Work Text:
Danny took a slow breath, trying to calm their nerves. Had to get to class…had to get to class! The eleven-year-old wizard ran through the halls, clutching their supplies to their chest as they ran. They were going to be so late! The Hufflepuff rounded a corner, yelping as they were passed through by a ghost. The grip on their items tightened, shuddering slightly as their body tried to get rid of the chill. Great, they were going to be late on their first day of actual class, and they’d gotten passed through by a ghost. What next?! Recovering from the shock, they brightened as they ran toward the door, getting through right when class was about to start. “Sorry–!” They panted, quickly taking their seat. “I, uh…got lost on the stairs.”
They could feel their ears burning red, keeping their head down as they put their supplies down on the desk in front of them. Quill, ink, books, parchment…at least they hadn’t forgotten anything. Gods, that would have been embarassing…of course, the muggle-born young wizard knew they would embarrass themself many, MANY more times throughout the years. Before the letter to Hogwarts had been sent their way, they didn’t even know that they were anything other than a screw-up. Now they were a screw-up with magic, and they couldn’t even turn to their mum for advice since she didn’t know what they were getting into either! The best they could do was keep their anxiety at a managable level and just…get through today. Then they’d have to do it again the next day, then the next, then the next. They’d only need to deal with this the rest of their life, this would be fine.
The Hufflepuff did their best to not cause any further disruptions to the class, and once it was over they scooped up all of their supplies and bolted out the door. Now to try to find their next class and hope the stairs wouldn’t screw them over again. Their next class was transfiguration…where was transfiguration!? “Why don’t they give first-years maps or something?” They muttered angrily under their breath, walking quickly through the halls. They didn’t want to ask any of the older students for help, especially since they were going to their own classes…keeping their eyes on the floor, they ran through the courtyard. The Hufflepuff didn’t stop to think that maybe they should look up, and Danny bumped right into a pair of Gryffindors who had been running the opposite way, yelping as they dropped their supplies. “I-I’m so sorry!” Danny stammered, crouching down to gather up their quills, papers and jar of ink, relieved it hadn’t shattered against the stone.
They looked up in surprise at seeing one of the two immediately crouching down to help by gathering Danny’s books.. “Are you alright?” He asked, looking concerned and offering a small smile.
Danny froze like a deer in headlights. They hadn’t learned much about magic history, or even magic in general, but that scar…they didn’t have to be well-versed in the magic side of the world they found themself a part of in order to know exactly who they were facing. “I-I’m alright. Thank you.” Danny ducked their head again. “I’m so sorry, Harry Potter…I didn’t mean to, I just–”
“Just Harry is fine, you know,” he said as he stood, holding the books he’d gathered out to the Hufflepuff. “This is my friend, Ron.”
“Ronald Weasley,” the redhead introduced, looking Danny over.
The Hufflepuff quickly stood up, cheeks burning in embarrassment as they accepted the books from Harry. “Nice to meet you. Sorry again. I’m Danny Evers. Uh…I hate to ask, but do either of you know how to get to Transfiguration..?”
“Oh, you’re lost? We are too, so at least we’re lost together,” Harry said, amusement coloring his tone.
“Hold on, since when do Hufflepuffs share classes with Gryffindors?” Ron asked.
Danny looked to the side sheepishly. “Yeah, uh…I kind of wasn’t expected to be coming, so by time I got my letter they had to just…put me where they could. I think my classes will be fixed next year, but for the time being I’m taking classes that aren’t with the rest of my house.”
Ron opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Harry spoke up. “We should probably get going. Professor McGonagall isn’t going to be happy about us being late on the first day.”
Danny nodded, quickly following after the pair and looking down, their stomach in knots. Well, they continued to be a screw up…literally running into the most famous wizard of this generation. So far, wizard school was turning out just as well, if not slightly worse, than muggle school. Could they just…quit? Was quitting allowed? Could Danny just pretend they didn’t have magic and try to live a normal muggle life? Wait, no, their muggle life wasn’t normal either. At least what Harry had said had helped Danny feel the slightest bit better. He was right, after all…at least they were lost together, so Danny wasn’t lost and alone.
Danny followed Harry and Ron blindly, feeling they had no choice but to trust them. After all, pretty much anyone in the school knew the layout better than Danny did. Soon the trio got to class, and Danny squeaked as they tripped in the middle of the room. Luckily, they managed to catch themself, eyes widening as they watched a cat at the front of the class turn into the professor. Oh, this was so not good. Luckily, she seemed to be more focused with the pair that had actually made it to the front of the class. But Danny felt bad at the fact that the pair were being scolded about being late so Danny took a breath, walking up to join them. “I…I’m sorry, professor. It’s my fault,” they said, looking up at the woman. “I was lost and going the wrong way. Ron and Harry stopped to help me, and that’s why we’re late.”
Professor McGonagall sighed softly, closing her eyes in exasperation. “Perhaps I should transfigure one of you into a map, then. I trust you won’t need one to find your seats.”
Danny nodded, eyes to the floor as they looked around and found a seat near the front. They glanced over, relieved to see the pair had also gotten seats of their own. But then they noticed Harry looking over to them, and quickly they looked down at the table. Hopefully Danny had managed to do something right.
~~~
“Why did you lie?” Harry asked, raising a brow as the trio walked through the courtyard.
“It wasn’t exactly a lie,” Danny said, shrugging slightly before shifting their supplies to one arm so they could adjust their glasses. “I was lost, and I was going the wrong way…I just didn’t tell her that I ran into you. But you did stop to help me, just…not for the ‘being lost’ reason.” Danny glanced over to look at Harry, not meeting his eyes. “And besides…I was already late to one class already, I kind of figured I’d be in trouble either way. I didn’t want to drag you two down with me if I could help it.”
“Thanks for that, then,” Ron said, a smile on his face. “What’s your next class?”
“Uh…potions with Snape, I think..?” Danny said, trying to shuffle through their papers for their class schedule. “I really need to get a book bag, this is starting to get annoying.”
“How many more classes are you going to have with us?” Ron asked, surprised. “That’s our next class too.”
Danny brightened, then smiled. “Well…like I said before, I’m not taking classes with the rest of my house this year because of scheduling. So probably a decent amount. At least I won’t get lost on the way to potions, it’s not that far from my house’s common rooms, I can take you there.” Danny turned to exit the courtyard, glancing over the shoulder to make sure the pair were following before entering the castle again and making their way to the stairs that would lead down to the dungeon level. Maybe this school really would be better…