(2) The Other Potter (D. Malfoy)

Chapter Six

Daisy sits across from Pickle as she basks in his presence before she has to leave again. She hasn't spent nearly enough time with him as she normally would because she has been so focused on Harry. Pickle has been rather great about it though. Understanding. But she has missed him. Missed sitting and talking to him. She doesn't really have many friends at Hogwarts. She wasn't interested in those that tried in her first year because she knew they were only trying because she is a Potter. Because she is famous. It did leave her rather isolated. Hermione has been great, and Daisy does have Neville as her friend. But at the end of the day, they are still more Harry's friends than hers. Draco has pushed the boundaries over the last three years. Riding the line. There have been moments when she has felt him attempt to be her friend, real moments, and then he turns around and bullies her brother. He flip flops. It makes it difficult for Daisy to really understand where she stands with him. It also makes her feeling towards him difficult because when he's nice to her, he is actually nice to her and she sees and feels like there could be a friendship there if he wasn't such a dick to everyone else.

"Hey" Harry greets as he sits next to her, his hand held out towards Pickle's head, letting the snake push up into his palm. He's come to be so much more comfortable around the huge snake since arriving. "Your mom sent me" Harry continues as he pulls his hand back. "Says we're ready to go" Daisy hums a little and then nods. "There's no rush though" Harry offers and she gives him a look.

"Yeah, there is," She argues. "My mom will come in here and drag me out" Harry snorts a little and then nods slightly. If he has learnt anything about Magnolia, it is that she is a stickler for a schedule. Harry pushes himself to his feet to give Daisy a moment to say goodbye to Pickle. Daisy lets out a breath and shares a look with the snake. He then slithers closer to her to rest his head on her neck and she smiles softly, her hand touching his back. She really misses him when she goes away. And considering his age, none of them know how long he's got left. He has been slowing over the last couple of years. His shedding is proving more difficult. The vet says that he's fine, just old. The nearest snake species they have to him is an anaconda, and they can live to their 20s, which Pickle is well into now. Daisy is scared she is going to come home from school one day and he'll be gone. It is a real possibility. She's hopeful that he won't. He's technically a magical snake due to his link to the magical world, so his species is probably more closely related to the basilisk or the runespoor than the anaconda but that doesn't mean that he's going to live forever. 

.......

Daisy brushes her hands over her face as she leaves the shed, brushing away the few tears that escaped. The older she gets, the more she feels the loss of Pickle when she leaves him. Likely because of what she goes through at school and knowing that Pickle is the only one she can really talk to. She has Harry, she knows. He'll understand, but there is just something about having Pickle to talk to about it all. Knowing that he can't tell anyone else.

.....

Magnolia and Harry are inside, waiting for Daisy in the living room. Harry is paying attention to Goldfish who seems to be sensing that they are leaving without her. Even though she will be sent to join them later. So she is now trying to soak up attention whilst she can. She probably misses Crookshanks as well. Daisy pulls on her sweater and buttons it up at the front as she joins them. Her bag sits waiting for her alongside Harry's.

"You remember how this works?" Magnolia asks as she holds out the bowl of floo powder to the two children. Daisy gives Harry a teasing look, remembering what happened the last time he did this. Harry lets out a long breath and shakes his head at his sister. "Arthur and I arranged for our fireplace to be connected to theirs for the morning" Magnolia explains. "It's not ideal, being so long distance" She pulls a face. She was hoping for a portkey to be set up, but MACUSA decided that this would have to do. "Who wants to go first?" Harry glances at Daisy, silently asking her to go first because he is nervous about this. One bad experience and all that. Daisy chuckles and grabs her bag from the floor before she takes a handful of Floo powder from her mother.

"The Burrow" She states and then throws the powder down at her feet, activating the Floo network connection. Travelling by Floo powder is such a strange experience.