at her but figured it was because Danielle was her first true friend, someone who wasn't using her for her book smarts.

As the weeks passed, Hermione was finding she was enjoying her new routine. Mornings were usually filled with classes, lunch with Danielle and maybe Ginny, more classes and the day ending with meaningful conversations with the female Potter about not just magic but anything in particular. She found that Danielle had a love of making new spells, experimenting with magic, and had a sort of dry wit that she found highly amusing. On the weekends, they talked about everything and nothing at the same time, usually in the Room of Requirement, and she found that it wasn't unusual for her tail to wrap around Danielle's own of its own accord.

Ginny was actually surprising to her in that the younger girl was desperately trying to get back to a level she was supposed to be at if it hadn't been for Tom's diary. It was extremely common now for Danielle and Ginny to be huddled together in a corner, the auburn haired witch explaining everything a first year and some second years should know, and it showed. Ginny's grades skyrocketed and Hermione could tell that most of the professors were impressed by her new work ethic. So much so that Danielle had been called in to see if she could tutor others that were having problems, like Collin and Justin would after they were woken up.

It had been four months since the attack on Justin and Nick and people were only just now starting to relax. Peeves had gotten tired of constantly singing and dancing about the attacks and the professors had started lighting up on the daily patrols. Many were thinking that the Heir of Slytherin had retired for good and the monster was just now settling down for another century long sleep.

Only Hermione, Danielle and Ginny knew that the Chamber of Secrets was no longer a problem and they weren't saying anything. If no one else could figure it out than they shouldn't have to tell them.

One Saturday morning in March, Danielle and Hermione were walking toward the library when both of their ears perked at something. "You hear that?" Hermione asked, sounding curious.

"Yeah," Danielle replied, frowning in thought. "There!" Before Hermione could stop her, the red head burst forward in a flash of speed, shooting toward a destination that only she knew. Running after her, Hermione found that while she couldn't match the red head's speed, she did a much better job than she thought she would thanks to her cat like agility.

Stopping just a little ways from a small alcove, Hermione noticed that Danielle was tense, growling low in her throat at something. Looking, the brunette saw what had the red head so upset.

The alcove was already occupied by three girls standing in front of a broom closet door, laughing about something. Hermione recognized them as Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecomb, and Lilith Moon. Silencing herself, she hid just out of sight as they continued to talk.

"Can't believe she didn't see that coming!" Cho laughed, banging on the closet door. She ignored the small thump and wail she got in return from someone inside the closet.

"Loony was never one to be all that bright," Marietta commented, her arms crossed and smirking evilly.

"Serves her right," Cho continued, rolling her eyes. "Like anyone would actually miss her. She should be thanking us for even talking in her general direction."

All three girls laughed again and Danielle narrowed her eyes, growling lowly in her throat. Hermione looked at her in confusion when Danielle was off, launching herself at the three Ravenclaws.

Before they knew what had hit them, Danielle had come out of hiding and Cho had gone flying into the wall behind her, out cold from the flying kick to the chest from an irate red head. The other two girls weren't laughing now as Danielle drew herself to her full height, a fire blazing in her eyes.

"Where's Luna?"

The question was a simple one, but the other two girls were so scared at the cold fury in her voice that they were frozen. Danielle growled as she picked up Marietta by the front of her shirt and pinned her against the nearby wall without magic. "Where, is, Luna?" she almost roared, causing the Ravenclaw to almost wet herself.

"Cl, closet!"

Snorting, Danielle threw her toward Cho with enough force to knock her out as well. Lilith stared in shock at the whole exchange but before she could do anything, Danielle used magic to not just open the door but rip it off its hinges revealing Luna.

Hermione, who had been staring in shock just like Moon, instantly felt terrible to the little blonde pile on the closet floor that Danielle was tending to. Luna was clearly younger than them, probably a first year, and had dirty blonde hair and was currently in a powder blue blouse and skirt. She was barefoot and shivering so much that Hermione couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

Danielle rounded on Moon, who flinched back in fear, not even trying to go for her wand. "You will tell your friends that Luna is under my protection from now on," Danielle hissed, backing the girl into a corner, using her height to full advantage. "If I ever hear you bullying Luna again, or any of you brain dead Ravenclaws doing it, I will open up eagle hunting season throughout all of Hogwarts! GOT IT!"

"Yes!" Lilith shouted, completely terrified.

Danielle snorted again at the girl's cowardice. "Get your friends and yourself out of my sight." She turned toward Luna again, who was still shivering and almost completely unresponsive to the world. Moon quickly levitated her friends and ran away from the scene as fast as possible, not even seeing Hermione as she passed her.

Hermione stared at the scene before noticing that Danielle had pulled Luna out of the closet and was sitting with her on the floor, muttering comforting words as she held the blonde tightly. She had no clue what was going on but knew the blonde wasn't feeling good at the moment and her new instincts told her to comfort her with the red head.

After ten minutes of nothing but Danielle holding the lithe blonde, Luna finally looked up to see Danielle with her arms around her, smiling gently at her. "It's okay Luna, they're gone."

Luna sighed in relief and snuggled deeper into Danielle's arms, causing the auburn haired witch to sigh sadly as the blonde clung to her. She turned toward Hermione, who had a questioning look on her face.

"Hermione, this is Luna Lovegood," Danielle explained. "She's a Ravenclaw first year and the daughter of one of my mother's friends. Other Ravenclaws like to bully her so I've had to save her a few times." She turned to Luna with a depressed look. "What did they do this time, Luna?"

For several long moments, Luna didn't say anything. She finally let out a deep breath and pulled away slightly so they could see her face. "Cho, Marietta and Lilith, they locked me in the closet after making fun of me."

Danielle frowned. "They didn't try to make you vomit again, did they?"

Hermione felt her heart go out to the blonde as she shook her head. "No. They didn't have the potion this time. They just locked me in there and laughed at me."

Danielle sighed but nodded, turning to Hermione again. "Luna is claustrophobic, she can't handle small spaces and the other Ravenclaws use that to their advantage. In November, I found out they locked her in a broom closet after they made her drink a potion forcing her to throw up. I took care of her but…"

"Luna," Hermione said gently, causing the blonde to look at her. "Why don't you tell Professor Flitwick? He could make it stop, I'm sure."

Luna shuddered and shook her head, looking scared. Danielle answered for her. "Luna made me promise not to tell him as that would only make the bullying worse. I don't like it but I see her point as Flitwick doesn't have as much power over the Ravenclaws as he thinks he does. Still, if they mess with Luna again, they'll have me to answer to." Her expression was so fierce that Hermione actually shuddered a little, knowing that Danielle could back up what she said.

"Come on Luna," Danielle said gently, picking Luna up bridal style. "I have a place where we can go so you can feel better. Would you like me to call Ginny?"

Luna, who had squeaked a bit when Danielle picked her up, slowly nodded. "If she wants to see me," she said, softly, "I don't know if she's still friends with me, actually."

"I'll talk to her," Danielle said as they headed for the seventh floor, which was a fairly large trip from the third. "Ginny has been spending more and more time with me for tutoring and she's not a bad person. And we both know it's her mother that doesn't want you to see her anymore, not Ginny herself."

Luna nodded sadly and allowed herself to cuddle into Danielle's arms, causing Hermione to almost coo at the cute scene. It was clear that the blonde was fragile at the moment and Danielle was not afraid of comforting her in her time of need.

When they were finally in the Room of Requirement, Danielle had made it look like a combination of the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw girl's dorms, causing the red and gold to clash with the blue and bronze. Still, it did the trick and Luna slowly calmed down as she rested on the couch in front of the fire, not shaking anymore but still looking fragile.

"Hermione," Danielle looked at her, "would you mind staying with Luna while I get Ginny? She's probably still in the Common Room at the moment so it shouldn't take long."

"Of course," Hermione said, nodding. She didn't know why but she had a feeling that Luna was important. Having some time alone with her would give them time to talk.

Danielle nodded and left the Room, leaving the two girls alone for the moment. Hermione settled herself for curling into an armchair near the couch, watching Luna for several long moments. The blonde was doing better now, nowhere near the almost comatose state she had been in earlier.

Hermione growled lowly to herself at the cowardly and despicable things those girls had done. She had been made fun of before Hogwarts as well and she knew how to handle bullies now. Back then she hadn't, preferring to spend all of her time with adults who wouldn't insult her, but now she knew that force was sadly one of the very few things that could stop bullies.

And even then, it didn't work half the time.

"You like her, don't you?"

Blinking as she shook off her thoughts, Hermione looked at Luna where the little blonde was now sitting against the armrest, staring at her. Hermione had to admit, seeing those unblinking silvery-gray eyes of Luna's stare at her was slightly unnerving, but there was a kind of innocence in Luna's gaze that couldn't be taken away that interested her.

"Sorry, Luna, what was that?"

Luna smiled a little dreamily but her voice was clear and precise. "You like Danielle, don't you? It's okay if you don't know now, we are young after all, but you still like her."

Hermione stared a little at the slightly odd Ravenclaw before she shook her head. "I think that Danielle is pretty much the first real friend I've made since I came here, and she's taken the spot of best friend recently."

Luna continued to smile, but now she looked more content. "That's good. Ginny likes her too, though she isn't aware of it. She has a small amount of Wrackspurts around her head every time she looks at her, but I think they'll go away soon enough."

"Sorry, but Wrackspurts?" Hermione had never heard of them or any reference to them in all of her time at Hogwarts.

"Oh, yes. They float in your ear and make your brain go all fuzzy," Luna commented like she was talking about the weather. "You don't have nearly as many around you when you look at Danielle, so I think that's a good thing."

Hermione was now aware of why Luna might be bullied but dang it if Luna wasn't so adorable! From what she could gather, Luna was a bit quirky and a little eccentric, but she was also blunt with her answers and observations.

"How did you get to know Danielle?"

Luna relaxed more into the couch and smiled dreamily again. "Our mothers were friends, before mum died. I suppose Danielle heard about it and wanted to get to know me a little. She's protected me from Nargles and they don't bother me much anymore, but now I believe that the Nargles will leave me alone more now. Good thing too, they really are trouble-making little creatures."

Hermione looked at her a little oddly before figuring it out. Nargles were probably a code word she had come up with for bullying Ravenclaws. She needed to spend more time with Luna to know for sure but she seemed to use mythical creatures to either mask or explain things around her.

Well, far be it from her to deny her that.

Before she could say anything else, the door opened to reveal Danielle and Ginny, who looked around at the room in wonder for a moment before spotting Luna. The younger girl actually flinched a bit at seeing her before her shoulders slumped with a sad aura hanging around her.

"Hey, Luna, haven't seen you for a while," Ginny said, lamely. She kept her distance but there was a spark of something in her eyes that seemed like hope.

Luna continued to smile dreamily before standing from the couch and wrapping Ginny in a hug, surprising the youngest Weasley. "I missed you."

Ginny smiled herself and hugged her old friend back. "I missed you too. Sorry I haven't been a good friend for the past few years, but-"

"Your mum doesn't like me," Luna finished. Although she didn't lose her dream like tone, a look of sadness entered her eyes for a moment before it was covered. "It's okay, Ginny."

"No, no it's not," Ginny sighed as she sat down, ignoring Danielle and Hermione for the moment as she focused only on the quirky blonde. "If I hadn't been so focused on being 'Mrs. Ginny Potter' I would have fought harder than I had to stay friends with you. You lost your mum and I…I'm sorry." She sighed as her shoulders slumped, looking at the floor with a lost look on her face.

"You're here now," Luna said, looking at Ginny kindly. "That's all that matters."

Ginny gave a weak smile. "You're the best, Luna." She turned to Hermione, who looked kind of lost by the conversation. "Luna and I were friends when we were younger, before Hogwarts. We were the only witches our age in the same area so it made sense for us to meet and become friends. Unfortunately, my mum has never liked Luna's dad that much."

Danielle smiled slightly. "Mr. Lovegood has an…interesting way of looking at the world, I suppose."

"He's…unique," Ginny supplied, though she didn't look away from Luna. "I promise Luna, I'm going to start being a better friend."

Luna smiled and nodded before pulling Ginny into another hug, causing the ginger haired girl to sigh in happiness that she was forgiven.

XXXXXX

Second years were given something new to think about over the Easter holidays. It was time to chose the various electives that they would take in third year and onward. Looking at her sheet of choices, Hermione couldn't seem to decide what to choose.

"How can I choose just a maximum of three?" Hermione groaned, looking at the list of classes. "They all sound so interesting!"

Danielle, who was already marking hers, smiled at her. "First of all, Hermione, there's only five electives. Combined with the seven core classes, that means that Hogwarts offers a dozen classes in total. Personally, I think Hogwarts does this a bit backwards."

Hermione frowned at her. "What do you mean?"

The auburn haired girl sighed as she thought over her answer. "Okay, so, in fifth year before we take our OWL's, we get to go to our head of house and decide what we want to do in the future. It's a little strange that career advice like that isn't done until then when we get no clues for what to take now. For example, what if a job you really want requires Ancient Runes, but you didn't find out until fifth year? You just wasted about two years trying to get a job you couldn't get."

Hermione frowned as she slowly nodded. "That does make sense, I suppose. Why doesn't Hogwarts offer job qualifications for various careers for second years?"

"No clue," Danielle shrugged, before ticking off another class and finishing. "First off, I would recommend you don't take Divination."

"But that class allows you predict the future!"

"And really only works for those that actually have the gift of sight," Danielle reminded her, causing the brunette to blush slightly. "Have you ever seen into the future through dreams or through the stars?"

"Okay, good point," Hermione sighed, leaving the divination box unchecked.

"Muggle Studies is also useless to you."

"What?" Hermione frowned. "It would be fascinating to study Muggles from the wizarding perspective."

"Not really," Danielle fired back, shrugging. "The way the class is structured, you could probably pass the OWL for it right now. It's very simple stuff that includes the uses of electricity, what various machines like a toaster is for, who Shakespeare was, who the Prime Minister is right now, and list several movies and plays. That's pretty much it in a nutshell."

Hermione frowned again. "Wait, so, no modern history? No in depth study of how the world without magic is much more advanced than the magical one? No achievements that Muggles have been able to do without the use of magic?"

"Nope, no, and definitely not," Danielle sighed, shaking her head at the disappointed look on Hermione's face. "They have a reason for that and while I somewhat see their point of view, I don't agree with it. The problem is, it would be a disaster if word got out about how dangerous and modern the non-magical world is."

"How so?"

"Hermione, what happened in Japan on the closing days of WWII in 1945?"

The brunette looked thoughtful for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. "America dropped two atomic bombs and wiped out two Japanese cities to make them surrender. If the magical world fully understood the power required to do that…"

"It might make Pureblood families uncomfortable with the Non-magical world and it could lead to mass chaos," Danielle finished. She sighed as she sank further into her seat in an attempt to get more comfortable. "You have to realize, Hermione, that the magical world is so out of touch with the non-magical one that it isn't even funny. A shield charm can't take much abuse from non-magical bullets before shattering and a gun can fire more bullets faster than a wand can fire spells. Not to mention the paranoia some devout Pureblood supremacist might do if they had that kind of information."

Hermione sighed as she considered her options. "What do you suggest I take then?" she huffed, crossing her arms.

Danielle smiled and pointed out the same courses she was taking. "I'm taking Care of Magical Creatures since the class is actually pretty fun and we would learn a lot. Ancient Runes is a must for me since I'm planning on going into enchanting as a hobby and it would be a great course if I eventually become an unspeakable for the Department of Mysteries. Finally, Arithmancy is pretty much using math for a combination of different things like fortune telling, deconstructing spells, and creating one's own. I personally think you would love all three but especially the last one."

Hermione nodded slowly and looked at the three electives with a look of concentration. She had to admit, the classes were good and wouldn't completely destroy her schedule with an obscene number of classes. Unknown to her, Danielle had a look of satisfaction on her face as Hermione didn't sign up for every class but that question would forever go unasked.

Sadly, it seemed that Hermione was the one of the few to actually get good advice on what electives to take. Neville, who was really a sweet guy but lived with his formidable grandmother, was so confused as multiple family members gave him conflicting advice on what to take.

Dean Thomas, who, like Hermione, was Muggleborn and had no one to ask. He and several others mostly ended up closing their eyes and jabbing their wands at the paper, signing up for the classes they landed on.

Harry and Ron both took classes that, instead of getting them closer to a career they would want, could get them an easy good grade. They figured that even if they were terrible at the class, at least they would be sharing them with a friend.

Hermione saw Danielle just shake her head at their irresponsible behavior but didn't say anything, knowing that it wouldn't be appreciated or wanted.

She herself was using the small lull in their schedules to study her new cat like abilities, like her enhanced senses and truth detector. It was the latter that she was getting better at and she couldn't be both happy about and disappointed in the various lies she was finding.

She now knew without a shadow of a doubt that Ron had never liked her spending time with him and Harry. She didn't know why, but she had to guess it was because of her slightly bossy behavior and being a 'know-it-all.' Harry was mostly ignoring her and she was fine with that, not missing his company at all as all he truly wanted to talk about was Quidditch, flying, and DADA. She knew he enjoyed flying more than the sport, but he was more than willing to play if it meant he had an excuse to fly.

Neville had never lied to her and she couldn't appreciate the thought more than she did. The same with Ginny as she was doing better and better after her various sessions with Madame Pomfrey to sort out any dark thoughts lingering in her mind. Ginny was mostly healed and would be given a full bill of mental health by the end of the year.

Then there was Danielle.

Danielle Potter, fox girl and Harry's sister, was without a doubt her best friend now. The auburn haired girl helped her and gave her advice while at the same time worked at her schoolwork and defeat Voldemort, all at the same time. That was in addition to her new tutoring of the first years and even some second years of all four houses. When asked why she was helping the house of the snake, she had just shrugged and told her that all students were equal, why treat them differently when she didn't want to.

That got her appreciating the girl even more, admiring her for her mature outlook. Then again, Danielle was a lot older than she looked mentally, so it really wasn't surprising actually.

The rest of the year passed by relatively smoothly, much to the school's surprise. Lockhart was arrested by Ameliea Bones and her Aurors around Easter for stealing other people's achievements by an 'anonymous' gift of tons of evidence to be used against him. Danielle had been seen smirking after that and Hermione couldn't find any reason to fault her for it.

The Monster of the Chamber and the Heir of Slytherin was eventually driven from the student's minds when exams came up. Hermione and Ginny had no problem with studying the right things thanks to Danielle telling them what to study for, meaning they had no problem whatsoever in passing. Hermione had insisted Danielle not tell her exactly what to study, but knowing what to study and what wasn't important enough to be on the exam was fine.

Harry and Ron had spent the rest of the year trying to find clues to the Chamber of Secrets but had been unable to get anywhere with it. They had tried Hagrid and while he had admitted that he had been framed by who had probably been the real heir, it hadn't been enough for them to figure out it had been Tom Riddle. Without Hermione as their friend, they both had a much harder time with the exams than they had the previous year and Hermione herself was sure that they had only just barely passed.

Ginny on the other hand had become one of the top students in her year, thanks to Danielle's tutoring, as did all of the other first and second years who had gone to her. Overall, the yearly average of test scores had gone up and quite a few of the professors knew it was because of the red haired Potter.

Gryffindor had managed to win against Ravenclaw in the final Quidditch match of the year and combined with the points Danielle had earned from her tutoring, had also won the House cup in addition to the Quidditch cup. Professor Snape had been seen turning red at the thought of turning over the cup to Professor McGonagall but had done so very reluctantly.

Overall, it had been a very eventful year, Hermione thought as she, Danielle, Ginny and Luna shared a compartment on the train back to Kings Cross station in London. Dumbledore had done a pretty good job in teaching Defense after Lockhart had been arrested but she was looking forward to Remus Lupin next year, according to Danielle anyway.

If one could have seen Hermione's tail, they would have seen it twitching back and forth as it was wrapped around her as she read her book. Danielle's tails would have been curled around her for extra warmth and comfort as well, loving how they were long enough to do so. Luna and Ginny knew that something was missing as their two friends were reading their books, one text book and the other fantasy, but they had no clue what it was.

They could tell Danielle was happy though. She had been invited to spend a few days at Hermione's place before the Grangers went off to France for their annual holiday. When asked what she would do after that, Danielle had shrugged and said she would probably spend the summer at the Leakey Cauldron rather than going home to Potter Manor. Knowing James' and Lily's attitude toward their eldest daughter, they figured it was for the best to be out of sight as much as possible. They weren't abusive, but they were hard to live with when they preferred their 'Boy-Who-Lived' son to her.

Relieved that Draco Malfoy hadn't made an appearance, maybe he only bothered Harry or he remembered Danielle sending harmless fireballs at him, Hermione smiled as they felt the train slow down. Seeing Danielle slightly tense at the thought of meeting Hermione's parents, the brunette put a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, it'll be okay. My parents will love you."

Danielle looked at her for a moment before slowly sighing and nodded. It was clear she didn't fully believe her bushy haired friend but was willing to give the Grangers the benefit of the doubt. Seeing as Danielle was younger than seventeen at the moment, the hidden fox girl had been forced to drag her trunk by hand instead of just shrinking it like she wanted to.

Soon, they were jumping off the Hogwarts Express and heading for the barrier back to the non-magical world. Ginny and Luna found their parents/father right away and after a quick good-bye hug, left for the summer. Apparently, the Weasleys were going to Egypt for the summer just like in the last timeline while Luna and her father were heading for Switzerland to search for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack.

Not far away from the barrier between platforms nine and ten were Hermione's parents. Hermione's mother looked much like an older version of her daughter, though with tamer hair so it was merely curly instead of a messy bush. Hermione's father on the other hand was almost a head taller than his wife, though he shared her hair color in a no nonsense hairstyle. Both smiled however when they saw Hermione.

"Mum. Dad."

Hermione was instantly wrapped in a hug with both of her parents almost crushing her between them. Off to the side, Danielle nodded as the question of where Hermione got her powerful hugs came from.

The young brunette witch smiled as she gently pulled herself away from her parents. "Mum. Dad. This is my new friend Danielle. I wrote to you hoping she could stay at least for a few days, right?"

Both elder Grangers looked to the auburn haired girl standing nearby with a slight awkward smile. She was about to say something when Hermione's mother brought her into a soft hug, making her blink.

"Of course she can stay with us for a few days. We would love to meet one of our daughter's friends, right Richard?"

Richard Granger mentally sighed but nodded, shaking the girl's hand himself. "Not at all. We would love to find out more of what Hermione does up at that school."

Danielle smiled and nodded. "I would be happy to. I want to thank you for letting me stay Dr. and Dr. Granger-"

Hermione's mother waved that thought away. "First rule is to call us Richard and Emma, Danielle. None of that 'Doctor' stuff while we are together for the next few days."

"Right," Danielle said slowly before following her friend and her parents, keeping her eye out for anyone she didn't want to see her. Sure enough, they quickly passed her own parents as well as the Weasleys and she made sure to cover herself enough for them to not recognize her. She didn't have a good relationship with any of them in any time line.

As they left the train station, Danielle impressed Richard slightly by putting her trunk into the boot of the car herself, despite how heavy it looked. Hermione didn't have as much trouble with her own trunk either, now that he looked closely. Shrugging it off, he got into the driver's seat as his wife took the passenger seat, leaving the back seat to the two girls.

"So, eventful year?" Emma asked as they were settling in. She was a little surprised that Danielle knew how to work a seat belt. From what Hermione had told her in her letters, the red head was from a magical family that didn't have cars so she wasn't sure what she knew or not.

"I would say so," Hermione said, making herself comfortable in the back seat with Danielle. "Considering that the school board almost shut the castle down. A few students had been attacked but it was wrapped up by Christmas so it wasn't a big deal."

"Students had been attacked?" Richard asked as they were finally able to leave their parking space for the que to leave the car park. "What happened? Were they okay?"

"Nothing that couldn't be fixed," Hermione assured them, which made them feel better. "I did mess up a potion around Christmas that took a week in the hospital wing to sort out but I'm fine. Danielle here is actually the one who helped me with that."

Danielle blushed slightly as both elder Grangers attention were on her now. "It wasn't a big deal. I just figured out the wrong ingredient and worked on a counter that was able to reverse the strange effects. Barely took any effort."

"You still did something that the teachers hadn't been able to though," Hermione reminded her, keeping up the cover story they had worked on.

"Well, if you hadn't added a cat hair into the potion, you wouldn't have grown cat fur all over your body," Danielle said in a slightly teasing voice.

Emma laughed as they left the car park and started heading for the freeway. "Hermione had cat fur all over her? That must have been a good sight to see."

Hermione grumbled good naturedly and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Another student had a cat and I accidently dropped a hair into the potion by mistake. Laugh it up."

Even Richard laughed a little as they drove, though he had to keep his eyes on the road ahead of him. "So, Danielle, are you the one that Hermione has been complaining about for her first year and a half at that school?"

Danielle raised an eyebrow as Hermione looked embarrassed, shaking her head frantically. "Really? You complained about me for that long?"

Hermione finally sighed and banged her head against the seat behind her. "I wanted to be the best, and you beat me in half of our classes! Of course I complained about you!" Her eyes then softened. "And then you helped me out of my mistake without even gloating or anything."

"Took the high road, huh?" Emma said, smiling as she watched the two girls interact with each other. It was actually extremely cute to watch them banter and bicker back and forth like they had been friends for years instead of only a few months.

Danielle shrugged. "I didn't have anything to gain by making fun of her and I thought helping her fix her mistake was a fun challenge. After that, we sort of just spent more time together and became friends. Though you could take it a little better when I do better with the practical part than you do." She directed her final thoughts at Hermione herself, who huffed.

"You're the one who never reacted when I berated you for doing the wand work wrong and getting the results anyway."

Danielle grinned at her. "What can I say, I'm special like that."

Emma and Richard laughed as Hermione mock huffed and crossed her arms, refusing to look at any of them.

"So, Hermione," Emma spoke up again. "What's this about you not being friends with…Harry and Ron, was it? Anymore."

Hermione sighed and leaned into her seat. "To be honest, I don't think they ever really liked me that much. Harry was too much into himself and Ron was an immature moron. I think I made better friends with Ginny and Danielle here."

"Ginny?"

"Ron's sister and nothing like him," Hermione clarified. "She can actually think and wants to do her own work, not copy off of me like Ron did. She had trouble with her school work because of the attacks during the first term, but between Danielle and I, mostly Danielle, we were able to get her up to par."

Danielle shrugged. "I just answered her questions about the material, it was all her when she worked hard enough to get to the top three in her year."

The ride was mostly silent after that for a majority of the trip, someone occasionally asking something but no serious topics. Hermione found out that she and her parents would be leaving for France in late July and would be spending about three weeks there. Then there was a visit from Hermione's aunt over the Christmas break, which caused her to be thankful she had been at Hogwarts at that time.

"Don't like them?" Danielle asked, curious over why Hermione or Emma seemed reluctant to deal with them.

Hermione sighed and shook her head. "I never liked Aunt Carol or my cousins. My aunt treats me like I'm three all of the time while my cousins are brats."

"Hermione," Emma said warningly, though she didn't like her sister-in-law much either, "you shouldn't say things like that."

"Last year, Katie and Stacy chased me all over the house while beating me with my own books," Hermione deadpanned, much to Emma's scowl at the reminder.

"Well…" Emma started, trying to find something to say after that. Luckily, she was saved by them arriving at their house. "Ah, we're home!"

Parking in the driveway, Danielle nodded as she saw Hermione's house for the first time in either time line. It was an upper class neighborhood with fancy, well manicured lawns and tall gates and fences. Hermione's house on the other hand looked more practical than decorative, even if it did have a fairly large front yard. It was a two story tall brick house surrounded by seven foot tall hedges. Overall, it looked much more welcoming than Potter Manor and more well cared for than the Burrow. Both of which Danielle had had the displeasure of staying in.

Getting their trunks out of the boot of the car, they made their way up the drive and Richard opened the front door for them. Danielle had to nod as she looked around. The walls were done in a sort of off-white color but were decorated with quite a few family photos and paintings. She could just make out a kitchen beyond the living room and a staircase that probably led to Hermione and her parent's rooms.

"Hermione, care to show Danielle to the guest room?" Emma asked as she walked in, hanging her coat on a nearby rack. "We should have at least a couple of hours until dinner."

"Sure thing mum," Hermione agreed, leading her friend up the stairs.

As they approached the second floor, Danielle smiled at her. "Your parents are nice."

"Yeah," Hermione agreed, finding them both embarrassing and loving at the same time. "Anyway, here's your room." She opened one of the four doors on the second floor to reveal the guest room.

It had been about what Danielle had been expecting. A medium sized bed in the middle of the room with a desk, nightstand and lamp with several photos decorating the walls. The window gave a good view of the backyard, which had a nice sized pool.

"I know, nothing luxury," Hermione shrugged. "I know your room in Potter Manor is probably much larger-"

"This is perfect, Hermione," Danielle reassured her, putting her trunk at the foot of the bed. "To be honest, my room at Potter Manor is only a little bigger than this anyway, I'll be more than fine here."

Hermione frowned as she sat down on the bed, Danielle joining her. "Wait, don't you live at Potter Manor? Harry's mentioned that his room is huge."

"It is," Danielle agreed, shrugging. "Larger than our dorm room at Hogwarts and has its own bathroom." When she saw Hermione about to say something, she quickly continued. "I actually like rooms this size better. It's a bit more cozy and simple."

"I'm sorry," Hermione sighed, shaking her head and staring at the floor. "I guess I just thought that you and Harry would share things like room size. I didn't think-"

"It's really fine, Hermione," Danielle said. "Now why don't you show me your room?"

The brunette nodded and led Danielle to the room across the hall, revealing a room only a little bigger than the one they had just left.

Hermione was actually embarrassed when she saw her room again after so many months away. The walls were almost floor to ceiling bookshelves with seemingly hundreds of books adorning the shelves. A modest sized bed was in the middle of the room while a desk nearby had a computer, to Danielle's slight surprise. The closet door was slightly open, to reveal that it was mostly empty.

"I really don't own many clothes," Hermione said, a little sheepishly as she dropped her own trunk down. "I usually bring all of my clothes with me to school, leaving my closet empty."

That was apparently news to Danielle but she didn't comment on it. She then gestured to the computer. "I didn't know you owned a computer."

"Yeah," Hermione sighed, shaking her head. "When my parents found out how smart I was and the good marks I got at school, they got a few educational games for it for me. I don't use it much anymore other than Solitaire these days, but it's nice to have just in case." She then grinned. "Can you imagine what Professor McGonagall would say if I turned in her summer homework printed on a sheet of paper from that?"

Danielle chuckled and shook her head. "I don't think she would appreciate that. She seems pretty set on students only using quills and parchment."

Hermione shook her head at that. "I never understood why we use those. Pens are much better and more convenient than quills while paper is a better quality than parchment."

"Mostly because the old pureblood families own shares in quills and parchment," Danielle shrugged as she sat down in Hermione's desk chair, the brunette herself on the edge of her bed. "They shoot down various non-magical products to make sure the companies they want to succeed do. I do know that pens and paper are better overall, but I doubt we can change it."

"We really should though," Hermione grumbled, frowning as she wondered how they could possibly solve that problem.

"So," Danielle said, interrupting Hermione's train of thought, "What is there to do around here? Do you have any plans for the summer, other than going to France in a few weeks?"

"Not really," Hermione shrugged, getting comfortable as she adjusted her trunk at the foot of the bed. "I figured I would finish my homework early than do whatever I wanted until we leave for France." She then looked a little concerned. "What about you? Are you going back to Potter Manor in a few days?"

She saw Danielle looking awkward before she cleared her throat with a cough. "Uh, no, actually. I was planning on either going to Luna's, or staying at the Leakey Cauldron. I have everything I could want in my trunk so I don't need to go there if I don't have to."

Hermione frowned again as she looked at Danielle. Her new Kneazle senses were telling her that the red head was hiding something but she had no idea what. She finally nodded. "Any reason you're not going to Potter Manor if you don't have to this summer?"

Danielle froze and Hermione was sure that if she could see them, her bushy fox tails would be wrapping around herself comfortingly. "Just don't like dealing with my parents," Danielle muttered before clearing her throat. "So, what do you think your parents are making for dinner?"

Hermione's frown increased at the change of subjects but let it go…for now.

XXXXXX

Dinner was an interesting experience for Danielle, Hermione could tell. After so many years of either eating at Potter Manor or Hogwarts, where she would either be ignored or berated depending, it was interesting to see how she interacted with her parents as the center of attention.

To her credit, Danielle was at least trying to answer questions to the best of her ability and put the magical world in a positive light. Still, it was clear that she was awkward around those that actually treated her decently.

"So, Danielle, I take it you know of…Harry and Ron, correct? Why do you think Hermione befriended them?"

Hermione blinked at the question and watched as Danielle paused her movements, her fork only halfway to her mouth. She set the utensil down and looked thoughtful for a moment, as if wondering what to say or how to say it.

"I would say that Harry and Ron…gave Hermione attention early in our Hogwarts years and latched onto that. Never mind that it wasn't the best attention, but it was enough for her not to feel lonely while at school." She looked apologetically at Hermione but Richard nodded as if he had had some sort of theory confirmed.

"I sort of figured as much," he grumbled, frowning at his plate.

"Since about Christmas though, Hermione has been spending more time with me and a few other girls in the year below us," Danielle continued. "All of us are about as smart as she is so there is no reason to use her for her intelligence or anything, and when she does help us, it is of her own free will."

"Well, that's something," Emma smiled, looking at her daughter with pride. "So, what's your home life like? We really don't know much about magical households or families and Hermione told us you grew up with magic."

Anyone who wasn't looking for it wouldn't have seen it but Hermione saw Danielle's dark look for a fraction of a second before it was covered by her usual soft smile.

"Well, my last name is Potter so Harry is actually my brother," she shrugged, gaining the elder Granger's attention right away, not knowing of that. "As Harry is considered a celebrity in the magical world, I'm sort of glossed over." She said it like she wasn't bothered by it, but both Emma and Hermione frowned at the implied neglect.

Richard hadn't noticed and he frowned. "Your parents ignore you?"

Emma swatted his arm at the tactless question, much to his confusion, but again, Danielle shrugged. "Not much I can do about it and I'm used to it. My parents are busy with their jobs when I'm at home and my brother eats up a lot of their free time. Like I said, I'm used to it." She swallowed a forkful of food and smiled again. "So, what was Hermione's childhood like?"

Hermione was of two minds at the moment. While she was glad that Danielle was getting along with her parents, she wished that she could have chosen a different topic to change the subject with. Not to mention the sadness she felt for Danielle being ignored for a good portion of her childhood and beyond.

Emma and Richard's mood, while not the best at the little revelation about their guest's home life, brightened as they started talking about Hermione's childhood and bouts of accidental magic. Hermione blushed a bright red as they mentioned a few explosions she had accidently caused or when she had levitated a few books and cookies to her when she was younger and hadn't realized it.

By the time dinner was over and dessert was being served, Danielle was laughing brightly as Emma explained how one of Hermione's cousin's toys had actually shrunk when she wouldn't let the brunette play with it. It had returned to normal size before the cousins left, but it had been yet another mystery in their lives until Professor McGonagall explained magic to them.

"I'm still confused as to what magic is," Richard confessed as they sat down in the living room after dessert. He and Emma were sitting next to each other on the couch while the two girls had taken chairs next to them.

"Witches and wizards and still trying to figure it out," Danielle commented with a dry smile. "For centuries, we have been studying magic and its various properties and the only thing we can figure out is that it is a form of energy that certain people are born being able to manipulate and others can't. I, for one, am sure that magic is just too far beyond any of our comprehensions. Maybe I'm wrong and we'll figure it out in the future, but until then we have to let magic be magic."

The next half hour consisted of both girls answering questions about the castle and its inhabitants. Both parents smiled as they claimed that Professor McGonagall was one of the best teachers in the castle while Professors Flitwick and Sprout got their own glowing reviews. They scowled at the mention of Snape though, how he didn't really teach so much as put the instructions on the board and then stalk around the room looking for mistakes.

"Oh yeah," Hermione said, remembering something. "Danielle and I are taking Care of Magical Creatures next year. Do you know who's teaching?" she asked Danielle, who nodded.

"If I'm right, then Professor Kettleburn is retiring now," she said, nodding as she thought about it. "Apparently, he wants to spend more time with his remaining one and a half limbs. The job should be taken by the Hogwarts games keeper, Hagrid. He knows more about magical creatures than anyone else in the area."

"Isn't he that half-giant Hermione wrote about?" Emma asked, curious. Richard snorted softly next to her, though it was too quiet for her to hear. Danielle and Hermione though, with their enhanced hearing, did and they looked at each other in confusion before Danielle answered.

"Hagrid's mother was a giantess while his father was a wizard. While there are a few who don't like his giant blood, he's really a lovable gentle giant. Yes, he doesn't exactly know what is dangerous to completely human students, but his heart is in the right place."

"Giants," Richard commented, an unreadable expression on his face. "What else is out there?"

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, standing up, "I need the bathroom bad." She left the room in a hurry, apparently not able to hold onto her bladder for much longer.

Danielle shrugged it off and looked at Richard. "My sort of uncle and family friend, Remus Lupin, is actually a werewolf and-"

"A werewolf?" Richard demanded, looking at her with a look she didn't like.

"Yes," she said slowly, not sure why Hermione's father was reacting like this. "Again, while he is dangerous for one night a month, the rest of the time he's a really nice guy. And there are potions out there now that, while there is no cure, does help him make him harmless on the one night he does transform."

"What about vampires? Hags? Any other monsters out there?" Richard demanded, now getting odd looks from both Danielle and his wife.

"Well," Danielle started, "vampires usually spend most of their time on the continent, not wanting to deal with Britain. They also know not to cause trouble or the various Ministries of Magic would descend on them. Hags are actually fairly common here in Britain, but have their own disguises to blend in with humans. Trolls are mostly hired to guard vaults and other valuables but they are violent if provoked. Um…there are Veela, which is a race of beautiful women with an allure power to bring men's attention onto them, but they are so secretive that I don't know much about them. Um, why are you so determined to know more about magical beings and creatures?"

Emma also looked at her husband with a confused look as Richard looked her over. "You know of a few of those monsters that dare parade themselves around normal humans? Monsters, all of them and I'm starting to consider pulling Hermione out of Hogwarts if she is going to be around them after she graduates!"

"Richard!"

He ignored his wife's shout and continued, his expression fairly mad. "I read some of Hermione's books like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and I know how dangerous they are! The only good magical creature is a dead one!"

Danielle blinked at Hermione's father's passionate speech and while on some level she could understand his issues, another piece of her cried out in pain. Swallowing, and seeing that Hermione's mother was frozen in shock, she slowly stood up.

"I…I'm sorry, but I should leave…"

"What?" Emma also stood up, as did Richard, both looking confused. "Why would you go?"

Danielle, not really moving under her own control, made for the door. "I actually am half-magical creature and if you don't want me here…I understand." She smiled sadly and allowed her fox ears and tails to appear, much to the surprise of Emma and sudden anger of Richard. "I do thank you for allowing me to stay for as long as you have-"

She was cut off when Richard launched himself at her, causing Danielle to duck under the fist aiming for her head.

"Get out," he growled at her, causing Danielle's ears to flatten themselves against her head in fear. "Get out and never go near Hermione again!"

"Richard!"

That was the scene Hermione came across as she came out of the bathroom and she just looked confused over why she felt so much fear and depression coming from Danielle, anger and hatred from her father while her mother had confusion and panic. Seeing Danielle near the door and her father shouting, not to mention her friend with her ears and tails out.

Danielle didn't see Hermione re-enter the room and nodded sadly. "Of course, Dr. Granger." With a sudden crack, Danielle was gone from the house.

XXXXXX

With another crack, Danielle appeared a couple of buildings from the Leakey Cauldron onto a quiet street. A few cars were going down the road, but other than that she was alone. Hiding her tails and ears again, Danielle sighed sadly and made her way to the famous pub.

She…she had actually thought, naively she reasoned, that Hermione's parents would be different. She had thought that she could tell them about her new status as part magical creature and they would be okay with it.

Oh, what a fool she was.

She had actually showed them her ears and tails…was she an idiot? Of course they would react badly, but she hadn't really expected a death threat. Now she was on her own for the rest of summer and there was no way in hell that she would be going to Potter Manor.

Sighing, knowing that most of her money had been in her trunk, she opened the door to the pub and instantly caught sight of Tom the barman. Tom looked up at her and smiled at seeing her, which made sense as the bar was empty other than them at the moment.

"Greetings Miss Potter, how can I help you?"

"Hello Tom," Danielle managed to say through the lump in her throat. "I need a room for the rest of the summer. You know I'm good for it."

Tom nodded sadly and handed her a room key, the same one she had used the previous year as well when she couldn't handle the Potters any longer. He gave her a sympathetic smile. "Hope you enjoy your stay."

Danielle nodded without saying anything else and pulled herself up the stairs, numb to the world around her as she walked. When she reached her room, she found it exactly the same as it had been the previous year. Not as nice as the guest room in Hermione's house but nice enough to live there for a couple of months.

It wasn't until the door closed behind her when she finally let her tears fall. Sinking onto the floor, she pulled her arms around her legs and just let her emotions out, crying into her knees as she let her fox-like attributes out again.

She both loved and hated her new creature inheritance as they came with a lot of perks but at the cost of the fear of what people would do to her if she were discovered. Kitsune's were so rare outside of Japan that she had no doubt that the Ministry would label her as a magical creature, a mindless beast, and try to subdue her…make her into something less than human.

When she didn't have any tears left to shed, she looked at herself in the mirror and sighed.

**(Start Disney's Reflection)**

**Look at me **

**I will never pass for a perfect friend**

**Or a perfect daughter **

**Can it be **

**I'm not meant to play this part? **

**Now I see **

**That if I were truly to be myself **

**I would break my fam'ly's heart**

Danielle sighed again and stared at herself again, more importantly at her fox like body parts with a combination of care and loathing. It really wasn't fair that she loved her new powers but hated the fear and bigotry.

She didn't even recognize herself half of the time.

**Who is that girl I see **

**Staring straight **

**Back at me? **

**Why is my reflection someone **

**I don't know? **

**Somehow I cannot hide **

**Who I am **

**Though I've tried**

All she wanted was for someone to be herself with. Was that too much to ask for? Now she wasn't allowed to see Hermione again, she didn't want to trust herself with Ginny or Luna just in case and…she was tired.

Very tired of hiding her real self. She was a fox-girl and proud of it but the world made it so hard to live like this.

**When will my reflection show **

**Who I am inside? **

**When will my reflection show **

**Who I am inside?**

Exhausted, wanting nothing more than to sleep, Danielle swished her tails and her clothes became more appropriate to sleep in. Curling under the blankets, Danielle couldn't stop a few more tears from falling from her face as she fell into an uneasy sleep.

XXXXXX

Back at the Granger house, Hermione was still in shock, not sure what to do.

She had invited her best friend over for a few days of the summer and what does her father do? Show off his new hatred of magical creatures by driving her friend away! When had her father gained this attitude toward magical creatures anyway?

Her mother was in a similar position as herself, but was quickly getting over it. She glared at her husband as Richard was once again ranting and raving about magical creatures.

"ENOUGH!" When Richard stopped his mutterings, Emma glared at him. "First of all, Danielle was a lovely girl who I approve to spend time with my daughter. Second, it was clear that she was the model of a proper houseguest, doing nothing to be driven from our home. Finally, you and I are going to have a long talk about your attitude Richard!"

Mr. Granger glared at his wife. "I am doing all that I can to protect my daughter!"

"No, you are doing everything you can to be bigoted and prejudiced against a girl that didn't deserve it!"

While her parents were arguing, Hermione's shock finally faded and her mind started processing everything again. Her father had said something bigoted and ignorant, driving Danielle from the house and disapperating to safety, most likely the Leakey Cauldron since she had mentioned she would stay there after her visit was over.

Slowly standing, Hermione was sure that she needed to see Danielle more than be in the same house as her arguing parents. While she couldn't apperate, she did know how to summon the Knight Bus and she had enough money to get there.

While her parents were distracted, Hermione slipped out of the house and headed for the road, wand out. A moment later, there was a loud bang as a large triple decker purple bus appeared out of nowhere.

The door opened to reveal a pimply faced teen looking down at her. "Welcome to the Knight Bus. Emergency transport for-"

Hermione cut him off. "Great, thanks. Can you just take me to the Leakey Cauldron?"

The teen sighed and nodded. "Sure, that'll be ten sickles." No one ever wanted to hear the whole thing.

Handing over the silver coins, Hermione quickly jumped onto the bus and, after taking a seat on one of the large beds instead of chairs, so did the conductor. "Take 'er away Ern."

A wizened old wizard jerked awake from where he had been slumped against the wheel and gunned the magical engine, making Hermione fall over the bed she had been sitting on. Hermione was starting to question the sanity of the magical world for allowing something like this to be built, let alone driven in the public.

Emergency transport indeed. Only someone in an emergency would be desperate enough to actually want to use it.

The bus kept jerking forward in huge bangs and the beds weren't bolted down so Hermione had to deal with being flung around the inside of the bus. The only thing that would have made it worse would have been some stupid Jamaican head making inane comments the whole time.

After several stops to allow other passengers to get off the bus, they finally arrived at Hermione's stop.

"Leakey Cauldron," the teen said as he helped Hermione off the bus, much to her relief that she was off the bus and she had a chance to recover her stomach that she was sure had been left a few hundred miles back.

A moment after she was off the Knight Bus, there was a bang and the purple monstrosity was gone. Taking a bit to get her bearings, Hermione saw that she had been dropped off directly in front of the dingy pub.

Shaking herself, she nodded and entered to find it mostly empty. The only person in the room other than her was the old landlord Tom the barman. He was cleaning a glass but looked up when he heard the door open and smiled.

"Pleasure seeing you here, Miss Granger." His expression turned a little sad and Hermione's curious. "If you are looking for the person I think you are, she's upstairs."

"Danielle?" Hermione asked, now hopeful that she had guessed right. She needed to see her, she didn't know why but she just felt that it was important.

Tom nodded, sighing as he continued to clean the glass in his hand with a dishcloth. "Was in a right state when she got here. Too bad that I've seen that look on her face a fair number of times. You can go up, but she's probably asleep by now."

Hermione deflated a bit at that but nodded in thanks, going up the stairs anyway after she got her friend's room number. Tom chuckled and shook his head, wishing them the best.

"You deserve a friend like her, Miss Potter," Tom whispered, smiling as he put the glass away. "And she deserves a friend like you."

Hermione didn't take long before she was standing in front of the room but hesitated. Would she be accepted? Scorned because of her father's actions? Thrown out in a sad fury?

Unable to knock on the door, sure that Danielle was asleep now anyway, Hermione sighed and sat on the floor next to the doorway, not sure what to do now. She had been so determined to get here that she had forgotten to come up with a plan of what to do once she was here. All of her ideas seemed to have gone out of the window at the moment so she sat down to think.

And think.

XXXXXX

When Danielle had woken up after a night of misshapen dreams and nightmares, she had done her usual morning routine rather mechanically. Not sure where the time had gone, one moment she was waking up from her troubled rest and the next she was dressed and headed out for breakfast, she idly wondered for how long she would have to stay here. The previous year, she had hated spending time in Potter manor so much that she had stayed in the pub for the entire summer.

She would have liked to spend at least part of this year in a house instead but…

Shaking her head, trying not to think of the past, which was almost impossible for her at the best of times, she opened the door to get breakfast. Blinking, she noticed that someone was sleeping next to her door out in the hallway.

It took her a mere moment to realize who it was.

Frowning at why Hermione Granger of all people was sleeping right outside her room, she shook her head and used her magic to levitate the brunette into the room and onto the bed as gently as she could. While she liked spending time with the brunette, she was now wondering what she could do to stay away from her, not wanting to be the reason Hermione split from her parents.

Family drama was really not her thing; she got enough of that at home.

Wondering how Hermione could actually get to the Leakey Cauldron from her house, probably late the previous night, she left the room to get breakfast. Heading down the stairs, she was met with the smirk of Tom the barman.

"You sent her to me, didn't you?" Danielle asked, already knowing the answer.

Tom shrugged and started wiping the counter in front of him. "You looked like you needed someone to talk to."

Danielle stared at him for a few moments before sighing. "I need breakfast for me and my…guest, Tom."

"Understandable," Tom nodded and went to get two orders of her standard breakfast, remembering what she usually ordered the previous year. Danielle didn't have to wait too long before Tom appeared from the kitchen carrying a tray with two covered plates on them, tea, and more. "Here, it's on the house."

Danielle raised an eyebrow. "Oh? For what?"

"For being such a good customer," Tom smirked again and the red head decided to just accept it and move on. She was sure Tom was up to something but considering that he had never steered her wrong yet, she was inclined to trust him for now.

Tom smiled as the girl left, wishing that everything would work out for her.

Hermione was awake by the time Danielle got back to the room and looked fairly awkward as she entered. Danielle felt the awkwardness as well and slowly set the breakfast tray on the small desk before sinking onto the nearby chair, facing Hermione.

For a long few moments, neither of them spoke, just sat and watched each other as the tension built.

Finally, Hermione rushed forward and Danielle, holding herself back from accidently attacking the brunette out of sheer reflex, brought the red head into a fierce hug. Danielle was still, not sure if she should return it or not, and just sat there and let herself be held.

She usually didn't like being touched like this but had to admit that it felt…nice.

"Hermione-"

"I'm sorry, so sorry," Hermione whispered as she stroked Danielle's hair and back, making the hidden fox girl want to whimper in pleasure. It took Danielle a moment to realize that Hermione was crying and her shirt was getting wet, not like she cared about that.

"Hermione-"

"Of all the short-sided, narrow minded, bigoted-"

"Hermione!" Danielle said loudly, getting the brunette to stop talking. "Hermione, it's okay. I really don't care that much."

Hermione stared at her and Danielle's expression of tired resignation. "You didn't deserve that, Dani."

Danielle smiled sadly and sighed as Hermione hugged her. "Hermione, there will be people that will say things like that. I've been around for so long that what your dad said barely bothers me anymore."

Hermione saw the sad look in the red head's face and tightened her embrace. She shook her head. "You sound like you're fifty sometimes, you know that?"

"I feel like it sometimes," Danielle shrugged, looking at the wall, lost in thought for a moment. "I've seen a lot, too much. Enough that I wonder how I'm still sane sometimes."

"Was it really that bad?" Hermione asked quietly, not really wanting to know. She needed to know though, she didn't know why, but her desire to know overshadowed her squeamishness. Finding out more about the auburn haired girl in her arms was, for some strange reason, important to her. "The things you saw against Voldemort last time?"

Danielle took a shuddering breath and nodded, not really wanting to talk about it. "I try not to think about it. Voldemort and his Death Eaters weren't exactly humane to some of their victims when I found them." _'If they were still alive, that is. Sometimes it was just better to put them out of their misery,'_ she finished in her mind.

The fox girl cleared her throat. "Hermione, you should go home." She raised a hand to stall Hermione's indignant disapproval of her idea. "I don't want to be responsible for you splitting apart from your parents. You did in the last war and I don't want you to do that again. Trust me, caring parents are something you want to keep in your life and yours do care about you."

Hermione frowned before she shook her head, willingly taking off her necklace so her cat-like attributes were made visible. "You heard my dad last night, Dani, how he was spouting off like that against magical creatures and the like. My parents aren't stupid, they'll start wondering why I'm wearing my necklace all the time. They'll eventually find out." Her tone turned sad as she continued. "I was going to tell them either this summer or the next one about my being like this, but after last night…I don't think I can." It was her turn to stop Danielle before she could say anything. "This whole cat-girl thing is my fault and my responsibility, I'm going to be the one to take the blame for it. If…if this causes problems with my father, than it won't be your fault. I'll just have to ride out his anger and any punishments he gives out like a big girl."

Danielle sighed and they both sat down on the bed, the food lying forgotten on the desk. "I think this is still somehow my fault. You didn't permanently become a cat girl in the last time line. You did for a few weeks but it was reversible. Death told me there would be some differences between the timelines but they would be small and barely noticeable." She frowned at the wall, like it had offended her. "I didn't think your polyjuice potion would permanently turn you into a cat girl this time."

"How could you have known?" Hermione said, smiling gently at the distraught red head next to her. "You weren't around when I made the potion, you couldn't have known the subtle differences between the two time lines like that."

Danielle nodded absentmindedly, her mind a million miles away as she thought about everything. She finally took in a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm herself down.

"I'm tired," Danielle commented, almost idly as she sat on the bed. "Very, very tired, Hermione."

"Of what?"

"Everything." Danielle was silent for a few moments before speaking again. "Nothing really seems to be getting easier for me and I'm tired of it. My parents ignore me. School is boring and unappealing after going through it once already. Voldemort still has his horcruxes to deal with and I have a plan on getting rid of them, as well as a time frame on when to do it. And I have a goddess of death refusing to let me give up until the job is done. Not to mention that my being a fox girl will not be taken well by the general populace if they ever find out, forcing me to hide who I really am."

Danielle closed her eyes and sighed, feeling overwhelmed by everything. She might be nineteen, almost twenty mentally but her body was going through puberty for the second time and her damn hormones were raging again, making her more emotional than she had been the first time through.

"I'm scared."

Slim arms encircled her waist and Danielle felt the warm body next to her bringing her into a protective hug. Hermione didn't say anything, just embrace the girl next to her and rest her head on the red head's shoulder, finding the position to actually be pretty comfortable.

"You don't have to do this alone," Hermione reminded her softly, smiling slightly. "You helped me when I needed it and I want to help you in any way I can."

It took a minute, but Danielle did give the other girl a reluctant smile. "Thanks." She looked over at the desk. "We should probably have breakfast now."

Hermione nodded and they both tucked into their plates.

XXXXXX

**(Fourth Year)**

Danielle was silent as she waited for the students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons to arrive with the others from Hogwarts, thinking. This was it. This was the year that Voldemort would be defeated for good.

She had been building up to this year for a while, preparing to take down the dark lord responsible for all of the chaos and destruction in her life. Six Horcruxes were down and the only one left was Nagini, which wouldn't survive the battle in the graveyard. All she had to do was have her name come out of the Goblet of Fire, become champion and then play along with Crouch Jr. until it was time to take the bastard down.

She had not had had a good Hogwarts experience in this timeline, but then again, that wasn't surprising. While Harry had backed off on the whole bullying thing, Ron had not and he seemed to have doubled his efforts to make her feel inadequate. To be honest, she wasn't sure if that his weird way of flirting with her, to bring her down so far that she would be more willing to go out with him.

It hadn't and would never work, but still…

Thinking of Weasleys, Danielle looked at the row in front of her and spotted Ginny looking bored and slightly cold in the cool air. The youngest Weasley had certainly grown up in the previous two years and had matured enough to get over her crush on the Boy-Who-Lived for good. Ginny was now one of the best students in her year, not Hermione level of course but worthy enough of getting in the top ten percent.

Over in the Ravenclaw group, Luna was looking equally bored but anyone who didn't know of her would think she was just using her normal dreamy stare. The petite dirty blonde seemed to be playing with her hair, blowing it out of her face every few seconds in different ways so it would land where she wanted it to. A strange pastime but this was Luna she was looking at.

Finally, her thoughts drifted to the girl next to her, Hermione Granger. Other than growing a little taller and wiser of the wizarding world, she was exactly the same as the girl she had unknowingly befriended back in second year. She was just glad she had averted yet another year of SPEW and after explaining everything she knew about house elves, it would never come back.

Hermione was the best friend she could ask for, but her understanding of house elves or acronyms left a lot to be desired.

The brunette in question was nervous as she waited next to her best friend. According to Danielle, she would be selected as a champion for the Tri-Wizard Tournament and while she had faith she would do well, she was still nervous for her. The plan to defeat Voldemort required her to be the champion anyway so she was just going to have to support her friend through this.

Didn't mean she had to like it though.

Wishing she could talk to Danielle as they waited for the foreign students to arrive, Hermione mentally sighed and wished they would hurry up. The temperature was steadily dropping and she was getting cold, even with her unseen tail wrapped around her.

Looking at Danielle when the red head grabbed her arm, she could tell her friend was smiling as she pointed to the sky. Blinking, Hermione's eyes widened when she saw something large appear in the air. Not sure what it was, all she could tell was that it was huge.

She wasn't the only one to notice it as more and more students were pointing and showing their neighbors.

"What is that?"

"Looks massive!"

"It's a dragon!" shouted a first year, losing her head completely.

"Not it isn't," Dennis Creevey said, rolling his eyes. "It's a flying house!"

Dennis's guess was closer. What started as a huge dark spot in the sky turned out to be a huge carriage, the size of a large two story house, pulled by a dozen winged horses. As the carriage got closer to the castle, Hermione winced slightly as it landed, the carriage bouncing violently on its huge wheels.

Now that they were closer, Hermione could see that the horses were the size of elephants with hooves as large as dinner plates. Now on the ground, they snorted and stamped their hooves, steam rising from their nostrils in the cool air.

When the carriage came to a complete stop in front of the assembled students, they were just able to see the Beauxbatons coat of arms, two crossed wands sending out three stars each, before the door opened. A **_boy_** in powder blue robes quickly jumped down from the door and fiddled with something for a moment before golden steps appeared. He then moved to the side as the Headmistress came out.

Hermione was surprised by how large the headmistress really was. Instantly knowing that she had giant blood in her, she doubted there was an inch difference in her and Hagrid's heights.

The headmistress looked around for a moment before finding Professor Dumbledore. "Greetings, Professor Dumblydore!" she said while shaking his hand. It was actually fairly comical as Dumbledore, while decently tall himself, his hat barely tickled her chin.

"Madame Maxime, welcome to Hogwarts," Dumbledore greeted, shaking her hands with both of his own.

"I trust I find you well?" Madame Maxime had a deep, throaty tone of voice that commanded respect, much like the Headmaster when he was serious. Hermione just noticed that Maxime was wearing heavy robes of midnight satin and when she turned, the glimmer of opals could be seen around her neck.

"In excellent fashion, I assure you."

"My pupils," Madame Maxime waved a massive hand behind her and they saw a dozen **_boys_** and girls had come out of the carriage. All in their late teens, they were wearing the same powder blue the **_boy_** from earlier was (robes for the **_boys_**, blouses and skirts for the girls), which were clearly made for some place much warmer than Hogwarts. Some had scarves or mufflers around their heads, shivering slightly in the cool October air.

_'Honestly, it's not that cold,'_ Hermione thought to herself, remembering that the south of France was much warmer than northern Scotland. _'They couldn't have researched the area and dressed accordingly?'_

"Is Karkaroff 'ere yet?" Madame Maxime asked, looking at Dumbledore.

"It appears that you are the first to arrive," Dumbledore told her. "Would you like to wait here for his arrival or would you prefer to go inside and warm up a trifle?"

Maxime took in the sight of her shivering students. "Warm up, I think. But. Ze 'orses…"

"Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher would be delighted to look after them," Dumbledore assured her.

Madame Maxime seemed to doubt that any mere magical creatures teacher would be up to the task. "Ze 'orses are very strong…"

"I assure you that Hagrid would be more than up to the task."

"In zhat case…could you tell this…'Agrid, that zhe 'orses only drink single-malt whiskey?"

"It will be attended to," Dumbledore bowed as the French students passed the Hogwarts population and into the entrance hall.

As the Beauxbatons' students left, however, Hermione saw Danielle look at one French student in particular. The student was obviously a girl, her silvery blonde hair currently done in a French braid over a shoulder as she wore a heavy scarf around her neck, obstructing her face from view.

Still, Hermione was now aware of how the male student body was also staring at that blonde girl with a look akin to worship. Danielle's look was almost that of fondness, like she had known her before coming back to the past however and not the slavish look that others had for her.

Deciding to find out more about that later, the Hogwarts students went back to standing on the grounds, waiting for the Durmstrang company to get there. Many were now looking at the sky, hopefully.

"So, how big do you think Durmstrang's horses are going to be?" Asked Seamus, who was looking at the large horses still connected to the carriage, snorting and stamping their hooves every now and then.

"No clue," said Harry, "though if they're any larger, I doubt even Hagrid would be able to care for them."

As the minutes trickled by, Hermione remembered what she had heard Arthur Weasley say once. _'Always the same, we can't resist showing off whenever we get together.'_ She supposed that meant that since the French contingent showed up in some spectacular fashion that meant that Durmstrang had to be the same.

A touch got the brunette cat girl's attention and she turned to see Danielle, eyes showing a bit of amusement. A finger to her lips, she pointed toward the lake, where if Hermione squinted a bit, she could just barely make out a small whirlpool that started to form.

Hermione got the same amusement as her red haired friend when she was the only one looking at the lake and not at the sky. It was kind of nice being one of the few who knew about things like that. She glanced over at the headmaster and, sure enough, Dumbledore had also seen the disturbance of the lake but he was cheerfully not saying anything, lest he ruin the fun.

It wasn't until the whirlpool was about fifteen feet in diameter when someone finally noticed and said something.

"The lake!" cried Lee Jordan. "Look at the lake!"

_'Well, it was fun while it lasted,'_ Hermione thought.

The lake surface, usually flat and clear as glass, was in great upheaval as the whirlpool got larger and larger. When it was massive enough, a large wooden pillar emerged from the center. It steadily turned into rigging and sails before, a few moments later, a huge ship appeared in the lake.

The ship gave off an eerie green glow; its sails were torn, the portholes were like scary eyes, and the wood itself appeared rotting and unusable. The whole vessel appeared as if it had just been pulled from some ancient wreckage, like a monument of a long forgotten past.

The Hogwarts students stared as the ship turned toward the lake shore and when it was close enough, lowered the anchor with a splash. A gangplank was lowered and hit the shore.

The man who came down the plank was middle aged and dressed in sleek furs of some animal Hermione didn't know, but suspected to be ermine. He greeted Dumbledore warmly though and shook his hand eagerly.

"Dumbledore! Hello my dear fellow, how are you?" He had a sort of fruity, unctuous tone, but it was clear that his smile did not match his eyes and when he smiled, he showed off yellowing teeth.

"Blooming, thank you for asking, Headmaster Karkaroff," Dumbledore nodded in greeting, shaking his hand as well. "As Madame Maxime is already here, I daresay we should get inside now."

"Excellent," Karkaroff smiled before gesturing for one of his students. Hermione noticed that they seemed to be built along the form of Crabbe and Goyle, until she realized that their bulk was actually heavy matted robes. One student in particular walked forward and she noticed that he was slightly duck-footed and slightly round shouldered. "Come, Victor, let's get you inside. Don't mind Victor, Headmaster, he has a bit of a slight head cold."

Hermione didn't need the whispers or the general nudging from various students to figure out who he was.

Ron could be heard whispering to Harry. "Harry, it's Victor Krum!"

Hermione smirked at seeing the eye roll of her best friend as Danielle looked exasperated by all the giggling fan girls that started talking excitedly about the Quidditch star. Krum, for his part, simply ignored everyone as he followed his headmaster into the entrance hall.

"Krum, Harry! Victor Krum!" Ron was still raving as they headed up the drive as well.

"You would think that he would shut up at some point," Danielle muttered low enough that only Hermione's enhanced hearing could make out.

"Did he annoy you last time with this?" Hermione asked, curious.

"Oh yeah," Danielle deadpanned, making a face that almost made Hermione giggle. "It was honestly very irritating and lasted up to Christmas. Though his fan girls never got over it, even at the end of the year."

"What happened on Christmas that stopped Ron?"

They were now almost to the entrance hall and the two of the few students not yet in the great hall with the others. Danielle suddenly got a small blush on her cheeks, which only heightened Hermione's curiosity.

The slightly awkward moment was destroyed when a cleared throat got their attention. Turning, Hermione saw that it was Professor Dumbledore looking at them.

"Evening Miss Granger, Miss Potter. I was wondering if Miss Potter here could help me with something before we go into the great hall."

Hermione looked at Danielle curiously and it became evident from the confused look on her face that the red head was just as mystified. The hidden fox-girl finally shrugged. "I suppose…what do you need?"

Dumbledore smiled slightly and his eyes twinkled, which instantly made both girls raise their Occlumency barriers just in case. "After seeing both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrive in such a fashion, I felt that it would be prudent to give a bit of our own show. I know that you can perform the patronus charm Miss Potter and I am asking if you can use it to the extent I am hoping you can."

Danielle's eyes narrowed slightly before slowly nodding. Hermione meanwhile was frowning in thought. "You want to use Danielle's patronus for something like this? Isn't that just using her?"

"Hermione," Danielle answered before the headmaster could, "as long as I get compensated, I don't really mind. Perhaps about fifty or so points to Gryffindor or something similar."

"Of course," the headmaster assured them, smiling grandfatherly. "I wouldn't ask this of you if you or Gryffindor would not get anything out of this. Is it a deal?"

Danielle sighed and nodded. "Deal."

"Excellent, allow me to go into the great hall for a few minutes and then you can use your magic."

As the old man passed them, Hermione noticed that a small shower of rubies fell into the Gryffindor hourglass, showing that they now had fifty more points. "He's using you for-"

"I know, Hermione," Danielle assured her, smiling slightly. She sighed again and ran a hand through her hair, a habit she had had for as long as Hermione could remember. "You can go into the great hall too and watch the show. I have more than enough control of my patronus to handle this."

Hermione hesitated before slowly nodding. "If you're sure?" When she got another nod, she reluctantly agreed. "I'll save you a seat at the table." With a backward glance, Hermione made her way into the great hall, still a little unnerved that the headmaster would ask of such a thing to one of his students. She agreed that the other schools needed to be wowed as well but disapproved of the headmaster's tact.

Looking around, she saw that the Beauxbatons students had situated themselves at the Ravenclaw table, most of whom had taken off their scarves and mufflers. She saw that while they looked friendly enough, they were also clearly critiquing everything, not letting anything pass their gazes.

In contrast, the Durmstrang students now at the Slytherin table had taken off their heavy robes to reveal their blood red school colors. They seemed more open that the French students and were inspecting the golden plates and goblets with an impressed look, talking animatedly with everyone around them.

When the three heads of their schools entered the hall, every Beauxbatons student stood up and refused to sit down again until Madame Maxime did as well. That got quite a few snickers from the other students but they seemed not to notice or ignored them. A hush was brought upon the great hall now.

Dumbledore remained standing and addressed the hall. "Welcome to everyone here. We would like to welcome the students, staff, ghosts and, most importantly, guests. Throughout your stay here I hope you find our accommodations comfortable and enjoyable."

One of the girls from Beauxbatons that hadn't removed her muffler gave what was unmistakably a derisive snort. Hermione felt a surge of annoyance at the girl but remained silent. She herself was still annoyed at the headmaster and, Danielle had told her, that Beauxbatons was in the south of France. Far different climate wise than northern Scotland or anywhere in France for that matter.

"The tournament will officially begin at the end of the feast," said Dumbledore. "Until then, I recommend that you eat, drink and-"

The headmaster was cut off when most of the lights from the Great Hall went out, leaving only a few of the candles still lit. Before anyone could say anything, there was a loud howl of a wolf that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. A few students screamed.

Hermione watched, amazed as not just one but two ghostly wolves, clearly patronuses, phased through the walls and into the Great Hall, one at the staff table and the other at the other end of the hall. She watched, transfixed at the amount of detail put into them, looking almost like real wolves. If she didn't know they were created via magic, she would be hard pressed to tell the difference between them and real spirits.

With another in sync howl, both wolves leapt onto the tables, which caused some students to scream in panic. They proved to be harmless however as they simply phased through everyone as they started jumping from table to table, showing their gracefulness and beauty.

When they reached the center of the hall, both wolves stopped and faced opposite directions. Hermione was aware that one of the wolves was looking right at her and she was amazed at the warm and caring feeling she saw in those magical eyes. It really did look like a wolf spirit was looking straight into her soul and she shivered slightly.

The other wolf however was looking at the French student that had snorted in derision during Dumbledore's speech. The look was much less caring than the other wolf gave Hermione and gave the student in question a shiver of fear. It gave a clear message to the French student.

_Hogwarts students and staff are not to be messed with, cross us at your own peril._

With another loud howl, both wolves faded into mist and vanished, leaving the hall silent as the lights came back on.

Dumbledore was the first to snap out of his shock as the door to the hall opened to reveal Danielle, who nodded as she sat down next to Hermione. To Hermione, it was clear that the headmaster had no clue what he had truly asked when he requested Danielle put on a show and had gotten far more than he had thought her capable of.

No one other than Dumbledore and Hermione had noticed Danielle's appearance so the headmaster looked at the students again, who now looked awed. "As I was saying, the tournament will begin after the feast. Now, let us begin!"

It took a moment for the students to register that there was food in front of them and they instantly loaded their plates, all talking about what they had seen. None seemed to know who had performed such high level magic but were talking about their own experiences with it.

The French student from before had taken off her muffler but didn't seem too eager to eat, still reeling in shock at what had happened.

Hermione smiled at Danielle. "You really know how to put on a show."

Danielle's own eyes twinkled as she loaded her plate. "I'm afraid, my dear Hermione, that I have no idea what you are talking about."

Hermione could barely manage to hold a giggle as she started eating. Even after all this time, she had never gotten over her new addiction to fish but she wasn't complaining as her tail whipped happily unseen. She didn't know why, but her tail, when left on its own, constantly moved closer to Danielle's own. That was weird but she didn't really have the free time to solve it so she usually just put it out of her mind.

Focusing on her food, Hermione noticed for the first time that there were a lot of foreign dishes. It seemed that the house elves in the kitchens pulled out all the stops to make their guests feel welcome.

Helping herself to some Bouillabaisse, she savored the shellfish stew a bit before engaging Danielle in some more conversation. It turned out that her newfound love of fish had also counted for shellfish as well and she had no problems with that.

Looking over at Ginny, she found her chatting happily with Luna a bit down the table. It seemed that the bullying of their blonde friend had gotten so bad, that they had given her a permanent pass to the Gryffindor table in case she needed it. Considering that she still didn't have friends in Ravenclaw or even her dorm room, she had been sitting with them throughout almost all the previous year.

About halfway through the feast, Hagrid finally ambled in, his hands covered in bandages but in good spirits. It seemed that the Screwts were doing okay, much to Hermione's dismay as she had kind of hoped that the cold weather would kill them off. No such luck apparently.

After about another minute, Hermione thought she smelled something good. Not sure what it was, she looked up to see that the French girl from earlier was looking at her and Danielle with a hopeful look. "Excuse me, are you two wanting ze Bouillabaisse?"

Now that she had removed her muffler, it was showed that she was the one with silvery blonde hair that fell down her to her waist, deep blue eyes, and very straight even white teeth.

The brunette took a moment and found that all of the boys nearby were openly staring at the blonde beauty with a dumbfounded look. Danielle smiled at her and nodded.

"Of course, help yourself."

"You 'ave finished wiz it?" the blonde asked, her French accent obvious as she turned from Hermione to Danielle. The moment her eyes met Danielle's, she froze and her eyes widened. The blonde stared at Danielle with a look of clarity on her face, as if she had just understood something she had been thinking about and had been bothering her. "You."

Danielle blinked and raised an eyebrow coolly. "Me?"

"You were ze one. Zhe one who conjured ze wolves." Her voice was now low and in awe, as well as a bit of fear was now clear in her tone. Hermione didn't like how the blonde couldn't seem to look away from Danielle's hazel eyes as they seemingly pierced her over and over again.

Still, Hermione did know what it was like to not being able to look away. Danielle did have very captivating eyes that seemed to look through a person and show how much she had been through throughout her life. There was a sort of power inside her and her eyes showed it all too well.

Danielle didn't say anything for a moment, she just looked at the blonde with an unreadable expression. "You must have mistaken me for someone else. I'm only a fourth year, there is no way I would be able to perform such magic." Her eyes flittered between the blonde and the bowl near her. "And your stew will get cold if you don't take it back to your table now."

The blonde continued to stare for another moment before slowly nodding, gently taking the bowl and practically glided back to the Ravenclaw table.

Hermione turned to Danielle, who was looking at the blonde leave with an odd expression on her face. "What was that?" When she didn't get an answer, she shook her friend slightly. "Dani?"

Danielle blinked and came back to the world around her. Smiling sheepishly, she turned to Hermione. "Right, sorry about that Hermione." In a voice too low to be heard by those without enhanced hearing, she continued. "That was Fleur Delecour, the future Beauxbatons champion. I forgot how much of a princess like attitude she showed everyone at first."

Hermione snorted. "I can see that attitude just fine."

"It's actually a cover," Danielle shrugged, taking another bite of her food. "She's a Veela, so she attracts males to her without her meaning to. It usually takes a while before a Veela can control their allure power enough for it not to be a problem so I wouldn't worry too much about boys drooling over her.

"I became friends with her in my last timeline and she's actually really nice when she's around those she trusts." She blushed a bit now. "I…might have had a small girl crush on her back then but I'm over it now, especially after she married Bill Weasley." She then frowned and looked at Fleur, who was too busy eating to notice. "Still, she was not nearly as interested in me in the last timeline as she is now." She sighed and shook her head. "Damn Dumbledore for making me put on that show."

"She definitely looked terrified when that wolf patronus stared at her like that," Hermione mused, looking between the two.

Danielle frowned. "My patronus did what? Eh, I'll worry about it later."

Hermione frowned in thought as well but before she could think about it too hard, the food disappeared to be replaced by dessert. She couldn't help but giggle slightly when Danielle grabbed the chocolate ice cream as soon as it appeared and dug in, making the red head mock huff at her.

"Chocolate is the food of the gods, end of story Hermione."

"I'm not saying anything," Hermione managed to say around her laughter. They had gone to Florean's in Diagon Alley over their third year Christmas break and Danielle had splurged on so much chocolate ice cream that Florean himself had to ask her to stop and save some for the rest of his customers. Being a Kitsune gave Danielle such a high metabolism that she could eat anything without gaining weight for life and that included (to her) the perfect dessert known to man or fox.

Hermione had a higher metabolism too but she didn't go out and gorge herself on ice cream just because she could. Of course, she hadn't found a food she loved that much yet so it was still up in the air if she would in the future.

"Oh, look," Hermione said, pointing at the staff table. Instead of the two extra chairs for the heads of school, there were four with the two others being occupied by Ludo Bagman, the head of the Department of Games and Sports, and Barty Crouch Sr. the head of the Department of International Cooperation.

"They're here for the opening of the tournament," Danielle told her, relaxing as she sucked on her spoon to get any lingering chocolate ice cream off. She didn't have a problem…really! "This whole thing is a big event for three major magical governments so it makes sense that they want everything to run smoothly."

Hermione nodded in agreement and ate her own dessert as she waited for the plates to clear themselves. When they finally did so, Dumbledore stood up again to address the hall. "The moment has come to open the tournament." The headmaster smiled at every excited face and continued. "I would like to start off by saying a few words before we bring in the casket."

"The what?" Came the question from many of the students.

"Just to clarify the rules we will be following this year. For those who don't know, we are visited by Bartimus Crouch from the Department of International Cooperation." There was a smattering of polite applause that Crouch didn't even acknowledge. "And Ludo Bagman from the Department of Games and Sports." The applause was much more enthusiastic and warm, which Bagman waved to with a smile on his face.

Hermione honestly didn't know if it was because of Bagman's time as a Quidditch player or the fact that he looked more likable than Crouch that he was better received than his companion. While Bagman looked excited about what was going on around him, Crouch appeared bored, like he would prefer to be anywhere other than there.

"Mr. Crouch and Mr. Bagman have worked tirelessly over the last few months to organize the tournament and will be joining myself, Headmaster Karkaroff and Headmistress Maxime as the judges during the tasks for the champions."

At the word 'champions' the excitement in the hall rose again, wishing for Dumbledore to get to that point in his speech. Noticing the student's restlessness, Dumbledore continued. "The casket then, if you please, Mr. Filch."

Filch, who had been standing out of sight until now, approached the staff table with a large box that was encrusted with gems. It looked incredibly old. Students started standing to get a better sight. Little Dennis Creevey was so small that he had to stand on the table itself to see over the taller students.

"The instructions the champions will have to follow throughout the tournament have been looked over by Mr. Bagman and Mr. Crouch," Dumbledore said as Filch put the box on the table in front of him. "And they have made the necessary adjustments accordingly. There will be three tasks, spread throughout the year, and they will test the champions in various ways. Their magical prowess, their ingenuity, their daring, their powers of deduction and their ability to cope with danger."

At the last word, the tension in the room rose so much that no one seemed to be breathing.

"As you know, the champions will represent their schools," Dumbledore said, calmly. "The champion with the highest total score at the end of the third task will be winner of the tournament and the Triwizard Cup. The champions will be selected by an impartial party…the Goblet of Fire!"

Dumbledore took out his wand and tapped the box. The lid creaked open to reveal a roughly hewn wooden cup. It looked completely unremarkable until blue flames erupted from the rim, making it look like it was full of white-blue fire.

Dumbledore closed the box's lid and put the Goblet on top of it, making sure it was visible to the entire hall.

"Any of those that wish to compete must first write their name and the name of their school on a piece of parchment and put it into the Goblet," Dumbledore said. "Aspiring champions have twenty-four hours to submit their names forward. At this time tomorrow, Halloween, the goblet will return the names it has deemed worthy enough to represent their schools. The goblet will be placed in the Entrance Hall tonight where it will be easily accessible to everyone willing to compete.

"To make sure younger students do not fall to temptation," Dumbledore went on, "I am putting up an age line that no one under seventeen will be able to cross.

"Finally, I must stress that no one puts their names in without considering the ramifications if chosen. Once chosen as champion, there is no backing out or changing your mind, you must compete until the tournament is over. The placing of your name into the goblet is backed by a binding magical contract. There can be no change of heart after you submit your name. Be sure that you wholeheartedly accept the rules before you put your name in. Now, I believe that it is late. Good night to you all."

"An age line?" Fred asked as everyone got up to leave the hall. "Well, that should be easily dealt with some aging potion, shouldn't it? And once you get past that, your name can come out no matter what. It's clear the goblet doesn't care if you're under seventeen or not."

"But I don't think anyone under seventeen would stand a chance," Hermione commented, though she was looking at Danielle, who had an amused look on her face. "We just haven't learned enough."

"Speak for yourself," George said, rolling his eyes and smirking. "Any of you interested in competing?"

"No thanks," Danielle said, standing. She knew her name was going to come out as it had the last time line but she didn't want anyone other than Hermione knowing that. "Besides, I have nothing to gain from entering. Eternal glory? When have I been interested in that? A thousand galleons? That's nothing compared to my trust vault. So no, there's no point in entering myself."

Hermione mentally sighed, knowing that she would have to watch her best friend nearly kill herself in this tournament before the year was over. It didn't matter if this was part of the plan, she didn't like it and was going to make Danielle know it throughout the year.

She wasn't looking forward to Halloween, that was for sure.

As they made their way for the door out of the hall, Hermione saw Fleur glance in Danielle's direction with a strange look on her face before following the other Beauxbatons students back to their carriage.

When they were almost to the door, they could hear Karkaroff talking to his Durmstrang students and with the usual traffic jam at the door, they had no choice but to listen.

"Victor," Karkaroff said to Krum. "Did you get enough to eat? Should I send for some more mulled wine from the kitchens?"

Krum shook his head and stood up to go with the others.

"Oh, Professor," another Durmstrang boy said hopefully. "I could use some wine."

"I wasn't talking to you, Polikoff!" Karkaroff snarled at him, his expression turning fierce at the now terrified teen. "I see you got food all down your front. Disgusting boy!"

Hermione glanced to Danielle and by the look on her face, could tell that that wasn't strange for the foreign headmaster, if her slight glare was any indication.

Karkaroff got to the door at the same time as Danielle and Hermione, who paused to allow him to go first. "Thank you." He then paused as he looked back and stared at Danielle, instantly recognizing who she was like everyone else.

Before he could do or say anything, a growling voice broke the tension. "Yeah, that's Potter," Moody grumbled, limping toward them with his bad leg. "Now move, Karkaroff, you're blocking the doorway."

The Norwegian headmaster hesitated for a moment before ushering his students out of the Great Hall and toward the ship. Professor Moody snorted in disgust as he left, grinned crazily at Danielle and Hermione and left himself, much to Hermione's disquiet confusion.

Now separated from the others who had gone ahead of them, both teen girls made their way to Gryffindor tower on their own. Hermione looked at her companion as they walked, curious.

"Ask away, Hermione," Danielle commented with an amused air around her. "We both know you have questions you want to ask me."

Hermione sighed at being so predictable but nodded. "So…Fleur?"

Danielle lightly blushed again and Hermione had a sudden urge to hurt someone, much to her confusion at where that came from.

"Fleur, like I said earlier, is a Veela that is sort of like a siren in how they attract men toward them. Fleur herself, when I knew her last time, was a sweet girl who cared very much about her family and the few friends she had. She taught me a lot and she sort of took me in as an unofficial younger sister."

"What did she teach you?"

"Some spells and magic in general," Danielle admitted, though she smiled sheepishly and ran her hand through her hair again. "More importantly though, she told me everything I had missed out from what my mother should have taught me. You know that Mrs. Potter and I don't see eye-to-eye on a lot, right?"

Hermione snorted. Like it wasn't obvious enough.

"Well, with her not teaching me anything, I had to learn everything it meant to be a girl from books mostly and what else I was able to piece together. Fleur though helped me straighten things out and clarified a lot of what I didn't understand. Like I said, I had a bit of a girl crush on her back then but I can't think of many who didn't at that point."

"She is a looker, I suppose," Hermione grumbled, not sure why she was so hostile toward the French girl without truly meeting her. She was grateful Fleur was able to help Danielle to such an extent in her last timeline, but she strangely also wanted to rip out the girl's eyeballs. "Anyway, is Karkaroff always like that?"

They were now approaching the fourth floor so they still had time to talk. Danielle nodded sadly. "Yes, as far as I know. He was actually a Death Eater and Moody caught him just after Voldemort fell after that fateful Halloween night. Karkaroff struck a deal though and gave names of the other Death Eaters he knew, getting his freedom by getting others into Azkaban in his place." She snorted in disgust. "He truly only cares about himself and how he looks to others, which is why he was showing off Krum as much as he could."

"So that's why Moody wouldn't like Karkaroff," Hermione mused, seeing that they were near Gryffindor tower now. "And Crouch Jr.?"

"Would you like someone who ratted out other Death Eaters to get out of Azkaban when you call yourself Voldemort's number one follower? Crouch Jr. sees the guy as betraying their master while he himself suffered for him."

"Fair enough," Hermione shrugged, thinking about it. When they entered the common room, it was louder than average as people stayed awake to discuss the tournament and how they could possibly get past the age line. Shaking her head, Hermione led the way up the girl's dorms, glad that it was a Friday so there were no classes the next day.

Yawning, Danielle turned to Hermione. "Together or separate?" she muttered, stretching as she changed into her night clothes.

Hermione did the same and thought about it. "Together? Please, I don't like the idea of you being in this tournament."

Ever since the previous year when either of them had nightmares, which was fairly often in Danielle's case, they usually woke up in each other's beds, cuddling with each other. Lavender, Parvati and Fay had thought it strange at first but if the alternative was one of them waking the dorm screaming, they preferred to just let them have their cuddle time. It was not strange whatsoever anymore to wake up with them in the same bed and no one questioned it with how close the two girls had become with each other.

Hearing Hermione's answer, Danielle sleepily nodded without comment and she took the right half of her bed, Hermione claiming the left.

Hermione closed the curtains around the bed and took off her necklace while Danielle released her own illusion, showing their true selves. Enjoying the warmth of both the blankets and the furry body next to her, Hermione breathed in Danielle's scent with her enhanced sense of smell, finding that it calmed her significantly.

It was interesting to know that Hermione's cat like body had changed slightly in the past year. Right after the polyjuice potion incident that gave her cat like attributes, her body and face had been covered in a light sheen of fur in addition to her tail and ears. Working together however, Madame Pomfrey and Danielle had managed to at least get rid of the fur, but the tail and ears were stubborn.

Hermione was just glad she no longer had the urge to groom herself with her tongue and was more than happy to be rid of the fur.

Allowing herself to drown in the comforting warmth and scent of her bedmate, Hermione was asleep in moments.

XXXXXX

Usually on a Saturday, the students would wake up and eat late. However on this particular weekend, Danielle and Hermione weren't alone in waking up early to watch people put their names into the goblet. Around twenty people were milling around as they looked at the goblet sitting on the stool the Sorting Hat usually sat on. A thin golden line had been drawn in a perfect circle ten feet around the goblet.

Sitting next to Ginny and Luna in some stands outside the line, Danielle nodded to them as she and Hermione sat down. "See anyone put their names in yet?"

Luna nodded. "Everyone from Durmstrang but I haven't seen anyone from either Beauxbatons or Hogwarts yet."

"We were just saying that quite a few people probably put their names in late last night," Ginny said, smiling at Danielle, making Hermione consider for a moment how much she wanted to bury Ginny underground. Shaking it off, wondering where the murderous thoughts were coming from, she almost missed Ginny continue. "Probably what I would have done. If was competing, I wouldn't want everyone staring at me."

"I think being stared at is part of the job description," Danielle commented dryly. "Can't be a champion where no one can see you."

"I suppose a Snorkack could," Luna said dreamily. "They have the power to turn invisible so they might be able to do that."

Hermione bit back a retort, knowing that it was just Luna being Luna. She had become good friends with the dreamy blonde over the past few years but every now and then…

Hearing a laugh, they turned to see Fred, George, Harry and Ron; the two elder teens grinning smugly. The four girls looked at each other before Ginny cleared her throat. "Dear older brothers, what are you laughing about?"

"We just took it," Fred said, sounding excited as he rubbed his hands together.

"Dare I ask, but, the aging potion you were talking about last night?" Danielle ventured, looking forward to watching the show a second time.

"Honestly," Hermione scoffed. "I'm pretty sure Dumbledore would have thought of something as dimwitted as that."

"Ah, but that's what so genius about this, Miss Granger," said George, crouching on the step next to Hermione so they were eye level.

"Because the headmaster is so dimwitted," Fred finished for his brother as he leaned in on Hermione's other side, pushing Danielle slightly out of the way, much to her annoyance.

"So simple that he might have missed it," Luna commented.

"Exactly, my dear Luna," George smiled.

"Then lets see if it works," Ginny smirked, wanting to see if this would work or not. Though if she had to bet, it wouldn't.

Fred nodded as he and George pulled out pieces of parchment with their names on it. In front of the entire hall, they nodded and stepped over the age line. When nothing happened, both twins whooped and shared high-fives with everyone in the area. Meeting again, they approached the goblet but when they were halfway there, there was a sizzling sound.

"Wait for it," Danielle whispered to Hermione, who was matching her grin with her own.

About three feet away from the goblet, there was a loud popping sound and both twins were hurled backward out of the circle. Students rushing forward to check on them suddenly stopped to laugh when they saw that both twins had grown huge silver beards that reached their knees when they stood up.

Fred and George unsteadily got to their feet and pointed at each other when they saw what had happened. "You said!" "You said!" They lunged for each other and started wrestling on the floor.

"I did warn you," said an amused voice from the top of the marble staircase. Looking, they saw it was Dumbledore, eyes twinkling as he watched the scene. "You might want to get to Madame Pomfrey. She already had to deal with Miss Fawcet from Ravenclaw and Mr. Summers from Hufflepuff. Both tried to age themselves up as well, though I can tell you that neither of them grew beards as good as yours."

Fred and George made their way up the marble staircase, now laughing along with everyone else, Lee howling with laughter as he followed.

"Ginny, I am so sorry you have to live with brothers like them," Danielle said in a mock somber tone.

Ginny's giggles grew louder as she shook her head. "I'm thinking of getting my deposit back on them."

Hermione should have smiled at that, but the only thing she had in mind was ripping out Ginny's lungs and feeding them to her for looking at Danielle like she was…and she had no idea why.

Danielle's snickerings were broken when they heard laughter close by. Looking up, they saw it was Angelina approaching them, who looked like she was still laughing from Fred and George's earlier show. "Hey, what's new?"

Angelina beamed at them. "I just put my name in," she said, gesturing toward the goblet.

"Nice," said Ginny, smirking. "About time we got a Gryffindor in there."

"I take it you had your birthday over the summer?" Danielle asked, eyebrow raised.

"Last week," Angelina corrected. "I just wanted to let you know that I was doing something other than Quidditch this year."

Danielle had taken over for Harry on the Quidditch team every now and then and while she was good, it was clear that the Potter sister loved flying more than the game. While she was easily as good as Harry, she also didn't want to be burdened by the team. Still, it didn't stop her from making friends with the chasers.

Angelina left and Hermione was now struggling not to claw some girl's eyes out for being close to her friend. Where was this aggression coming from?

The doors to the Entrance Hall opened to reveal the entire contingent of French students, Madame Maxime in front, leading her charges toward the cup. Everyone watched as, one by one, the Beauxbaton's students placed their names into the goblet. On her way up, Hermione saw that Fleur girl's eye caught Danielle's and the blonde continued her staring from last time.

For her part, Danielle didn't really seem interested in staring at the Delecour girl, but she was smiling sadly, most likely remembering past times she had had with the French girl.

Hermione tried not to get jealous, really she did. But she was struggling not to bring out her claws and tear into _SOMETHING_!

The moment between French student and best friend passed and Fleur was forced into following her classmates into the Great Hall, away from Danielle and her friends. Hermione let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding.

"Are you alright, Hermione?" Luna asked, looking at the brunette with a sort of dreamy concern. "You seem to have damaged the wood by your hand."

Looking down, Hermione could see that she had accidently clawed four long deep scratches into the wooden bleacher in front of her. She instantly turned red in embarrassment and shame, wondering what made her do that.

Danielle raised an eyebrow at her and fixed the wood easily with a wave of her hand. "You okay, Hermione? You don't normally vandalize school property, do you?"

"Of course not," Hermione huffed, which turned into a glower when her three female friends laughed slightly. "Just have a lot on my mind, is all."

"Must have been pretty serious," Ginny commented, looking at Hermione's nails with a curious look. "Your nails don't seem that sharp…"

"Why don't we get some fresh air?" Danielle said, changing the subject before Ginny could ask any unwanted questions.

Without anyone saying anything against it, the four left the Entrance Hall and headed for the lake, finding it peaceful in the cool morning air. While the temperature wasn't the best, it was much better than the previous evening. Luna pretty much glided around the path, changing her directions apparently on a whim.

"So, everything going okay in class, Ginny?" Danielle asked in an attempt to strike up a conversation.

"Pretty good, actually," Ginny beamed as they approached the lake shore. "I'm getting the material and the homework isn't anything I can't handle. Professor Flitwick is a little scared of how good I am at setting things on fire, though."

"What happened?" asked Hermione.

Ginny coughed awkwardly. "We were going over the camp fire lighting charm, you know, from first year? Well, I might have overpowered the charm a bit by accident and singed his beard a little. But he shouldn't have been standing where I was casting in the first place!"

Danielle chuckled as Hermione looked slightly scandalized. "Just remember to not put too much magic through those first year spells. With too much power, those charms could easily turn into their more dangerous counterparts."

"Yeah, I got that," Ginny sighed, rolling her eyes. "I have more power than the average Weasley so it's easier for me to accidently overpower a spell."

"Really?" Hermione asked, sounding curious. "How much magic does a Weasley usually have?"

Ginny shrugged. "I suppose the same as an average wizard. I'm not a magical dynamo like Danielle here is, but I have a fair amount of power to me that is above average."

"Well, I don't have _that_ much magic," Danielle said sheepishly, running a hand through her hair.

"You have, like, twice as much magic as I do," Ginny corrected, smiling at her. "Probably more. Since you don't really use it that much, it isn't easy to tell, but you clearly have more magic than even some professors."

Hermione stared at the embarrassed look on Danielle's face in surprise. She knew her friend was powerful, but that much? "How can you tell?"

Ginny shrugged. "I just can, it isn't hard. I can tell that you have more magic than most in your year, Hermione, but that's mostly because you're almost a full year older than the others. I think the only ones that beat you are Harry, Neville and Danielle, and like I said, Danielle has like twice as much as Harry."

"Neville has a lot of power," Luna said dreamily, coming up to them from where she had been sitting on a tree branch a moment ago. "Now that he has his own wand, it really shines through. He's just a little shy of Harry's power."

"Neville has been doing better in class since he got his own wand," Danielle said, sticking up for him. "Really wasn't his fault that his wand was holding him back. His grandmother really should have known better than to do that to him."

The story of how Neville had been using his dad's old wand, which wasn't a proper match for him, and him getting his own had been fairly popular the previous year.

They lapsed into silence as they reached a large rock next to the lakeshore, each lost in their own thoughts. Hermione noticed that each of them were some of the smartest witches of the generation and they were all friends.

Luna had pure creativity and imagination, being able to put together clues and puzzle pieces together that no one else was capable of. Ginny was athletic, but also fun loving and a true powerhouse when she wanted to be. She was the joker of their little group without a doubt. Danielle was the inventor and innovator with the dark past that was trying to put it behind her by taking down Voldemort. Finally, there was Hermione herself. The smartest witch of her generation that never gave up trying to find an answer to a problem.

Quite a gang of friends they made.

After several long minutes had passed with them staring out into the lake surface in thought, Ginny smiled and pulled out her wand, conjuring a ball a little smaller than a football. "Hey, Dani." Seeing the auburn haired girl's attention on her, she smirked. "Fly and catch!"

Danielle blinked before a grin formed on her face. "You got it." Launching herself into the air, she caught the ball Ginny threw at her before lobbing it back at the trio still on the ground. Ginny caught it and threw it far over the lake, forcing Danielle to fly faster than normal to catch it before throwing it to Luna this time.

The game continued for about an hour, each of them throwing the ball in random directions causing Danielle to fly everywhere to grab the ball before it hit the ground or water. Hermione had to say that she was having fun, even if physical games had never been her forte, but the act of playing with her friends allowed her to enjoy the childishness of the game.

Besides, it was worth it to see the happiness on Danielle's face as she flew around to catch the ball. The projectile was soft enough that even if it hit someone, it wouldn't hurt like a bludger so there was no real risk of injury.

After an hour of playing, Danielle finally caught the ball for the last time and landed on the rock, panting slightly as sweat fell down her face. "Wow, that was a good workout."

"All you did was fly," Ginny teased, grinning.

"Flying is harder than you would think," Danielle as she tried to get her breath back. "I love it but you were sending me everywhere. Flying is just as physical as it is magical, forcing me to stay in shape so I can pull off the twists and turns in midair." She tossed the ball back to Ginny, who vanished it. "You wouldn't believe how tired I was when I was first starting. I almost passed out a few times, I was that tired."

"Still an awesome thing to do," Ginny nodded.

"You okay, Danielle?" Hermione asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Danielle rolled her shoulders a bit before nodding. "Probably need a shower though. I know I'm covered in sweat."

"It is starting to get closer to lunch," Luna said as she checked her watch.

"Shower and meet back at the Great Hall?" Danielle asked, getting an affirmative from the others. While they weren't as dirty was Danielle, the other three had still broken a sweat themselves for their part.

XXXXXX

"Ah, I have found you, my little Inari."

Hermione paused as she heard that voice coming from a hallway over. Danielle had gotten out of the shower first and she had told the red head to head down to the Great Hall ahead of her. Since they usually saved each other a seat all the time, Danielle hadn't thought anything of it and had agreed with no problem. She was now walking through the halls to the hall when she heard the voice that she recognized from the previous night.

Wondering who that Fleur girl was talking to, she let her cat like curiosity get the better of her. Slipping into a side passage, she moved silently as she listened.

"Fleur Delecour, to what do I owe the pleasure of conversing with you again?"

That voice was Danielle's, Hermione realized and it was confirmed when she looked around the corner and saw them. Danielle had her back to the wall in front of her and Fleur had her back to Hermione, so she couldn't see the blonde's expression, but she saw that Danielle wasn't letting any emotion out for this conversation.

Their conversation wasn't blocked by anti-evesdropping charms, but the corridor they were in had so little traffic that it wasn't needed usually. The only reason Hermione had heard them at all was because of her enhanced hearing.

Fleur swept her platinum blonde hair around slightly before replying. "You may deny it all you want, my Inari, but I know it waz you who summoned zhat wolf. While I might have been surprised by zhat, behold my wonder when I saw you flying earlier."

The fact that Danielle could fly without a broom wasn't a secret around Hogwarts. While not everyone had seen her do it, the fact that she could was commonplace in the castle. Several people had tried to copy the trick but no one had seemed able to replicate it and Dumbledore had suggested that people stop trying.

"Many people can fly," Danielle waved the thought away with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Not without a broom," Fleur insisted, leaning her body toward the red head, making Hermione grind her teeth.

"Touché," Danielle smiled but not at Fleur. Her eyebrow raised. "Is there something you wanted to ask me, Miss Delacour? That does not have to do with my aerial proficiency."

Hermione thought that Fleur might have smiled, but couldn't be sure by only seeing the back of her head. "Oui, my Inari. I am asking if you have felt it? Any kind of pull between us?"

That honestly seemed to surprise Danielle as the auburn haired teen stared at her captor. "A pull? No, not really. You do seem to enjoy looking at me across tables, but I have not felt a pull."

Danielle paused as Fleur raised a hand up and moved it along Danielle's cheek, making the younger girl look at the blonde in confusion.

"Maybe you have not felt it, my Inari, but I have. You may have fooled everyone else with illusions, but not a Veela knowing what to look for. You may drop your illusion as there are no one else 'ere to see."

For a moment, Hermione thought Danielle would deny it and refuse. She was surprised when the air didn't even shimmer and Danielle was sporting her fox ears and tails. It was clear she was worried, but didn't appear scared of being exposed.

"That explains why you were calling me Inari," Danielle said with a resigned breath. "Inari was the name of the Japanese god/goddess of foxes."

"Oh yes," Fleur almost purred and Danielle started getting more on edge. "Your scent is stronger now. More intoxicating. Combined with zhe power rolling off of you…"

Hermione was about to intervene when Danielle proved she didn't need it. Almost too fast for either of them to see, she ducked around Fleur's arms and pinned the Veela against the wall instead, her tails wrapping themselves around Fleur's waist and ankles to prevent her from moving.

"Let's get something straight," said Danielle, anger clear in her tone that caused Fleur to shudder. Now able to see her face, Hermione saw the fear in Fleur's expression as she looked at the red head. "I am not the prey to your predator. You don't hunt me. You claim that there is a pull toward me, now explain or I'll leave you here to deal with it alone. I'm not going to roll over and let you claim me if that is what you wanted to do with this little meeting."

Fleur struggled against the powerful arms and tails holding her to the wall for a moment but quickly surrendered, unable to move. She finally hung limply, unable to look up as she stared at Danielle's feet.

"I…am sorry for my actions," the platinum blonde admitted, her face showing that she was defeated for the moment. "When I saw the wolf staring at me, the patronus with eyes just like yours, I saw that there was a connection between us. I 'ad 'oped…well, I 'oped we could be close." She shuddered slightly. "And your power. It is intoxicating. Very hard to resist being around you." She actually sniffed slightly and the sound caused both Danielle's and Hermione's eyes to widen.

"All my life I had been told I would find my chosen mate. A person with magic so alluring that it would attract me to them instead of the other way around. I see your magical aura, it is a perfect gold, which is another clue I found to be the one for me." She sniffed again and shook her head. "I…"

"You shouldn't have tried to seduce me," Danielle grumbled, letting go but her tails stayed where they were. Fleur nodded, seeing the folly in what she had done. Danielle sighed, "so you've been staring at me trying to figure out if we were chosen mates or not?"

"Oui," Fleur nodded, now looking into Danielle's face, though she was crying slightly. "I could not 'old myself back after seeing you fly. I needed to talk to you and…you are right. Seducing was not the right tactic to use. Your refusal was clear and I…took things too far."

"Dang right you did," Danielle muttered, almost too low for Hermione or Fleur to hear her. She retracted her tails and let Fleur go, though the French blonde didn't move toward her, just stood there rubbing her arm awkwardly. "My friend Hermione would freak if she knew about this."

Hermione was indeed freaking out over what she had heard, but wasn't saying anything yet.

"Still," Danielle continued, "you just made a mistake when you don't know anything about me, thinking I'm your mate."

"You are my mate," Fleur insisted, shaking her head. "I wasn't sure before, but I am now. My…inner Veela is pleading for you. Your rejection, when you 'eld me against the wall just now, felt like stab wounds to the 'eart. None but my mate's rejection would feel like zhat."

Danielle sighed, looking like she didn't really know what to do now. Hermione remembered Danielle telling her that Fleur married Bill Weasley last timeline. She had to guess that this was yet another change between the two times, like how she herself was now a cat girl.

"I need to think about this," Danielle said eventually, looking at Fleur. "I'm not rejecting you, but I don't have all of the facts. Could we talk about this later?"

Fleur nodded, though her eyes were still downtrodden. "Oui, of course, my Inari. I will see you soon."

The blonde left first, walking down the hallway near them that would lead her back to the main staircase. After Fleur was clearly out of earshot, Danielle sighed again.

"Come on out, Hermione. I know you're out there." Hermione blushed as she slowly stepped out from behind the corner she had been hiding. Looking back, she should have realized that she couldn't hide from Danielle's enhanced senses, even if her attention had been more on the blonde beauty than on her.

"You okay?"

"I don't know," Danielle admitted, tails swaying behind her as she stood there. "Wasn't really expecting that. Truth be told, it's a little scary to be told you are someone's chosen mate."

"Why?"

"Because chosen mates are for life and I have Fleur's love and happiness in the palm of my hand. I could either love her or crush her and she couldn't do a thing to stop me." Danielle frowned as she put her illusion up again, showing herself to be human once more. "It's a heady feeling, let me tell you."

"She wasn't lying," Hermione told her, grimacing a little as she said that. "I could tell."

"I know," Danielle said a little sadly. "Well, I didn't know for sure, but the tone she used made me think she wasn't lying." She sighed again as they started heading for the Great Hall themselves. "This should be interesting," she said, more to herself than anyone else.

XXXXX

The Halloween feast took longer than usual.

Maybe it was the fact that it was their second feast in two days, or it was just the apprehension and excitement in the air that made it seem like it took longer, but it was common for students to keep standing to see if Dumbledore had stopped eating or not. The excitement had even rubbed off on the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students.

The Goblet of Fire had been moved and was now sitting in front of Dumbledore's position of the staff table so the hall can look at it. Hermione gripped Danielle's hand under the table and the red head squeezed back, grateful for the support. While she didn't know what it was, Hermione knew Danielle had a plan on how to deal with the Tournament and she trusted her to handle it.

At long last, the golden plates and goblets cleaned themselves and everyone turned to the headmaster as the noise level rose with excited chatter, which died instantly when he stood up and made his way around the table toward the goblet. Next to him, Karkaroff and Maxime looked tense and expectant. Ludo Bagman was smiling jovially, bouncing on the balls of his feet, waving to the students as they waved at him. Crouch looked disinterested, almost bored in his Imperious curse fed stupor.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make its decision," said Dumbledore. "I estimate that it should require about one more minute. Now, when the champion's names are called, I ask for them to walk along the staff table and enter through the door to the next chamber," he indicated the door in question, "where they will be receive their first instructions and what to expect."

He pulled out his wand and, just like the previous day, the lights dimmed leaving only the candles in the large carved pumpkins floating among the regular candles, and the ghosts themselves. Now in semidarkness, the Goblet of Fire shined even brighter than ever in the hall, sparkling blue-white flames hurting even the strongest of eyes. Everyone watched, waited…some people kept checking their watches…

"Any second," Lee muttered near them. Fred and George, now beard free, kept passing coins between each other as they took bets.

The flames in the goblet suddenly turned red. Sparks flew from it. A tongue of flame shot out into the air bearing a piece of parchment that fluttered down to the floor. The hall gasped.

Taking the slightly singed parchment, Dumbledore held it out at arm's length so he could read it by the light of the flames, which was back to a dazzling blue-white.

"The Champion for Durmstrang," the headmaster said in a strong clear voice, "is Viktor Krum!"

"No surprises there," said a few people around Hermione, including Ron a few seats down, as everyone burst into applause. Krum stood up and made his way toward Dumbledore before he headed to the door, where he disappeared into the next chamber.

"Bravo Viktor!" Karkaroff boomed, loudly enough that everyone could hear him, even over the applause, "Knew you had it in you!"

The clapping and cheering died down as everyone's attention turned back to the Goblet, which, seconds later, turned red again. A second piece of parchment shot into the air, propelled by the flames.

"The Champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore as he took the parchment, "is Fleur Delecour!"

"Saw that coming," Danielle said in an odd tone as Fleur stood up gracefully from the Ravenclaw table. The blonde had sent a very brief look toward Danielle before she had turned away so Hermione doubted if she saw it or not.

The entire male population of the student body seemed more than happy to cheer for the beautiful blonde, which made up for the fact that the other French students were crying. One even sobbed into their friend's arms as Fleur also vanished into the chamber off the hall.

"Do you want to-?" Hermione started, but Danielle shook her head.

"Not right now, Hermione," Danielle sighed, a slightly lost look in her eyes as she said that.

When the clapping died down this time, the excitement had reached a pitch that dwarfed the other times. The Hogwarts Champion was next and the students seemed to think that if they stared at the goblet enough, their choice would be the one chosen.

A third piece of parchment was finally ejected from the goblet, the tongue of flame sending it far into the air before Dumbledore could take it.

"The Hogwarts champion is…Cedric Diggory!"

"No!" said Ron loudly, but no one could hear him over the overwhelming roar of approval from the Hufflepuff table. Every badger was standing, screaming and clapping as Cedric stood up, grinning broadly, and headed for the chamber behind the staff table. Indeed, the applause was so great that it took a while for Dumbledore's voice to be heard again.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore called happily as the last of the noise died down. "Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure we can count on all of you, including our remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give all your support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real-"

But Dumbledore suddenly stopped talking, and it became obvious as to why.

The goblet, which had turned back to bluish-white after Cedric's name had come out, had become red again. Sparks started coming out. A long tongue of flame shot out and another piece of parchment came out.

"Here it comes," Danielle whispered so softly that even Hermione had to struggle to hear her.

Catching the parchment in trembling hands, Dumbledore held it out arm's length. Maxime and Karkaroff stared, confused, as to what was going on, as the old headmaster cleared his throat. Turning to the silent student body he read out.

"Danielle Potter."

Instant silence met those two words as everyone stared at him. It seemed almost in unison that the entire student body turned to stare at the red head in question, who paled so much that it was a wonder Danielle's hair wasn't turning white as well.

Hermione knew that this would happen. Danielle had told her about it and she had had nightmares about it a few times. Heck, Danielle herself had had nightmares about it at least a few times a year. After all the preparation and mentally preparing for it, the reality still shattered it all.

_'My friend is in a death trap.'_

While not too much different than a standard year at Hogwarts for her, she had hoped, prayed even, that her name wouldn't come out and they could spend the year focusing on other things.

"Danielle Potter! Miss Potter!"

Knowing it was part of the plan, which she still did not know the entirety of, Hermione truly thought for a moment that Danielle was surprised. Her face was the epitome of fear and panic.

"I didn't put my name in," she muttered loud enough for everyone around her to hear. The fear in her voice couldn't be faked and Hermione felt terrible she couldn't help her friend at the moment. Still, she had to admit that Danielle was a better actress than she thought.

A loud, angry buzzing started filling the Great Hall now. Students were looking in her direction angrily, whispering about how she must have cheated.

That was Danielle's cue.

The red head slowly stood up. No one cheered. No one applauded. No one looked happy about this, but the most unhappy person in the room was Danielle herself. Danielle looked at Dumbledore with such a fearful gaze that it actually turned a few heads. "You promised, headmaster," she said in a voice just loud enough for the hall to hear.

"Miss Potter?" Dumbledore asked, looking at her. "Miss Potter, up here-"

"YOU PROMISED!" Danielle shouted, which cut through the chatter perfectly. There were tears in her eyes and her breathing was shallow, making her look truly panicked. "You promised that no one under the age of seventeen could compete!"

"I know, Miss Potter," the headmaster assured in a grandfatherly voice, though he seemed slightly agitated. "Could you please come up-?"

"Give me Veritiserum to show I didn't do it!" Danielle shouted hysterically, tears rolling down her cheeks and the hall gaped at her. "Please! Get me out of this tournament! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Her breaths were coming out shorter and shorter as she clearly started to hyperventilate. She got out from seat and looked ready to run out of the hall, she kept eying the doors to the Entrance Hall as she looked around the hall.

"Miss Potter!" Dumbledore shouted, clearly trying to get through to the young teen. He could tell she was freaking out, wanting to run and never be seen again, but that wouldn't help in the long run. Especially since she had to compete.

"I TRUSTED YOU!" Danielle shouted, her hysteria growing to a fevered pitch. "I wanted nothing to do with this death trap! You said your line would stop young student's names from coming out of the goblet!"

"Miss Potter!" Dumbledore tried again. "Your name is now under a magically binding contract. There is nothing I can do and if you do not compete, you will either lose your magic or die!" That seemed to get everyone in the hall to blink in surprise, no one actually knowing what happened if one broke a contract like that.

"So I die if I compete or I die if I don't!" Danielle cried out in shock. Everyone seemed to stare at her, surprised at why she seemed so sure that she would die in this tournament but she continued. She pulled out her wand. "I swear on my life and my magic that I did not enter this tournament and did not submit my name into the Goblet of Fire! Lumos!"

Everyone's eyes widened at the oath and how Danielle did not drop dead when she used magic. The wand tip illuminating the scared panicked girl to the entire Great Hall and how resigned she was that she was going to die.

Before anyone could say anything, a bolt of red light came out of nowhere toward Danielle from a small alcove near the staff table.

Hermione's eyes widened. She knew Danielle could dodge the bolt easily but doing so now could give away secrets Danielle wouldn't want revealed. Enhanced speed for one. So she closed her eyes and looked away before Danielle was hit by the bolt and crumpled to the floor, out cold.

"Alastor!" Dumbledore cried out in shock and surprise as his 'old friend' and Defense Professor easily swung Danielle's body over his shoulder.

"Calm down, Albus," Moody growled. "Had to bring her down somehow before she blew her own head off in sheer panic. Give her a calming draft and dump her with the other champions and we'll get this over with."

Dumbledore still gave him a fierce look that proved that they would be talking about this later before gesturing toward the chamber. "This isn't over, Alastor. Let's just talk to the other champions. Poppy, tend to Miss Potter in the other room."

Surprised at how the evening was going, Madame Pomfrey nodded numbly, getting her stock of potions and other equipment from under the table in case of emergencies.

Hermione sighed as she saw her friend being hauled into the chamber off the hall. Everyone was in shock and didn't really know what to think, but she didn't have too much hope of everyone proclaiming Danielle a hero. No, but maybe it was possible for everyone to just leave her alone.

XXXXXX

When the door opened revealing Madame Maxime, Karkaroff and Dumbledore, Fleur had thought they would finally get started on what they had to do for the first task. She paused at seeing two of the three heads looking guilty and despondent though. Karkaroff didn't really seem to care, but the blonde hadn't liked him much anyway.

When Ludo Bagman walked in, looking saddened and pensive, she started to get worried. What had happened in the mere ten minutes between Cedric coming in and now that had done this? Crouch didn't seem any different, but then, the number of emotions he had shown could be counted on with one hand, with several fingers left over.

The man Fleur had heard was called Moody stomped in next and her eyes widened seeing an unconscious Danielle Potter slung over his back. She made to run toward her but a look at Madame Maxime, who stared at her with a strange glance, made her hang back.

She knew what her headmistress would say to her if she found out what was going on. The only reason she was here was to win and brag about it. Fleur's own feelings would be put on the back burner for the good of Beauxbatons, which meant to not get involved with a possible enemy.

_'She is my chosen mate! She can't keep us apart!'_

Her inner Veela had a point, but did it really expect her to fight against the half-giantess to be with the kitsune?

_'YES!'_

Well, that answered that question.

"Ennervate."

Shaking herself to focus on what was going on around her, Fleur watched as Danielle gently stirred. With a pained groan, she sat up with what was clearly a massive headache. Hissing slightly, she opened her eyes to see a potion vial in front of her and instead of drinking it, pushed it away with grimace. "Get that away from me."

"Miss Potter-"

Despite everyone's protests, she ignored the potion and stood up, leaning against a wall to steady herself. She then glared at Dumbledore, who, Fleur saw, took it harder than he probably should have. "Who stunned me and who is getting me out of this death trap?"

Fleur's eyes widened slightly. Someone stunned her? And what was this about being thrown into the tournament?

Dumbledore gave a heavy sigh, everyone's eyes on him. "The rules state that since your name came out of the goblet, whether you put your name in or not, you are under a binding magical contract. While your oath outside showed that you did not put your name in, it does not stop the fact that you have no choice but to compete."

Danielle groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose, leaning against the wall behind her, clearly annoyed beyond belief. When the school healer tried to offer the potion again, Danielle simply waved her hand and a glowing gold barrier separated her from the others.

"I don't take potions when I don't know who made them," she said simply, leaving the matron to huff, but Moody to give a bark like laugh.

"That's the way to do it!" he laughed, giving her an approving nod. "Don't trust anyone or anything you don't know where it came from. Constant Vigilance!"

_'He's crazy,'_ Fleur thought, shaking her head at him.

Bagman shook his head, wiping his head of sweat with a handkerchief. "While it's obvious Miss Potter didn't put her name in, she still needs to hear what is coming in the First Task, right Barty?"

Mr. Crouch, who was standing off to the side and staring into the fire, looked slightly eerie in the semidarkness, making him look older. When he spoke, however, it was in his usual curt voice.

"We must follow the rules, and the rules state clearly that those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the tournament."

"Well, Barty knows the rule book back to front," said Bagman, turning back to Karkaroff and Madame Maxime, as though the matter was now closed.

"It is still unjust that Hogwarts gets two champions," Karkaroff insisted. He had dropped his unctuous tone and his smile now. His face wore an ugly look. "You must set up the Goblet of Fire once more, and we will continue adding names until each school has two champions. It's only fair, Dumbledore."

"But Karkaroff, it doesn't work like that," said Bagman. "The Goblet of Fire just went out before we came in, it won't reignite until the start of the next tournament-"

"In which Durmstrang will certainly not be competing!" Exploded Karkaroff. "After all our meetings, negotiations and compromises, I little expected something of this nature to occur! I have half a mind to leave now!"

"Empty threat, Karkaroff," Moody growled. "You can't leave your champion now. He's got to compete. They've all got to compete. Binding magical contract, like Dumbledore said. Convenient, eh?"

"Convenient?" said Karkaroff. "I'm afraid I don't understand you, Moody."

Fleur could tell that he was trying to sound disdainful, as though Moody was barely worth his notice, but his hands gave him away; they had balled themselves into fists.

"Don't you?" said Moody quietly. "It's very simple, Karkaroff. Someone put Potter's name in the goblet knowing she'd have to compete if it came out."

"Zhe question is," said Madame Maxime, "is if they did it kill zhe girl, or to give 'Ogwarts two bites at zhe apple."

"I shall be lodging complaints with the Ministry of Magic and the ICW-"

"If anyone's got reason to complain, it's Potter," growled Moody. "And we all heard her outside, didn't we?"

"Why don't I just sign an agreement that I can't win?" Danielle asked, getting everyone's attention. She looked better now so her headache must have dimmed slightly, but Fleur could tell she was still agitated. "Something that even if I win the tournament, which I won't but if I do, the money, trophy and glory goes to one of the three official champions?"

"You do not wish for zhose zhings?" Madame Maxime asked, but she could tell that she was liking the idea.

"Why would I want it?" Danielle asked, a little irritably now. "Money? I have that, more than I know what to do with. A cup? Just a big piece of metal I don't need. Glory? I'm the blasted sister of the Boy-Who-Lived. The only way to get any more famous would be to off a dark lord of my own. No thank you, Madame, I don't need anything in this death trap."

For a moment, nobody spoke before Ludo, again, broke the tension. "Well, shall we crack on, then?" he said, rubbing his tands together and smiling around the room. "Got to give our champions their instructions, haven't we? Barty, want to do the honors?"

Mr. Crouch seemed to come out of a deep reverie.

"Yes," he said, "instructions. Yes…the first task…"

He moved into the firelight. Close up, Fleur thought he looked ill. There were dark shadows under his eyes and a thin papery look about his wrinkled skin that hadn't been there earlier.

"The first task is designed to test your daring," he told the room, "so we are not going to tell you what it is. Courage in the face of the unknown is an important quality in a wizard…very important…

"The first task will take place on November twenty-fourth, in front of the other students and the panel of judges.

"The champions are not permitted to ask or accept help of any kind from their teachers to complete the tasks in the tournament. The champions will face the first challenge armed only with their wands. They will receive information about the second task when the first is over. Owing to the demanding and time consuming nature of the tournament, the champions are exempted from end-of-year tests."

Mr. Crouch turned to Dumbledore.

"I think that's all, is it, Albus?"

"I think so," said Dumbledore, who was looking at Mr. Crouch in concern. "Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay at Hogwarts tonight, Barty?"

"No, Dumbledore, I must get back to the Ministry," said Mr. Crouch. "It is a very busy time, very difficult time at the moment…I've left young Weatherby in charge…Very enthusiastic…a little overenthusiastic, if truth be told…"

"You'll come and have a drink before you go, at least?" said Dumbledore.

"Come on, Barty, I'm staying!" Ludo said brightly. "It's all happening here at Hogwarts now, you know, much more exciting here than at the office."

"I think not, Ludo," said Crouch with a touch of his usual impatience.

"Professor Karkaroff, Madame Maxime, a nightcap?" suggested Dumbledore.

But Madame Maxime had already put her arm around Fleur's shoulders and was leading her swiftly out of the room. Fleur was complaining in fast moving French but she was dragged out of the chamber before she could turn back for Danielle. Karkaroff beckoned to Krum, and they, too, exited, though in silence.

"Danielle, Cedric, I suggest you go up to bed," said Dumbledore, trying to smile at the both of them. "I am sure Gryffindor and Hufflepuff are waiting to celebrate with you, and it would be a shame to deprive them of this excellent excuse to make a great deal of mess and noise."

Cedric nodded and left as Danielle sighed heavily and followed. As they walked through the now empty Great Hall and into the entrance hall, Cedric smiled a little. "So, guess we're competing against each other, huh?"

"Suppose so," said Danielle listlessly, not wanting to talk about it.

"So, tell me," said Cedric as they started climbing the marble staircase. "Did you put your name in the goblet?"

"Considering that they were forced to knock me out to prevent me from running into the night, never to be seen again, I would say no," Danielle deadpanned, clearly annoyed.

The handsome Hufflepuff had the decency to look sheepish as they approached a fork in the hallway. "This is me," he muttered, not looking at her.

Now separated, Danielle didn't have anyone to distract her from her thoughts as she climbed the stairs up to the seventh floor. She figured Hermione and Ginny were fielding questions for her back in the common room and she found herself grateful for that. Since she was alone, she shrugged and let her hand glow a soft blue color before putting it on her head, sighing in relief as her headache died down to nothingness.

Since becoming a fox-girl, her talent for wandless magic had risen through the roof and healing spells were one of the first things she learned as soon as the last war had broken out into full swing. Her skills had made her a perfect front-line fighter/medic in the war against Voldemort and she welcomed the soothing healing magic.

Finally reaching the portrait of the fat lady, Danielle let out a huge breath slowly. Flicking her unseen tails, she used an illusion to make herself invisible before giving the password, ignoring the portrait's questions.

The party was already in full swing when she came in. Streamers, confetti, Fred and George juggling butterbeer bottles and more littered the floor as people talked and shouted over each other to be heard. Wincing, feeling her headache flare again, Danielle searched for Hermione or Ginny and saw them talking in hushed tones near the girl's staircase, much to her relief.

Making her way over to them wasn't as hard as she had thought as people were more concerned about having a good time than worrying over an invisible person bumping into them. Gripping the two of them by the shoulders slightly caused them to jump slightly, Hermione less so than Ginny, but they got the message and they both headed up to the girl's dormitory.

When they were sure that they were alone in the room, Danielle shimmered into view, a troubled look on her face. "That went well," she said, sarcastically as she sat down on her bed.

"Oh Dani," Hermione sighed as she sat down as well, wrapping the red head into a one armed hug. "We'll get through this."

"Damn right we will!" Ginny growled, now pacing the room as she thought of what to do. "I suppose we could get Fred and George to spy on the school and the grounds, try to find out what the first task is…"

Hermione smiled gently. "One of the portraits in the chamber off the hall, Violet, is friends with the Fat Lady. She told us everything and seemed pretty smug about it." She knew that Danielle knew that already, but Ginny didn't. They were planning on telling her at least some of what they knew, but could never find a good opportunity to do so. "Anyway, I'll help you plan and prepare for the task as much as I can."

"And I'll be right behind her," grumbled Ginny, annoyed with the situation. "You should hear everyone down there. Cheering and celebrating you being in a death trap." She snorted in disgust. "Some friends they are."

"Thanks Ginny," Danielle managed to say, trying to give her a smile, even if it looked more like a grimace. "Does anyone still think I put my name in?"

"Not really," said Hermione, shrugging. "After your oath downstairs, many believed that you didn't put your name in. There are still some skeptics, but I think you proved to a good majority of the school you're in this tournament against your will."

Ginny finally sighed and sat down on Hermione's bed, looking slightly lost. "Dani…promise me that you'll come out of this in one piece?"

Hermione could see that Danielle felt bad about what she was putting Ginny through, even if it wasn't her fault. "I'll do my best to survive this, Gin," said Danielle sadly, though the last traces of tears around her eyes was a little heartbreaking.

"Good," said Ginny, standing again. "I want to play catch with you again as it's really good for my Chaser arm," she smiled, though there was some bitterness in it as well.

"I'll make sure we play that again," Danielle chuckled, getting a satisfied look back from the younger girl.

After Ginny left, Lavender, Parvati and Fay came into the room, all talking and giggling loudly, though Fay was away from the other two and only talked when spoken to. "It was so rude to not show up," Lavender was saying, sniffing slightly. "I mean, we go through all the trouble and she didn't even come."

"So inconsiderate," Parvati agreed, shaking her head. "And she's always with Granger. You think they-"

"You think they what?" asked Danielle, standing and getting their attention. Her eyes were narrow as she watched them stop walking, now looking worried. "No, please, go on. I want to hear."

Lavender cleared her throat and smiled sheepishly. "Dani, hi. Um…just thought it was rude you didn't come to the party downstairs. After all the work we did-"

"All the work you did in a mere twenty minutes to celebrate me being given a death sentence," Danielle finished. "Why do you think I went through the party invisible and came straight up here? I don't want the attention. I don't want the 'honor'" she said the word as sarcastically as she could, "of being thrown into three dangerous tasks meant for older students. Does anyone truly think a fourth year has a chance of even surviving the tournament?"

"Well…" Parvati said awkwardly, unsure of what to say, "What else are we supposed to do? After all, this is so big and-"

"Yes," said Danielle with a drawl, "so big of everyone to claim that I can get through this. Meanwhile, no one would ever think of helping me get out of this." Her tone turned high pitched and girly, clearly mocking them. "'Oh, Danielle, please survive all three tasks. We'll just stand aside and let you deal with them without any kind of help whatsoever. After all, we can't party if you die and that's all we really care about.'" She eyes narrowed as her tone turned back to normal. "Either help me get through this thing or leave me alone. Don't bother celebrating after the fact and pretend you were with me the entire time. At least Hermione and Ginny are planning on helping me learn everything I need to know. I know you won't bother doing that." She turned her back toward them and got ready for bed, throwing her clothes into the hamper for the house elves.

"You don't have to be so rude about it," Lavender said without thinking, causing Danielle and Hermione's heads to snap to her again. "It's just a bit of fun-"

"Just some fun?" Danielle repeated, her temper rising. Hermione wanted to stop her but didn't think she should at the same time, wanting to see this play out. "You know, sometimes I really feel sick being a Gryffindor. What? Lavender? If I see a dragon or manticore out there, I'm supposed to just say, 'oh, this is fun isn't it?' and do my best. When that doesn't work I'll just wow them with beauty charms while it eats me. After all, Lavender, how many kinds of spells do you know that aren't beauty ones? Three? Four?" She snorted and turned away. "It's always so easy when you're on the side lines that you seem to forget that my life is on the line here and no amount of partying in the common room is going to change that." She finished by flaring her magic so brightly that it caused a small burst of wind, blasting the three idiot teen girls out of the room, the door slamming shut after them. "Morons."

"I believe that they are called fourteen year olds," Hermione said gently, standing before engulfing Danielle in a hug. Danielle didn't return it but the brunette could feel some tension drain out of her. "Feel better?"

"Loads," admitted Danielle as she let out a breath slowly. Closing her eyes, she simply enjoyed Hermione pressing so close to her body and the arms wrapped around her. "Together tonight?"

Hermione nodded, not wanting to separate herself from Danielle now.

When they were in the bed later, Hermione smiled softly as she saw her friend calm down in her sleep with her around. Danielle was on her back, head slightly to the side and slept peacefully. Unlike when she was awake, her tails were still as she slept, nothing like when they moved and swayed even when she wasn't doing anything.

Alone with her thoughts, Hermione seriously started thinking about the girl next to her and her feelings about everything. She hated how Danielle was in this tournament, not about the danger as she knew her friend could handle it easily, but everyone's reaction to the news. The moment Danielle's name came out of the goblet, it seemed that a vast majority of the school classified her as guilty. No thinking about it. No hesitation. Just instantly guilty until she was forced to pull out proof that she didn't do it with that oath.

Of course, the oath was worded to reveal that Danielle didn't put her own name in, not that she didn't know who did it. It really was too bad that they had to play along since if they altered too much, Voldemort might do something different, drastic or stupid to make sure his plan worked. So they had to leave Crouch Jr. as Moody for the time being.

As for Danielle herself…Hermione blushed slightly and still wasn't sure why. Looking at it logically, Hermione could say that she found her friend attractive but that was it…right? She liked Danielle but more than a friend?

And she really had to work on these new murderous ideas coming to her out of nowhere whenever a girl talked to Danielle. She was ready to kill Ginny and even Angelina when they talked to her and that wasn't to even mention Fleur pretty much trying to seduce her friend.

Sighing gently, Hermione shifted closer to the red head next to her and smiled when Danielle moved in her sleep to rest her head on Hermione's shoulder. If the brunette had anything to say about her position, it was that she at least enjoyed the warmth and closeness she had to another person. Danielle had a body temperature a few degrees warmer than a normal human but it never bothered her; possibly because of her own increased temperature.

Finally resting her head on Danielle's, she drifted off, one of her hands playing with Danielle's gently as she did so.

XXXXXX

In her own dorm room a floor below Hermione and Danielle's, Ginny was contemplating the predicament she was in.

It was no secret that, much to her shame, she had been a fan girl for one Harry Potter as little as two years ago. She had slept with a Harry Potter plushie and even had the complete set of the children's series, which she wanted her father to read to her every night. When she was younger, she had dreamed of being 'Mrs. Ginny Potter' and even had set up fake weddings with her dolls standing in for the groom and minister. She had been so excited to finally go to Hogwarts and meet the Boy-Who-Lived in person since she would constantly squeak every time she saw him.

Her first year at Hogwarts was almost a disaster, however. Before going to Hogwarts, she had asked for a diary for her birthday as a way of organizing her thoughts and just to unload all of her feelings. Imagine her surprise when not only did she get the diary she asked for, but it also wrote back to her.

In hindsight, she probably should have showed it to her parents and thank them personally for the gift, but she had been so excited about going to Hogwarts with Harry Potter that she had forgotten to do so. Not to mention that 'Tom' had been a nice boy, one she wouldn't mind talking to every now and then. It took her a few months before she realized that Tom had been taking over her body to open the Chamber of Secrets.

She had tried getting rid of the diary but Tom had taken over before she could and was about to reveal the basilisk again when someone beat her to it. She found out later that it had been Danielle and Hermione who had figured it out, brought a rooster that was now with Hagrid, and killed the snake before Tom could unleash it again.

That had been a shocker, Danielle Potter saving her instead of her brother. The failed twin as a couple of people had called her back then. While she hadn't disliked her or anything, she had always dismissed her as unimportant, thinking that she would never match up to her famous brother. Then, the auburn haired girl had saved her without Harry anywhere in sight.

Her stay in the hospital wing right after that incident had given her a lot to think about. Harry Potter, her crush and supposedly a great hero, completely ignored her in favor of her brother Ron. Danielle, while she hadn't spent any time with her either, hadn't spent time with anyone as she was always reading some book or lost in thought, staring off into the distance before she became friends with Hermione. Finding that it had been the red head who had saved her, she figured she could at least spend some time with her as a thank you for everything she had done.

She hadn't expected Danielle to be so knowledgeable in magic or be such a good tutor to bring her marks up like she had. Ginny had been in danger of failing her first year because of Tom and Danielle had not only saved her cute little butt from that, but also brought her up to one of the best in her year. She was nowhere near Danielle's or Hermione's level, but no one could say that her brothers got all of the intelligence now.

The more time she spent with Danielle and Hermione, the less she focused on her shrinking crush on the Boy-Who-Lived until she barely thought about him anymore. Now that she had Luna as a friend again, once again thanks to Danielle, they were back to trading crazy stories and fun ways to mess with people in the Quibbler. Ginny smiled as she remembered that half of the insane things in that magazine had been her and Luna making up stuff to satisfy their imaginations. She had personally come up with a blibbering humdinger, thank you.

What was confusing the young Weasley now wasn't any of that, however, but the fact that Danielle was now in this damned tournament. She had believed Danielle the moment she said she hadn't put her name in; the look on her face was too horrorstruck to be faked, and she cursed anyone who still didn't believe her now.

The more she thought about Danielle Potter now though the more her heart beat faster in her chest. She had blushed a few times whenever Danielle complimented her on her work and her breath had caught when she had seen the other red head in her Yule Ball dress when they had bought them over the summer.

She was not ashamed to admit that her fantasies included a certain girl flying next to her in the air without a broom, soft windswept hair whipping around her as they flew.

Lately however it seemed that she wasn't alone in her day dreaming. She had actually seen her brother Ron cautiously looking over at Danielle when the auburn haired girl hadn't been paying attention. She wouldn't be surprised if Seamus had said anything about her as he was known as being a kind of self-appointed player. Heck, even a few Ravenclaw boys had been caught by her talking about how attractive Danielle had become over the summer.

Wasn't surprising really as Danielle was a hazel eyed mini-clone of Lily Potter and everyone knew how beautiful she was.

Most interesting was that Ginny caught a couple of girls looking at Danielle with a few looks as well as guys. She saw that girl Greengrass eye Danielle once or twice from across the Great Hall. Then there were the strange looks from that French Champion as the blonde Veela appeared to be trying to stare into Danielle's soul or something, which was fairly creepy if she was being honest.

The stiffest competition clearly came from the girl's best friend and confident however, Hermione Granger. While it wasn't clear if Danielle thought the same way, it was obvious in both body language and intent that the bushy haired girl had it bad for the new champion. The worst part, for Ginny anyway, was that she actually liked spending time with Hermione. Yes, she was fairly bossy and opinionated at times, but she was trying to curb those annoying tendencies and she was a very loyal friend once one makes it that far.

Ginny sighed as she relaxed on her bed, listening to Demelza's snores the next bed over. She honestly believed that if they got together, she and Danielle could make a pretty nice couple, as she loved the other girl's calm demeanor, athletic attitude toward games over sports, and intelligence over a wide range of subjects. She wasn't blind to Danielle's lack of confidence that showed up every now and then, and she was sure she was hiding something, but that didn't stop her from fancying her.

She really just hoped she hadn't traded her fan girl attitude from one Potter onto another as she was trying to do better now, trying to rid herself of that persona.

XXXXXX

The next morning had Hermione slowly wake up in an odd position. Taking stock of herself, she found that Danielle was still asleep, much to her relief as she was currently spooning the red head, holding her as they slept. She had to admit, actually, she liked having her the slightly taller girl's body in her arms. Danielle's tails tickled her stomach and were so soft that she had to struggle not to snuggle into them.

Eh, it was a Sunday and they had no class that day. She could indulge herself a little…

Her thoughts were interrupted when Danielle started to stir, causing Hermione to panic and let go before she was caught. Flinging herself on the far end of the bed, the brunette tried her best to look innocent as Danielle blinked her eyes open and turned over to her companion's side.

"Hey, Hermione," yawned Danielle, stretching a bit as she heard some satisfying cracks. "Sleep well?"

Hermione nodded, not saying anything. She could feel herself blush slightly as Danielle's stretches caused her nightshirt to ride up a bit, showing the creamy white skin underneath. She wasn't sure why she blushed though, after all, they saw each other in various forms of undress all the time.

Seemingly curious about Hermione's silence, Danielle shrugged and checked the time. "Seven thirty. More than enough time for breakfast on a Sunday."

"You sure you want to go out in public?" asked Hermione. "Right after your name came out of the goblet?"

Danielle paused for a moment before sighing. "Not really, but I should see what the possible damage to my reputation is. Odds are I'm either a master dark manipulator who is truly trying to became a dark lady, or I'm a crybaby who can't handle the smallest amounts of pressure."

"I'm sure it won't be that bad."

"…We'll see," sighed Danielle, getting out of bed with her illusion on and reaching for her clothes.

Hermione mentally sighed as well. It was true that no one had really spoken out in Danielle's favor but at least the red head could count on her few friends to not abandon her. Not to mention that all of the younger years she was tutoring couldn't say anything bad about her.

When they were ready to leave the dorm room, with only Fay having woke before them, they left Parvati and Lavender's sleeping forms to head into the common room. Unfortunately, it seemed that every Gryffindor that was already awake had come down early to cheer for her the moment they saw her. Danielle grimaced but ignored the applause as they left the common room, trying to tune it out.

"It was pretty much that bad last time too," grumbled Danielle as they got onto the main staircase. "Ignoring the danger I'm involved in and only focusing on the few positive aspects, completely forgetting that it's my neck on the line."

"We both know that you can get through the tasks with no problem though," Hermione reminded her.

"I know," sighed Danielle yet again. "I just wish that everyone would be at least a little more sympathetic. Well…at least the Hufflepuffs shouldn't out right hate me this time around. They were pretty adamant about that when they thought I was stealing Diggory's glory."

"How well did Cedric do in the tournament in your time?" asked Hermione, curious.

Danielle shrugged. "Well enough. Without me telling him what the first task was, he wouldn't have done nearly as well and we actually helped each other in the third task. The only task he didn't need my help in was the second one. He was good, but without the help he would probably have only scored second overall, I think. Krum did well and with Karkaroff giving him better scores than he deserved, it would have been between him and Diggory, with him barely winning, I believe." Danielle thought about it and nodded. "Krum probably would have won without my interference due to him being a little more open to curses than Diggory, who's more fair mindedness wouldn't have gotten him as far. Maybe I'm thinking too much on it."

"What about Fleur Delecour?"

At that, Danielle grimaced. "Fleur…did alright, in my opinion, but not outright brilliant. If I took out what my involvement in the tournament was, she did fine in the first task, couldn't complete the second, and probably would have gotten pretty far into the third before one of the boys got it first. I'm not saying she's terrible or anything, but she didn't impress me."

"What about this time?"

Danielle sighed and muttered something about smart girls asking her tons of questions, which got Hermione to smirk. "I have a plan that will get me straight into the maze of the third task and get to the cup first. I think Fleur will probably give it a better try this time, maybe in an attempt to get me to notice her, but overall I think it will be the same."

Walking down the marble staircase to the Entrance Hall, Danielle was visibly relieved when she saw Ginny and Luna waiting for them. Luna was the first to greet them. "Hello, would you like a walk to avoid everyone in the Great Hall?" she held up the pieces of toast and bacon she had taken from the hall wrapped in a napkin.

"Please."

Nodding, they headed outside onto the grounds, both Danielle and Hermione eating the food as they made their way to the lake again.

"So, what was the general reaction in the Great Hall?" asked Danielle as they reached the lake shore and started walking along the shore line.

Ginny and Luna looked at each other.

"Well," said Ginny, hesitantly, "it's not terrible. True, the Slytherins are saying some nasty things, but that's on par for the course, to be honest. Surprisingly, the heat is mostly on Dumbledore, not you, for allowing this to happen."

Hermione blinked. "So, no one hates Danielle for her name coming out of the goblet?"

"There are some morons that still think she did it," Ginny confessed, rolling her eyes, "but they are a pretty small minority. No, most think that Dumbledore either allowed the goblet to eject your name, Dani, or he could have stopped it and didn't. The fact that everyone now knows that you won't get the trophy or money even if you do win really helped get people to believe you."

"I really don't need it," said Danielle bitterly, swallowing a mouthful of bacon. "Of course, I doubt heavily that anyone is actually going to investigate what really happened." She paused and looked at Ginny and Luna. "And I really do want to thank you for supporting me on this. For believing me right away-"

"Come off it," said Ginny, waving the thought aside. "We've spent too much time together for me to doubt you."

"And you were a good friend for me when others were not," said Luna dreamily, but with a focus that was slightly strange on her face. "Of course I believe you when you say you didn't do something."

Danielle opened her mouth, then closed it, smiling. "Thanks girls. I really do appreciate it."

"You're not alone in this, Dani," said Hermione, smiling at her. It didn't take long before Danielle was the center of a group hug, making her blink in surprise at the sudden show of support.

"Thank you," Danielle managed to say through the obvious lump in her throat. "Really, thank you."

Once they separated, Ginny clapped her hands together. "Well, we should make sure that everyone knows you didn't put your name in that cup. Luna, do you think you could ask your father to run an article in the Quibbler clearing Dani of any wrong doing?"

Luna nodded. "I'll send daddy an owl later today."

"I could send an owl to a contact I 'ave in France," said a clear French accent nearby. Turning, they saw it was Fleur approaching them with a sheepish smile on her face. "I do apologize, but we are near zhe carriage and couldn't 'elp but 'ear." They did realize that they did their little group hug only a few hundred yards away from the Beauxbatons carriage and they all face palmed. "Anyway, my papa does know a few people at the French paper. 'E would be able to 'elp as well."

"Why do you care?" asked Ginny, not hostile but curious and a little defensive.

Fleur sighed as her expression turned sad. "I made an error in judgment with Danielle 'ere and I wish to correct it. Really, I only wish to do my part to assist a 'opeful new friend."

"And Madam Maxime?"

Fleur winced at the mention of her headmistress. "She will…get over it, I 'ope. She is most determined zhat I win wizhout getting…distracted."

"I'm a distraction now, huh?" Danielle asked, smiling. Hermione's eye twitched at seeing her best friend acting friendly with the French witch and she didn't notice Ginny doing the same near her.

Fleur smiled in return but her eyes were distant for a moment. "I was just as surprised as any of you when Miss Potter became a part of zhis tournament. No one rational would zhink she had put her name into zhe goblet now. If I could 'elp in any way I can, do not 'esitate to ask." Giving another smile to Danielle that almost seemed shy, she turned and glided away toward the castle.

"I like her," said Luna, looking at Fleur's retreating form once she was out of earshot. "She really does just want to help fix some mistake she made."

Hermione grimaced but couldn't argue. Her lie detector hadn't gone off so either it didn't work on Veela, Fleur was a better actor than she thought, or the platinum blonde was telling the truth and just wanted to make up for her dismal first impression. She hadn't seen any of the kind of princess haughtiness Fleur had demonstrated when she first arrived so it looked like Danielle was right that it was a front.

"So," said Hermione once the slightly awkward atmosphere had dissipated a bit, "are you going to write to anyone about what happened?"

Ginny and Luna looked interested too and Danielle sighed. "I don't think any of my family would want to hear from me. Mr. and Mrs. Potter will hear about this and just ignore it, I think. Sirius is too obsessed about Harry and having a godson that he never cared about me." She had never liked that in both timelines, the man child known as Sirius never liked the idea of having a goddaughter, or know how to react anywhere around her. "And we all know that Remus hates himself too much to get close to me beyond a professional relationship."

Hermione sighed as she and the others sadly nodded. Professor Lupin had been an amazing teacher, but his status as a werewolf and his low self-esteem meant he stayed as far away from everyone emotionally as he could.

"No, I think getting my story out there via the Quibbler and maybe whatever paper in France Fleur knows about would be for the best." Danielle clearly did not want to spend time with those that would doubt her story so her parents and uncles were out.

Danielle blinked as Hermione took hold of her hand as she was somewhat lost in thought and then looked at Ginny oddly when she did the same with her other hand. Of course, all four laughed when Luna, seeing no more hands to hold, jumped onto Danielle's shoulders so the red head was forced to hold her piggyback style.

XXXXX

The next day when classes started on Monday proved that while a lot of people believed Danielle hadn't put her name into the goblet, there were still those that disliked the idea of her being a champion. Her fault or not, the simple fact that she was a champion brought a lot of scorn on mostly Dumbledore, but some on Danielle as well simply because she was a convenient target.

Danielle had had to deal with a much stronger surge of hatred toward her in her old timeline, so she mostly just brushed off the low level of annoyance and anger from the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins. The house of the snakes had never liked her simply because she was a Gryffindor and a Potter, though being the sister of the Boy-Who-Lived hadn't helped either. They would be rude and mean spirited to her until she died, most likely.

Just like in the previous timeline however, while the Hufflepuffs didn't all hate her this time, there were more than a few who still made it known that they didn't like her stealing their champion's glory. While her offer to not take the money or cup from one of the official champions had helped, it apparently wasn't enough to rid herself of all scorn in the castle.

While Hermione had huffed and insisted that everyone in the castle were idiots, Danielle had just told her that she was used to much worse and to ignore it, which she tried to with great restraint.

Ginny was less subtle about her anger at everyone and had gone out of her way to threaten various people seen badmouthing her friend in the corridors. She hadn't followed through with said threats yet, but her wand was more than willing to do so.

Several days after the champion's name had come out of the goblet saw Hermione and Danielle head for potions when they saw a group of Slytherins already waiting in front of the door. They were all wearing badges of various colors and Hermione could only just make out from the distance she was at what they said in glowing green letters.

**Support Cedric Diggory, the Real Hogwarts Champion**

Draco smirked as the two girls approached the door and showed off his badge. "Like them, Potter? Just thought we should show our support for the real champion. And that's not all they do, look."

He pressed the badge into his chest and the message changed into now glowing red letters.

**Potter Stinks**

Hermione looked at her companion to judge her reaction and to her slight surprise, Danielle was smiling slightly. Holding out her hand, one of the spare badges the Slytherins had made zoomed into it.

"I have to say, this is rather childish," Danielle commented as she traced her finger over the second message, making it vanish to only show the first one. "'Potter Stinks?' Really? Draco, I thought you were above insults that a five year old would come up with. I mean, I honestly expected better from you. You're fourteen Draco, at least put some effort into something if you were going to make fun of me."

The other Slytherins stopped laughing and looked at her in shock, obviously not expecting that answer. Draco himself was purpling in anger, or he would if wasn't so pale so it mostly looked like him turning slightly pink.

Danielle wasn't done yet as she shrugged, putting the badge she was holding on. "Still, I support the first message as Cedric really is the champion, not me. So thank you, I'll be sure to wear it where people can see it."

Hermione was struggling not to laugh at the dumbfounded look on Draco's face, having his insults thrown back in his face like that. Danielle being much more mature than her peers came in handy in times like this as she showed she could take an insult, roll with it and dish it out without it coming to blows.

Draco finally sneered. "Think you're so high and mighty, don't you Potter? Think that you're above everything that happens around here when you're not crying in the Great Hall."

"I did get a little overemotional, but I don't think anyone could really blame me for that," Danielle shrugged, getting some nods from the various girls in the hallway. Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis in particular nodded in agreement, much to Pansy's dismay as she couldn't argue either. "In any case, I thank you for the badge but I do believe that Professor Snape should be here any minute now so we should wrap this up soon."

"Kind of a pathetic stunt here, huh Malfoy?" came a voice from the Gryffindor side of the hallway, which prompted Draco to pull out his wand.

"Pathetic?" he asked rhetorically. Before anyone could stop him, he fired off a spell from his wand in the general direction of the person who had said that. Some people yelled and tried to duck when they found that the spell hadn't hit anyone.

Danielle her hand out and a gold shield had erupted into existence between the Gryffindors and Slytherins. Draco's spell had splashed against the shield without affecting it, dissipating harmlessly.

"Potter!"

Professor Snape strode into the hallway with his black robes billowing behind him like a giant bat. Danielle lowered her hand and the shield vanished instantly, but the greasy man still stared at her with an unreadable look.

"Magic in the corridors is against the rules Potter. Twenty points from Gryffindor. Everyone inside, now!"

Rolling her eyes, Danielle and Hermione strode into the room, claiming a table near the back with Neville as usual. The brunette started getting everything ready to make that day's potion when Neville got her attention, him looking at Danielle with a look akin to awe.

"Did you cast a shield charm without a wand or the incantation?"

Aware that suddenly everyone in the room had stopped to listen to Danielle's answer, Hermione sighed and continued to prepare her workstation. Danielle really didn't need this on top of everything else.

For her part, Danielle just rolled her eyes as she looked at the forgetful young man. "Did you see me with a wand out or me saying any words, Neville? There's your answer." She continued with her own preparations, ignoring the whispers around the room. Neville didn't say anything else, but he still looked at her every now and then with a look of admiration.

Hermione suddenly wanted to hurt something again, but toward Neville.

Luckily for them, Harry and Ron made a commotion as they argued over the loss of house points for no reason. Their loud voices forced Snape to threaten them with detentions if they didn't shut up and start setting up their things. They didn't even have their cauldrons out.

When Professor Snape strode to the front of the room, he turned back to them with a dramatic flair, making some wonder if he had practiced that.

"Antidotes," said Snape, looking at everyone with a glower. "You should all have finished your recipes by now. Now is the time for you to brew them. Once the class is almost finished, we will be testing them with one of you…"

Hermione didn't like how Professor Snape's eyes flickered back and forth between Danielle, Harry and Neville. She didn't worry about Danielle or Neville, knowing that her friend's skill and her assistance would work just fine, but she doubted Harry's could work…

The door to the dungeons suddenly opened and Colin Creevey came into the room, nervously looking at Snape.

"What is it?" said Snape, sounding agitated.

"Sir," Collin squeaked. "I was told to get Danielle Potter. Something for the tournament for Ludo Bagman."

Danielle groaned next to Hermione and Snape looked incensed.

"Potter still has an hour and a half of potions to complete. She'll be with you once class is over."

Colin didn't move but he looked more nervous than before. "Sir, Mr. Bagman insisted she come. I think they're going to take pictures for the Daily Prophet."

"Very well," said Snape, sounding angry as he rounded on Danielle. "Potter! Get your bag and get out of my sight!"

Danielle looked between an angry Snape and a nervous and scared Colin. "With all due respect, Professor Snape, I would rather stay with you than have my picture taken. However, since I am sure that the headmaster would come get me himself if I keep Mr. Bagman waiting, I'll get going."

Quickly packing the few things that Hermione couldn't take herself after class was over, Hermione saw her friend give her a reassuring smile before leaving with the excitable third year.

XXXXXX

"So, the Daily Prophet wants my photo, huh Collin?" asked Danielle, despite already knowing the answer. It really was an art form for her now to ask obvious questions just to appear oblivious.

"I think so," Collin said happily, bouncing around her a little. "I mean, it's all so exciting, isn't it? You, a champion!"

"I'll have to take on challenges adults would struggle with, Colin," Danielle reminded him with a sigh, causing him to pause for a moment. "Anyway, I'm kind of surprised that they waited until now to put me into the paper. I would have thought they would have done so long before now."

The Potters were famous and incredibly wealthy. She was honestly surprised that no reporters like Rita had tried to get an interview with her much earlier, half expecting it in her first year in the last timeline.

Before Collin could say anything, they reached the room in question and the door opened to reveal Ludo Bagman looking jubilant as ever. He was wearing his old Wasp robes again and Danielle really had no desire to see that gut again.

"Ah, Miss Potter, champion number four. In you come Miss Potter, in you come. Make yourself at home until the wand weighing ceremony. You may go, Mr. Creevey."

As Colin left, Danielle took in the room and found it almost exactly as she remembered from last time. It was a simple empty classroom with a few desks pushed together for the champions. Krum was standing by the wall, looking surly and his arms crossed. Cedric was talking to Fleur on two of the few chairs that hadn't been pushed against the wall to make space. Rita was standing around with her photographer friend, smiling at Danielle herself with a smile she associated with sharks.

The only thing different this time was that Fleur took a moment to look past Cedric at her and smiled encouragingly before going back to her conversation. So, at least she had at least one ally in this room.

"Wand weighing?" Danielle forced herself to ask Bagman, as if wondering what that was.

"We're having an expert come down to check your wands to make sure they haven't been tampered with. Dark magic used to give one an unfair advantage. Oh you know the kind of thing. I don't think you've met Rita Skeeter yet, she's a reporter for the Daily Prophet and she's doing a small piece on the champions."

"Maybe not that small a piece Ludo," said Rita, giving off her creepy smile as she looked at Danielle with almost maniac glee. "Maybe we could do a part on the youngest. To add a bit of color, you know?"

"Sounds fine to me," said Bagman, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Miss Potter?"

"Actually," said Danielle, resisting Rita's hand on her shoulder by stepping out of reach, "I have a legal contract stating that only the Quibbler can have exclusive rights to any kind of news published about me in this country."

That had been a stroke of brilliance of Luna's the previous year and Danielle had run with it right away. Now it was being used to hilarious results as Rita looked like she had been denied Christmas for the next several years.

"The Quibbler?" she asked in almost disgusted shock. "No one would blow their nose with such a rag, let alone read it!"

Danielle shrugged as she dug into her bag for a moment before pulling out an official court document from the Wizengamot. "This is a copy of the agreement I signed with Xenophilus Lovegood stating that only he or someone from his magazine can have any kind of interview with me. I'm sure the court would love for you to meet so they can discuss your future if you continue this insistence of an interview."

Rita paled as even though she had dirt on half of the wizengamot, the vast majority wouldn't care if they forced truth potion down her throat.

"Not only that," Danielle continued, shrugging, "but your photographer was rude to my friend and I a couple of years ago when he pushed us out of his way to take pictures of Lockhart. That doesn't really foster good relationships with potential people to interview, does it?"

The blonde reporter turned a glare at her photographer, who could only shrug helplessly at the accusations.

"How do you even have documents like that and why bring a copy of them with you today?"

Danielle was saved from answering the question when the door opened to reveal the three heads of their schools and Mr. Ollivander. Smiling, Danielle put the document away and, ignoring a now snarling Rita, sat down next to Fleur as Krum sat down on Cedric's other side.

She knew that Rita would probably find some sort of loophole in the court order eventually and she would pay for what she had said, but at the moment, she found the woman's face too hilarious to care. She was a fox at heart and pranks were on par for the course as far as she was concerned.

"Ladies first," said Mr. Ollivander, looking at Fleur. Danielle had always thought he was a strange man from both his appearance and personality but no one else seemed to question it so she let it go. It really was his eyes that made a lot of people pause, huge and silvery gray as they seemingly looked into one's soul.

Fleur handed over her wand and Mr. Ollivander ran his fingers over it, nodding to himself. "Hmm…yes. Inflexible, ten and a quarter inches, rosewood and…dear me."

"An 'air from the 'ead of a Veela," said Fleur, shrugging. "One of my grandmuzzer's."

Danielle really had no idea why everyone focused so much on Fleur's grandmother but found it really wasn't any of her business.

"Yes, yes, I've never used Veela hair myself," said Mr. Ollivander. "I found that it makes rather temperamental wands. However to each their own. And if this suits you…" When Fleur nodded, he raised the wand. "Orchedious." A bunch of flowers appeared at the end of the wand, which he scooped up and presented them to Fleur along with her wand. "Now, Mr. Diggory, you next."

Fleur put her wand away and took the moment to smile at Danielle, before offering half of the flowers to her, which Danielle took with a nod of thanks. Danielle really didn't know what to feel for Fleur at the moment. She had grown out of her girl crush on her a long time ago and didn't think it would resurface any time soon but now Fleur had dropped the bombshell of them being mates this time around and she didn't like it.

She had nothing against the Veela personally, she loved spending time with her in fact. She just didn't know how to handle the 'chosen mate' thing as it prevented Fleur from finding happiness with anyone other than her. While she was sure that if she worked hard enough, she might give Fleur a stable home and family life after graduation but that didn't mean she was worthy of the blonde beauty. And, to be honest, the entire thing terrified her.

She had taken out seemingly hundreds of Death Eaters and was planning on defeating Voldemort for the second time. She had a lot of blood on her hands, though admittedly, a lot less than the Death Eaters themselves, and she wasn't sure what kind of girlfriend she could be. After all the blood and death clinging to her, could she settle down with a stable girlfriend? Would she accidently hurt someone with a serious misunderstanding if she wasn't careful? What kind of parent could she actually be if they got that far?

So many unknowns made her scared of any kind of real relationship beyond friendship. She loved Hermione, Ginny and Luna as her friends and she was learning to open up about the feelings she had buried during the war but could she take any relationship, even with Fleur, to the next level without going through a war flashback?

She was so deep in her thoughts she had to be told several times to hand over her wand for inspection before she snapped out of it, coming back to the world around her. While Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and Fleur looked concerned, almost everyone else looked impatient. Mr. Ollivander though had just waited patiently for whatever deep thoughts Danielle had had to temporarily leave her so he could look at her wand.

"Sorry," Danielle shrugged, handing over the wand in question.

"Quite alright, Miss Potter, I do that all the time." Mr. Ollivander looked at the wand in his hands carefully. "Yes…Spruce and unicorn hair, fourteen inches. Much longer than one would usually find. I remember that you were a very picky customer that day very well."

Danielle remembered too. She had tried every wand in the shop before finally settling on the wand she had used in the previous timeline. While it had felt amazing to be paired up with that wand the first time through, the second time had been lackluster in comparison, as if the wand didn't really care to be paired up with her anymore. It still worked, but not with the same spark as it had the first time.

"I still say that I was missing something with you when you picked your wand," said Mr. Ollivander, sighing. "Like there was a puzzle piece missing that I couldn't see. Still, this wand suits you?"

"It's worked for me for the last three years," said Danielle, shrugging again. She was fairly sure she could have gotten a better magical focus if she exposed her kitsune powers to him but as her tails worked for her better than her wand anyway, it didn't seem needed.

"Hmm…" the wand maker hummed as if thinking hard before returning his thoughts to the wand in his hand. "Still in excellent condition." He made a series of smoke rings fly out the window with the wand and gave it back, Danielle pocketing it.

With the ceremony finished, Dumbledore stepped forward. "Now that that is over, you may go back to your classes. Though it might be more prudent to go down to dinner as they are about to end."

Danielle was about to leave when Bagman sprang to his feet. "Photos, Dumbledore! Cannot forget about those! What about it Rita?"

Rita, who was still scowling at Danielle, nodded. "A large group one and then some individual shots, I believe."

"As I'm not needed for the photos, according to my court ordered papers, I believe I'll go then," Danielle smirked at Rita before standing to leave. Unfortunately, she found herself blocked by both Karkaroff and Maxime. "Uh…yes?"

"We have that contract you suggested," Karkaroff stated tersely, spreading it out on a nearby desk.

"Ah," said Danielle, nodding in understanding. She had to admit that she felt intimidated a bit, not enough to feel truly frightened but certainly enough to feel uneasy. "Right. I have a quill in my bag, hold on."

Taking the writing implement in question out of her bag in a moment, she looked over the contract, much to the impatience of both heads of their schools, clearly thinking that she would just sign it without reading it first. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, that she would just surrender the money and cup to the winner of the tournament on the off chance she did win, she signed without a problem. Considering that she had also flicked her unseen tails to check to see if there had been any invisible clauses or articles unseen to the human eye and came back clean made her feel slightly better as well.

Putting her quill back, she idly wondered what would happen if she asked Luna to run an article in the Quibbler of the foreign heads of the schools bullying the fourth champion. While there had been nothing wrong with the contract, the very nature of both heads essentially threatening her into signing it with their bodily and magical presences had been of a bullying nature.

One of the few things Danielle couldn't stand were bullies and intimidation was a classic move of theirs. She honestly was not sure why the two heads were so against her person though she was coming up with a decent enough theory. Karkaroff was easy for the most part, he was angry that a fourteen year old had the same position as his star pupil, making Krum seem like less of a champion or something.

Madame Maxime was a bit more complicated but it was still clear what her thoughts were. She didn't like how Fleur wanted to be in Danielle's presence, seeing the young red head as nothing but competition. The large headmistress wanted to win, to show to Dumbledore that her school was as good as if not better than his own. Since Fleur was her champion, she was going to pressure the platinum blonde with absolute perfection in her goal to win the tournament.

It was almost sad how transparent they were, Danielle mused, before leaving the room. While she could go down to the Great Hall where the others were waiting for her, she wanted to talk to Fleur.

First, she wanted to see what Fleur's thoughts were when it came to her headmistress and what they could do about it. While Danielle herself didn't want to be the 'be all, end all' for Fleur, she had a feeling that they would wind up together at some point and she needed to be prepared for it. If what Fleur said was true, than, as the blonde's mate, she almost had a duty to the both of them to get to know her and vice versa.

Danielle internally grimaced at that. She wasn't blind to the fact that Hermione and Ginny didn't really like the French witch for some reason. Hermione's face constantly turned into scowls whenever Fleur was nearby and Ginny's tone became slightly more hostile. Only Luna seemed to enjoy her fellow blonde's presence

Sighing slightly, Danielle simply took out a book from her bag and, leaning against the wall slightly down the hall where the photo shoot was taking place, started reading on advanced runes and their applications.

After about twenty minutes, the door finally opened and people started to file out. Rita and her photographer leaving first, the reporter glaring at her the entire way down the hall. Danielle ignored the various looks she got from the three heads and two of the three champions, instead, when she was sure Madame Maxime was out of sight, she turned to Fleur, who had stayed behind curiously.

"Fleur, are you busy right now?"

"Non, my Inari," said Fleur, sounding curious and grateful that her headmistress had a meeting to get to that demanded her time. It gave her more time with her chosen mate.

"Come with me. I know of a place we can talk without anyone else listening in." With that, Danielle made her way up the flight of stairs near them, the blonde beauty following. Taking a few shortcuts behind some tapestries had them on the seventh floor with no problem and Fleur seemed to have enjoyed the various secret passageways.

"Zhat was a most enjoyable way of getting around," she commented, smiling. Her smile faded a little when she saw Danielle pacing back and forth in front of a blank stretch of wall. "Danielle-" she stopped when she saw a door appear out of nowhere. "Oh…"

"I welcome you to the Room of Requirement," said Danielle, smiling as she opened the door to reveal a cozy sitting room. The walls were decorated with various banners with the Beauxbaton's coat of arms and the carpet was the standard powder blue color Fleur's uniform consisted of. A few comfortable arm chairs stood before a fireplace, which had a real fire crackling away in the hearth.

What had Fleur enamored though was that there was a window that showed the sights of Paris at dusk, allowing her to see the Eiffel Tower glowing at night.

"Zhis is…amazing. What is zhis?"

"A special room that only a few know about," said Danielle as the door clicked behind her with multiple locks sliding into place. "It can become just about anything you want within reason. There are some limits, but I asked for a place we could talk with enough things from France that you should feel somewhat comfortable." She smiled a little hesitantly but sat down, not looking at Fleur for the moment. "We have a few things to talk about, I suppose."

"Oui, we do," Fleur sighed, getting comfortable in her own chair.

Danielle folded her hands in her lap as she sat properly in her chair. She usually didn't really care about manners between two people comfortable with each other but she didn't want to seem like some uncultured savage at the moment. "Fleur, a few days ago you told me I was your mate. Now, I suppose this is obvious but I should ask anyway. How serious is this?"

Fleur winced slightly at the wording. "Zhis is not some illness, Danielle." Said fox girl inclined her head in apology and she nodded. "Anyway, zhis kind of bond is for life. You are my chosen mate, as my inner Veela is telling me, and I will not find happiness with anyone else."

Danielle took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I figured as much, but I had to ask. Now, is there any kind of problem with this bond that I should know about? Are you under a time limit or do you have to-" she was cut off when Fleur stood up and pressed her finger to Danielle's lips, preventing her from continuing.

"Danielle, please, relax," said Fleur, smiling. Waving her wand, the armchair grew slightly to become a loveseat and she sat down next to her. Putting away her wand, she took one of Danielle's hands in both of her own. "Alzhough I do not know you well, I do know that you shouldn't be nervous. I have found my mate and zhat is good enough for me at zhe moment. I will admit, I did not expect to find you 'ere, and I didn't zhink my mate would be so young, but at zhe very least, I want to be close to you."

Danielle raised an eyebrow. "You would be fine with just being my friend?"

Fleur made a small face. "Oui, if zhat was the only way to be close to you." She sighed. "I do not zhink I am doing a good job in explaining zhis." She paused as she collected her thoughts. "Veela are, for zhe most part, exactly zhe same as other women. We live and we love the same as others, we just have some extra powers that go along with it."

Danielle chuckled as her fox ears and tails appeared. "I think I know that feeling, Fleur."

"Quite," said Fleur, smiling. "Every Veela 'as a mate somewhere, and most never find zhem. We can grow to love others and have fulfilling lives with zhem, maybe have families, but nothing can be compared to finding a mate. The feeling is…indescribable," Fleur sighed, this time happily. "If we do separate now, decide zhis isn't we want and go our separate ways, a small part of me will never be repaired. Veela without their mates have gone mad with crushing loneliness, and never fully get over it."

"I heard you were only quarter-Veela."

Fleur snorted. "Zhat is a misconception. Zhere is no such thing as half or quarter Veela. One is either one or is not. As for zhe bond, it will grow and weaken constantly until it evens out throughout our relationship, becoming more powerful zhe more love zhere is and vice versa with getting weaker."

She turned to face Danielle, who looked into the blonde's blue eyes to find nothing but shy affection that could, one day with the right motivation, burst into true love. It made Danielle shudder slightly but she reigned it in, allowing Fleur to finish.

Fleur gripped both of Danielle's hands tightly and the red head's tails acted on their own as they wrapped themselves affectionately around the blonde's waist, much to Danielle's slight embarrassment.

"Our relationship will not be perfect, my Inari," Fleur whispered, getting close to the other girl's face as she moved closer. "We will argue, we will fight, as all couples do but I will always care for you and perhaps love you if we go zhat far like I 'ope."

Danielle slowly smiled before she tugged on her tails slightly and brought Fleur closer to her so they were sharing a soft hug.

Fleur hummed as she allowed the furry and soft tails to wrap around her tightly. "One zhing you should know, my Inari, is zhat Veela are very affectionate and love to show it and I am no exception. Do prepare for a lot of hugs in zhe future."

"I think I can arrange that," said Danielle with a happy sigh. She was fairly sure she was letting her feelings for the Fleur in her old timeline to mix with the ones for this Fleur but she didn't really care. The Frenchwoman had always been a source of wise understanding for her and she welcomed her while other girls mocked the blonde.

When they finally separated, Fleur hummed a little again. "You know, I heard zhat zhere is a ball in zhis tournament. As champions, we will need to find dates. Is zhere anyone you would like to ask or shall we go together?"

That actually made Danielle blink in surprise but she had to admit, the idea had appeal. She didn't really care what others had to say about her and she was sure Fleur cared less than she did. Plus, there really was no one else she could think of that would want to go with her anyway.

Hermione would probably go with Krum again, or maybe some other guy that would like her for her intelligence. She didn't know about Ginny or Luna but she guessed that Neville could have gone with her as a friend.

No, Fleur was the best choice as she finally nodded.

"It's not until Christmas so we have time," she said and Fleur nodded in understanding. "I found a dress over the summer that is a shade of blue contrasting well with my hair, just so you know for later reference."

Fleur smiled brilliantly and nodded. "I will be wearing silver and I will enjoy holding you in my arms zhen."

Danielle sighed slightly as she leaned into Fleur's embrace, resting her head on the blonde's shoulder. In her old timeline, she had never dated, too busy trying to take down Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Her parents had only ever treated her like an annoyance, just something to deal with as they fawned over Harry.

One reason she had never dated was that she was never sure if someone liked her for whom she was or because they wanted to get close to Harry. Being the sister of the Boy-Who-Lived made her an attractive person to those that only wanted to use her for connections without caring about what she wanted.

In the current timeline, while she was friends with Hermione and Ginny in addition to Luna this time, she still didn't really know what love was. Yes, she felt friendly love for the three mentioned previously and she was fairly sure they felt the same toward her but it wasn't the romantic love she had always fantasized about. Was it so wrong to imagine herself either holding or being held by someone who felt raw unconditioned love for her?

In the war, she had had to toughen up and be the leader she had to be while being merciless on the battlefield, taking out Death Eaters before they killed anyone she cared about. She had always thought she had lost at least some of her humanity in her attempt to take the fight to the Death Eaters and put an end to them…permanently.

Now she had a beautiful blonde Frenchwoman holding her and stroking her hair, making her feel cared for and protected. Maybe it was Death giving her a break or maybe it was Fate's way of apologizing for the crappy life she had lived in her first timeline but she seriously wanted to just throw the moral and logical arguments out the window and simply enjoy herself at the moment.

The hug itself was different from the ones Hermione and the others gave her. There was still a sense of caring and protectiveness that she was used to from them but there was something else that, if she had to guess, was affection and the promise of something more powerful later. Danielle couldn't stop herself and she purred slightly, her tails tightening their hold on the blonde's waist.

Fleur herself was feeling immensely content with her life at the moment as she held the slightly shorter girl in her arms. Her inner Veela was purring just as much as Danielle was and she loved the fluffy softness of those tails wrapped around her. Her Maman hadn't been lying when she had told stories of what it was like for a Veela to be close to their mate as she felt a glowing heat spread throughout her body, calming her and soothing her from the inside out.

She couldn't say she loved Danielle yet, it was too soon for that for any couple in a relationship, but she could tell that the affection she felt now could easily bloom into full love if given the chance.

After several minutes, Danielle finally sighed and pulled away from Fleur. "We should get to dinner."

Fleur sighed as well and nodded. "We do need to eat, my Inari."

Standing, Danielle felt herself not wanting to leave just yet. Physically, she was fine but she had always been more than a little fragile emotionally, a side effect from never getting any approval from her parents. She had managed to become a master of hiding her emotions and putting up a front of fake confidence but she still felt like she could break at any moment.

"I take it we have to keep this a secret from your headmistress?" asked Danielle, knowing the answer already.

"At least for now," said Fleur, not happy about it either. "I also zhink zhat your friends would try to murder me if I kept you away from zhem for too long."

Danielle cracked a smile at that, knowing how protective Hermione and Ginny had become of her recently. Luna had always known that she could handle herself so the dirty blonde Ravenclaw had never really worried about her as much as the other two.

"I'll talk to them for you, Fleur. I'm sure they'll come around at some point."

Fleur decided not to mention that she doubted that very much.

XXXXXX

"Are you really sure you're okay?" asked Hermione as she and Danielle sat on a table near the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room that night. Most of the students had gone to bed but for the ones that were still around, the red head had used an anti-eavesdropping charm to make sure their conversation was private.

Hermione was worried. Her friend had vanished with Collin earlier that day and she hadn't come back until dinner was nearly over with _Fleur_ of all people! Was it really that crazy to make sure the blonde Veela hadn't enchanted her friend or anything?

Danielle smiled in a way that made Hermione's heart start beating a little faster than normal. "I'm fine, Hermione. For the third time, I just had to talk to Fleur about this whole 'chosen mate' thing."

Their conversation was interrupted when Ginny sat down near them, making Danielle alter the charm to include her. "Thanks and now I have to ask this, Dani." Ginny frowned at her in a way that promised pain. "What were you doing with Delacour?"

Danielle sighed but Hermione was in no mood to be lenient with her friend. She wanted answers dang it!

"All I did was talk to Fleur after the wand-weighing ceremony Ginny, honestly." Danielle leaned back in her chair and shrugged. "She's really nice when you get past the haughty attitude."

"And you talked about…?" Ginny asked, demanding to know.

Danielle raised an eyebrow and Hermione could tell she was starting to get irritated. "Mostly, we talked about her staring at me in the Great Hall. She says she's interested in me and we might be going to the Yule Ball together."

Both Hermione and Ginny gaped at her. The brunette hadn't known of that!

"And you're okay with that?" asked Ginny, recovering first. "I mean, you never really said who you would date one way or the other. Like, guys or girls so…"

Hermione suddenly looked interested and Danielle appeared a little uncomfortable.

"I…" Danielle swallowed and shook herself slightly. "To be honest…I never really thought about it." She stared at a tapestry behind her friends for a moment before saying anything else. "I've…never dated before. I never really gave much thought about whom I want to date or anything like that. Too busy with school work and worrying about Voldemort." She was glad that Ginny hadn't flinched at the sound of the name this time. Shrugging, she continued. "Why does it really matter?"

Hermione frowned. "So…you never found out if you were, well…straight or gay?"

Danielle blinked and shook her head. "No. I know of the social stigma of couples of the same gender. I know the various courting rituals and dating practices of people of differing ages throughout one's lifespan. I even know that Dumbledore is gay. But no, I never took any time to consider my own orientation. It never seemed important."

"Of course it's important!" Ginny almost shouted and Hermione was glad of the charm preventing anyone from hearing them. "It's a big part of a girl's…anyone's really…identity of who they are as a person. And you never…" Ginny threw her hands into the air. "Ugh! Hermione, take over! Please!"

"I suppose," said Hermione, looking uncomfortable for a moment. "As far as I can tell, the stigma of couples of the same gender is really only in the non-magical world. Ginny?"

"The magical world really doesn't care," Ginny snorted. "What's important is to produce an heir. But since Harry is the heir of the Potter family, Danielle here wouldn't be able to take over anyway. And yes, since our headmaster has never exactly hid his own orientation, no one really cares one way or the other." She frowned, "wait, Muggles don't like same-sex couples?"

Hermione blushed but shook her head. "Same-sex couples are getting more rights and respect pretty much every year now but there is still a lot of prejudice against them, I think. My parents never said anything about it one way or the other and I don't have an opinion of my own really, at least not yet."

"Well, the magical world doesn't give two knuts over it," said Ginny. She turned back to Danielle, who still looked slightly confused at where this was going. "But you never even bothered to find out which team you play for? Just about everyone in our years at least have a clue by now."

"Like I said, it didn't seem important," said Danielle. "No one has given me any hints that they like me other than Fleur and I've never felt any kind of attraction toward anyone hinting at a romantic relationship. Since I've never had a crush on anyone and Fleur pretty much asked me out, I have no reason not to go with her." She shrugged and leaned back in her chair. "My dress would work well with either gender I go with so that's not the issue."

Ginny sighed, shaking her head. "It's not about the dress," she muttered. "I just find it strange you apparently never took the time to figure any of this stuff out about yourself."

"I've been busy with schoolwork, writing to Hermione's mother, worrying about Voldemort and helping various students with my tutoring," said Danielle and Hermione could definitely detect some surliness in her tone.

Hermione mentally sighed about one of the things Danielle had said. Her mother had asked the red head to write to her and tell her about things going on at Hogwarts and about her daughter in particular. Danielle still wasn't allowed to get anywhere near Mr. Granger, but she and Emma had been seen talking in private multiple times.

"Dani, we're not saying anything bad," Hermione tried, getting the fox girl's attention on her this time. "We're just saying that, compared to others our age, you are a bit…over focused on school work."

"Yeah, and you don't seem to have too much of a social life outside of spending time with us," finished Ginny, unknowingly making Danielle's eyes harden.

Hermione saw the warning signs and had tried to stop Ginny but couldn't in time and now the red head in front of them was getting angry.

"So, it's okay for me to fantasize about what gender for me to like, but it isn't for me to be in the same room with Fleur Delacour, is that it?" Danielle asked, her eyes turning into hazel colored chips of ice.

Ginny gulped and Hermione took over. "Dani, we're just saying that we're worried about you spending time with Fleur. After all, we don't really know her-"

"Is it really that hard to believe that someone outside of you two or Luna would want to spend time with me?" Danielle asked, interrupting them. "For once, someone actually comes along genuinely interested in asking me on a date and spending time with me on a potentially more romantic setting and you two decide to fight me on this? What? Can someone only come to me when they want me to tutor them or to fly in a Quidditch match?"

Her voice was getting louder and the only reason no one was stopping her from shouting were the charms preventing her from being heard by the room.

Ginny and Hermione were both sinking into their chairs as Danielle berated them. "Dani-"

"No! I know more magic than most professors and my defense skills are second to none and you two don't trust me in spending time with a French student! If I can battle Voldemort to a standstill and come up on top than I think I can handle a seventeen year old Beauxbatons student! You two really don't trust me whatsoever when it comes to me defending myself, do you? What? Are you going to question me if I can handle going to the bathroom next?"

Danielle's angry expression, and the fact she was shouting now were the only things that stopped Hermione and Ginny from stopping her when the furious red head stomped up to the girl's dormitory.

Hermione and Ginny looked at each other once they heard a banging sound and knew that their friend must have slammed the door to the dorm shut. Hermione sighed and leaned back in her chair with a tired expression. "That could have gone better?"

Ginny glared at the stairs. "We were only trying to help."

"She didn't ask for our help," said Hermione, feeling exhausted. "Not to mention that she is kind of right."

"Say what?" asked Ginny, turning her glare to her friend now. "We don't know anything about that French girl. What? They were 'just talking?' Pfft, more like wanting to get close to OUR Dani and…I don't know! Something!"

"She said we don't trust her," Hermione reminded her, sighing.

"Of course I don't trust that blonde Veela girl," Ginny grumbled, muttering something darkly under her breath. "Bet she's planning something and-"

"No," Hermione shook her head, "Dani said we don't trust her. And…while I think she should have been calmer about it…she did have a point."

"What? But, we do trust her!"

"Not enough to trust her with Fleur," Hermione reminded her and Ginny deflated slightly. "Not to mention that she's also right about being under a lot of pressure at the moment."

Ginny sighed as her frustration died down to manageable levels. "The tournament, the tutoring of the younger students, schoolwork and writing to your mum. Not to mention us giving her the third degree about Fleur. Okay, I admit we were a bit tactless."

Hermione was silent for a few minutes as she sat there at the table, arms folded on the table, lost in thought. _'She said she was surprised that Fleur took an interest in her…or that, anyone was interested in her at all. Does she really not know how attractive she is?'_

Ginny sighed agitatedly as she glared at the wall. "She could have at least listened to what we said about Fleur. I still say she's up to something!"

The brunette next to her shook her head, debating whether or not she should tell her. She finally nodded to herself. "I ran into Fleur and Danielle a few days ago on Halloween. Fleur said that Danielle is her mate."

Ginny's eyes instantly snapped to her with a shocked expression. "She said mate? As in, a Veela mate?" When Hermione nodded, she swore. "Damn. Several magical beings have mates and even though I didn't know Veela were among them, things make sense now. Mates for other magical beings are for life and is that magical being's other half in every sense of the word. Fleur really can't love anyone other than Dani."

She paused and shook her head. "Still, even if Dani is her mate, it doesn't mean its exclusive. Dani could, in theory, still fall for someone else and Fleur would have to accept that." She then grimaced. "Or Dani could reject her and she would never find happiness with anyone else."

"She did say it was a heady feeling," said Hermione, still in thought. She then paused. "Wait, Danielle could fall for someone else and Fleur would have to accept that? You mean Dani could be romantically inclined to someone other than Fleur and they would be in a three-way relationship? Is that legal?"

"It's only a few magical beings that would allow other members into a relationship with their mate," said Ginny. "And I have no idea about Veela. As for the legality, multiple marriages aren't illegal in the magical world, though they are rare. It's usually for those heirs of magical houses that are on the verge of extinction and would need more than one wife to increase their numbers. But anyone if they truly wanted to could marry more than once, though the first wife would always be the 'alpha' if you will." She then frowned at Hermione. "What are you thinking?"

Hermione shook herself and brought her attention to the world around her again. "Huh? Oh, sorry. Just…lost in thought for a moment. Thanks for the info Ginny, but I need to get to bed too."

Ginny's frown only grew more prominent but nodded with narrowed eyes. "Okay. Hopefully Dani will have calmed down by tomorrow morning."

"Right."

Hermione went to bed, not surprised when she saw that the curtains around Danielle's bed were drawn, indicating that she was still angry and frustrated. Sighing, knowing that the red head wouldn't want company that night, she did her usual nightly routine before heading for her own four-poster bed.

'_After sharing for so long, it seems so big for only one person,'_ thought Hermione as she sank onto her mattress, a little disconcerted by the lack of heat from a warm body next to her.

Sighing, Hermione tried to get comfortable as she took off her necklace, allowing her cat like attributes to show. She usually liked how her tail could be used to wrap around herself and Danielle as they slept but now she held and stroked it, lost in thought as she tried and failed to sleep.

_'Why do I dislike Fleur so much? I mean, yes, she's gorgeous and someone I could never match in a million years, but is it just jealousy? I admit that I don't like how much time Danielle would be taking away from me if she was with Fleur, but is that the reason I don't like that blonde?'_

Hermione rolled over, now staring at the ceiling of her four-poster bed. _'I need to think of this logically. Okay, so I felt…sad, when Fleur said Danielle was her mate. But was it just because of the amount of time Danielle would spend with her and away from me?'_ Hermione shook her head. _'No, it was stronger than that. It was almost like I was…sad and angry that Fleur was…taking her away from me? But, shouldn't I be happy that Danielle has someone that can love her like she deserves? I'm her best friend, I want her to be happy just like she wants the same for me._

_'It's not like Fleur is a bad person, really. Danielle told me and Fleur confirmed it herself that her princess-like attitude is just to repel people away so she doesn't get hurt. It's a mask she uses to protect herself. I'm sure she's a lovely person to spend time with if I got to know her. Then why can't I like the idea of her and Danielle alone together?'_

Hermione had a sudden image of Danielle spending time with Fleur, alone, and kissing in some secluded room. The brunette suddenly felt sadness again with only a hint of jealousy.

_'Why? My kneazle senses tell me Fleur is a faithful and all around loyal friend. She's trustworthy and I can trust her with Dani. Then why-?'_

The image she had conjured for herself suddenly changed and showed herself in Fleur's place, her own lips captured with Dani's on some couch in the Room of Requirement. The sense of unease she expected didn't come, and she was surprised to feel…happiness and anticpation. Hermione blushed, trying to rid herself of the mental image but it came back stronger than ever.

_'Do I…do I like Dani in a more romantic sense? But I…_' Her thoughts trailed off as she remembered spending time with Danielle, both in Hogwarts and out of it. She remembered the smile the red head gave in Florean's in Diagon Alley when she dug into chocolate ice cream. The look of satisfaction when Danielle tutored younger students and even her friends in whatever they wanted, seemingly knowledgable in every subject she was asked. The look of confused happiness when she had chosen Danielle to spend time with over Harry and Ron back in their second year. The warm feeling she felt whenever she woke before Danielle, watching the fox girl sleep with a peaceful look on her face.

Hermione blinked rapidly as she came to a realization. _'I…I like Dani. But…I…was that always there or…?'_ She shook her head as she rubbed her tail, looking for comfort. _'It…it doesn't matter, I suppose. Fleur got to her first. I don't…Ginny said Dani could be with more than one person if she wanted to, and Fleur would have to deal with it. But…could I do it? Even if I get Danielle away from Fleur, we would be condemning the Veela to a life of sadness. I don't think I can do that. But could I share her?'_

This required more thinking. Good thing she probably wouldn't get comfortable enough to sleep that night.

**This might be the longest chapter I have ever posted, I think. Tell me what you think or if you want to see more of a Kitsune Danielle. I have plenty of them, I think.**


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Harry Potter