Disclaimer: I will say it again. I do not own Harry Potter

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The First Break-In

In no time, Defence Against the Dark Arts became everyone's favourite class. Only Draco Malfoy and some of the the Slytherins - like Harper - had anything bad to say about Lupin.

"Look at the state of his robes," Harper scoffed one morning. "He dresses like our House Elf!"

But no one seemed to mind the state of Lupin's robes. All they cared about was the fact that Defence Against the Dark Arts was being taught by a competent teacher.

By October, however, Diana was less than happy. There would a Hogsmeade trip on Halloween, and while Harry and his friends would all get to go, she wouldn't. She wished Second Years could go to Hogsmeade.

Lately, Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, and Cindy both seemed to be out to get Ron's rat, Scabbers.

"How does your cat even get into the common room?" Ron asked Diana incredulously as he sat down at the Gryffindor Table; Diana had already sat down, eating with Colin, Ginny and Jamie.

"I was just thinking about that," Hermione said, sitting down. "I think Crookshanks has been letting Cindy in."

Ron nearly spat out his pumpkin juice. "You think a cat is letting another cat in?"

"Yes, I do," said Hermione, sounding hurt.

It was Halloween, and Diana watched as Harry and the others left Hogwarts for Hogsmeade, wishing desperately that she could go too. In the previous year, Harry had promised that she could be included in all his "little adventures," but today she couldn't.

Diana trudged back to the Hufflepuff Common Room. On the way, she bumped into Luna.

"Hi Luna," Diana said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Hi Diana," Luna mumbled. Lately she'd been acting scared and sad, unlike her usual self. Even though it had been just under two months since the lesson, Diana suspected it was because of her mysterious Boggart.

"Diana, do you ever wonder about death?" asked Luna suddenly.

"Of course I wonder about death," Diana replied. "What happens when you die? What triggers your body to die? What-"

"No, I mean why people have to die," Luna told her. "Why can't people just live until a certain age? Why do violent deaths exist?"

Diana suddenly realised what Luna was talking about, as if the last piece of the puzzle had suddenly fallen into place. Luna's mum liked to experiment. Apparently she had died in a freak accident when Luna was nine. And Luna's biggest fear was the strange hot pink potion.

"Luna, is this about your mother?" asked Diana.

Luna nodded, tears shining her eyes. "Me and mum were experimenting. My mum liked to experiment. She was trying that potion out - it was supposed to be a simpler cure for Spattergroit - the only current one is ridiculously hard to make. She added the Bicorn Horn, without the powder, and half the room exploded. I couldn't do anything except watch Mum die, I was trapped. Me and Dad buried her the next day."

For the first time ever, Diana saw tears pour down Luna's face. She didn't know what to do - she'd never lost someone she loved. But maybe it didn't have to be about death.

"I lost someone too," admitted Diana. "Harry."

"But Harry's still alive," Luna pointed out.

"Harry didn't die. He left for his First Year at Hogwarts, and I obviously wasn't old enough, so I had to wait a whole year to see him. Me and Harry had always been close to each other, and then - all of a sudden - he was gone for an entire year.

"My life went to the dogs. At first, it was alright. I went to see my aunt - that's when I met Maisie - and I found comfort in visiting her and her family, but after that, the year only got worse. I erased someone's memory accidentally with what I think was a form of Dark Accidental Magic, and Mum and Dad sent me to my other aunt's house. That was absolutely horrible, and it ended with my aunt trying to drown me.

"But the point is, I saw Harry again. After all that struggle and pain, I still saw him. You'll see your mother again. You see, the ones that love us never really leave us."

Luna smiled. "Thank you, Diana, for cheering me up, even if you did have a rather unorthodox way."

And she skipped off, looking much happier than before, and Diana too felt much happier.

The Halloween Feast was as good as ever. Diana practically inhaled her food.

"I forgot to ask Harry about Hogsmeade," Diana realised, taking her face away from her fourth helping of Rice Curry.

"'Oo can 'o it 'morrow," Maisie choked through her chicken. She swallowed and said, "Honestly, Diana, just enjoy the wonderful feast."

"Yes, but I need the toilet," Diana admitted.

"Alright fine, but I'm coming with you," sighed Maisie, standing up. "The last time you went to the toilet on Halloween, Mrs Norris turned out Petrified, and the last I need is for you to be Petrified again. Remember, while the diary is destroyed and the Basilisk is killed, the Chamber of Secrets can still be opened, and the Basilisk could've had a dozen little mini snakes."

On the way back from the girls bathroom on the first floor, Diana and Maisie heard arguing.

"Let me in!"

"Password!"

Maisie pressed her hand to her mouth, and Diana did the same, before looking round the corner and seeing what was going on.

Diana nearly screamed. Standing at the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room was a man with a gaunt face, matted elbow length hair and cold grey eyes. It was Sirius Black.

"I need you to let me in," Black snarled.

The Fat Lady, the guard to the Gryffindor Common Room, looked terrified, but said shakily, "No password, no entry!"

Black took out a knife, and said, "Last chance to let me in!"

The Fat Lady looked terrified, but shook her head. Black slashed at her portrait, and the Fat Lady scrambled off, screaming, but, unfortunately, not loud enough for the teachers to hear.

"Hey!" Maisie yelled. She scrambled down the stairs, trying to get to Black, and Diana followed her.

Black stood there, and suddenly his gaunt face broke out into a grin. "You think you can stop me? I need to get to him, and you need to get out of the way."

"No! I won't let you hurt him!" Diana yelled, her and Maisie nearly at Black.

"I know things about him that wouldn't even dream of, girl," said Black. "You and your friend will get out of the way."

Maisie charged at him, but Black still had his knife out, and she ran straight into the side of it.

Maisie howled in pain, clutching her cheek, which now had a deep cut in it.

Diana snatched Black's knife out of his hand and dropped it, and the knife fell down many flights of stairs, until it clattered down near Snape's classroom.

Black looked absolutely furious, and he looked as though he would throttle Diana, but instead he ran down the flights of stairs, and Diana was about to tear after him, but Maisie shakily grabbed her arm.

"D-don't, Diana, h-he's too dangerous."

"But I can still get him! He's after my cousin, remember," protested Diana.

"L-let him g-go. T-two twelve year olds aren't going to c-catch a vicious murderer like him without being k-killed."

Diana and Maisie headed back to the feast and told the teachers what happened. The majority of them seemed to agree with Maisie; going after Black would be too dangerous.

Security was being increased, and Diana took Maisie to the hospital wing for her cut, which Madam Pomfrey fixed in seconds.

All students had been rushed into the Great Hall, where they would be spending the night while the castle was searched. Not many of the students knew what had happened, so rumours started spreading, most of them including Black.

"What did happen?" Colin asked as he grabbed a sleeping bag and dragging it away.

Diana told him about Black and the Fat Lady.

"Uh-oh," Ginny whispered. "I heard Dad coming back home and telling Mum that Black's after Harry, and he was trying to get into the Gryffindor Common, talking about a him."

"He probably didn't know the date," Jamie assumed. "He must've lost track, being on the run, and didn't know it was Halloween."

"Luckily it was Halloween," Luna said. "Daddy says that Black has a knack for attracting all kinds of creatures, and his family has always been the enemy of the Crumple-Horned Snorcack."

"Can families have enemy creatures?" Diana asked.

"I don't know, that's what Daddy told me," Luna informed her.

As Diana closed her eyes, she couldn't help but imagine the image of Harry lying sprawled on the ground, dead, with Black's knife in his stomach.

Don't think that, said a voice in her head. That won't happen.

She just wished she would believe herself.