During his school years, Daniel was adept at Defense Against the Dark Arts, and very proficient at duelling, eventually heading a school club known as the Duelling Association (D.A.). Daniel's duelling skill had, in fact, caught the notice of the Unspeakables, who recruited Daniel at the age of 15 and spent the summer of 1996 training him. He surpassed people's expectations and conquered every challenge, however his trainer, Horace Greene, insisted on taunting and pushing him to the brink, causing Daniel to lash out and kill him during his "graduation duel," shocking the whole department and nearly getting him kicked out of the Unspeakables. Despite all the commotion around Horace's death, it was ruled an accident and Daniel graduated from Unspeakable training, becoming the youngest Unspea