Out of the Ashes

Daniyah: Yeah? So could another human being.

Bellatrix:

Daniyah: So could a dog.

Bellatrix:

Daniyah: So could a dedicated duck.

Bellatrix:

Their sleep schedule:

How easily they make friends:

Where they see themselves in 10 years:

The only thing Daniyah knows for sure is that she’ll be back in Bulgaria. England holds so many bad memories, she doesn’t want to stay any longer than she has to. Daniyah’s secret dream, one she hasn’t told anyone, is to be headmistress of Durmstrang and restore the school to what her ancestor, Nerida Vulchanova, intended.

What makes them happy:

James was hiding behind the badge of Head Boy, avoiding most of his friends and all of their families. He himself was alone this weekend and he didn’t want to tag around like a lost little boy with everyone as they spent time with their families. He was wandering the halls, making sure everyone was behaving. Everyone was on their best behavior. He barely took away any points today.

When a family member approached him, asking where the library was he turned around to look at her. He smiled at the woman. “Oh, I could take there you there if you’d like. Are you looking for anyone there?”

“Thank you.” Daniyah smiled politely, then added, “No.” Realizing that might need some clarification, she elaborated. “I would certainly appreciate an escort, but I am not looking for anyone.” 

She’d started out the day with Zavier, but when his friends showed up, and started trying to flirt with her, things had taken a turn for the uncomfortable for both of them, and Daniyah had judged it best to bow out for a while. So she’d promised she’d be back for dinner and set out on her own, a decision that resulted in her current predicament.

“No, not this weekend,” he said with a soft laugh, exhaling through his nose instead of something more pronounced. It was an unspoken agreement among even the most uptight of Hogwarts students that this long weekend couldn’t possibly count–– there were too many interlopers, reunions, distractions and obstructions. No work was getting done this weekend by anyone and, just because Sirius was getting more serious about his goals than he had been a year ago, it didn’t mean he was going to go against the current.

“I was looking for someone, actually,” he confided, beginning to walk in the correct direction, hands in his pockets. My boyfriend, he nearly said, but that seemed like a lot to lay on someone he’d only just now met. “Someone important.” He paused briefly, his looks more curious now. “I’m hearing an accent?” 

Someone important. And just the slightest hesitation before he said it, like he’d almost said something else. But Daniyah didn’t want to play that game, and besides, he was probably just looking for his girlfriend but didn’t want to mention her after leering at Daniyah for what felt like an age. So she ignored the comment, just like she’d ignored his earlier question, and focused on his second one.

“Bulgarian. I went to Durmstrang.” Daniyah was impressed he’d picked up on it. She’d been back in England for several months now, and her accent was rapidly settling into the tones of her childhood. The boy was perceptive.

“I mean, it’s not like I was doing anything pressing,” Sirius scoffed, throwing in a light eye roll just for good measure. He had a reputation to maintain, after all; even if he didn’t know her and she didn’t know him, that was no reason to lose the thread and get lazy about it. No, he didn’t need to make a good impression–– just the right one. “I was heading that way anyway.” That much, was true. It was as good a place as any to ensure he didn’t run into anyone he liked too much or not enough. 

“What do you need from the library?” he asked, arching a brow and giving her a––less lecherous this time––once over. “I know you don’t go to school here, so you can’t need to study.” 

Daniyah watched the boy’s display with a mildly amused look on her face. She didn’t believe it but, she reminded herself, it didn’t matter if he really was a carefree youth or he just wanted her to think he was. She raised her eyebrows at his question, realizing he must be one of those people who thought you had to need something from a library, that merely being there wasn’t reason enough. But her feelings about libraries was not something Daniyah was in the habit of discussing with strangers, so she declined to answer his question.

“I take it you were going there to study?” She asked, leaving off the rest of what she wanted to say, since you obviously think that’s the only reason a person would ever go to the library.

Daniyah Burke Aesthetic

Sirius didn’t realize he’d been staring until it was too late. 

He had been looking over his shoulder all weekend; that much surprised nobody. His parents were milling about and although his friends were doing their best to keep him occupied, their efforts were so easy to recognize after knowing them so long that it was easier to be too out-of-body to let it carry him away into the bliss of ignorance.

The first time he’d stopped looking over his shoulder all weekend was to look at this wandering woman who he’d never seen before. In a happy relationship or not, there was something…striking about her, even beyond her looks, and he couldn’t help but let his eyes rest on her too long. 

“Right, sorry––” he said suddenly, jerking himself back into reality and blinking a few times for good measure. “I’m, uh–– yeah! No problem. It’s not far, actually. Just down that hallway and then three or four doors down from the statue of the–– hey. You know what? Might just be easier if I walk you.”

Daniyah pursed her lips. On the one hand, despite the boy’s claims that the library wasn’t far, his directions hadn’t necessarily made it sound easy to find. On the other hand, if she let him take her, he’d probably continue staring at her like a schoolboy who’d never seen breasts before or, worse still, try to hit on her. Daniyah was no stranger to that kind of attention, but she still avoided whenever possible. In the end, she had to admit to herself that she didn’t want to have to ask for directions a second time more than she didn’t want to be stared at by some teenager.

“How kind of you to offer, I appreciate it.”

“Excuse me, I’m trying to get to the library, could you direct me?”