The next several months seemed to absolutely fly by for Darla. Scorpius had, of course, realized that she hadn't poisoned James, but he didn't have much of a chance to get close to her. In the hallways she was always with Lily and Maggie, and sometimes Adam or the Scamander twins, and during dinner she was with James and Freddie and sometimes Amelia or Allison. After a few weeks, Darla realized that Amelia was the girl that had caught Freddie's attention. Darla and James never once missed an opportunity to tease him about it. Another good thing was that flying class was no longer the bane of her existence. Though she did miss Adam, Darla was happy to discover that she wasn't alone in her fear of flying. As it turned out, several people in Ravenclaw didn't like flying. Lily turned out to be an exceptional flyer, and oddly enough Lysander was fairly good. However, Lorcan and Hugo both refused to even go near a broom.

"Do you know how many children between the ages of ten and seventeen get killed in broom related accidents every year," Lorcan asked her one day. "Three. I don't want to be one of those three."

Though her grade in charms was frankly abysmal and she was failing flying, everything else finally seemed to going as well as it could. For the first time in a long time Darla felt as though she was actually happy. She was enjoying school, she liked listening to Freddie and Amelia argue over Quidditch teams, the highlight of her day was gossiping with Lily and Maggie, and she had even started spending more time with Adam. They had, somehow, gone from being simply study partners to actually being friends. Usually they would hang out together in the library, but that was mainly to escape from everyone else. It was nice to have someone to talk to sometimes, just to talk to about nothing whatsoever. Adam hadn't asked about Darla's family anymore and she hadn't mentioned anything about it. Lily would grin at them whenever she saw them together and James would get oddly angry at both of them. There was a point where he went a whole day without talking to Darla simply because she had eaten lunch at the Hufflepuff table. Darla had found that horribly strange, but she had decided not to question it and James quickly forgot that he was supposed to be angry with her. Though Darla hadn't really spoken to Mars much since she had become a Gryffindor, she had seen him around. He would flash her a small smile when he saw her in the hallways, but aside from that they really didn't have much of a reason to talk. She hadn't forgot what he had said to her 'If you're ever in any sort of trouble, well, you can always come find me.' She had no idea what that meant, but it was nice to know that someone in Slytherin was still on her side.

The Quidditch season had started up, though Darla hadn't had the time to see a single game. It was much easier to hang out with Adam while James was busy hitting bludgers with his bat. Still, she promised him that after the holidays she would come out and watch at least one game, though she honestly couldn't see the appeal of it all. Fall faded into winter and the grounds became crisp and white. The common room was always full and very loud, people were always hanging close to the fire. It was worse on Friday December thirteenth. The next day almost everyone would leave to go home for holiday break and they seemed to be having trouble saying goodbye to one another.

"I just want to get back to my own house with my own library," Darla told Lily as they stretched out in front of the fireplaces.

Lily laughed a bit and looked over to James and Freddie, who were sitting on the couch, loudly arguing about what prank they wanted to pull at the family Christmas party. "Well, rather unfortunately for me I'll be stuck with these two plus Albus, plus Teddy…plus Louis…plus Hugo…plus Roxy…plus—"

"Please don't name all the cousins," Freddie said, managing to break himself away from the argument. "Please, we'll be here until next week if you name then all."

"Wanna bet? I you two galleons that I can name all the cousins in a single breath."

Freddie tapped his chin and considered this for a moment. Then, he dug through his pockets and slapped two galleons down on the table. "You're on, Lily!"

Lily took a very deep breath and closed her eyes. " and Freddie." She grinned and grabbed the coins off the table. "I win, as always. There aren't really all that many cousins, it's not my fault you can't remember them all."

James looked over at Freddie and smirked. "You forgot Jean, you always forget Jean," he noted and snatched the coins out from Lily's hand, handing one off to Freddie and pocketing the other one. "Ergo, you lose."

Lily pouted for a moment, but she quickly got over it. "Jean is only two, he barely counts. Besides, I said Teddy and he's not even technically our cousin!"

"You're lucky," Darla pointed out. "My only cousin is Scorpius."

"That's much easier to say in one breath," Lily pointed out.

None of them went to bed very early that night. They stayed up talking about whatever happened to come to mind. When morning finally did come, they were all quite groggy but still excited about going back home. James, Freddie, Lily, Darla, and Adam managed to squeeze into a compartment together. Darla leaned against Adam's shoulder and propped her legs up on James's lap.

"What do you want fro Christmas, James," she asked as she put a Sugar Quill up to her mouth and nibbled on the tip.

James shrugged. "Anything that's flammable, I like it better when things are flammable."

Well, that certainly narrowed the list down to almost everything. Darla decided that she should probably get him some more fireworks, since Professor Longbottom had confiscated his other ones.

"What about you, Hedge-Pixie, what do you want?"

Darla thought for a moment. She had never actually been asked what she wanted fro Christmas. Every year it was almost the same, Uncle Draco would give her money, Aunt Astoria would get her something shiny that she would wear once then lock away in her jewellery box, and her father would forget then run out to find a new book. "Sugar Quills," she decided and bit the tip of the Sugar Quill she had been chewing on.

"I think you may be addicted to those things," Adam pointed out. "What about me? Don't you want to ask me?"

Grinning, Darla shook her head. "Please, I know what you need." Darla had seen a book over the summer that she recently decided would be perfect for Adam. It was 'A hundred accidental flying accidents'. Considering they met while refusing to fly it seemed like something perfect.

"Onto something that's actually important," Freddie interrupted. "What the hell am I supposed to get for Amelia? I've got no clue!"

They spent the remainder of the trip giving Freddie horrible advice on what to get Amelia. Lily suggested a love potion, Darla said that all girls loved live dragons and that was sure to win her heart, James pointed out that Amelia was on the Quidditch team and he thought that his mother's autobiography was what just she needed, and Adam suggested Sugar Quills.

When the train slowed to a halt at platform 9 ¾ they all hurried out, James kept his hands on Darla's shoulders to keep her from getting stepped on. As soon as they were all safely off he gave her a hug and ruffled her hair.

"Now, don't forget about me while you're reading those silly little books you talk about so often, Hedge-Pixie," he warned her.

Darla grinned and hugged James back, she was starting to get the idea of hugging. "Alright, but you're not allowed to forget me and find a new Hedge-Pixie to carry around!"

James promised he wouldn't and hurried off to find his parents. Lily and Freddie said goodbye before chasing after James, leaving Darla alone with Adam.

It wasn't usually awkward for her to be alone with him, they spent most of their time together alone. For some reason, however, they both stood there staring at their feet and trying to figure out the right words to say. Darla wondered if, as James would put it, a cat had gotten her tongue. She glanced around and saw several cats, but none of them seemed to have human tongues so she figured that wasn't right.

Finally, Adam broke the silence. "So, I'll see you in a few weeks, I guess," he said in his usual quiet and mousy voice.

Darla nodded and managed a smile. "Oh, yes, and when we get back I'm determined to make you understand Potions!"

Adam laughed and bent down to give her a hug. "And you'll understand Charms, I'll make sure of it."

Before Darla could say anything else something happened that she never would have expected. She had read about it happening, but she never thought it would happen to her. Adam, very gently, brushed her hair back and kissed her on the forehead. Unsure how to react to this, Darla just stood there and stared blankly at him. A part of her wanted to ask him what the hell that was about, but she wasn't sure she was supposed to question it. Quickly, she made a mental note to ask James about it later.

"Um, okay," she finally squeaked out. "Well…um, I'll see you after Christmas?"

Blushing, Adam took a step back and cleared his throat. "Um, right, have a good Christmas, Darla."

"Yeah, you too…" She abruptly turned and pushed her way through the crowds, deciding that she could think about what Adam had just done after she had found her father. Walking, a bit dazed, through the crowd Darla watched all the other families being reunited. A strange surge of jealousy shot through her as she watched people hug and start rambling on about what had happened at school. She looked for her father, but she didn't see any sign that he was there. Peering through the crowd she looked for any hint of him, his cane, his ponytail, anything that would prove her was there. Eventually, she determined that there was only one adult in the crowd she knew. Pulling a Sugar Quill from her pocket, she walked across the platform and tugged at her uncle's sleeve until he noticed her.

Draco turned around and, for a moment, simply stared at Darla. Then, he swore under his breath. "I told that man, I reminded him! Merlin! How could he have forgotten?"

Scorpius was snickering, but Darla felt absolutely crushed. Once again her father had forgotten about her. It seemed like it hurt worse than usual. She was thinking about Adam's life. Had his parents met him? What about his little brother? Had Adam's little brother been excited to see him? Darla wiped her eyes and gripped her uncle's robe sleeve.

"Don't worry," Draco said, softening his voice. "I'll take you home. We'll drop Scorp off and then I'll take you to your father, alright."

"No," Scorpius said, scandalized. "I don't want her here! I hate her! Why don't you have Uncle Theodore come here and pick her up? I don't want her to come with us!"

Draco didn't smile, he simply rolled his eyes at his son's childish behaviour. "Well, thankfully it's not your choice, Scorpius. Now, please don't whine about this." He sighed and rubbed his temples. "Alright, let's just go."

"But, father!"

"Scorpius, she's family. If you were abandoned here then I would expect Theodore to do the same thing. Please, stop complaining, some of us have just worked a doubles shift, my head is killing me."

Scorpius crossed his arms and glared at Darla. "Don't think that you're going to get away with this."

Darla had absolutely no idea what her cousin was talking about, but she chose to ignore it. Her cousin did often say stupid things that she didn't really understand and right now she was in no mood to entertain him. All she wanted to do was get home to her father and try to understand why he had forgotten about her.

Theodore didn't bother to glance up from his desk. His head was bent so close to his parchment that his nose nearly touched ink. The quill in his hand moved rapidly and his glasses nearly slid off his face. "Draco, how kind of you to come and disrupt me. At least make yourself useful while you're here and run fetch some coffee from downstairs, would you?"

"I don't believe I've ever been confused for a house elf before," Draco replied coolly. He let go of Darla and moved over to the desk. Picking up a small glass he swirled the contents around before holding it under his nose. "I never figured you for a gin drinker. Actually, I never figured you for a drinker." He sat the glass back down. "I found something that belongs to you."

With his eyes still trained on the parchment Theodore gave a curt nod. "Set it down some place, I'll deal with it when I'm done," he answered shortly.

The vein in Draco's temple was throbbing. Darla might have found this mildly amusing had she not been so upset. She didn't think that people's veins actually throbbed when they were irritated.

"Well, I found it at the train station looking lost and scared," Draco said through his teeth. "So deal with it now." He was obviously having a hard time keeping his composure. His fists were clenching and unclenching, his jaw was rigid, and his eyes were narrowed.

At that, Theodore's head snapped up and he looked past his brother-in-law and stared at Darla as though he had never seen her before. "Huh, I thought you were supposed to be at school, Spite," he said, using his old nickname for the girl.

Any anger that Darla had felt instantly doubled and she felt as though she had just swallowed a bludger. Her arms shook and she could feel tears welling in her eyes, so she blinked several times to keep them from falling. "You forgot," she shrieked and dropped her arms to the side. "You forgot about me."

"I didn't forget about you," Theodore said, unsurprised by Darla's outburst Theodore blinked several time and shook his head. "I must've lost track of the days," he said, finally. "I'm glad you made it home in one piece, Darla. Why don't you go unpack and I'll see if I can't get someone to take you shopping or something tomorrow."

"I don't want to go shopping tomorrow or ever, for that matter! I want you to remember something every once in a while! You left me at the train station like I was an orphan or something! Uncle Draco had to bring me home, do you have any idea how humiliating that was? Oh, of course you don't, because you don't know anything about anything!"

"Darla," Theodore said, still calm. "You need to calm down. Why don't you go calm down a bit and Daddy will come talk to you as soon as he finishes his work."

Draco sighed and put his hand on Darla's shoulder. "C'mon, Darla, lets get you to your room, Theodore is in one of his moods."

That was it. Darla couldn't stand anymore. She didn't want her father to talk to her like she was still a child or to ignore her or to forget about her. She wasn't going to be like her mother, she wasn't going to be forgotten about. She didn't want her uncle to try and make anything better. She wanted to break everything she saw. Tears fell freely down her face, but Darla didn't notice. She slid her arm across the desk quickly, knocking several books to the floor and the glass of gin shattered on the carpet. "I hate you," she screamed again. "You forgot about me and you don't even care."

"Darla, stop trying to destroy my study. Or, stop succeeding in destroying my study."

No one seemed surprised by Darla's temper tantrum. Draco simply groaned and grabbed Darla's arm to keep her from sending anything else to the floor. "Alright, I think that both of you need to calm down right now, you're both acting like children."

She didn't want him to be so calm. If he was calm then he wasn't feeling anything, and if he wasn't feeling anything then he didn't care. Darla was tired of people not caring. She ignored Draco's words and struggled against his grip. "I'll destroy everything in here if it'll make you pay attention! You forgot about me and you don't even care."

Theodore sighed. "Darla, we can talk about this later. Daddy has important work he needs to get done." He looked around at the mess on the floor. "And he has several things that need to be cleaned up now."

"Why the hell is work so important," Darla asked, not really caring about the answer. "You always work! You always work and then forget about me! Is that what you were doing when Momma died? Were you working?"

At that, Theodore stood up. He leaned on his cane and walked towards his daughter. "Darla," he said, anger rising slightly in his voice. "Go calm down."

"Hey," Draco interrupted. He wasn't a very good mediator, he never had been. One side of an argument always seemed right to him, but in this case he thought both people were wrong. Both of them were acting like children, at least one of them had an excuse for that. "Both of you, knock it off!"

His words fell on deaf ears, anything he said was ignored. Darla shook her head and kicked the desk once. "You're going to forget about me."

"How could I forget about you when you're yelling at me?"

Darla had lost part of her anger. She felt like she wanted to either break down sobbing or break the lamp on the desk. In the end, the lamp lost. Darla smacked it to the floor using the arm her uncle wasn't holding and it shattered.

Theodore shook his head. "Darla, go to your room and calm down and please stop breaking my things!"

"I most certainly will not," Darla said, as though Theodore's idea of calming down was absolutely ridiculous. "Not while you're still….not while you…I don't even know what you are! You forgot about me, you always forget about me! You forget when it's meal times, you forget when I'm sick, and you forgot me at the train station. You're trying to forget about me just like you forgot about Momma!"

"Darla, I didn't—"

"Don't say you didn't forget about her! You left her in that room where she lived for years while you…while you worked! Then she stopped living in the room and stopped living entirely and you forgot about her! You wanted to forget about her, didn't you?" The idea came to Darla suddenly. She stopped yelling and stared at the floor, tears spilling over her eyes. "You wanted to forget about Momma, but you couldn't, not while I was here. I'm the last…the last bit of her you have to see, so you try to forget about me too…"

Theodore stared at Darla for a long time. Darla couldn't tell if she had shocked him by being right, or if she had just completely confused him.

"Darla….go to your room."

Darla looked up and furrowed her brow. "No! Not until—"

"You don't get it, you just don't get it," Theodore hissed, real anger in his voice now. His hands shook, Darla was reminded of how Scorpius looked right before he hit her. "Go to your room, now."

For a moment, Darla was silent. She had never heard her father get angry before. Sure, he got agitated at her quite often, but he had never gotten angry. Darla swallowed and took a step back. She was still angry, but she didn't know if she was more afraid than angry.

"Fine." She tried to say the word harshly, but her voice cracked and betrayed her. "Send me to my room, just so long as I'm out of your way, right? That's what you wanted, isn't it? For me to go just like Momma? You're going to die alone and I'm going to laugh when it happens!"

What happened next happened so fast that Darla could barley keep up. She heard a loud smack and instantly doubled over as pain spread through her chest. The smack was followed by a crash and when Darla looked back up her uncle had her father pinned down on the desk. He held Theodore's arm behind his back and kept one on his neck. Theodore's cane had been tossed aside in the commotion. Darla coughed and held her stomach, it took her a moment to really understand what had happened in those few seconds.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing," Draco snapped, putting a little more pressure on Theodore's neck.

Theodore struggled against Draco for a moment, but to no avail. Draco was strategically placed so that Theodore couldn't kick him, hit him, or even bite him, not that the last one was much of a threat. "I'm putting my cane to good use, Draco."

Draco moved slightly to get a better grip on Theodore. "You know, Theodore, this little scene looks fairly familiar to me. The gin, the work, who are you trying to be at this point," he had lowered his voice to barely more than a whisper, as though he thought that Darla couldn't hear him.

"Let me go, Draco," Theodore said in a warning tone, avoiding the question,

After a moment of hesitation, Draco moved his arm off of Theodore's neck and let his arm go. "I swear, you touch that child again and I'll see to it that you never see the light of day again." He looked Theodore over and shrugged. "Though, I don't think you'd know the difference, Benjamin."

Theodore's eyes widened and he gripped the side of his desk hard as he stood back up. "Don't call me that, I'm nothing like that foul excuse for a man," he said in a harsh whisper.

Draco tilted his head to the side and looked Theodore over. "Really? Because I can certainly see the resemblance between you and him. You're both devoted to your work, your parenting skills are…well, they're worse than mine, and as for your wives—"

"Shut up," Theodore said quickly, glancing over to Darla. He looked back and locked eyes with Draco. "There's a child in the room, I really don't think that this is something we should discuss," he sounded almost as though he were begging Draco to stop talking.

A dry laugh escaped from Draco's throat. "Really? Now you think that your daughter is a child? That's new, Theodore. I always assumed you thought of her as a short person who happened to live in your house. Now you actually admit that she's a child?"

Theodore shook his head and lowered his gaze. "Draco, please…"

Draco hesitated for a moment before turning back to Darla. "Darla, dear, why don't you go to your room and unpack a bit, okay?"

Darla was still doubled over holding her stomach. She could feel a welt rising beneath her shirt, but the pain was replaced by the fear that had set in. Not necessarily fear for herself, but fear for both her father and her uncle. She had never seen them actually fight before. Sure, they would yell at each other and occasionally her uncle would throw something, but no one had ever been thrown into a desk before. "I don't see why I should leave," she said, calmly.

"Merlin, just go, alright," Theodore snapped. "I think that there's enough trouble without you adding to it right now!"

She wanted to scream again, but her throat was raw and she was starting to feel sick. There was nothing left for her to break. Feeling a bit defeated she turned away. Nothing she could say was going to make him listen and nothing she could do was going to make him pay attention. She wished that she could go and live a life like Adam's of James's. She wished that she could have a family that was normal and sane.

The slam of her bedroom door echoed through the house. She heard the lock outside slide into place, trapping her inside her room.

"He had no right to get angry at me," she told Prowly as she flopped down on her bed. "He's the one who forgot me! Why is he angry? That doesn't seem fair, does it, Prowl?"

The stuffed owl was very good to talk to, but he didn't give great advice. In fact, he didn't give any advice at all. Darla clutched Prowly close to her chest and choked back tears. It made her head pound not to cry, but she knew that it would be worse if she did give in to her emotions. It was a good thing too that she managed not to cry because the door opened and her father walked in. Instantly, Darla sat up a little straighter.

"Um, hi," he said, awkwardly.

"Hello," she replied, just as awkward.

For a few moments both of them were silent. Theodore couldn't quite think of what to say and Darla had nothing more to say to him.

Finally, Theodore seemed to find his words. "My father never would have stood for you behaviour," he told her.

"Oh, well that's very reassuring," she told him blankly. "If that's all you had to say I will now ask you to kindly leave me alone."

Anger flickered over Theodore's face briefly, but he managed to fight it off. "What I'm trying to say is…I suppose I'm trying to apologize, Spite."

"Well, you're doing a very poor job at it," she replied curtly.

"We both said some pretty horrible things—"

"You hit me."

"And we both were in the wrong—"

"You forgot me."

"And we both—"

"You—"

"Darla," Theodore snapped, scaring Darla enough that she stopped talking. "For the love of…would you stop interrupting me?"

Scowling, Darla clutched Prowly a little tighter and locked eyes with her father. "Yes sir," she said, still managing sarcasm.

Theodore sighed and took off his glasses so he could rub his eyes. "Look, just let me do this speech thing and don't interrupt me or I'll lose my train of thought."

Darla nodded to signal that she understood, though she didn't think a speech from her father would make much of a difference.

"Alright, we both know that I haven't exactly done the best job at this whole 'being a dad' thing. Although, you haven't exactly done the best job at being a good daughter." Theodore paused as though expecting her to object, when Darla remained silent he went on. "But, I am trying and it would be nice if you would try a little too. I just talked to your uncle, as you well know, and we agreed that maybe it would be for the best if we were to…ah, how do I put this? If we were to both try and be civil and get along. I know that my father would react…poorly if I acted they way that you act. So, maybe you should try and I'll keep trying and maybe we can make this work."

Darla thought about this. Was this supposed to be her father's great speech that he expected to fix everything? Was this his solution? If he thought that she wasn't trying then he was being selfish. "Get out of my room," she growled.

"Spite—"

"Don't call me that," she snapped and threw Prowly at him. "Didn't you hear me? I said piss off! Get out! Go!"

"Theodore," Draco said, leaning against the doorway. "And Darla you too, I think you both need to calm down a little bit more. And Theodore, you get your hand down."

Darla hadn't noticed that her father had raised his hand as though to slap her. Theodore must not have realized what he was doing either because he rather shamefully lowered his hand. "I'll be in my study," he said quickly and left, relying heavily on his cane. "If you need me, don't."

The door slammed behind him and Darla was left alone with her uncle. Clutching Prowly close again, Darla took several deep breaths but she couldn't quite keep herself under control. Once again she was crying, and she hated herself for that. Draco sat beside her and, after a moment, he put his hand on her shoulder, unsure how to comfort her.

"Don't touch me," she choked out and drew herself back. The last thing she wanted to do was have someone touch her or even be near her. All she wanted was to be left alone. She was crying and she didn't want anyone, even her uncle, to see her right then. "You should-you just piss off too!"

Draco didn't move, he actually looked like he was quite used to this verbal abuse. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a small vial. "Here, drink this, it's a calming draught," he offered, keeping his voice soft and even.

Her hands shaking, Darla uncorked the potion and took a small sip. She knew her uncle wouldn't poison her. Instantly, she felt her mood change a bit and she slid back against the pillows. Her heart stopped pounding, her head wasn't throbbing quite as bad, and her tears stopped. "Powerful brew," she said softly.

"I figured if you're anything like your father then you would need something a bit stronger," he said. Draco managed a small smile and brushed Darla's hair back.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but you're a lot like your father."

"I am not."

"You are. You're both smart, stubborn, and you both love to argue," he noted. "But, you're also a lot like your mother. I know you may not remember that well, but when she got mad at someone she would stay mad for days." Draco laughed slightly. "Once when we were in school one of my friends and I changed her essay on Mandrake roots so that instead it talked about dragons. I honestly thought that she was going to kill us. Your mother could scream so loud. Then, once she was done screaming, she didn't say a word to either of us for two weeks. She could hold a grudge."

Darla thought about this for a moment and then smiled. She couldn't imagine what she would do if someone changed her homework, but she liked to think she would respond the same way as her mother. "You really think I'm like momma," she asked, crawling over the bed and laying her head on her uncle's lap.

Draco brushed back Darla's hair and shrugged. "You're as much like her as you are your father," he answered her, trying to remember as much as he could about Daphne. "Your mother, well, she was never dull. You might even look like her if you grew your hair out."

"If I grow it out then I'll just chew on it," she explained, working hard to keep her eyes open. The potion may have calmed her anxiety, but it also made her very tired. Or, maybe it wasn't the potion at all; maybe she really was just very, very tired. She had, after all, just had a very busy day.

Draco sighed and ran his hand back through Darla's hair, possibly to calm his own anxiety. Ever since her mother had died, Darla had come to think of Draco as a second father. "He didn't mean it," Draco finally said. "To hit you, I mean. I know he didn't."

"Yes he did. You don't hit someone on accident with a cane." Darla shrugged. "It's weird," she told him as she toyed with a loose string at the end of his robes. "Usually he just ignores me and goes on. For a moment…" she wasn't sure if she could express what it was she was feeling. It wasn't a normal feeling at all and she was having an awful time putting it all into words. "It…it almost seemed like he cared." Again she paused and bit her lip. "It was the first time he actually…he actually almost touched me. When he almost slapped me…he almost touched me. He never touches me…is there something wrong with me, Uncle Draco?" Darla could hardly remember what it was like before he mother died. Though it was less than four years ago everything seemed so vague. Her condition had been in her blood and it had taken its sweet time killing her. Darla didn't know what point it was that he father stopped paying attention. But there had been a time that everything had been relatively okay.

"No, dear, there's nothing wrong with you. There's something wrong with him, something horribly, horribly wrong with him, I just don't know what it is yet," Draco told her softly. "Your father is just…he's very strange. He's never quite been right."

"No, he used to be," Darla argued as she yawned. "He used to read me a book, when I was really little. I'm your moon and you're my star. When did it all change?"

Draco shook his head and sighed. "I don't know, I honestly don't know. He's been like this for a while though."

"Is it possible that he'll change?"

For a moment, Draco paused. Then, sadly, he shook his head. "I don't think so."

This was what Darla liked about her uncle. He never acted like she was a child, he never tried to lie and tell her that one day everything would get better. He knew, she didn't know how, but he just knew. Darla closed her eyes, letting exhaustion take her over. "Tell me something else about her, Momma, I mean."

Darla didn't hear whatever Draco said about her mother. Her heavy eyes finally closed and she was asleep before she knew it.