2 || the toilet troubles

FRED WEASLEY only wanted to find Lee Jordan when he caught Dani Mikaels and Cassius Warrington exiting the toilet. Together. Dani was the first to notice him standing there like a lemon, her eyes went wide as she separated from Cassius who turned around, fear filling his brown hues. Fred didn't say anything. He was in shock. Danielle Mikaels, the innocent Gryffindor, was leaving a toilet with Cassius Warrington, a Slytherin who was known for his cruel family. Cassius grabbed Fred by the collar and pushed him up against the wall, "You breathe a word of this and I'll kill you. Do you hear me, Weasley? I'll kill you."

Fred pushed him off and turned to Dani who was chewing her nails nervously, "Why are you whoring around with a serpent? I knew you were wonky in some way but I didn't think you went off the rails that much." Cassius clicked his tongue and went to punch Fred but Dani held his arm, calming him down, "Leave it Cass. I've gotta get back to my friends and you yours. Weasley will shut his mouth or he'll find it won't make a noise again."

Fred nodded reluctantly and watched as the two left down the hall, separating as they inched closer to their respective friends. He shouldn't care. He didn't know why he did. He didn't know why he said that about Dani, he shouldn't have said that. Fred groaned as he realised he now had to keep a secret for two people he hated. He wasn't scared of them, Dani nor Cassius, no matter what they threatened him with he would've told people but he knew about Dani's situation, about her fathers rule, he didn't want her to get in trouble. Again he didn't know why, because Fred Weasley hated Danielle Mikaels.

Taking a breath, Fred went into his compartment where Lee Jordan and George Weasley sat, "Where've you been?" George asked, "Lee came here instead." Fred nodded, "Yeah, sorry. I just got held up by Dani insulting me again."

. . .

THE HOGWARTS Express pulled up to Hogsmead in the pouring rain. Standard Scotland, cold and rainy, felt like home to Dani. Charlie and Dani ran under the boys coat as they made their way into the entrance hall where Peeves was causing havoc as usual. He was throwing water balloons at the students as though they weren't already drenched enough. The two friends laughed with each other as Graham Montague grumbled and shook his fist at Peeves who innocently shrugged.

     "I'm bloody starving," Charlie announced, lowering himself onto the wooden bench at the Gryffindor table, "I feel like I've been on a hunger strike."

     Dani raised a questionable brow at him, "Didn't you literally have my entire stash of sweets on the train?" The boy shrugged, "Did I? I don't think I did." Dani shoved him playfully and turned to Lola, not noticing Charlie's eyes trained on her, filled with awe. Ryan let out a snort snapping Charlie away, he didn't say anything, only made some weird facial expressions that Charlie could only guess were trying to communicate his 'crush' on Dani.

Dani's mind was elsewhere, she make eye contact with Fred Weasley who was staring at her intently, she wasn't sure what was going through his mind, maybe he was going to tell everyone, try to damage Dani's reputation. She wasn't glowering at him, trying to get him to back down, instead her eyes communicated a plea, a plea to stay silent.

"Where's your head at?" Charlie asked, Dani's head snapping toward him, "You alright, Dan?" The blonde nodded, "Mhm. Don't look at me like that." Charlie frowned, "Like what?" Her eyes drifted from his to to a scratch on the wooden table, "Like you want to coddle me like a baby. I'm okay."

Charlie held his hands up, "Calm down tiger. If you want to talk, you know I'm always here." Dani did know he was always there to talk but this was something she couldn't talk about to him.

Professor McGonagall was leading a long line of first years up to the top of the Hall. If Dani thought she was wet, it was nothing to how these first years looked. They appeared to have swum across the lake rather than crossed in the boats. All of them were shivering with a combination of cold and nerves as they filed along the staff table and came to a halt in a line facing the rest of the school - all of them except the smallest of the lot, a boy with mousy hair, who was wrapped in what Dani guessed was Hagrid's moleskin overcoat. The coat was so big for him that it hooked as though he were draped in a furry black circus tent. His small face protruded from over the collar, looking almost painfully excited. When he had lined up with his terrified-looking peers, he caught Colin Creevey's, a third year who was always taking pictures, eye, gave a double thumbs-up, and mouthed, I fell in the lake! He looked positively delighted about it making Dani and Lola snort.

Professor McGonagall placed an all familiar three-legged stool on the ground before the first years and, on top of it, an extremely old, dirty patched wizard's hat. The first years stared at it. So did everyone else. For a moment, there was silence. Then a long tear near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat broke into song:

A thousand years or more ago, When I was newly sewn,
There lived four wizards of renown, Whose names are still well known: Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor, Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,
Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad, Shrewd Slytherin, from fin.
They shared a wish, a hope, a dream, They hatched a daring plan
To educate young sorcerers
Thus Hogwarts School began. Now each of these four founders Formed their own house, for each Did value different virtues
In the ones they had to teach.
By Gryffindor, the bravest were Prized far beyond the rest;
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest Would always be the best;
For Hufflepuff, hard workers were Most worthy of admission;
And power-hungry Slytherin
Loved those of great ambition.
While still alive they did divide
Their favorites from the throng,
Yet how to pick the worthy ones When they were dead and gone? 'Twas Gryffindor who found the way, He whipped me off his head
The founders put some brains in me So I could choose instead!
Now slip me snug about your ears, I've never yet been wrong,
I'll have a look inside your mind
And tell where you belong!

The Great Hall rang with applause as the Sorting Hat finished and McGonagall unrolled a scroll, "When I call out your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool," she told the first years. "When the hat announces your House, you will go and sit at the appropriate table. Ackerley, Stewart!" A boy walked forward, visibly trembling from head to foot, picked up the Sorting Hat, put it on, and sat down on the stool. "RAVENCLAW!" shouted the hat.

Stewart Ackerley took off the hat and hurried into a seat at the Ravenclaw table, where everyone was applauding him. Dani had won the bet she had with Lee that the first person sorted was going to be Ravenclaw, she could see his face drop and turn to her, mouthing 'I hate you', Dani shrugged and diverted her attention to the sorting again.

"Baddock, Malcolm!" "SLYTHERIN!" The table on the other side of the hall erupted with cheers; Dani could see Cassius clapping tiredly as Baddock joined the Slytherins, she sent him a smile in which he returned. "Branstone, Eleanor!" "HUFFLEPUFF!" "Cauldwell, Owen!" "HUFFLEPUFF!" "Creevey, Dennis!" Tiny Dennis Creevey staggered forward, tripping over Hagrid's moleskin, just as Hagrid himself sidled into the Hall through a door behind the teachers' table. About twice as tall as a normal man, and at least three times as broad, Hagrid, with his long, wild, tangled black hair and beard, looked slightly alarming - a misleading impression, for everyone at Hogwarts knew Hagrid was a gem.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted. The table burst into an applause and Dennis, who was beaming, joined his brother clambering to tell him something.

The Sorting continued; boys and girls with varying degrees of fright on their faces moving one by one to the three-legged stool, the line dwindling slowly as Professor McGonagall passed the L's. "Merlin, can these people hurry up and get sorted," Charlie groaned, "I'm going to eat Dani soon." Dani stared up at him, "Don't eat me. I have no meat to my body. Eat Ryan." She applauded as "McDonald, Natalie!" joined the Gryffindor table, "Be patient you git." "Pritchard, Graham!" "SLYTHERIN!" "Quirke, Orla!" "RAVENCLAW!" And finally, with "Whitby, Kevin!" ("HUFFLEPUFF!"), the Sorting ended. Professor McGonagall picked up the hat and the stool and carried them away.

"About time," said Charlie, seizing Dani by the waist as he grinned widely. Professor Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was smiling around at the students, his arms opened wide in welcome. "I have only two words to say to you," he told them, his deep voice echoing around the Hall. "Tuck in."

"Thank Merlin! I won't have to each you Dan," Charlie joked and Dani glanced at him, "I'm really appreciative towards that, Char."

Dani piled so much food onto her plate she was sure she wasn't going to finish it but that's why she had Ryan and Charlie. She was barely listening to Lola going on about her summer holidays as Charlie had his fingers wrapped around hers, "And then Charlie charmed this girl into buying us some cocktails, safe to say she was confused when we vanished into thin air. I- Are you listening to me?"

The blonde looked up, "Yeah. Yeah, Char flirted with a girl, you got cocktails, you vanished. Bish, bash, bosh. I'm listening." Lola narrowed her eyes but continued with her story. By the time people started finishing their meals, Dani was leant in to Charlie's side as he braided a part of her hair softly.

"So!" said Dumbledore, smiling around at them all. "Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it." The corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched. He continued, "As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year. It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year." "What?" Dani gasped. She looked to Lee, commentating the Quidditch matches was their entire lives, "This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy - but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts -"

But at that moment, there was a deafening rumble of thunder and the doors of the Great Hall banged open. A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, shrouded in a black traveling cloak. Every head in the Great Hall swiveled toward the stranger, suddenly brightly illuminated by a fork of lightning that flashed across the ceiling. He lowered his hood, shook out a long mane of grizzled, dark gray hair, then began to walk up toward the teachers' table.

A dull clunk echoed through the Hall on his every other step. He reached the end of the top table, turned right, and limped heavily toward Dumbledore. Another flash of lightning crossed the ceiling. The lightning had thrown the man's face into sharp relief, and it was a face unlike any they had ever seen. It looked as though it had been carved out of weathered wood by someone who had only the vaguest idea of what human faces are supposed to look like, and was none too skilled with a chisel. Every inch of skin seemed to be scarred. The mouth looked like a diagonal gash, and a large chunk of the nose was missing. But it was the man's eyes that made him frightening.

One of them was small, dark, and beady. The other was large, round as a coin, and a vivid, electric blue. The blue eye was moving ceaselessly, without blinking, and was rolling up, down, and from side to side, quite independently of the normal eye - and then it rolled right over, pointing into the back of the man's head, so that all they could see was whiteness.

The stranger reached Dumbledore. He stretched out a hand that was as badly scarred as his face, and Dumbhedore shook it, muttering words Dani couldn't hear. He seemed to be making some inquiry of the stranger, who shook his head unsmilingly and replied in an undertone. Dumbledore nodded and gestured the man to the empty seat on his right-hand side. The stranger sat down, shook his mane of dark gray hair out of his face, pulled a plate of sausages toward him, raised it to what was left of his nose, and sniffed it. He then took a small knife out of his pocket, speared a sausage on the end of it, and began to eat. His normal eye was fixed upon the sausages, but the blue eye was still darting restlessly around in its socket, taking in the Hall and the students.

"May I introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" said Dumbledore brightly into the silence. "Professor Moody." It was usual for new staff members to be greeted with applause, but none of the staff or students chapped except Dumbledore and Hagrid, who both put their hands together and applauded, but the sound echoed dismally into the silence, and they stopped fairly quickly. Everyone else seemed too transfixed by Moody's bizarre appearance to do more than stare at him.

Moody seemed totally indifferent to his less-than-warm welcome. Ignoring the jug of pumpkin juice in front of him, he reached again into his traveling cloak, pulled out a hip flask, and took a long draught from it. As he lifted his arm to drink, his cloak was pulled a few inches from the ground, and Dani saw, below the table, several inches of carved wooden leg, ending in a clawed foot.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, all of whom were still gazing transfixed at Mad-Eye Moody, "we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" said Fred Weasley loudly and Dani couldn't help that her eyes subconsciously rolled at his voice. The tension that had filled the Hall ever since Moody's arrival suddenly broke. Nearly everyone laughed, and Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively. "I am not joking, Mr. Weasley," he said, "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar."

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.
"Er - but maybe this is not the time.. . no. . ." said Dumbledore, "where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament. . . well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely. The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities - until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."

It seems that Dani's face brightened at the sound of the death toll as if she were excited which she was, it interested her. "There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament," Dumbledore continued, "none of which has been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger. The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."

The thousand Galleons didn't interest Dani, hell she couldn't care less about it, she had all the money she needed. But maybe, just maybe, if she won the Tournament, her father would look at her like she was his daughter and not some disappointment. "Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," he said, "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age - that is to say, seventeen years or older - will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This" -- Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made noises of outrage at these words, and the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious - "is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion." His light blue eyes twinkled as they flickered over Fred's and George's mutinous faces. "I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen. The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"

Dumbledore sat down again and turned to talk to Mad-Eye Moody. There was a great scraping and banging as all the students got to their feet and swarmed toward the double doors into the entrance hall. Unlike the Weasley twins who couldn't enter, Dani turned seventeen in two weeks. The four Gryffindor's were making their way out of the hall when Dani caught sight of Cassius standing off to the side staring at her, "I've got to speak to McGonagall about something real quick. I'll see you guys in a bit."

She broke away from them, squeezing through the crowd of students still gossiping about the tournament. Dani gave Cassius a nod and went into an empty classroom, he waited a minute before going in after her, she was sat on one of the desks patting the spot next to her for Cassius to sit down.

"What's up Cass?" Dani asked, "Late night hookup?" Cassius laughed but shook his head, "I wanted to check up on you. Well, Fred really. He hasn't told anyone, has he?"

"No. At least no one gave me any funny looks or anything," Dani assured, "You don't have to worry. Fred can be a total dick but he's got some form of human decency in him."

Cassius took her hand, "You thinking about entering the tournament?" Dani nodded eagerly, "Hell yeah. Can't have a slimy git like you winning. You wanna enter?" Cassius nodded, "Probably for the same reason as you." He was probably the only person Dani had confided in about her father, he understood her because his situation was similar, she knew none of her friends could understand her, they'd try to and she'd appreciate it but in the end she wouldn't feel any better.

They sat in each others embrace for a while, no talking just a comfortable silence.

AUTHORS NOTE —
guys i'm sorry i love making
relationships that will never
be endgame but make them
so cute i hate to break them up.
but cassius and dani >>>>