Barbara's first half of her Second Year went by a lot better than she had originally planned. Her grades remained consistent and she and James had made good friends with everybody on the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Barbara had been surprised to learn that the competitive position on the team had been for the Seeker and Beaters- nobody save one Sixth Year tried out for the two available spots for Chasers. Barbara and James were able to show how much better they were at being the Chasers for their team because the Sixth Year put very little effort into the trials because she expected that, as an upperclassman, she would automatically take a spot.

Barbara and James woke up extra early one morning for their first Quidditch match. They both ate very little and focused on talking tactics with the Seventh Year Chaser, Tori. However, as soon as James looked at the entrance to the Great Hall, he immediately stopped talking and nudged Barbara under the table. Curious as to why her talkative brother stopped running his mouth, she looked and saw what made him stop talking; and she fell into a fit of giggles.

The rest of the Marauders appeared and were holding a giant poster that needed to be carried by all three of them. It was obnoxiously red with gold glitter thrown on the sign without a care. In big, red letter it read, "Come on, Jamsie! Win it for the Griffins!"

If Barbara had water in her mouth, she knew she would have spit it out on James.

Sirius, Remus, and Peter walked over to where the three Chasers were sitting, each grinning with a mischievous glint in their eyes. "I'm surprised you three aren't already out there practicing. Do you need a good luck kiss, Barb?"

"Sirius, I'd rather lick the floor in your dorms than even be near that much physical contact with you." Barbara deadpanned. She heard Tori choke on the piece of bacon she was eating and James let out an unattractive snort.

"Well, that's not very nice."

"I never said it was." She decided to leave the table and head to the Quidditch pitch before she ended up hitting her head on the Gryffindor table.

All Barbara felt was pride in herself and her brother for being the new additions to the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She tried not to let herself become too carried away with her ego as she walked out to the cheers her Gryffindor classmates were giving her. James gave her a friendly pat on the back before he took off to be in his starting position.

The comfort of sitting on her broom in the crisp fall air helped ease her nerves for her first match. Hufflepuff's team, from what she heard, was worse than their last year's team; but that didn't stop her from being nervous about her performance. Barbara wanted to make sure her team knew she was putting in her best effort to help bring home the Quidditch House Cup.

As soon as the quaffle was tossed in the air, Barbara rushed to Tori's right. She made sure she was far enough to be open and close enough to catch it if there was an intervention from the other team. "Tori! Over here!"

When Tori threw the quaffle towards Barbara, it was like time had stopped. Barbara watched the scene unfold in slow motion as the quaffle was caught in her hands. After she caught it, she made sure it was tucked under her arm, away from the Hufflepuff chaser who was right behind her.

She ignored the cheers from Gryffindors as she made the first goal of the season, placing Gryffindor in the lead ten-none. It was an exhilarating moment for a split second; and then her mind snapped back into the game.

As chasers, she and James's compatibility shined throughout the whole match. The Potters and Tori kept the quaffle in Gryffindor's hands for nearly the whole game. Even though the Hufflepuff seeker managed to catch the snitch, the Gryffindors still beat the Hufflepuffs by a good sixty points.

Barbara's ego grew slightly, but not to the extent James's did after the match. His friends elevated his ego to new heights, which didn't help his friendship with Lily. Barbara was sad watching Lily and James bicker more than they usually would've after the game. She made sure to tell him off whenever he was an "arrogant toe-rag" to Lily.

The rest of the Quidditch season and school year had gone well for Barbara and James. They had won the Quidditch Cup under their captain, M. G. McGonagall. He was a Sixth Year who was Professor McGonagall'a nephew. Barbara was able to become one of Professor McGonagall's favorite students and she was able to stay one of Slughorn's, even if she wasn't in the Slug Club.

Gilderoy Lockhart had taken an interest in Barbara, which made her extremely happy and James very protective. Their second year was the first time Barbara had ever intentionally shunned James until he apologized for being overbearing. This was also the year James and Lily's friendship was deemed "unfixable" for multiple reasons, including James and Severus's constant fights.

Barbara thought that her second year couldn't become anymore dramatic, but that wasn't the case at all. Fleamont, at Barbara's request, sent the Daily Prophet to her once a week. She heard of Voldemort for the first time that year, a dark chill running up her spine every time she heard the name. Unlike her peers, Barbara was encouraged by her parents to say the name and not allow fear to nestle itself in her heart.

Her Vampire lessons expanded to include attacking spells per her request as well. She told Valerie and Angel that she wanted to be completely prepared if she ever ran into a Death Eater, even if she was a Second Year. Barbara wasn't allowed to at first, but then the amount of Vampires in the Realm who were joining Voldemort's ranks.

It scared Barbara with how quickly the world she loved was tearing itself apart. And all for what? A pure world? One blood status to rule over the others deemed less than themselves?

Barbara knew the Wizarding World was better than this. She may have had a ruined childhood; but she was counting on others to make the rest of it memorable.

Now it was starting to become memorable for all the wrong reasons.