#event11:reopened

The gillyweed was wearing off, but Danny had always been a strong enough swimmer that he could hold out for another minute as his artificial gills shrunk and his fins had retracted back into limbs. He broke the surface of the lake, sealing water into the sack that hung on his shoulders as he backstroked to the shore.

Lake water was disgusting; it was too still and too calm, two traits already that proved that Danny was an unwelcome guest. Very few had bothered to explore the deepest parts of these lakes, but the only kind of flora that Danny knew was worth collecting was there. The Pacific had scarier creatures, but there wasn’t one who wasn’t willing to bargain.

The rocky shore was a little easier to clean off than fine sand, but it wasn’t a good place to relax. He glanced along the shoreline of the lake as he dug into his bagpack for his wand to brush off the debris his wet skin had picked up. Pacific Princess had said that there were ruins all over Scotland, but Danny himself hadn’t bothered to go looking. Right now, making the galleons was more important, but he was painfully aware of the gray Pegasus feather on the front pocket of his bagpack.

Lucy wanted to be famous as a child. Obviously, she was famous for being Lucy Weasley, daughter of Percy Weasley, but she didn’t want to be famous for being just that. She had wanted to become an actress once, and now she’s trying to be known for her design ideas (though being known was just a less cocky way of saying famous).

This is what she wanted, right? Her stomach was still unsettled when she wandered to the front of Wizarding Wireless Network. For an interview. The questions she wanted to be asked were about her work and whatever projects she was working on, but she hadn’t sold enough paintings to important enough people to merit that.

And she knew exactly what they wanted to ask her about. The lockdown, sneaking into the castle, finding her sister in the Hospital Wing. The group she had with her, what happened with them, what her relationship with Aidan was like. She once wanted to be the talk of the town with her amazing her relationship with the Quidditch player was, but none of it was working; he was never around when she wanted him there and his career was probably going down the toilet because no one cared about the sport anymore, not after the World Cup disaster.

The only reason Percy Weasley even let her do this was because it would be suspicious to have the public hear it from everyone else. She took notes and rehearsed lines, but that didn’t stop her from being damn terrified. Her spine shivered as she waited to be escorted inside, unsure what exactly to expect.

“Come on, man, I know my shit’s worth 4 galleons today – who died and made you in charge of the market?”

It didn’t help that the apothecary had too much lake flora in stock from what Danny had harvested over the last few weeks. He had become their unofficial employee and he no longer had the same leverage – especially since his American wares were lost to the Mad Queen months ago. He had to find something else to harvest – maybe some mermaid scales or something. But the mermaids here were much less friendly than the ones in the Pacific, much more guarded over their domain, and much more unwilling to let Danny in.

Being frustrated never got him anywhere though. “I’ve been a pretty loyal source for this shop, so I can be fine with the three galleons… as long as I have twelve sickles too.”

He would have been fine with six sickles extra for the trade, but the only reason, though he was totally unaware, was that the shopkeeper just wanted him to leave. His eager smile and his willingness to haggle over prices was drawing the shopkeeper’s ire – especially since Danny was now known to be spectacularly irritating, even to the most patient of conversationalists. The money clattered on the counter, and Danny wondered if those shops on the other side would pay more for what he’s bringing.

“Still here, huh?”

Danny would never call himself a regular. He wasn’t the kind of person to frequent places, especially since his stays were often very short. Usually because he got into some sort of trouble and he was forced to leave just to avoid whatever authorities may have been called. He can’t say he had any better insight while being in London; it just so happened that whatever trouble he could possibly be getting into was eclipsed by some larger scale trouble.

But the other person at the bar not far from him was also a regular, and Danny was feeling generous despite the fact that his supply of gold was low. The physical coins and how few he had made him hyperaware of how poor he was doing. The United States had better integrated themselves in dollar bills. Danny let two galleons clatter on the wooden bar.

“I’ll take two – whatever IPA you have on tap for me… and whatever this dude wants.” The Leaky Cauldron had decent beer; there was marked difference in wizarding brews than muggle ones. But the Leaky Cauldron was depressing as hell, and Danny rested his face in his hand. He barely had enough in wizarding currency to have any real fun…