Chapter II

Darian was eight, old enough to understand that she was different. She did not quite know how, but she knew there was something special about her.

She did not have any friends at the orphanage. The other orphans all avoided her. They said she was strange. Darian never showed any emotion. No one ever knew what she was feeling. That time Timmy purposely dumped his soda on her lap, she did not scream or cry. Whenever any of the children tormented her, Darian would just stay there, take it all. Yet somehow, she was always avenged. Timmy's collection of baseball cards was found shredded to bits. However, the matrons could never trace it back to Darian. No one really understood how it happened since Timmy never let the collection out of his sight.

But Darian knew how it happened. It happened because she wished it to happen. That was one of her gifts, things always turned out like she wanted them to. Another one of her talents was speaking with snakes. She was in the orphanage's garden one day and a little green snake slithered by her. It said "excuse me" as it went by. At first Darian thought she imagined it but then, on another day, she found the same snake and had an entire conversation with it. She tried with other animals, but it only worked with snakes. Darian wondered if her parents could speak to snakes.

Three Years Later

Harry was not quite sure how Headmistress McGonagall had convinced him to do this. He had been teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts for five years. The curse of the position was finally broken. He loved the job; it reminded him of Dumbledore's Army. He especially liked the fact that he was not preparing the children to battle any particular threat.

Ginny was happy for him, although his eldest son was not looking forward to starting school in September with his father as one of his professors.

Now, at the request of McGonagall, Harry was standing in front of a crumbling building with a sign out front indicating it was the orphanage he was looking for. Harry gave an involuntary shudder; the entire situation reminded him eerily of something he had seen in Dumbledore's pensieve during his sixth year at school.

Harry walked up the steps and knocked on the door. A small boy of nine opened the door.

"Good afternoon. I'm looking for a Ms. Shannon Flannagan. Your matron?" Harry explained to the child.

The boy stepped aside and Harry walked into the building.

"Are you here to adopt one of us?" the boy asked in a small voice.

"Um, no, I'm here to . . ." Harry began uncomfortably.

"You must be Mister Potter. You're here to talk to me about Darian Black," Ms. Flannagan came up behind Harry.

"Oh yes," Harry responded, thankful for the interruption.

"Lets discuss the matter in my office," Ms. Flannagan indicated a door to her left. Harry followed her into the room.

Harry sat down in a wooden chair in front of the matron's desk. "I'm a professor at a boarding school up north. It's called Hogwarts. Before Darian's parents died, they expressed their wishes that she attend our institution. Her tuition is already paid in full. She is assured a spot," Harry finished his rehearsed story.

Ms. Flannagan narrowed her eyes as she surveyed Harry, "Why was I not informed of this when the child first came to the orphanage?"

Harry faltered for a moment, "You were not? I'm sorry to hear that. Here is a letter from the school's Headmistress explaining in depth all I have told you."

Ms. Flannagan looked through the letter Harry handed her. She nodded, "Alright. I won't pretend it's not a relief to see the child go. She doesn't really get along with the other kids. She's a bit strange that one is. I'll take you to meet her."

Harry was about to ask her to elaborate on her previous statement, but the elderly matron was already at the door.

"She's in here," Ms. Flannagan pointed to one of the numerous doors in the second-level hallway.

"Thank you," Harry said as Ms. Flannagan walked away. He took a deep breathe and knocked on the door.

"Yes?" a voice said from within.

"May I come in?" Harry said when he realized the voice would not invite him in.

He heard some shuffling and the door opened. A pair of dark eyes peered out. Harry almost jumped back; they were Sirius' eyes.

"What do you want?" the girl asked, her face and voice passive.

"Are you Darian Black?"

"Yes."

"I'm Professor Potter. I'd like to tell you about my school."

Darian looked at Harry for a moment and then stepped aside. Harry walked into the small room. He saw a bed and a wardrobe—nothing else.

"This school of yours, is it for special people? People with gifts?" Darian asked before Harry had a chance to start.

Harry had been unprepared for this, "What do you mean? Do you think you're special?"

"Yes," Darian replied simply.

"Well, you'd be right about that. It's a school of magic," Harry handed Darian her Hogwarts introductory letter.

Darian read the letter and looked up, "Magic?" It was the first time her voice held some sort of emotion—skepticism.

"Would you like to see some?"

"Yes," Darian said. Harry thought it sounded almost like a challenge.

Harry took his wand out and pointed at the unmade bed. Instantly the bed began to arrange itself.

"Will I be able to do things like that?" Darian asked as she watched her pillow fluff itself.

"We will teach you at Hogwarts," Harry said, a bit embarrassed at not being able to think of anything more impressive.

Damian thought for a moment and then asked, "Were my parents magical? Did they attend—what did you call it?—Hogwarts?"

"Yes to both questions," Harry replied.

"This list of supplies I need, where can I buy them?" Then she added as a side note, "Are they expensive?"

"Well, my eldest son is actually beginning his term in September as well. My family is going to Diagon Alley tomorrow to purchase his supplies. Would you care to join us?" Harry asked. Ginny had convinced him to invite the child.

Darian was about to refuse, but then she reconsidered, "Very well," and remembering her manners, "Thank you."

"Right then, we will be leaving early tomorrow morning so it would be simplest if you came to stay with my family for the evening," Harry said. If someone had told him eleven years ago that he would be inviting the daughter of Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Black to spend an evening with his family, Harry would have died laughing.

"Alright, can I have a moment to pack?" Darian asked glancing towards the wardrobe.

"Of course, I'll go explain our plans to your matron," Harry left her alone.

Darian walked over to her wardrobe and grabbed an old tattered suitcase. She packed it with the few amount of clothes she had and grabbed her toiletries.

She found Harry waiting for her in the lobby, "Are you ready?" Darian nodded.

"Come now," Harry led her out of the building and into a narrow alleyway, "I'm going to need you to hold on tight to my arm."

Darian grabbed Harry's extended arm and soon she heard a small pop accompanied by a pulling sensation behind her navel.

The pair apparated to a small village and Harry led his guest to his family's house. It was a rather large mansion; Darian never saw anything like it.

"Ginny, kids, we're here!" Harry shouted once they entered the house.

Darian saw an attractive red-headed woman come up to Harry and kiss him. She turned to Darian and said, "Hello, you must be Darian. I'm Ginny and it's a pleasure to welcome you into our home."

"Thank you," Darian said, feeling a bit uncomfortable amidst all the kindness. She saw two small children run up behind Ginny. They both took after their mother.

"This is Catherine, she's eight," Harry said indicating the girl, "and this is my youngest son Robert."

"I'm seven," Robert smiled, exposing several missing teeth.

"And I'm James," a voice from behind said. Darian turned around and saw a tall boy with messy, raven hair and green eyes.

The boy extended his hand. She shook it, her expression passive as always.

"James will be attending school with you," Ginny said to her guest. Then to her son she added, "Why don't you show Darian up to her room while Cathy and Bobby help me prepare dinner."

"Alright, follow me Darian," James started up an enormous staircase.

Darian followed him to a large room. It seemed to her to be grander than the entire orphanage.

"Do you like it?" James asked. He always hated silence.

"Yes," Darian said fingering the white sheets.

"Are you looking forward to going to Hogwarts? I am. What house do you think you will be in? I'm sure I'll be put in Gryffindor," James said.

"House?" Darian asked.

James' eyes widened, "You don't know about the houses of Hogwarts? Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff? None of that means anything to you?"

Darian shook her head.

"Wait right here," James ran out of the room. Darian did not have much time to wonder at his absence before he returned with a thick book. He handed it to Darian and she looked at the cover: Hogwarts: A History.

"I hope you enjoy reading it," James said.

"Thank you," Darian looked up and jumped back, "That portrait, it moved," she said indicating a painting of a jungle scene behind James.

"Of course it moved," James said, looking at Darian with a confused expression before leaving the room. She watched him leave and vowed to never again let magic shock her.

Once alone, Darian sat in a chair next to a window and opened the book. To her amazement, she found even more moving pictures. Darian had gotten through almost a quarter of the fascinating book when there was a knock on the door. Cathy and Bobby walked in without bothering to wait for a response.

Bobby said, "Mum told us to come get you for dinner."

Cathy walked over and grabbed Darian's hand. Darian almost recoiled but she checked herself before offending anyone.

At the dinner table, James monopolized the conversation. Darian was content with that. She was too busy appreciating all the food. The family of five had a greater abundance of much more delicious food laid out on the table than her orphanage ever had in the entire building.

Without realizing it, the conversation had somehow turned to Darian. Ginny asked her, "So you've been reading Hogwarts: A History. Do you like it?"

All eyes were on Darian, "It's very interesting."

"Have you read about the houses yet?" James asked.

"Yes, I think I would like to be in Slytherin," Darian wondered if she said something wrong as everyone was suddenly silent.

"Don't be silly, you wouldn't want to be in Slytherin," James said.

"Why not?" Darian asked, curious.

James explained, "There's not a dark witch or wizard who didn't come from that house. That was where Lord Volde—"

"That's enough James," Harry said somewhat fiercely and the young preteen shut his mouth.

The rest of the dinner was spent in silence. All Darian could think about was Lord who?

The next morning, Ginny went to wake up Darian only to find the girl already awake, making her bed, "I see you're up. We'll be going to Diagon Alley soon. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

Soon the entire Potter family and Darian found themselves in front of a brick wall. Harry removed his wand from his pocket and tapped several bricks in a specific pattern. Once he was finished, a small hole began to form which steadily grew larger, revealing a bustling alleyway.

Darian looked about her. There were shops advertising unicorn horns, broomsticks, feather quills, all sorts of bizarre things.

"Right then, first stop Gringotts," Harry said.

Eventually Darian realized that the large white building at the end of the alley was their destination. She saw a small creature at the entrance and James whispered in her ear, "That's a goblin. They run the bank."

Harry walked up to an available teller and pulled out a key, "I'm here with Darian Riddle Black, she needs to access her family's vault." The goblin nodded and led the group down a dark corridor. He found the specified vault and opened it using the key. None of the portion of the Black family fortune that Darian was technically entitled to was there. All of the money came from the Riddle family, of which she was the last descendant. When converted into wizard currency, the muggle fortune was not much. However it was enough to sustain Darian for her seven years at Hogwarts and a couple years after if she spent it smartly.

"All of this is mine?" Darian asked Harry.

"Yes," Harry said as he began to explain the different coins and their values, "Here you are, fill this pouch up with coins and meet us back in the lobby."

Darian grabbed the pouch and went to grab some money. As she was scooping up some golden galleons, she saw something green out of the corner of her eye. Darian turned and grabbed the emerald which turned out to be an eye on a small silver snake pendant hanging on a silver chain. She held it gently in her hand and then pocketed it. She finished filling the pouch and started back towards the lobby.

"Right then, where to first? How about Flourish and Blott's to purchase the books?" Ginny suggested.

The group readily agreed and soon Darian was searching through the secondhand book shelves. She had found all of her necessary school books when another title caught her eye: Lord Voldemort: The History of Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Riddle? Darian wondered. She grabbed the volume and put it between her school books.

The next stop was the wand shop. Ollivander's was now run by his son. He hardly had his father's legendary skill but his wands were decent enough.

It did not take long for a twelve-inch ebony, unicorn hair-filled wand to claim James. Darian was another matter however. It seemed like she had already gone through every wand in the store when Ginny suggested she take the other kids to purchase the rest of the supplies.

"Meet us at the twins' shop when you're done," Ginny said to her husband who agreed to wait for Darian.

Darian went through several more wands when Ollivander said, "I wonder." He walked over to a dusty cupboard and pulled out several boxes.

"What are those?" Harry asked.

"These are the one's leftover from the bunch my father had to make for the Death Eaters," Ollivander explained. Harry was still amazed at the casualty with which some people now spoke of that dark period.

Ollivander picked a box at random and opened it. Darian moved closer. The handle had a small snake etched into it. She grabbed it and felt her hand grow warm. She made a motion with it similar to that she had made with the other wands, hoping nothing exploded this time.

A small green wisp appeared out of the tip of the wand and began to materialize into a snake. Sow sam saha, it hissed. I have been waiting.

"Well I suppose we have found a winner," Ollivander said, "A bit surprised at what just happened. Ivy structure, eleven inches . . ."

"What is its core?" Harry demanded.

"Well, it's a very unique one. The magic comes from a shred of Basilisk skin."

"What's a Basilisk?" Darian asked.

"It's a giant snake," Harry said, "Let's go."

Ollivander couldn't resist, "Say do you know what that snake said? I don't speak parseltongue."

Darian was about to tell him when Harry said hurriedly, "It told her it had been waiting."

Outside the store Darian asked, "You speak snake also?"

"It's called parseltongue," Harry said.

"Can lots of wizards do it," Darian wondered.

"No."

That night in the Potter home, Harry told Ginny about what happened at the wand shop, "It's not right. She shouldn't be allowed at Hogwarts."

"Don't be silly Harry. She has no clue about her parentage. Nothing has really happened to indicate she has an evil bone in her body. It's all just been the consequences of her lineage," Ginny argued. Little did she know that at that moment, Darian was reading all about her father.