Follow the Spiders
Danybeams, grinning ear to ear, as she delicately lunges for another chocolate covered strawberry.
Arya, sitting next to her in the Great Hall, almost chokes on her drumstick, "Oh my God, that's Jon Snow. He's in Gryffindor, right?"
Dany's smile disappears. "Where?"
It’s been three days since she got here, and it feels like she still hasn’t learned anything new about Jon Snow, besides that he plays quidditch, is a defense against the dark arts prodigy, and is painfully shy.
Arya head nods down the endless Gryffindor table, "Down there. With... wait— he’s sitting with... Gendry?" She gapes, laughing, then shakes her head, "Why are they together, is he stupid? Why is he talking to him?"
Dany squints a knowing smile, watching her friend's eyes shoot daggers towards the oblivious boy. "Arya, are you two... not speaking again?"
"Uhm no... Gendry and I,” she pauses to chew and swallow awkwardly, “-we're actually civil for now. We just haven’t spoken in a while." She sniffs with a small shrug, "But he's still an idiot. Why do you think they're all sitting with him?"
"I'm not sure." She arches an eyebrow at her curiously, "Wait, you actually know Jon Snow, right?"
Arya bursts out a laugh, guessing, "Oh my god, hold on? They are probably all roommates! Right?" Her eyes widen, now snickering, "Gendry would shit his fucking pants.” She laughs imagining, “Probably lay awake all night, worrying how he'll get murdered in his sleep."
Dany blinks back at her impatiently, repeating more slowly, "Arya. Do you know, Jon Snow?"
"I thought I told you? I don't, but my father does," she squints, "He taught him at Durmstrang. Talked about him all the time actually. It was kind of annoying."
"Talked about him in a good way or a bad way?"
"Oh no, good way. Please, my father's obsessed with him, he probably cried when they expelled him-" she stops herself. "Wait I shouldn't say those things. He told me and Sansa we should defend any rumors about him..." She frowns at Daenerys, "Bran thinks he's innocent. I just don't understand why they would write such terrible things about him, if he really was that great a wizard?"
•
The feast was almost over, and Dany grabs the last chocolate strawberry. She twists her mouth to the side in thought, "We should go talk to Gendry. Find out some more information about him."
Arya turns back to Dany, smirking away from her other side-conversation with Gilly. "Information? ...About what?"
She sighs in frustration. "Jon Snow? Come on... Keep up."
Arya stops chewing, drawing out a grin, and then swallows, "Ugh. Well, I know that look when I see it."
"What... look?" She furrows her brows defensively.
"Hmmm, I don't know Dany... Let's see, there was the 'Let's free those kitchen house elves' look." She taps her fork, "I remember that one well. Oh— or the, 'Let's follow the spiders!'"
”Stop.”
"Or wait, can't forget about my favorite,” she laughs, “'Let's drive your dad's flying car, Arya," she barks waving an arm out, "'Yeah? All the way to Hogwart's what could go wrong?'—"
"—Okay, stop." Dany dismisses, as Arya chuckles again.
"You sure? I could probably go on?"
"No." She sneers at her in defense, "This is different."
"Uh-huh..." she echoes, playfully elbow tapping her, "Well, either way, Jon Snow is your new bad idea. I can tell."
"I do not have bad ideas, Arya," she frowns with flash of a grin, "Just sometimes my plans form tiny holes in them. Nothing unfixable."
She chances a glance over at the quietly warm, dark haired boy. "But I just think that if we could maybe figure out the truth... And then, if he’s not what they say about him— we could tell everyone to leave him alone."
Arya's jaw drops. "Uhm... okay. Where is this coming from?" Her voice lowers in volume, "Do you really think he's not a murderous muggle-hater?"
She shakes her head confidently, "No."
”How do you know?”
"I've just had this weird feeling about him, ever since that night on the train. I think... he's innocent."
She side eyes another quick glance, watching him from afar, as he smiles in awe, chuckling at the other boys around him, bickering in immature discussion.
Arya shrugs in apathy, continuing to eat her turkey leg.
Not letting it go yet, Dany scorns her again, protesting, "And also why would a muggleborn hate other muggleborns or muggles? That makes no sense."
"I don't know, Dany," Arya lifts her eyebrows daringly. "Why don't you go ask him yourself?"
Daenerys witnesses the challenge in her eyes, then nods to accept. She stands up suddenly and wipes the wrinkles smooth down her robes. And then turns to Arya waiting.
Arya’s eyes widen, choking back a nervous laugh, "Uhhh. You do know I was only joking right?"
”Well... I’m not. Are you coming?”
"We can't talk to him right now? Let's talk to Gendry first," she bargains, now washing down the turkey with a gulp of fresh pumpkin juice.
"Gendry's over there..." Dany reminds her calmly, "Come on, what's the worst that could happen?"
"Really? Well uhm, we could give him the wrong first impression, and then he slaughters us in our sleep."
Dany huffs, tossing her blonde waves over her shoulder, laying out the proposition hook, "Okay. Well I'll see you back at the common room then. But I'm heading over there now. I have a plan." She smirks, spinning around in the other direction.
Arya scowls biting, groaning in loud irritation. She chugs one last sip of her juice, and then scurries after her, "Wait a minute you dragon lunatic! I'm right behind you."