"Alright, I have one horrible cat, an owl plushie that seems to be falling apart, I bought new clothes because frankly what you had in your closet was just horrific, and I brought snow cherries, they're from France. Who called for me?"

Darla jumped off the couch and ran across the room, nearly tackling Blaise to the ground. She wrapped her arms around his waist, nearly causing him to drop the cage that held Buttons. "Uncle Blaise! I missed you."

Blaise smiled and sat everything down on the ground. "Yes, I know, poppet. Now, why don't you tell Uncle Blaise what happened while he was away?"

"Theodore was being an idiot, as per usual," Astoria said. She sat at the kitchen table, occasionally looking up at the clock.

"Well, he's a genius, Tori. I mean, he's dumber than a…well, dumber than a stupid thing, but the man is a genius."

"He's an idiot," she repeated. "I thought that Draco would be in by now."

"Who needs Draco when you've got me? Right, Nottlette?"

Darla actually smiled. "You're the best, Uncle Blaise."

"I know it. Now, why don't we go, sit down, and maybe we can talk about what happened."

Maybe Blaise would be able to make sense of the situation. Darla nodded and led Blaise to the living room. "Is Auntie Tori angry at daddy," she asked as they sat down."

Blaise took a breath and thought about this for a moment. "Well, she's always mad at your dad. She has been for years."

"Why?"

"They just don't get along. A difference of ideas or something. I don't know. I've known your father for years, but there were a few years where we didn't talk, see? So, I don't really know what the problems between your dad and your aunt are."

"Why didn't you talk?"

"Well, we just didn't." Blaise leaned back. "Why don't we talk about what happened today? I just heard the basics of it. Anything you want to mention?"

Darla thought for a moment. She had already told her aunt everything that she knew about what had happened. Really, she only knew the basics. "A bunch of people came in, Aurors, I think they were Aurors."

"Did they have badges?"

"Um, when they came in one of them showed daddy a badge, I think. Um, Weasley, that was what daddy called him."

Blaise didn't look happy. He pursed his lips and thought for a moment. "Tall, red headed fellow?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Ron Weasley," Blaise said and shook his head. "I can't say I'm surprised. The Weasleys never liked us very much, I bet he was excited to be there."

"He was." Darla paused. "Hey, Freddie is a Weasley and he's one of my best friends."

"Well, his uncle just arrested your father." Blaise shook his head. "Again, I'm not surprised here. So, the Aurors came and then what?"

Darla was a bit more focused on the new information her uncle had just given her. Freddie's uncle arrested her father? That meant that the man was James's uncle too. How could her friends be related to a man who took fathers away from their daughters? Freddie and James were both so nice. Well, James was, Freddie wasn't mean though. Well, not anymore. Wait, wasn't Harry Potter an Auror too? Darla vaguely remembered hearing James say something about his father being an Auror. Was James's dad involved in this in some way? Had he helped with this raid?

"Darla?"

Darla looked up. "Huh?"

"The Aurors, poppet, what happened after the Aurors came?"

"Oh, right." Darla closed her eyes and tried to remember. "They started going through all of our things and then they went upstairs. Then they came back downstairs, said they'd found something, then daddy gave me his cane, and then I was here," Darla explained.

Blaise sighed and shook his head. "Merlin, this is just wonderful," he mumbled sarcastically.

"When will I see daddy again?"

Blaise thought for a moment. "Don't freak out, alright? Probably Christmas. He'll be in custody for a few days and then Draco should be able to get him out on bond."

"What's bond?"

"It's like where you give people money so that people can go home. Like, he'll pay so that Theodore will be able to go home, but Theodore won't be able to go anywhere but home. You'll probably stay here while he's on bail, they won't really want for you to be around him right now."

"Why not?"

"It's just…it's not a good idea right now. Don't worry, your Uncle Draco will take care of you."

So, she wouldn't be able to see her father for quite a while. Darla cleared her throat and blinked several times, refusing to let herself cry. She had only just gotten him back, he had only just come out of hiding in his study and started to be a real father. Now she wasn't even allowed to see him. It wasn't fair. "I don't want to stay with Uncle Draco," Darla finally muttered.

Blaise tilted his head to the side. "Why not?"

"I just don't like it here. It's not…I just don't want to be here."

Blaise thought for a moment. "Well, you can stay with me. We can go shopping for all your school things and I'm always at home and Mars is there. Would you rather stay with me?"

Would staying with Blaise really be better? "Yeah, I think I would like that." Blaise had taken care of her the last time her father got himself in a mess, why wouldn't he be able to do it now?

Blaise looked surprised. "Oh, um, alright then. I'll have to talk to Toria, and then we'll, uh, we'll figure things out from there. Oh, I'm certain that Mars will just be trilled!"

"Why would Mars be happy," Darla asked.

"Oh, I don't know. He just might. I like to think that he will be." Blaise ruffled Darla's hair. "My house is so much better than Draco's boring manor."

"My manor is not boring," Draco said as he stepped into the living room. "Can someone please explain to me why Blaise Zabini is in my living room?"

Blaise looked up and smiled slightly. "I think we both know why I'm here."

"Sometimes I think you just like to break into my house."

"I didn't break in, I was let in. Honestly, Pudding, you think so little of me."

"Pudding," Darla repeated.

Draco twitched slightly. "It's a nickname that Blaise will never repeat again because we're not in third year anymore."

Blaise just grinned. "Anyway, Darla said she wanted to stay with me."

"Uh, Blaise, do you really think that's the best idea," Draco asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Whatever makes her forget that her father has just been arrested, right?"

"I imagine it's hard to forget when you say things like that, Blaise."

Blaise shrugged. "Is Millicent working her magic yet?"

"Millicent yelled at me for twenty minutes as though this is my fault."

"Well, was it your day to watch Theodore?" Blaise asked, deadpan.

Draco rolled his eyes and sat down in a chair across from Blaise and Darla. "Don't worry, Darling, everything is going to be just fine."

"People keep saying that," Darla mumbled.

"Well, it is," Draco assured her. "I mean, it is going to be alright. Millicent is a brilliant lawyer, she knows what she's doing. Your father will be just fine, there's no need to worry. All you need to worry about is school."

Darla paused. "School starts next week, doesn't it?"

Draco nodded.

"I haven't gotten my books or anything!" Darla jumped up off the couch and ran her fingers through her hair. "Daddy and I were going to go shopping for everything this weekend. Oh, we shouldn't have procrastinated on this!"

Blaise tugged on Darla's sleeve. "Poppet, I already told you that you and I shall go shopping this week."

Darla relaxed a little. She had forgotten about that. "Alright, alright. So, I'll get my things, good. That'll be…that'll make things easier. Oh, but I'll be putting you out, won't I?"

Blaise laughed. "Please, I haven't gotten Mars's stuff yet. He doesn't want to go, he just wants to hide. Kid hasn't even played with his fancy little Head Boy badge yet."

"Your kid is Head Boy?" Draco asked.

"Yup," Blaise said proudly. "I was so impressed. Honestly, a kid of mine as Head Boy. Mars just stared at the badge and then started swearing, I think he was excited."

Darla wasn't so sure that that was the case. Mars hadn't exactly been pleased that he was a prefect and he really hadn't done any of his duties, not that Darla saw anyway. He mostly seemed to ignore the responsibility and hoped it went away. Then again, he had saved her life. Maybe that helped somehow?

"I'm exhausted," Darla finally said and sat back down on the couch. It wasn't late, but she had had a very hard day. She was just ready to get into a bed and sleep. Maybe when she woke up everything would be normal again. It was a childish hope, but hope was all she had.

Blaise nodded and stood up. "I understand that. Draco, is it alright if I take her with me?"

Draco hesitated. He looked at Blaise and then down at Darla. Finally, he nodded. "Alright, I'll be by in the morning before work. I'll keep you two up to date on how Theodore's doing. Don't worry."

"Honestly, Uncle Draco, the more you say 'don't worry' the more I worry," Darla told him as she got off the couch again.

"I'll be sure not to say it anymore," Draco said and wrapped his arms around Darla's shoulders. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow we'll be shopping," Blaise said and smiled. "C'mon, Nottlette, we've got snow cherries to eat and lists to look over."

Darla nodded and followed Blaise and Draco. She picked Buttons's cage off the floor and held it tight to her chest. Maybe everything would be alright. Draco seemed to have a handle on the situation and they apparently had a good lawyer, whatever that meant. And Theodore would be out on bail, whatever that meant. Darla wasn't entirely sure how the whole court system worked, but everyone else seemed to understand it pretty well. Maybe she could find a book on it somewhere.

Darla sat, alone, in a bedroom that was not her own. The walls were too bright blue, the bed was too large, and she kept sliding on the satin sheets. Nothing about this place felt right, but Darla still felt it was better than being at Draco's. Scorpius was nice and everything but the two of them didn't quite know how to get along yet and Darla didn't want to feel awkward. Mostly, Darla wanted to be alone. Well, she had thought so. Now that she was alone she was scared. She was in a different house and she didn't have the comfort of her father. She didn't know if he was alright or if he was hurt. She wasn't sure if people were being nice to him. Well, at least she had her cat. Buttons was curled up next to her making a noise that might have been purring.

As much as Darla loved her horrible cat he wasn't what she needed. While she hated to admit it Darla knew that she needed another person to comfort her. She considered going to find Blaise but she didn't want to bother him. He had already opened his house to her and Darla didn't think that she could really ask him to do anything else.

Finally, Darla realized that she wasn't going to be able to get any sleep. She got out of the bed and opened the curtains to look out the window. The quarter moon was bright and cast new light into the room. Darla scanned the sky until she found a star that was closest to the moon.

I don't care if you're far away, I don't care if you go astray. I'm your moon, no matter where you are. You will always be my star.

The moon story might not always make sense and it might've just been a stupid story that Theodore had made up, but it made Darla feel better. It made her feel closer to her father and reminded her that distance didn't matter. He was her moon and she was his star.

A knock on the door pulled Darla out of her thoughts. "Come in," she called.

The door opened just enough for Mars to slip in. He closed the door behind him and leaned against the wall. "Hey."

Darla hadn't seen Mars since she had arrived. He didn't even come downstairs to enjoy the snow cherries from France. She wasn't quite sure what to say to him. The previous year he had saved her life from an evil Faerie that was pretending to be her mother. The Faerie had looked just like Daphne. It had her voice, her hair, and her gentle nature. But it hadn't had her eyes. Mars had been the one to realize that.

"Dad just fell asleep," Mars said, "thank God."

"Why're you so happy that he's asleep?"

Mars shrugged. "Every time he sees me he latches onto me, talks about how happy he is that I'm alive, and then he rambles on about how amazing it is that I'm head boy. It's so annoying."

Darla didn't think that sounded annoying in the slightest. In fact, she would love to have that. "He just loves you."

Again, Mars shrugged. He sat down on the edge of the bed. "I know." He looked her over. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Darla answered instantly.

"You're a poor liar." Mars smiled slightly. The smile faded quickly. "There's no reason for you to be alright, not with everything that's happened in the last year. Merlin, can your life just be normal for two seconds?"

"I think it's become a law that my life has to be interesting." Things certainly had been interesting. The bad kind of interesting. Between Theodore being in the hospital, being arrested, Darla getting kidnapped, the Faerie war—

The Faerie war. With everything else that had been happening Darla had all but forgotten about that. Now she remembered what Lysander had warned her about. Oh, she longed for the days when her biggest worry was Prima Pucey saying something rude to her. Why did she have to worry about so many things? Why couldn't things just go right? Well, she had gotten a couple of months of happiness. She and Theodore had spent a lot of time together and Theodore had tried to be a good father. That was enough for now. It had to be.

Darla stepped away from the window and sat on the bed, her back to Mars. "Everything is going to be alright," she told him, repeating what everyone had told her.

"No it won't," Mars bluntly told her. "Everyone will say that things are going to be alright because that's the nice thing to say, but lying isn't going to help any."

Darla turned around and looked at Mars. "What do you mean?" How could things not be alright? They had to be.

"Your dad was arrested for having Dark Artefacts and possibly using Dark Magic," Mars explained. "Things aren't going to be easy. The name 'Nott' is going to be synonymous with Dark Wizards….and insanity. That's the truth, as cold as it may seem. People aren't going to react well to this and they're not going to react well to you. You didn't do anything, but you're his daughter. You lived with him. People are going to think…well, I don't know exactly what they'll think but it won't be very kind."

Darla hadn't even thought about how other people would react. Now that she was actually thinking about it she realized that Mars was right. While it wouldn't be front page worthy the arrest would definitely make it into The Prophet. After all, Theodore was well known for his contributions to magical research. He had been published multiple times in Transfigurations Today, Popular Potions, and Wizard Weekly. People did know his name. The Reversal Effect Theory had been published independently, so how many people had really read it. Obviously the Aurors had. How much would this hurt his reputation? Also, how much did all of this affect her? Would James still be her friend after this? Did she even want him to be? Would people think she was a Dark Wizard? No, she was too young, right? Surely people wouldn't think like that…would they?

"Sorry," Mars said, breaking the silence. "Didn't mean to upset you. I just think that someone should be honest with you, even if the truth does sound a little cruel."

It had sounded cold, but Darla knew a thing or two about how horrid the truth could be. She remembered how upset Albus had gotten after she told him that the dead didn't care. "The most honest people are often called cruel. They're not, they're just saying what needs to be said," she explained.

Mars turned around. "Your senseless logic occasionally makes sense. This is not one of those occasions."

"I'm too tired to make sense," she admitted.

"I know, I shouldn't keep you up." Mars moved off the bed. "Get some sleep, kid."

Without really thinking about what she was doing, Darla turned around and grabbed the back of Mars's shirt. "Can you stay? We don't have to talk, but can you just stay?" She wasn't ready to be alone again.

Mars looked down at her. "Is your demon cat going to kill me in the middle of the night?"

Buttons was still sleeping peacefully on the bed. "Buttons is a kitty, not a demon."

"That cat hates anyone who isn't you."

That was almost true. Buttons really didn't like most people. He had scratched at Theodore over the summer and he didn't let most people pet him—not that people really wanted to pet him in the first place. "He also loves Lysander," she pointed out.

"Yeah, well, that kid is weird as all hell. It makes sense for a weird cat to love a weird kid." Mars shook his head. "Now go to sleep."

Darla was perfectly fine with sleeping. She clutched her stuffed owl, Prowly, and snuggled under the blankets. The bed was still too large and the sheets were still annoying, but she didn't complain.

Mars sat down on the floor beside the bed. He didn't say anything, he didn't need to. Just having him there was good enough. It was comforting to know that she wasn't alone. Everything was a little less scary with him there. Darla was actually able to fall asleep.