November third did not go how Dan wanted.

First, he had woken up late for school, meaning he rushed out of his house and to school on his bike wearing a haphazardly put together outfit and with a cold English muffin stuffed in his mouth.

Second, there was a pop quiz in maths. And alright, Dan liked Mrs. Hill, but she really was pushing it here.

Third, he had to deal with the usual assholes. Teasing him about wearing overalls and pink sweaters, saying they were 'girl clothes,' even though they weren't. (Plus, he looked great in them.) Teasing him about not having friends, even though Dan liked being alone. Teasing him about being smart and having good grades, even though that meant that Dan would end up getting a good education and having a good future.

There was something about karma and how Dan knew it would come around when the time was right that was satisfying as he watched them laugh at him.

And there was something about the monotony of these things happening often that blocked out the embarrassment of walking into class late, that lessened the surprise of having random tests, that dulled the words of Oliver and Tate.

Dan made his way down the back road he had christened Hogsmeade Road in his mind. The narrow, winding street bore a great resemblance to the fictional one, especially in the snow.

The fading November light made its slow way through the few remaining leaves as Dan rode through, earbuds in.

He was listening to Origins of Symmetry, an album that his older sister, Sarah, had introduced him to.

Come to think of it, all of the music Dan listened to Sarah had introduced him to.

They were close, and Dan was thankful. Sarah was one of the nicest people he knew.

He opened the shed and nestled his bike between the rake and the lawnmower, then locked the shed and went inside the empty house.

It wasn't big, but it sure was cozy. And welcoming. Dan dropped his black backpack on his bed, then made his way back to the kitchen.

He set some water in the kettle, then slipped his shoes off and got out two mugs.

Once a shrill whistling sound filled the kitchen, Dan poured two steaming cups of hot water and put teabags into both of them. One for him, one for his sister, who'd be home at 3:45. She was always home at 3:45.

He left her cup on the counter, where he always left it, then made his way back to his bedroom and curled up on his soft duvet, setting his tea on his bedside table and opening his backpack.

He reached for his maths textbook and a pencil, sighing heavily when he realized how many problems Mrs. Hill had assigned.

Minerva, Sarah's brown tabby, climbed up next to him and settled beside his thigh, mewing and rubbing her head on his knee.

Dan tucked his feet under himself and chewed his pencil as he worked, a habit that annoyed Sarah to no end whenever she needed a pencil.

Speaking of his sister, Dan heard the back door open and then shut, and then a warm voice cut through the quiet.

"I'm home!"

Dan didn't reply; he didn't need to. Sarah knew he was home. He only sighed in frustration at the equation he was supposed to simplify.

What were letters even doing in maths?

Finally he gave up. "Sarah?"

Moments later, he heard footsteps and then Sarah poked her head in, carrying her mug

"Mm?"

"Can you help me with this problem?"

Sarah promptly opened the door enough to fit through and sat down next to Dan on his bed, running a hand through her messy brown curls.

"May I?" she asked, gesturing to his pencil, which he handed to her. "So, you have to multiply x by one-fourth, not divide it, and then add thirty-two. Then you can find the points for the vertex and graph it."

"Oh," Dan murmured as he applied the actions and found the answer. "Thank you."

Sarah kissed him on the top of the head, then stood up. "No problem. And thanks for the tea." She closed the door behind her just as the telephone rang.

As he continued his maths work, he heard her talking to someone -- presumably their mum, who sometimes called from work.

Dan finished his tea, and the sun had set by the time he was done with all his homework.

He was debating going for another bike ride, just around the town. It was oddly warm for November, and could be one of the last opportunities he'd have before it got too cold. There was a bit more energy in the air, he had noticed earlier.

Sarah was cooking dinner when Dan finally ventured out of his room.

"Do you think it's still early enough to go for a bike ride?"

"Hmm." She looked out the window, where the light was almost gone. "I'd say okay, just not too long, yeah?"

"Okay!" Dan cheered. "See you later, then. And that smells delicious," he added, before going to the coat rack and slipping on his vest over his overalls and sweater.

Sarah smiled at her little brother, then returned her attention to the stove.

Dan's cheeks were flushed pink with the rapidly cooling air as he rode down the back streets of Wokingham, one earbud in.

It was peaceful. Oliver and Tate, he knew, lived on the other side of town, and he didn't have to worry about running into them over here.

The tires crunched over browning leaves, and Dan slowed down once he reached the top of the hill, catching his breath next to the silent woods.

He pulled to a complete stop when he noticed a flower near the opening of the forest, in between a sort of gap in the trees.

It was nothing you'd expect to find in November in England. It was a daffodil, with white and soft yellow petals. A spring flower.

Dan slid off his bike to crouch down and look at the flower.

It was alive, from the looks of it, which was the strangest thing Dan had seen all day.

"What are you doing here?" he murmured, brushing his fingers against its soft, cold petals.

And then he looked around, making sure there was no one nearby. He didn't fancy having people around here think he was crazy, for talking to a flower.

At least he didn't expect an answer.

There was another sound beyond the trees, making Dan look and stand up. He glanced down at his watch, remembering his promise to Sarah.

It'd been about twenty minutes since he'd left, and it was starting to get pretty dark.

He'd give it five more minutes, then he'd have five to get home before it was too late.

And so Dan, hands trembling slightly with curiosity, stepped through the gap in the trees.

There wasn't any noise out of the ordinary. Just the comforting rustling of the leaves and whistle of the wind.

Dan looked around in the green-blue-gray light. For what, he wasn't sure. Another flower, maybe? Or possibly an explanation for the flower.

He couldn't even explain to himself why this tugged at his curiosity so much. It was just a flower, after all. Got itself blown into a warm spot and found the things it needed to grow. It wasn't that strange.

That's what the rational part of Dan said, anyway. The part of him that had always been entranced by fantasy and finding something mysterious in the woods said otherwise.

And he should be allowed to entertain that part of him once in a while, shouldn't he?

So the small boy carefully wound his way over jagged tree roots and deeper into the woods. He lit up his watch, just to see. The trees blocked out most of the remaining light.

He only had two minutes left.

Was there really anything there?

Maybe it was just a flower.

Dan's insides squirmed with disappointment as he rode back home, despite telling himself it was foolish.

That could have been the start of his very own fantasy adventure. Sarah would come with him, of course, and their mother if she could get off work and didn't have class.

They'd travel across the galaxy collecting the Daffodils of Destiny and when they met the supervillain on a faraway planet, Sarah would cook the daffodils into a magic potion that made him good again. And then all the regular daffodils would all bind together and form a dragon to bring them back to Earth.

Dan let himself back in, though, and he couldn't keep the frown on his face. After all, Sarah was singing in the kitchen as she set the table. And Dan didn't think anything calmed him down more than Sarah's singing.

"Hey," she said when she saw him. "How was your ride?"

"It was good," Dan answered cheerfully. "I saw a daffodil in the forest."

"Really? Isn't it a bit early?"

"That's what I was thinking!"

"Maybe it found a warm spot after the seed escaped or something," Sarah offered, and Dan laughed at how similar their thoughts were.

He headed across the room and slipped off his vest and shoes, the smell of Sarah's cooking filling his nostrils.

The front door opened, and in stepped their mom.

She had a smile that reached to her tired hazel eyes and messy blonde hair always pulled out of her face messily and incessantly tapping fingers.

"Hey, Sarah. Hey, Dan," she greeted, setting her backpack down and slumping against the counter. She opened her arms and Dan stepped into them, relaxing against her familiar scent: laundry detergent and blueberry soap.

Sarah sidled over and gave their mother a quick kiss on the cheek, then slipped off her apron and pulled out a chair. Dan and their mother followed suit.

It was small talk over dinner, about what they did during the day and all that.

Part of Dan's mind kept wandering back to the flower, despite the rest of it yelling that getting this excited over a damn flower was about the stupidest thing he had ever heard.

a/n: okay please read this! i will not have a regular updating schedule for this story, because i already have one for my other story and two would be too stressful

in other news, thank you for reading this and please tell me what you think of it!