Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery Year 6

Chapter 1

Edited the cover again, feel free to comment your thoughts (Dani doesn't date Penny either)
"Soo... How did your meeting with Moody go?"

"...He was disappointed that I told you."

Rowan shrugged. "Never mind then, aurors are always so secretive."

She and her best friend stepped outside, where Scotland was still pretty warm at 4 something in the afternoon in early September. They'd just survived their first day of NEWT classes, and of course received a busload of homework already, but Dani was at least a bit eager to properly talk to everyone else who was in the buried vault after summer.

"Aaand... Heeere the slowpokes are," said Merula in annoyance (and a bit over-dramatically).

"Are plus ones allowed?" asked Ben. "I mean, not that it matters..."

"Well, none of you said they weren't," said Dani. "Charlie wanted to come too, but he had quidditch practice."

"Well, they do say the more the merrier," said Penny. "How were everyone's summers?"

"Fine."

"Meh."

"OK, I guess. How's Beatrice?"

"Um-" Penny sighed. "...I'll just say that I don't know if it was the curse or the extra lessons, but... She's changed. A lot."

"She's 12, Haywood," Merula rolled her eyes. "Stop being an overprotective big sis and let her live her life."

"Yeah, my brother just started and he's doing fine so far. How were everyone's OWLs? I got-"

"A bajillion Os, we know," said Ben. "To be honest, though, I think they made this year's OWLs harder. I normally always ace Charms and I got an E."

"Same," said Dani. "Did you guys get any Os? I only have DADA."

"Yeah, just DADA," agreed Merula. "That was probably the only easy one."

"Let's face it, we ALL got an O on nothing but DADA," said Ben. "Well, other than Rowan, of course."

"Funnily enough," Rowan replied, "I got an O in everything EXCEPT DADA. That was probably because I got scared by the boggart at first, though."

"I was halfway through trying the homorphus charm before I realized that Sinistra said the week before was a full moon in our last class. Although I had been reading a ton of Gilderoy Lockhart before the exams. I got an E for DADA, but an O for Potions, but I think Snape HAD to give some out because I was trying to cast the confundus charm on it when he walked by."

"The confundus charm is the finishing step on the confusing concoction-"

"Thank you Rowan, but I'd like to point out that it was very nice of Professor Snape to let students with Es into his NEWT class this year, because I'm still considering becoming an auror," said Ben.

"I told you, our year did horribly in Potions..."
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Super random flashback to late August, 1989...

Dani watched as her dad dialled 62442 on the telephone.

"Welcome to the ministry of magic. Please state your name and business," said what sounded like an invisible lady with them in the telephone box.

"This is Roland Jackson, and I'm here with Danielle Jackson who is here to meet with Alastor Moody."

"Thank you. Visitor, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes."

Dani grabbed the thing that had slipped down the return chute: a square silver badge with her name on it, which she pinned to her shirt.

"Visitor to the ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the atrium."

Just like an elevator, the telephone box went downwards for about a minute before stopping in large, brightly lit hall.

"The ministry of magic wishes you a pleasant day."

The ministry was as busy as you'd expect an office building to be on a weekday morning. Dani passed the wizard-witch-centaur-goblin-house-elf fountain (see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Ch. 7, p. 144 in my copy at least), reading the not-as-smudged-as-when-Harry-saw-it sign (All proceeds from the Fountain of Magical Brethren will be given to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.) before flipping a galleon into the fountain. Mr. Jackson smiled as Dani rejoined him and they continued towards the security desk.

The greying man at the desk, wearing a blue uniform and a black hat, scanned Dani with a probity probe before asking for her wand, which he put onto the one-dish scale thingy (p. 146), and read off the parchment that came out of it. "11 1/4 inches, dragon heartstring core, been in use about eight months?"

Dani nodded, and the wizard cleared her to go. Mr. Jackson escorted her across the hall, towards the lift lobby.

Moody left one of the elevators, and turned towards the entrance, when he saw exactly who he wanted to see. "Fancy seeing you here, Dani."

"Hi, um-"

"I guess I'll leave her with you then, Mad-Eye," said Mr. Jackson. "I have a-"

"Meeting to get to," finished Moody. "Have a good day, Roland."

"Don't blow something up, Dani. See you around." And with that, Mr. Jackson sprinted towards the next elevator.

"And I'm not even Jae Kim," said Dani as her dad made it in just before the golden gate sliced him in half.

"Speaking of your classmates, does anyone aside from your father know about this meeting?"

"...Well, I may or may not have mentioned it to Rowan Khanna in a letter."

"I was half expecting you to say that, as much as you seem like someone who can keep secrets, I get that you're excited to be at the ministry for the first time. Now..."

Moody led Dani into a small, empty office, where he lamented that it didn't have tea and sat down across from Dani at a desk. "Too bad your brother wasn't able to tell you this, but despite the fact that you've dropped some classes this year, you'll still be as busy as ever with homework and preparation for your NEWTs."

"At least I won't be stumbling back to the common room at midnight anymore."

"That's a perk, plus all the coming-of-age-"

"Oh, come ON, everyone is so excited about apparition classes already and I literally turned 16 DAYS ago."

"Lighten up, a year isn't that long. Anyway, what did we discuss last time?"

"Whatever is inside the final vault is extremely powerful, and we can NOT allow R to get there before we do. Also, while Rakepick is only a minor player in R, her knowledge of Alex and the vault squad, as well as Hogwarts itself, poses a huge threat."

"Looks like you don't have a horrible memory either. Now, what we'll be discussing today is the plan for the coming school year. First and foremost, you and I are NOT resting until we get to the final vault. Now, do we have any leads to its location?"

"We found a trident in the last vault, and Sickleworth found a coral key in the red cap's lair in the forbidden forest which I'm not sure of its relevance, but right now..."