Sometimes I wonder, when you sleep
Are you ever dreaming of me?
Sometimes when I look into your eyes
I pretend you're mine, all the damn time
'Cause I like you

Is it cool that I said all that?
Is it chill that you're in my head?
'Cause I know that it's delicate
Yeah, I want you
Is it cool that I said all that?
Is it too soon to do this yet?
'Cause I know that it's delicate

"Delicate"
Taylor Swift

~

LUCY:

Monday morning, before the shop opened, we heard a shout through the fireplace.

"Oi, Lucy's booklist is here!" Ginny called, making us all jump. "Send her through so she can pick it up!"

"I'm on my way!" I replied as I downed the rest of my coffee and reached for the Floo powder. Less than a minute later, I was standing in the Burrow, being scooped up into a hug by Ginny.

"I've missed you," she said.

I laughed as I hugged her back. "It's only been a couple of days, Gin."

"Does that mean you didn't miss me?" she asked with a mock pout as she set me down.

"Oh, no, of course not, I missed you terribly," I answered, placing a hand on my chest. "Our separation has been most dreadful for me. How will you ever forgive my absence?"

Before Ginny could think of an answer, Harry and Ron and Hermione entered. I was promptly hugged by those three as well before we all opened our letters at the same time.

A red and gold Quidditch Captain badge tumbled into my hand, along with a small slip of parchment.

I jerked my head up to look at Harry, surprised that it wasn't him, just as his eyes met mine.

We both looked down at the other's hand, then our eyes met again.

I scrambled to read the extra piece of parchment.

"'It didn't feel right choosing one Dumbledore's Army leader over the other,'" I read aloud. "'I trust you and Mr. Potter will find a way to make this unusual arrangement work to the benefit of Gryffindor House. Sincerely, Professor McGonagall.'"

"So we're co-captains?" Harry asked, a grin spreading across his face.

"So we're co-captains," I replied with an answering grin.

Ginny immediately began cracking up, doubling over in laughter, as Ron reached for Harry's badge.

"Wow, I remember when Charlie wore one of these," he commented.

Hermione gasped. "Wait! That gives you equal status with prefects! You can use our special bathroom now and everything!"

Ginny laughed harder. I swatted her shoulder before skimming the rest of the booklist.

"Well, if you all give me your lists, I can go with Fred and George to pick those up for everyone," I started to say, but Ron interrupted me.

"No! We all want to see the shop!"

Ginny nodded fiercely, suddenly sobering up. "Mum's been putting off a visit for Diagon Alley for too long. She can't delay any longer, now that we have these. We're coming, Lucy."

I grinned. "Sounds great. Well, in that case, see you soon!"

"See you soon, co-captain," Harry said with a delighted twinkle in his eye that made my face heat.

After another round of hugs — they all really missed having me around — I returned to the twins' flat, Quidditch Captain badge in one hand and the envelope containing the booklist in the other.

I tossed the badge onto the kitchen table, grinning. "Check it out, boys."

Of course, this announcement was met with much excitement, which devolved into hysterical laughter when I revealed that Harry was a captain too.

"Even McGonagall's trying to make it happen!" Fred crowed.

George was cackling. "She really is, this is unbelievable."

"You two are insufferable," I muttered, smiling in spite of myself as I shook my head.

"You know what, Henry would want to hear about this!" George said suddenly. "Damn, it's Monday, so he's at practice right now. I'll head over to his flat with you tonight so you can tell him."

"Georgie, do you have his Quidditch schedule memorized?" I asked.

"What? No. It's Monday. Monday means morning practice."

I chuckled. "Well, Monday also means the shop's open, so we should head down. The others are going to come visit at some point this week, so we should keep an eye out. I doubt it'll be today, but maybe tomorrow."

To my growing disappointment, they didn't come on Tuesday, or Wednesday, or Thursday, or Friday. George teased me mercilessly for the way I glanced hopefully at the door each and every time it opened, and Fred tormented me by sending me to the third floor or the back room any time he needed something he didn't want to bother to fetch himself.

Saturday was a particularly gloomy day. The skies outside the shop were dark, with a threat of rain on the air blowing into the shop every time the door opened.

It was still a Saturday, though, which meant it was the best day of the week. It was the day where all of the families with young children would come in, since their parents were off of work. On Saturdays, I was in charge of hovering near the pygmy puffs, both to show them off and to make sure none of the children who were too young to know better didn't accidentally let one escape.

That Saturday was particularly exciting for me, since we had been in Romania the previous weekend. When the first wave of families arrived, I enthusiastically started trying to bring everyone over to the corner of the shop with the pygmy puffs.

"Welcome to Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, home of the most playful pygmy puffs in the world!" I called with a wide smile. "If you'd like to see what our pygmy puffs can do, I'll give you a demonstration!"

Training the pygmy puffs to do tricks had been George's idea, but I had taken on the task eagerly. They could roll over on command, squeak on command, find food I had hidden in their cage and in my pockets, and the hardiest ones could even jump through little hoops I had made. I had spent many a late night and many a Sunday teaching the pygmy puffs their little routine, and adjusting it when a few friends found new homes and new friends joined the ranks, and they were wonderful performers.

As the first handful of curious customers approached, I walked around to the back of the cage and climbed up onto a small stepstool.

"Come closer, come closer," I said to the littlest children with a warm smile. "You don't want to miss any part of this."

They complied excitedly, eyes shining as they whispered back and forth.

I addressed the group that had gathered. "What you're about to see is truly one-of-a-kind. These pygmy puffs might look silly and sweet, but I can assure you that they're plenty smart too. They truly are the perfect pet for wizards and witches of all ages. You need to be careful to feed them, though..." I lowered my voice to a stage whisper and looked down at the children at the front with wide eyes. "If they get really hungry, they'll eat your bogies!"

"EWW!" they chorused, a few of the children protectively covering their noses.

I straightened up and smiled wider. "Don't worry, my friends here are all well-fed. Without any further ado—" I placed both of my hands on the bottom of the cage. "March!"

A line of pygmy puffs, alternating between pink and purple, dutifully crawled up my left arm, walked across my shoulders, and slid down my right arm back into the cage. Once they returned to the cage, each pygmy puff rolled over, squeaked, or jumped through a hoop before searching their surroundings for food pellets.

"I've hidden a number of treats for the pygmy puffs in the cage," I explained, being careful to remain motionless as I talked so the pygmy puffs still climbing on me didn't fall, "using a combination of magic and Muggle tricks. A few of the treats are invisible, a few are disguised as something else, and others still are hidden behind plants or under rocks or even in my pockets!"

Right on cue, the last pygmy puff, one of our first friends to be born, crawled up my left arm and across my shoulders before dropping straight into my pocket.

I lifted him from my pocket with a wide smile as he showed off his prize — the biggest treat of the lot.

The crowd burst into applause, and I set him back down gently as I let the pygmy puffs continue to search for their treats. I jumped to the ground and gestured that it was okay for everyone to get closer to the cage since the demonstration was over, and they all complied. In a matter of seconds, I was crouching down to talk to the little girl who had tugged on my hand.

"It's my birthday today!" she exclaimed with a bright smile.

I dropped my jaw and widened my eyes. "Oh my goodness! That's so exciting! Happy birthday!"

"Thanks! I'm this many!" She held up four chubby fingers, looking awfully proud of herself. She used her other hand to count her fingers. "One, two, three, four!"

"Four is a big number!" I said, grinning so wide I thought I'd never be able to stop.

She nodded proudly. "I want a pyg- pyga- pyg-a-mee puff! For my birthday!"

"Alright, well, you're going to need to talk to Mummy and Daddy," I replied, "but if they say yes, I can help you find the perfect pygmy puff for you and your family."

Thankfully, her parents were standing just behind her, and they said a very fast yes. I hoisted the little girl — whose name was Anya, I learned — onto my hip so she could get a better view of all of the pygmy puffs. She pointed confidently to the one she wanted, with the brightest pink fur, so I handed her parents a list of all of the supplies they would need along with care instructions.

It was only once they were on their way to explore the rest of the shop and the crowd had started to disperse that I realized Harry was standing off to the side, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the wall, green eyes unbelievably warm as he smiled at me.

My heart tripped over itself in my chest in my pleasant surprise, and my feet nearly tripped over each other as I made my way over to him.

"Oh! Hi! Er, how long have you — when did you get here?"

Harry's smile widened the closer I got. "At the beginning of your demonstration. You were brilliant, by the way, as always. How do the pygmy puffs know how to do that?"

I was certain my face was going to melt off if Harry kept smiling at me like that.

"I, er, I taught them," I stammered.

"You did?" Harry's eyebrows shot up. "That's bloody brilliant!"

"It isn't hard, not really, it just takes patience and a good understanding of how they... I'm rambling," I finished softly, my face somehow growing even warmer.

"Ramble away," he said. When I hesitated, he pushed himself up off the wall and squinted at me, his smile replaced by a look that cut right through me. "Lucy, go ahead, I'm serious."

"No, you're not," I replied before I could stop myself.

The corners of his lips twitched upward. "He'd be rolling in his grave right now. If he, er... had one."

I snorted in spite of myself. "I'm sure he's yelling at us from wherever he is." I sighed. "I'm sorry Hermione keeps bugging you about it."

"I've gotten good at dodging her concern. Do the twins ever ask?"

"Oh please, of course not. Every time I look even remotely sad they just throw a firework my way to startle me instead."

Harry laughed. "That sounds nice."

"Besides, talking to you about it is perfect for me. Speaking of, want a shop tour while I take the scenic route to restock the Decoy Detonators? Normally I have to hover near the pygmy puffs on Saturdays, but I think the weather scared off the crowds today."

"Sure, sounds good," he replied.

Having Harry with me, beside me, in the joke shop was surreal. I was certainly rambling as we walked around the shop, but he didn't seem to mind one bit. I was careful to tell him that I was looking forward to going back to school, where I'd get to spend every day with him. And Ginny and Ron and Hermione too, of course. Of course, of course, of course.

"I've missed you a lot," I said, rambling and rambling on. "Even when we were at the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary, I couldn't help but think of you, it was so green it reminded me of your eyes. I'm so excited to get to play Quidditch with you again, I've missed that so much. That was how we became close in the first place, really, if you think about it. You let me ride your broom that day after the Forbidden Forest incident, and then Oliver Wood let that Bludger go, and the rest is history. I'm sure we'd still be friends without Quidditch, but it wouldn't be the same. It's a safe haven for both of us, always has been, even more than Hogwarts itself. I think we might be both by the time this is all over, but I'd rather be a Quidditch hero than a war hero, you know? Speaking of, we need to find a time to get together before we go back to school to talk about our plan for the year, being co-captains and all. Not that I really need or want to use that as an excuse to see you, because I'd always rather be with you than without you, but it's an excuse regardless so I'm taking it. I'm so glad we're officially co-captains, but I feel like this is what would have happened anyway, truthfully, even if only one of us was the official captain. We work best together, I think everyone knows that by now. We're best together. I think we belong together. Even though I've had more fun this summer than I ever thought possible, there's still been this steady undercurrent of missing you that no amount of chaos and creativity can ever overwrite. I'm so glad you're here, I've missed you so much."

I did get around to restocking the Decoy Detonators eventually, and Harry helped. While we were there, the twins caught up to us.

Harry yelped, swinging around to swat at his hood. "Oi! What did you do?"

"Free sample," George replied with a surprisingly not-cheeky grin.

Fred nodded earnestly. "You'll be glad for it later, trust me."

Harry started to protest, but the twins had already disappeared in opposite directions with matching winks.

"Don't bother arguing, they've been bugging me about sending things through the Floo to you all summer long but I knew you would react like this so I didn't," I said. "You should probably head off in the opposite direction before they toss something else your way, though, I can see Fred reaching for something. Just come say bye before you leave, yeah?"

Harry nodded, looking put out. "Yeah, alright. I'll see you in a bit."

He ducked away in the direction of Ron and Hermione before the twins could converge again, leaving me alone with the Decoy Detonators. I finished restocking the shelf, then looked around again for Harry. Not seeing him, I returned to the pygmy puff cage, where Ginny was.

"Lucy, what are these?" she asked in a high-pitched squeal. "They're so cute!"

"Pygmy puffs," I explained, smiling. "Miniature puffskeins. Did you miss my little show earlier?"

Ginny's tone had a playful bite as she replied. "We figured we'd give you and Harry a moment to catch up, being co-captains and all, so no, I didn't, Harry was the only one watching you. I was busy being harassed by my brothers for having boyfriends. Overprotective pricks."

"Overprotective, yes. Pricks, only sometimes. Well, I can do it again if you'd like, just for you. I trained them, you know."

"I'm sure Ron and Hermione would want to see too, and Mum and Dad, and Harry again, I'll bet," Ginny said, glancing behind us. "That's odd, I only see Mum and Dad. They're over by where you were, looking at the Daydream Charms. Hermione said those were really neat, by the way, she was impressed. But where did the other three members of the quintessential quirky quartet go?"

I groaned. "Merlin, I forgot about that awful moniker."

"I'll bring it back for your sixth year, since you're two prefects and two Quidditch co-captains."

"Why do you keep emphasizing co-captains like that?" I asked.

"Because it's hilarious that you're the only co-captains Hogwarts has ever had, as far as anyone can remember!" she replied. "Word spread quick around the Order. No one knew of another time it had happened."

I groaned again, louder. "We're just friends!"

"For now. Anyway, yes, I'd love to see your show. Mum! Dad! Lucy's going to show us the tricks she taught the pygmy puffs!"

My second performance attracted a smaller crowd than my first, which was good because it didn't have the same pizzazz. I kept glancing around, waiting anxiously for any sign of Harry or Ron or Hermione. They truly were nowhere to be seen.

But, as Archie said the Muggles said, "the show must go on," so I went through the motions and smiled in all of the right places, and when the show was over, I pointed out the one I thought would suit Ginny best. We were debating names for her new purple friend when Mrs. Weasley bustled over.

"We can't find Ron or Harry or Hermione anywhere," she said, her voice high with panic. "Have you girls seen them?"

I shook my head, sick dread coiling around the pit of my stomach. "I'll go check the back room and the flat. Maybe they wandered there."

"I'll go with you," Ginny said, placing her pygmy puff on her shoulder as we hurried to the back of the store.

But they were nowhere to be seen. Not in the back room, not in the flat. When we passed back through the back room, I grabbed a firework out of a box and wielded it like a wand as we walked back into the storefront.

Ginny cocked an eyebrow. "What's that for?"

"I'm going to shove this up the arse of whoever hurt them," I replied coldly.

"And if they just wandered off, as you're all prone to do?"

"We're not all prone to wandering off," I mumbled even though I knew she had a point. "Well... at least I have a good reason once a month."

"Only once a month," she said. "You wander off a lot more than that."

"Less than I used to," I protested.

"I know." Ginny smiled at me. "You're growing. I'm proud of you." I blushed, which made her smile wider. I opened my mouth to point out that she couldn't even see the blush when she patted my cheek. "I don't need to see it to know you're blushing, you know. It's true. You're not the hermit you used to be, and I'm proud of you for that. You don't have to fight on your own anymore. You never did, but I think you're finally realizing it. Oh, wait, there's Ron."

My head snapped in the direction of the door just as Harry's head became visible.

"That damn Invisibility Cloak is going to be the bloody death of me," I hissed. I wound up and let the firework fly, whispering a spell so it exploded close enough to Harry to get his attention and maybe startle him without actually hurting him or deafening him.

As I'd hoped, he jumped and looked right at me. He wilted a bit under my glare, then hurried over to me.

"Sorry, I'm sorry, I'll explain later," he said, casting a glance over his shoulder at Mrs. Weasley, who appeared to be in the middle of interrogating Ron and Hermione.

"Yeah, you'd better," I replied.

Ginny sighed and shook her head. "I think we should go before Mum explodes like the firework. She's so tightly wound these days it's surprising that she let us come here at all, and you three just about did her in today."

"I'll see you again soon," I said, hugging Ginny. "Take good care of your new friend, okay?"

"Of course. I'll take good care of Arnold," she said with a smile.

I nodded slowly, stroking the pygmy puff's back. "Arnold it is. Pleasure to meet you, sir."

He squeaked in pleasure as Ginny went over to join her mother.

"You'll explain later?" I asked Harry.

"Of course," he said. "I'm sorry for scaring you. I'll explain everything later."

"Alright." I reached forward and pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry for throwing a firework at you."

Harry chuckled. "It's alright. I reckon I deserved it."

"I reckon you did," I replied, managing a smile for him one last time. "Bye, Potter."

"Bye."

And just like that, they were gone. I sighed and returned to the pygmy puffs' cage, head swirling.

I couldn't get over the way Harry had looked at me, the way he had smiled at me.

The rest of the day was consumed with thoughts of Harry. His smile had been seared into my mind.

I was longing, I was yearning, I couldn't deny it. I felt giddy and alive and free and loved and in love. Something deep within me, something childish and impulsive, wanted to chase Harry down and just ask.

"Can you love me?"

"Can I love you?"

"Do you love me?"

"Will you love me?"

"Will you let me love you?"

I didn't, though. The time would come to ask those questions. It wasn't time yet, I knew. I didn't know how I knew, but I did. So, instead, I just floated through the rest of the day, head in the clouds, feet unfortunately on the ground.

When the time came to close the shop, I was suddenly reminded of everything I'd said to Harry in the midst of my rambling. I'd been so open and honest it frightened me in hindsight. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. I had really poured myself out to him. It wasn't an accident, strictly speaking, but it wasn't a carefully calculated choice either. It just felt right, in that moment, to show my hand a bit.

Maybe more than a bit. I stopped short of outright saying "I love you," but I had voiced just about every other sweet thought I'd been having about him in recent days.

I meant everything I had said to him. Maybe it was too much, maybe I was too much, but only time would tell. Maybe I should have kept it to myself, maybe it should have all stayed in my head, in my heart, in my conscious, in my subconscious, in my soul, but only time would tell.

I couldn't help but wonder if Harry would have reciprocated my sentiments if I had let him do so.

I had filled the space with rambling not as an accident but not as a carefully calculated choice either. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought that if I didn't give him room to reciprocate, I was protecting myself from the pain that would come if he didn't.

It was a delicate dance, really. Harry and I had always taken turns leading and following, pushing and pulling, testing the waters, testing each other, watching and waiting, and waiting and waiting and waiting.

Waiting for our feet to sync.

Waiting for our hands to still.

Waiting for our defenses to fall.

Waiting for our heads and hearts and consciousness and subconsciousness and souls to agree.

Waiting for our eyes to meet with our souls on display in the blue and in the green for the other to see, no reservations left.

I had taken the lead that time.

Harry would take the lead another time.

When he did, I would follow. Then, I knew, everything would fall into place.

And on and on the dance would go, until that moment where no longer had a need for a leader and a follower, no need for us to be anything but partners navigating the treacherous dance floor we called life.

I was still in a happy lovesick daze when I made my way up to the flat and found the twins sprawled on the floor of the den, three bowls of soup already in the middle of the rug.

George glanced at me with a grin. "We're surprised at you, Cub."

"What?" I blinked in confusion as I lowered myself to the ground, back against the sofa. "Why?"

"You haven't asked yet," Fred replied, pressing himself up against me and handing me a bowl.

I blinked again. "About what?"

The twins exchanged a look and busted up laughing.

"What?" I asked over the sound of their laughter, setting the bowl down. "I haven't asked about what?"

George was the first to stop laughing. "We each dropped Daydream Charm into Harry's hood."

"Already activated, of course, so the second he opens one, he'll be enchanted for the duration of the charm."

I snatched a pillow off of the sofa and buried my face in it. "NOOOO!"