Chapter Text
Brown skin glows under the intense light of the charms being thrown in the classroom, bright green eyes glitter with happiness as plump lips part to let a pink tongue pass over the bitten surface. White, slightly crooked teeth are on full display when she smiles and laughs with her friends.
God, what she wouldn't do to be on the the receiving end of that beautiful-
“Dani, you have been staring at Potter for the last ten minutes. What's up?” Daniella sighs as she looks towards her friend.
Pansy had a curious look on her face, and a smug smile was stuck on her lips. Daniella's breath escapes shakily as she watches Harriet release her hair from the tight braid, loose coils framing slender shoulders with hidden muscles that Daniella knew had to be there.
“She’s so incredibly beautiful.” Daniella murmurs around the hand she has brought up to hide her awed expression.
“You are right, Potter really grew up this summer.” Blaise exclaims as he bumps her shoulder. “No wonder Diggory snatched her up last year.”
“Don't talk to me about Diggory.” She sneers, finally looking at her friends. Only to find them staring back at her. “What?”
“This is going to be hilarious.”
Daniella just glares at them before storming out of the almost empty classroom, eyes following the back of Harriet Potter for as long as possible.
Harriet Potter was everything, Daniella had realised in her third year. At the ripe age of sixteen years, Daniella had realised the feelings she kept for the brunette wasn't envy or awe. It was attraction. Strong, deep affection which had made her stay up late thinking about those beautiful eyes.
Two years later, just like Daniella grew, her feelings did as well. Harriet Potter had become a work of art. If she could choose, Daniella would spend the rest of eternity just taking in the ethereal beauty that was Harriet.
But Harriet had fallen for Cedric Diggory and the pair had been going out since the end of last school year, fully oblivious to the heartache it caused Daniella.
But she was nothing if not resilient and to top it off, Harriet just had to become more attractive as the days went.
Daniella was hoping for the day she could take Diggory's place, but until then, she just settled for spending her nights thinking about the wonder that was Harriet Potter.
Daniella watched with sharp eyes as Cedric Diggory walked over to Headmaster Dumbledore, a bright smile on his face as he shook the man's hand. The applause was booming as he walked into the back room to join the other champions.
The great hall filled with excited chatter as the students conversed about the tournament. But in the small bubble of the fifth-year Slytherins, the atmosphere was a lot more gloomy.
A groan escaped Daniella as she slumped forward, settling her head against the cold wood of the table.
This was not good.
“Oh come off it Dani. What's got your knickers in a twist now?” Theodore asks as he sits next to her.
“He does!” She didn't even bother to explain who ‘he’ was, it was painfully obvious who she meant.
“Afraid he’s stolen too much of the spotlight?”
“Not at all. Afraid he’s fully stolen her attention? Deathly.” Just like how she didn't have to explain who ‘he’ was, her mates were incredibly used to ‘her’.
“Sap.” Daphne quipped from the other side of the table.
“Leave me alone. I need to mope before I plan.”
“You are insane, Daniella”
But as she asked, her friends did leave her alone. She picked her cheek up from the table and gazed towards the next table.
Harriet was talking animatedly to Morag Macdougal and Padma Patil, a bright smile grazing her face. Her expression was mirrored by her friends, who sported small smiles which Daniella were rare for the pair, excluding when they were talking to Harriet.
Harriet had that effect on people. She lit up every room she walked into. She was well liked by all sane people. The only person Daniella had ever met who disliked Harriet was Professor Snape, but that only lasted until the man realised Harriet was her mothers daughter through and through.
Her daydreams were interrupted by a sharp glare sent her way by Morag, who was now staring back at her.
It was obvious that Harriet’s friends weren’t very fond of Daniella.
But that was good, because she didn't have to be the best choice. She just had to be the better choice.
Just like the previous nights, Harriet occupied her thoughts. But this time, she was also joined by a plan.
Now, Daniella was a Slytherin. But she was also in love. She could try to set Cedric up to make the two break up. But she didn't want to. She wanted to know Harriet. She wanted there to be a genuine bond between the two of them.
And to achieve that she would have to do some deep diving.
Daniella would never stoop to something as low as stalking. She was a refined lady, she did not ’stalk’ people. She just gathered information. Traded secrets.
It had been ten days since Cedric Diggory’s name was spat out of the Goblet of Fire. Ten days of the man walking around Hogwarts as if he had hung the stars and walked on the moon.
She had not found anything worth noting about the man. But on the contrary she had found out a lot about Harriet.
Daniella was proud to say she was one of the smartest wixen in their year. Finding out that Harriet was ahead of her in most subjects was equally frustrating and
inspiring.
Daniella smiled as she made her way towards the library. She finally knew how to approach Potter.
Just like she had suspected, Harriet was studying at the table she usually sat at. It was in a secluded corner of the library and judging from the lack of sound as she scratched her quill against parchment, Harriet had placed a privacy ward as well.
“Potter”
The brunette’s head shot up at the sound of her own name being uttered. Her eyes widened a fraction which wouldn't have been picked up by a normal person, but Daniella had spent enough hours observing every little detail of the Ravenclaw’s features to pick it up.
She put down the quill and turnt her body towards Daniella.
“Malfoy.”
“Can I sit? I wanted to ask you something.” As much as she enjoyed looking at Harriet from above, she wanted to make the girl feel comfortable.
After being given a short nod, she pulled out the chair opposite of Harriet and sat down.
“How can I help you, Malfoy?”
“I was wondering if you would be willing to help me out in Defense.”
“What would I earn from this?” Harriet asked as she propped up her chin with her hand.
“In return I thought I could help you with Potions.”
“What makes you think I need your help with Potions?”
“Well, it is the one subject I outrank you in. Please Potter, I cannot for the life of me figure out the Humano Revelio spell”
“Noted.” Harriet pondered for a minute before continuing. “Fine. I will help you. Meet you here Saturday after lunch.”
Daniella just grinned as she watched Harriet gather her things and march out of the library. It felt as she opened her own books and started an attempt at finishing her arithmancy homework, well aware she would not be able to finish it.
The following Saturday Daniella bounced out of bed with a bright smile on her face. When she had explained to her friends that she had talked to Harriet they had looked at her in bewilderment and proclaimed that they had never expected her to actually act on her attraction.
On any other Saturday she would prefer sleeping in before staying in the dorm to complete her homework and to spend time with her friends before going to Quidditch practice later in the day. The games had been cancelled but the Slytherin captain had still been adamant about still practising when they could.
But today she was up early to finish her homework before lunch, hoping to spend a couple hours basking in the presence of Potter before she had to go back to the commonroom.
Daniella arrived at the table she met Harriet on Thursday a nd found it empty. Not thinking anything of it, she just huffed and sat down. She bent down and began ruffling through her expanded bag to find a working quill and the books she would need for defence and to tutour Potions.
As she lifted to put the books on the table she was stopped by the cold tip of a wand, pressed to her neck.
Her body went stiff as board and for a short second as she waited for something, anything, to happen.
“And that, Malfoy, is why you need to know Humano Revelio .”
A violent shudder raced through her and her heart sped up when she realised that Harriets mouth was right by her ear, whispering to her with what seemed to be a happy voice. Daniella craned her neck to look at Harriet as the latter settled her wand in her pocket. Daniella grinned as Harriet walked around her and settled in the chair on the opposite side of the table.
“Didn't see you there.” Harriet rolled her eyes.
“One would think that was the point.”
“What was the point of that?”
“To be able to perform a spell, one has to understand it.”
“Okay? What do you mean?”
“That means you can’t just say the words and do the movement without knowing what you are willing your magic to do. You have to be incredibly aware of what you are doing for any spell to work at maximal capacity.”
“So we’re doing theory. For how long?”
Harriet just smiled at that and waved her wand at the table, revealing multiple thick books stacked on top of one another.
“However long it takes you to understand what I'm telling you.”
“Alright, hit me with it.”
“Get on my nerves and I might.”
Harriet instantly launched into a long explanation of everything big and small about the spell. Its creator, its limits, and how the spell actually worked.
If it wasn’t for the fact that Harriet was undeniably adorable when she got into talking about something, Daniella would probably have fallen asleep by now.
“Let’s talk uses. Tell me Malfoy.”
“Helps you reveal a person you cannot see.”
“Yes, but?”
“It doesn’t include magical creatures or beings excluding vampires or werewolves.”
“It also doesn’t reveal a person without a magical signature.”
“Why would that matter?”
“A muggle may not be able to hide using magic, but they do know how to camouflage themselves. Even if you have used the spell, you cannot be sure you are entirely alone.”
“Right.” Daniella's head was bursting, all this information at the same time made her eyes hurt. “How do you even know all of this?”
“One would be surprised by how thick the Potter grimoire is.”
Daniella's eyes widened in shock as she studied the Potter.
“Your parents let you read the Potter grimoire?” It was rare for parents to give their heirs even the tiniest look in the tombs. With the books often being several hundreds years old and filled with magic that had been banned for a long time.
Her voice was laced with shock, and Harriet just smiled as she leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands.
“My dad let my mom read the grimoire. I found it and read some of it during this summer.”
“That is mental behaviour, it's frowned upon for good reason.”
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth Malfoy.”
Harriet’s smile was all teeth and the smugness made her stomach flutter. Suddenly her mouth felt dry and heavy, so she just nodded and smiled at the brunette, who just launched into explaining magical will.
Half an hour later both Daniella and Harriet were satisfied with the former's knowledge about the spell.
“Right, let's move to practical.”
“Do you want me to just cast it?”
“No. Disillusion yourself.” Daniella frowned at that but did as she said. “Good. Now try to imagine how magic moves while you are using the spell. How does your magic move out from your core to complete the spell?”
One's core was tied to the person's greatest feature. It tied to what was strongest and shaped one's core to perform certain magics better. Daniella knew her core was located in her neck, resting by her vocal chords.
She closed her eyes and focused on the sensation of magic being forced out of her core. It rippled out of her and settled on the surface of her skin. It swirled around and created a reflective exterior which deterred both light and attention.
“Good. You can let go of the spell.”
With a short exhale she let her magic retract back into her core, leaving her visible again.
“Okay. I'm going to disillusion myself now. I want you to use Humano Revelio to find me.”
“Okay?” She sounded slightly baffled, and Harriet gave her a soft glare before pulling out her wand from her pocket.
“Don't be sceptical. Just use your magic to find magical signatures which are performing in the same way yours just did.” She watched as Harriet waved her wand and a second later Harriet gradually began to fade away, a small shimmer revealing where she sat in her seat.
Daniella points her wand in the general direction of Harriet and pushes her magic into the wood. She imagines it dissipating the reflective magic infront of her. After making it clear what she wants to happen she opens her mouth. “ Humano Revelio ”
Slowly, the space before her started glittering. The magic around Harriet slowly started melting away until it was all gone.
“Well done.”
“Thanks. I've never managed to do that before.”
“If somebody is just hiding, you just have to look for magical signatures instead. It's a lot easier” Harriet grins and grabs a potions book as well as parchment. “But this should be enough to pass your OWLs without any trouble.”
“Great. Time to switch?”
“Yeah. I'm pretty sure it's done but if you could look over my essay that would be great.”
“No problem, give it here.”
They quickly fell into an easy silence, the only sound being the book Harriet was flipping through and the scratches of Daniella's quill when she made small notes of what to change in the essay.
Twenty minutes after she gave back the essay Harriet put down the quill and started closing her books. Daniella watched as she put her things in her bag and stood up.
“I'll get going. Same time next week?”
“That sounds good.”
Harriet smiled before turning around and walking out of the library.
Daniella continued to sit in the library for another half hour before she noticed that she would have to hurry back to the dorms to make it to practise.
Having been a snake for four years made the walk in the dungeons a lot easier. After a certain amount of time one would get used to the chilly temperature and the endless hallways that would change depending on the castle's mood.
Unlike what many thought, the castle was definitely sentient. It was clear that the school's founders had not just embedded their magic, but also their feelings. If a Gryffindor tried to sneak around in the dungeons with any intention to harm or frustrate a Slytherin the castle would morph, leading them away from the entrance to their common room, leading them around in a maze of corridors until the person was so frustrated they forgot about wanting to hurt somebody.
Daniella had read in an old diary that similar defensive magics were found around, and in, the other commonrooms.
But it wasn't purely defensive. The castle would also help people find answers to questions by changing places of the books in the library, which drew Madam Pince mad. It could open secret passages and alcoves if the castle felt somebody was worth it.
Daniella didn't know what it was that she was desiring in the moment, but Daniella could hear the tell-tale sound of stone rumbling and cracking before a sharp thud signalled that the corridor in front of her had changed.
Soon, the stone hallways began echoing. The sound of footsteps, light but quick, making her way towards Daniella made the blonde witch bring out her wand and get ready for anything.
Daniella had her wand raised and a curse rolling off her tongue as she waited for the person to turn in the corner. Her feet were spread apart and were braced in case the person decided to go the physical route. Daniella wasn't a paranoid person, but this was the first time the divergence had led another person to her. It made her vigilant.
“Oh!” The face she was met with wasn't one of the older Gryffindors, it was a Ravenclaw. A Ravenclaw she knew very well. “Malfoy.”
“Chang.” Daniella relaxed and put away her wand.
Cho Chang was a sixth year Ravenclaw. Former seeker. Was booted when Harriet took her spot in third year. Smart. Attractive.
Daniella heard some of the guys bring her up when they were being their usual douchey selves. She was always put together and pristine. Smart. She was one of those girls who never broke decorum.
This was almost not the same girl.
She looked shaken. Her face was warm and it was clear that she had run for quite some time. Her hair was just a bit more dishevelled than it would normally be.
“What are you doing here, Chang?”
“Oh- Nothing! I was just walking around.” Daniella arched her brow at that. There were plenty of reasons to avoid the dungeons.
“Down here?”
“Yes!” She squeaked before her cheeks went even more rosy. “I was really warm so I thought I could take a quick walk.”
“Huh..” Daniella forced out a smile before she continued. “Well, you should probably leave though, you know how the castle behaves sometimes.”
Cho nodded before turning around and scurrying back in the direction she came from.
Odd.