DANICA || REGULUS BLACK

V - the transfer

Breakfast the next day came to her as a shock.

The Great Hall was filled with chatter and laughter. A few students, mostly Ravenclaws who stayed up too late reading a book, dozed off and nearly faceplanted into their scrambled eggs. Still, everyone was relaxed due to the start of the year. There were no last-minute assignments you had to finish before the first period.

Danica was no different from the rest. She long since buried away her fight with Regulus, and joyfully sipped on her black tea with lemon, listening to Narcissa nerding out about her first Herbology class.

"-and so when I checked for the Wolfsbane I grew last year, it was perfectly intact! The hibernation spell I put on them ended up working better than I thought. It's such a relief too, since Madame Pomfrey and Professor Slughorn asked me to have it delivered to them this morning."

Narcissa looked as pretty as ever. Her silky blonde hair was tied back with her signature purple ribbon, and her uniform smelled of a dainty lily of the valley. I slight blush rose up her neck and her blue eyes twinkled in excitement. She was truly passionate about Herbology.

"That's very impressive Narcissa. You have a great talent. Are you planning to become a herbologist?" Danica asked, munching on her bacon.

She observed as Narcissa immediately paled a bit and fell timid. She began fiddling with her food and looking anywhere but at Danica. "Oh, I... don't know. I don't think that Luci-"

Danica waited for her best friend to finish her sentence, but as she followed where she was looking, she spotted a long platinum-haired figure leaving the Great Hall.

Malfoy, that bastard.

She didn't know exactly what about him caused such distress for Narcissa that had her scrambling up from her seat and running after him without even saying goodbye to Danica, but she knew it was not good.

Still, in a slight state of shock, it took her a while what exactly just happened, but before she could follow after her best friend, a loud chorus of cheers erupted through the hall.

Shit. She knew where this was going.

From every open door or window, a horde of owls flew inside, each carrying a package or a letter. A couple of them fell on their way to the recipients due to the sheer weight of the mail. From the corner of her eye, Danica saw a group of Hufflepuffs cheering for their classmate who received a new shiny broom.

Finally, the Lestrange family owl reached her table and dropped a single letter into her lap before flying back.

She didn't have to look for the sender, she knew who it was from and the thought sent a crippling chill down her spine.

On the expensive, golden envelope, using black ink in aristocratic cursive writing 'From Rodolphus Lestrange' was stated. The letter was sealed by a dark green wax stamp with the family crest on it.

This gave her a bit more space to breathe. It wasn't that bad. Red seals meant something official, this was casual.

Danica took out her wand and quickly transfigured her butter knife into a letter opener. When the seal got cut, she took a deep breath and looked around for any onlookers.

A few people, mostly some of her admirers, averted their gazes, but it wasn't anyone notable who watched her, so she pulled out the letter and unfolded it.

Her green eyes scanned through the same cursive letters on the parchment.

'Good Morning, Danica.

I must admit that it brought me a modicum of satisfaction to be enlightened last night about your recent induction into the Slug Club. An achievement, I suppose, though it hardly reflects the standards our father held during his tenure as a member.