**Disclaimer** I do not claim to own anything that's not mine (J.K. Rowling wrote these amazing things before I could even dream of them). I do claim my main character, Dee.

The weeks ahead were dreadful as I coped with the loss of my Da. I spent most of my time holed up in our old family home. The first week, I found myself walking the house late at night and always ending up in his bedroom, or his office, or the library. There were so many fond memories I had of him when I was younger. The great red cushy chair in which he always held me on his lap when I was a child became my bed. I'd dream most nights, memories of him, happy memories. Then other nights I'd awaken screaming as the nightmare of his death haunted me.

George came and stayed with me whenever he could. Mostly it only was on the weekends when Fred didn't mind it. Fred was becoming about as pricky as a cactus. He and Verity still hadn't gotten together and George seemed to give up on the idea of it because apparently Verity was now dating one of the boys that she had gone to school with. That might explain why Fred was now in such a bad mood all the time.

I was furious when I found out that someone had broken into Da's tomb and stolen the wand from his hands. I knew it had to be the evil work of Voldemort. Da always did say that he knew whom his victims had been when they came up missing something. Voldemort liked to keep trophies. I wanted the trophy of Severus Snape's head on my wall. I couldn't believe that I had trusted him. Da had always trusted him.

I slowly worked my way out of a deep depression. Soon I began to long for revenge. I had one horrible thing to get through first though before things could get better. I had to accompany George to his brother's wedding. I was not looking forward to it. George was trying to come up with some way to disguise me but I was set on just being invisible. Mrs. Weasley had however already cornered me and made me promise to show up looking nice and visible. She seemed to think that I would find joy in dressing up for some stupid wedding. I was hoping Con would be able to help me out in that department though.

Con and her daughter, Annie, would be here before the wedding. They were to be my guests. I was actually quite excited. I hoped that Annie and I would get along well. I hoped they would have some better ideas about how to handle the wedding. George's ideas all involve some crazy spell that he seemed to have just made up off the top of his head or polyjuice potion. I really didn't want to do polyjuice potion. George thought I'd make a lovely Moaning Mertle. I told him though, that I didn't think that was even possible, since Moaning Mertle didn't have any bodily essence to contribute. He had just liked the idea since she was a ghost and that made him think of me, his own special "ghost".

Cedric had been excited about the polyjuice potion idea. He thought him and I should both do it and be two people no one would even recognize. He thought it all a great prank. He wasn't very clever with the idea of a prank. I had promptly told him that a good prank involved more than just polyjuice potion. That's when George's face lit up.

"I got it! You do the polyjuice potion and you can change into Fluer and Cedric can change into Bill. Then when I kiss you like crazy, Cedric can throw a big fit about why am I kissing his bride." George said with an amused fervor. It sounded like a great prank except for the small fact that I knew that Cedric liked me as more than friends and that the situation would be hitting too close to home to actually be any fun. I rolled my eyes and shot down the idea, stating how scared I'd be of Mrs. Weasley's reaction when she found out. I made sure not to even look at Cedric during this. I knew I'd see sadness, pain or even anger in his eyes.

The days came and went. The nights dragged on. George and Cedric's constant popping in to check on me during these days and nights started to grate on my nerves. I needed some alone time. I wished for so many things. I wished for Da to be alive. Sometimes I would walk into his office and look up at his empty chair, expecting him to be sitting there, but he never was. I wished for an answer as to why he had to die. When I whispered the demanded question into the dark rooms of the house, silence was all I received I return; which of course, made me mad. Then I would shout the question for the whole empty house to hear. I demanded an answer. I needed an answer. I was begging for an answer. Each tear drop leaked into the floor, I counted as payment, trying to bribe the answer out. Yet, still, I received no answer.

Holly hooted at me mournfully as she sat, unused, in her cage. I had sent Trixy to George and Fred's place and Poppy to the Burrow. They would receive more attention there. Holly I kept though because she had been my first owl, given to me by my Da. She had been my Christmas present when I was nine. I remembered Da's twinkling blue eyes as I ran down the stairs in my pajamas. He had been hiding something behind his back and no matter how much I tried I couldn't see it until he allowed me. He told me that I had to have breakfast first because "everything is more enjoyable with a full belly." He knew how awful I was at always forgetting to eat… Currently, I didn't even think I had enough food in the house to feed me for a week. I'd have to ask Mrs. Weasley to have someone bring me some groceries, not that I was really worried about it. It's just that George always complained when he couldn't find any food to eat and also his comments about how skinning I've gotten are annoying. Boys! Don't they know you're not supposed to comment negatively on the physical changes of a woman's body?

Tonight I sat up in Da's office, staring absently out the window at the moon. I wondered if Da sat here often, doing the same thing while I was fast asleep in my bed on the other side of the house. I kicked my bare feet up on the desk, my pajama pant legs riding up to my calves as I did so. I crossed my arms, rubbing them, lazily wishing for a sweat shirt to throw over my tank top. Something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. I turned to look and saw that there was a tiny moon shaped spot on the wall, right where the moon's rays, from the window, splashed. I stood up, not taking my eyes off the curious spot and reached for it, touching it lightly with my fingers. I felt the subtle magic through the tips of my fingers as they caressed over it.

"Da…" I whispered mere inches from the spot. The moon shape glowed in response and the outline of a door appeared on the wall around the spot, leaving the moon shaped spot as its handle. I stared in wonder before doing anything else. Why would Da put this in his home and what lie hidden through the wall?

I reached out slowly, opening the door with a gentle turn of the moon knob. Darkness was all I could see as the door swung open. I grabbed my wand.

"Lumos." I mumbled quietly, illuminating the room. My eyes went wide as I stared around. The walls were covered in photographs and paintings of my mother, my aunt Ariana and of me. Inscribed, in big beautiful calligraphy, were Latin words; Multae de meum Pectus. "Women of my heart." I read the words. My voice seemed to trigger another response from the room. A portrait of my mother swung open. As I looked, it was like a cabinet inside. I found a large roll of parchment. I carefully removed it from its sanctuary. Unrolling the parchment, I found that it was written to me, by Da. A tear leaked from my eye as I started to read, Da's familiar handwriting striking a deep cord of comfort within me.

L-L

Dear My Dear Deirdra,

I hoped you would find this letter once I have passed on from this world. I knew I was going to die. I haven't been getting younger over the years… I love you and I know you will miss me quite a lot, but you will survive. Life will go on, you will be happy again. I hope that that part comes sooner than later. I have considered writing a letter to Mr. George Weasley to give him my permission and blessing to marry you. Please do say yes when he finally gathers the courage to ask you. Beware, with my passing, your presence in our magical world will be revealed. I had cast a powerful spell to hide you from the records that our magic tends to keep of people within the wizarding world. You are also mentioned in my will and the ministry is sure to come asking questions. Do not be afraid to be completely honest with them. You have nothing to fear. Do not let them bully you. Make me proud and spit in their faces with your words and great magical powers if it comes down to having to draw wands or draw wits. Eat some lemon drops for me. I will miss those quite a lot. Hopefully I won't miss them though. I know not what is beyond this lifetime, but I do hope that I will be distracted by the beauty, warmth and love of your mother wherever I am. I, much like young George, took way too long to gather the courage to ask for her hand. It wasn't until she was bulging at the waist with you that I realized how stupid I had been not to have done it already. I would have loved to have been there to see you married and have children of your own, but I know it would not have been possible. My shriveled hand was due to a dark curse that touched me as I destroyed one of the magical objects that is linked to Voldemort. Tom Riddle became an evil wizard to have done the dark magic he has. He has created several horcruxes and they must be destroyed before he can be killed. I have been working on this for some time now. I have set Harry to the task of finishing this. It is his job to complete, for he himself has a part of Voldemort's soul latched to him. Unfortunately, their fates are bound together. Please help Harry all you can in his journey and search for these horcruxes. I regret that I could not give him more guidance than I have.

To say that I will miss you, is to say I love candy; something that will be and always has been true. To say that I love you is an understatement. I cherish you with all my soul. Be strong, be smart, love, fight and don't forget to eat every once in a while. You are my favorite daughter. I couldn't have asked for a better one and I don't feel I really deserved you. Your mother will have been proud and I am proud.

I love you.

Da

B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~B

*** Oh my, I can't believe I finally found time to write. LOL. Almost cried writing that. Hope you guys enjoyed. I had no idea where I was going with this chapter, it just all spilled out. Hopefully it was cohesive enough. So, I was disappointed in you guys… Only 1 of you reviewers chose to participate in the contest to win the bookmark and pen. The winner is Lyaser53! Congrats! Next time… If there is a next time… I expect better response from you guys… It wasn't THAT hard… Thanks for taking the time to read and review. Please keep at it. I'm sorry that the updates won't be as frequent. I am quite busy already with school and it's only the first week. Love ya guys!

P.S. I finally got my new computer so it'll be easier to update when I am able to write. LOL. Also, the Latin translation of "Women of my heart" is rough. I just used an online translator to get the wording. Please excuse me or forgive me if it is wrong. I am far from knowing anything about the Latin language.