HARRY:

One of the many traits of Lucy's I had always admired was the way she was steadfast when she knew she was right. She could be flexible, too. Almost always, she just opted to go with the flow. I understood later that this was her way of trying to not stand out so no one would suspect her secret, but before I knew her secret, I'd always just reasoned to myself that she stood up for what mattered to her and let others take the lead with everything else.

She knew she was right about Marietta. Marietta mattered to her. So Lucy made her stand.

It started when she stormed out of the common room. I wanted to follow her just to make sure no one else would try, but Ginny went after her instead and I figured that would be alright. I realized too late that the twins had disappeared, too. I truthfully just wanted to find Lucy and get her alone and just be whatever she needed me to be, but I knew that if I showed up while she was still with the Weasleys, I wouldn't see the real Lucy. I'd just see the version of herself she wanted the Weasleys to see, and that would get me nowhere.

So, instead of heading up to my dormitory or heading out after her, I landed on the couch with a textbook to review while I waited. Lucy would come back eventually, and when she did, she'd find me right there, waiting for her. Eventually, though, my eyelids grew heavy, and I dropped off to sleep.

"Harry," a soft voice whispered. "Harry."

I was gently shaken awake, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I was in the common room or why Lucy was the one waking me up.

The sight of tear tracks on her cheeks, though, snapped me back to reality.

"Lucy." I jumped up and pulled her close.

She practically went limp in my arms, too tired to even hug me back. I didn't mind, though. I would be whatever she needed me to be.

"What are we going to do?" she asked in a weak voice after a long minute.

"About what?"

Lucy shrugged. "All of this."

I glanced at my watch. "Well, first, you're going to go to bed, because neither of us will come up with any brilliant ideas at five o'clock in the mornings."

"I'm not going up to my dormitory," she muttered. "Were you awake when Ginny came back, by any chance?"

"Nope, sorry. She must have slipped by while I was asleep."

Lucy slipped free of my arms and dried her eyes with the sleeve of her robe. "At least we got to teach everyone Patronuses."

I nodded, feeling the weight of everything hit me all over again. "We did the best we could with the time we had."

"I don't think this is the last of Dumbledore's Army." She straightened up. "I think when the time comes, we'll all stand together again."

"I sure hope so."

"Even Marietta," she went on, a fevered glint in her eyes. "I'm going to fix it. I'm going to help. I can't let Hermione get away with—" Her voice cracked, and tears shone in her eyes for a second, but she forced it all away. "I'm not going to let Hermione get away with weaponizing ugliness. There's enough figurative ugliness in the world without making it literal."

I nodded, creating space for her to keep going if she wanted. Like over summer, however, her anger crumbled into sadness.

"Anyway," she said as tears filled her eyes again, "you're right. We should both try to get a bit of sleep. I'm sure tomorrow's going to be a hellstorm."

Little did we know how right she'd be. When I found myself in the common room again a few short hours later, I found a new poster on the notice board.

by order of
The Ministry of Magic

   Dolores Jane Umbridge (High Inquisitor) has replaced Albus Dumbledore as Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-eight.

Signed: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic

"Lucy's going to go ballistic all over again," Ron mumbled.

"She already has, for your information," Ginny said from behind us.

I furrowed my brow. "When did she see it?"

"Early this morning," she sighed. "She's already down at breakfast. I tried to get her to come back and sleep more, but she muttered something about needing to head up to her dormitory while Hermione was showering and was too upset to try to sleep again by the time she came back. Now c'mon, I reckon she'd welcome a friendly face right about now, she and Hermione are both down there."

"Have they talked at all?" Ron asked. "Is that why she was upset?"

Ginny snorted. "Merlin, no, of course they haven't talked. Hermione might have said something to Lucy, but Lucy absolutely meant what she said about not talking to Hermione until she fixed it."

"But you hear Hermione, it's permanent."

"You say that as if it changes anything." Ginny shook her head. "Lucy was crying for hours. We left her around three because she said she wanted to be alone, and it was sometime after five when she crawled into bed with me still sniffling."

Ron was silent the rest of the way to the Great Hall. I knew how he felt about Hermione, and I knew he somewhat agreed with her, but I knew too that he cared about Lucy, about anyone hurting as deeply as she was. I could see the turmoil written all over his face. He didn't want to take a side. He didn't know what side to take.

Lucy seemed to notice this same conflict as soon as we walked in. She looked exhausted, but she lifted her fork in greeting.

"Good morning," she said with a halfhearted smile. She turned to Ginny. "Have you seen Fred or George this morning?"

Ginny shook her head as she sat next to Lucy. "Nope. Reckon they're busy."

Lucy seemed to bite back a smile with no small amount of effort. She managed, though, and glanced across the table at Ron and me, talking to us as if Hermione wasn't right there. "You can definitely still talk to Hermione, by the way, I promise I won't be offended or anything like that. I know my problem with her is my problem, I don't want it to be anyone else's."

"Ever the diplomat," Hermione snapped without looking up. "I didn't realize you were in a position to negotiate peace deals with friends of the enemy."

Lucy ignored her completely, taking another bite of her breakfast as if she hadn't heard a single word.

Even though Gryffindor had all heard the story from the night before, I was surprised to realize how rapidly word had traveled. All morning, Lucy and I were bombarded with questions about what exactly had happened in Dumbledore's office. We answered every question as best we could, but for every question we answered, another two seemed to take its place.

"Dumbledore will be back before long, they couldn't keep him away in our second year and they won't be able to this time," Ernie said as he joined us on our way to lunch. "The Fat Friar told me that Umbridge tried to get back into his office last night after they'd searched the castle and grounds for him. Couldn't get past the gargoyle. The Head's office has sealed itself against her. Apparently she had a right little tantrum."

"Oh, I expect she really fancied herself sitting up there in the Head's office, lording it over all the other teachers," Hermione spat. "That stupid puffed-up, power-crazy old—"

"Now, do you really want to finish that sentence, Granger?" Malfoy sneered as he rounded the corner. "Afraid I'm going to have to dock a few points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff."

Ernie huffed. "It's only teachers that can dock points from Houses, Malfoy."

"Yeah, we're prefects too, remember?" Ron asked indignantly.

"I know prefects can't dock points, Weasel King, but members of the Inquisitorial Squad—"

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "The what?"

He pointed to a small silver pin next to his prefect badge. "The Inquisitorial Squad, Granger. A select group of students who are supportive of the Ministry of Magic, handpicked by Professor Umbridge. Anyway, members of the Inquisitorial Squad do have the power to dock points. So, Granger, I'll have five from you for being rude about our new headmistress. Macmillan, five for contradicting me. Five because I don't like you, Potter. Weasley, your shirt's untucked, so I'll have another five for that. Oh yeah, I forgot, you're a Mudblood, Granger, so ten for that, and fifteen off Diggory for being ugly."

Ron and I reached for our wands at the same time, but Lucy shot forward and grabbed both of our wrists, glaring at Malfoy all the while. "Don't."

"Wise move, Diggory. New Head, new times." I hated the look in his eyes. I knew why he'd taken fifteen off of her. Ten for being Muggle-born like Hermione. Five for being ugly. I wanted nothing more in the world than to hex him until he couldn't see, but he was talking again as he walked away. "Be good, Potty, Weasel King."

Ernie blinked. "He was bluffing. He can't be allowed to dock points... that would be ridiculous. It would completely undermine the prefect system."

But even as he said so, we watched the stones fly out of our hourglasses. We were soon joined by the twins.

"Noticed, have you?" Fred asked.

"Yeah," Lucy muttered. "Malfoy just docked us a ton of points for no reason other than that he's a prick."

"Yeah, Montague tried to do the same to us this morning," George said.

Ron whirled on his brothers. "What do you mean, 'tried?'"

"He never managed to get all the words out due to the fact that we forced him headfirst into that Vanishing Cabinet on the first floor," Fred replied with a shrug.

Hermione's eyes widened. "But you'll get into terrible trouble!"

"Not until Montague reappears, and that could take weeks, I don't know where we sent him. Anyway, Lucy's already heard this, but we thought we'd let the rest of you ickle firsties know that we've decided we don't care about getting into trouble anymore."

"Have you ever?" Hermione scoffed.

George nodded. "Course we have. Never been expelled, have we?"

"We've always known where to draw the line," Fred continued.

"We might have put a toe across it occasionally—"

"—but we've always stopped short of causing real mayhem."

"But now...?" Ron asked.

"Well, now—"

"—what with Dumbledore gone—"

"—we reckon a bit of mayhem—"

"—is exactly what our new Head deserves."

"You mustn't! You really mustn't! She'd love a reason to expel you!" Hermione protested.

Fred shook his head at her, grinning. "You don't get it, Hermione, do you? We don't care about staying anymore. We'd walk out right now if we weren't determined to do our bit for Dumbledore first. So anyway, phase one is about to begin. I'd get in the Great Hall for lunch if I were you, that way the teachers will see you can't have had anything to do with it."

"Anything to do with what?" Hermione asked.

Lucy ignored her question and glanced up at Fred. "Reckon you've got enough firepower just the two of you? I could come with you, you know I don't care anymore either."

"No, no. Watch and learn, Cub. We'd hate to risk wasting your talents on something we are perfectly capable of handling ourselves. You're too important." George ruffled her hair affectionately and turned to the rest of us. "Run along, now."

Lucy flattened her hair indignantly as they left. "You heard the man, let's get out of here."

We had nearly reached the Great Hall when I suddenly found myself face-to-face with Filch.

"The headmistress would like to see you, Potter," he said with a nasty smile on his face.

"I didn't do it," I replied automatically.

"Guilty conscience, eh? Follow me. You too, Diggory."

"Yes sir!" Lucy said with overly-cheerful sarcasm. I half-expected her to throw up a mocking salute, but instead, she looked oddly thrilled at the prospect of heading to Umbridge's office.

"Things are changing around here," Filch commented.

"They sure are, sir!" Lucy said in that same odd voice. "Exciting for you, I'm sure?"

"Oh yes... I've been telling Dumbledore for years and years he's too soft with you all. You filthy little beasts would never have dropped Stinkpellets if you'd known I had it in my power to whip you raw, would you, now? Nobody would have thought of throwing Fanged Frisbees down the corridors if I could've strung you up by the ankles in my office, would they? But when Educational Decree Twenty-nine comes in I'll be allowed to do them things."

"That's lovely! What else is changing?"

"She's asked the Minister to sign an order for the expulsion of Peeves!"

"Ah, I can see why that would excite you, sir. Do you have any other plans to better control us?"

"No, no, not yet," he said with a shake of his head, "but things are going to be different with her in charge, very different."

"Sure sounds like it, sir," Lucy replied.

I could tell at that point what she was trying to achieve, but there was something still off about her demeanor overall. She hadn't flinched once at the mention of being whipped raw or strung up by the ankles. I knew Lucy was as fed up with Umbridge as I was, probably even more, but I hoped that her recklessness was due more to the continued angry high of the night before than an actual desire to get herself into trouble, but I decided to try to keep an eye on her regardless. Umbridge finding out her secret would be devastating no matter how willing Lucy thought she was to take risks in order to spite the toad.

Soon enough, we reached Umbridge's office. It had changed a bit since we'd last been inside — her desk now had a massive HEADMISTRESS block on it, and the three confiscated brooms were heavily secured to an iron peg behind her desk.

"The Potter boy and Diggory girl to see you, ma'am," Filch said.

She instantly looked up and smiled that disgustingly, misleadingly sweet smile. "Thank you, Argus." As soon as he left, her sweetness dropped. "Sit."

Lucy and I didn't look at each other as we occupied the two seats in front of her desk. She set aside the notes she had been writing and leaned forward.

"Well now, what would you like to drink?" she asked, her sweetness back once again.

I blinked. "What?"

"To drink. Tea? Coffee? Pumpkin juice?"

"Nothing, thank you," I replied.

"Same here," Lucy said, "but thank you for the offer. What is it you wanted to discuss with us, Headmistress?"

"I wish for you both to have a drink with me before we discuss anything, Miss Diggory," she snapped before composing herself and forcing a smile once again. "Choose one."

"Tea, then," I answered with a shrug.

"I'll have tea as well," Lucy said.

Umbridge rose to her feet and immediately began pouring milk into the two mugs.

I glanced out of the corner of my eye at Lucy. Her nose twitched, and her eyebrows shot up.

She looked at me. "Don't drink it," she mouthed.

I knew better than to question her judgement when she had that look about her. I nodded to show I understood, and we both whipped our heads forward again as she passed us the two mugs.

"There and there. Drink it before it gets cold, will you?"

Lucy nodded and pretended to take a sip, and I followed suit, keeping my mouth firmly shut.

"Good! Very good!" Umbridge grinned and leaned forward. "So where is Albus Dumbledore?"

"No idea," Lucy said.

"I don't know either," I echoed.

"Drink up, drink up! Let us not play childish games. I know that you know where he has gone. You two and Dumbledore have been in this together from the beginning. Consider your positions, both of you."

"We don't know where he is," Lucy said firmly.

Umbridge looked upset by that, but she seemed to believe it. "Very well. Miss Everlin, what were the circumstances under which you became adopted by the Diggory family?"

"I'm afraid I don't understand your question," Lucy replied. Her voice had the slightest hint of a tremble.

"I mean—" Umbridge leaned forward. "Tell me about the magical attack, of which you were the only survivor. Your father's files included no details, but I want to know the truth."

"I don't know the truth."

"I think you do."

"I wish I did!" Lucy slapped her tea so hard against the arm of the chair half of the cup sloshed out onto the floor. "My parents died before they got the chance to tell me much of anything, in case you've forgotten."

"How could I? All I heard from the Minister all summer was how poor orphaned Lucy Diggory wasn't going to know what to do with herself once she got back to Hogwarts. He was your biggest fan until I revealed to him what a filthy liar you are! I've looked for the truth about you, he's looked for the truth about you, but there's nothing we can find whatsoever in any Diggory family records!"

"Because there's nothing to find!"

"Very well then." Umbridge wheeled on me. "In that case... Mr. Potter, you will kindly tell me the whereabouts of Sirius Black."

Lucy and I both stiffened, and I spilled a bit of tea down my front. She suspected me. That wasn't good.

"I don't know," I lied.

"Mr. Potter, let me remind you that it was I who almost caught the criminal Black in the Gryffindor fire in October. I know perfectly well it was you he was meeting and if I had had any proof neither of you would be at large today, I promise you. I repeat, Mr. Potter. Where is Sirius Black?"

"No idea. Haven't got a clue."

"Very well, Potter, I will take your word for it this time, but be warned: The might of the Ministry stands behind me. All channels of communication in and out of this school are being monitored. A Floo Network Regulator is keeping watch over every fire in Hogwarts — except my own, of course. My Inquisitorial Squad is opening and reading all owl post entering and leaving the castle. And Mr. Filch is observing all secret passages in and out of the castle. If I find a shred of evidence—"

Umbridge was interrupted by an explosion from somewhere downstairs.

"What was—?"

As Umbridge rushed toward the door, Lucy vanished the tea from our mugs with a flick of her wrist.

"Back to lunch with you two!" she announced, drawing her wand as she rushed out.

I glanced at Lucy. She still looked a bit shaken from the questioning, but she was grinning.

"Talk about all of this later?" I asked.

"Later," she agreed, and we hurried out of the office after Umbridge.

I had never seen such a sight with fireworks. There were dragons and Catherine wheels and rockets and sparklers spelling out profanities that would horrify even the most seasoned sailor.

Umbridge looked fit to explode the same way as everything around her. "Hurry, Filch, hurry! They'll be all over the school unless we do something — stupefy!"

Rather than freezing, though, the firework she hit exploded with even more ferocity.

"Don't stun them, Filch!" she cried with horror.

"Right you are, Headmistress!" he replied, reaching for a broom instead. His attempts to smack the fireworks down only succeeded in lighting the broom on fire.

Lucy grabbed me by the arm, barely able to get words out as she trembled with laughter. "C'mon, I know where they're hiding."

Surely enough, when we ducked behind a tapestry a bit farther down the corridor, Fred and George were crouching inside, watching the proceedings with satisfied amusement.

I couldn't help but grin. "Impressive, very impressive. You'll put Dr. Filibuster out of business, no problem."

"Cheers. Oh, I hope she tries vanishing them next," George said. "They multiply by ten every time you try."

"What're you doing up here?" Fred asked. "Thought we told you to stay in the Great Hall."

"Umbridge tried to spike us with veritaserum and find out where Professor Dumbledore is," Lucy muttered.

"She what?"

"Shut up, not important now," Lucy said, grinning as she looked out at the scene. "I want to enjoy this."

As it turned out, we got to enjoy the fireworks for the rest of the day. Since it was Easter holidays, no one had class, so Umbridge had quite an audience as she ran around the school trying to solve a problem that only continued to multiply.

Lucy and I ended up not talking about what had happened in Umbridge's office. Since she'd been occupied with answering questions all morning, she hadn't had the chance to prepare for O.W.L.s at all, so that night, she disappeared up to her dormitory as soon as dinner ended, saying she was going to shut herself on her bed with silencing charms and protective enchantments so she wouldn't be bothered. I half-expected Hermione to have the same attitude toward study, but to the contrary, she seemed too dazzled by the fireworks to feel much like working.

"They were wonderful fireworks!" she gushed to the twins.

George blinked. "Thanks! Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-Bangs. Only thing is, we used our whole stock, we're going to have to start again from scratch now."

Fred didn't look up from the list of orders he was writing. "It was worth it, though. If you want to add your name to the waiting list, Hermione, it's five Galleons for your Basic Blaze box and twenty for the Deflagration Deluxe."

She laughed and returned to the table. "Oh, why don't we have a night off? After all, it's the Easter holidays, we can afford to take one night off."

"Are you feeling alright?" Ron asked.

"Now you mention it, you know, I think I'm feeling a bit... rebellious."

I made my way to bed soon after that, not particularly wanting to be around Hermione and not seeing any point in staying up if I wasn't going to talk to Lucy. I still had a lot I wanted to say to her — "I'm glad Umbridge doesn't know your secret, are you sure there's no Ministry record she would be able to find about Greyback attacking you, what happened to Marietta isn't your fault, I promise your scars don't define you, you're beautiful just the way you are" — but we had been too busy with other matters that day to talk about anything like that.

I understood how Lucy felt, to an extent. I knew how it felt to be defined by a scar. The lightning bolt on my forehead reminded me every day of how my parents were dead and I was not, of how I was different and set apart from everyone else, of how I was supposed to be someone special even though I didn't really care if I was or not. It was the first thing anyone noticed about me, magic or Muggle. Lucy knew that feeling, too, twice over. Once in regards to the thin white lines that still covered her skin. Once in regards to the bite mark somewhere on her body.

The scars from the incident with Quirrell in the Forbidden Forest had faded with time, from angry red to muted pink to healing white. Even the white was fading a bit every year, but it was still there. To me, she wasn't any less beautiful because of it. Unfortunately, though, I seemed to be one of the only people in the world with that opinion — Lucy had made it abundantly clear that she herself disagreed.

Part of me wanted to just take her face in my hands and tell her that she was beautiful, and tell her that I would love her even if she wasn't because her looks meant nothing to me, but I knew that wouldn't really change anything. Whether looks mattered or not, Lucy deserved to feel beautiful, inside and out. I hoped one day to convince her that she was. Because she was. Beautiful blue eyes and a beautiful bright smile and beautiful brown hair that always seemed to shine in the sun. Her scars didn't take away from any of that, and they never would. I wished I could tell her all of that, but I knew I couldn't. I knew she wouldn't believe me if I tried — but that didn't stop me from wanting to try anyway.

I drifted off to sleep that night thinking of Lucy and listening to the continued popping of fireworks outside, but all of this faded into the now-familiar hallway to the Department of Mysteries. I rushed toward the door, hoping it would open.

To my surprise and delight, it did.

I found myself in a room of doors. I made my way toward one and opened it, then opened the door at the end of that room. I then found myself in a room that looked something like an old, dark library, but instead of books on the shelves, there were glass orbs by the thousands.

I knew that this was it. This is what I needed.

Just as I started to run, however, I was jolted awake by a particularly loud firework explosion.

"Wow!" Seamus exclaimed. "I think one of those Catherine wheels hit a rocket and it's like they mated, come and see!"

As my other roommates rushed to the window to take a look, I tried to take deep breaths to ease the intense pain in my scar as disappointment surged through me.

Dread joined the disappointment when I realized I had another Occlumency lesson the next evening.

~

I didn't tell anyone about my dream the next day. I only saw Lucy at mealtimes since she was opting to study in her dorm rather than having to be with the rest of us, and she was the only person I really would have wanted to tell anyway. Ron would just worry and Hermione would just bug me about not practicing Occlumency.

That night, I got up from dinner to head to Snape's office when Lucy glanced up.

"I'll walk with you," she said suddenly. "At least part of the way. I have practice tonight anyway."

"Alright, thanks," I replied. "You're sure?"

She rose to her feet as an answer, and I was about to tell her about the dream when Cho caught up with us.

"Are you okay?" I asked. "Umbridge hasn't been asking you about the D.A., has she?"

She shook her head. "Oh no. No, it was only — well, I just wanted to say... I never dreamed Marietta would tell — she's a lovely person, really, she just made a mistake."

"I know," Lucy assured her. "Well, I mean, obviously it was a mistake to include her in this, but, well, I'm really sorry it ended this way for everybody. I went down to visit her in the Hospital Wing this morning and promised her I would try to find a way to fix what Hermione did to her face. What she did was a mistake, and a costly one that could have had far worse consequences, but she shouldn't have to be punished for it for the rest of her life."

"Oh, I — that's..." Cho struggled to find words, looking at Lucy with an odd expression somewhere between apprehension and appreciation. "You mean you didn't know the list was jinxed?"

Lucy half-shrugged. "She didn't tell me what she'd done to it. I should have asked, I just... there was a lot going on at the time."

"I'd just choose your friends more carefully next time, if I were you," I muttered. I was nowhere near as forgiving as Lucy, but I didn't want anyone to think I actually supported Hermione's jinx. I was ashamed enough that I had initially been proud of what Hermione had done — it was Lucy's reaction to it all that gave me pause and changed my mind.

"You know, her mum works for the Ministry, it's really difficult for her," Cho explained.

"Yeah, well, Ron's dad works for the Ministry too," I pointed out, "and he didn't say a word. Lots of people are in that same position, and they didn't say anything."

"It's a difficult time for everyone right now," Lucy interjected. "I know I for one am sick and tired of living in this constant fear of Umbridge and the Ministry and Voldemort, and I miss Cedric, and—"

She was interrupted by the sound of Cho sniffling.

"Don't start crying again," I groaned.

"I wasn't going to!" she protested, brown eyes flashing at me.

I shoved my hands in my pockets. "Yeah, well, good, I've got enough to cope with at the moment."

"Go and cope with it, then!" And with that, Cho stomped off back toward the Great Hall.

Lucy froze, squeezing her eyes shut with frustration. "I ought to head to practice. Good luck in Occlumency, Harry."

And just like that, I was alone. And on my way to Snape.

Lucky me.

"You're late, Potter," Snape said the second I stepped into the office. "So, have you been practicing?"

"Yes," I lied, avoiding eye contact so he couldn't read my mind and find the truth.

"Well, we'll soon find out, won't we? Wand out, Potter."

I did as he said and prepared myself as best I could for whatever was about to happen.

"On the count of three, then. One... two..."

Before he got to three, the door opened and Malfoy rushed in.

"Professor Snape, sir!" His eyes widened when he saw me standing there too. "Oh — sorry."

Snape lowered his wand. "It's all right, Draco. Potter is here for a little Remedial Potions."

"I didn't know," Malfoy replied, his surprise turning to malice. He looked far too excited to learn this information. I wanted to tell him the truth or hex him or both, but I didn't get the chance before Snape spoke again.

"Well, Draco, what is it?"

He blinked and turned back to Snape. "It's Professor Umbridge, sir — she needs your help. They've found Montague, sir. He's turned up jammed inside a toilet on the fourth floor."

"How did he get in there?"

"I don't know, sir, he's a bit confused."

"Very well, very well — Potter, we shall resume this lesson tomorrow evening instead."

Malfoy mouthed "Remedial Potions?" at me over his shoulder as Snape left, but I didn't bother to hex him. I was glad for the extra 24 hours to try to practice Occlumency and stop Snape from seeing what I'd seen in my dream the night prior. I started to leave the room, but the glimmer of the Pensieve caught my eye, and curiosity overcame me.

Surely Snape wouldn't be back for a while. I was sure I had time to find out what exactly he was so determined to hide from me in case I ever broke through into his mind again.

I hoped it was information about the Department of Mysteries.

I stepped forward and stuck my head inside.

It appeared that I had fallen into the DADA O.W.L., according to the title of the parchment teenage Snape was writing on. He was just as greasy and pale as ever, and he was writing with such fervor it was a wonder his quill wasn't tearing through the parchment.

"Five more minutes!" a squeaky voice announced.

I jumped and turned to see that Professor Flitwick was proctoring the exam, moving from person to person. He had just walked past a boy with messy black hair. Just like mine.

I sprinted toward the boy, stopping when I was standing in front of my dad.

I absorbed every detail of him with immense excitement. There were a couple of differences between us — his eyes were hazel and he had no scar — but nearly everything else about us was exactly the same. Once he was done reading what he had written, he messed up his already-messy hair, yawned, and turned to grin at someone sitting behind him.

I realized with another thrill of excitement that it was Sirius, who was also done with his exam and tilting his chair onto its two back legs. A couple seats down from him was Remus, checking his answers and still very much focused.

Peter Pettigrew wasn't hard to find. He was nervously scanning his paper, biting his fingernails, glancing occasionally at the papers of other students nearby. I tore my eyes away from him and looked back at my dad.

He was doodling on a spare bit of parchment. He had already drawn an elaborate Golden Snitch and had written the initials L.E. Before I could figure out what they stood for, the exam ended and Flitwick summoned everyone's parchments to the front of the room. My dad shoved everything into his bag and hurried to join his friends. I kept an eye on Snape as he left the Great Hall, but I stayed close enough to my dad and his friends to hear their conversation.

"Did you like question ten, Moony?" Sirius asked.

"Loved it. 'Give five signs that identify the werewolf.' Excellent question."

My dad pretended to be concerned. "D'you think you managed to get all five?"

"Think I did," Remus replied. "One: He's sitting on my chair. Two: He's wearing my clothes. Three: His name's Remus Lupin—"

He was interrupted by the laughter of my dad and Sirius, but Wormtail seemed anxious still.

"I got the snout shape, the pupils of the eyes, and the tufted tail, but I couldn't think what else—"

My dad huffed. "How thick are you, Wormtail? You run around with a werewolf once a month—"

"Keep your voice down," Remus muttered.

I glanced over my shoulder to see if Snape had heard, but he was still studying his examination paper. I was worried he would wander off in a different direction from my dad and his friends and I would have to leave them, but fortunately all five headed off toward the lake.

"Well, I thought that paper was a piece of cake. I'll be surprised if I don't get Outstanding on it at least," Sirius said.

"Me too," my dad replied, pulling a Golden Snitch out of his pocket.

Sirius looked at him askance. "Where'd you get that?"

"Nicked it."

I was relieved when Snape settled near enough to the foursome to allow me to stay close by. I watched everything they did with excitement; it was just so cool.

Remus, true to form, started reading a book from his bag as Sirius sat next to him and looked around at the people that were cooling their feet in the lake. My dad was playing with the Snitch, letting it fly around for a bit before snatching it from midair, and Peter was watching with rapt attention, utterly amazed by every catch.

"Put that away, will you? Before Wormtail wets himself from excitement?" Sirius asked after five minutes of my dad catching it and Peter cheering after particularly impressive catches.

"If it bothers you," he replied with a grin as he shoved it back into his pocket.

Sirius sighed. "I'm bored. Wish it was a full moon."

"You might." Remus shoved his book in Sirius's direction. "We've still got Transfiguration, so if you're bored, you could test me."

"I don't need to look at that rubbish, I know it all," Sirius said.

My dad laid a hand on Sirius's shoulder, turning around to look at something behind me. "This'll liven you up, Padfoot. Look who it is."

Sirius grinned. "Excellent. Snivellus."

I turned to see that Snape had gotten to his feet and was starting to head back up to the castle. My dad and Sirius started to follow him as Remus kept reading and Peter watched with anticipation.

"Alright, Snivellus?" my dad called.

Snape instantly shoved his hand into his robe, groping for his wand, but he had only barely started to raise his hand when my dad disarmed him. It was an impressive "Expelliarmus" — his wand flew far over his head and landed in the grass behind him.

When Snape dove for it, my dad flicked his wand again.

"Impedimenta!"

Snape was stuck on the ground as my dad and Sirius approached with their wands up.

"How'd the exam go, Snivelly?" my dad asked.

Sirius smirked. "I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment. There'll be great grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a word."

A crowd was beginning to gather, and many of those now watching laughed.

If looks could kill, Snape's glare would have killed the both of them instantly. "You wait. You — wait."

"Wait for what? What're you going to do, Snivelly, wipe your nose on us?" Sirius asked.

Snape spewed hexes and swear words in a jumbled mess, but nothing happened since his wand was so far away.

My dad frowned. "You need to wash out your mouth. Scourgify!"

Soap erupted from Snape's mouth, and the crowd all laughed again.

"Leave him alone!" a voice roared.

I turned to see that it belonged to one of the girls who had been at the lake's edge. She had dark red hair and green eyes.

It was my mum.

"Alright, Evans?" my dad asked as casually as he could, rumpling his hair once again as she stormed over.

She glared at him. "Leave him alone. What's he done to you?"

"Well, it's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean," he answered.

Everyone laughed again, except for Snape, my mum, and Remus, who was still reading.

"You think you're funny, but you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter," my mum snapped. "Leave him alone."

"I will if you go out with me, Evans! Go on, go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid."

"Bad luck, Prongs," Sirius said with a sympathetic cluck of his tongue.

As they talked, Snape started inching closer to his wand.

"OY!" Sirius shouted, but he wasn't fast enough.

Snape seized his wand, and with a flash of light, my dad suddenly had a massive gash across his cheek and blood on his robes. My dad cast another nonverbal spell in Snape's direction, and Snape was suddenly hanging upside down and displaying his underpants to the world.

My mum looked for half a second as if she'd join the laughter of the crowd, but her anger returned. "Let him down!"

"Certainly," my dad replied, and Snape fell to the ground.

He scrambled to his feet, but before he could draw his wand, Sirius hit him with a Full Body-Bind Curse and he fell back onto the grass.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" my mum shouted, drawing her own wand.

My dad and Sirius both glanced at it.

My dad sighed. "Ah, Evans, don't make me hex you."

"Take the curse off him, then!"

He sighed again and did so. "There you go. You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus—"

"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!" he barked.

My mum blinked. When she spoke again, her voice was cool and emotionless. "Fine. I won't bother in the future. And I'd wash your pants if I were you, Snivellus."

She started to walk away, but my dad was having none of it.

"Apologize to Evans!" he shouted.

"I don't want you to make him apologize! You're as bad as he is!" my mum yelled as she turned back around.

"What?! I'd never call you a — a you-know-what!"

"Messing up your hair because you think it looks cool to look like you've just got off your broomstick, showing off with that stupid Snitch, walking down corridors and hexing anyone who annoys you just because you can — I'm surprised your broomstick can get off the ground with that fat head on it. You make me sick."

She stormed away for good that time, despite my dad calling after her a couple of times. When she didn't turn back around, my dad's face fell.

"What is it with her?" he asked.

"Reading between the lines, I'd say she thinks you're a bit conceited, mate," Sirius replied.

"Right. Right." My dad turned to Snape, furious once again, and hung him upside down a second time. "Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?"

Before I could see if he actually did, something tightened around my arm. I whirled around to see that Snape — the adult Snape — had returned.

We emerged from the Pensieve, and I was suddenly back in Snape's office, head spinning.

"So. So... been enjoying yourself, Potter?"

I tried to struggle free from his incredibly painful grip, but he refused to let go. "N-No," I managed.

"Amusing man, your father, wasn't he?"

Snape shook me so violently my glasses nearly fell off my face.

"I didn't—" I tried to say, but before I could finish, Snape threw me down onto the floor.

"You will not tell anybody what you saw!" he barked.

"No, no, of course I w—"

"Get out, get out, I don't want to see you in this office ever again!"

I scrambled toward the door, a jar of some sort exploding over my head as I ran out. I ran up the stairs for all I was worth, and when I was two floors up, I became suddenly aware of voices at the other end of the hallway. I tried to hide, not wanting to see anyone after what I'd just experienced, but it was too late. Lucy and Ginny rounded the corner, still in their Quidditch gear, shrieking with laughter.

The laughter died on their faces as soon as they saw me.

Lucy's eyes widened. "I'll catch up with you later, Ginny."

Ginny nodded and disappeared as Lucy darted over to me.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong, what happened?" Her eyes flickered over me, looking for anything broken or bleeding. "What happened?"

I flexed the hand of the arm Snape had grabbed, pain shooting up and down through the whole arm as I did so. "I..."

"What did Snape do?" she asked, voice dangerously angry.

"Nothing," I said. I felt numb with horror. "Absolutely nothing."

"Harry." Lucy's hand shot out and grabbed mine. She turned it over, then pushed up my sleeve. "What did he do?" She pushed the sleeve up higher and higher until she saw the first finger mark. "Oh Merlin — Harry, why would he—"

"I saw the memory he keeps in the Pensieve," I managed. "The one he didn't want me to see."

"So he did this to you? Harry, that's horrible."

I couldn't bring myself to speak. It was nowhere near as horrible as what I had witnessed in the Pensieve. Snape had been right, he had always been right. My father was arrogant, and a bully, and...

"Harry, what is it?" Lucy's hand was still around the bruises on my bicep, so gentle compared to Snape's. "You said Snape did nothing, which is an obvious lie, but maybe that's because I don't know the full truth yet."

I opened and closed my mouth a couple of times, but no words would form. I couldn't believe what I'd just seen.

"Snape was right," I finally said. "About my dad. He was an arrogant bully."

Lucy furrowed her brow in confusion. "I doubt that. I mean, all we've ever heard from everyone except Snape is that your dad was a great man."

"I... he..."

"C'mon, let's go find a bench where we can sit while I heal your arm and you tell me what happened," she suggested softly.

"I told him I wouldn't tell anyone."

There was a flicker of annoyance across Lucy's face. "It's Snape, and you know damn well I can keep a secret, so tell me, please?"

I nodded, and the two of us walked until we found one that would work. I spared no detail, knowing everything was safe with Lucy. By the time I was through, she had a very thoughtful expression on her face.

"What is it?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know. I can see why you're so upset, I just... I feel like... ah, forget it. I wasn't there, so I can't reasonably pass judgement on either one."

"But...?"

"...but I would say your father certainly seems like the lesser of two evils, if he's a villain at all. I mean, Harry, Snape was the first to draw blood—"

"My dad started it!"

"I know, but still. He never actually tried to hurt Snape—"

"He humiliated him!"

"I know. But he didn't try to hurt Snape, and he saved his most humiliating spellwork for after Snape hurt him and hurt your mum. I can't say definitively whether your father was a bully or not, Harry, based on that one very specific incident, but there's no denying Snape is awful, truly awful."

I absorbed her words in silence, not wanting to agree, not wanting to disagree. I didn't know what to make of everything I'd just seen. I wanted to talk to my dad, ask him why he'd done it all, why he was like that. I wanted to see every confrontation, I wanted to know everything that had happened, but I couldn't.

But from what I'd seen, Snape was right. And I hated that.

Lucy trailed her hand down my arm to my hand and intertwined her fingers with mine. "I can't imagine how much it hurts right now. I'm sorry."

I shrugged noncommittally. I wasn't sure if hurt was the right word, but it was as if someone had punched me hard in the stomach. I didn't know what to make of any of it.

"You have a good memory of your dad, too," Lucy continued softly. "Your own memory. A really good one. Sure, your dad might have been an arrogant bully his fifth year, but just a few years later, he told your mum to take you and run while he faced Voldemort. That's bravery. That's love. That means something."

I nodded. I still couldn't find anything to say.

"For what it's worth, I think a tiny part of me is afraid of having an experience like yours," she whispered after a long moment. "All of the memories I have of my family are so good. I feel like I only remembered the best of everyone, but no one's perfect, no one's a saint. I think part of me is afraid of feeling the same disappointment you do right now, and I think that same part of me is why I haven't tried to find my family yet."

"You haven't?" I asked.

"No, I... I just think it would be best if I waited, at least until I graduate. At least that's what I've always told myself, so I don't have to show up and say 'Hi! It's me! Your long-lost daughter! I'll be here until the first of September, then I'll go off to a magical school that you can't even find!' You know?"

I managed a small smile. "That's fair."

"Anyway, enough about me. I just wanted you to know that you're not alone. Never will be." She squeezed my hand and rose to her feet. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a study schedule to maintain. Care to join me? Tonight's focus is Defense Against the Dark Arts, ironically."

"You think you know all five signs of a werewolf?" I asked as we headed in the direction of the Gryffindor common room.

She laughed. "You know, I think I just might."

When we got up to the common room, Ginny waved us over to where she was sitting with a package on her lap.

"It just arrived, it's only just got through Umbridge's new screening process," she said, lifting it onto the table. Surely enough, INSPECTED AND PASSED BY THE HOGWARTS HIGH INQUISITOR was scrawled across the top in large red letters. "It's Easter eggs from Mum, she included eggs for you two as well."

She passed us each an egg, and I felt a lump rise in my throat.

"Are you two alright?" Ginny asked.

We both recovered swiftly and nodded. Lucy headed up to her dorm for a minute to put the egg in her trunk and gather her books for the evening's study session. Ginny continued studying me with a critical eye.

"Something's not right," she said. "What happened tonight?"

"I can't talk about it," I muttered, sitting down next to her and breaking off a piece of the egg.

"Lucy knows, though, doesn't she?"

I felt heat creep into my face. "Yeah, er, she does. Sorry, she's just—"

"Different, I know," she said. "Don't worry, I understand. I wasn't asking that in a passive-aggressive 'Why does she get to know and I don't?' kind of way. I leave those types of games to Hermione."

I snorted.

"Is there anything you can tell me? You certainly seemed upset earlier when we found you."

"I just — I know there's nothing anyone can really say to make it better. Well, except for maybe..."

"Maybe who?" Ginny asked, leaning forward and helping herself to a bit of my egg.

I pushed it forward so it was halfway between us and mumbled "Sirius" in a voice only the two of us would be able to hear.

"That's a good idea," Lucy said as she joined the two of us at the table.

I jumped. "That bloody hearing of yours is going to get me into trouble one day. I'll be talking to someone about your birthday and I'm going to think I'm being quiet and you're going to hear every single word."

"Sounds great, because I generally don't enjoy surprises," she replied, grinning. "Anyway, I think you're right, he would be able to help in a way none of the rest of us really can."

Ginny pursed her lips. "Well... if you really want to talk to Sirius, Harry, I expect we could think of a way to do it."

"Come on, with Umbridge policing the fires and reading all our mail?" I asked incredulously.

"The thing about growing up with Fred and George is that you sort of start thinking anything's possible if you've got enough nerve," Ginny said.

Lucy nodded, and the girls exchanged a smug little look before Lucy returned her attention to the book in front of her. I opted not to ask about it and just take another bite of the chocolate. After a couple of minutes, I realized just how exhausted I was and headed up to my dormitory. I fell asleep rather quickly, but my dream was terrible. I was in Snape's place in the memory, and everyone was laughing at me. I woke up sometime after midnight in a terribly foul mood, and I stormed out of the dormitory with the Invisibility Cloak over my head and the Marauder's Map under my arm with the intention of blowing off steam in the Room of Requirement.

When I reached the base of the stairs, though, I stopped dead in my tracks.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

I opened the door a crack and peeked around to visually confirm what I'd already heard.

Yep. Lucy was singing. Her Walkman headphones were over her ears, and she was singing under her breath as she scribbled notes on a piece of parchment.

I didn't dare make my presence known. I didn't even want to risk crossing the room to get to the portrait hole for fear of alerting one of her other senses, since clearly she was too absorbed in the music to hear me. I didn't dare stay very long either, since I got the distinct sense that I was intruding on a rather private moment, but I stayed just long enough to identify the song.

"You're So Vain" by Carly Simon. Sirius had joked once that he'd heard many girls singing that song about him, but Remus had rolled his eyes and said it was much more likely that my mum had thought of my dad when she heard it.

That thought made my stomach flip uncomfortably again. I was still unnerved by the memory, and my dream. I forced this away, though, because it was Lucy singing it, not my mum.

I smiled to myself as I headed back upstairs. Maybe that song was about me. Maybe, just maybe.

~

I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee and
You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
I bet you think this song is about you
Don't you?
Don't you?
Don't you?

"You're So Vain"
Carly Simon