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.
However, let us set aside these trifles for the moment and delve into more pressing matters. My dearest sister, must I endure the ignominy of hearing news concerning your recent altercation with the Black boy, both upon the staircase and within the halls yesterday? Can you fathom the depths of disgrace into which you are plunging our family name? Pray, do not dare to further besmirch our reputation.
When you return for the Christmas break, we shall discuss the repercussions of your reckless behavior in greater detail.
Do not allow yourself to forget your rightful place. Conduct yourself with obedience. Uphold the honor of our name as a member of the Esteemed and Noble House of Lestrange.
Expect further correspondence from me in due course,
Rodolphus Lestrange.'
Danica could barely breathe by the time she finished reading the letter. Someone was watching her. Watching her all the time, and informing her brother about it.
She quickly shot her head around the Dining Hall, desperately trying to find a single clue on the identity of the leaker.
Could it be the Carrow twins? No, they were already in the common room before she arrived. It couldn't be Malfoy either since he was away with Narcissa. Sirius sounded like a complete joke.
Could it be a complete stranger who held a petty grudge against her? But then again, no one would know her family dynamics. It had to be someone from her inner circle.
A loud thud of a fallen chair broke her out of her inner dilemma. Her eyes followed the source of the sound and landed on a distressed Regulus who was standing with wide eyes and clutching a wrinkled letter in his fist.
Could he have done that? If he has, this must've been karma biting back at him for being a snitch.
But when he looked at her with a look of utter pain, she felt bile slowly rising up her throat. Did he actually write for her brother? And why was he so shocked about it?
Danica didn't have more time to think because the next thing she saw was him swiftly turning around and rushing out of the hall, with Evan hot on his heels. Before the door closed, the blonde looked back and sent a look of pity at Danica.
Pity. Evan Rosier was pitying her.
What was actually going on?
Now, she was sitting completely alone. Her mind was alienated from the still cheerful surroundings as she continued to sip on her tea.
She wasn't as shocked as she thought she would be. Thinking that she had complete autonomy over her actions in Hogwarts was way too optimistic. Of course, her family would still find a way to control her here.
"Give me the name of the person who put a frown on your beautiful face and I promise they won't see the light of day."
Her head instantly snapped toward the source of the sultry sound. She was so deeply preoccupied with the letter and her thoughts, that she didn't even notice a boy sitting next to her.
"I'm sorry if I startled you. I couldn't bear seeing such a pretty girl sitting alone so lonely."
What the hell was he going on about? Did she really seem so miserable? The thought made her terrified, but when she looked around, no one seemed to notice her moment of weakness. Was he watching her the whole time?
Glancing back at him, she took a closer look at his appearance, and it was evident that he enjoyed the attention she was giving him, by his slightly crooked grin. He appeared to be around the same age as her, perhaps a year older, but there was an air of spontaneity about him that set him apart. She attributed this to his Gryffindor background, a fact that stood out due to his loosely knotted red and gold tie.
Casually propped up on one elbow, he directed his body toward her. He was quite handsome, she could admit that much. The best way she could describe him was harmonic. His warm, tan skin closely matched his sandy brown, fluffy hair. Even though his hazel eyes were somewhat concealed beneath long lashes, they were impossible to overlook. While she wouldn't go as far as comparing him to someone as gorgeous as Sirius, he could certainly give him a run for his money with his athletic physique.
"Who are you?"
Danica inwardly facepalmed herself for the dry question. The leaker issue completely wiped away any of her usual charm. But he didn't seem to mind her bluntness, as his smile only widened more at her attention.
"Oh, right. My name is Maximilian Huber, I'm a new transfer." He proudly stated and stuck out his hand for her to shake it.
She reluctantly returned the gesture purely out of politeness, still a bit suspicious of a Gryffindor's friendliness.
Her eyes searched for a specific group of people at the Gryffindor table, but when she saw the marauders deeply engaged in a conversation, not sparing the two of them a glance, she dropped the thought of them setting up some sick prank.
"Danica Lestrange. My pleasure to meet you." She said in her usual confident tone, but still slightly suspicious. "Huber, right? I never heard of that name before."
She didn't want to go in that direction, but now that she was being watched, if her family heard that she was talking to a non-pureblood she might get into deep trouble.
"Ah, that's a given. I'm from Germany, so my family name isn't known around here. I was quite surprised to be honest when I heard that being a pureblood should've landed me in your house."
Bingo.
Danica straightened her back more, now fully paying attention to him. It wasn't uncommon to see many international students, such as herself, in Hogwarts, but Germans, especially purebloods, were notoriously known for avoiding British lands.
"Oh, that's just a silly misunderstanding. There are students of various backgrounds in each House. Slytherin just happens to father disproportionately more purebloods than others, that's all." She kindly explained.
"Well, that's a relief then. I was afraid the distinctions between the houses were more strict. I'm still not very familiar with the British ways."
Despite him saying that he was German, she still found it a bit surprising considering his rather posh British accent.
"Right, you mentioned that you transferred into year...?"
"Year 6. It's actually the 10th grade in Durmstrang. We begin our studies at the age of 6."
She raised an eyebrow at him in question. Why on earth would a pureblood transfer from Durmstrang to Hogwarts of all places?
"Durmstrang? I heard many good things about it. Why did you transfer here?"
The air around him shifted slightly but the smile was wide as ever. He leaned closer to her as if telling a secret.
"You mean what did I do to land myself here? Well, you could say I have a couple of bad bones in me. Besides, I think I was fated to meet someone as sweet as you."
Danica didn't cringe as much as she thought she would at his compliment. It felt weirdly nice to have someone approach her so shamelessly directly unlike the usual awkwardness or sly tactics.
She decided to continue the conversation in a more neutral direction.
"I see then. I hope you find this place welcome."
"Thank you I-"
"Danica!"
A heavy weight collided with her back, two arms wrapping around her neck. Her younger brother, Rabastan practically hung on her with a tight squeeze and quickly pecked her left cheek in greeting.
"Is everything alright, Bast?"
She asked slightly confused, and a bit embarrassed at the display since many, including Huber who was rudely interrupted, were staring at them in amusement. Danica awkwardly patted the top of her brother's arms both in adoration and asking him to release her.
He quickly let go of her and sat down in between Huber and her, forcing his way in.
"Of course, I was just really happy to see you alone. You were always busy with something or talking to someone." He said nonchalantly, completely ignoring the boy to his left.
Maximilian didn't seem to have a strong reaction to this and just took a long sip of his pumpkin juice. Danica shot him a quick apologetic look before turning back towards her brother.
"I wasn't actually alone, Bast. Meet Maximili-"
"Just Max." The German boy corrected.
"Maximilian." She stood her place. A bit of flirting wasn't enough for them to be on a nickname basis. "This is Maximilian. He is a new German transfer from Durmstrang." Danica motioned her hand at him.
"Yeah, yeah, nice to meet you." Rabastan barely paid attention to him and waved him off quickly before blocking him out again and turning back toward Danica. "Guess what happened?"
He felt oddly excited, almost like a little puppy who was waiting to be praised.
"I made it on the Slytherin quidditch team on yesterday's tryouts!"
He finally exclaimed loudly, raising up his hands in excitement. He was probably dying to tell her the news.
Feeling immensely proud of her little brother, Fanica wrapped her hands around him.
"Congratulations Bast! I had no doubt that you'd make it. What position are you playing?"
"Chaser! I tried out for Seeker, but Black still got the spot." He said frowning a little. "Will you come cheer for me on our first match in October?" Rabastan looked up at her with expectant green eyes.
Danica laughed lightly and ruffled his hair. "Is that even a question?"
His face lit up at her response and he gave her cheek another kiss before looking back at his friends who were urging him to come along.
"Thank you, sister. I will see you later, right?" He looked back at her quickly, beginning to stand up but still not moving away.
"You know where you can always find me."
That gave him the final confirmation to give her one last hug and run off to his friends, all Slytherin.
"He's quite the character isn't he?"
Danica was startled to hear the deep voice of Maximilian, almost completely forgetting about him since her little brother's arrival.
"Oh, yes he is. Please forgive him for his rudeness." She said referring to Rabastan ignoring him. "He believes in not fraternizing with the enemy." She finished the sentence with slightly raised brows to indicate the ridiculousness and took a long sip from her tea.
"And do you agree with him? I could very well be the Gryffindor team's spy." He smiled, reclaiming his previous spot.
"Are you on their team?" She asked a bit surprised. He must've been good to get a place so soon.
"Mhm, the new Keeper." He dragged his pointer finger along her arm. "Does that change your view of me?"
"I would have to sadly disappoint you, but I don't have any view of you in the first place."
"Ouch, I thought we had a spark." He chuckled deeply, unbothered "Well, that's a relief then. Because I was thinking of asking an enemy to go on a friendly stroll with me this evening."
Danica laughed at his shameless flirting."Friendly?"
He smirked, leaning in closer. "We could leave that free for interpretation."
"Too bad Maximilian."
"Just Max-"
"Maximilian. But I'm afraid, being a prefect, I have duties to attend to during the evenings." She elegantly wiped her lips with a napkin and slowly stood up, looking down at his still-smiling face. "But I'll see you around."
And with that, she turned on her heel and walked out of the Dining Hall.
Talking to Maximilian was fun, but she couldn't get rid of the knowledge that someone was watching her. She had to be more cautious around new people.
Besides the image of Regulus running out with a horrified face still haunted her. And the look that Evan gave her.
Just thinking about it made her feel nauseous.
Something was really off.
So, she took a swift turn on the stairs and marched towards the common room.
She needed some answers.
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A/N
Hii.
So, I'm sorry if this chapter was a bit boring, a filler, but it's needed for the build-up. Besides I thought it would be better to upload a shorter chapter sooner than a longer one after a whole week. So, here it is.
I was elated to see every vote on my previous chapters, and 100 reads!!! Thank you so much! It really means a lot to me.
The next chapter is coming out soon.
Love,
strbrsweet.