HENRY:

The entire room let out a collective sigh of relief when the examiners said we were free to go. At the end of O.W.L.s, everyone had cheered. At the end of N.E.W.T.s, however, everyone was just so amazed that we had survived — and so sleep-deprived because of our survival — that we couldn't bring ourselves to celebrate at first beyond that sigh.

As soon as we left the room, though, everyone suddenly remembered the seventh-year tradition of sneaking off to Hogsmeade the night after N.E.W.T.s ended. "Sneaking" would be a better descriptor for what was about to happen; all of the people who lived in Hogsmeade knew about and encouraged the tradition, and the professors always turned a blind eye to the trickle of students slipping in and out of the castle over the course of the evening.

Martin rushed over to me, beaming. "Where first? Honeyduke's or the Three Broomsticks?"

"I think I'm going to catch up with you all later," I said, running a hand down my face. "I've hardly slept in weeks. I need a nap before I'm ready to celebrate."

"Aw, come on! Surely you're not that tired!"

But I was already yawning as I shook my head. "I wouldn't be any fun. I feel like I'd fall asleep into my butterbeer. I'll find you lot once I wake up."

"Alright, alright," Martin relented, "whatever you say, you old man."

"Piss off," I said with a tired grin, shoving him on the shoulder as he went off to join the rest of our friends.

I wasn't lying, necessarily. I was utterly exhausted. It had been a long year.

I wasn't lying, necessarily. If I woke up to an empty dormitory, I would head off to Hogsmeade and try to find my friends.

I wasn't lying, necessarily. I wouldn't be any fun, but for more reasons than just the threat of falling asleep into my butterbeer.

In my trunk, back in our dormitory, was a worn piece of parchment. Cedric had left so soon after our last O.W.L. ended that he hadn't gotten a chance to celebrate with us, so to cheer him up, I had sent him a blank timetable for him to fill out with what he wanted to do to celebrate the end of N.E.W.T.s with me two years later. Cedric being Cedric hadn't wanted to have complete control over everything we did, so we sent the parchment back and forth all summer, adding one activity each time. It was ridiculous, including items like "Unwrap two Chocolate Frogs and have them race down the main street of Hogsmeade" for between 6:00 and 7:00 (after much debate about how fast they would actually be able to hop), and incredibly detailed, everything planned to the minute. We'd gotten quite a good laugh because of it, and even though neither of us placed too much stock in following the schedule perfectly, it meant something to both of us.

But that parchment was somewhere near the bottom of my trunk, buried. I still fully intended to go to Hogsmeade, have what fun I could with my friends who were left because Merlin only knew when we'd get the chance to have that kind of fun all — mostly — together again, but I needed a moment to grieve first.

And a nap. I needed a nap.

The Hufflepuff common room was empty when I arrived, so I immediately crossed the room to the coziest sofa and flopped down on it.

"You did it, Henry!" Cedric's portrait called. "How'd it go?"

I didn't bother lifting my face from the pillow I'd crashed onto. "It went well. I think. I hope. I need a nap."

His laugh filled the room. "Sounds like it. Sweet dreams."

I gave the portrait a thumbs-up and pulled the hood of my robes over my head.

Despite my exhaustion, sleep seemed far away. My mind just kept returning to Cedric.

It wasn't very often that I was angry. I was still grieving, I was still mourning, I was still writing him letters, I was still crying for him when I was alone for too long. That had happened less and less as the months had gone by, though. First it was trying to get the hang of the role of prefect, then of Quidditch Captain. Once those were more or less under control, it was time to start preparing for the Hufflepuff Secret Santa tradition he had started. After the holidays, N.E.W.T. preparation was in full swing, and accepting the Magpies offer was a welcome change of pace. As the one-year marker since he died grew nearer, though, it was harder to stop myself from thinking of him.

It wasn't very often that I was angry, but that night, I was. Cedric deserved better. He didn't deserve to die when he did, how he did, why he did, at the hands of who he did. He didn't deserve to have a family life like his, either.

Cedric loved Lucy. She meant the world to him. He missed her terribly before she joined us at Hogwarts. He sent her long letters and his copies of Seeker Weekly, and when asked why he was looking forward to going home for holidays, he always answered that he wanted to see his sister. Once she got to Hogwarts, I got to see for myself just how close they were. Whenever something catastrophic happened — which occurred increasingly often over the years — his first concern was always Lucy. She was his person at the bottom of the Black Lake for a reason; their relationship was incredibly strong, and I was amazed every day by the way Lucy had carried on even after losing everything. First Cedric, then her parents.

But I suspected she was infinitely more upset about losing Cedric than she was about her parents. I wouldn't have blamed her for it one bit.

Cedric avoided the topic of his parents like the plague for our first two years of Hogwarts. Whenever he received a letter from his dad in particular, I would watch helplessly as his grey eyes, always so soft, turned to stone. His hand always shook when he wrote back, the only outward indicator of whatever was happening behind those eyes. Then, in our third year, after Lucy's incident in the forest, they paid a visit.

That was the first time I ever saw him cry.

I wasn't supposed to. I was supposed to be at Quidditch practice, but we ended early that day and I came back an hour or so before he was expecting to see me.

He was in a quiet corner of the castle, staring out at the Quidditch Pitch through a window that stretched from floor to ceiling. He was looking without seeing, though, with his arms loosely crossed one over the other around his ribs. I could tell immediately that something was wrong.

When Cedric saw me coming out of the corner of his eye, he cleared his throat before speaking but didn't turn to face me, shifting his eyes back to the window. "Hey, how was practice?"

"It was alright. Missed you, of course," I replied with a shrug. "You said your parents came to visit?"

He nodded.

"What's wrong, mate?" When he hesitated, I did my best to guess what was wrong. "Where's Lucy?"

"She didn't want me following her, so I didn't, but she was upset so I wanted to at least have an idea where she was in case she's not at dinner." He sighed, and his shoulders slumped almost imperceptibly. "I sound like my parents. Merlin." He dragged a hand down his face, stopping with the knuckle of his index finger pressed to his lips. He sighed again, a softer, more defeated sound. "Sorry." His voice was little more than a whisper.

"What's wrong?" I asked again, resting a hand on his shoulder.

That little touch shattered the dam. Cedric shuddered, and tears slowly started rolling down his cheeks as he began to explain, never once looking away from the Quidditch Pitch. "They tried to bring her back to Ottery St. Catchpole. They shouldn't have had to — to come, but — I just — I — I couldn't protect her. I couldn't protect her."

"It sounds like it was a freak accident, Ced, there was no way you could have done anything to prevent it. The forest is dangerous, everyone knows that."

My words, well-intentioned though they were, didn't seem to help. He only cried harder, shoulder trembling more violently beneath my hand. "I couldn't protect her," he choked out a third time. "I almost lost her just as soon as I got her back. She can't — can't go back home."

I gnawed on my lower lip. This was headed in the direction of darker territory than I was expecting. I didn't know how to best navigate it. I had to try, though.

"Would she... not be safe there?" I asked.

He managed a small shrug. "Safer here."

Oh.

"Especially with me here," he continued. "I know I — I clearly can't protect her as well here as I can there, but she's always safer with me than she is without me. Even... yeah, even here."

I nodded. "Yeah, at least here Professor McGonagall was able to fetch you from class so you could be there with her once they found her."

"I — I'm the one who found her, actually."

I sucked in a sharp breath. "That must have been... horrible. I can't imagine finding my sister like that."

"I see her on the forest floor every time I close my eyes," Cedric admitted, his voice cracking. "I — I couldn't protect her."

"You should never have to," I said softly. "I understand that it's part of being an older brother and all that, but... you should never have to protect her from anything."

After a moment, he nodded. "I know. But I do. And I hope you never have to understand, but... if that time ever does come, you will. I'd do anything to go back in time and protect her, but since I can't, I just have to do everything I can to make sure nothing like that ever happens again." He wiped his cheeks with the sleeve of his robe and half-smiled. "Those Weasley twins are something else."

I followed his gaze, and surely enough, Fred and George were marching in the direction of the Quidditch Pitch.

"I noticed she was starting to sit with those two," I commented.

"Between those two," he corrected me, smile widening. He dragged his hand down his face and turned to me for the first time, smile still in place. "Anyway, sorry about all of that. It's been a long and worrisome few days. I reckon she's in good hands with the Weasley twins, they've really taken a liking to her. Have you started the Transfiguration homework yet?"

And just like that, Cedric was back to normal, as if nothing had happened. I never forgot that conversation, though, because despite how short it was, it sure explained a great deal. After that day, Cedric was a bit more open with me when I asked questions about his family. He was still guarded, he was always guarded, but over the next few years, he seemed to realize he could afford to drop his guard, just a bit, with me.

That was how I learned about just how hard his dad pushed him. Nothing but the best for his son who was expected to be the best.

Cedric deserved better, in every sense of the word. Except for Lucy. I knew she was the best person in the world to have been his sister.

I was very nearly asleep when the barrels rolled aside.

"Henry?" a loud, panicked voice asked.

I shot up to see Hannah burst into the room. "Hey, Hannah, what's wrong?"

"It's Neville, he — we were supposed to meet up after our final exam today but — but he wasn't where he said he would meet me so I — I asked someone if they knew where he was and they — they said the Inquisitorial Squad took him to Umbridge's office!"

I was on my feet in an instant and adjusting my prefect badge on my chest. "Alright, I'll go look into that. Thanks for telling me."

She nodded, and I started hurrying up to Umbridge's office. I was only part of the way there when I heard her voice, but when she passed at the end of the corridor, I saw she was with Harry and Hermione. No sign of Neville.

I swore under my breath and pressed on faster. I had reached the same floor as her office when I heard the sounds of a struggle. I yanked my wand free and started running.

To my surprise, the door opened just before I reached it to reveal Lucy, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Archie, and Luna, in that order, all bleeding to one extent or another.

"What the hell happened in there? Why is everyone bleeding?" I asked.

Lucy shook her head as she sprinted past me. "Long story, the others can fill you in, I have to go."

I whirled around and sprinted to keep up with her. "Lucy, that's not an answer! What's going on?"

"Long story!" she repeated.

"Where are you going, start with that."

"Right now? The forest. After that? London."

Okay. "London," I echoed. Wait. "London? Why?"

"Rescue mission," Ginny piped up. "You want in? We're all going."

"What — no! Harry and I are going, just the two of us, we are not all going!" Lucy protested.

Ron huffed. "You think we're just going to let you and Harry go break into the Department of Mysteries all on your own? Nice try, Lucy, but no, I at the very least am coming with you."

She was at a loss of words for a second. "I — we — no!"

So was I, for another second. "Department of Mysteries?" I repeated, Neville asking the same question at the same time.

"Like I said, rescue mission," Ginny said. "First things first, though, we need to get down to the forest to find Harry and Hermione."

I nodded. "I saw them leaving with Umbridge, I was about to head into her office to see what was going on when all of a sudden—"

"We started blowing it up," Archie chuckled. "Yeah, Lucy, I'm coming too. I'm not going to be able to show my face in the Slytherin common room again after that little performance."

Lucy groaned. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for—"

"Sorry? Bloody hell, no, don't be, this is a relief! Finally getting to put all of those Dumbledore's Army skills into action feels great!"

"You don't have to put those skills into action — you should all just turn around and go back to your common rooms while you still can, Merlin only knows what's waiting for us outside this castle."

The timing couldn't have been better for her to say that, because we'd reached the doors.

"Only one way to find out," I said as the stone beneath my feet gave way to grass.

"Admit it, Lucy, we're all coming with you," Neville said, and a bit of pride swelled in my chest. He was a great kid, really. I was glad I'd gotten to know him that year.

"I fail to see why there was ever a question in your mind, really," Luna remarked, as light and carefree as ever.

Lucy's face fell as she started running even faster and tossed her chin in Ginny's direction. She similarly accelerated, and I fell back a bit since those two seemed to know where they were going. Somehow.

"Grawp's this way! That's where Harry and Hermione went, I'm sure of it. Be quiet, though, we don't want to alert anything else to our presence if possible," Lucy announced as we plunged into the forest.

How she knew that, I had no idea.

Lucy and Ginny screeched to a sudden halt once we were deep in the forest. Only then did I notice that the forest around us seemed to be pulsing.

Archie's fingers bit into my bicep as he gripped my arm. "What is that?"

Ginny shook her head. "Who. Hagrid's little brother."

"I'd object to the use of the word 'little,'" Ron said with a snort. "Lucy, which way is he going?"

She concentrated for a moment before taking off again. "This way!"

How she knew that, I had no idea.

And no time to ponder, because she and Ginny were tearing off again. They moved through the forest effortlessly, calling warnings back and forth as they pulled farther and farther and farther and farther ahead of the rest of us.

"How — the bloody hell — are they — doing — that?" I panted.

"No idea," Ron answered, a bit quickly in my opinion.

We were all too out of breath to push the matter, though, so we continued on through the forest at a slower clip than those two ponytailed girls. Eventually, they got so far ahead we couldn't see them, but we followed the sounds of bellowing and eventually stumbled across the girls again, along with Harry and Hermione, all four of whom were thoroughly blood-splattered. Before I could ask how that had happened, though, I received my answer; a giant was stumbling around a nearby clearing, grunting as he yanked arrows out of his face.

Ron's voice brought me back to the matter at hand before I got the chance to marvel at the sight. "So how are we getting to London?"

"How did you get away?" Harry asked.

I was wondering the same, I thought with a silent snort.

Lucy suddenly jumped between Harry and Archie. "I was fine all along, it was just an act! That's how we got away! As soon as you got far enough away, Archie passed me to Malfoy and I pretended to wake up at that exact moment."

"The rest of us figured it out once Lucy was back in the game. Couple of Stunners, a Disarming Charm, Neville brought off a really nice little Impediment Jinx, but Ginny was best, she got Malfoy even after Lucy knocked him out — Bat-Bogey Hex — it was superb, his whole face was covered in the great flapping things," Ron reported, grinning. "Anyway, we saw you heading into the forest out of the window and followed. What've you done with Umbridge?"

"She got carried away by a herd of centaurs," Harry replied.

A range of emotions flickered across Lucy's face. "Oh... I'll get properly upset about that later. Sirius is more important right now. What did you learn? Does Voldemort have Sirius, Harry?"

I blinked. What?

Harry, though, was nodding. "Yes, and I'm sure Sirius is still alive, but I can't see how we're going to get there to help him."

Voldemort? Sirius? As in Sirius Black? Help him? What? WHAT?

I studied Lucy, Hermione, Ron, and Harry in the long silence that followed. Looking for any indication that this was all a twisted prank. Lucy, Hermione, and Ron were all looking at Harry, but Harry's eyes bore only into Lucy's. As crazy as the situation was, it was no prank. Sirius Black was in the Department of Mysteries and Voldemort was with him, and Harry and Lucy and Ron and Hermione were all looking awfully set on going to rescue him.

And so was I, all of a sudden.

Since Cedric wasn't there to protect his sister, I would.

"Well, we'll have to fly, won't we?" Luna asked, breaking the silence.

Harry looked away from Lucy, frustration apparent on his face. "Okay, first of all, 'we' aren't doing anything if you're including yourself in that, and second of all, my broomstick is being guarded by a security troll, so—"

"I've got one," I said with a shrug, "and I reckon I'm decent enough to have someone ride with me. If you lot are going to the Department of Mysteries to fight Voldemort, you might as well have a seventh-year prefect with you. Lucy's already tried to talk me out of it, and you can see how well that went, so don't try it, Potter."

Lucy looked for a moment as if she'd protest, but Ginny spoke first. "I've got a broom, too! I can bring Luna, and Lucy can bring Hermione, and Neville can ride with Henry, and—"

"Sounds great, but you're not coming," Ron interrupted.

"Excuse me, but I care what happens to Sirius as much as you do!"

"You're too—" Harry tried to say, but he didn't get any further before Ginny cut him off.

"I'm three years older than you were when you fought You-Know-Who over the Philosopher's Stone, and it's because of me Malfoy's stuck back in Umbridge's office with giant flying bogeys attacking him—"

"Yeah, but—"

Neville stepped past me in order to catch Harry's eye. "We were all in the D.A. together. It was all supposed to be about fighting You-Know-Who, wasn't it? And this is the first chance we've had to do something real — or was that all just a game or something?"

"No, of course it wasn't—"

"Then we should come too. We want to help."

"I know I'm not really part of your group, but I don't particularly fancy the idea of sticking around here now that the Inquisitorial Squad knows I'm a traitor," Archie piped up. "Leaving me here is a more certain death sentence than taking me with you. I can fight, I promise, I've had plenty of practice being a Slytherin who's not a blood supremacist."

Lucy's shoulders had been steadily creeping up to her ears over the course of the conversation, but her voice was earnest and even as she leveled Harry with a gaze. "Look, Harry, I know what you're thinking, but they're right. We'd be stronger together. Besides, we're losing time by arguing here, aren't we?"

After a long moment, he nodded. "But we still don't know how we'll get there."

"I thought we'd settled that? We're flying!" Luna said.

"I don't know if any of us would be able to navigate all the way to London, especially in the dark," Lucy replied uncertainly, glancing around at the sunset around us.

Ron snorted. "I s'pose we're going to ride on the back of the Kacky Snorgle or whatever it is?"

"The Crumple-Horned Snorkack can't fly, but they can," Luna said as she pointed at something I couldn't see, "and Hagrid says they're very good at finding places their riders are looking for."

"Perfect, Luna, you're brilliant!" Lucy sighed, the relief in her voice palpable.

"Is it those mad horse things? Those ones you can't see unless you've watched someone snuff it?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," Harry said.

"How many?"

"Two."

Lucy started walking in what I assumed was the direction of the thestrals. "Perfect, one for Harry and one for me."

"Well, we need three," Hermione muttered.

"Four," I added, and I was not the only one to say that.

"There are nine of us, actually," Luna pointed out.

Harry sighed. "It's your choice. But unless we can find more thestrals you're not going to be able—"

"More will come," Ginny said.

"What makes you think that?" he asked.

"Because in case you hadn't noticed, four of us are covered in Grawp's blood and we know Hagrid lures thestrals with raw meat, so that's probably why these two turned up in the first place."

"Right, perfect. Harry and I will go," Lucy said, nodding, "and you and Hermione can stay behind to lure more—"

Ginny whirled around. "You don't have to protect me, Lucy! You don't either, Harry! Stop acting like you do! I'm coming with you, like it or not!"

"We all are," I said, because there was strength in numbers and the task at hand was a rather large one. "The rest of us could still follow on brooms."

Luna's face lit up as she looked over Lucy's shoulder. "There's no need! Look, here come more now! You four must really smell."

Lucy confirmed for herself that what Luna said was true before turning back to the rest of us with a nod. "Alright. If you want to come, those of us who can see thestrals help you get on one. None of us would blame you for not wanting to come, though. Last chance."

When no one moved, she nodded again.

"Alright. Luna, Harry, Neville, let's help the others."

"This must be odd," Neville commented as he helped me mount a thestral.

I half-laughed. "Which part?"

"Fair point," he replied, also laughing a bit.

"Thanks," I said as I tried to grip the invisible beast beneath me. "You can stick close to me in the air. I know you're not very fond of flying."

Neville nodded with a shaky sigh. "Thanks."

Soon enough, we were airborne. It was the first time I had the chance to stop and think and catch my breath — which was really saying something, considering I was flying on an invisible horse to London with my best friend's sister, Harry Potter, and their friends to rescue Sirius Black from Voldemort. And to think 24 hours prior, my biggest concern had been my final N.E.W.T. exam.

I surveyed the group to try to get a better read of the situation. I had no idea what was going on, truthfully, but certain others did. Hermione was the closest to me, with Ron on her other side. They both looked stressed, to say the least. It was difficult at first to discern if that was more due to the fact that they were also flying on creatures they couldn't see or more due to the fact that we had a rescue mission ahead of us, but their eyes continually sought each other's and travelled forward to Lucy, Ginny, and Harry at the front of the group. Harry was at the very front, eyes trained on the horizon. Lucy was just behind him, massaging her neck, with Ginny right next to her. Ginny was watching Lucy with rapt attention, something fiercely protective yet tender in her gaze. Lucy seemed oblivious to it all, her own eyes seemingly trained on the horizon like Harry's.

Those five knew what this all meant. I would have to follow their lead.

My mind wandered after that. All year, I'd kept myself as busy as possible to try to outrun the dark thoughts that overwhelmed me whenever I stood still for too long. But in the June twilight, racing on a thestral toward London with a very limited idea of why, I couldn't stop myself from reflecting on home.

I almost laughed. Poor Hannah. I'd gone off to find Neville, then disappeared too. I'd have to find her first thing when I got back and offer what explanation I could.

Second thing. I wanted to hug my sister first.

I wondered when everyone would realize we were missing. Archie's absence would be the most obvious, and had definitely already been noticed by the Slytherins left behind in Umbridge's office. The absence of the Gryffindors would be the next to be noticed, I thought. I knew Luna had a tendency to wander the grounds, so I doubted anyone would think much of hers until the girls in her year returned to their dormitory later. The same was true for my friends, I thought. They would most likely just assume I was enjoying quite the nap — ha — then start to worry once they were back from Hogsmeade and realized I was nowhere to be found, sleeping or otherwise.

I'd be back soon, though. Just had to fight Voldemort first.

What could go wrong?

I didn't let myself think about it.

Once London was in sight, Lucy guided her thestral up toward Harry's, and their heads leaned closer together. Something tightened in my chest at the sight, but I didn't have time to think much of it before the invisible creature beneath me suddenly tilted downward.

I sucked in a deep breath. I didn't need to know what was going on, why we were here. Whatever was coming, I knew my role. Protect the others.

I managed a clumsy dismount once we touched down and followed everyone into the Ministry's telephone booth entrance.

"Whoever's nearest the receiver, dial six two four four two!" Harry called.

I was, so I twisted myself around and punched in the numbers.

As soon as I did so, a female voice said, "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."

Harry answered. "Harry Potter, Lucy Diggory, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Henry Furls, Archie Graye. We're here to save someone, unless your Ministry can do it first!"

"Thank you. Visitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes."

Lucy passed me one, and I attached it to my robes just below my prefect badge.

HENRY FURLS

Rescue Mission

I suppressed a snort. Cedric, if you could see us now...

"Visitor to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."

"Sounds great!" Lucy grit out. "Now can we get moving, please? It's rather urgent."

The magic lift lurched in response, and we descended. As soon as the doors popped open, Lucy and Harry started with a sprint, and we followed until they stopped at the Department of Mysteries.

Harry turned around, hesitant. "Okay, listen. Maybe... maybe a couple of people should stay here as a — as a lookout, and—"

Ginny crossed her arms. "And how're we going to let you know something's coming if you're too far away to hear us?"

"We're coming with you, Harry," Neville said, looking equally determined.

Ron nodded. "Let's get on with it."

Harry and Lucy glanced at each other and nodded in sync. With that, we plunged into the Department of Mysteries.

We found ourselves in a circular room containing many doors — over a dozen, it seemed. Each was indistinguishable from the others, especially in the dark. As soon as we closed the door behind us, the circular wall began to rotate with so much speed the blue candle flames became a blurred blue stripe.

"What was that about?" Ron asked once the spinning stopped.

Ginny sighed. "I think it was to stop us knowing which door we came in from."

There was a long pause as we all realized the truth of what she said.

"How're we going to get back out?" Neville asked.

Harry shifted. "Well, that doesn't matter now. We won't need to get out till we've found Sirius—"

"Don't go calling for him, though!" Hermione said.

"Where do we go, then, Harry?" Archie asked, his voice lacking the tension that laced everyone else's.

"I don't — in the dreams I went through the door at the end of the corridor from the lifts into a dark room — that's this one — and then I went through another door into a room that kind of... glitters. We should try a few doors, I'll know the right way when I see it. C'mon."

I didn't have time to wonder why we were following Harry's dreams. I didn't have time to wonder anything. That would have to wait.

The first room we tried had nothing except a couple of desks and a massive glass tank in the center of the room containing brains.

"Let's get out of here," Lucy suggested.

Harry nodded. "This isn't right, we need to try another door—"

"There are doors in here too," I pointed out as I looked around.

"In my dream I went through that dark room into the second one, so I think we should go back and try from there."

"Okay, sounds good," Lucy said.

We returned to the dark circular room, Hermione marking the door with a flaming X on our way out. We tried two more doors before Harry made a sound of acknowledgement that we had found the right one.

"This is it!" Harry announced. "This way!"

We followed him through room after room until we reached one that was filled with rows upon rows of glass orbs.

"Row ninety-seven," Harry whispered. "Keep your wands out. Let's go."

Lucy, however, remained frozen in place. "Harry, I don't know if he's here."

Ginny turned to her. "What?"

"What makes you say that?" Ron asked, turning to face her as well.

"I-I don't know," Lucy said, as she turned to Ginny, Ron, Hermione, then Harry. "It's just... quiet."

The four people she had looked at exchanged heavy glances with each other.

"He might be gagged or unconscious. Let's go," Hermione said.

Lucy still looked apprehensive, but she followed everyone anyway as we approached row 97.

But when we reached row 97, no one was there. No Sirius, no Voldemort. No one.

"He's right down here at the end," Harry said, pressing forward into the darkness anyway, "you can't see properly from there... he should be here, anywhere here, really close... somewhere about here..."

I held up my wand and looked around, but nobody was around except for us.

"Harry, I... I don't think Sirius is here," Hermione said softly.

Harry ignored her as he rushed back and forth, searching desperately for something, anything.

I wanted to be relieved. Nobody was in trouble, nobody was here, so we could go back to Hogwarts. But something still felt wrong. There was something oppressive about the shadows of the room around us.

"Harry, have you seen this?" Ron called, staring at a glass sphere on one of the shelves.

"What is it? What?"

"It's got your name on it," he said.

"My name?" Harry repeated as he walked toward him. The rest of us crowded around to see what the label on the sphere said.

S.P.T. to A.P.W.B.D.
Dark Lord
and (?) Harry Potter

Ron's voice shook when he spoke again. "What's something with your name on it doing down here? I'm not here, none of the rest of us are here."

Harry reached out for it.

"I don't think you should touch it, Harry," Hermione said, an edge to her voice.

"Why not? It's got something to do with me, hasn't it?"

"Don't, Harry," Neville piped up suddenly, voice shaking like Ron's.

"It's got my name on it," Harry said, grabbing it.

We leaned in to see what would happen, but a new voice not belonging to any of us emerged from the darkness.

"Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me. And thank you for keeping our little secret, Lucy, you're so good at that."

Secret? Lucy? What?

Before I could think on that further, there was a whooshing sound, and Lucy suddenly appeared beside Harry, as if she'd dropped down from some high place. She was frighteningly pale and struggling to breathe, her eyes fixed, unblinking, on the man in front of us, who was extending his hand.

"To me, Potter. To me."

"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked, still clutching the ball.

"The Dark Lord always knows!" a woman exclaimed with a cackle as the other Death Eaters began to laugh as well.

The blond man nodded. He looked and sounded a lot like Draco, so I assumed he was a Malfoy. "Always. Now, give me the prophecy, Potter."

"I want to know where Sirius is!" Harry shouted.

"'I want to know where Sirius is!'" the woman repeated.

"You've got him, he's here, I know he is!"

The woman's lower lip protruded in a mock pout. "The wittle baby woke up fwightened and thought what it dweamed was twoo."

Ron tried to step forward, but Harry stopped him with a soft "No, not yet."

"You hear him? You hear him?" the woman screeched with a laugh. "Giving instructions to the other children as though he thinks of fighting us!"

"Oh, you don't know Potter as I do, Bellatrix," Probably-Malfoy sneered. "He has a great weakness for heroics; the Dark Lord understands this about him. Now give me the prophecy, Potter."

"I know Sirius is here, I know you've got him!" Harry said.

"It's time you learned the difference between life and dreams, Potter. Now give me the prophecy, or we start using wands."

"Go on, then," he said, raising his wand. We all followed suit.

Except for Lucy, notably, who was still completely frozen by her panic. I wanted to help. I didn't know how. But if it came to a fight, I'd protect her. I knew we all would.

"Hand over the prophecy and no one need get hurt," Probably-Malfoy said.

Harry snorted. "Yeah, right. I give you this — prophecy, is it? And you'll just let us skip off home, will you?"

The woman lifted her wand. "Accio Proph—"

"Protego!" Harry fired back, and he kept his hold on the sphere.

"Oh, he knows how to play, little bitty baby Potter! Very well, then—"

"I told you, NO!" Probably-Malfoy burst out. "If you smash it—"

The woman stepped forward then, yanking her hood off.

Neville stiffened next to me. It was Bellatrix Lestrange, even more horrific in person than she had been in the pictures I'd seen and stories I'd heard.

"You need more persuasion?" she asked with a wicked grin. "Very well. Grab the werewolf. Let him watch us — me — torture her. Let's see if she's as resistant as she was the first time."

The werewolf?

An icy chill crawled down my spine as Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione closed ranks around Lucy. She faltered, reaching forward for Harry's robes as she impossibly got even paler.

A shout tore from Harry. "NO! You'll have to smash this if you want to attack any of us," he said, gesturing with the prophecy, "and I don't think your boss will be too pleased if you come back without it, will he?" He drew a shaky breath. Lucy's hands were still clutching the back of his robes. "So what kind of prophecy is this?"

I couldn't bring myself to focus on the conversation anymore. I tore my eyes away from Lucy and watched the Death Eaters, waiting for any sign of a fight about to begin, but I was reeling.

Lucy was a werewolf.

So much suddenly made sense.

I knew enough about their parents to guess that Lucy wouldn't have been raised with the same care and attention Cedric was, I knew enough about Cedric to understand the way that must have eaten him from the inside out every day of his life, I knew enough about Cedric to understand that would have done everything possible to give Lucy the world since their parents wouldn't.

No wonder Cedric was always so close with his sister, no wonder Cedric was always so passionate about healing, no wonder Cedric was the brother he was, no wonder Cedric was the person he was.

No wonder Lucy was always so close with her brother, no wonder Lucy was always so committed to a cause larger than herself, no wonder Lucy was always reaching out to help and to care and to love, no wonder Lucy had disappeared inside herself after Cedric died, no wonder Lucy was the person she was in spite of everything.

A sudden spellcast jerked me from my thoughts.

"STUPEF—"

"NO!"

Bellatrix's spell was deflected by Probably-Malfoy and smashed into a nearby shelf. When the orbs tumbled to the ground, a couple of smoky images rose and began speaking incoherently.

"DO NOT ATTACK! WE NEED THE PROPHECY!" Probably-Malfoy shouted.

Bellatrix was so upset she could barely speak. "He dared — he dares — he stands there — filthy half-blood—"

"WAIT UNTIL WE'VE GOT THE PROPHECY!"

"You haven't told me what's so special about this prophecy I'm supposed to be handing over," Harry said.

Probably-Malfoy's eyes narrowed. "Do not play games with us, Potter."

"I'm not playing games."

"Dumbledore never told you that the reason you bear that scar was hidden in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries?"

Harry hesitated. "I — what? What about my scar?"

Lucy let go of Harry's robes and began reaching for her wand. She turned to Ginny and whispered something, then to Neville, Luna, and Archie. She never met my eyes. I wanted nothing more than to sweep her up into a hug and never let anything or anyone ever hurt her again, but we were — as Probably-Malfoy said — in the bowels of the Department of Mysteries, surrounded by Death Eaters. We needed to get to safety first.

I would do everything I could to do that. For Lucy, for everyone.

Ron leaned toward me. "Smash shelves when Harry says go," he whispered.

I nodded to show I understood and tuned back into the conversation, wand at the ready.

"Someone made a prophecy about Voldemort and me?" Harry was asking. "And he's made me come and get it for him? Why couldn't he come and get it himself?"

Bellatrix answered with a cackle. "Get it himself? The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return? The Dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting their time on my dear cousin?"

"So he's got you doing his dirty work for him, has he? Like he tried to get Sturgis to steal it — and Bode?"

Probably-Malfoy nodded. "Very good, Potter, very good. But the Dark Lord knows you are not unintell—"

"NOW!" Harry shouted.

All nine of us fired Reductor Curses into the shelves around us at the same time, and shattered glass fell like rain, so thick we couldn't even see where we were going.

"RUN!" Lucy cried.

I tried to chase the sound of her voice, but a Death Eater stepped through the shower of glass shards and fired a spell at me.

"PROTEGO!" I shouted, taking a couple hasty steps backward. In doing so, I nearly trampled Ron, who was trapped on the wrong side of the group with me, as well as Luna and Ginny. I shot off another Shield Charm and turned to the other three. "Come on, we need to run, we can catch up with the others in the circular room!"

They didn't need to be told twice, and we sprinted in the opposite direction. I glanced back to see two Death Eaters on our tail.

We sprinted until we found a door, completely and utterly lost. I yanked it open and shoved everyone through it, realizing with horror that two more Death Eaters had joined the chase. I slammed the door shut behind us and fired of a "Colloportus!" before turning around to see where we were.

The room was almost perfectly dark, except for dozens of floating, glowing spheres.

"Lucy would love this room," Ginny whispered, eyes wide with wonder. She blinked, shaking her head. "Come on, we need to keep moving."

She plunged forward into the darkness, dimly lit by the glow of the spheres. After about three steps, though, she gasped and disappeared from view.

"Gin?" Ron called, his voice high with panic.

"I'm okay!" she called back. "I'm... floating."

"Perhaps each planet has its own gravity," Luna mused aloud, stepping toward a green glowing ball. Surely enough, as she did so, her feet lifted off the ground, and she slowly disappeared from view.

"So we need to get across by bouncing from planet to planet?" I wondered aloud. Ron glanced at me and shrugged. I nodded. "Okay. I can do that."

"I can see the door from where I am!" Ginny called from somewhere in the darkness. "But I'm way up here, and the door's way down there, and I don't know how the hell to get down."

"We can figure it out together," Ron said, valiantly trying to remain calm even though the same fear I felt in the pit of my stomach was written all over his face. "Just—"

Whatever advice he was about to offer was interrupted by the sound of my attempt to magically lock the door being bypassed by even stronger un-locking magic.

"C'mon, Ron, let's go," I said urgently, rushing forward the nearest planet and holding my breath as I got sucked into its gravity. I heard Ron yelp as he did the same across the room.

The door opened with a loud bang. The Death Eaters had joined the game.

From my position hovering next to a large blue and yellow planet, I could suddenly see Ron and Ginny and Luna.

Okay, so we must only be able to see other people on planets if we are on planets ourselves.

I raised a finger to my lips, signaling everyone to remain silent, since we were still able to hear each other. They all nodded — Ginny rolling her eyes in a silent "Duh" — and clutched their wands.

"What the bloody hell is this?" one Death Eater wondered aloud.

"I don't know. I say we turn around," another suggested. "We should go after the others, that group has Potter and the werewolf girl."

"Let Malfoy and Lestrange have Potter," the first muttered. "I'd rather not face the Dark Lord's wrath when he inevitably gets away again somehow. We should try to capture the girl, though, she would be bloody useful. I want to get my hands on her. She wouldn't get away, not again."

"You know what I want? I want to see how much longer she lasts under the Cruciatus Curse before she breaks. Hours of entertainment, that was, only a couple more hours should do it, I think. What fun!"

A third voice entered the conversation. "Which one is she again?"

"The one with the scars, you moron," the first voice replied.

"Scars?" he repeated. "That's what those are? How the bloody hell did that happen?"

The second voice laughed. "Quirrell, a few years back, using that spell Snape invented. He was too chicken to fire off a Killing Curse in case it missed and he couldn't outrun her in wolf form, so he maimed her instead and made a run for it. Obviously it wasn't as strong as Snape's would have been. since it's his specialty. That's why it didn't kill her, but it did a good enough job, as you can see."

That comment prompted a loud laugh from the group.

I felt sick. I prayed to whoever, whatever might be listening that Lucy was safe, wherever she was.

But the task at hand was protecting the three kids — they were just kids, after all — on either side of me in that moment in time. I could do that. I would do that, as best I could.

"No, this will be more fun," the third one said. "We can't kill Potter or the girl, but the others? Fair game."

"Besides," a fourth voice piped up, "how hard could it be to cross this room and find those kids, wherever they— AAAHHH!"

I swore under my breath and swiveled my head around, looking for whatever planet that blasted fool had gotten sucked onto.

"Stupefy!" I hissed, effectively launching him off of his planet before he could spot any of us. I hit my mark, and he slid off back onto the floor.

The other three Death Eaters laughed.

"'How hard could it be?'" one mocked.

I looked around at the other three, mouthing one word: "Go!"

We began to scramble from planet to planet, praying we were invisible as we floated on blind faith, waiting for gravity to pull us close. I had just spotted the door when a shout louder than the laughter filled the room.

"Wait, they are in here! Come on!"

"Go, go, go!" I shouted. I spun around. "Stupefy!"

I missed my mark, though, and the Death Eater fired a nonverbal spell at me in retaliation. My nose crunched, and I choked out another Stunning Spell before jumping to the next planet.

Spellfire soon illuminated the room along with the glow of the planets. It was the most bizarre situation I'd ever found myself in.

Scramble onto a planet. Find a way to balance on top. Turn around. Fire spells at Death Eaters. Attempt to dodge spells fired back. Look around. Find closest planet. Jump as hard as possible. Hover in midair. Hold breath. Wait. Stand still while new gravity takes over at various speeds. Look around. Make sure everyone else is okay. Repeat.

Until someone wasn't okay. When Ron was mid-jump to a planet I recognized as Uranus, a spell hit him from behind, and he began to laugh and fall backwards slowly. It wasn't his laugh, though, it was oddly light and breathy.

"Ron!" Ginny shouted. She had been watching too.

"I'll take care of him!" I called to her. "Go!"

Ron was quite a distance above me, so instead of moving forward, I angled myself toward him, dropped low, and launched myself upward with as much force as I could muster.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon," I muttered as I willed myself higher and higher.

I successfully snagged Ron by his waist and held tight as Uranus pulled us in.

Just as soon as our feet touched down, though, a scream split the room.

"Ginny?!" I yelled.

"BASTARD GOT MY ANKLE!"

"I'm coming, Ginny!" Luna called, more urgency in her voice in that moment than I'd ever heard from her before.

"I'm coming too!" I tightened my grip on Ron and jumped down a planet, firing a spell over my shoulder as I descended. My ability to dodge was hindered by Ron, so I felt a sharp sting on the side of my forehead. When I jumped down to the next planet — we were so close to the door — I switched him to my other side and was rewarded with another sharp sting.

Ginny cried out in pain again, but I noticed with relief that she had reached the door, and Luna was right there too.

"Hang on, Ron," I muttered, "we're taking a detour."

He babbled something incomprehensible in response, still laughing.

It would have been safer to jump down one more planet before heading for the door, but I didn't have time. I jumped, and cast every spell I know to cushion our fall. My knees still protested when we hit the ground, but we had made it. I propped the door open for Ginny and her human crutch, Luna, then did as many locking spells as I knew as Ron wandered away from me. We were in a different room, but thankfully it had a well-defined floor and no strange floating planets, so we crossed it easily and somehow miraculously stumbled into the circular room. I practically shoved the others in front of me and yanked the door shut.

There, we found the others, looking worse for wear but alive.

Lucy sighed with relief. "Oh, thank Mer— what happened?"

Since I was no longer supporting Ron, he dropped to his knees, still babbling.

"What happened?" Lucy asked again, watching in a panic as Ginny sank to the floor clutching her ankle.

"I think Ginny's ankle is broken, I heard something crack," Luna reported.

Lucy rushed over immediately and started examining it. I noticed then that Neville was bleeding from his nose now too, and he was holding Hermione in his arms, Archie standing protectively nearby.

I wiped the blood from my stinging nose and started trying to explain what had happened to Harry. "We got chased, then lost, then they chased us into this room with a bunch of planets. We tried to fight them off, and I think I locked the door well enough to hold them off for a couple of minutes at least, but—" I stopped to mop away the blood trickling down my face from the cuts on my forehead. "Bloody hell. They said—" I wiped the blood from my upper lip that had started to run into my mouth. "Bloody hell. I forget what I was saying. Anyway, are you all alright?"

Before he could answer, another door burst open, and three Death Eaters poured in.

"PROTEGO!"

Lucy's Shield Charm — cast with nothing but her hand slicing through the air, somehow — was incredible, but it wouldn't hold forever.

Time slowed to a stop.

I found myself in the middle.

On one side, Death Eaters, ripped straight from whispered horror stories I'd heard as a child, ripped straight from headlines I'd seen as an adult. Monsters wearing human skin, hidden though it was by their black garb and masks that glinted maliciously in the eerie candlelight. Shadows, really, that's all they had ever been in my mind. As it turned out, though, shadows had the power to choke. Darkness had the power to kill.

On the other side, friends. Family, even, in Lucy and in Neville and in Archie. In Archie, the Slytherin renegade who was quick to laugh and even quicker to fight for what was right. In Neville, the Gryffindor with a green thumb who loved watching life flourish and was just beginning to learn how to reach for the sun himself. In Lucy, whose eyes contained a multitude of secrets and hurts, yes, but love as infinite as the sky they resembled, primarily, indisputably, overwhelmingly, unceasingly.

Love. That was all that mattered.

On one side, Death Eaters, shadows with the power to choke and darkness with the power to kill.

On the other side, family in Lucy and in Neville and in Archie and, by extension, in the others as well, in the family of my family.

I found myself in the middle.

Time held its breath.

I found myself in the middle, by circumstance.

I planted myself in the middle, by choice.

Everyone was running toward a door that Lucy was holding open with her foot since her arms were both occupied by the wounded Ginny. Her eyes — almost Cedric's, but not quite, never quite — were wide and bright as they met mine.

Since Cedric wasn't there to protect his sister, I would.

I crossed the room in one, two, three, four purposeful steps. "I'll hold them off!" I announced as I wrenched the door free, with the hand not holding my wand, and slammed it shut definitively, nonverbally casting the strongest locking spell I knew as I did so.

"HENRY, NO!" came Lucy's scream from the other side of the door, but I was already turning back around.

I fired off a spell just as Lucy's Shield Charm failed.

The room was soon exploding with a flurry of motion and magic, spellfire whizzing past me on both sides, above me, below me, into me. I poured everything I had left to give into my wand, but I was outnumbered three to one. One spell launched me off of my feet and into the door I had slammed, and a sickening crunch resounded throughout my head.

I crumpled to the floor, everything within me awash with pain.

I was distantly aware of black boots in my vision as they stepped over me to try to get in the door. I felt the dimmest sense of satisfaction when they couldn't. I blinked, and when I opened my eyes again, someone new, someone friendly and familiar, was swimming in my vision.

Someone new, friendly, familiar, and very distraught. "Henry! Damn it, Henry Furls, wake up!"

"'M 'wake," I managed, forcing my eyes open. It was George, brown eyes wide and protruding pitifully from his very-pale face. "Hey. It's not as bad as it looks."

"Hey," he replied, breathless, a smile forcing its way onto his face for just a second. "You're an idiot and a liar. Where does it hurt? Where does it hurt the most, I mean?"

I blinked. Focus, Furls, focus. "Think my ribs are busted."

"Okay. Okay." He screwed up his face in concentration. He uttered a spell I'd never heard before, and I felt my chest knitting itself back together. It was the strangest sensation I'd ever experienced, but once it was over, I could breathe again. He wasn't quite done yet, muttering a couple of spells that knit my face back together.

"Thanks," I said, blinking hard. I heaved a deep breath, squeezing my eyes shut. "Damn. That hurt."

"Yeah. Yeah, I bet."

"Is everyone else okay?" I asked, eyes flying open, reality suddenly coming back to me in a rush.

"Yeah, yeah, everyone else is okay, it's over, Dumbledore's here, Fred and I are here to get you all out." He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me up to a sitting position before throwing his arms around me, sighing and burying his head against my neck. "Good to see you, mate."

"Good to see you too," I replied, returning the hug as best I could, "believe me. How the bloody hell did you know that spell? That's gotta be the most advanced healing spell I've ever witnessed."

George let go of me and leaned back against the wall, twirling his wand in his hand. "Well, Cedric had these books that Lucy mentioned when..." He froze suddenly, his mouth snapping shut.

I sucked in a sharp breath. "I — er — how long have you known? That she's...?"

"How the bloody hell—"

"Bellatrix," I burst out, desperate to talk about it now that I had the chance. "She said to grab the werewolf so we all know now, but—"

Before I could finish, a door opened, and Ginny walked in gingerly holding Ron's arm, followed by Luna, Archie, and Fred, who was holding Hermione in his arms. George jumped to his feet and went to wrap his arms around Ginny and Ron.

"He lives!" Archie cheered, coming over to haul me to my feet.

I blinked, tearing my eyes away from George to look at Archie. "Yeah, yeah," I said as I felt my face heat.

Archie started to go in for a hug, but pulled back and slapped me instead. "You're an idiot. That's for scaring us." Then he hugged me. "You're an idiot. This is for being my favorite idiot."

I snorted as I hugged him back. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Graye."

George released his younger siblings and turned around, wiping his eyes and sniffing hard. "Alright. Once Lucy, Harry, and Neville get back up here, we're heading back to Hogwarts."

"How?" Archie asked.

"Portkey," Fred answered. "I think. I don't know. We, er, didn't have much time to talk before we got here. We will figure something out, though."

"Let's wait in that room," George said, jerking his chin toward the door through which the others had come. "Fewer doors, fewer entrances to cover."

"Good idea," I said, gesturing for Archie to follow the others in.

He rolled his eyes and walked around behind me, shoving me through with an overabundance of force. "Yeah, right. No, you're going in before me after that little stunt."

I rolled my eyes too, but complied. Once inside, George and I stood on either side of the door, wand in hand. Ginny started explaining everything that had happened to Fred in a low voice, and it looked as if George was about to ask me something when another door burst open.

Bellatrix was suddenly sprinting across the room, smashing tanks left and right, not actually firing spells at any people, oddly. George and I both fired spells at her instinctually, both of which she dodged with ease as she passed us and ran into the circular room we had just left.

"Good call, Weasley," I said softly, feeling rather lightheaded. "She could have trapped us in there."

"She could have trapped us in there," he echoed in an equally soft, stunned voice. "I wonder why she's running."

The answer appeared in the doorway thirty seconds later. Harry was sprinting after her, wand drawn, artfully dodging all of the contents of the tanks she'd destroyed.

"Oi, mate, where do you think you're going?" George asked as Harry barreled past us into the circular room.

He received no answer, and George and I exchanged a mystified look. We had just started to follow him when Lucy suddenly attempted to follow him through the doorway. We moved as one, each catching one of her arms.

"Whoa, whoa, where do you think you're going?" George asked, panic evident on his pale face.

She struggled against us as hard as she could, but we both had iron grips on her arms. We weren't letting her get away. Not again. Never again.

"Let me go, please, please let me go," she pleaded.

George swallowed hard. "Cub, you're covered in blood—"

"It's not mine! Georgie, I'm okay, let me go!"

"You'd be running into a death trap, Lucy," I said, trying to be reasonable.

"HARRY ALREADY HAS!" she screamed. "I'M GOING WITH HIM!"

"I won't just let you go after him!" George insisted, nearly hysterical.

"I LOST CEDRIC ALMOST EXACTLY A YEAR AGO!"

She pulled herself free from me.

"NOW SIRIUS IS GONE, AND HARRY WOULD HAVE GONE THROUGH THE VEIL AFTER HIM IF I HADN'T STOPPED HIM IN TIME!"

She yanked herself free from George.

"AND I REFUSE TO LOSE HARRY TOO!"

With that, she sprinted past us into the circular room with the doors. We both turned to go after her, but the door closed with a definitive click.

"It's alright," a loud voice called from the other end of the room. George and I whirled around to see that Professor Dumbledore had been the one to close the door, and he was quickly crossing the room. Neville stumbled into the doorway just behind him. "I will go after those two. Fred, get everyone to the Hospital Wing then come back and help the other Order members bring any Death Eaters in that we can. George, Henry, take this Portkey and wait for Remus, he will meet you there shortly to discuss the events of the evening to compile a report for the Order." With a flick of his wand, two chairs appeared. "Portus!" He guided one over to Fred and his group. "Portus!" He guided the other over to George. "Thank you for your help, boys!" Dumbledore called as he walked into the circular room with the doors.

I never wanted to see another door as long as I lived.

"Well... you heard the man," Fred managed after a moment, the reluctance in his tone clear. "Hug Lucy for me if I don't get the chance, will you?"

George nodded. "Yeah, of course. See you later, Freddie." He turned to me and gestured for me to join him behind the chair. "Shall we?"

"I guess," I replied, and we laid our hands on the back of it at the same time.

The world disappeared in a swirl of color, and we landed hard a couple of seconds later.

Even though George had healed me, I was still a bit disoriented, and I would have toppled over if he hadn't caught me.

"Easy there, Furls," he murmured, spinning the chair around and pushing me down into it in one fluid motion.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, I just hate Portkeys," I insisted even as I put a hand over my eyes.

"Yeah, alright," he said. "Whatever you say, tough guy."

I snorted and pushed myself to my feet, shoving the chair off to the side. "I'm fine. Whose office are we in?" I asked, looking around.

"McGonagall's, I think," George replied, glancing around. "Reckon she'll be here soon? It's almost breakfast time, isn't it?"

"I think so, but... I don't think she'll be here soon."

"Hm? Why not?"

"She, er... she was attacked last night. Two nights ago now, I guess. Something about going to defend Hagrid and Umbridge attacking her. I'm sure she'll be okay, though," I added quickly, noting the concern on his face.

The look on his face took me aback, really. George Weasley was, well, a Weasley twin. Notorious troublemakers known for their smirks and smiles and loud laughter. But the George Weasley in front of me was serious, drawn, worried. I knew at that point that he did in fact have a soul and a personality and was far more than just one half of "Fred and George Weasley," but I wasn't expecting the depth of his concern.

"I had no idea," he said in a choked voice. "No one told us."

"Hey, it's alright," I said. "Nothing you could have done, and like I said, she'll be okay." I tilted my head and studied him. I'd missed him more than I expected to miss him. "So, how's life been without Umbridge?"

"Without Umbridge? Spectacular. Without you? Less so." He managed a small smile. "You'll come visit the shop over summer when you can, won't you, Mr. Magpie?"

"Of course," I replied. "I might be Archie's favorite idiot, but you're mine, Mr. Mischief."

George laughed. "I'm too honored to be offended. Life without Umbridge has been alright, though. Lonelier than it ever was at school or at home, but at least I have Fred and summer is right around the corner." He faltered, serious, drawn, and worried again. "I hope Lucy and Harry are okay."

I nodded, and we fell silent. A couple of minutes later, the door was pushed open, and there stood Lucy.

"Lucy," George breathed, lunging forward and pulling her close, rocking back and forth. "You absolute madwoman. You are bloody insane."

"You love me, though," she said with a weak laugh.

George pulled away and studied her face for a long second. "Yes, of course we do, I — of course. Merlin, why would Dumbledore send you here? You need the Hospital Wing."

"I'm supposed to tell you two the story," she replied, shaking her head. "I'm alright."

I got a better look at her face since George had released her, and it was painfully obvious that she was lying. In addition to being covered in Grawp's blood, she had a cut on her chin and she had acquired a bloody nose. There was something else, though, something wild and terrified in her eyes that suggested that she'd experienced unspeakable horrors somehow between the time I had last seen her and that moment. What they could have been, I had no idea. What I could do to help, I had no idea. I wanted to do what I could, though.

"Well, I know most of it, Lucy," I said. "I can tell Professor Lupin what I know when he gets here, and you can fill in the gaps. I — well, obviously there's a lot I don't know, but if a play-by-play is what they want, I can share everything between you leaving Umbridge's office and when we all got separated."

Her eyes met mine. I hated how scared she looked. "O-Okay, thank you. Yeah, I — I don't remember much of what happened actually in the prophecy room. I was a bit... out of it."

I managed a nod. "I can imagine. Where did they, er, take you? That one Death Eater said..."

"Take you?" George asked, voice high with panic.

Before she could answer, the door opened with a bang, and Professor Lupin hurried in and grabbed Lucy by the shoulders. "Is Harry alive?"

She nodded. "He is, he is, he's in Dumbledore's office."

"What did they do to you?" he asked, taking her face in his hand and turning her side to side. "What happened?"

"I-I'm alright," Lucy said.

"Lucy Diggory, that's a lie and you know it," George said, his voice gentle but firm. "Dumbledore sent you here to tell us the story, so the sooner you tell us, the sooner you can go to the Hospital Wing."

"I need to go to Dumbledore's office once I..." Her voice trailed off, and she stared at the ground for a long second before speaking again. "D'you think the other Order members would be able to make sense of a memory?"

"What d'you mean, Cub?"

"If I can just extract the memory of the night, would that be good enough for whatever the Order needs to know?" she asked, reaching for her wand.

Professor Lupin nodded. "Of course. You know how to do that safely?"

"Yeah. Cedric gave me a book on it." She looked up at him. "I can run up to my dormitory and get a vial."

"No need for that. I'm sure Min- Professor McGonagall wouldn't mind if I just..." Professor Lupin flicked his wand, and something on her desk was transfigured into a small glass vial. "I'm heading back to headquarters as soon as we're done here, so I'm sure this will do the trick."

"Alright." Lucy closed her eyes, then staggered backward a couple seconds later. George rushed forward, but she waved him off. "I'm alright, I'm alright. I think it's just too long of a memory. I-I guess I'll just start at the beginning."

I listened intently to Lucy's part of the story, trying to make sense of what I could, but I knew I was in over my head. I took over partway through, explaining the planet room the rest of us had found, then she started talking about everything that had happened after I had been rather unceremoniously smashed into a door. (I was annoyed by the fact that the Death Eaters had gotten into the room anyway and no one had bothered to tell me, but I supposed they were just trying to spare my feelings.) I was still lost, but I suddenly snapped back to reality when she said the name of Voldemort.

"—appeared shortly after that, then Dumbledore," she was saying. "Harry and I watched while they dueled. Then Voldemort disappeared into thin air. And then..." She shuddered. "I think I'm going to try the memory again, for the rest of the story, I — I don't quite know what to make of what happened after Voldemort disappeared."

Professor Lupin held out the vial, and George and I watched as she extracted something shiny and silvery from her temple. She deposited it and sighed almost imperceptibly.

"I think that's about it," she said in a small voice.

Professor Lupin nodded. "Alright. I'll take this back to headquarters and relay the story you just told me. I'm sure between what you and Henry said and what Harry tells Dumbledore, we can have a better idea of the night." He hugged Lucy quickly, then left the office with nothing more than an "I'm glad you're alright. I ought to go."

Lucy looked down, but George stepped forward and gently tipped her chin up. "Hey. You're okay. C'mon, I'll take you to the Hospital Wing."

"No, it's alright." She pulled away and walked backwards a couple steps. "I need to go to Dumbledore's office, he wanted me there when he talks to Harry. I-I really need to go make sure Harry's okay, I hope he hasn't been alone all this time, I — I should go."

"Lucy..." George sighed. "Alright, I guess you shouldn't change plans on Dumbledore. See you in a couple weeks, alright?"

She looked up and nodded, smiling a bit. "Sounds like a plan. Are you picking me up straight from the station?"

"Oh yeah, of course, the party starts the second you step off the train." George forced a smile and opened his arms. "C'mon, I told Fred I'd hug you once for him too in case he didn't see you."

She hugged him eagerly, and it looked to me like she never wanted to let go. She did eventually, though, and glanced at me shyly.

"I-I'm guessing you want to talk to me about...?"

I nodded. "That would be nice. Tomorrow? I think I'm going to need to catch up on a bit of sleep today."

George turned to me, eyes narrowed. "You, my friend, will do that in the Hospital Wing."

"You shatter a couple of ribs, get a couple of scratches, then all of a sudden everyone's all worried?" I asked, turning to Lucy. "What kind of nonsense is this?"

She grinned crookedly. "Tell me about it. Sleep well, Henry. Bye, Georgie."

And just like that, she was gone.

George released a shaky sigh.

"You alright?" I asked.

He dodged my question and clapped a hand on my shoulder. "You. Hospital Wing. With me. Now."

Not really in the mood to argue with the way my head was spinning, I let George guide me to the Hospital Wing, hand still on my shoulder.

Those of us who had been in the Department of Mysteries — sans Harry and Lucy — were the only ones in the Hospital Wing. Ron and Hermione appeared to be asleep, and Madam Pomfrey was passing a potion to Neville while Archie hovered nearby, staring off into space with a contemplative look in his eyes. Luna was gently cleaning the blood from Ginny's face while Ginny frantically scrubbed her hands in the sink. George steered me in that direction and pushing me back against the counter with one hand as he reached for a towel with his other hand, soaking it under the running faucet before pressing it to my temple.

I was flustered by the action for a moment, but my senses returned to me a moment later. "I can wash my own—"

"I know," George interrupted. "Just — let me."

"Where's Lucy?" Ginny asked as her splashing continued to my side.

George's face tightened ever so slightly, and — Oh. I was his replacement Lucy. He couldn't take care of her, so he was taking care of me.

In that moment, I was content to let him. No one had cleaned blood from my face since Cedric died. He'd always been so gentle healing any and all of my various Quidditch injuries and cleaning up the blood left behind, but without him, I'd had to tend to those myself. George, though, was gentle, far gentler than I was expecting, those soft brown eyes flitting back and forth across my face as he cleaned every last bit of dried blood.

I found my voice after a minute. "She's with Harry in Dumbledore's office. She's okay, they both are."

"Thanks," Ginny replied in a pinched voice.

"Your hands are clean, Ginny," Luna commented. "Why are you still scrubbing?"

"Just — just — the blood," she stammered. She continued scrubbing. "It was on my hands. Like — like Harry's when... when..."

George sucked in a sharp breath, hand suddenly shaking. "It's alright, Gin," he said softly. "It's Grawp's blood, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"It's alright, Gin," he repeated. "Everything's going to be alright."

"Oh," I said, unable to hold it back. I'd just realized something. "Forgive the stupid question, but the lance...?"

George bit back a grin. "Yeah, sorry, no lance."

"Ah, damn," Archie said from across the room. "I've been calling her Lancelot for months now."

George grinned — a real, actual smile — at that.

"Don't worry, she thought it was hilarious," Ginny piped up, something of a smile on her face too. Her smile gave way to a stern expression as she spun around, hands on her hips as she surveyed the room. "And I know this goes without saying, but that secret does not leave this room, yes?"

We all verbally and nonverbally agreed in an instant.

"Any advice for how to...?" My question trailed off, all of the possible endings hanging in the air.

How to talk about it?

How to move forward?

How to help her?

How to protect her?

Ginny shrugged. "Just know she's going to be upset and embarrassed no matter what you say or do. Everyone approaches it a bit differently, so just... do what feels right to you."

"Just remind her this changes nothing about how you see her — not in a negative way, at least," George amended. "It's an explanation of Lucy, not a definition."

I nodded. "Understood."

"Speaking of," Madam Pomfrey said, and we all jumped, "when will she and Harry be coming to visit me? Do I need to march up to the Headmaster's office myself?"

George's eyes, so close to mine, were troubled still as he replied. "That's not a bad idea."

Silence fell then, broken only by a soft sniffle. To my surprise, the sound had come from Madam Pomfrey, who was standing quite still as she looked up at the first rays of sunlight coming through a window.

"What I would give to have Cedric still with us," she said in nearly a whisper before blinking from her reverie and disappearing into her office.

I swallowed hard, finding I agreed quite heartily with her sentiment.

"What do you think it would change, Henry?" George asked, his hand going still against the side of my face, damp towel pressed to my cheek as he looked me in the eye. "Having Cedric here?"

"Everything, yet nothing at all." My voice was quiet even to my own ears. "Everything would be better, yet nothing would be different. I know this war started with him, but I — seeing the reaction, or lack thereof, to his death upsets me endlessly because it didn't need to start with him. Obviously everything would be better with Cedric, everything always was, but something tells me we'd end up right back here every damn time because this world is determined to destroy itself one catastrophe at a time." I faltered, the anger within me surging then receding, leaving peculiar hope in its wake. "Something tells me this world is worth the fight anyway, though."

"Something tells me you have no idea how right you are." George looked back at my temple and resumed the gentle motion of the towel against my face. "You're a wise man, Henry Furls."

My face heated, and I could find no reply.

The next few minutes passed in a tired blur. Luna finished cleaning Ginny's face, George finished cleaning mine. Madam Pomfrey returned and told us all that we were to remain in the Hospital Wing to sleep for the day, except for George, of course, who apologetically said he should be going. He clasped my shoulder, ruffled Ron's hair, and hugged Ginny on the way out.

I turned to Madam Pomfrey. "I need to see my sister."

Her eyes softened in understanding. "Come back, though," she said sternly.

I nodded, then hurried from the Hospital Wing. The castle was just beginning to stir. I made my way to the kitchens in something of a daze, and I had just lifted my hand to knock on the barrels when Gretch appeared.

"Henry?" she asked, head tilting to the side as she looked up at me. "Are you okay?"

The only answer I could manage was wrapping my arms around her small frame and holding as tight as I dared, silent tears suddenly coursing down my cheeks when she looped her arms around me too.

They're safe, Cedric. Our sisters are safe.

I hoped he could hear me, wherever he was.

Up and down, jump off the deep end
Work this out, I should have left with you, with you
No way out, I met your best friend
She went down and I should have made my move with you
Messed up now, pissed off the in-crowd
Break this down and my eyes are set on you, on you
We know now I'm not your best friend
Broke all vows, I'll make it up to you, to you
I shoulda
I woulda
I coulda but I didn't
Hit it

"Hit It"
American Authors

GEORGE:

"You know, I think this is really going to work," I commented as I studied the blueprints in front of us.

Fred rolled his eyes. "Well yes, of course it's going to work. Come on, George, have a bit of faith."

"I'd feel better about it if we could talk to Gin about the specifics of it, but of course that's not possible thanks to the PVT."

"What do you think Umbitch is up to right this second?" Fred wondered aloud. "Perhaps her throat's finally giving out from so many pathetic hem hems, so she's on a cough drop only diet now. Or maybe she's sitting down for a nice bowl of roasted children stew?"

"Cannibalism is no joke, Freddie," I replied lightly, eyes still fixed on the blueprints. "She'd Transfigure the children into chickens first."

"Aw, come on, that was a weak attempt at a joke and you know it. You're distracted. Okay, what specifically about this plan is bothering you?"

"I just — I don't know."

"If you don't know, why are you bothered?"

"Because I'd feel better if I knew why I should be bothered," I said with a heavy sigh. "Or worried, I guess that would be the better word."

"Well, I'm plenty worried too, don't get me wrong," Fred replied. "Planning to lock ourselves in a room with Lucy on a full moon is a worrying plan no matter how you slice it."

"It's not us I'm worried about."

"I know, I know. Don't bite my head off. I'm more worried about her than us too." He echoed my heavy sigh, then straightened up. "Hey, let's go see if Sirius is around. We can show him the blueprints. I know Remus is the werewolf, but Sirius helped him in school, right?"

I blinked. "Yeah, good idea."

"I know, I'm full of them. C'mon, I'm sure the poor bloke would love the company."

One short Floo trip later, we landed in Grimmauld Place.

"Oi, Sirius, it's us!" Fred called.

"Fred and George!" I added, trying to be helpful.

We exchanged looks when Sirius didn't appear, but the sound of movement above our heads assured us that someone at least was home.

A bit later, he entered the kitchen with a grin, arms thrown wide in greeting. "Gred! Forge! My favorite entrepreneurs in the avenues of merry mischief-making! To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"We have questions for you, if you don't mind?" I asked.

"Where were you?" Fred asked. "You made us wait three minutes and thirty-two seconds. Powdering your nose, were you? Because we're flattered, but it's just us, no need to pretty yourself up."

"Matter of fact, I was," Sirius replied. "Brushing my teeth, too. And curling my hair, if you must know. Personal hygiene is important, boys, you should try it sometime. So! I see blueprints, a beautiful sight. What have you brought me?"

Fred held up the blueprints. "We finished our plans for the Lucy-proof magic room in our flat and wanted to make sure they looked sound to you."

"Always happy to offer my contributions to the bright young minds of tomorrow," he replied. "Let's have a look."

"And we'd love any tips you have for what to do on the actual night of the full moon," I added. My stomach did an uncomfortable flip even as I said the words. It was just a few short days away, and we still had no real idea of what to expect. I wasn't scared of Lucy hurting us, not in the slightest, but I was terrified that we would do something to hurt her on accident, even after all of this preparation.

Fred sprawled the blueprints on the kitchen table, and Sirius pored over them, a distinctly unlike-Sirius serious expression on his face. "These look bloody brilliant to me, boys. Though—" He straightened up, looking delighted. "—I would love to see your Animagus forms before offering tips."

"You got it!" Fred replied before transforming into a hyena.

I followed half a second later, the room around me appearing to grow larger as I took the form of a Rottweiler.

Sirius grinned widely, his excitement apparent. Suddenly, Sirius was replaced by a fluffy black dog.

Fred and I were not small in our Animagus forms by any means, but Sirius was massive.

Fred, being Fred, immediately lunged at him with a playful snarl. I retreated under the kitchen table to watch as they wrestled, Fred quick on his feet but Sirius an immovable force, but after a couple of minutes they realized I was hiding and dove under the chairs to attack me. I was a comfortable balance of Fred's traits and Sirius's, bulkier than Fred but more nimble than Sirius. The three of us must have been making quite a ruckus, because Remus appeared at one point, muttered "Bloody hell, there's three of you now," and left with a laugh and a shake of his head. After a few more minutes of tussling, I retreated and popped back into human form, and the other two followed suit.

We all collapsed down into chairs around the table, and Sirius tossed us each a butterbeer.

Fred was the first to speak. "BLOODY HELL! What kind of dog are you, mate?"

"A Newfoundland," Sirius replied proudly, sitting sideways in the chair so he could dangle his feet. He reminded me of Muggle caricatures of kings lounging on their thrones. "You two are rather impressive yourselves. I see why you made the room the size you did, I think it will fit the three of you nicely. You should be closer to Lucy's size, I'm expecting that she's smaller than Remus was at her age."

"Ginny did her best to approximate her size for us before we left," I said.

"She knows?"

"Yeah, she knows. She's going to be upset that she won't be able to fit, but she'll have her turn again come September."

"Our sister, the horse." Fred grinned. "Bloody brilliant, that. They just race each other around the forest all night, from what I've gathered."

"Racing wasn't really an option for us," Sirius replied. "A stag, a dog, a wolf, and a rat wouldn't have been that fair of a race." Fred and I chuckled, and Sirius's grin widened. "So when is Harry going to join the Animagus ranks? Or is he one already and no one bothered to tell me? I have the supplies, you know, I've kept an extra set of ingredients here for him specifically. Or anyone else who wanted to do it, if he wasn't interested for whatever reason, but I reckon he's interested."

I snorted. "Oh, he is, but Lucy expressly forbid it."

"Did she now?" Sirius asked, nodding slowly as he sipped his butterbeer. "Fair enough. It is complicated and dangerous and can go horribly wrong if done incorrectly, but I suppose that was part of the appeal for us twenty years ago, beyond the obvious goal of helping Moony."

"Yeah, Harry's got enough 'complicated' and 'dangerous' and 'can go horribly wrong' in his life already," I said. "Lucy too."

"Hence why she has no idea about the fact that we did this. We waited until we left school to start so she wouldn't catch on," Fred explained. "Figured she'd be on the lookout for Mandrakes and suspicious absences of her friends during lightning storms."

Sirius nodded. "Ah, yeah, observant, werewolves are. Thankfully he didn't know what to look for when we did it. Remus has been seeing through my bullshit for years, though, Animagus process aside. Can't get anything past that man. You do know Lucy's going to be cross with you when she figures it out, right?"

"Of course," I said, "which is why we won't say anything until the last possible second."

"I'm a horrid influence, but that's a good idea. Less time for her to worry about it and work herself up into a panic that translates to the wolf," Sirius replied.

Fred nodded, grinning. "Yeah, Ginny did it in secret and didn't tell her. She just showed up in the forest as a horse."

Sirius mirrored his grin. "Wicked." He paused and looked up at the ceiling for a moment before looking at me. "So wait, are they in love? I thought everyone was placing their bets on Lucy and Harry, but Lucy and Ginny were definitely borrowing from each other's clothes and they do seem close."

"They're definitely very close," I said with a nod, "but Lucy and Harry are undeniably going to end up together any day now, it's just a matter of time."

"Okay, that's what I thought," Sirius replied. "Honestly, I was rooting for one of you two since I see so much of myself in you and so much of Remus in Lucy, but watching Harry and Lucy interact... what they have is special."

"For sure," I agreed.

"Bloody hell. We need to throw a party whenever that actually happens," Fred chuckled.

"I'll host it here," Sirius said immediately. "I better be the first to know about that, being Harry's godfather."

Fred snorted. "All due respect, you've only had to be around them for a little while now. They've been like magnets since they were eleven years old. Get in line, old man, because we're the ones who deserve to hear the announcement first, as well as front-row seats at the wedding."

"Ah, piss off, I've suffered enough," Sirius insisted, taking another swig from his butterbeer.

"Who's suffering?" Remus asked as he returned to the kitchen and took a seat.

"Everyone who's had to watch Lucy and Harry pine for each other for years without doing anything about it," Fred answered. "Welcome back."

"Well, excuse me for not wanting to watch a dogfight in the kitchen in the middle of the night," Remus retorted, summoning a bottle of butterbeer into his hand. "In regards to Lucy and Harry, they will when they're ready, and not a minute sooner. They will, though."

"Oh, trust me, we know," I said.

Sirius sat up a little straighter, though still in his lounging position. "Wait, so if Ginny's with her in the forest, what's Harry's role in all of this? How does he help?"

"Aside from Ginny, he's always the last person she sees at night and the first person she sees in the morning," Fred answered.

I nodded. "Before the moon, he just does what we all do and tries to help stop her from getting overwhelmed. He brings her wideye potion and keeps her warm after the moon. I'm pretty sure he gives her his jumpers too, Ron told me he always sleeps in a jumper or two on the night of the full moon."

"That's my boy," Sirius said, beaming with pride.

"James's too," Remus echoed softly.

"Oh, absolutely." Sirius clicked his tongue as he had another sip of butterbeer. "Not sure where he got the Seeker skills from, though. James was a Chaser and Evans never played."

"Did you play, Sirius?" Fred asked.

"Me? Play Quidditch? No, of course not, that would have been terribly unfair to the other teams. The only open position on the team was Beater and I was bloody good at it, but I would have felt awful sending the seven opposing students to the Hospital Wing every match."

Remus rolled his eyes, opting not to comment aloud.

Fred shoved my shoulder. "George here wrote up a whole set of instructions for Lucy and Ginny, when we were training them to be Beaters. Had a fancy name for it and everything, he's the one who named most of our products. What did you call it again?"

"'The Mischief Managers' Guide to Playing Beater,'" I replied, face heating. "I thought it was funny."

"It's brilliant!" Sirius burst out, so excited he sat up straight and smacked the table. "My legacy lives on! What was on it?"

I shook my head. "I don't even remember, my head is too full of Wheezes plans right now to even remember what I wrote six, seven months ago. A lot of the 'rules' were jokes, like no looking at cute boys in the stands."

Remus snorted. "Sirius would have needed that bit of advice, if he'd played."

"Is the commentary box counted as part of the stands?" Sirius asked innocently in the direction of Remus before turning back to me with perfect intense focus. "Anyway, what else was on there? I can make suggestions next time I see them, fill in any gaps you left."

"Merlin's beard, Padfoot," Remus said with a roll of his eyes even though his lips tilted up slightly behind the butterbeer bottle he had raised to them.

Before I could even open my mouth to reply to Sirius, Walburga's portrait started screeching, and we all flinched.

"Merlin's beard," Remus spat, coughing as he set his bottle down.

"Bad time to take a sip, Moons," Sirius teased as he leaned over to whack his friend on the back.

"Oh, get your paws off of me."

"That's not what you said last night when—"

Remus flushed a brilliant shade of red as he held up a finger. "Don't even go there. I'll go see what set her off."

"Love you!" Sirius called after him.

"You better!" Remus called back as the door swung shut behind him.

Sirius smiled at the door a second longer before turning to us with a solemn expression and lowering his voice to almost a whisper. "I didn't want to bring up this part of the werewolf thing again with Remus around because he gets embarrassed, but... as you've probably noticed, Remus and Lucy have similarities beyond just being werewolves."

"They are very similar," Fred replied.

I shook my head. "All the way down to the blushing. Anyway, what's up?"

"I figured I ought to try to prepare you for what might happen once the two of you are in the room with her. Obviously, transform the second it starts, and don't transform back until she's fully human and quiet the next morning. That's just for your own safety, since you will be locked in the same room. I'm not entirely sure what Lucy's temperament is like as a wolf, but if what happened in December is any indication of what might happen when she's contained and not running around the forest, you need to be prepared to stop her from hurting herself. I think you'll have an easier time with this, Fred, since you're faster in Animagus form, but George, you should be ready to sit on her or something similar if need be since you're most likely heavier."

My mind was reeling. I had kind of known in the back of my mind that Lucy, as the wolf, had hurt herself in December, but hearing the words actually spoken aloud by Sirius, who was uncharacteristically serious, sent a chill down my spine. But I couldn't dwell on it, because he was still talking.

"Another possibility is that she will take swings at you two, since there will be other outlets for the wolf's aggression in the room, so to speak. Obviously, you need to avoid that too, but I'm sure you two will be alright. I know Remus talked to Tonks about sneaking into St. Mungo's to learn their werewolf-specific wards. How'd that go?"

"She was able to disguise herself and make copies of the documents describing those, and Moody and Remus will work together to put those up once we build the room," Fred answered. I will still having a hard time finding words. "Should be only a day or two before that's all ready to go. She's going to get a copy to Madam Pomfrey too, so the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts will be ready to go by the next school year."

Sirius nodded thoughtfully. "Good. That will help. That will help a lot. I wish we had known about that sooner."

"Leave it to Hermione Granger to find the answer in some book no one's touched in centuries," Fred remarked with a grin.

"According to Minnie, that book was in the Restricted Section," Sirius said, smiling a bit. "Leave it to Hermione Granger, indeed." His smile vanished as he sighed. "I will say, though, there's a bit of a complicating factor with Lucy. Her enhanced magic has already kicked in, so she could be more powerful than Remus was at school, and he's had wolfsbane since then so I can't tell you what to expect in that sense."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Before he could reply, the door banged open and Remus appeared, looking more shaken than I had ever seen him.

The words, panicked, poured from his mouth. "Harry and Lucy and a few others are in the Department of Mysteries trying to rescue Sirius."

"But I'm right here," Sirius replied slowly.

Remus brushed past him and grabbed a rather large goblet from the cabinet, setting it on the table with a loud thunk. "Yeah, that's the problem, we need to go! Fred, George, take this Portkey and round up who you can, don't engage in conflict unless absolutely necessary, any of the kids there will trust you more than they would any of us older Order members, just get them to safety. Portus!"

I jumped to my feet and drew my wand, Fred doing the exact same next to me.

I glanced at Sirius. "Later?"

"Later," he said with a brisk nod, also getting to his feet. "Go."

We didn't need to be told twice. Fred and I reached forward and seized the Portkey in unison.

When we landed, we were in the single most bizarre room I had ever seen. Which was saying a lot, considering I owned half of a magical joke shop.

I looked around wildly, my eyes immediately finding red hair.

Ron was in trouble.

I launched myself forward, my brain trying to make sense of what my eyes were seeing as I hurtled across the room in the direction of my brother. It looked a bit like he was wrestling a brain and losing.

As I got closer, I saw that Ginny and Archie were each tugging on the brain, trying to get Ron free.

Ginny's eyes snapped up to mine.

Oh Merlin, she's covered in blood. Oh Merlin, oh—

"HELP US!" she shrieked.

"I'm here, I'm here," I panted, skidding to a stop beside her. "Diffindo!"

The spell bounced uselessly off of the strange tubes strangling Ron.

"Finite incantatem!" Fred shouted from the other side.

The brains twitched a tiny bit, hesitated.

"Finite incantatem!" I repeated, putting as much force into the spell as I could. "Finite incantatem! Finite incantatem! Gin, Archie, wands! Finite incantatem! Finite incantatem!"

Between the four of us, we eventually got the brain to let go of Ron, who started to topple sideways toward Fred with a dazed expression on his face once he was free.

Ginny toppled toward me with a cry of pain, and I caught her before she hit the floor.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm here, I'm here," I said, noticing the awkward angle of one of her ankles. "You're okay, you're going to be okay, Gin, it's okay. Let me splint your ankle, I-I can't remember the proper healing spell right now. Where are you bleeding?"

"It's not my blood," she choked out. "It's okay."

There was a flurry of movement then, before I could comprehend what she had said, let alone reply, and I recognized Dumbledore's grey hair as he raced in, looking as if he was flying. He might have been, for all I knew. I was still struggling to comprehend the situation Fred and I had Portkey-ed into.

"Wait for Harry, Lucy, and Neville before leaving!" Dumbledore shouted over his shoulder as he ran into another room.

"Henry!" Archie gasped suddenly the second Dumbledore disappeared from view.

I blinked up at him, blood turning to ice. "What?"

"He — he's..."

"I'll splint her ankle," Fred offered as he rushed over to us, having laid Ron down. He gently pulled Ginny to him, something fierce in his eyes. "Go find Henry."

"Which way did he go?" I asked Archie.

Archie pointed with a shaking finger, pale and mute, and I tore off in that direction. I yanked the door open and nearly tripped on something.

Not something. Someone.

Not someone. Henry.

I slammed the door shut and dropped to my knees beside him, all of the air gone from the room. His face was covered, absolutely covered in blood. His forehead, his cheeks, his nose, his lips, blood, so much blood.

He looked broken.

I was terrified to touch him. Terrified to break him even more.

I couldn't breathe, except to say his name.

Quietly at first. Like a prayer.

"Henry? Henry? Henry? Henry?"

Then tearing from me in frightened shouts.

"Henry! Henry! Henry! Henry! Damn it, Henry Furls, wake up!"

Finally, his eyes opened ever so slightly.

His voice was so quiet I had to lean forward to hear him. "'M 'wake." His eyes opened wider. "Hey. It's not as bad as it looks."

I was so relieved I managed the smallest smile. "Hey." The smile became unsustainable and fell away. "You're an idiot and a liar. Where does it hurt? Where does it hurt the most, I mean?"

He blinked, then, after a long second, said, "Think my ribs are busted."

I blinked back at him.

Just like Lucy.

I know this spell.

Just like Lucy.

"Okay," I said. To steady myself. I pointed my wand at him. "Okay."

The spell tumbled from my lips, only a tiny bit more confident than it had been the first time, when it was Lucy dying on the floor in front of me.

He breathed. Then he breathed again.

His face relaxed.

It had worked.

I murmured a couple more spells to seal the cuts on his forehead and fix his broken nose, eyes still trained on his face as I regained feeling in my limbs bit by bit.

He was okay. He was going to be okay.

"Thanks," Henry said quietly. He squeezed his eyes shut and heaved a deep breath before speaking again. "Damn. That hurt."

I nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I bet."

His brown eyes flew open. "Is everyone else okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, everyone else is okay, it's over, Dumbledore's here, Fred and I are here to get you all out."

I yanked him up, probably a bit rougher than I should have, and pulled him into a hug. I buried my head against his neck.

"Good to see you, mate," I said with a shaky sigh.

He hugged me back. "Good to see you too, believe me. How the bloody hell did you know that spell? That's gotta be the most advanced healing spell I've ever witnessed."

I released him and sagged back against the wall, my immense relief that he was okay after those couple of moments of terror where I thought he wouldn't be making my whole body feel limp. I realized I probably looked ridiculous, though, being so weak, so I twirled my wand in my hand, feigning nonchalance.

"Well, Cedric had these books that Lucy mentioned when..."

NO.

I snapped my mouth shut. Horror swept over me.

It would have been a reasonable mistake. It was a discussion of Lucy's secret that had been interrupted back in Grimmauld Place. And Henry was, well, Henry.

Damn you, Henry Furls, for being so... easy to talk to.

I had stopped myself, though. I had stopped myself.

But Henry was talking. Looking at me funny. "I — er — how long have you known? That she's...?"

What?

"How the bloody hell—" I started to ask, but he cut me off.

"Bellatrix. She said to grab the werewolf so we all know now, but—"

Before he could finish — before I could even be properly horrified by what he was saying — a door opened, and a number of people stepped through. Ginny walked in gingerly holding Ron's arm, followed by Luna, Archie, and Fred, who was holding Hermione in his arms.

I was on my feet in an instant, pulling Ginny and Ron to me as tightly as I dared. Tears sprang to my eyes, but I tried as hard as I could to force them away. I had to be strong. I had to be.

I squeezed a little bit harder before letting go and turning around.

"Alright," I said, wiping my eyes and sniffing hard. "Once Lucy, Harry, and Neville get back up here, we're heading back to Hogwarts."

"How?" Archie asked.

"Portkey," Fred answered. "Dumbledore gave us some fancy Headmaster magical override whatever, so we'll use one of my shoes or something to get back."

I jerked my chin toward the door they had all just used. "Let's wait in that room. Fewer doors, fewer entrances to cover."

"Good idea," Henry said.

I walked in first, wand pointed, but the room was thankfully free of Death Eaters, so I stationed myself on one side of the door as the others filed in. Henry stationed himself on the other side of the door, mimicking my posture with my wand.

I wanted to protest, having already saved his arse once that night, but I was selfishly glad for his presence. It was oddly comforting, having Henry so close, bloodied and beaten though he was.

My mind was reeling. Lucy's secret. The one she'd tried so hard to protect. Out, to Henry at the very least, but more likely out to everyone else there too. I couldn't believe it. I could only imagine how she felt.

I turned to Henry, about to ask him what had happened, when another door burst open.

Bellatrix was suddenly sprinting across the room, smashing tanks left and right, not actually firing spells at any people, oddly. Henry and I both fired spells at her instinctually, both of which she dodged with ease as she passed us and ran into the circular room we had just left.

Henry's voice reached me, soft, once she was gone. "Good call, Weasley. She could have trapped us in there."

I was struck rather dumb by the strange turn of events. Stranger. Whatever. "She could have trapped us in there. I wonder why she's running."

The answer appeared in the doorway thirty seconds later. Harry, covered in blood and looking absolutely murderous, was sprinting after her, wand drawn, artfully dodging all of the contents of the tanks she'd destroyed.

"Oi, mate, where do you think you're going?" I asked.

He paid me no mind, running between Henry and me into the circular room.

I was, yet again, struck rather dumb. I looked at Henry, blinked, then turned to follow Harry, but before I could, Lucy appeared, trying to run through the same doorway.

I snagged her by the arm, Henry doing the same on the opposite side.

What the hell is happening here?

She was covered in blood too.

Why is she covered in blood too?

She was fighting us, trying to get by, trying to chase after Harry.

I wouldn't let her go. I would never let her go.

She had another idea, her voice surprisingly strong given the desperation in it. "Let me go, please, please let me go."

I swallowed hard. "Cub, you're covered in blood—"

"It's not mine! Georgie, I'm okay, let me go!"

"You'd be running into a death trap, Lucy," Henry said.

"HARRY ALREADY HAS!" she screamed. "I'M GOING WITH HIM!"

NO.

I didn't even recognize my own voice even as it tore from my throat. "I won't just let you go after him!"

"I LOST CEDRIC ALMOST EXACTLY A YEAR AGO!" Henry lost his grip on her arm. "NOW SIRIUS IS GONE, AND HARRY WOULD HAVE GONE THROUGH THE VEIL AFTER HIM IF I HADN'T STOPPED HIM IN TIME!" I dropped her arm in my shock. Sirius is gone? "AND I REFUSE TO LOSE HARRY TOO!"

With that, she sprinted past us into the circular room with the doors. We both turned to go after her, but the door closed with a definitive click.

"It's alright," a loud voice called from the other end of the room. Henry and I whirled around to see that Dumbledore had been the one to close the door, and he was quickly crossing the room. Neville stumbled into the doorway just behind him. "I will go after those two. Fred, get everyone to the Hospital Wing then come back and help the other Order members bring any Death Eaters in that we can. George, Henry, take this Portkey and wait for Remus, he will meet you there shortly to discuss the events of the evening to compile a report for the Order." With a flick of his wand, two chairs appeared. "Portus!" He guided one over to Fred and his group. "Portus!" He guided the other over to me. "Thank you for your help, boys!" Dumbledore called as he walked into the circular room with the doors.

I blinked. Once. Twice.

Fred's voice reluctantly broke the silence, and I met his eyes. "Well... you heard the man. Hug Lucy for me if I don't get the chance, will you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, of course. See you later, Freddie." I turned to Henry and gestured for him to join me behind the chair. "Shall we?"

"I guess."

With that, we both touched the back of the chair, and the world around us disappeared for a second before rematerializing in the form of McGonagall's office.

Henry hit the floor hard and started to tip over. I grabbed him and twisted the chair around so he could sit on it.

"Easy there, Furls," I said quietly.

He put a hand over his eyes as he let me push him down onto the chair. "I'm fine, I'm fine, I just hate Portkeys."

"Yeah, alright. Whatever you say, tough guy."

"I'm fine," Henry said with a snort, standing and shoving the chair aside as he looked around the room. "Whose office are we in?"

"McGonagall's, I think. Reckon she'll be here soon? It's almost breakfast time, isn't it?"

He hesitated. "I think so, but... I don't think she'll be here soon."

"Hm? Why not?"

"She, er... she was attacked last night." At what point will these shocking revelations stop feeling like punches to the gut? "Two nights ago now, I guess. Something about going to defend Hagrid and Umbridge attacking her. I'm sure she'll be okay, though."

I blinked. "I had no idea. No one told us."

"Hey, it's alright. Nothing you could have done, and like I said, she'll be okay." Henry tilted his head and looked at me for a long second. "So, how's life been without Umbridge?"

I blinked again at the sudden conversation shift.

Right. I'm George Weasley. Gotta keep it light and happy, even when the world is ending.

"Without Umbridge? Spectacular. Without you? Less so." I smiled a bit, and to my surprise, it was genuine. "You'll come visit the shop over summer when you can, won't you, Mr. Magpie?"

"Of course. I might be Archie's favorite idiot, but you're mine, Mr. Mischief."

To my surprise, my laugh was genuine too.

"I'm too honored to be offended. Life without Umbridge has been alright, though. Lonelier than it ever was at school or at home, but at least I have Fred and summer is right around the corner."

Summer. Lucy. The room. Harry.

Where did they go?

What was happening?

"I hope Lucy and Harry are okay," I said.

Henry nodded. Silence fell then, and I was quickly lost in thought.

Ron, being strangled by a brain.

Ginny, ankle broken.

Henry, broken and bloody on the floor.

Harry, covered in blood.

Lucy, covered in blood.

Sirius, dead.

McGonagall, attacked.

Henry, no longer broken but still bloody, standing beside me.

The butterbeer still on my tongue had turned sour. I felt sick, hot and cold all at once as my stomach twisted itself in knots and everything within me trembled.

Surely, the world was ending. Again.

The soft sound of the door opening jerked me from my thoughts.

Lucy entered, and the world stopped ending as I pulled her close.

"Lucy." I rocked her back and forth. "You absolute madwoman. You are bloody insane."

She laughed weakly. "You love me, though."

The frailty of her voice cut me to the core.

I pulled away and looked at her, searching, searching, searching, searching for something that was wrong, something I could fix.

She was covered in blood. Her chin was cut, and the telltale drip of blood from her nose suggested it had at one point or another been broken and healed. There was a large bump on her head, too, but that wasn't the worst of it.

Her eyes bore into mine, curious. Almost confused.

What do you see? she seemed to be asking. What's wrong, George?

I don't know, I wanted to say. Maybe everything. It was the truth. They were Lucy's eyes, but they weren't Lucy's eyes.

Who hurt you?

What hurt you?

How do I hurt it back?

How do I stop it from ever hurting you again?

How do I protect you properly this time?

I suddenly remembered what she had said.

"Yes, of course we do," I said. "I — of course. Merlin, why would Dumbledore send you here? You need the Hospital Wing."

"I'm supposed to tell you two the story," she replied, shaking her head. "I'm alright."

"Well, I know most of it, Lucy," Henry said. "I can tell Professor Lupin what I know when he gets here, and you can fill in the gaps. I — well, obviously there's a lot I don't know, but if a play-by-play is what they want, I can share everything between you leaving Umbridge's office and when we all got separated."

She looked past me at Henry. "O-Okay, thank you. Yeah, I — I don't remember much of what happened actually in the prophecy room. I was a bit... out of it."

"I can imagine. Where did they, er, take you? That one Death Eater said..."

"Take you?" I repeated.

Before she could answer, the door banged open, and Remus appeared.

He grabbed Lucy by the shoulders. "Is Harry alive?"

She nodded. "He is, he is, he's in Dumbledore's office."

"What did they do to you?" he asked, taking her face in his hand and turning her side to side. "What happened?"

"I-I'm alright," Lucy said.

"Lucy Diggory, that's a lie and you know it," I said. "Dumbledore sent you here to tell us the story, so the sooner you tell us, the sooner you can go to the Hospital Wing."

"I need to go to Dumbledore's office once I..." Her voice trailed off, and she stared at the ground for a long second before speaking again. "D'you think the other Order members would be able to make sense of a memory?"

I blinked. "What d'you mean, Cub?"

"If I can just extract the memory of the night, would that be good enough for whatever the Order needs to know?" she asked, reaching for her wand.

Remus nodded. "Of course. You know how to do that safely?"

"Yeah. Cedric gave me a book on it." She looked up at him. "I can run up to my dormitory and get a vial."

"No need for that. I'm sure Min- Professor McGonagall wouldn't mind if I just..." Remus flicked his wand, and something on her desk was transfigured into a small glass vial. "I'm heading back to headquarters as soon as we're done here, so I'm sure this will do the trick."

"Alright." Lucy closed her eyes, then staggered backward a couple seconds later. I rushed forward, but she waved me off. "I'm alright, I'm alright. I think it's just too long of a memory. I-I guess I'll just start at the beginning."

I forced every last emotion of mine away. They were threatening to overwhelm me, and I couldn't afford to be overwhelmed. I forced myself into numbness as Lucy spoke, nearly impossible though it was.

I listened to every word that left her mouth, despite the fact that it was all a bit confusing and disjointed. Henry took over partway through, explaining what had happened to his group. Lucy took over again, her voice growing weaker and quieter the longer she talked.

"Then Voldemort appeared shortly after that, then Dumbledore. Harry and I watched while they dueled. Then Voldemort disappeared into thin air. And then..." She shuddered. "I think I'm going to try the memory again, for the rest of the story, I — I don't quite know what to make of what happened after Voldemort disappeared."

Remus held out the vial, and Henry and I watched as she extracted something shiny and silvery from her temple. She deposited it and sighed quietly.

"I think that's about it," she said in a small voice. A too-small voice.

Something was wrong. Something was wrong.

Remus nodded. "Alright. I'll take this back to headquarters and relay the story you just told me. I'm sure between what you and Henry said and what Harry tells Dumbledore, we can have a better idea of the night." He hugged Lucy quickly, then left the office with nothing more than an "I'm glad you're alright. I ought to go."

Lucy looked down, but I stepped forward and gently tipped her chin up.

"Hey. You're okay." Her haunted eyes bored into mine again. I fought as hard as I could to remain calm. "C'mon, I'll take you to the Hospital Wing."

"No, it's alright." She pulled away and walked backwards a couple steps. "I need to go to Dumbledore's office, he wanted me there when he talks to Harry. I-I really need to go make sure Harry's okay, I hope he hasn't been alone all this time, I — I should go."

"Lucy..." That's wrong. That's WRONG. She needs the Hospital Wing, Harry too. What is Dumbledore THINKING? I sighed. "Alright, I guess you shouldn't change plans on Dumbledore. See you in a couple weeks, alright?"

She looked up at me again and nodded, smiling a bit. "Sounds like a plan. Are you picking me up straight from the station?"

"Oh yeah, of course, the party starts the second you step off the train." I forced a smile and opened my arms. "C'mon, I told Fred I'd hug you once for him too in case he didn't see you."

She hugged me, and I didn't want to let go. I didn't think she did either. She did eventually, though, and glanced at Henry shyly.

"I-I'm guessing you want to talk to me about...?"

He nodded. "That would be nice. Tomorrow? I think I'm going to need to catch up on a bit of sleep today."

I turned to him, narrowing my eyes. "You, my friend, will do that in the Hospital Wing."

"You shatter a couple of ribs, get a couple of scratches, then all of a sudden everyone's all worried?" he asked, turning to Lucy. "What kind of nonsense is this?"

She grinned crookedly. "Tell me about it. Sleep well, Henry. Bye, Georgie."

And just like that, she was gone.

I released a shaky sigh.

"You alright?" Henry asked.

I clapped a hand on his shoulder instead of answering. "You. Hospital Wing. With me. Now."

I walked with my hand on his shoulder the whole way. I felt like I was in free fall. Henry was something of an anchor. He was alive. He was okay, or at least he would be.

Not all was lost.

The Hospital Wing was empty except for those who had been in the Department of Mysteries. Ron and Hermione appeared to be asleep, and Madam Pomfrey was passing a potion to Neville while Archie hovered nearby, staring off into space with a contemplative look in his eyes. Luna was gently cleaning the blood from Ginny's face while Ginny frantically scrubbed her hands in the sink.

I walked Henry over to the sink and pushed him back against the counter with one hand, grabbing a towel with the other.

Once it was sufficiently damp, I pressed it to his temple. To clean the blood. One swipe at a time.

He blinked, stunned, then started to reach for my wrist. "I can wash my own—"

"I know. Just — let me," I said.

So much was left unsaid.

Please, someone, just let me help, let me try to fix this, let me do what little I can to try to make this better.

Lucy's gone, Ron's asleep, Fred's still in the Department of Mysteries, Ginny's covered in blood, and I'm... here.

Please, Henry, just let me.

"Where's Lucy?" Ginny asked.

I froze. I kept my gaze locked on Henry's, waiting for an answer.

Please, Henry, just let me.

He dropped his hand. He didn't protest.

I continued cleaning the blood.

"She's with Harry in Dumbledore's office," Henry said. "She's okay, they both are."

"Thanks," Ginny replied in a pinched voice.

"Your hands are clean, Ginny," Luna commented. "Why are you still scrubbing?"

"Just — just — the blood," she stammered. She continued scrubbing. "It was on my hands. Like — like Harry's when... when..."

When Lucy hurt herself in the Room of Requirement, my brain finished. Oh.

"It's alright, Gin," I said. "It's Grawp's blood, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

The words sounded falsely hopeful to my ears, but I said them anyway, choosing to believe they sounded truly hopeful to someone else's. "It's alright, Gin. Everything's going to be alright."

Henry blinked. "Oh. Forgive the stupid question, but the lance...?"

Suddenly, I had to stop myself from smiling. Oh Henry. "Yeah, sorry, no lance."

"Ah, damn," Archie said from across the room. "I've been calling her Lancelot for months now."

I couldn't stop myself from smiling at that. Yes, yes you have.

"Don't worry, she thought it was hilarious," Ginny piped up, smiling a bit. Her smile gave way to a stern expression as she spun around, hands on her hips as she surveyed the room. "And I know this goes without saying, but that secret does not leave this room, yes?"

Everyone verbally and nonverbally agreed in an instant.

"Any advice for how to...?" Henry's question trailed off, all of the possible endings hanging in the air.

Ginny shrugged. "Just know she's going to be upset and embarrassed no matter what you say or do. Everyone approaches it a bit differently, so just... do what feels right to you."

"Just remind her this changes nothing about how you see her — not in a negative way, at least," I said. "It's an explanation of Lucy, not a definition."

Henry nodded. "Understood."

"Speaking of," Madam Pomfrey said, and we all jumped, "when will she and Harry be coming to visit me? Do I need to march up to the Headmaster's office myself?"

"That's not a bad idea," I replied honestly.

Silence fell then, broken only by a soft sniffle.

"What I would give to have Cedric still with us," Madam Pomfrey said in nearly a whisper before walking into her office.

Henry swallowed hard.

"What do you think it would change, Henry?" I heard myself asking, my hand going still against the side of his face, damp towel pressed to his cheek as I looked from his cheek to his eyes. "Having Cedric here?"

His reply was soft at first. "Everything, yet nothing at all. Everything would be better, yet nothing would be different. I know this war started with him, but I — seeing the reaction, or lack thereof, to his death upsets me endlessly because it didn't need to start with him. Obviously everything would be better with Cedric, everything always was, but something tells me we'd end up right back here every damn time because this world is determined to destroy itself one catastrophe at a time." He paused, choking on the emotion in his words for a moment. "Something tells me this world is worth the fight anyway, though."

"Something tells me you have no idea how right you are." I looked up to his temple and resumed the cleaning of the blood from it. "You're a wise man, Henry Furls."

Beneath what little blood was left, Henry blushed.

Soon, his face was clean, and I had to go. I didn't want to go, but I knew Fred would be waiting for me, wanting answers. What few I could give, anyway.

On the way out, I clasped Henry's shoulder, ruffled the sleeping Ron's hair (pointedly ignoring the bandages on his arms and the too-many potions by his bed), and pulled Ginny tight for another hug.

"I'll see you soon," I whispered. "I promise."

"I know," she replied.

I swallowed tears down. "I love you."

"I know that too." She laughed quietly. "I love you too."

I started toward the door and wandered back to McGonagall's office. She didn't need an extra chair in there when she returned, I thought, so I could turn Dumbledore's Portkey into a Portkey back to the shop. Before I got there, though, I heard running footsteps behind me.

"Wait!" Ginny called. "George!"

I whirled around. "Aren't you supposed to be resting?" I asked, playful (I hoped, I tried) exasperation in my voice.

"This is more important," she insisted, slowing to a walk. "Come on, in here."

I closed the door behind us once we were both in McGonagall's office. "What's up?"

"The Death Eaters recognized Lucy because of her scars."

"Oh." I felt the blood drain from my face. "I hadn't even thought about — I mean, she's still Lucy with or without but I didn't think..."

"I know. She's going to need to cover them working at the shop. Obviously a few people will still recognize her anyway, especially since she covered them for the Yule Ball, but—"

"She'd be safer with them covered," I finished for her. I swore quietly. "Thanks for telling me, I... Henry said that the Death Eaters were talking about Lucy and Harry before they realized you were in there, but he didn't share any details."

Ginny nodded. "I thought you should know."

"Definitely. Thank you." My mind wandered. We had just been talking to Sirius about the summer. Now Sirius is gone. Wait, Ginny's smiling at me. I blinked. "Sorry, what was that?"

"So?" she repeated, gesturing at me. "Go on, show me."

"Oh," I said with a small smile. "Alright."

I obliged her, turning into a dog right there in McGonagall's office. Ginny grinned and clapped a couple of times.

"Bravo, Fido!" she teased. "Merlin, it's so funny that you're a dog after you've spent your whole life being afraid of dogs."

She looked around, and, apparently deciding there was enough room for her to transform too, promptly became a horse.

We awkwardly shook "hands," my paw meeting her hoof, and turned back into humans. I hugged her one last time, and I made her promise to sleep all day.

I released another sigh once she left and turned the chair in front of me into a Portkey. I gripped it tightly, and before I knew it, I was home.

"I'm guessing we're closed today?" a voice asked behind me.

I huffed a laugh. "Fine by me."

"Good. I already made a sign."

I turned to see that Fred had, in fact, already made a sign.

CLOSED FOR TODAY

FILLING ORDERS FOR O.W.L. AND N.E.W.T. STUDENTS

COME BACK FOR MORE MISCHIEF TOMORROW!

"That works," I said with yet another sigh, following him to the front of the store as he stuck it to the window. "When did you get back?"

"Twenty minutes or so ago. Figured I should wait for you here instead of wandering around the castle looking for you. I figured you'd be more worried by my absence than I was by yours."

I snorted. "Yeah. How was Death Eater retrieval?"

"A bit intense," he replied. I could tell he was more rattled by it than he wanted to let on, but I could also tell he didn't want me to push. "Couldn't really focus, to tell you the truth. How is everyone at school?"

"Everyone's going to be okay," I said.

Fred nodded, sighing heavily. "What happened?"

I repeated Lucy's story with Henry's addition as best I could, except for the part Lucy had put into a vial. For once, Fred never interrupted me.

He opened his mouth to say something once I was finished, but before he could, someone Apparated outside the store with a loud crack.

I turned to point to the sign, but it was Remus. I opened the door without hesitation, and he stumbled in.

"Sorry for just popping up," he mumbled. "'S it okay if I just...?"

"Of course," Fred replied.

I nodded. "Yes, of course."

"I brought these." Remus passed me the blueprints. "Didn't want someone like your mother seeing those." As I placed the blueprints somewhat reverently on the nearest counter, Remus made his way to the nearest staircase and dropped onto it, head in his hands. Wand still in hand. Streaks of blood on his robes — some his, some not. "Didn't want to be around the Order," he said after a minute, head still in his hands. "I dropped my memory of Lucy and Henry telling the story into a Pensieve on the kitchen table, put Lucy's vial next to it, dropped my own memory of what happened in. I watched everything myself once, then left. I can't — I — I can't."

Fred and I exchanged a long look.

Remus had just lost his best friend, then watched it back again. What could we say?

This was a problem no laughter could fix.

No laughter could bring Sirius back.

Fred's voice was the first to break the silence. "What happened tonight?"

"Which part?" Remus asked in a pained voice.

"Lucy's vial," Fred replied. "George filled me in on the rest."

Remus shuddered and hesitated a long moment before answering. "That was... remarkably unusual. Terrifying, honestly. Horrific. The short version is that You-Know-Who possessed Harry and told Dumbledore to kill him. But Lucy rushed forward and grabbed Harry by the face, and magic like I've never seen... he passed back and forth between Lucy and Harry, possessing them back and forth, before he just... left. It was... so bizarre I can't even... yeah."

Fred blinked. "You mean to tell me Harry and Lucy played tug-of-war with You-Know-Who and won?"

"That's one way to put it," Remus replied mildly.

"She looked so..." I couldn't even bring myself to finish the thought. "I knew something was wrong. More wrong than... everything else, I mean. But I didn't think... Lucy was possessed? By — You-Know-Who? Harry too?"

Remus nodded.

Heavy silence fell then, each of us lost in our own thoughts.

It was Remus who broke the silence again.

"It was — none of that should have ever happened. It's Snape's fault, really, if you think about it, he never should have stopped giving Harry those — there aren't words strong enough to accurately describe what a — he made Harry think that James wasn't — wasn't a good person, somehow, that sick little twisted — son of a — FUCK!"

Remus jumped to his feet, and I reached below the counter to grab a firework. I tossed it to him, and he turned it slowly in his hands, mesmerized.

"Profanity sparklers," I said. "Feel free to give it a shot. Maybe you'll find a word strong enough in there."

To my surprise, he snorted. Remus, Professor Lupin, snorted. His eyes didn't leave the firework in his hands.

Remus didn't look up when he spoke again. "He was lying, you know. Sirius. About Quidditch. He was a good Beater, that much was true, but he couldn't stomach the thought of ever having to hit a Bludger at Regulus, his brother. They had their differences, of course, but Sirius still loved his brother and never wanted to be the reason he might be hurt."

Ron, asleep, bandages on his arms.

Ginny, covered in blood, ankle turned the wrong way.

My own boggart, Fred's dead body.

"I understand," I heard my voice saying.

"How do you activate it?" Remus asked, his voice sounding very distant.

Fred answered him, and I was jerked from my reverie by an explosion.

Followed by a laugh. Remus was laughing. Laughing. Tears were beginning to fill his eyes too, and I could tell his laughter wasn't mirthful, not really, more sobs than laughs, really, but he was laughing. Red and orange and gold and purple profanity filled the air of the shop, and he repeated each word, shouted it, declared it.

Fred tossed him another one as the first gave off its final sparks.

"One more," he said, "for Sirius."

Remus nodded. "For Sirius. The most lovable inbred heart-of-gold bastard to ever exist."

Fred and I snort-laughed in surprise as Remus sent the firework skyward.

Red and orange and gold and purple sparks rained down around us as more profanity was written in the air. Fred and I kept sharing disbelieving looks — to be fair, nothing about what had happened was believable — but Remus was really laughing and crying at the same time as he watched the fireworks.

Eventually, though, it was over. The last of the light dissipated, leaving us in the dim morning light that dared to come through the windows.

"Sorry for just barging in," Remus said in a voice little more than a whisper. "Thank you for sharing your magic. Sirius would have loved—" He was cut off by his own weak sob. "I should get going, but — let me know when you're ready to ward the room for Lucy. I can help. I — I should go."

He rushed to the door. I opened my mouth to try to stop him, but no words came to me.

He hesitated, hand resting on the door for a minute.

"I don't know what in the world is exactly worth the fight anymore," Remus whispered, "because without him... I don't know what's left for me. I can fight for a better world, though, one where maybe Lucy won't have to hide in warded rooms when — and one where Sirius and I could have..." He didn't finish his thought. He opened and closed his mouth a couple more times, but when he spoke again, his mind was in a different place. "I'm sorry this is the world you were born to, boys. We tried our best to save it the first time, really we did. Maybe we will this time. I — I have to believe that we will, somehow."

And with that, Remus left, Disapparating with a loud crack.