Breathe Deep, Watch the Fire (Daniel)

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Anna was tired. It felt like that was a constant part of her being at the moment, but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It just seemed to be a way of life for her right now. She got up, went to classes, studied, spent time with Oscar and her other friends and went to bed. Granted, that schedule was much better than the one she had a few weeks ago where she had to worry every two seconds about the Second Task. It was much more relaxing now that she had that one behind her. Two down, one to go.

The thing was, Anna was finally starting to feel confident about her abilities and her chance in this Tournament. Before the first one she'd been so nervous, and apparently with good reason. She still had nightmares about the Acromantulas and the erumpent and- worst of all- going blind. However, the second task helped immensely with her self confidence. Not only was she able to successfully get through the arenas with her creature, but she didn't get injured this time. She hoped the last task would go as smoothly as the second.

Anyway, by the time Anna finally finished her homework today, it was past curfew, which meant she couldn't go out and find Oscar. The troubling part was, she wasn't sleepy. She looked around the common room and recognized the people there, but they all seemed to be studying or intent on something. She didn't want to bother them. So Anna made her way across the room so she could sit on the couch in front of the fire. 

@crimson1

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Daniel's eyes slowly opened as he found himself looking toward the ceiling from the bed in the boys dorm. He spent a few seconds trying to remember why he was there. He had just finished his last class of the day came up here to put some stuff away then planned to do some homework but had laid down for just a second. With that thought he sat up quickly and looked out the nearest window. It was dark outside and Daniel just cursed at himself under his breath for allowing himself to sleep through the rest of the day. Worse yet was the work he was now even further behind on.

With a groan he just laid back down debating what would be better, he could just go back to sleep and try and work on the homework later. The other option was was stay up most of the night and do the work he had neglected to get done. Neither was a great choice but as he found himself no longer tired he should at least get some work done. Gathering the supplies needed Daniel made his way down the stairs to the common room to find an open desk or a chair at least.

Daniel was genuinely surprised to find an open desk, it was rare but that had to be a perk of not doing any homework till passed curfew. As he surveyed the rest of the common room it was filled with the same vaguely familiar faces he was used to after being here a few months so far. One person in particular did stand out but he decided to leave her alone as she probably didn't want to be bothered. Yet that idea changed when he thought of the homework he had to do and his procrastination got the better of Daniel.

Leaving his items on the desk feeling they were safe enough there Daniel made his way toward the fire place and to the woman sitting near it. "Congratulations on winning the second trial Anne." He said once he got there feeling weird just using someones name off the bat like that without ever really meeting them but he had heard it enough times to know it. " Any news on the third one yet?" He asked genuinely curious as the Triwizard tournament was the first thing he would willingly admit to being interested in since his move. "Sorry, I'm Daniel by the way." Was added as he still felt awkward knowing her name and him being a stranger more or less.

@annelise

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Anna wasn't really expecting anyone to approach her, not that she really minded. It was just the time of night where people were dedicated to finishing their homework so they could go to bed. Clearly, not everyone felt that way. Anna was just staring at the fire herself, and whoever was joining her obviously wasn't doing their homework either.

Anna looked over at the person sitting next to her and smiled. She didn't recognize him, which was strange because he looked like an older student ... maybe a fifth or sixth year? He called her by her name, which wasn't surprising to Anna anymore. A few months ago, before she became champion, she would have felt extremely uncomfortable with a stranger knowing her name, but now everyone seemed to know her so she was used to it.

She smiled at his compliment. " Thanks. It went a lot better than the first one," she admitted, though anyone who saw the first two tasks would definitely know that for themselves. She made a face and shook her head at his next question. "No. I wish I knew, but they seem to think it needs to be a secret for now." Hopefully they would tell the champions something before the actual task. That way Anna would know what she should study for.

She smiled when hr introduced himself, relieved that maybe she wasn't supposed to know his name already. "Nice to meet you Daniel. I-uh, I have to admit that I don't remember seeing you here the last few years. Did you transfer from somewhere?" She hoped he wouldn't mind her asking since she was sincerely curious.

@crimson1

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Daniel had really hoped he wasn't interrupting Anna as he congratulated her, he wouldn't have taken it personally if she didn't want to talk. People didn't normally sit alone just to wait for someone to come by to talk to them. Daniel had plenty of times where he just sat alone to be left along. Still as she spoke it didn't seem that, that was the case and she didn't mind talking right now. "Still second place in the first challenge is still something. If anything say you were just warming up." Daniel said with a small laugh as he himself couldn't find the usual tone of sarcasm about him. Probably because he was the one to start talking to her, it wouldn't make sense to be that way to someone you actually wanted to talk to. "I imagine it's to catch the champions off guard, not so good for you guys but probably to see whose ready for anything." Daniel explained why he thought they might be keeping it a secret.

He wasn't surprised, well actually he was a little as Anna asked him why she had never seen him before and if he had transferred. They weren't even the same year so he assumed she would just think they never ran into each other, not catch that he was completely new. Daniel took a seat nearby before he responded. "Yeah I started just this year. I used to go to IIvermorny, the American school." He did enjoy saying the name of his old school. It wasn't like it was a thing pride about it but rather that was where he still felt like his home was and all his friends were. "Took me awhile to get used to the time difference."

@annelise

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This boy was being very nice, even though she didn't know him, and Anna couldn't help but smile at him as he complimented her for getting second in the First Task. She nodded, really appreciating his attitude. "I like that way of thinking about it," she admitted. "Hopefully I'll stay warmed up for the last task." Really though, this guy she didn't know was being so pleasant and Anna was surprised she didn't remember him. She watched him a little more closely, trying to remember the first time she noticed him here, but she couldn't place it. "Yeah, you're probably right about that. It just makes it harder to prepare when I don't know what I'm preparing for," she explained, ignoring the tingling of nerves she felt whenever she thought about the remaining task. That was the hardest thing about the First Task, not knowing what it was or what she should study. Maybe that was why she struggled as much as she did with it.

He didn't answer right away at her question, instead taking the time to sit down and think before answering her. She listened as he explained that this was his first year at Hogwarts. Oh good. At least she hadn't been ignoring him for years. Not that Anna really thought that was possible. She tried hard to make sure she knew most- if not all- of the people in Gryffindor. She frowned a little as she thought of how difficult it must have been for him to move to a new school. Then she focused on him again instead of her thoughts and smiled once more. "I can only imagine that that would be very hard," she started, "but I'm glad I got to meet you." At least, he seemed very nice. "What do you think of Hogwarts? I mean, I'm sure you don't like it as much as Ilvermony," she certainly wouldn't like another school more if she had to transfer, "but do you feel comfortable here?" Anna wasn't sure if what she was asking was something she should ask or not, but she couldn't help it. She had a tendency to think about others and want them to be happy. Even people she just met.

@crimson1

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Being positive wasn't normal for who he had been in the recent months but back home before the move that's how it was most of the time. Thinking about it made him miss it more but now wasn't the time to get caught up being annoyed about where he was or how he felt. "Well you came in first once already, just one more time and you'll be good. Nothing to it right?" A small laugh followed as he had just been kidding but just to be sure. "I'm kidding of course." Anna had a point as she said it did make it harder to prepare for something when you didn't know what it was. "Which is why it might just be important to relax about it, easier said than done I imagine but if you don't know what's coming next might as well not stress and go crazy over it." Daniel explained with a shrug as he honestly couldn't place him in the situation himself. "Better to be relaxed and ready for anything than stressed out before it even starts."

"It's not great but it's nice to meet you too." Which he meant as she seemed like a person who genuinely cares about others. Plenty of people had been nice at Hogwarts but at the same time he felt left out from so much since he didn't have the friends people would have made in the past five years like others would have. As Anna asked him what he thought of Hogwarts he gave it a second, most days he was bitter and willing to say he still hated it here but it wasn't all that bad. "It's nice, both schools have things the other doesn't. We don't have a lake or anything like that there as it's on top a mountain. We also don't have moving stair cases either which that I miss some days." It was probably just because it was his first year at Hogwarts and wasn't used to it but the staircases kept getting in his way and it didn't help that the common room was up seven flights of them. "As comfortable as one can be being thrown into a new school and being a stranger to all I assume."

@annelise

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Anna smiled at Daniel's positive attitude. She'd just barely met the kid, but she appreciated his encouragement with the Tournament. She chuckled softly. "Nothing to it ... as long as the next task is like the second instead of the first," she agreed. Even though he didn't mean it, and said that to her outright, Anna thought that it would be good for her to be more positive about the tournament. Maybe having a positive attitude would help her do better. She nodded when his words matched with her thoughts. "Yeah, that's the part that's hard for me," Anna admitted. "I tend to stress out about things, especially when I don't know exactly what I should be preparing for. So ... I'll try to get in that mindset, but I don't know how successful I'll be at it." Probably not very successful, but she liked the way he explained it. Relaxed and ready for anything. If only that was possible ... she smiled. "If I get really stressed I might just come and ask you to talk me down," she teased, winking playfully at him. Of course, she wouldn't put that much pressure on him.

She smiled when he admitted that the move wasn't great, but that he was glad to meet her. Actually, Anna was very impressed by his attitude. If her parents moved while she was in the middle of school, Anna definitely wouldn't have gone quietly and she probably wouldn't have had his kind of attitude either. She definitely would have been a pill. Good thing they couldn't move in the next few months, so she didn't have to deal with it. Anna nodded as he started mentioning some differences, like the black lake and moving staircases. She laughed at that comment. "I'm pretty sure all of us wish that the staircases didn't move at one point or another," Anna explained her laughter. "I don't think anyone can make it seven years without those stairs taking them somewhere they didn't want to go." She nodded, empathetic when he seemed to get a little more serious, saying he was as comfortable as he could be. "Well if you ever need anything just let me know," she offered. Despite being busy as a seventh year, and with the tournament and Phoenix Rising, Anna always wanted to help others as much as she could.

@crimson1

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"That's the spirit." Daniel replied with a quick laugh as he knew it couldn't be easy to have that much going on at the same time. She had her classes, seventh year exams coming up and now on top of that the tournament to deal with. Daniel had a hard enough time just making sure he finished even most of his class work on time. He couldn't imagine having all that going on at one time. With a quick laugh he couldn't help but be amused as Anna said If she got to stressed she would come to him about it. Probably if it was before he came to Hogwarts he would describe himself as a laid back person. Now that just turned into not caring much about things but it was still funny to hear someone say that to him. "Hey, if you can deal with all these challenges and who knows what else the least I can do is try and help out where I can. All I ask is that my name is listed off first when you're giving the victory speech." Daniel was joking of course.

It was hard to imagine that someone hadn't been moved around on the staircase before and if they hadn't they had to be the luckiest person to avoid that hassle. "Yeah no one is that lucky to avoid being turned around on those things at least one." Daniel replied with a small laugh as he did wish he could be that lucky but he had already been moved more than enough times to disqualify him. "I'm fine, just getting my bearings eventually. Besides you have enough on your plate than to worry about the problems of someone else." It was a nice gesture and it wasn't that he didn't welcome it but he was fine and didn't need or want others worried about him.

@annelise

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Anna couldn't help but smile when Daniel laughed. She liked making people laugh, despite what was going on in her life or what time it was. It was also nice to be joking around about the tournament. Sometimes she wondered if she took it too seriously. Maybe if she would joke around and laugh more about the tournament it wouldn't stress her out so much. That was definitely something to think about. "Thanks for the suggestion," she said with a small shrug. Then she couldn't help but laugh when he said that he could help her out, as long as she'd mention him in her victory speech. That sounded ridiculously close to what Oscar said to her shortly after the two of them first met. "I have no problems mentioning the people that help me," she told him with a small roll of her eyes, "but I won't guarantee the order, just that your name will be in there." Mostly because Oscar would kill her if she mentioned other people first ... but if she did win, Anna was going to thank everyone that helped her.  

"Exactly," Anna said with a firm nod when Daniel agreed that the moving staircases had to confuse everyone at least sometimes. She nodded when he said he was getting her bearings and then rolled her eyes. "I'm not worrying about anyone else's problems, I have enough of my own," she told him, "but if you ever want someone to talk to, I'm always here." Really that was what Anna loved. She loved helping people around her, especially those that reached out to help her when she was struggling. For that reason, she'd definitely be keeping an eye out for Daniel. If nothing else, she could talk with him when she noticed him on his own sometimes.

@crimson1
(hehe sorry, Anna can be kind of pushy, and doesn't really take no for an answer )

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"Hey I'll take what I can get." Daniel replied with a shrug and a smile as she said she didn't mind mentioning him but not in that order. He had just been kidding and even if she said that he didn't expect to be in any victory speech. He hadn't done much besides talk to her just now. That wouldn't be something that deserved to be listed in a victory speech as people that helped her. Besides he wouldn't blame her if she forgot, he couldn't imagine her remembering the name of a person she just met during all the excitement of the third trial and if she won. Daniel did hope she won though, not just because she was the Hogwarts champion either.

Daniel just nodded as she insisted he wasn't causing her to worry but if he ever needed someone to talk to she was there. Daniel wasn't much of a talker as of the past few months but he was slowly warming up to some people even if he didn't want to admit it. "Well who am I to turn down the kindness of a champion." Daniel said jokingly for a second before continuing. "But yeah I'll remember that, thanks for the offer." He genuinely replied this time, no jokes or sarcasm. It was getting harder to keep the attitude that he hated being at Hogwarts, he'd always miss his friends back home and disliked why he was here but most people so far had been friendly enough to a complete stranger. "Yet if I keep willingly talking to people I might lose the imagine of being the weird new student that never talks. I'll have to weight my options." Daniel added as he was just kidding, he didn't care what others thought. Especially if it was about if he wanted to talk or not.

@annelise

(No need to apologize at all, That's just how she is and it's great.)

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Anna smiled when Daniel said that he'd take what he could get. He seemed like a nice guy and she appreciated his offer to help. Over the last few months- really ever since she was made Hogwarts Champion- she had so many offers to help her. Most of them she felt were hollow, but there were a few people that Anna actually believed wanted to help her. Oscar, Andy, Lily, Irina, Jamie ... they were all there for whatever she needed, Anna knew. Still, she had the feeling that Daniel would be as well, if she ever got over her pride enough to ask for help. "Thanks, I really do appreciate that," she said simply. Really he hadn't done anything yet, but Anna was positive he would. The closer the Task got, the more likely she was to freak out about it. Having someone who could talk to her and distract her would be a good thing.

He joked around, teasing her again for being champion and Anna laughed. She had a feeling he was struggling more than he was letting on, but he really was a nice guy and she was glad that he was talking to her. She nodded, "It's the least I can do," and it was. If Anna hadn't been the champion, she would probably go out of her way to make sure he was having a good experience at Hogwarts, or at least making friends, but she was champion, which made her busy enough that she didn't remember things like this. She laughed again at his next comment. "Sorry, but talking with me will not help you keep that rep. So ... maybe I'll just have to make sure people see us talking in the Great Hall or something," she teased him back, then pointed a finger at him, "But you'd better not start trying to avoid me." Anna wasn't serious either, but she was trying to make him feel more comfortable, especially around her. She didn't want to become the unapproachable, mighty champion because that wasn't Anna. She was and always would be a people person.

@crimson1

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Daniel just laughed slightly as Anna mentioned that just talking to her wouldn't lose the reputation of being the new quiet student at the school. "Got it, so be wary of public areas but don't make it seem like I'm avoiding you." Daniel smiled as he was only just kidding and wouldn't be actively trying to stay away from public areas or avoid her. "Still I appreciate the offer." Daniel added as it was nice enough that someone as busy as her would take the time to keep talking to him. He couldn't imagine himself having that kind of time if he was worried about all this Tri-wizard stuff. "Also I don't think I know enough hiding spots around this school yet to say I can fully avoid someone, at least for now." Daniel added with a laugh for a second as he was kidding but it was also true.

@annelise

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Anna laughed at Daniel's summary of what he should and shouldn't do. "Yeah... I think that sounds about right. So you think you'll be able to handle it?" she teased. She was actually quite enjoying the chance to get to know someone new. Maybe that could be a new way to relieve stress: getting to know the younger students of people from other houses or something. She nodded at his thanks, but didn't say anything about it. Then she laughed again. "Yet?! Does that mean you're trying to find enough so you can hide from me?" she demanded with a little smirk. Then she washed a finger at him. "I can show you places to hide, but not if you're going to use them against me." Yes she was still teasing him. Apparently Anna couldn't help herself this morning.

@crimson1

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Daniel just smiled as Anna asked if he could handle both avoiding and not making it seem like he wasn't avoiding her or public spaces at the time. "I can give it my best shot at least," Daniel replied with a laugh as he was just kidding really. "Well I didn't say I was looking for those places to avoid you, I just met you after all. Still it's good to have a few places to duck away when you need to." He explained as he hadn't had much reason to run from anything as Daniel wasn't causing as much trouble as he did in his old school. Still it would have been nice to have those spots if needed. "If I promise I won't use them on you are you going to check if my fingers are crossed? Just curious."Daniel asked with another quick laugh as he didn't plan to avoid Anna but this was all just jokes anyway.

@annelise

#Danieldoes100

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Anna smiled when he said he'd give it his best shot. She was almost positive that he was just teasing and that he wasn't actually meaning to ignore her, but either way it was fun to joke around like this. It had been a while since she took a break from studying to joke around with someone that wasn't Oscar or one of her close friends. She nodded when he said he wasn't looking for places to avoid her. "Good. After all, you have to wait to get to know me better before you can decide you want to avoid me. Otherwise it's just rude," she teased right back. Then he laughed, asking if she was going to make sure he couldn't loophole his way around a promise not to hide from her. Anna rolled her eyes, still grinning. "No. If you promise, I think I'll believe you. This time, at least. If you break this promise then next time I'm definitely going to have to check for crossed fingers, so be careful what you do." She laughed, enjoying this far more than she originally expected.

@crimson1