"How was your detention with Lockhart?" Darla asked Harry, Sunday morning.

Harry had finally had his detention for flying the car with Ron to Hogwarts the night before. He'd had it with Lockhart and Darla knew that Harry did not like Lockhart at all. She wasn't entirely sure she liked him either; he seemed too full of himself for her liking. Harry was staring at his plate looking very tired, so did Ron. He'd had his detention as well.

"Boring, he made me write the addresses on envelopes to his fans all night." Harry said. "Wouldn't think it was possible for him to have so many."

"We're you out that late? You look so tired." Darla said.

He nodded. "Almost until midnight, but I couldn't sleep last night anyway. I-I heard a voice but he didn't seem to hear it." He answered and then lowered his voice some more. "It- it said it wanted to kill someone."

"What? No, it couldn't have. Maybe you were just very tired. I mean if Lockhart didn't hear it."

"That's not it." Harry muttered. "I wish it were, but it's not."

"Oh." Darla said not feeling entirely convinced. "Well maybe Lockhart was too busy with his fan mail that he just didn't hear it. Maybe someone who knew you were having detention was trying to scare you."

The owls came into the Great Hall and Darla was surprised and pleased to get a letter. It dropped onto the plate of bacon on the table. Darla quickly grabbed it happy that her parents had finally written back. She knew they would, maybe they were finally accepting the fact that she couldn't help who she was and they would be nicer to both her and Harry.

She opened the envelope quickly and pulled a letter. Her heart dropped when she saw what was written on the letter though.

Darla,

Please do not write to us about what you are doing at that school. Please try to stay out of trouble, we do not want to hear about it and we don't want owls in this house more than necessary. Tell that to your cousin as well.

Your parents.

Darla read through it again before getting up and running from the Great Hall causing Harry to call after her. She ran until she found a girls bathroom and went inside to cry inside of it. She leaned against a wall as she cried hard. She wished now that she hadn't been a witch. It wasn't fair for her parents to be this way to her or Harry. Why couldn't they accept her for who she was?

"Darla?"

Darla looked up to see Ginny standing over her. She looked concerned she sat down beside her.

"Harry sent Hermione and me out to look for you." Ginny said. "So what did your parents write to you about?"

Darla wiped her tears away and handed Ginny the letter. Ginny read through it and looked at her with pity. She leaned over to hug her as Hermione entered the bathroom. Ginny handed the letter over to Hermione to read as well who sat down on Darla's other side.

"Oh Darla, I'm sorry." Hermione said. "I can't believe they'd treat their own daughter this way."

"I don't get it. Dad knew I was a witch." Darla said. "He loved me until I got my letter. He knew the whole time and he neglected Harry but he loved me."

"Maybe he just didn't want to believe it." Ginny said. "And if he wanted to keep it from your mother like you told me, then maybe he had to love you. They both knew Harry was a wizard so it was easier for them to be mean to him."

"You'd think with their daughter being one they'd change." Hermione said. "I mean your aunt was a witch, Harry is a wizard and now you're a witch. It'd make sense for them to realize that it isn't bad but good."

"They don't like anything to be out of the ordinary. They didn't like it if even Dudley or I played pretend but when Harry did it… they just think everything should be normal. Mum has never been happy with me though. I've never been the perfect good mannered little girl she wanted. She once told me I was almost like her sister." Darla muttered wiping away her tears.

"Come on." Hermione said softly. "Harry will want to know what happened."

Darla stood up feeling anger now and wondered if she should even bother going home for Christmas. She decided she would worry about it when the time came. They left the bathroom to find Harry and Ron both waiting outside of it. Darla handed the letter to Harry who read it. He crumpled it into a ball and set it on fire, than he hugged Darla. She was glad that she had him to help her; he already knew what it was like.

--

There were times when Darla wanted to start writing home again but she always stopped herself when she remembered the letter. Instead she focused on her school work. She noticed Ginny was spending more and more time writing in her diary so she was spending a lot of time in the library when she didn't want to sit with the three other girls.

She'd also become a target for Colin Creevey who insisted on asking as many questions as he could about Harry. He's already snapped two pictures of her telling her he needed pictures of Harry's cousin as well. She spent a lot of time avoiding him and a school ghost that liked torturing students. Whenever he saw her he would throw things at her and laugh. She soon learned he was Peeves the Poltergeist. Harry told her that he had gotten lost on his first day of school because of Peeves.

September went by quickly and soon they were into October. Sheila, Patty and Julie insisted on decorating their dorm for Halloween. At night when trying to sleep all Darla could hear was the wailing of a toy banshee. She wished she knew a spell that could make it quiet. She wondered if Hermione did, she was good at magic. But one night after a week of the Banshee's wailing Darla went up to the dorm to find that it was destroyed and lying on Sheila's bed. She smiled to herself knowing that it had been Ginny who had done it.

Ginny had been feeling sick and had told Darla not to mention it to her brothers, but Percy the older brother seemed to notice and made her go to the hospital wing to drink a potion. Darla laughed at her seeing smoke steam from her ears because with her flaming red hair it made it seem as if her whole head was on fire.

"Shut up Darla." Ginny said with a weak grin. "Because I'll tell Harry that you're sick and I know he'll make you drink some too. I wasn't even sick it was stress."

"You looked sick." Darla said. "I don't."

"Yes I guess so, and with four older brothers I can't even be tired without one of them thinking I am sick." Ginny answered grouchily. "I've just been tired and stressed from homework. I didn't know we'd have so much all the time. Fred and George made it seem as if Hogwarts was all fun and games."

"With those two it seems everything is all fun and games." Darla said. "I wonder if all twin boys are like that. I had twin boys in my class at home and they were always pulling pranks."

"I don't know, but I wish it would stop raining so much." Ginny muttered. "I hate being stuck inside all the time."

Darla liked Ginny's twin brothers, Fred and George. They always seemed to know how to make everyone laugh. They some how knew what the letter she had received from her parents was about because they had spent the day trying to make her laugh afterwards and she had barely known them. She just had known that they were in their fourth year and Ginny's older twin brothers, who also had red hair.

She still liked to try and talk to Matthew but it seemed he had lost interest in her long ago. He was always with the same two boys studying the library; they always got angry when she interrupted them. He only talked to her if he had a question about Herbology since she was one of the best in the year for Herbology. She wished she could be Ginny who seemed to be good in almost all the classes and she didn't even try.

"Harry, would it be ok if I watched on of your Quidditch practices sometime?" Darla asked. "I don't really get the game and I don't want to wait until next month to see a match. I've never seen anyone fly a broomstick."

"Go ahead." He answered. "People come to watch all the time."

She knew he was worried about Quidditch at the moment. She didn't know much about flying broomsticks, but she knew that at one time Harry had the best broom stick there was. The whole Slytherin players apparently had the newest best broomsticks now and were very fast. The rest of the Gryffindor team's broomsticks weren't as great as the Harry's. She didn't know what Quidditch was except it was a sport played on broomsticks and she couldn't wait to see a game.

It was always rainy whenever the Gryffindor team had practice so Darla wasn't able to go out when she wanted to. Sheila, Patty and Julie had told her to let them know when she was going to watch because they wanted to watch as well. She made a note to herself to sneak out of the Common room when the weather would finally allow her to watch a practice.

She visited Hagrid often as well, with or without Ginny. They often had conversations about her parents and Harry's parents. She often found herself trying to defend her parents and brother's actions. She didn't like to hear anyone, unless it was Harry say rude things about her family. She knew that Harry had every right to say what he did about her parents because they had never given him a chance. The short arguments she had with Hagrid didn't stop her from wanting to visit him.

--

"You're going to a Death Day party?" Darla asked. "Does that mean a ghost is actually celebrating the day he died?"

"Yes." Harry answered. "It could be very-er- interesting."

"Whose party is it?" Darla asked. "What about the Halloween feast? I've heard those are exciting!"

"They are, but I promised." Harry said, the tone of his voice sounded as though he were regretting his decision. "It's for Nearly Headless Nick he helped me get out of detention."

"Why is he called that anyway?"

"His head wasn't cut all the way off. It always hangs on by half an inch of skin." Harry answered. "If you'd like you could come too."

"Um, no thanks." Darla answered quickly. "It's my first feast at Hogwarts, Ginny and I have been looking forward to it since we seen Hagrid's pumpkins."

"I'm glad to see you and Ginny have become good friends." Harry said. "I think it's something you both needed. She's really shy."

She knew Harry couldn't be talking about the same Ginny that she knew. Ginny was a lot of things, but shy wasn't one of them. She'd already made a lot of friends with the people in their year. She wished that what Harry had said about the two of them being good friends was true, but Darla wasn't sure if it was. Ginny seemed rather secretive, she and Darla did a lot of things together but Ginny never told her anything. Darla didn't know much about friendship so she wondered if it was because they had only met just two months ago.

She couldn't believe her cousin preferred to go to a party for a ghost rather than eat delicious food with the rest of the school. His two friends were also joining him. When she mentioned this information to Ginny, she just laughed.

"I can't see Ron being at a party for too long that doesn't have food- well it has food but not food he'd want to eat." Ginny said giggling. "Or Harry really, I've seen the he eats."

"There will be food there? How do ghosts eat?" Darla asked in shock. "I didn't think they could."

"They don't. I don't know how they do it, but usually they serve food that's all rotted and gross. I suppose maybe they can almost taste it? That would probably be something to ask Hermione, she'd know." Ginny answered with a shrug. "I know I'll be at the feast enjoying fresh non maggoty food."

Darla nodded in agreement; glad she hadn't agreed to go to a Death Day's party. "I heard they booked skeletons to put on a show for us, is that true? How does that work?"

"They did. Don't worry; skeletons don't just walk around from their graves. They are charmed to do that and it's watched carefully by the Ministry." Ginny answered. "But it sounds exciting, I've only heard of it from my brothers."

However, the day of the feast Ginny was acting strangely. She was fine in the morning and afternoon; the two of them did homework with Patty, Sheila and Julie in the afternoon. When it was almost time for the feast, Ginny told Darla that she wanted to lay down for a bit and she'd meet Darla as the feast. She looked rather pale and Darla wondered if she should mention this to Percy Weasley. When it was time for the feast Darla found Ginny sleeping on her bed looking peaceful so Darla just let her be and when with Colin instead.

"Can you believe they are actually bringing skeletons?" Colin asked her as she left the Common Room with him. "I've heard the food at the feasts is usually excellent. Why doesn't Ginny go to the hospital wing? She is going to miss her first feast!"

"She's seemed tired a lot lately though." Darla answered. "Maybe she'll wake up in time."

"And Harry is going to a Death Day party? That is neat, I wish I was invited! A party for ghosts seems really exciting doesn't it?" Colin continued.

Darla noticed he was very talkative and wondered how the boys could stand all his questions. She noticed he was with the four boys in Gryffindor first year a lot when he wasn't watching Harry from behind a chair in the Common Room.

"Where are Ted, Greg, Peter and Mark anyway?" She asked instead of answered his questions.

"Already there, I think. I am going to meet them, but I wanted to write to my dad first. I'm going to take some pictures of the Great Hall for him to see. I saw the teachers working on it earlier and it looks neat!" Colin said excitedly. "Oh and guess what! The pictures I got that sixth year to take of us first year Gryffindor's together are ready. If you want one let me know."

Darla smiled and nodded, she didn't want to admit it but she wanted one. A week ago, Colin had decided he wanted pictures of the first year Gryffindor's all together. He said he would take one every year. The rest of the Gryffindor first years only agreed to get him off their backs but they had laughed about it behind his back later. She thought it would be neat to have a picture of them all together from first to seventh year. She wasn't sure how he had gotten a sixth year boy to agree to take all the pictures though. Most of the older students seemed annoyed by his entire picture taking.

They entered the Great Hall and hurriedly took their seats with the rest of the Gryffindor first years. Darla looked around for Harry to see if he changed his mind or not, but neither he Ron or Hermione were around.

"Ginny is still sick?" Sheila asked Darla.

Darla nodded. "She must be, yes."

"She's been so pale lately." Patty said. "I do hope she's ok."

"Why doesn't she just go to the hospital wing?" Julie asked. "She'd be feeling better and having a feast tonight."

"She does what she does." Darla answered with a shrug.

At the moment, Professor Dumbledore the headmaster stood up. Instantly the room was quiet. Darla noticed from the first day that all Professor Dumbledore had to do was stand up to get the students to quiet down. Everyone seemed to hold a great deal of respect for him, especially Harry.

"Welcome old and new to another Halloween feast here at Hogwarts. Tonight, we have a special show for you. I would like you all to welcome 'The Rattling Bones!'" He called out.

Darla hadn't noticed at first but in front of the teachers table there was a long black platform set up. Strange music came from the front of the room and five skeletons came out of the chamber where Darla had been in before her sorting. They had on black top hats and black bows. One was holding a cane. They lined up on the platform and began dancing, holding hands.

Than something strange happened. They all seemed to fall apart, hundreds of bones lay all over the stage. Than slowly they started to go back together but in the wrong places. One Skeleton had its head where a foot should be. Another was all together but its head. It had another skeletons head along with its own and was juggling the two heads, before another threw its head at it so it was juggling three.

They all went back together again before they went into a five person (or in their case skeleton) pyramid. The skeleton that was in the middle bottom roll seemed to shudder and than the whole pyramid collapsed causing bones to fly every where.

Everywhere people were laughing. Beside her, Colin was snapping as many pictures as he could with his camera. When she glanced at him, she saw that he had already gone through two rolls of film. The Skeletons did their dance for fifteen more minutes before bowing and leaving the stage. After Professor Dumbledore thanked them and everyone gave them a standing ovation the feast started. Delicious food appeared all around them.

Darla was able to take in the rest of the Great Hall. Hagrid had his pumpkins all in the Great Hall and carved like lanterns. Darla also noticed there were live bats in the room as well. Some of the candles that usually floated around the Great Hall were forming messages, such as Happy Halloween or Trick or Treat.

"Wow, I hope I got another pictures." Colin said. "Could you believe those Skeletons? How did they know which bones were their own?"

"It's too bad Ginny is missing this." Darla said.

"Well, I'll give her some pictures." Colin said. "The food is delicious but I'd go without if I could see the dance again."

"I wish there weren't bats in here." Julie said looking up. "It's not very hygienic is it?"

"It looks neat." Sheila said. "As long as they don't start swooping at us, it's fine."

"And look just how clear the night is." Patty continued. "It looks like we can see eons and eons into space. It's as if there is no roof at all."

"That's my favourite part about the Great Hall." Darla agreed. "I love that it's bewitch to look like the sky."

She still couldn't believe that Harry and his friends were missing this for a ghost's party. When the main courses were over, the desserts appeared. Darla wanted to try as many of the desserts as she possibly could. When the desserts were over they were to go back to their Common Rooms.

Darla joined the girls who were talking about Professor Lockhart again. She agreed with them that he was very handsome but she didn't understand how they thought he was a good teacher. He had promised them hands on experience but ever since he had set pixies on Harry's second year class he hadn't done anything but read from his books. When Darla had asked Ron Weasley what a pixie was he muttered 'Annoying little creatures that shouldn't ever be set free by someone who doesn't know what he's doing' and he wouldn't go more into the subject.

"Why are people stopping?" Darla asked the girls who shrugged.

She pushed her way through the crowd as someone shouted: "Enemies of the heir beware; you'll be next mud bloods!"

Darla got to the front of everyone to see Draco Malfoy grinning at written words on the wall that said:

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED.

ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

Underneath them was Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's cat, dead. The people in the middle shocked Darla the most, standing as if they had just been caught were Harry, Ron and Hermione.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed. This chapter took about a week to write because I wasn't sure what to do with it. I actually wanted more time between the last chapter and the feast but you know what writers block can do. Needless to say, this chapter was very hard to write.

I have no idea when the next chapter will be up since the first five were already written up and I still have writers block.

Also, I noticed I didn't do a very good job at editing the first four chapters so I'll be doing that as well. I thought I had but I noticed certain mistakes, such as tale instead of tail.

Please review.