LUCY:

The days leading up to Halloween passed in a hazy blur. I slept whenever I had the chance, but between catching up on the work from the full moon and wrapping up haunted house preparations, the only chance I truly had to catch my breath was Quidditch practice.

Fortunately for all of us, Skye Parkin was not what you would call a morning person. Our practices always started when the sun was high in the sky, and after learning about the Slytherin-Ravenclaw incident, Skye worked us as hard as ever.

"Half their team will barely be recovered by the time of the match," she explained, "so this will be a great game for offense. We have to be careful, though, because grumpy Slytherins take the most cheap shots out of all of the house teams, and since they're already starting at a disadvantage with the practice they've missed, they're going to be desperate. To prepare for this, we're going to practice with four Bludgers. Sorry, Weasleys," she added when they groaned, "but you can never be too careful. Besides, Little Diggs is here today, so she'll be subbing in and out for you two especially."

When it came to subbing in and out, we had settled into a fairly comfortable routine. I always started and ended as Chaser, because Skye had recognized by then that Chaser was where I belonged. Just the same, the other positions might be needed at any time, so after playing as Chaser for a bit, I would play Keeper until someone scored on me. From there, Fred would toss me his bat, and I'd play Beater until George tossed me his bat. Harry was a solid Seeker, so after Beater, I went back to Chaser until Skye called practice off.

Skye and I had finally managed to convince the twins to stop going easy on me, and as a result, I had taken quite a few Bludgers to the head. And back, and arm, and leg, and... well, you get the point. They always felt sorry for hitting me, but Beaters were Beaters and they understood that they had a job to do to prepare me for real matches. On this particular day, with four Bludgers zooming around and one very, very tired "Little Diggs," I knew I had to be on top of my game to leave practice with all of my bones intact.

As Skye had explained, Slytherin alternated between two primary strategies. They either kept to their half of the field and tried to use their players other than the Seeker as additional Keepers to try to stop the other team from scoring altogether, or they had all hands on deck on the other end of the field to get their Chasers to rack up as many points as possible. With a weakened team, Skye reckoned they would use the first strategy. Every team member would become more or less a human Bludger, so everyone's roles changed slightly. The goal of the Chasers was to weave through them as effectively as possible and wait until a goal was a certainty to throw the Quaffle, and to only pass when absolutely necessary because of how densely we would be packed. The job of the Beaters was to try to clear a path for the Chasers by picking off as many players as possible, while being careful not to take one of us out by accident. The Keeper was to watch for the Snitch along with the Seeker until the play moved to the other side of the field, and the goal of the Seeker was to catch the Snitch as soon as possible.

Skye pulled me aside while everyone else took to the sky. "Well, Little Diggs, I may have lied to the twins. Today, you're subbing in for me for the whole practice. I'll be flying above practice watching everyone and making sure nobody gets taken out by a Bludger, if the twins happen to miss one."

I grinned. "Excellent."

"Make me proud, kid. You'll be replacing me next year."

"I'll do my best!" I promised, joining the team in the sky. Once she was directly above us, Skye dropped the Quaffle into the field and the practice began.

My head was on a swivel. Four Bludgers trying to attack seven players was unheard of, but Skye certainly had a point. Slytherin would stop at nothing to try to win, and based on the stories I had already heard about past games, nobody was safe.

It was the most physical practice I had yet experienced. Fred and George tried to emulate the Slytherin strategy without actually hurting or fouling any of us, forcing us to weave around them while still dodging Bludgers and catching the Quaffle.

"Blatching!" Skye called from above after Fred collided with Angelina.

"Hooch wouldn't have called that against Slytherin!" he called back.

"You have a point, but still! Gotta be careful!"

"Careful?" I chuckled to myself as a Bludger whizzed over my head. "Word of the day."

Angelina chuckled and tossed me the Quaffle. "Fred definitely did that on purpose. Why don't you take the foul shot?"

"Alright, thanks!"

I soared up to the hoops and launched the Quaffle as hard as I could, but Oliver managed to kick it away at the last second. I wrinkled my nose in disappointment.

"Thimblerig time!" Skye called from above. "It'll confuse the Bludgers. Come on, Chasers, give it a shot!"

"Oh Merlin," I muttered, my heart sinking. I had watched it several times in practice, of course, but Skye had never actually let me try it.

It wasn't complicated, necessarily, but it required the complete concentration and cooperation of all three Chasers. Angelina started with the Quaffle, and the three of us moved in a figure-eight motion, passing it back and forth until we were close enough to score. Fortunately, when we were close enough, I was not the one with the Quaffle --- Angelina sent it at the hoop, but Oliver caught it.

"I want all three of you to try to score!" Skye shouted. I groaned. I was running out of steam quickly. All I could think about was the soft red couch waiting for me in the common room after a nice hot shower...

The Quaffle was in play again, dropping into my hands. I shook the thoughts of rest from my mind, focusing as best I could as we twisted and turned. Just before I could take a shot, though, a Bludger slammed into my shoulder, sending the Quaffle flying from my grasp. But I refused to let anyone else snatch it up. I darted forward and reached with my left hand, tucking it securely under my arm and plummeting downward, pretending to have lost my balance.

"Someone catch her!" Fred shouted from above.

"Watch out!" Alicia screamed. "There's a Bludger chasing you!"

But they didn't need to worry. I shot straight up into the sky, switching the Quaffle to my right hand and launching it at the hoops from an angle. Oliver didn't even see it --- it sailed clean through. There was no time to celebrate, though, because the Bludger was catching up. I zigzagged away, but it got closer and closer until George beat it away.

"Thanks!" I called over my shoulder before returning to do the Thimblerig for Alicia to score. After Oliver caught the Quaffle she launched at him, Skye called us up to her and gave a quick pep talk before releasing us.

I made my way to the changing room and started peeling my pads off, wincing slightly as I twisted my shoulder.

"You good, Diggory?" Angelina asked. "You need someone to walk you to the Hospital Wing?"

"I'm alright, but thanks. I'll go find Cedric. He can fix it up in a jiffy."

"You need someone to walk with you?" Alicia asked with a giggle.

I smiled and rolled my eyes. "If you'd really like to come with me, be my guest. Would you like me to tell him about how you almost got one past Oliver?"

"I'd really like it if you told him I did get one past Oliver, but maybe I should wait until I actually do make it past Oliver to go with you to meet your brother."

"That's what I thought," I chuckled, slamming the locker closed and pressing my hand to my shoulder. "Good practice! See you later!"

"Bye!" they chorused after me.

I made my way toward the castle, wondering where I'd find Cedric just before lunch on a Saturday morning. Thankfully, I didn't have to look very long; he and Henry were studying together under a tree.

"Hi, Cedric! Hi, Henry!" I called. Their heads snapped up in perfect unison, and I smiled in amusement.

"Hey, Lu," Cedric replied with an easy grin. "How's it going?"

"I hurt my shoulder. Would you mind fixing it up? It's not worth going to the Hospital Wing," I added quickly, noting his look of concern, "but it sure is uncomfortable."

"Of course, not a problem," he said. "What happened?"

"Skye wouldn't want me telling the enemy." I assumed my best mock serious expression. "But she's worried about Slytherin, and had me in the whole practice today." I glanced at Henry. "Please don't tell anyone I said that. Nobody's supposed to know I'm even on the team."

"Your secret's safe with me," he replied with a smile. "Not that I'm terribly surprised, anyway. You're his sister, after all. Quidditch is in your blood."

"Which shoulder?" Cedric asked, setting his book down and drawing his wand.

"My right one," I replied, grimacing when he reached forward to touch it. "I was about to take a shot at Wood when a Bludger pelted me from behind."

Cedric and Henry both groaned in empathy. They knew the feeling too well.

"You didn't do any major damage," Cedric said. "This should help. Episkey!"

And just like that, half the pain vanished.

"Thanks, Cedric, that helped a lot," I said, turning my arm in a couple of circles.

"Yeah, happy to help," he replied. "Do you want me to teach you how to use it?"

I nodded emphatically. "Fred and George can wait!"

Cedric rolled his eyes. "They won't stop talking about your haunted house."

"It sounds great," Henry chuckled. "I might have to sneak up to the Gryffindor common room to see it for myself."

"We've been working really hard on it, but we still have a ways to go," I admitted. "But I'd like to learn this, at least as best as I can right now."

And so we passed the time until lunch. Henry returned his attention to his book and just listened; it was nice having my brother more or less to myself for a while.

"Cub!" a voice whispered. "Cub, wake up!"

I opened my eyes to see the twins hovered over me, grinning from ear to ear.

"Did we fall asleep in the common room again?" I mumbled, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"Yep!" Fred said, tossing me a pumpkin, which I managed to catch. "But it's Halloween, so we've got lots of work to do!"

George helped me to my feet. "We only just woke up. We reckon it's around four in the morning, but if we start now, we might be able to attend part of the feast tonight!"

I shook my head back and forth to wake myself up. "Alright. I'm on board. So what's the plan?"

We immediately set to work, and had already decorated the walls and had just started rearranging the furniture when the first Gryffindor stumbled down the stairs.

"Happy Halloween, Dom!" Fred called.

"Happy Halloween," the boy replied, gawking at the room. "This is crazy."

"Dom is the resident DJ at our Quidditch parties," George explained, as Fred gave him a grand tour of the room so far. "He found a Muggle contraption in the common room his first year called a record player. He's one of the only ones who can make it work, and the Muggle-born kids always have fun bringing their vinyl records to play for everyone when we win. He's roommates with Percy and Oliver, unfortunate soul."

"What's wrong with Oliver and Percy? Do they not like each other?"

"Oh, no, they love each other. They're best pals, believe it or not. But, well, they both tend to be very intense, and Dom is just about one of the most laid-back fellows you'll ever come across. He's in the Frog Choir and in the band, and he considers most academia to be an utter waste of time because all he truly cares about is music."

I giggled. "Sounds like the type of personality that would drive the others bonkers."

"It does, I assure you. But Dom's a good chap, and he's always up for helping Fred and I prank our dearest prefect brother. Says it lightens the mood from time to time, believe it or not."

More Gryffindors began to come down the stairs, and we greeted each with a chipper "Happy Halloween!" They often replied in kind, their eyes wide as they looked around.

"You should head off to class, Cub," Fred said. "Halloween's Charms lesson is one you don't want to miss as a first-year."

"Aren't you two going to class, too?" I asked, slinging my bookbag over my shoulder.

"We have double History of Magic," George replied.

I laughed. "Oh, okay, I get it. Alright, I'll be back up here come lunchtime."

"Bye!" they called after me as I slipped through the portrait hole.

Fred and George were right --- we were making objects fly in Charms for the first time, and I was sure glad I was there. Professor Flitwick divided us into partners, and I found myself paired with Neville Longbottom. I hadn't gotten much chance to talk to him given how busy I had been with the twins, but he struck me as a sweet boy, even if he struggled academically. I bit back a giggle when I realized Hermione and Ron were partnered together; I couldn't tell who was more upset about it. Harry looked relieved to be paired with Seamus instead of Hermione... until Seamus lit his feather on fire out of frustration, that is.

I couldn't even touch my wand because I was so busy trying to help Neville with his spell. We both got distracted, however, when Hermione started raising her voice at Ron.

"Stop, stop, stop," she snapped. "You're doing it wrong."

"I'm saying the words and waving my wand the right way," he retorted. "What more can I do?"

"It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa. Make the 'gar' nice and long, and put more emphasis on the 'o.'"

"You do it, then, if you're so clever!"

"Alright, I will." She rolled up her sleeves, and with a very confident wand movement, said, "Wingardium leviosa!"

The feather immediately began to rise from the table, earning Professor Flitwick's praise.

"Neville, do you mind if I try?" I asked, grabbing my wand. "I want to make sure I know what I'm doing before I accidentally teach you the wrong thing."

He nodded, setting his wand down in relief.

"Wingardium leviosa!" I said, careful to make my wand movement as perfect as possible. My feather, too, began to rise.

"Miss Diggory has done it as well!" Professor Flitwick cheered. "Well done!"

"Thank you!" I replied with a smile, feeling my face grow hot as the class turned to me to see for themselves.

Neville seemed particularly impressed. "I'm glad you're my partner today, Lucy, because I'm sure hopeless."

"Nonsense, Neville," I said with a dismissive wave of my hand. "Let's keep trying!"

By the end of class, Neville had managed to make half of the feather lift off the desk. He was absolutely ecstatic.

"I'm going to go ask Professor Flitwick if we can be partners in every Charms class! You're the best, Lucy!" He hugged me quickly before running over to Professor Flitwick's desk. I chuckled to myself and made my way to DADA. I hoped for another fun lesson, but Professor Quirrell spent the whole period talking about a basic protective ward that I had already learned from Fred and George. We didn't even get to practice it, he merely told us about it. I wished I had ditched.

As soon as that class was over, I hurried back up to the Gryffindor common room, where the twins were spinning skeletons in circles.

"What in the name of Godric Gryffindor's great-grandmother are you two doing?" I asked, unable to stop myself from laughing.

"Merely testing out the dancing charms!" Fred called, tossing the skeleton aside and grabbing my hands. We danced around the room a couple of times before he passed me on to George and stole George's bony partner. We laughed until our sides hurt as we dodged the skeletons dancing all around us. After a couple of minutes, we decided we had to get back to work, so work we did, assembling walls and dimming candles.

George even managed to transfigure a quill into a live bat, which seemed like a great idea until it flew straight into my face. I screamed and swatted it away, sending it zooming straight into Fred's chest.

"Sorry!" I squeaked, keeping my hands up around my face. "I wasn't expecting it to hit me!"

"No worries," he chuckled, grabbing it by the foot and holding it out in front of him. "What's the matter, you don't like bats?"

"I hate them!"

"Oh, how unfortunate," he teased, stepping closer to me.

"Don't you dare, Fred Weasley!" I squealed, taking a couple steps backward and drawing my wand.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George!"

"No, you're definitely Fred!" I said as I ducked behind his twin. "George, help!"

He merely laughed. "A lion cub, afraid of a little bat? Give me a break!"

"Bats are creepy!" I whined. George jumped out of the way, leaving me wide open. I pointed my wand straight at Fred's abdomen. "Rictumsempra!"

Fred dropped the bat as he doubled over in laughter. The bat shook its head and flew up toward the ceiling, as far away from the redheaded menaces as it could get.

"Lucy!" he managed between bouts of laughter. "Make it- stop! HAHAHAHAHA!"

"Fair is fair," I said with a shrug. "Just a couple more seconds, then I'll be satisfied."

George smiled. "A couple more minutes works, too."

"I wouldn't look so smug, George Weasley, you were the one who left me vulnerable and transfigured it to begin with!" I pointed my wand back at Fred and undid the tickling charm.

He was panting as he rose to his feet, clutching his sides. "Where did you... learn that one... Cub? We didn't... teach you... the tickling charm."

I smirked. "Don't underestimate my hatred of bats." I pointed my wand at George. "Rictumsempra!"

"Protego!" he countered. "Rictumsempra!"

"Protego!"

The twins smiled at each other, then at me when I successfully shielded myself. "It seems we've done well so far."

I grinned sheepishly. "I try." Above our heads, the bat screeched. "I guess that's our cue to keep working."

"And what do you know," George said. "Another quill! Now our new friend won't be lonely!"

I rolled my eyes and tucked my wand away. "Fine, have it your way. I won't forget this."

George transfigured the second quill, and both twins howled with laughter when it, too, flew directly into my face.

"Don't worry," Fred cackled. "We won't forget this, either."

The rest of the day's classes were cancelled in honor of the holiday, so the twins and I worked clear through the afternoon. Thankfully, it was a beautiful sunny day outside, so we didn't end up having to shoo anybody away from the common room. We could see from the window many students playing Gobstones in the Courtyard or zipping around on brooms.

By the time the feast rolled around, our haunted house was complete.

"I can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces after the feast," I said as we climbed through the portrait hole and started down the stairs. "I sure hope they like it."

"They will," Fred assured me. "In fact, I'd bet you five Sickles we get everyone to scream at least once. That mummy mask that opens its eyes at the end should get even Percy."

"I'm not the gambling type, Fred, but if I were, I'd bet that everything will make Percy scream. He strikes me as jumpy."

"I've got to agree with Lucy on this one," George said. "Percy tries to be cool, calm, and collected, but I think he'll scream at the very first mask."

We all laughed at the thought of that and entered the Great Hall.

"Look, Lucy, more bats!" Fred crowed.

"Your favorite!" George teased, elbowing my in the ribs.

"Shut up," I muttered, glaring at the ceiling, which was in fact swarming with hundreds of live bats.

As we took our seats across from Harry and Ron, I scanned the table. "Where's Hermione?" I asked.

Ron looked mildly uncomfortable, and Harry opened his mouth to answer, but Parvati beat him to it. "Still crying in the bathroom. She's been there all afternoon."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know," Lavender said in a passive-aggressive tone that seemed to suggest she in fact knew exactly why. "She said she wanted to be left alone."

"I'm going to go find her," I declared, rising from the table. "She can't miss her first Halloween feast!"

"Neither can you," Fred protested.

"I'll be right back," I said. "Don't worry. I'm sure I can coax her out."

Without waiting for a response, I set off in search of Hermione. I found her on the third-floor bathroom, crying in a stall.

"Hermione?" I asked. "It's Lucy."

"Go away," came a muffled voice. "I said I wanted to be left alone."

"Rubbish, nobody ever wants to be left alone."

"Well, I do."

I sighed. "If you really want to be left alone, then you can be left alone later, when there's not a spectacular Halloween feast happening in the Great Hall. Besides, why feel sorry for yourself on an empty stomach?"

She sniffled. "It's not like I have any friends anyway, according to Ron."

"Who cares what Ron thinks? I came up here because I care about you, Hermione, and I'm not going back without you."

She sniffled again. I wiggled beneath the stall door so I could talk to her face-to-face.

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?"

She took a shaky breath. "A-After Charms, I heard Ron call me a nightmare, and he said it was no wonder I didn't have any f-friends."

"Well, here I am," I replied with a smile and a shrug. "Do you still consider me a friend?"

She nodded. "I just... I wanted to just let Ron struggle at first, but I thought about what you said last week and tried to help him."

"It came across as rather harsh," I admitted, "but I'm proud of you for trying, honest I am."

"It didn't do me any good," she said bitterly. "He just called me a nightmare."

"I'm sure that deep down, he didn't mean it, just the way you didn't mean to come across as harsh. But he took what you said the wrong way instead of recognizing it for what it was, an attempt to help. He's not a mean person, and neither are you. Today was just a misunderstanding, and if you want, I'll help you talk to him about it tomorrow."

"I'll think about it," she said after a moment. "Thank you, Lucy."

"No need to thank me. That's just what friends are for."

At that moment, our stomachs growled in unison. We burst into giggles.

"Now, what do you say we head down to the feast?"

Hermione nodded. "I'm starving."

But before I could open the stall, the whole bathroom shook. We exchanged a quick panicked glance.

"What was that?"

Another loud thud shook the bathroom, followed by the sound of the click of a lock.

"What was that?" she whimpered.

I pressed a finger to my lips frantically and drew my wand before peeking through the crack in the door. "I don't see anything," I whispered as softly as I could, turning back to Hermione. But her eyes weren't on me; she was looking almost straight up, her mouth open with terror. I followed her gaze just as she let loose a bloodcurdling scream. A troll loomed above us.

I grabbed her by the neck and pulled her to the ground just as the troll swung its massive club across the stalls, trapping us beneath the rubble. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't think.

As it lifted its club for round two, I suddenly remembered who I was. I wrenched my wand hand free and circled it above both myself and Hermione.

"Protego!" I screamed. The club came down, but bounced off of the temporary shield. I yanked Hermione out from the debris and tried to run toward the door, but Hermione cowered against the wall instead. The troll stepped toward her, knocking sinks clean off the walls as it went. I rushed to protect her, holding my wand out in front of us. Before I could cast a spell, however, Harry and Ron burst into the room.

"Get Hermione out of here!" I shouted. "And fast!" Harry and Ron exchanged a nod before Harry launched a piece of broken pipe at the troll. It turned its head toward Harry, which allowed Ron to run around it and grab Hermione by the hand.

The troll raised its club to strike Harry as Ron and Hermione started to crawl toward the door. I pointed my wand at the troll's club.

"Bombarda!" I yelled. The club exploded into pieces before it could take a swing. Surprised, the troll spun around with more speed than I was expecting, and smacked me with its massive hand. I hit the wall and fell to the ground, all of the wind knocked out of me.

"Lucy!" the other three cried. I curled myself into a protective ball, trying to catch my breath.

"Oy, pea-brain!" Ron shouted, shoving Hermione toward the door and running to the opposite corner of the room from where I had landed. He chucked a metal pipe at the troll, which bounced harmlessly off its shoulder. But the yell effectively distracted it, and it turned its focus toward Ron.

"Run, run!" Harry urged Hermione, but she remained frozen in place, her eyes darting between me and the troll. The troll lurched toward Ron, balling its hands into fists. Harry squatted into an athletic stance and launched himself at the troll, managing to lock his arms around its neck.

"No," I gasped, pushing myself to my knees. I lifted my wand to try to send another spell at the troll, but I didn't trust myself to hit it without hitting Harry by accident. But as it turned out, Harry didn't need my help yet. He shoved his wand up the troll's nose, and the troll bellowed in pain accordingly.

"Wingardium leviosa!" Ron shouted suddenly, his wand pointed at a broken sink. The sink hovered above the troll's head. "Jump, Harry! Jump!"

He leapt to the ground just as Ron's sink fell onto the troll's head with a sickening crack. The troll dropped to the ground with a thunderous boom. Harry got to his feet, breathing heavily.

"Is it dead?" Hermione squeaked.

"I don't think so," Harry replied. "I think it's just knocked out." I pushed myself to my feet and approached the troll slowly. I bent down and picked up a fragment of the club about the size of a Golden Snitch and pocketed it. Fred and George would never believe this, let alone Cedric.

"Are you alright, Lucy?" Ron asked, coming to take a closer look as well.

I nodded, but before I could say anything, Professor McGonagall burst into the room, followed closely by Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell. Fred and George, somehow, were behind them. Their eyes were wide, and they started to smile before Professor McGonagall spoke.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" she hissed, her face drawn and white with fury. "Why aren't you all in your dormitory? You could have been killed!"

"They came to save me, Professor," Hermione said, her voice very small. "I went looking for the troll because I thought I could deal with it on my own, you know, because I've read all about them. Lucy destroyed the club, Harry shoved his wand up its nose, and Ron knocked it out with one of the broken sinks. If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."

Hermione? Lying? I opened my mouth to protest, but nothing would come out.

"Well... in that case..." Professor McGonagall's face lost some of its anger. "Miss Granger, I have not the slightest idea what possessed you to do such a thing. As for you three, I still say you were lucky. Not many first-years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. Fred, George, will you walk with Harry, Ron, and Hermione to the common room?"

"Sure thing, Professor McGonagall!" they said in unison, taking one last glance at the form of the troll and flashing me a thumbs-up as they left.

"The Weasley twins told us the real reason you were here to begin with," Professor McGonagall said. "As for why Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley were here, I was hoping you could tell me the truth."

"I think they heard us," I said, my voice scarcely above a whisper. The bathroom had grown colder and colder, it seemed, as the reality of what had just happened began to sink in. "Hermione screamed rather loudly, and, well, you can see the damage it caused."

My eyes wandered back to the troll, a horrible thought occurring to me.

"Professor McGonagall?" I squeaked. "Could this troll have come from the Forbidden Forest?"

"It's possible," she replied after a moment's hesitation. "But don't worry yourself over how this happened, Miss Diggory. What's important is that nobody was hurt. We are all safe now."

I nodded, wrenching my eyes away from the troll. I noticed that both Professor Snape and Professor Quirrell looked distinctly uncomfortable after my question. Did Professor Snape share my suspicion? What did Professor Quirrell know? I was jerked from my thoughts by Professor McGonagall.

"I will admit, though," she said, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips, "I am disappointed the troll had to come tonight, of all nights. I was quite looking forward to seeing what you and the twins had put together in the common room."

I managed a half-hearted smile. "I doubt we would have garnered any fear remotely close to what he caused," I said, gesturing toward the troll with my chin. "But we certainly had fun trying."

"Would you mind fetching the Headmaster? I suspect he would be near the Hufflepuff common room, since the troll came from the dungeons."

I nodded. "Do you think, maybe, he would let me be with Cedric?" I asked shyly.

"I'm sure of it," she replied with a nod. "Severus, Quirinus, your assistance please."

As I left, I heard the unmistakable sound of a stunning spell. I hoped the twins would teach me that one next. Professor McGonagall was correct; Professor Dumbledore was climbing the stairs when I found him.

"Professor McGonagall sent me to fetch you," I said. "The troll is on the third floor, in the girls' bathroom."

"Thank you, Lucy, I will head there immediately. It seems as if there is something else you'd like to ask me first, however."

I felt my face grow hot. "It's not as important as the troll," I stammered. "But if you would allow it, may I go to the Hufflepuff common room? To be with Cedric?"

"Of course, Miss Diggory. I expect you need to know how to get in?"

I nodded, embarrassed, the familiar feeling of longing to be in Hufflepuff flooding back.

"Take the same hallway that leads to the kitchens; I have no doubt that your friends the twins have already taken you there, so you should find it without issue. When you come across a large stack of barrels, tap the one in the middle of the second row up from the bottom to the rhythm of Helga Hufflepuff. I'm sure your brother will be relieved to see that you are alright. He nearly chased after you himself, you know, but the Weasley twins assured him they'd find you faster."

I shook my head. "They never cease to amaze me. Thank you, Professor, I'll go find Cedric."

"One more thing, Miss Diggory?"

"Yes?"

His eyes twinkled. "Don't tell the twins how to get in. It's been quite entertaining watching them try to figure it out for years now without success."

I managed a small smile. "Hufflepuff's secret is safe with me."

I was able to get in, the way Professor Dumbledore had said. I barely had time to look around the room before Cedric jumped from one of the couches with a start and threw his arms around me.

"Oh, Lucy," he murmured, holding me so tightly it was hard to breathe. "I was so worried."

I hugged him back, burying my face in his robes, embarrassed by the sudden tears that spilled down my cheeks. I sniffled, and he pulled away.

"C'mere," he said gently, leading me to the couch and wrapping a soft yellow blanket around my shoulders.

"Where's everybody else?" I asked.

"Finishing the feast in their dorms. I was waiting to make sure you were okay. Professor Sprout she would tell me as soon as she heard, since I saw you leave the feast and not come back, but you came through first."

"I found Professor Dumbledore," I explained. "He told me how to get in." I sniffled again, and a few more tears leaked down my cheeks.

"You're safe," Cedric assured me, pulling me close against him. "You're safe. I'm sure the professors have taken care of it by now, if they let you come find me."

"It's been knocked out," I said. "Ron dropped a sink on its head, which finished the job."

"Wait, Ron? Ron Weasley?"

I nodded. "I destroyed its club, then Harry shoved his wand up its nose, then Ron dropped a sink on its head."

"Oh Merlin!" His grip around my shoulders tightened. "You took care of the troll!"

"It was scary, Cedric," I said in a small voice. "Professor McGonagall said we might have died. I wasn't really thinking about it in the moment, but now-" I let out a choking sob, unable to stomach the thought of Harry or Hermione or Ron or even myself dying. "Cedric, what if it's my fault?"

"What? How would it be your fault, Lu?"

"What if I woke it up somehow, when I was in the Forbidden Forest? What if the person in the cloak let it out because of me? What if-"

"Shhh, Lucy, it's not your fault." He rubbed his hand up and down my arm. Mum always did that when we were little. Cedric and I would snuggle up on either side of her, and she would have a hand for each of us. It was comforting. "You did nothing wrong, Lu. You're safe now."

After a couple more minutes of silence by the fire, my stomach growled loudly. I glanced up sheepishly at Cedric, who smiled.

"Sounds like you should head up to your dormitory and eat."

I nodded, lifting the blanket from my shoulders and accepting one last hug. I crawled through the barrel and made my way up to the common room.

Two red heads of hair whipped around. "Cub!"

"Hi," I said, smiling. "I'm guessing no one was really up for the haunted house, huh?"

They shrugged.

"A couple of people were. We were just starting to tear down."

"You don't have to help if you don't want to, though, we understand if you're too good for us now that you've dueled a troll."

I snorted. "Almost got killed by a troll is more like it. Of course I'll help tear down. But I've been wondering. How did you find us so quickly?"

They exchanged a glance.

"We'll fill you in one day," Fred said, "but-"

He was interrupted by a white substance landing in his hair. He glanced upward at the bats as George and I howled with laughter. George laughed too soon, however, because he, too, soon had white goo in his hair.

"On second thought," I gasped between bursts of laughter, "maybe we should all shower and leave this for the morning."

"I don't know, I think bat poop is a nice look, don't you think, Georgie?"

"Of course, Freddie," he replied, pointing his wand at the ceiling and holding his hand out as two quills dropped into his palm. "But they were beginning to annoy me anyway."