Danica Quinn-Smith
Gryffindor Alumnus │ Healer at St. Mungo's │ Proud Mother of Two │ Married to Andrew Smith
Dani smiled and she nodded along with what Cathy was saying, which, on the face of it made perfect sense, this was a girl’s night, not a couples night, and said diplomatically, “No, I suppose not, an’ no that’s not my thing,” the last bit of which she said with a bit of a chuckle. She could scarcely imagine attending such a party and being able to look her husband in the eye afterward.
When Cathy mentioned her thoughts on her post-Quidditch career, it reminded Dani of her own career plans, she’d considered doing exactly what Cathy was suggesting, but that was before the whole business at Hogsmeade, when everything changed. There was a pained look in her eyes when Cathy suggested such a career might make her daughter proud of her. “Oh, Cathy, you shouldn’t sell yourself short like that. You know in your heart Aria loves you and is proud of you and wants nothing but the best for you. How could she not?”
Cathy went on about Aria’s plans dismissively, and Dani said to her, “To hear it from Ron, Aria isn’t satisfied with making a difference; she wants to be the difference. And, I can think of her doing far worse things with her talents than following your mum’s example. Everything I knew of her, she was a great lady.” Mentioning Cara League brought back a lot of memories of that whole, awful summer, when she was killed saving Eli. It reminded her once more of how her first real relationship fell apart, and that Cara’s death caused Dani to try mending fences with her own estranged family. With a bit of force, she shoved those memories back in the dark corner where they belonged, thinking, ‘As a healer, I should know better than to reopen old wounds, and remember that it takes ten times as long to put myself back together than it did to fall apart in the first place.’
Spying Andrea’s wolf slippers was enough to cause Dani to chuckle appreciatively, and when Andrea made her suggestion, Dani nodded, and collected the glass Bella passed her way. “Best prescription I’ve heard all day. Wine and the company of old friends,” she said, agreeing with Andrea and Bella, and offering a toast, “Lechyd Da!,” before taking a long sip and feeling a level of tension slip from her shoulders.
When the subject of Andy and the family came up, Dani smiled, and answered, “Oh, Andy and I are fine, really; its just been the last couple days which have been a rough stretch. Just good old fashioned crudtastic timing, more than anything else. I was helping out in the Pediatric Wing, and I ended up staying overnight, because I didn’t want to just leave the Junior Healer there to handle things, you know, in case something came up. So, I get home basically just in time to get the kids packed up to go to the train station. I take the family to the place the Quinns used to take me for breakfast on Departure Day. We’re having breakfast, and Andy gets a call from work, telling him they had some emergency crop up, and they needed his help. So, he drops us off at the station, and he’s gone. I feel worse for the kids than I do for myself, especially Brianna; she probably would have liked to have her father there to see her off, instead of just little ol’ me. I get a call from Andy; yeah, he’s on a company jet for the facility up north of here, and so he won’t be back until tomorrow night. So, I was stuck Apparating home by myself. I don’t remember the last time I made dinner for just myself, going to the pub without Andy just doesn’t feel right, you know, because we always go there as a couple, and takeaway for one is just… sad.”
Dani shook her head, and added, “Poor Ron, I know he’s looking forward to seeing Aria again, and being with their friends, and he’s trying to keep me from crying there at the station. Then, I stuck him with being responsible for Brianna, making sure she got where she needed to be. Bless his soul, he promised me he’d take care of things, and that I shouldn’t worry. I probably shouldn’t have done that, but I did. I probably need to make amends to him, don’t I?”
Gryffindor Alumnus │ Healer at St. Mungo's │ Proud Mother of Two │ Married to Andrew Smith
Dani smiled and she nodded along with what Cathy was saying, which, on the face of it made perfect sense, this was a girl’s night, not a couples night, and said diplomatically, “No, I suppose not, an’ no that’s not my thing,” the last bit of which she said with a bit of a chuckle. She could scarcely imagine attending such a party and being able to look her husband in the eye afterward.
When Cathy mentioned her thoughts on her post-Quidditch career, it reminded Dani of her own career plans, she’d considered doing exactly what Cathy was suggesting, but that was before the whole business at Hogsmeade, when everything changed. There was a pained look in her eyes when Cathy suggested such a career might make her daughter proud of her. “Oh, Cathy, you shouldn’t sell yourself short like that. You know in your heart Aria loves you and is proud of you and wants nothing but the best for you. How could she not?”
Cathy went on about Aria’s plans dismissively, and Dani said to her, “To hear it from Ron, Aria isn’t satisfied with making a difference; she wants to be the difference. And, I can think of her doing far worse things with her talents than following your mum’s example. Everything I knew of her, she was a great lady.” Mentioning Cara League brought back a lot of memories of that whole, awful summer, when she was killed saving Eli. It reminded her once more of how her first real relationship fell apart, and that Cara’s death caused Dani to try mending fences with her own estranged family. With a bit of force, she shoved those memories back in the dark corner where they belonged, thinking, ‘As a healer, I should know better than to reopen old wounds, and remember that it takes ten times as long to put myself back together than it did to fall apart in the first place.’
Spying Andrea’s wolf slippers was enough to cause Dani to chuckle appreciatively, and when Andrea made her suggestion, Dani nodded, and collected the glass Bella passed her way. “Best prescription I’ve heard all day. Wine and the company of old friends,” she said, agreeing with Andrea and Bella, and offering a toast, “Lechyd Da!,” before taking a long sip and feeling a level of tension slip from her shoulders.
When the subject of Andy and the family came up, Dani smiled, and answered, “Oh, Andy and I are fine, really; its just been the last couple days which have been a rough stretch. Just good old fashioned crudtastic timing, more than anything else. I was helping out in the Pediatric Wing, and I ended up staying overnight, because I didn’t want to just leave the Junior Healer there to handle things, you know, in case something came up. So, I get home basically just in time to get the kids packed up to go to the train station. I take the family to the place the Quinns used to take me for breakfast on Departure Day. We’re having breakfast, and Andy gets a call from work, telling him they had some emergency crop up, and they needed his help. So, he drops us off at the station, and he’s gone. I feel worse for the kids than I do for myself, especially Brianna; she probably would have liked to have her father there to see her off, instead of just little ol’ me. I get a call from Andy; yeah, he’s on a company jet for the facility up north of here, and so he won’t be back until tomorrow night. So, I was stuck Apparating home by myself. I don’t remember the last time I made dinner for just myself, going to the pub without Andy just doesn’t feel right, you know, because we always go there as a couple, and takeaway for one is just… sad.”
Dani shook her head, and added, “Poor Ron, I know he’s looking forward to seeing Aria again, and being with their friends, and he’s trying to keep me from crying there at the station. Then, I stuck him with being responsible for Brianna, making sure she got where she needed to be. Bless his soul, he promised me he’d take care of things, and that I shouldn’t worry. I probably shouldn’t have done that, but I did. I probably need to make amends to him, don’t I?”
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