A/N: I know it's been a long time, but there's a lot going on in my life atm and it's causing a lot of stress, so I apologise if this chapter is not my best!
However, I just want to thank Elixia Malfoy, mozie, ElJoM, FangsLightning, Lee Ami, LadyYunalesca26, MilliePrue-BellatrixLestrange, Gwenlynn, Moon Lantern, twibe and SJ Iolanthe for all your support! :D Also, to Gwenlynn, I have taken your thoughts into consideration and if I have time, I will go back and edit those chapters!

Ariella walked up the snowy path leading up to the magnificent castle she had fallen in love with only a few months before wondering what she was going to say to her two best friends. Her two best friends who had never replied to her letters.

"I'm sure there will be some explanation for it, Ella," Hermione tried to comfort her, her warm breath dissipating into a foggy mist as she spoke.

Ariella continued to look forward. "I expect there will be," she muttered, not convinced. She was tired and cold after her first trip on the Knight Bus; it wasn't exactly the most comfortable of rides, and she was not in the mood to talk to anyone else. Thankfully, Hermione seemed to realise this and dropped behind to talk to Ron and Harry about making hats for the elves.

As they finally clambered into the Gryffindor common room, utterly exhausted; two dark shapes launched themselves at Ariella, making her drop her suitcase in surprise. It was Lottie and Arcturus.

Once they pulled back, Lottie was the first to start apologising. "I'm so sorry that I didn't reply to your letter, Mum and Dad decided to invite my grandparents over and they wouldn't stop talking, I didn't get a moment free until I got to the station! I'm so sorry!"

Ariella smiled at her, all doubts forgotten. Her sister had been right, as usual. However, before she could get a word out, Arcturus got there first.

"I'm sorry too. I wasn't able to reply because my parents saw the owl." Ariella's eyes widened, but the boy continued. "They didn't find the letter, but they did try and kill your owl. I had to send him away and my parents wouldn't let me use Ewan."

"Ewan?" the young girl questioned.

"Sorry, I forgot you wouldn't know," the boy apologised. "Ewan is my family's owl."

"Oh, I see!"

At that point, Lottie barged into the conversation. "So, what is this locket about then? Did you figure out why he gave it to you?"

"No, I tried looking through the books Hermione found for me, but there wasn't much on the Black family; the pages had been ripped out."

"Perhaps there'll be something in the library? We could go check tomorrow?" Arcturus suggested. "But, I think we had better go to bed now, it's quite late and we have to be up for lessons in the morning!"

"That's quite true, I didn't get much rest on the Knight Bus. Have you ever been on it? It's dreadful!" Ariella exclaimed, and her two best friends giggled. They had both been on it several times and were quite used to it, neither of them having travelled on normal muggle buses before.

"Come on!" Lottie grabbed her suitcase, and started pulling it up the stairs to the girl's dorm.

"I guess I'll see you in the morning then," the young girl said to Arcturus, smiling before running up the stairs after her suitcase. Knowing Lottie's carelessness, her things would end up all over the floor if she wasn't careful!

However, the next morning, it seemed that their trip to the library was about to become a necessity as the Daily Prophet landed in front of Arcturus that morning at breakfast, just as the three were about to butter their toast.

"I still don't understand why you are subscribed to that paper any more, Archie!" Lottie told him as he unrolled it and immersed himself in the story on the front page.

Ariella rolled her eyes as she swallowed her mouthful. "Lottie, give it up, you know exactly why! His parents don't give him any choice," she sighed.

"And sometimes it's useful. Look!" He tossed the paper in front of his friends and Ariella picked it up, giving a little gasp.

MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN

MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS A 'RALLYING POINT'

FOR OLD DEATH EATERS

Her gaze fell to the picture below of nine wizards and a single witch, and that's when she froze. The witch. It was the one she had dreamed of. Bellatrix Lestrange. Her mass of matted black hair stuck up in crazy curls, just like in her dream, her heavy lidded eyes staring out evilly as she snarled, shaking the chains she was restrained with.

Ripping her eyes from the picture, she scanned the text, her eyes widening as she read one particular sentence. She re-read it. "Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange." That meant… Bellatrix had most probably been a Black! BDB. Her locket. Bellatrix something Black.

"No!" She dropped the paper, not caring that everyone around her was staring.

"Ella, are you alright? You look rather pale," Arcturus asked immediately, his eyes full of concern.

"I… I don't know. I have to go… I need some air. Excuse me." Almost leaping off the bench, the young witch sprinted down the hallway. Her two friends looked at one another before they two hurried down the hallway after her.

Ariella had no idea where she was going, she just wanted to be out of the Hall, out of everybody's gaze. She eventually stopped in a courtyard, and, panting, she brought the locket from under her robes. It couldn't possibly have belonged to Bellatrix, could it? Why would Kreacher give it to her? She was nothing to do with that family! Why would Bellatrix be proud of a… of a Mudblood?

"Ella!" Lottie and Arcturus both skidded to a halt next to her.

"It's hers. It's her locket!" Ariella exclaimed, tears trickling down her cheeks. "Why does she keep interfering in my life? Why can't I just be normal?"

"Hang on, slow down. We don't get you," Arcturus said, placing a soothing hand on her shoulder.

"Bellatrix Lestrange, she was a Black, wasn't she? She's Sirius' cousin! She's the owner of this locket! And before that, she was in my dream!"

"Dream?" Lottie asked.

It was then Ariella realised that she'd never told either of them about her Azkaban dream. Sighing, she sat down on the wall of the flowerbed behind her.

"Before the Christmas holidays, I dreamt about her. I don't know why, and I don't know how, but I did, and now this has happened… and I just don't know what to do? I don't understand. I'm a muggle-born, why is all this happening to me?"

"There has to be some explanation for it! Perhaps it isn't even hers? There could be another BDB in the pureblood society of Wizarding World for all you know. We could go look in the library. I'm sure Madam Pince would help us look for a book on the Blacks."

"You really think so?"

"It's quite possible that it isn't hers," Arcturus smiled. "The Blacks were a big family."

"Could you help me take this locket off? I can't seemed to undo the catch," Ariella asked. "I don't want to wear it if it belongs to… her."

Lottie reached round to her neck to oblige, but suddenly hissed and snatched her hand back.

"What's wrong?"

"It burnt me! Look!" She uncurled her fingers to reveal painful-looking burns at her fingertips.

"Perhaps I could have a go?" Arcturus suggested. The young witch nodded, and moved her curls to one side again. However, the pureblood wizard also let out a yelp and pulled back. "It must be enchanted! We can't get it off!"

"What? But there must be a way! I can't keep wearing it!"

"It seems you're going to have to until we can find some other way of getting it off," Arcturus told her seriously.

Ariella just stared at him in horror.

At lunchtime, the three friends headed to the library with one intent in mind; confirming the owner of Ariella's locket. It didn't take long for Madam Pince to point them in the right direction and soon all three were pouring over books on pureblood families.

So far, Ariella had found nothing, no other members of the Black family had a second name beginning with D whose first initial was a B. The others had the task of finding Bellatrix's middle name, and when Ariella had looked up last, they hadn't seemed to be having any luck either.

As she slammed the next book shut, sending a plume of dust into the air, she saw that Lottie and Arcturus were now huddled over the same book, the young wizard's was left abandoned on the side. However, it was their expressions that made her hurry over.

"What is it? What have you found?"

They both looked up and Lottie bit her lip.

"We're so sorry, Ella," Arcturus said, pushing the book to her. And there it was: Bellatrix Druella Lestrange (née Black)

Ariella merely sat down and let her head fall into her hands. Weird dreams, Death Eaters and enchanted necklaces. What had she got herself into?