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Daniel Page was a boy of few words. He was not the type to go seeking out attention nor did he crave glory. He just wanted the next 7 years to pass by smoothly and in the process, create interesting and complex potions. Obscurity was Daniel’s goal, to remain a background character in everyone’s lives so that he may experiment in peace. He dealt with his assortment of bullying, mainly from the Frey twins and their overlord Cassandra Vole, but for the most part was able to keep out of everyone’s radar.
They had reached that point in their 1st year where students were already starting to form their clicks, and he really had no interest in partaking in their social customs. People were… complicated. Yeah, that was a nicer way to put it. He also didn’t have the cleanest family record, so he would rather not have people make a scene over his families criminal background.
He was happy having things this way, the comfort of his potion mixing cauldron the only company he craved… that is until she showed up.
“Daniel! Come sit with us!”
Her. Daniel used to grimace at his name being called, looking over at a smiling girl with tan skin and short white hair who waved at him. MC was a nuisance. They met when she asked to sit with him on the train ride to Hogwarts. He attempted to dismiss her by saying he needed the space for his potion ingredients, but as a small frown formed on her lips and her eyes averted downward, he begrudgingly redacted his statement, the smile returning just as quickly.
Ever since then she has actively sought out his companionship, but why? He wasn’t the approachable sort, but he had to admit the train ride over was pleasant. They spoke a bit but she also didn’t bother him when he began reading his copy of ‘Advanced Potion Making’ which he greatly appreciated. He thought that would be their first and last interaction once that train ride came to an end, but he should have known it would be hard to avoid someone who also got sorted into Slytherin.
Although nuisance was the word he originally used to describe her, he hated to admit that over time he didn’t actually see her that way anymore. She was energetic but not obnoxious, made friends easily with her kind demeanor, and she was intelligent too. She actually helped Daniel figure out that his essence of Dittany was 2 drops short of salt water, an amateurs mistake on his part, but he was left impressed nonetheless. She was strange but interestingly so, he could see why she had so many friends even outside of their house.
He could have ignored her advances sure, but he ended up taking his seat beside her every time she called for him. He waited for the day she would eventually get bored of him and stop seeking him out, but that day never came. Before Daniel knew it, a few months had passed and he was doing the exact opposite of what he said he would ever do; he made friends. MC was clever, he had to give it to her. She ensnared Daniel into her trap and he didn’t even realize it till it was too late. She started to have him mingle with other Slytherins such as Lottie and Ivy, 2 girls their age that hung out often with MC. He didn’t even realize he had become part of their group until one day after class MC grabbed his wrist and dragged him to the great hall to sit with her group for lunch. He was introduced to 2 Gryffindors, Robyn and Kevin, who acted as if they already knew him.
“Here he is, the man of the hour! Sit down mop head!” Robyn teased and she took a bite into her potatoes.
“Robyn don’t call people mop head, it’s rude.” Kevin retorted with a sigh.
They carried on like he was truly apart of the group, and for once in a long time Daniel was truly happy. He loved making potions, but he had to admit it was a lonely profession. He never expected this to happen, and he doesn’t think anyone would have forced him to open up of it weren’t for MC.
2 years had passed and they had quite a few crazy adventures, and some scary close calls. But even with the obstacles set before them, MC’s smile never faltered and she always managed to keep their group together. Daniel was grateful for her friendship, and as she hugged him goodbye as they exited the train off platform 9 3/4 to signify the end of their second year, her prodding him to make sure he writes every week during the summer, he realized she was indeed his best friend.
Best friend. That’s what he kept telling himself.
At the start of their 3rd year, Daniel started to notice things about MC which normally he never thought about. For one, her hair had grown. It reached midway down her back in wavy curls, her white hair bouncing and glistening in the morning sun when they would take their usual walks around the court yard. Her eyes seemed… bigger? No. That’s not the right word. They just seemed… so immersive. Like, if he stared too long behind her large rounded frames, he would get engulfed into those bright green orbs and for whatever reason, he WANTED that to happen. She was always taller than him but he finally surpassed her by a few inches, much to her chagrin. She scolded him that he wasn’t allowed to grow anymore, he retaliated by researching into permanent growth serums that same day, chuckling to himself at the image of her displeasure; freckled cheeks puffed out in feint annoyance.
Cute.
He hid his face in his book in embarrassment at the thought.
No one should be thinking about their best friend this much. HE shouldn’t be thinking about MC this way. He found himself thinking about her a lot more than usual. He wasn’t stupid, he knew what this was. He watched Robyn and Kevin dance around their feelings for 3 years. Well, not so much Robyn who was making it more and more obvious each year her feelings for her friend, Kevin just couldn’t take a hint.
With MC it was different. She didn’t seem to treat Daniel any differently since their 1st year so he knew this was something he would have to eventually get over.
Easier said than done.
In their 3rd year they were allowed access to the dance club; MC, Ivy, and Lottie dragged him along and although he originally disliked the idea, he ended up loving it. It was now a hobby aside from potions he genuinely enjoyed. He began to frequent the club more often and that’s when, for the first time, other students began paying attention to him. Yes he was a pretty good dancer, he just didn’t expect it to heighten his popularity within the club to this extent. He continued to get a bombardment of invitations to dance and it was frankly overwhelming. The spotlight was something Daniel tried to avoid, and with his continued visits to the club he began trying to hide from his fellow classmates.
“Hi!”
Daniel was caught by surprise, he was hoping this spot behind the stacked books would give him enough cover but apparently not. Grumbling to himself in annoyance, he turned around.
“Urgh, not again… phew, It’s you, MC.” Daniel sighed in relief to find it was just his friend calling to him.
“Yeah, I’m not a stranger here to harass you. You don’t have to get all anxious.” She giggled in response. He really never got tired of hearing her laugh.
“Thank goodness. I’ve already tried hiding in a corner, but there’s an endless stream of them. They’re as annoying as the gnomes in Hagrid’s garden.”
“You dance really well, so naturally everyone would ask you to dance with them.”
“Oh, if only they would turn a blind eye to my… ‘strength’”. Daniel sighed. He looked over at MC, arms behind her back waiting patiently for Daniel to finish his thought process. No one really did understand him the way she did, and he never felt very comfortable dancing with classmates he wasn’t necessarily close to.
“…MC I have a favor to ask of you.”
“A favor? Sure, anything.”
“Dance with me… in return I’ll-“
“Okay.”
Daniel was taken aback, that was a quick response.
“You haven’t heard what I’ll give in return.” Daniel cocked his head in confusion.
“Don’t be silly. I don’t need anything for dancing with you. Besides, I was planning to ask you to dance.” MC replied with a mischievous grin.
He couldn’t help the flutter in his chest as she took his hand and dragged him to the dance floor. She made things seem so… simple. He was here overthinking every scenario and yet she smiled and looked at him like this was the most natural thing to do.
He could never quite hold their gaze for more than a few seconds before he would avert his eyes, cheeks feeling much hotter as he placed his hand on her waist and began to dance. She continued to keep asking to dance with him ever since, and he was always a bit too happy to oblige.
Aside from himself, MC had also found some newfound popularity. She was already quite popular with their classmates already, but even she started to get attention that was definitely more than just fellow classmates dancing together for fun. Daniel hated the lurching feeling in his stomach when he would see her dancing with someone else. He liked to think he was just over protective of his best friend and that he just wanted to make sure no one made her feel uncomfortable, but jealousy was an emotion he couldn’t quite accept yet. That would mean accepting everything else that came with it and he wasn’t ready for that.
“I’ll get over it.” He lied to himself.
Their 3rd year came and went and that feeling didn’t go away. Even with the childish way he behaved and the issues that came with his family that year, his feelings still held strong. He embraced MC before they went their separate ways for the summer, of course promising her to write as always. He watched her walk away, hair swaying back and forth as it always did, he knew without a doubt he was in love with his best friend.
You’re an absolute fool Daniel Page. He beat himself up mentally for having the audacity to ruin their friendship with his unrequited feelings.
He spent most of his summer researching potions that could make one fall out of love, he decided to add this to the list of potions he would one day create.
He never did figure out how to make it, but seeing MC excitedly run up to and give him the biggest hug after an entire summer apart, he never wanted this feeling to go away.
He pushed the thought of inventing that potion on the back burner.
On their first day back as 4th years, headmistress Mcgonagall announced Hogwarts would be teaming up with the Diggory Foundation and that they would have a ball in the winter to commemorate the anniversary of the Hogwarts student who lost his life to the dark lord during the triwizard tournament.
“It’s what my son would want. He told me his time during the yule ball was a beautifully memorable night for him.” Mr. Diggory had said during their welcome dinner.
This had many students squealing in glee at the prospect of a dance, Daniel was not as zealous over the matter.
“A dance sounds so wonderful!” Ivy said excitedly as they made their way to the Slytherin common room for the night.
“I cannot wait to see what festive paintings they choose to decorate the great hall, oh, it will be marvelous!” Lottie chimed in happily.
“I’m excited for the food options!” MC added, eliciting a laugh from the rest of the group.
“Your mind is always on food MC.” Daniel replied.
“Speaking of food, YOU still owe me some pumpkin pasties.” MC retorted.
“Yes, yes, you’re the wizard chess champion. We don’t need another reminder.” Daniel rolled his eyes playfully.
“And don’t you forget it!” The group erupted in laughter, now standing in the Slytherin common room.
“Oh, how adorable.”
Their gaze shifted towards Cassandra, accompanied by the Frey brothers.
“Pleasantries amongst the rabble warms my heart, truly.” She added, the Frey brothers chuckling antagonistically.
“Hello to you too Cassandra, have a fun summer?” MC replied, sighing to herself.
The sigh was so quiet that Daniel wouldn’t have caught it if wasn’t for the fact he was right next to her. He was always impressed with how MC kept her composure in front of Cassandra. Himself and their other friends did not share the same patience.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Cassandra replied with a snooty flip of her long blonde hair.
Before Daniel could give his input on how they truly did not care what she did over the summer, Cassandra continued.
“Of course you would! And there will be a future occasion that we can speak on the matter more thoroughly. Don’t keep me waiting too long.” Cassandra winked at MC before walking away, the Freys clumsily following from behind.
The four friends stood in silence, shock clear on all their faces.
“Did… Cassandra Vole just hint that she wants you to ask her to the ball? She has a lot of nerve that one.” Ivy began as soon as Cassandra was out of earshot.
“I would say I’m surprised by this, but for some reason I’m not.” Lottie cocked her head curiously.
“Cassandra has always tolerated MC more so than anyone else. She’s even complimented her outfits and asked her to dance that one time at the club.”
“Would you actually be interested in going with her MC?” Ivy smirked, bumping her shoulder suggestively against MC’s.
Daniel’s eyes quickly flew over to MC’s face, waiting for a reaction. His heart rate spiked as he anxiously waited for her to respond. He noticed MC’s eyes widened in surprise at Ivy’s question. She blinked a few times thoughtfully, he could tell she was trying to find the right words before giving her answer.
“Certainly not, I’m flattered she would want to go with me, but I just don’t necessarily… connect with her.”
Daniel let out a breath he had not realized he had been holding.
“I would much rather go with a close friend to be honest.”
Ivy nodded in agreement.
“I knew you would say that but I couldn’t help teasing. There are plenty of people who will want to go with you!”
Ivy wasn’t kidding. For the next 3 months Daniel had to watch suitor after suitor, as Robyn liked to put it, “shoot their shot” with MC. Every time he happened to be there when it happened his blood pressure would shoot up before his heart would steady itself once MC kindly rejected the offer. It was his own fault, he had been procrastinating asking her in fear of ruining their friendship. Of course he COULD just ask her if she would like to go as friends, but in reality, that’s not what he wanted. If he was going to ask her, he wanted the implications to be obvious.
During their study period the group decided to station themselves in the courtyard, their O.W.L.S would be coming up so they were all, for the most part, focused on their books. Daniel however was having a hard time doing, his gaze constantly going towards MC who was transfixed with her copy of History of Magic through the ages. She said it was her weakest subject so she was putting in extra time towards it.
He wanted to get her alone to ask, but lately has had very few opportunities. The times he has gotten her alone, he chickened out like a loser. He knew he had less than a month to do so now and was feeling the pressure. If he didn’t jump on the opportunity soon, ge knew eventually there was bound to be someone MC would say yes to. He tapped his quill impatiently on his parchment, trying to refocus back on his homework when a familiar face approached the group.
“Hey guys!” A Ravenclaw boy with round glasses approached the group, a soft smile on his lips as the group acknowledged him.
“Theodore! I’m surprised to see you here and not getting lost in the forbidden forest.” Robyn teased.
The group, along with Theodore, chuckled at her comment. He was in their grade but they only really saw him in class or out in the forbidden forest. He loved to explore and research all the strange plants and creatures, but often times would get himself into some trouble. Thankfully Daniel and his friends on occasion would run into him and save him just in the nick of time. He was a strange one but Daniel actually liked the Ravenclaw boy.
“Hahaha! Not today, I had something I needed to do at the castle. I actually… wanted to see if I could speak with MC for a moment.” Theodore asked shyly, rubbing the back of his head.
Daniel didn’t like Theodore anymore.
“Sure!” MC shut her text book and stood up, walking away with Theodore a few feet away from the group. Daniel frowned as he watched the two walk away, worry clouding his mind. Theodore was actually really nice, and he was handsome. He wasn’t super close with their group but MC considered the boy a friend, and if he asked, MC might actually say yes.
“Phew! If glares could kill.” Robyn whistled, bringing Daniel out of his thoughts.
“Maybe instead of glaring so much, you actually just ask her to the dance mate.”
Daniel’s cheeks turned a bright red, eyes widening at Robyn’s comment. He recomposed himself just as quickly, averting his gaze back to his parchment pretending to be unfazed.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about Rob-“
“Oh come ON Daniel! Don’t act daft!” Ivy interrupted.
“It’s obvious you have feelings for MC, and the fact that you’ve glared at every single person that has asked her was a dead give away.”
“I… I’m that obvious?” Daniel face palmed himself, he really was an idiot. Since he was always told, mainly by Robyn, that he had “RBF”, he just assumed no one would think otherwise.
“Uh yeah, you always look so Star struck when you look at her. We’re all friends, of course we would notice.” Lottie giggled.
“Well looks like I’m too late.” Daniel said defeatedly.
“I doubt that.” Kevin jumped in.
“You have shown zero interest in the dance Kevin, yet here you are actually participating in this conversation?” Robyn said clearly annoyed. Daniel was also surprised that Kevin was contributing to the conversation. Robyn has been hinting at Kevin for months to ask her but he hasn’t budged and has still been adamant about not going.
“Well, we’re not talking about me, and Daniel clearly seems distressed about this.” Kevin added nonchalantly. Robyn’s face began to turn beat red in anger but she remained silent.
“Also, it’s kinda painful to watch you pine for her in silence.” Kevin shrugged.
Robyn stood up abruptly, stuffing her books into her bag.
“You are the LAST person who should be judging anyone for not being able to take a hint, Kevin Farrell!” Robyn shouted, stomping away angrily.
“W-what?” Kevin stuttered out in shock.
The others sighed in unison, shaking their heads in disbelief.
“Kevin, what did you do now?” MC approached, arms crossed. Robyn had walked past her angrily, MC had put two and two together.
“I don’t know! She just got angry all of a sudden when…” Kevin looked at Daniel who silently pleaded no to reveal his plight. The look they shared was brief, but enough for Kevin to understand.
“… a-anyways. I’m going to go after her.” Kevin finished as he stood up and gathered his things.
“Kevin. I know you don’t think about this because you’re best friends, but… Robyn’s also a girl.” Daniel started, Kevins brow raised in confusion.
“Meaning… she wants to be asked to the dance by someone specific. If you catch my drift.” Daniel cocked a brow, hoping his friend would get the picture. Kevin’s eyes widened in understanding, muttering to himself “Kevin you idiot” before running off to catch up with Robyn.
“That was really sweet of you Daniel. I think he finally took the hint.” MC said, smiling brightly at the red head.
“I-it was nothing.” He dismissed shyly.
“So, what did Theodore want?”
“Oh, he asked me to the dance… but I declined.”
“Oh, that’s unfortunate… for him.” Daniel responded. Ivy face palmed beside him.
“I… suppose so?” MC replied. There was a hint of disappointment in her tone, she gave Daniel a sad look before she began gathering her things.
“I’m going to go gather some herbs before it gets dark, I’ll see you guys later.”
As MC walked away Daniel could feel he was missing something vital in the exchange.
“You boys are impossible! Daniel Page if you don’t go after her I’m going to use the imperious curse on you and make you!” Ivy threatened, shaking his shoulders furiously once MC was out of earshot.
“But…” Daniel began, his eyes followed MC as she began crossing the bridge to leave Hogwarts grounds.
“What are you afraid of? She’s your best friend isn’t she? She hasn’t been declining all these offers for no reason. It’s just like you told Kevin, she clearly has someone in particular she would like to go with. If you don’t say something now it will be your own fault if she decides to go with someone else.” Lottie added casually, like what she had just said was the most obvious thing in the world a toddler could figure it out.
She was right and Daniel knew it.
He didn’t understand why MC looked so disappointed during their exchange, but one thing was for sure, seeing her look so sad devastated him. He shoved his book into his bag and ran towards MC, he faintly heard Ivy yell “Go get her tiger! “ as he reached the halfway point down the bridged path.
“MC!” Daniel shouted. She stopped walking and turned around, eyes wide in surprise.
“Oh, Daniel! Did you need me to gather anything specific for your potions?”
“No, I… why did you reject Theodore’s offer? You said you wanted to go with a friend.”
“Should I have said yes?” She cocked an eyebrow curiously.
“No! Uh, no. That’s not what I meant.” Daniel began to fidget the strap of his bag anxiously.
“I just mean… MC we’ve known each other for 4 years now. I have the most fun when you’re around, and I think you’re amazing.” MC smiled in response, silently edging Daniel to keep going.
It’s now or never.
“You’re cool, funny smart… really pretty…” he cleared his throat at the last comment.
“A-and there’s nothing I would want to do to ruin what we have now. But… I also can’t keep acting like my feelings haven’t changed.”
“What do you mean?” She replied, interest clearly peaked.
“I… want to take you to the dance. And. Iwantto gotogetherasmorethanjustfriends.” Daniel babbled out, his voice had lost its energy, the last part coming out as nothing more than a jumbled up whisper.
“What?” MC took a step forward.
Daniel had to fight the urge not to take a step back. He took a deep breath, letting out the air slowly. He released the last bit of nerves as he made eye contact with MC, his demeanor much more confident now.
“We’ve been friends a long time MC. I hesitated for the sake of our friendship, but I’m ready now to accept my feelings on this. It would be an honor to go with the dance with you, and if it’s alright with you, I’d like for us to go as more than just friends.” He said it. There was no way she would misinterpret his words, his heart sank with fear. Was this the right call? In this one instant did he just ruin everything?
MC began to laugh. Now that wasn’t the reaction he was expecting.
“I’m sorry Daniel, I don’t mean to be rude by laughing!” MC wiped a tear from her eye as she composed herself.
“You just look so serious, it’s quite adorable.” Daniel’s cheeks reddened at the remark.
“I’m very grateful you told me, I honestly thought I had been misreading things. Months had past without you asking me, I planned to just take the leap and ask you this week.”
“R-really?” Daniel managed to stutter out.
“Of course, since we got the announcement you have been the only one I wanted to go with. You sure kept me waiting.” She teased.
“I… didn’t want to ruin our friendship.”
“I had a feeling that was it. You kept glaring at every person that asked me to the dance, but I honestly thought you were being a good friend and justly overprotective. I was tempted to say yes to Theodore because I thought I was misreading things between us… I’m glad to know there wasn’t a misunderstanding.” Daniel’s face reddened even more. How MC could say such embarrassing things out loud was beyond him, but he really liked that she made everything so easy.
She smiled fondly at Daniel which made his heart leap into his throat.
“But to answer your question, I would love to go with you… it’s a date.” MC nervously took Daniel’s hand in hers. The touch was brief but it felt as if that moment would last forever. With a wink, she released her hold and walked away.
“I’ll bring you back some herbs!”
He waved back dumbly in acknowledgement, still absorbing what had just occurred. The next month flew by quickly, the autumn weather transitioning to winter. Daniel and MC continued on as normal, but there was a hint of something that wasn’t there before; Lingering touches, eye contact lasting just a bit longer to be considered normal, knees touching under the dining table.
They were still kids after all, navigating these new found feelings while also trying to maintain their group dynamic required a learning curve.
Their friends knew what was going on before either could even mention it, and he truly appreciated the lack of teasing over this.
As for Robyn and Kevin, things had settled down between them. From what Robyn said, he found her at her usual hiding spot by the quidditch field where he confessed he was blind to what was going on and never intended to hurt her feelings. She didn’t want him taking her to the dance just because he felt obligated to go as her best friend, he said he wanted to and apparently meant it.
Kevin even later thanked Daniel when they were alone together at the start of divination, saying it was hard to come to terms with his feelings and was happy to hear he and MC were also taking the next step in their relationship.
“It’s nice to have another guy to talk about these things with, our friends are great, but they can only relate so much.” Kevin had said that day and Daniel couldn’t agree more with the sentiment..
Not everyone was as ecstatic about the news however.
Cassandra’s bullying got worse once she found out from MC she would be going with him instead. She ordered the Freys to target him and inconvenience him in anyway possible. From sabotaging his potions grade, to putting color changing solution in his shampoo (the group could not keep a straight face with his bubble gum colored pink hair, which lasted 3 whole days before he finally made a potion to counteract it), to ensuring the suit he got for the dance would go missing. Being in the same house as the Freys was a pain. It’s been a headache to say the least, but thankfully with his friends by his side they were able to help him get through it all. They ended up finding hit suit in the whomping willow, Robyn using her quidditch skills to snatch it from the branches while avoiding being hit, and even going with him to speak to Professor Slughorn who changed his grade since he knew Daniel was the brightest in his year for potions, he was very easily swayed thankfully.
Daniel put on his dark blue dress robes and gave himself a once over in the mirror. He even made himself a potion so that his normally messy flop of red hair would look soft and brushed for the night. He met up with MC, Ivy, and Lottie in the Slytherin common room like they had planned. MC was sporting a beautiful blue gown to match his blue tux, her silver hair in a half up half down updo, with small silver earrings dangling on each ear.
Before he could compliment her, she had hooked his arm into hers, her usual toothy grin on her lips.
“You look really handsome!”
“Y—y-you also look amazing.” He stuttered out.
He was used to the close proximity with MC, but now in the current circumstances he couldn’t help but feel nervous.
“You guys look great too!” He added when Ivy and Lottie began giggling amongst themselves.
“Thanks Daniel, let’s go meet Robyn and Kevin.” Ivy said as she held hands with Lottie. The two had decided they would go together as friends since neither had an interest in attending with anyone.
After meeting with a Robyn and Kevin, who looked like they had forgotten how to act around each other with the nervous expressions they shared whenever their eyes met, the group entered the great hall. The room bustled with students dressed in formal attire, music blasted and there was such a large assortment of food the friends didn’t know where to start.
They all danced and laughed with each other, not a single care in the world. Daniel even noticed Cassandra, who was dressed in a beautiful green gown, lightened up when MC offered her a dance.
“She may be a grump, but I think one day she will come around.” She told Daniel once she had finished dancing with the blonde.
Daniel looked over and saw how happy Cassandra looked dancing with the Frey brothers, and he thought for the first time MC might be right about that.
Daniel also made sure to have plenty of alone time with MC, ensuring that when a slow dance finally happened, he was at her side ready. She seemed just as thrilled to be dancing with him, a small shy grin on her face when they began the waltz. They had danced together many times at this point, and were completely in sync with each other. They were still kids, they were still figuring things out, but Daniel still wanted to make the effort. This was a “date” after all as MC had put it, and though the lack of privacy wasn’t ideal, he was just happy to be there with her.
When the waltz ended, she grabbed his hand and dragged him out the great hall just as soon as a more upbeat song started to play. She led him into the courtyard right at the center fountain. They had sat here multiple times throughout the years; mainly with their friends, but last year he had cried on her shoulder on a cold night just like this, regarding his family situation. His sister and mom making contact again... It was all too much, but MC sat their silently and held him. He had acted like such a jerk at the start of the year but she never gave up on him. He told himself he would never take her for granted ever again.
Now they sat in silence in their fancy outfits, steam forming as they exhaled all their pent up nerves, holding hands as they looked up at the star filled night sky. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek, thanking him for the fun night. He held up their intertwined fingers and kissed the top of her knuckles.
He thanked her for being such an amazing friend. Things were as they needed to be.