Old Loves, New Beginnings (Dani)

[Aurelia Krizova]

As promised, Aurelia went over to the school the day after talking with Henri. She had told Danica that she would take her out to lunch and tell her about Henri and how they knew each other. She still had no idea what she was going to say to her daughter, but she needed to try.

She kept running it over in her head as she waited in the entrance hall for Dani, to take her to the Hot Panini. Nothing really sounded right, and she was very worried that she'd just wind up confusing the girl even more.

[Danica Krizova]

Dani couldn't concentrate all through Charms class. She kept glancing at the clock, then the windows, her leg bouncing. She wanted to go to lunch with her mum and learn all about Henri. It was her mum's Henri that she found, and she hated that she had to stay here while they went out to talk or catch up or whatever they were doing.

When they were finally dismissed, she grabbed her bag and dashed through the door, the first to leave the class room and she practically ran to the entrance hall.

She saw her mother up ahead and grinned. "Tell me everything," she said, coming to a stop in front of the woman, out of breath and her cheeks flushed.

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia smiled and pulled her daughter into her arms. She imagined that Dani must have been going crazy, waiting for this, but she certainly wasn't about to spill everything right here in the entrance hall.

"You're awfully impatient, aren't you?" she teased, kissing her on the forehead. "I'll tell you, but you're going to have to wait until we get there, OK? And I also want to hear from you about how you're doing in your classes. That's what I've told you head of house this meeting was about. I'm also supposed to talk to you about not fighting with the girls in your dormitory."

[Danica Krizova]

"I've been waiting all day," Dani reminded her mother, exasperated, though really it had only been half a day.

She hugged Aurelia back, but pulled away, giving her mother a look that clearly said she was anxious to get there.

She made a face at the rest of it, though, and wasted no time in explaining herself. "I don't start the fights! Tallulah's a brat and she threw all my stuff around the dormitory. What was I supposed to do?" And why did she keep getting in trouble when the other girls didn't?

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia took her daughter's hand in hers and squeezed it as she led them out of the school. "I know, sweetie. And I believe you. She sounds like a horrible little girl. I just don't like to see you physically fighting with other children. I know I've taught you that hitting doesn't solve anything. I'd rather see you use magic, even, although I'm sure your head of house would not agree with me on that. But hitting... you know how I feel about that. You can't let that girl reduce you to using violence against her."

[Danica Krizova]

"I didn't hit her," Dani replied, only quiet and not as defensively this time. Yes, she had lunged at Lulu, and both girls ended up on the floor. And maybe a bit of hair had been pulled, but no one had been hurt. Dani never really went past that, anyway. She didn't want to hurt people.

"Besides, that's not fair. She's better at dueling than I am, so I'm just supposed to let her do whatever she wants to my stuff and then beat me in a dual? No thank you. You tell her to stop being a brat and I'll stop fighting with her."

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia sighed softly. It was so hard to find just the right way to handle the situation. She wanted Dani to be strong and independent and not to just let people walk all over her. She should have left Pavel the first time he hit her, or better yet, not married him at all. She wanted Dani to be stronger than that. Yet there was also that fear... the fear that Dani might be Pavel's daughter and not Henri's and that his violent tendencies might have been passed on to her. This thought terrified Aurelia; sometimes even kept her up at nights.

She wanted to believe that there was a reason why people acted the way they did; that if a person was cruel to others, it was because of something that happened to them. She knew that Pavel's father had been cruel to him, and maybe that was part of why he acted the way he had. But maybe he was just born that way, inherited from his father. Maybe this girl Tallulah had a reason why she acted so horribly to Dani. Or maybe she was just a horrid little girl. Aurelia didn't know.

"Have you talked to your head of house or even one of the prefects to tell them about the things she's done to you? Maybe if you let them know what she's doing, then they won't be so quick to blame it all on you."

[Danica Krizova]

"It doesn't do any good," Dani said, giving her mother an incredulous look. Of course she told her side of things. But because she often started the physical fight, she was the one that got in trouble. "Tallulah fired a curse at me first, anyway. And we fight all the time... everyone knows that we don't get on, but it's always my fault anyway."

She sighed and looked up at Aurelia, wondering if her mother was blaming her now, too. She hated that the stupid girl never got in trouble. Someone would always tell her to behave, but as far as Danica saw, that was the end of it.

"If you're going to be mad at me, too, I don't want to go to lunch."

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia squeezed her daughter's hand. "I'm not mad at you, sweetie," she assured her. "I'm worried about you, that's all. And I'm frustrated by the situation. I was told I had to talk to you about this, but I don't understand why the school isn't handling it better. Does this girl really not get punished at all? Because if not, I'm going to have to have a very long talk with your head of house, and maybe with your headmaster about this. It's gone on far too long, and I don't like that you aren't both being treated equally."

[Danica Krizova]

"I don't know. They talk to her, but she always comes back looking so proud of herself. She never acts like she gets in trouble. And don't talk to anyone, Mum. That'll just make it worse." Tallulah would get a hold of that and make Dani's like hell. The torture girls inflicted on each other was horrible sometimes.

"Anyway, Callie used a sticking charm so she can't move my bed anymore, and I'll just deal with it. If they don't like it, they can make her stop, right?" Dani's logic made sense to her, anyway, and she was clearly over talking about it.

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia sighed. The whole situation was frustrating to her, and she wished there was something she could do to help. Despite what Dani said, she still felt that she should talk to someone at the school. If the other girl was the source of the problems, she should be held accountable, right?

"All right, if that's what you want," she said, sounding resigned. "Anyway, I said I would talk to you about it, and so I have. Let's forget about it now. We have other things to talk about. Is there anything good going on at school?"

[Danica Krizova]

"No," Dani said quickly. Why did her mother always insist on asking about school? It was boring and horrible and seven years couldn't go by fast enough.

She turned though, a bright smile on her face as she quickly rebounded, forgetting about the discussion they just had.

"But you have something good going on, right? I thought that's what we were supposed to be talking about at lunch." She'd been dying to know, and Aurelia knew her daughter well enough to know it. She was practically bouncing on her heels now, trying to get her mother to share the news.

[Aurelia Krizova]

We'll talk about it," Aurelia said, smiling down at her daughter. "When we get there. I have a lot to tell you and I want to wait until we are sitting down to do it. But I want you to tell me one good thing about school. A person you're friends with, or a lesson you liked... just something so that I won't be so worried about you when I'm not with you. OK? It upsets me that you're not happy at school..."

[Danica Krizova]

"I'm not unhappy," Dani replied, seeing that this was a losing battle. Aurelia was being very quiet about things. If she was trying to teach Dani patience, it wasn't working that well.

"It's just boring and the older kids don't always want me around. I mean, they're all nice, but I'm smart and I understand. I'll work where you do as soon as I'm old enough. I like everyone there."

She rubbed the bridge of her nose, sighing while she tried to think of something to placate her mother. "Care of Magical Creatures is fun," she finally said with a shrug. "Do you think I could get a Pygmy Puff for Christmas?"

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia barely suppressed another sigh. As a mother, of course she wanted better for her daughter than what she had. She loved Ambrosia and all the people there and would never say anything negative about it... but she wanted her daughter to have something that she really loved to do... something that would make her happy. And if she found someone to make her happy, too... that would be nice. But right now, she would settle for a friend or two.

"We'll see," she said as they at exited the front gates of Hogwarts. It would be another ten minutes or so before they reached the Hot Panini. "So you like animals, then? What other animals have you learned about in class?"

Maybe if she was interested in animals, it could lead to a potential career. It was too soon for Dani to worry seriously about careers, but Aurelia felt that any interest Dani had should be encouraged.