Subject: [OTL]: (alt. Dani/Cedric Diggory) Raccoon Inspiration (PG-13) From: Phil Hartman Date: Tue, 10 Oct 2006 17:55:43 +0000 will1@earthling.net Raccoon Inspiration by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: Dani and Co. are Marvel's. Cedric and Co. are J.K. Rowling's. Esiban is Minisinoo's, as is this Cedric's backstory. Noel is mine. Anyone I didn't cover belongs to their owners/creators. It's all fiction. No money is being made off of this. Etc. NOTE: AU; the sequel to "Raccoon Motivation" - long overdue, I know - and a quasi-prequel to "Badgers and Bridges." --------------------------------- 9/9/06: Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland: 17:30 hrs local: --------------------------------- The food had been tasty - not what Dani Moonstar would call "delicious," but she'd never exactly liked heavy food, herself. Still, she wasn't ... happy. It wasn't the food, nor was it the company, which were weighing on her mind - she'd been practically celebrated by the students and staff of Hogwarts, since she'd destroyed a dementor which had somehow gotten inside the school's main castle. And the 30-year-old former co-leader of the first team of New Mutants had found not only her lost psionic powers, but three of her closest friends - including Illyana Rasputin, who'd somehow returned to adulthood, as well as Dani's soul-sister, Rahne Ramsey, and Rahne's husband Doug. Even the witches and wizards at the school had been very welcoming, especially the members of Hufflepuff House - rather community-minded, and open to all. That house's rising star, Cedric Diggory, and his raccoon Esiban had been critical in restoring Dani's powers. All of her powers ... and that was really the problem. #I thought I'd lost all of my powers forever,# Dani thought as she sat beside the lake and looked out at the late afternoon sunlight. #Including my Valkyrie death-sight ...# Dani's decline from psionic warrior to unpowered waitress at a Lame Deer, Montana restaurant had started when she'd been kicked out of Asgard by her fellow Valkyries for asking to be released from her duty of collecting the souls of the honored dead. That confrontation five years ago had stripped Dani of her haunting ability to see who was likely to die soon - not a power she'd exactly missed. After returning to Earth, Dani had been confronted by SHIELD about infiltrating the Mutant Liberation Front. During the two years she'd spent trying to undermine the insurgent mutant group, Dani had lost her power to psionically communicate with animals - including the mind-link she'd had with Rahne when the Scots woman had been in wolf form. And, two years earlier, when other mutants' powers had returned after genetic experimentation by the High Evolutionary, Dani's power to show others' greatest fears or joys via solid psionic energy never came back on. Still feeling as if she'd betrayed X-Force by joining the MLF, Dani had left her friends and gone back to her childhood home to try and find herself. #But that was the problem - I never came *back* from Lame Deer. I just kept running from the pain of the wars I'd fought ... and from what I'd seen,# Dani recalled as she laid back on the grass and stretched out. She could "hear" the thoughts of the birds and small animals in her mind; the hungry patience of what Illyana - now a teacher here at Hogwarts - had said were giant *spiders* in the "Forbidden Forest"; and the various animals and birds kept as pets in the Hogwarts castle proper. It was a song Dani had never hoped to hear again, and it uplifted her for a moment. But she could sense how brief those sparks of life were, also, hanging like a grim shroud off of all of those beings ... "Ms. Moonstar?" "Cedric," Dani called, sitting up with a faint smile as she dusted grass off of her sweatshirt and jeans. She waved at Cedric Diggory, Hufflepuff fifth-year - tall, brown hair, grey eyes, black robe over slacks and shirt, black and yellow tie - as he walked toward her, his raccoon Esiban on his shoulders. "Are you all right? Professor Sprout asked me to check on you - Professor Rasputin and the Ramseys had an urgent call from America, but they were worried about you, and we wanted to show you our common room, the Sett, before you had to leave ..." Cedric asked as he looked at her in concern - and not a little pain, Dani noticed. #He's blaming himself for my discomfort,# Dani realized, sighing. "Sit down, Cedric, please - I shouldn't be avoiding you, and I'm sorry about that. I owe you and Esiban both better manners than slinking off after dinner," Dani asked, and Cedric sat near her - not too close, she realized with both gratitude and bemusement; unlike Wisdom, most British had a certain amount of personal space with people they'd just met. Esiban, however, leapt off of Cedric's shoulders and waddled over to Dani, who held her hand out for the raccoon to sniff. He did so, then clambered into her lap and chittered for her to pet him - as if Dani couldn't fail to sense the raccoon's acceptance of her. "He likes you," Cedric observed, and Dani smiled over at the now-blushing boy as she carefully ran a hand through Esiban's fur. "When they're being honest with you, raccoons make good friends. There are times when they get to be conniving little pains ... even to the point of deceiving themselves along with their friends," Dani admitted, and she laughed at the look of confusion Cedric gave her. "I'm sorry. I should explain - about five years ago, I infiltrated a group of mutant criminals as a spy for an international peacekeeping agency. To do that, I had to deceive, even fight, my old friends - not Rahne and Doug, but some of our other classmates. I lost myself in the role, and that lying cut down on more of my powers," Dani explained. "Then two years ago, we faced an insane geneticist who was lying to a global expert in genetics, and many mutants lost their powers for a while. None of mine turned back on, and that's why I spent the last two years hiding from my friends. I'd forgotten that I needed both of my clans - First Nations and X-Men - to help me find myself." She met Cedric's curious gaze, and he nodded slowly. "That's why your powers stayed off - you let your guilt weigh you down. Emotions affect wizards, also; the Ministry has a lot of examples of people who cast spells unconsciously and caused disasters," the teen said. "Well, if I'm going to be honest, it needs to be with everybody. I ... when my powers returned, *all* of them returned," Dani said, looking away and fighting back tears - - how was she going tell Cedric, a teenage boy who didn't deserve this kind of weight, who'd *helped* her get her powers back, that Death was stalking him? Esiban nuzzled Dani's chin, and she looked into the raccoon's eyes, as he seemed to speak to her - ~and he urged her to share, to trust Cedric-friend-brother~ - and Dani laughed despite her sudden gloom, as she ruffled the raccoon's head. "All right, Macho-on," she said, using the Cheyenne word for raccoon. "I get the point. Be honest." Dani took a deep breath, then looked at Cedric and continued, "One of my powers was one I find something of a double-edged sword - and you might not believe me when I tell you how I got it. "I was barely older than you are now when the New Mutants and I were kidnapped to Asgard, realm of the Norse gods - I know it sounds crazy, but it really happened. There, I encountered some of the Valkyrior, and bonded with one of their winged horses. I became the first mortal Valkyrie - able to see death coming for people, and able to take the souls of the honored dead to Valhalla. But it weighed on me, not being immortal and having to witness death ..." "And when your powers returned in the Great Hall, your death-sight came back?" Cedric asked - not a shred of doubt in his voice, not a trace of mockery in his eyes. Dani nodded, swallowing hard as she replied, "It's not today, or probably tomorrow ... but Death is stalking you, Cedric. I don't want to scare you ..." "... but if you're being honest, you're being honest. I can live with that - really," Cedric said, half-smiling as Esiban clambered out of Dani's lap and over to his master's shoulder. Dani raised an eyebrow, but she didn't detect any adolescent bravado from the teen. Cedric met her eyes again, then smiled and said, "You probably think I'm being arrogant." "Very brave. You have a lot of guts," Dani said. Cedric nodded as his expression became grim. "You know what my greatest fear is - without pulling it ouf of my mind, of course?" he asked, faintly smiling as he dared to tease Dani despite having just met her. She shook her head, sensing Cedric's need to get something off of his chest as he scowled. "Dying without having bloody *proven* myself. A lot of the other Houses call me 'pretty-boy' Diggory - all good looks and high marks, no courage or real power," Cedric said, bitterness pouring off of him. He shook his head at that, then smiled over at Dani as she said, "You trusted a complete stranger with your raccoon, and didn't think she was insane when she claimed to have seen you in her dreams. That's a kind of courage." Cedric breathed out and smiled again as he ran fingers through Esiban's fur. "That's being a good host, and giving a fellow wizard proper respect - you said you learned medicine from your grandfather. And I do believe you about the Valkyries - I've seen stranger things happen here," he said. "I suppose a school full of young wizards and witches has all kinds of strange happenings," Dani agreed, returning Cedric's smile at that. "I don't want to seem full of myself, nor do I want to die young. But I can't live in fear. Hell, I could fall off my broom tomorrow at Quidditch practice and crack my head - of course, some of my mates might think that an improvement," Cedric tried to joke. He shrugged, then said, "I don't mean to insult you, Ms. Moonstar, and I believe your warning, but I just can't *hide.* I'm not so young that I'd ignore advice, though - thank you." "I understand," Dani said, tilting her head as she regarded Cedric - he certainly seemed to believe what he was saying ... #And I should heed other people's advice ...# ~Dani? Could you come to the castle, please? Another old friend's here,~ Dani "heard" Rahne call, and the Cheyenne woman wordlessly projected assent as Cedric looked at her curiously. "My mindlink with Mrs. Ramsey - she must've assumed wolf-form to 'speak' with me. I've got a call from America ... it's been nice to speak with you, Cedric. Thank you both," Dani said, rising and dusting herself off. Cedric stood, offering Dani his hand, and she shook it - still shivering at the image of Death, still hazy, around the teen. Esiban chittered with worry, and Cedric looked around as if he'd been caught in a sudden cold wind. But he laughed then, and Dani couldn't help but smile as she headed toward the castle. #Stay brave, Cedric. I think you'll need it ...# ---------------------------------- Rahne - now in human form - was waiting at the front gate, beaming when Dani walked up with a growing expression of surprised joy at who stood beside the Scots lycanthrope. "You never call, you never write - I almost despaired of ever seeing you again, Danielle," Xi'an Coy Mahn said, laughing as Dani hugged her. "How - wait, don't tell me: Illyana went to Hogsmeade and teleported you there, then you walked onto the grounds. It's so good to see you," Dani said as she, Xi'an and Rahne walked toward a hallway to the left, where Illyana waited with Doug. "The same to you. I *could* say something about not visiting, but I know Rahne has probably guilted you enough," Xi'an teased, drawing a blush from Rahne and an eyeroll from Dani as they met up with Illyana and Doug. Xi'an's expression became serious then, as they entered a classroom and Illyana lit the torches with a hand gesture - probably a silent spell, Dani figured. "I came once Professor Xavier told me where you were with the Ramseys. We need your help, Dani - and Rahne and Douglas," the former Karma began. Dani and Rahne traded a look, but Rahne just shrugged slightly, and Dani believed her "little sister"; it wasn't like Xi'an to be overblown. "How can we help, Shan?" Rahne asked. "We need advisors for a sudden influx of new, older students - high-school age. Most of the new class of New Mutants - Franklin and Rachel's group - have had their powers for some time. These new students, though, manifested suddenly, and while the New Mutants have advisors, those advisors already are dealing with 24 students. The new influx of older students need advisors to talk to who are closer to their own age," Xi'an explained. "And since Generation X are barely out of school themselves - much less semi-underground - and you, Doug, Rahne and I aren't on the run in X-Force, we're being asked to help out at the alma mater," Dani replied, drawing a relieved smile from Xi'an. "These are good kids, Dani, much like Illyana's students - well, with mutations instead of magic, of course - and like most of us, they are coming into their powers suddenly, with no warning. Many of their families are rejecting them, and they have no other place to go. We know what they are going through, and if we can help them ..." Xi'an asked, trailing off. #If we have the courage to do so,# Dani reflected. "I'm assuming we'll get certification in teaching - if we decide to help," Doug asked, giving Rahne a glance, even as she smiled and took his arm. Xi'an nodded, as Illyana snickered and said, "Hey, if *I* can become a teacher ..." "Then how can we decline?" Dani said, sharing Xi'an's grin. -------------------------- A beginning ...