The first week of school ended up being quite taxing, especially since it started out with Mrs. Weasley sending Ron a howler during breakfast. Harry had also gotten a letter from both dad and Remus, but although they had written that they were disappointed, Harry didn't get reamed out in front of the entire school. The worst thing however ended up being Defense Against The Dark Arts which was now taught by the biggest imbecile I had ever met.

"Makes you wish old Voldie was back doesn't it?" Fred asked after one class where I just sighed in response.

Despite being slightly astounded that Fred would bring up the subject of our previous teacher being a parasitic host for the Dark Lord himself, at least Quirrell had known what he was talking about. Gilderoy Lockhart was by all accounts, an idiot. He had given a pop quiz on the first day, the same quiz to every year, which posed personal questions such as 'What is Gilderoy's favourite colour? And 'What season best compliments Gilderoy Lockhart's wardrobe?' It was outright embarrassing for him and a nightmare for us. To top it all off, we were required to read from each of his books every night, which was seven in total. Usually classes assigned two books at most for the entire year and only used one at a time for particular lessons.

So, by Friday, I was already behind on my homework and fed up with everyone's bad mood. So, to be by myself for a while, I brought my books out to the quidditch pitch to study.

"Is this seat taken?" I heard a familiar voice ask after sitting out there a while.

"Cedric, what are you doing here?" I asked, having figured no one came out here much besides for games and practices.

"I should be asking you that. I've never see you out here like this before," he answered with a smile.

"You come out here a lot?" I asked lamely.

"Yea, the quidditch pitch is my favourite spot, plus it's usually pretty quiet," he explained while I nodded. "So, do you mind if I join you?"

"Oh, of course not!" I answered as I moved my mess of books out of the way.

"You're studying Defense too?" he asked with his own pile of books held up in his hands.

"It's just so ridiculous how he expects us to keep up. Especially when he doesn't even talk about the content in class. I mean seriously, if I have to hear another thing about his wardrobe again I think I'll scream," I exclaimed annoyed.

"Today he told us all about the pet kitten he had as a child," Cedric grimaced, causing me to shake my head in indignation.

We then fell into an amicable silence as Cedric opened one of his books and I turned back to mine. We stayed like that for at least an hour before I noticed the sun getting dangerously low.

"I guess we better turn in," Cedric said as if reading my mind.

We then packed up our books and headed into the castle.

"I guess I'll see you around," Cedric said with a smile once we made it to the main entrance.

"Yea, maybe we'll run into each other at the quidditch pitch again," I replied, noticing the continued smile on his face.

"I'd like that."

Cedric then left me standing outside the Great Hall as he entered. I felt a warm sensation cover my entire face which I literally tried to shake off. Maybe I was coming down with a cold or something.

XXX

Cedric and I did in fact meet up with each other as we came to study in peace at the quidditch pitch on a weekly basis. We usually did our Defense readings, but Cedric had also started helping me with Potions revision as apparently Snape didn't hate the Hufflepuffs as much as he loathed the Gryffindors.

"Happy Birthday Marnie," Cedric greeted one evening as he showed up to the quidditch pitch.

I saw him carrying something small under a handkerchief which I stared at with nervous anticipation.

"What is that?" I asked skeptically.

"It's your birthday present," he answered simply.

"You really didn't have to get me anything, my friends and I have a strict no gifts rule since there are far too many of us," I explained but Cedric only shook his head and smiled.

"Ah, well I was not privy to this rule, so you will just have to accept it," he replied easily.

He placed what felt like a small cage into my hand before I slowly pulled off the handkerchief.

"It's a fairy," he said while I looked at him in bafflement. "My dad works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures so he's spent my entire life telling me all about magical creatures and how to care for them. It's pretty easy to catch fairies."

"Are you allowed to?" I asked skeptically upon closer inspection of the creature.

It was quite beautiful as I noticed the luminescent glow of its skin.

"Well, I don't know how the teachers feel about them being kept as pets, but you can let it out anytime you like. I just figured you might want to see one up close," he explained.

"Well, thank-you," I answered, feeling that sudden warm sensation which had me dreading that I might be getting sick.

"I think I'm catching a cold."

"You know, we could meet up in the library instead to study," Cedric offered.

"But there are more people there, it would be more difficult to meet up by chance," I replied but noticed the rueful look he gave me.

"We could plan a meeting then," he responded simply while the warm sensation persisted across my face.

"Yea, I guess we could," I answered. "Alright, how about this Wednesday after Charms?"

"I look forward to it," he replied as I found I couldn't come up with anything else to say.

We then decided to walk back together while I remained in a nervous silence. He bid me good-bye in our usual spot outside of the Great Hall before I sighed and walked the fairy to my room before heading down for dinner.

"Where have you been off to?" Angelina asked once I sat down.

"Studying," I answered simply.

"We were in the library though, we didn't see you," Katie added.

"Oh, I was actually reading outside," I replied nervously since I hadn't actually told any of my friends yet that I had been meeting up with Cedric.

"It's a bit chilly out," Lee commented while I threw him an annoyed look.

"What's going on Hare?" Fred asked as he sensed my anxiety.

"Well, I've actually been meeting up with Cedric to study sometimes," I divulged which automatically cued a fit of giggles from Katie and Alicia.

"Why the hell are you hanging out with that git?" Fred asked rather unkindly, causing me to glare back at him.

"We have been over this Fred, Cedric is my friend. Plus, you apologized for being an idiot over the summer so let's move on," I replied sternly.

This prompted Fred to hold back his next comment.

"She's right Freddie, we did apologize," George added.

"Thank-you, now let's find another subject," I said with blatant intent.

"How could you not tell us you had it in with Cedric Diggory?" Alicia asked much to my annoyance of not changing the subject.

"We're just friends Leesh," I replied sourly.

"Yes, why don't we change the subject?" Fred asked more pressingly before Lee started talking about Gilderoy Lockhart and how he had regaled his story of taming werewolves today.

"He's such a moron," I said since I knew only too well how impossible that was.

XXX

Over the next month Fred remained uncharacteristically quiet about my study sessions with Cedric while the girls continued to pester me for details.

"Why don't you just go for it?" Katie asked one night as we all sat in our dorm.

"There's nothing to go for, we're just friends," I exclaimed just as I had all the other times she'd asked me.

"He got you a fairy, boys don't give their friends fairies. No one gives their friends fairies, they're hard to catch. It's all really quite romantic," Alicia added, even though Cedric had claimed the opposite.

I looked over to my bedside where the fairy was sleeping. I had tried to let it out of the cage the night of my birthday since I didn't know how fairies felt about captivity, but it hadn't bothered to leave. I had since left the small cage open on the windowsill so that it could fly away anytime, but almost a month later it was still here.

"You must think he's at least handsome," Alicia continued.

"Of course, but I'm not some girl that fawns over him. He's just a nice guy who became my friend. Plus, you never gave me this much trouble over being friends with Fred and George," I replied.

"Of course not, they're Fred and George, you're restricted access to them," Katie answered simply while I gave her an incredulous look.

I didn't really want to know what she meant.

"Well, I'm going to call it a night," I said before drawing the curtains closed before anyone could object.

The lights went out shortly after while I stared at the soft luminescent glow of my fairy, which I had secretly named Aster. I didn't know if fairies had genders, so I went for a more neutral namesake. I watched it sit on the small branch Cedric had placed in the cage and wondered what a fairy could possibly have to think about. Sometime during this however, I fell into a peaceful sleep.

XXX

The Halloween Feast soon arrived to everyone's excitement. I was extremely eager since I hadn't been able to enjoy it last year in lieu of being assaulted by a mountain troll. This also meant that Fred and George wouldn't leave my side. They even threatened Ron not to do anything stupid which made his ears turn red.

"Don't be mean to him," I chastised as we walked away from their group towards the Great Hall.

"Ron is prat by nature, and it nearly cost you your life," Fred retorted in a voice that sounded more like a growl.

"I highly doubt a mountain troll will enter the castle for the second year in a row," Lee offered but this just earned him a scowl from Fred and George both.

"Well I didn't think it would ever happen the first time," Fred replied which ended the debate.

We then entered the Great Hall and I couldn't help but gasp as I took in all the sweets and decorations.

"It all looks so good!" I exclaimed, running forward to an empty seat and started piling on the meal of only desserts.

"Slow down there Hare," Fred said half-heartedly with a grin.

"Speak for yourself," George added as he started to pile on his own plate.

The excitement of the students felt contagious as everyone enjoyed their food.

"Where's Harry and the others?" I asked since I hadn't yet seen them.

"Don't be asking that. I'm sure they're fine," Fred warned but I continued to look around.

"Hermione didn't even get to try the food last year," I added with a slight frown.

"We are not searching the castle for them, I'm sure they're alright," George offered.

"They have just as much luck as I have," I reasoned which caused Fred to scowl displeased.

"Drop it Hare, I'm sure they're okay," he said with more confidence than I felt.

"Marnie, they're with Nearly Headless Nick," Neville piped in while I turned to see him down the table.

"You see?" Fred continued but I just shook my head.

We then enjoyed the rest of the meal until we all were stuffed. It seemed the rest of the school was doing the same thing as most students got up at the same time we did once the dishes were cleared. I wasn't really paying attention as we all walked in an easy silence with our bellies full. I was surprised then when everyone seemed to stop in their tracks and I heard a few gasps up ahead.

I listened to the murmurs and heard the name Harry swapped around which kicked up my concern. This prompted me to start filing through the crowd before I heard the obnoxious sound of Draco Malfoy's voice saying something about 'mudbloods being next'.

"You hear that Squib, those with dirty blood ought to be watching themselves now," Marcus Flint whispered down at me as I unnoticeably walked by him.

My skin started to crawl at the blatant threat as I also noticed the writing on the wall written in blood. And of course, Harry, Ron and Hermione standing right in the center of it. I brushed by Flint without reacting to his threat and approached Harry who I knew had finally noticed me. However, I heard Dumbledore speak before I could ask my own questions. He ordered everyone back to their dormitories and to follow their prefects. This was immediately followed by Percy's no-nonsense voice rallying up the Gryffindors.

I stood rooted in place while I saw Harry being ushered away by Dumbledore and read the words on the wall, which had indeed been written in blood. What the hell was the Chamber of Secrets? Maybe this is what that Dobby had been warning Harry about…

There was definitely a heightened sense of anxiety going around the school since more and more people became aware of what the Chamber of Secrets was and what it meant for it to be opened. It had initially been assumed that Harry and the other two had somehow opened the chamber, but that rumour was thwarted when the knowledge of the Slytherin heir came about. This added to the uneasiness as some of the Slytherin students started indulging the rumours and threatening muggleborn students, or in my case, children of squibs. Flint and Malfoy were only too happy to go along with it all.

However, the anxiety was challenged by the impending quidditch game against Slytherin. The team had been practicing diligently all week in the rain, much to the annoyance of everyone except Oliver Wood, the team's captain.

The day of the match was no better as the rain poured down onto the pitch. This however, did not prevent most of the entire school from going down to watch the highly anticipated game. I was sitting with Neville, Ron and Hermione as we waited for the players to come out. Luna had also joined us, who was adorned in a fluorescent yellow rain jacket.

The teams soon came out and began underway at the distant sound of Madam Hooch's whistle. It was difficult to watch through the rain as each of the players disappeared behind the fog and heavy rainfall. However, after a while it seemed that Fred and George were spending an awful lot of time chasing the same bludger around.

"What's going on with that thing?" I asked Ron who only shrugged.

"It almost looks as if it's only following Harry," Hermione commented in a worried tone.

I only sighed in return since it wouldn't be the first time Harry was targeted during a match.

We watched Fred and George fail to rid of the bludger before a time out was finally called.

"Something's not right," I said as I failed to hear what anyone was talking about over the whistling wind. After a few minutes however, the Gryffindor team ended the time out and Harry went off alone, while Fred and George returned to play.

"What the hell are they doing?" I asked incredulously.

Hermione scoffed. "Oh, I'm sure it was Harry's idea to go off all alone."

Unfortunately, I couldn't disagree with her despite being annoyed with the twins. Harry was out there now looking as if he had lost control of his broom since he was constantly dodging the advances of the bludger. Hermione and I were sitting at the edge of our seats as we held hands for moral support.

"He's seen it," Ron shouted as we all watched Harry take off in a downward spiral.

Harry levelled off before hitting the ground and dismounted from his broom. I could hardly hear Lee over the rain announcing that Gryffindor had won. However, the bludger kept going and started to charge Harry who was now on the ground holding his arm. The bludger had already hit him once. Thankfully Madam Hooch was able to call the bludger away while we all started running to the pitch. Harry was lying still on the ground. When we arrived, though, Lockhart was sitting beside him and it looked like he had already tried to fix Harry's broken wrist.

Harry was staring at his arm in disgust since it was now able to bend at all angles.

"What did you do?" I demanded, sitting down next to Harry and looked at the professor in revulsion.

"This is the thanks I get?" he asked haughtily before turning away and retreating out of the crowd.

I scowled since that didn't even dignify as an answer but only further confirmed his incompetence. But his mauve coloured robes disappeared behind the crowd before I could tell him how I really felt.

"Bloody useless that one is," I muttered before turning back to Harry and helped Hagrid lift him to the hospital wing.

I really wish Harry could play a game of quidditch without his life being threatened.

Harry ended up staying the night in the hospital since he needed to regrow his bones. I was still fuming about Lockhart and wasn't ready to talk to the twins who had seemingly abandoned Harry, even if that wasn't really true. So, I went upstairs early that night and closed myself off in my bed. I ended up staring at Aster while they came out of their cage and sat on my chest. We stayed like this a while before I fell asleep at some point.

I had another dream where I was walking alone in the dungeon corridor, heading for the library.

"Well if it isn't Lena Tress, the stupidest half-blood there ever was," a voice said coolly as I noticed I was walking by the Slytherin common room.

My mother turned around to see a boy with white-blonde hair and an evil smile. He must have been in his seventh year and looked an awful like Draco Malfoy; this must be his father Lucius.

"Tell me Crabbe, what possesses a girl with bright prospects, despite being a Hufflepuff, to decide to date a squib?" he asked his friend maliciously who had come to join him.

"Someone who disobeys the Dark Lord, that's who," the ugly boy answered with his own creepy grin.

"Shut it Malfoy," my mother hissed as she squared her shoulders against them.

"I mean, I can't blame you for not pursuing other prospects that came your way," he went on slyly.

"I said shut it," my mother continued with more volition.

"It's going to be such a waste when the Dark Lord has to rid of you for disobeying him," Lucius purred while he came purposefully closer.

But my mother stayed rooted in her place before taking her wand out at him.

"At least I stand up for my own right, while you just stand there going from your father's orders to You Know Who's. It's pathetic how you think you are your own man when you have never once had your own thought, let alone acted in your own conscience," my mother said coldly.

"There are things I know that you couldn't even comprehend," Lucius spat with his stark face flushed red.

"At least my own knowledge didn't cost me my dignity," my mother finished while stepping back to return the way she had come.

"I will see to it that you and that squib boyfriend of yours are dead at my feet," Lucius yelled back but my mother kept walking away until they disappeared out of sight.

I woke up with a start, much to Aster's annoyance. They had fallen asleep on my chest and found that I had rudely waken them.

I hadn't had any dreams since last year, and that had meant Voldemort had been roaming the castle. I laid there until the sun peaked through the window going over the possibilities of what my dream could have meant. Plus, I thought maybe the bludger and this Dobby-elf might all be connected. And then there was the obvious point of the Chamber of Secrets opening. What a disaster.