Some nights, she sometimes could nearly hear the darkness.

It was a hum, a dull, incessant buzzing inside of her head. She had always hated it; darkness always bred thoughts she had long suppressed. Bad things grow in darkness. She knew that better than anyone.

She saw things in the dark, too. Like a liquid, it flowed to create shadows of monsters, ones with red eyes or long hair or teeth that dripped blood, all staring at her like prey. It made her feel so weak, so powerless; it numbed her with fear. It was a paralytic. Her very own nightmare she could never escape.

She was grateful everyday when the sun would come up, sterilizing the room of all the monsters that had been there at night. She thrived in the light, refreshed and unburdened until night came round again.

It was growing dark when Dumbledore called for her one night. The tawny owl that had brought the  note flew from her window and out of sight, and she used the Floo network downstairs to travel.

"You've been happy, it seems," said Dumbledore when she appeared beneath the green flame in his office. "I'm delighted to see that you're getting along with the others."

And she was. She had never had friends until now. She finally had a family.

"It's been nice," she said. "I've never had anything like this."

He smiled at her, pleased.

"I've called you here today for a specific reason," he began. "I would like you to tell me what you know."

Diana closed her eyes for a moment. She should've known it was coming; Dumbledore had yet to ask her about her visions and dreams and she knew it was a matter of time. She looked at Dumbledore for a moment before she took a deep breath.

"It started when I was just a toddler," she started, looking at her fingers. "I don't remember that time too well, but I saw things. I'd have vivid dreams of snakes and a castle, and of a man with snake eyes." Dumbledore nodded for her to continue. "It wasn't until I was eight that I'd have visions while awake. These were longer. I'd see the same castle burning, I'd see a boy with bright green eyes and glasses and men with black cloaks and masks. I saw war and anguish and sadness and fear."

There was a pause. Diana listened to the various sounds of whirring and clicking from the numerous instruments on the shelves.

"Who were these men in masks?" interrupted Dumbledore gravely.

"Death Eaters," she said at once. "In these visions, that's what they were called. I didn't know then that they were his supporters."

Dumbledore nodded for her to continue.

"When I was ten, that's when I heard the voices. Sometimes it was a snake, and it would tell me things in Parseltongue. Other times, it was just a woman. She told me of things to come. She's the one who told me about the Prophecy."

"Did you recognize the woman's voice?" asked Dumbledore, a look of worry in his eyes that flashed for a mere second. Diana noticed it.

She shook her head. "No. I don't know who she is." She opened and closed her mouth a few times before she spoke again. "She spoke like she knew him. Tom, I mean."

Diana still had trouble calling her father anything other than his birth name. She would never call him Dad, or Father. She hated calling him by the name he had given himself. Whenever she used it around people who didn't know of her relation, it rolled off of her tongue so bitterly. Even calling him Tom reminded her that he was her father, and she flinched internally every time she used it. In fact, she just preferred to never talk about him ever.

Dumbledore was silent, thinking of something he was not sharing with Diana. She could see him calculating something in his head, something important. She wanted to know, but she didn't ask. "What happened the night your adoptive family died?" he asked after awhile.

Diana's face automatically turned to a look of distaste and bitterness. "I don't remember."

"What do you remember?" he prodded, yet he stayed patient.

She looked him in the eye, stronger than she had been all meeting. This subject always awoke something within her; a passion, a hatred, an evil. It was the night that turned her life to hell. That night was the night her life ended.  Talking about it gave her a certain kind of strength, one that stemmed from darkness. "I remember we were sitting, eating dinner. It was a normal night. All of a sudden, the front door flies open and three masked men come in. Death Eaters. They shot a spell at me, and I blacked out. Next thing I knew, I woke up standing over my dead family, covered in their blood and holding a knife."

Dumbledore wasn't surprised or scared. His face stayed impassive yet concerned, and he leaned forward. "Do you know who these Death Eaters were?"

"If I knew that, do you really think I'd be here in the first place?"

He leaned back in his chair, setting his hands in his lap. "I believe you didn't do it, I'm just trying to figure out why they did."

She looked out the small window to her left contemplating her word choice for what she would say next. "I think he was scared," she whispered, determinedly keeping her eyes to the window. She was oddly numb; usually when she talked about this, she cried. But right now, she just felt a bitter emptiness where her heart once was. "I think he was scared that I was getting stronger. He needed to stop me from getting to Hogwarts; he needed to stop me from knowing more." She paused. "He was scared I would learn enough to defeat him."

Right when she was done speaking, an owl darted into the office from the window, flying so fast he nearly crashed into the desk. It skidded to a halt and stuck its leg out, and Dumbledore sensed the urgency, untying it quickly and ripping the envelope open. He scanned the paper and rushed out of his chair. He went to a portrait on the wall, who Diana recognized as Phineas Nigellus. "Harry's been attacked, alert those at Headquarters."

Phineas boredly walked out if the frame as Diana scrambled out of her chair. "What? What's happened?"

Dumbledore was writing a note now, folding it and then tying it to the owl. "Take this to Arabella Figg at Privet Drive." He was doing too many things at once. Writing notes to then tie to an owl and sending Patronuses and talking to portraits on the wall. Eventually, he turned back to her. He was angry.

"Mundungus abandoned guard duty in Little Whinging and Harry and his cousin were attacked by Dementors. Quick, we must get you to Headquarters." His voice was bitter and low, a certain growl to it that put Diana on edge. She set her jaw so she didn't show her uneasiness.

Dumbledore swiftly walked to the fireplace and gestured Diana use the fireplace to go to Headquarters. She did, swirling through green flames and fireplaces, and arrived in no time to see a large group of people, talking urgently amongst themselves in the closed-off kitchen. She stepped out and everyone noticed her presence.

Mrs. Weasley rushed over to her first, in a complete panic. Mr. Weasley was writing on a piece of parchment with an owl near. "Oh, Diana, thank God you're here! Harry's been attacked!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked. She was in a state of complete distress, which Diana thought was odd. Of course, what did Diana know? She knew she wouldn't recognize affection if it slapped her in the face.

Mr. Weasley spoke up next. "He's just been expelled from Hogwarts by the Ministry for using a Patronus charm. Dumbledore's there now trying to sort it out."

Sirius was sitting at the table, his face showing conflict. For what, Diana didn't know.

Mundungus was nowhere to be seen. She knew he'd show up soon, and that he would be in huge trouble.

She heard Moody in a conversation with Tonks and Remus. "I knew Mundungus was too much of an idiot to be trusted for guard duty! Constant vigilance, I always tell him, but he never listens!"

They all sat simultaneously at the kitchen table, Diana taking a seat on the very end. The rest of the group talked for awhile about Harry and the Dementors.

"Do you think it was You-Know-Who?" asked Tonks to the group at large. There was some mutterings in response, but no one was too sure to be able to say.

"It wasn't him," said Diana, unknowingly out loud. Everyone turned to her at once, looking at her intensely. It took her a moment to realize she had actually said it, and when she did she grimaced. She looked at everyone, trying to choose her words carefully. "He's not stupid enough to do that. He's lying low, remember? He wouldn't send Dementors after Harry. He's too smart for that, too cunning."

She could tell everyone was slightly wary now. Of her, of the situation, she couldn't really tell, but a thick silence fell after that.

Eventually, people started talking again, and Mundungus arrived shortly after. His arrival caused a loud outburst from nearly everyone in the room. Mrs. Weasley smacked him so hard it left a red mark on his cheek, Mad-Eye grabbed him by the neck and yelled at him. Tonks jinxed him with a small blister jinx (she wanted to teach him a lesson, not murder him). Everyone was incredibly angry with him, but no one's anger compared to Dumbledore's.

He arrived not long after Mundungus did. Dumbledore strode in through the front door and then the kitchen door, eyes gleaming with an anger so intense even Diana stepped away slightly. Dumbledore didn't close the kitchen door, and she saw the kids trying to get a good look at what was happening.

Dumbledore was more angry than anyone had ever seen him before. Mundungus looked like he was about to wet himself.

"Mundungus!" Dumbledore roared so fiercely that Mrs. Weasley looked like she was visibly trying to refrain from screaming. Dumbledore looked as if he was about to reach for his wand, and Diana unconsciously yelled for him to stop.

"Dumbledore!" she yelled, in a voice so authoritative some people flinched. He looked towards her, still furious, but her stern gaze seemed to miraculously settle him down. She was so powerful even Albus Dumbledore couldn't help but shrink slightly. "Be careful. We don't want a murder on our hands, do we?" she said, and with that, she walked out of the kitchen, walking up the stairs and gesturing for all of the kids to follow her.

She arrived in her room with the rest of the teenagers, and they immediately sat in chairs or on her bed, bombarding her with questions.

She interrupted them quickly to explain. She explained, and by the end everyone was quite solemn. Hermione was nearly in tears and everyone was quiet.

"Is he going to stay at the Dursley's? What if they try to attack again?" asked Ron.

Diana furrowed her eyebrows. "I think they're sending a group to bring him here in a few days."

And that was that. For three whole days, everyone was in a frenzy. It was chaotic at headquarters, and the Ministry was pushing and prodding about Harry the entire time. Diana did nothing for that amount of time, mostly sleeping or reading or sitting, delving deep into her head. Too deep. All of her thoughts were littered with a single word, over and over and over.

War.