"When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand."

Henri Nouwen

LUCY:

"You know I love you boys, and I think you're bloody brilliant, but I don't think you'll be able to fool the 'impartial judge,'" I said to Fred and George as we headed down to breakfast the next morning.

"Ah, come off it, Cub," Fred replied. "Theoretically, we should be able to compete in the first place, being sixth-years. Your brother can! Why not us?"

"Is he entering? Cedric, I mean?" George asked.

I shrugged. "I'm sure he's thinking about it."

"Do you want him to enter?"

I shrugged again. "I don't know. It's not my call, it's his. If he enters, I'll support him. If he doesn't, I'll support him in that too."

Fred pouted. "So you'll support him, but not us?"

"It's legal for him to enter!" I chuckled. "Besides, what if you somehow trick the judge, and one of you is chosen? You can't both be chosen. What would that be like?"

"May the best twin win!" they said in unison, making everyone around us laugh.

When course schedules came around, I scanned mine quickly. "Yes! Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures! What a great way to start the..." My voice trailed off as I saw what was in store after lunch, and I slapped a hand to my forehead.

"What is it?" Harry asked, holding his hand out for my schedule. I passed it to him, and he groaned sympathetically. "Double Ancient Runes? Bloody hell, no wonder you look so upset."

"Wait, if she has that, we must have double Divination!" Ron skimmed his own schedule and swore.

Hermione clucked disapprovingly as she reached for a piece of toast. "You should have given it up like me, shouldn't you? Then you'd be doing something sensible like Arithmancy."

"You're eating again, I notice."

"I've decided there are better ways of making a stand about elf rights."

"Yeah... and you were hungry."

I snorted quietly as I took my schedule back from Harry.

The owls carrying the post swooped in then, and Harry scanned them all, searching for Hedwig. He looked troubled, and I tried to think of something I could say to make it better, but nothing came to mind. So, instead, I nudged his foot with my own and offered a sympathetic glance. He shrugged and returned to his breakfast. I glanced across the room to see if Cedric had gotten anything from home; surely enough, he was reading a letter, and I could tell that he was trying hard not to let his emotion show on his face. But as his sister, I could see the tension in his shoulders and the slight tremble of his hands as he gripped the parchment.

Henry, sitting by Cedric's side as always, met my eyes, having noticed the same things I had.

"What is it?" I mouthed.

His eyes flickered between me and the letter a couple of times.

"The Tournament," he mouthed back.

I nodded slowly, biting my lip. Henry sighed and nudged Cedric's plate toward him. I couldn't quite tell what he said, but it looked an awful lot like, "Eat now, deal with him later." Cedric nodded and folded the letter in a single quick motion. I glanced quickly back at my plate before Cedric caught me looking at him, making a mental note to read the letter for myself later. I considered trying a summoning charm to read it right away, but I decided against it.

Harry and I were both lost in worlds of our own thought as we walked down to Herbology. He was undoubtedly thinking about Sirius still, and I was consumed with worry over what that letter could have possibly said to upset Cedric so much.

"Ooh," I said softly when I saw what we were working with in Herbology. "This should be fun."

"What are these, Professor Sprout?" Zacharias Smith asked, clearly horrified.

"Bubotubers. They need squeezing. You will collect the pus-"

"The what?" Seamus interrupted, even more horrified.

"Pus, Finnigan, pus, and it's extremely valuable, so don't waste it. You will collect the pus, I say, in these bottles. Wear your dragon-hide gloves; it can do funny things to the skin when undiluted, bubotuber pus."

I quickly pulled my gloves on and eagerly set to work. I'd done this several times in the garden at home, and it actually provided a great release for the worry and anger that had been building up for the past several days since the Quidditch World Cup.

"What about this was supposed to be fun, Lucy?" Ron asked under his breath after he popped a particularly, ah, fruitful swelling.

"It's so satisfying," I replied, screwing the cap onto one of my bottles. "Cedric and I do it all the time in our garden at home."

Ron wrinkled his nose. "Fun," he replied sarcastically, making everyone within earshot laugh.

"What else will we be learning this year, Professor Sprout?" Neville piped up near the end of class. I smiled; I knew very well how much he loved Herbology.

"Wiggentrees are next, Mr. Longbottom!"

"Will the bowtruckles be provided, Professor?" I asked with a laugh.

"You can catch your own, Miss Diggory," she chuckled.

It was Harry's turn to ask a quiet question. "Bowtruckles?"

"They guard trees whose wood is used in wands," Hermione explained.

"They're adorable!" I added. "They're everywhere in the forest."

"Adorable? Lucy, surely you of all people know that their 'harmless' classification by Newt Scamander is hotly debated by magizoologists."

I waved her off. "They're only aggressive if they believe their trees are being threatened. They're typically as skittish as porlocks."

"Do you know what they're talking about? Because I sure don't," Ron said in a stage-whisper to Harry, making us all laugh again.

My mood was already improved by the end of Herbology; Care of Magical Creatures was even better. Hagrid had told me over summer that he'd been breeding creatures he called blast-ended skrewts, and he was hoping they'd hatch before the first lesson. The sound of small explosions confirmed that they had, in fact, hatched.

"Mornin'!" Hagrid greeted cheerfully.

"Good morning, Hagrid!" I replied. "I can't wait for your lesson today!"

He smiled and nodded. "Be'er wait fer the Slytherins, though, they won' want ter miss this..." He paused for dramatic effect before announcing, "Blast-ended skrewts!"

Ron cocked an eyebrow. "Come again?"

"In there," I said, pointing to the crates.

Lavender shrieked and jumped away. I, on the other hand, watched in awe as the creatures scurried around inside, periodically sending off tiny explosions.

"On'y jus' hatched, so yeh'll be able ter raise 'em yerselves! Thought we'd make a bit of a project of it!" Hagrid said.

"And why would we want to raise them?" I whirled around angrily as Draco and the rest of the Slytherins arrived. "I mean, what do they do? What's the point of them?"

I will NOT let him ruin Care of Magical Creatures this year, too, I swore to myself, feeling my hands automatically close into fists.

"They exist," I said as calmly as I could. "They're living magical creatures. Therefore, they're worthy of our interest, especially in this Care of Magical Creatures class. Is that not enough of a 'point' for you?"

"Says the daughter of a magical creatures enthusiast."

"You signed up for this class again," I pointed out.

He scoffed and turned to Hagrid. "Tell us, Professor, why would we want to raise them?"

"Tha's next lesson, Malfoy. Yer jus' feedin' 'em today. Now, yeh'll wan' ter try 'em on a few diff'rent things, I've never had 'em before, not sure what they'll go fer. I got ant eggs an' frog livers an' a bit o' grass snake, so just try 'em out with a bit of each."

"What do you recommend first?" I asked, immediately stepping forward and offering my best smile, trying to compensate for Malfoy however I could.

"Prob'bly the frog livers, reckon it'd be easiest for 'em ter eat since they're so young."

"Alright!" I plunged my hands into the barrel and knelt down in front of a crate. "Hey there. Want to try?"

When none of them came forward, I gingerly reached inside and laid the liver down. They gathered around it curiously, and I heard a couple classmates beginning to follow my lead.

"How do you distinguish between the males and females, Professor?" I asked later in the period when I finally stepped back so everyone else could get a turn. I kept a very sharp eye on Draco, who was muttering something to Pansy Parkinson.

"Ah, some of 'em have got stings, an' I reckon they're the males. The females've got sorta sucker things on their bellies, and I think they might be ter suck blood."

Before I could reply, Dean Thomas yelped. "Ouch! It got me! Its end exploded!"

Hagrid nodded. "Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off."

"I can heal it up," I offered, tapping Dean's hand with my wand and muttering a quick healing spell Cedric had mentioned would have worked on my burns from the Quidditch World Cup.

"Thanks, Lucy," he said. "How did you do it without getting burned?"

"Drop the food a little closer to the edge of the crate and back away a little faster," I replied with a wry grin. "And-"

Draco Malfoy interrupted the rest of my advice. "Well, I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive. Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?"

Hermione replied immediately, her voice bitingly cold. "Just because they're not very pretty doesn't mean they're not useful. Dragon blood's amazingly magical, but you wouldn't want a dragon for a pet, would you?"

Harry and Ron snorted, thinking of Norbert, no doubt. No, wait... Norberta.

"Even scary creatures can be useful," I added as I reached for a couple of ant eggs.

Draco actually stopped what he was doing to look up at me. "What makes you say that?"

"Like dragons, for example. I mean, you probably have dragon heartstring in your wand, Malfoy," I said with a shrug, going to stand next to him at his crate. Couldn't be too careful when he was in this class, after all.

"Um, no, actually. I don't. Why'd you think that?"

"Doesn't Draco mean dragon in Latin?"

"How did you know that?"

"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus," I replied. "Never tickle a sleeping dragon. You know, the Hogwarts motto?"

"I know what the Hogwarts motto is," he snapped, "I was just wondering how someone as dense as you could know something as obscure as-"

"Yeah, whatever," I interrupted, "I know you think I'm stupid. Sorry to disappoint you. I'm curious, now, though... what is your wand core?"

"Unicorn hair."

"Huh. Mine too." I raised my eyebrows. "I guess we have more in common than perhaps we realize."

He sniffed. "I wouldn't go that far, Diggory."

"I know, I know. You still hate me." We could hear the distant bell ringing, signaling the end of class, I tossed the last egg into the crate and rejoined Ron and Harry and Hermione.

"Well, at least the skrewts are small," Ron was saying as I caught up.

"They are now, but once Hagrid's found out what they eat, I expect they'll be six feet long," Hermione said.

Ron smirked. "Well, that won't matter if they turn out to cure seasickness or something, will it?"

Harry and I both laughed, but Hermione was less than amused. "You know perfectly well I only said that to shut Malfoy up. As a matter of fact, I think he's right. The best thing to do would be to stamp on the lot of them before they start attacking us all."

I stopped laughing abruptly. "I thought they were neat."

"Yeah, when they're not burning or biting or stinging or whatever else they can do," Hermione retorted, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, Lucy, sometimes you're as bad as Hagrid."

I bit my lower lip, not knowing how to respond. Thankfully, I didn't have to, because we had reached the Great Hall. Hermione nearly ran to her seat and began shoveling food into her mouth.

The boys and I exchanged a look.

Ron found his voice first. "Er... is this the new stand on elf rights? You're going to make yourself puke instead?"

"No, I just want to get to the library."

"What? Hermione, it's the first day back! We haven't even got homework yet!"

She shoved a couple more bites into her mouth and jumped up again before we had even thought about sitting down. "See you at dinner!" she called through a mouthful of food as she nearly ran back out of the Hall.

All things considered, my first day of double Ancient Runes wasn't as bad as I feared. Professor Babbling decided to pair us up according to how well we performed in the class the year prior... meaning I was still stuck sitting next to Draco Malfoy, since I had finished top of the class and he was a close second. But, to my surprise, he didn't say anything mean to me. He didn't say anything nice, either. In fact, he said nothing at all. But the silence was better than anything I had yet experienced.

"I'll beat Draco in the class this year, I promise," Hermione said as we left the classroom in search of Harry and Ron. "I would have last year, but I was so worried about Arithmancy I spent most of my Ancient Runes study time studying for that instead and-"

"You had too much going on, it's okay," I said. "He actually didn't say anything mean to me today. But I'm looking forward to sitting next to you next year!"

We spied the boys a few feet ahead of us and hurried to keep up, Hermione going to Ron's side and me going to Harry's.

"Miserable old bat. That'll take all weekend, that will," Ron complained as we approached.

"Lots of homework? Professor Babbling didn't give us any at all!" Hermione bragged.

He rolled his eyes. "Well, bully for Professor Babbling."

"How was Ancient Runes, Lu?" Harry asked. "Malfoy give you any trouble?"

"He... bloody hell, here he comes-"

"Weasley!" he shouted, grinning. "Hey, Weasley!"

I reached for my wand slowly but deliberately.

Ron stiffened. "What?"

"Your dad's in the paper, Weasley! Listen to this! 'Further Mistakes-'"

"Silencio!" I hissed, the second I heard "mistakes."

Malfoy mouthed a couple more words, but realized he'd been silenced and drew his own wand. "Finite incantatem," he mouthed, and continued, "As I was saying, Further Mistakes at the Ministry of Ma-'"

"Silencio!" I hissed again.

His cold eyes swept the crowd as he reversed the spell again. When his gaze landed on me, my wand in my hand, he smiled. "Your dad wasn't stupid enough to make the paper, sorry Diggory-"

"Silencio!"

"Expelliarmus!" My wand flew out of my hand and straight into Pansy Parkinson's. She smiled sweetly at me. "Nice try, Scars. Go on, Draco."

Draco smirked at me and cleared his throat.

"'Further Mistakes at the Ministry of Magic! It seems as though the Ministry of Magic's troubles are not yet at an end, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Recently under fire for its poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for the disappearance of one of its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office.'" He laughed and looked up. "Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasley. It's almost as though he's a complete nonentity, isn't it?"

"Shut up," I growled.

"Make me," he replied. "Oh, wait! You can't!"

I glared at him as he continued, "'Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers ('policemen') over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of 'Mad-Eye' Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody's heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was forced to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer Daily Prophet questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such an undignified and potentially embarrassing scene.' And there's a picture, Weasley! A picture of your parents outside their house, if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she?"

Harry stepped forward and grabbed Ron's arm, glaring at Draco. "Get stuffed, Malfoy. C'mon, Ron."

"Oh yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren't you, Potter? So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?"

Harry dropped Ron's arm and took another step forward. "You know your mother, Malfoy? That expression she's got, like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were with her?"

"Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter." To my surprise, Draco was beginning to turn red.

"Keep your fat mouth shut, then," Harry said, turning around. Draco drew his wand in a split second, and I shoved Harry out of the way.

"Get down!" I shouted, lunging forward and snatching my wand out of Pansy's hand. Before I could face Draco, there was a pop and a shout of "OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!" And just like that, Draco was gone. I didn't have time to wonder where he had gone.

Mad-Eye Moody approached the scene, reaching Harry first.

"Did he get you?" he asked.

Harry shook his head, hand going up to his cheek. "No. Missed. Lucy shoved me out of the way."

Mad-Eye Moody turned to me, a strange light in his eye... well, his normal eye. His magical eye was pointed in a completely different direction. "Lucy Diggory, is it? Susan's girl?"

I nodded, feeling my cheeks flush as I tried to tuck my wand away. "Yes, sir. I know magic in the halls is against the rules, but I can explain-"

"Leave it!" he shouted suddenly.

"Leave... what?"

"Not you, him!" he said, whirling around to face Crabbe and Goyle, who were trying to pick up... a ferret? The ferret squeaked and tried to run away, but Moody lifted it into the air with a flick of his wand. "I don't think so!"

Harry suddenly grabbed me by the arm and pulled me away from Pansy. He leveled his wand at her. "Don't even think about it," he muttered through clenched teeth. In my panic over a professor arriving, I hadn't even realized her wand was pointed at me. She lowered it, though, looking somewhat intimidated by Harry.

"Thanks," I breathed, inching closer to him as he released my arm.

"You saved my back first," he said with a small smile. "Fair's fair."

I looked for a second longer into his eyes before turning away. Moody got closer and closer to the ferret, bouncing it up and down in the air as he talked to it. "I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back's turned. Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do. Never do that again."

"Professor Moody!"

Oh bloody hell, I thought to myself, if McGonagall finds out I used magic in the halls, I'm done for...

Professor Moody seemed unfazed. "Hello, Professor McGonagall," he said, as casually as if they were merely passing in the street.

"What- What are you doing?"

"Teaching."

The books she was carrying spilled out onto the floor. "Teach- Moody, is that a student?"

"Yep."

"No!" With a flick of Professor McGonagall's wand, the ferret became none other than Draco Malfoy, on the ground with pain written all over his face. "Moody, we never use transfiguration as a punishment! Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?"

"He might've mentioned it, yeah, but I thought a good sharp shock-"

"We give detentions, Moody! Or speak to the offender's Head of House!"

"I'll do that, then."

Draco, eyes watering, muttered something that sounded an awful lot like "My father will hear about this."

"Oh yeah? Well, I know your father of old, boy. You tell him Moody's keeping a close eye on his son, you tell him that from me. Now, your Head of House'll be Snape, will it?"

Draco nodded.

"Another old friend. I've been looking forward to a chat with old Snape. Come on, you. Oh, and Diggory?" Professor Mood turned to face me.

I felt some of the blood drain from my face. But he didn't seem to have ill intent.

"Tell your mother I'm keeping a close eye on you, too."

"Y-Yes sir," I stammered. He merely smiled and limped away, gripping Draco by the shoulder. With the spectacle over, the four of us took our seats at the Gryffindor table.

"Don't talk to me," Ron said, closing his eyes.

"Why not?" Hermione asked, clearly surprised.

Ron smiled dreamily. "Because I want to fix that in my memory forever. Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret..."

Hermione and Harry laughed, but I found myself still somewhat numb. Something about the way Professor Moody had looked at me... something about the fact he was going to keep a "close eye" on me... something about how quickly he'd turned Malfoy into a ferret and hurt him badly enough to make his eyes water, with physical pain or humiliation, I couldn't tell... something about everything that had just happened didn't sit right with me.

Hermione seemed to share at least part of my concern after she stopped laughing. "He could have really hurt Malfoy, though. It was good, really, that Professor McGonagall stopped it-"

"Hermione! You're ruining the best moment of my life!" Ron whined.

She didn't reply, instead shoveling food into her mouth the way she had at lunch.

Harry watched her with mild horror. "Don't tell me you're going back to the library this evening?"

She swallowed quickly. "Got to. Loads to do."

"But you told us Professor Babbling didn't-"

"It's not schoolwork," she replied, taking one more bite and jumping up.

"Did she tell you what she's doing, Lucy?" Ron asked.

I shook my head and shrugged.

The twins slid onto the bench on either side of me.

"Moody! How cool is he?"

"We had him this afternoon."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "What was it like?"

The twins exchanged a long look.

"Never had a lesson like it."

"He knows, man."

"Knows what?" Ron asked.

"Knows what it's like to be out there doing it."

"Fighting the Dark Arts, he means."

"He's seen it all."

I wasn't terribly hungry, so I left a couple minutes later. I bumped into Cedric, who was just entering the Great Hall.

"Oh, hi," I said, offering a smile. "How was your first day?"

"It was alright, and yours?"

I shrugged. "Same."

"You know, I'm not terribly hungry," he said. "Walk with me?"

"Sure. Dad's letter kill your appetite?"

"Something like that. How'd you know about that?"

I managed a smile. "Sibling intuition, I suppose. With a bit of help from one Henry Furls, of course."

"Of course," he chuckled.

"Does Dad still want you to enter the Triwizard Tournament? Because I personally agree that you could benefit from spending more time with Cho and Henry, but if you want to do the Tournament independently of Dad, I'll support that, too."

"How'd you know about that?"

"I overheard part of the conversation in the tent," I admitted. "I swear I wasn't eavesdropping, I just heard Dad raise his voice and started listening then to make sure everything was alright."

"It's probably for the best you were listening," he said softly. "I hate to think about what might've happened if you'd been asleep when we got hit, or even worse, in the hallway..."

"And it's a good thing you weren't in your room," I pointed out. "It was hit directly, since it was in the middle of the hallway. I know that conversation wasn't one you really wanted to have, but... it might have saved your life."

He nodded. "Yeah, it might have."

We walked in comfortable silence for a couple of seconds, both enjoying the cool September air as the rays of the setting sun bathed the grounds in gold. We both naturally gravitated toward the Quidditch Pitch, and we didn't speak again until we found ourselves in the stands, between a Hufflepuff box and a Gryffindor box, funny enough.

"Did you really spend the whole summer working on Quidditch plans?" I wondered aloud.

He snorted. "Yes. It was a good distraction from the life-and-death heaviness of the work I had to do during the day. Back in my flat, when I wasn't writing letters to you or Henry or Cho or Mum and Dad, I was working on plays and planning practice schedules.."

"At least you can use them next year, yeah?"

"Yeah, and I will. Gryffindor is going down next year," he added, grinning good-naturedly.

"In your dreams," I retorted. "We'll see what our new Captain has to say about that... whoever it is."

"My money's on Angelina. She and Alicia are both very skilled, of course, but Alicia's more introverted, and whoever's in charge of controlling Fred and George needs to be..."

"Not shy," I finished for him, laughing.

He laughed too. "Not shy. Exactly." He sighed. "You know, part of me wishes I were just 12 days younger so I wouldn't even have to worry about the Tournament. The twins are lucky in that way, though I know they'd think I was mad for saying such a thing."

I nodded, opting to remain silent so he could talk freely about whatever came to mind next. Surely enough, he spoke again after a couple moments.

"I did what Dad said. I haven't come up with a solid reason to not do it yet. I just... haven't come up with any reason to do it, either." He turned to me. "What do you think I should do?"

"I think you should follow your heart," I said softly. I sighed. "Ced, I've watched Dad try to live through you for nearly ten years now. He's told you what to do. And you've done it, and you're brilliant, but... the Triwizard Tournament could be the most important decision you've ever made. And I don't want Dad to be the one who calls this shot for you, the way he's tried to call the shots in everything else. Whatever you decide, it needs to come from you. Not from Dad, not from Mum, not from Henry or Cho or Beatrice or Professor Sprout, not even from me. This needs to be your call."

"What if I make the wrong decision?" he asked, his voice strained. "If I don't enter, Dad would never let me forget the opportunity I missed. But if I do enter, if I'm somehow chosen... well... what then?"

I bit my lip, considering this for a second. "You know... if being a Gryffindor when I was expected to be a Hufflepuff has taught me anything, it's that when you listen to what your soul is telling you, there are no wrong decisions." I paused a moment. "Did I ever tell you what the Sorting Hat told me?"

"I don't think so, but I'll admit I've always wondered. You were nearly a Hatstall."

I laughed a bit. "That's because I resisted! I begged to be in Hufflepuff, just like you. And honestly, there have been several times when I thought being in Gryffindor was a mistake. It happened a lot last year, like with the boggarts and everything they entailed, and during the 24 hour period in which you left, there was a full moon, and Professor Lupin left. A lot of the time, I don't feel brave. I don't feel like a Gryffindor. But I am, and I know in my heart the Sorting Hat made the right decision." I took a deep breath and released it slowly. "The Sorting Hat told me that its job was to sort me for who I was, rather than who everyone else wanted me to be. It's taken me a long time to figure out what that means, but I think I'm finally starting to understand. And Cedric, I think the Triwizard Tournament is your Sorting Hat, so to speak. Whether you decide to enter or not, it needs to be what you want to do, not what you think everyone else wants you to do."

"So what I'm hearing is... you're not going to tell me if you want me to enter or not?"

I swatted his arm. "Honestly! Did you not hear a word I just said?"

He laughed. "No, I did. I'm just clarifying."

I narrowed my eyes at him, trying to look as stern as Professor McGonagall and probably --- no, definitely --- failing. "No. I'm not going to tell you what I think you should do, because my opinion shouldn't matter to you. This is your call, Cedric Diggory, and you need to make it yourself."

"Okay," he said, nodding slowly. "Thanks for talking to me, Lucy. I'll definitely remember what you said. What the Sorting Hat said is interesting, too. It definitely made the right decision, putting you in Gryffindor."

"You think so?"

"Don't get me wrong, I still wish sometimes that we were in Hufflepuff together. But then I see you laughing with the twins, or talking very seriously about Merlin-knows-what with Harry and Hermione and Ron, or absolutely crushing it on the Quidditch Pitch with the Gryffindor team, and I realize you're exactly where you're meant to be."

"I know you're where you're meant to be, too," I said. "I know that you're a Hufflepuff at heart and that you're meant to be a healer and that you truly love Quidditch and Henry and Cho and Transfiguration and Chocolate Frogs and all of that... I know Dad had nothing to do with shaping those parts of your life. But I also know that you're meant to make this decision about the Triwizard Tournament by yourself. A coming-of-age journey, if you will."

He nodded. "I'll admit I was planning on just taking a general survey of people whose opinions I value and basing my decision on their consensus, but you've convinced me, Lu." Cedric sat a little taller and squared his shoulders. "I'll still ask people their opinions, but at the end of the day... I'll do whatever my heart tells me to do."

I smiled. "That's what I like to hear."

"So... what should I do?"

I punched his shoulder, laughing. "Ask Henry and Cho. I'm still not going to tell you what I think you should do."

He pouted playfully. "Why not?"

"Because I don't know what I want you to do," I admitted. "I don't know if I want you to enter or not. But I do know that I'll support whatever decision you make, as long as you make it for yourself."

"Okay. That's fair."

Cedric's voice already sounded more confident than it had been at the start of the conversation. I knew I was up against years of well-hidden insecurities, but I was determined to have my say just the same. Cedric deserved it. Whatever the Triwizard Tournament held, Cedric deserved to write his own chapter of the story, without Dad's editorial comments in the back of his mind.

"Thank you for talking to me, Lucy," he said after a moment. "You've given me something to think about other than what Dad wants."

"That's what little sisters in Gryffindor are for," I replied, smiling. "Now, come on. You should have at least a little something for dinner."

As I fell asleep that night, Professor Moody's odd comments toward me were long forgotten. My mind swirled instead with images of Henry and Cho on either side of me as we cheered Cedric on, and alternative images of Cedric with us as we cheered someone else on. I had meant what I said to Cedric; I didn't know what I hoped he'd do. I still didn't like the sound of "death toll," but I knew that Cedric would be able to handle whatever challenges came his way.

The next morning brought the first Potions class of the year, which proved to be nothing short of a disaster for Neville. He added an ingredient to his potion too soon, leading to his cauldron promptly melting. Snape, of course, was quick to give him detention, but as we walked to Professor Moody's class afterwards, I reminded Neville of how silly the boggart looked wearing the elderly Mrs. Longbottom's clothing. This seemed to cheer him up a little, and I invited him to sit at the same desk as Harry and me. He eagerly accepted, so I slid in between the boys and waited for the lesson to begin.

Soon enough, Professor Moody arrived, clunking footsteps and magical eye and all.

He surveyed the room. "You can put those away, those books. You won't need them."

Everyone quickly stuffed their books into their bags, the room swelling briefly with excited whispers before falling silent again. Everyone had heard from the older kids at that point that Professor Moody's first lesson was interesting, to say the least, so we were eager to see what exactly it entailed.

He quickly took attendance, his magical eye flicking to every student's face as his normal eye read their name. I felt somewhat uncomfortable all over again when he looked at me, but I reminded myself that Mum had trusted and respected him in his time as an Auror, so I had no reason not to as well.

He set down the parchment when everyone had declared themselves present and surveyed the room again. "Right then. I've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling Dark creatures. You've covered boggarts, red caps, hinkypunks, grindylows, kappas, and werewolves, but you're behind --- very behind --- on dealing with curses. So I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other. I've got one year to teach you how to deal with Dark-"

"What, aren't you staying?" Ron asked.

Moody's magical eye snapped in his direction, then he smiled. "You'll be Arthur Weasley's son, eh? Your father got me out of a very tight corner a few days ago. Yeah, I'm staying just the one year. Special favor to Dumbledore. One year, and then back to my quiet retirement." He laughed sarcastically and clapped his hands together. "So, straight into it. Curses. They come in many strengths and forms. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm supposed to teach you countercurses and leave it at that. I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in the sixth year. You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it till then. But Professor Dumbledore's got a higher opinion of your nerves, he reckons you can cope, and I say, the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. How are you supposed to defend yourself against something you've never seen? A wizard who's about to put an illegal curse on you isn't going to tell you what he's about to do. He's not going to do it nice and polite to your face. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful. You need to put that away, Miss Brown, when I'm talking."

I subtly looked over my shoulder to see what had happened. Apparently, she'd been showing Parvati something under the desk. If his eye could see through solid wood... what else could it go through? I chose to force this thought from my mind and turned back to Professor Moody.

"So, do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?"

He nodded toward Ron first. "Er, my dad told me about one. Is it called the Imperius Curse, or something?"

"Ah, yes. Your father would know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse."

Professor Moody wordlessly rose from his chair and grabbed a jar with three spiders inside. I watched with a small smile as Ron's hand shot out for Hermione's beneath their shared desk, and she gave it a reassuring squeeze. I nudged Harry and pointed in their direction, and his hand flew to his mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Imperio!" Professor Moody said suddenly, pointing to the spider in his hand. The arachnid did a number of gymnastics stunts and silly dances, making nearly everyone in the class laugh. I remembered all too well the trouble in the Ministry Professor Moody had mentioned --- Mum's own partner, Brenda, had been affected by the curse, and I remembered all too well the distress it had caused our family when her partner was killed for learning to resist it by the same Dark wizard trying to control her.

Professor Moody stopped abruptly. "Think it's funny, do you? You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?"

Nobody was laughing anymore. A chill ran down my spine, but I forced my emotions away, not wanting any to show themselves while I was sitting between Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter... I knew which Unforgiveable Curses were next. And I knew both boys needed me to be strong for those.

"Total control... I could make it jump out of the window, drown itself, throw itself down one of your throats. Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse. Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act, and who was acting of their own free will. The Imperius Curse can be fought, and I'll be teaching you how, but it takes real strength of character, and not everyone's got it. Better avoid being hit with it if you can. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

Everyone flinched when he shouted suddenly, but he had a point. With the Dark Mark in the sky at the Quidditch World Cup... anything was possible.

"Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?"

Neville slowly raised his hand. It trembled in the air, but it was in the air. Professor Moody looked over in surprise.

"Yes?"

Neville lowered his hand. "There's one... the Cruciatus Curse."

"Your name's Longbottom?"

He nodded.

Professor Moody reached for another spider. "The Cruciatus Curse needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea. Engorgio!"

The spider grew to about the size of a Bludger. Poor Ron screeched his chair backward in fright.

"Crucio!" Professor Moody shouted.

Neville's hands gripped the desk suddenly, his face completely white with horror. I laid my hand atop his, rubbing my thumb in small, comforting circles.

"It's okay, it's okay," I whispered, trying hard not to panic myself as the spider twitched and rolled and spasmed, obviously in horrific pain. "It's okay, Neville, it's alright-"

"Stop it!" Hermione shrieked, having looked over and seen Neville's distress.

Professor Moody reduced the spider to its typical size and returned it to the jar. I gently pried Neville's hands off the desk. I continued rubbing my thumb up and down the back of his hand, hoping to try to calm him. He gripped my hand back as if his life depended on it.

"It's okay," I whispered again. "It's over."

It was for Neville, anyway.

"Pain. You don't need thumbscrews or knives to torture someone if you can perform the Cruciatus Curse. That one was very popular once too." Professor Moody grabbed the last spider from the jar. "Right, anyone know any others?"

Hermione was the only one to raise her hand this time. "Avada kedavra," she whispered.

"Ah. Yes, the last and worst. Avada kedavra. The Killing Curse." He laid the spider on the table, pointing his wand at it. "Avada kedavra!"

With a flash of sickeningly green light, the spider was dead. I shot out for Harry's closest hand with my free hand, seeing how pale his face was. His eyes were far away, just like Neville's, and he held my hand tightly, too, just like Neville.

I didn't listen to another word Professor Moody said the rest of the lesson, it seemed. I could hear what he was saying, copying down the notes he wanted us to take because the boys on either side of me were shaking too badly to write legibly, but I chose not to actually absorb any of the information. I didn't want to have to remember this lesson. When the class ended, I threw my parchment into my bag and turned to Neville, who remained frozen in place.

"Nev," I said softly. "Class is over. We can go now."

He blinked, swallowing hard. "Yeah. Yeah, we can. I'll just-" He wadded up his parchment and shoved it into his pocket. "Forgot my bag today," he explained in a mumble. "Just like me, isn't it? Leaving my bag behind in the dormitory, the disaster in Potions, now this. All I'll ever be is a-"

"Shh." I laid a comforting hand on top of his. "Don't say that."

He looked at me for the first time, eyes so full of pain my chest hurt at the sight of it. "Why not? It's true."

Neville stood and started to walk toward the door, but Professor Moody's voice stopped him in his tracks. "Mr. Longbottom, why don't you stay? Come on, we can have a cup of tea."

Neville glanced between me, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the only people left in the room, but before any of us could say anything, Professor Moody spoke again.

"You alright, are you, Potter?"

Harry's voice was flat and almost angry. "Yes."

"You've got to know. It seems harsh, maybe, but you've got to know. No point pretending... well... come on, Longbottom, I've got some books that might interest you."

The rest of us left the room quietly, not speaking again until we were a good distance away.

"What was that about?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Hermione replied, looking at me. "Do you, Lucy?"

I hesitated for a second before nodding. "I don't really want to talk about it. It's not my place, anyway."

"Some lesson, though, eh? Fred and George were right, weren't they?" Ron gushed. "He really knows his stuff, Moody, doesn't he? When he did Avada kedavra, the way that spider just died, just snuffed it right-"

Hermione whacked Ron's shoulder when she saw the look on Harry's face. I let my hand swing in such a way that our knuckles grazed, a gentle reminder that I was right there beside him.

Again, Hermione ate in a rush and disappeared to the library, leaving the boys and I to our own devices. Neville never came down to dinner, so when the boys headed up to their dormitory to get their homework, I asked them to check on him if he was up there, telling Harry to bring me the Map if he wasn't so I could go find him. I was halfway through the introductory paragraph of my Potions essay when they returned.

"He's up there," Harry reported. "Moody gave him a book about Herbology, and mentioned that Professor Sprout told him Neville was really good at Herbology."

I smiled. "He is! I'm sure Neville was glad to hear that. It's not too often he's told he's good at something."

Harry nodded in agreement. "Seems like something Professor Lupin would do," he added after a moment.

My smile faltered slightly. "Yeah... it does, doesn't it?" I cleared my throat. "What are you two working on tonight?"

"Divination," Ron groaned, flopping down dramatically into the chair across from me as Harry sat between us. "Want to help?"

"Help? I haven't the foggiest about Divination, why would you want my help?"

"We have to predict our futures for the next month," Harry explained. "Say, you're good at Astronomy! That's the first thing you ever helped me with! Maybe you'll know why Mars-"

"That's not what I meant, mate," Ron chuckled. "I was thinking we could, ah... do what we usually do when we don't understand."

"What, make it up?"

"Yeah, exactly. Lucy might have some new ideas."

I laughed. "New ideas? What do you mean?"

Ron drew his quill out of his bag with a flourish and began writing. "Next Monday, I am likely to develop a cough, owing to the unlucky conjunction of Mars and Jupiter." He added a period to his sentence and looked up at me. "Just put in loads of misery, she'll lap it up."

Harry grinned at me sheepishly. "He's right. Okay, on Monday, I will be in danger of --- er --- burns."

"Yeah, you will be, since we're seeing the skrewts again on Monday," Ron retorted. Harry grabbed his book and started flipping through the pages. "Okay, Tuesday, I'll, erm-"

"Lose a treasured possession?" I offered, reading a list of omens over Harry's shoulder.

"Good one, Lu! You're catching on! I'll say it's because of, uh, Mercury. Why don't you get stabbed in the back by someone you thought was a friend, Harry?"

Harry nodded as he wrote it down. "Yeah, cool, because... Venus is in the twelfth house."

"And on Wednesday, I think I'll come off worst in a fight."

"Aaah, I was going to have a fight. Okay, I'll lose a bet."

"Yeah, you'll be betting I'll win my fight."

I giggled. "You two, I swear to Merlin. I need to ask Henry if he and Ced are like this."

"You should also ask Cedric if he'd like to join me in nearly drowning in the Black Lake on Thursday," Harry said.

"Maybe Henry will help me rescue you both, only to be attacked by the grindylows!" Ron suggested.

"I'll be sure to get pictures, safely on the shore and far away from the water," I commented, rolling my eyes. "What about Friday? Are you two going to have your shampoo replaced by the twins with firewhisky?"

"You know what, I think we will," Ron said as he scribbled it down.

"I think I'll go temporarily blind because of it," Harry added. "We can be blind buddies, Lu."

"Lovely," I remarked sarcastically.

I never did touch my Potions essay again that night. After helping ("helping," more like) the boys with their predictions for a bit, l joined the twins in the corner of the room.

"Ludo Bagman still?" I asked in an almost-whisper.

"Yeah," George muttered, moving over so I could kneel in between them. "I told Fred this sentence sounds too accusatory, what do you think?"

I skimmed it quickly. "It's a bit harsh," I agreed.

"A bit harsh?" Fred protested. "Cub, he stole our-"

"I know, I know," I said, frantically gesturing for him to lower his voice. "But you can always get more aggressive over time. It's always better to start reasonably calm and respectful, then escalate the tension if necessary."

"Do you blackmail people often?" George asked.

"This would be the first time," I replied with a small grin. "But then again, I wouldn't be the one doing it. I'd just be the one, ah, offering advice and proofreading services. Speaking of, want me to read over this one in the morning before you send it?"

"That'd be great, thanks," Fred said, sighing. "Well, we'd best be off to bed. You'll go to bed soon, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah, once Hermione's back."

"Where has she been going?"

"The library. Merlin knows why, though. Night, boys."

"Night, Cub!" they said in unison, disappearing up the stairs to their dormitory.

Hermione burst in through the portrait hole as soon as I sat back down at the boys' table, balancing a stack of parchment and a massive box in her arms. She dumped this all onto the table with a smile.

"I've just finished!" she exclaimed

"So have I," Ron announced, setting his quill down and interlocking his fingers behind his head.

Hermione skimmed his homework curiously. "Not going to have a very good month, are you?"

He shrugged. "Ah well, at least I'm forewarned."

"You seem to be drowning twice."

"Oh, am I? I'd better change one of them to getting trampled by a rampaging hippogriff."

"Don't you think it's a bit obvious you've made these up?"

"How dare you!" Ron scoffed, pretending to be mortally offended.

Harry set down his quill. "Nice knowing you all, but I'll be decapitated on September 30."

I swatted his arm, laughing nonetheless. "Don't even joke about that!"

He kept his face perfectly serious, though I could tell it took some effort. "Are you doubting the integrity of my Inner Eye?"

"Yeah, Lucy, that's not very aura-sensitive of you. Your disbelief is really clouding my vision," Ron said. He closed his eyes and reached his hand toward me. "Hold on, I'm sensing something... a change in your aura..." His eyes snapped open, and he gasped, his hands flying dramatically to his cheeks. "Tragedy is coming! Unspeakable tragedy! Within the next year! Lucy, you're doomed!"

I threw a wadded-up piece of parchment at his forehead. "Oh, shove off, Weasley."

All four of us laughed, then, and for the first time since arriving back at Hogwarts, I felt a surge of warmth in my chest. We were home.

"What's in the box, Hermione?" Harry inquired.

She removed the lid with theatrical flair and revealed the contents --- about fifty multicolored badges, all bearing the letters SPEW.

Harry reached for a badge. "'Spew?' What's this about?"

"Not 'spew.' It's S-P-E-W. Stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare."

"Never heard of it," Ron said.

"Well, of course you haven't. I've only just started it."

"Yeah? How many members have you got?"

"Well, if you three join... four."

Ron looked at her with thinly-veiled amusement. "And you think we want to walk around wearing badges saying 'spew,' do you?"

"S-P-E-W! I was going to put Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Campaign for a Change in Their Legal Status, but it wouldn't fit. So that's the heading of our manifesto. I've been researching it thoroughly in the library. Elf enslavement goes back centuries. I can't believe no one's done anything about it before now."

"Most people are too scared to try," I said. "Which is no excuse, I know, but think about it, Hermione. The only people who own house elves are people like Lucius Malfoy and Barty Crouch. People like my dad have wanted to do something about it for ages, but they haven't quite known how."

"Your dad's wanted to do something about it?" she asked incredulously. "You should have seen the way he was talking to Winky!"

I winced. "You've probably observed by now he's not known for being... gentle. Or tactful. But when I was younger, he tried to convince my mum we should start rescuing house elves and having them work for us instead, because he knew we'd treat them better than the families that owned them at the time."

"But that's just perpetuating the slavery! That's-"

"I know," I interrupted, "and that's what my mum told him, which is why we never did. But anyway," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "Enough about that. I want to hear your solution, because I'm sure it's a lot better than my dad's."

She beamed with pride. "You can be vice president, Lucy! Or my co-president, with experience like yours! Our short-term aims are to secure house-elves fair wages and working conditions. Our long-term aims include changing the law about non-wand use, and trying to get an elf into the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, because they're shockingly underrepresented. We start by recruiting members. I thought two Sickles to join --- that buys a badge --- and the proceeds can fund our leaflet campaign. You're treasurer, Ron, I've got you a collecting tin upstairs. And Harry, you're secretary, so you might want to write down everything I'm saying now, as a record of our first meeting."

"Maybe we can do it together in the morning," I said quickly, noting the No way I'm doing that right now look on Harry's face. "It's getting late."

"You're right," Hermione agreed. "I'm going to bed. I was too excited about my plans for S.P.E.W. to sleep last night! I'm tired."

"I'm going to bed, too, since I've finished Divination," Ron said. "Harry, you coming?"

"In a bit, sure. I'm just going to look this over one more time, make sure I didn't write something twice," he replied.

"I'll help you check since Hermione checked Ron's," I offered. "Fresh set of eyes. Good night, you two."

"Good night!" they said in unison, exchanging a brief glance and smiling before heading their separate ways.

"You know... I was thinking," Harry said once the doors had closed, "I don't think I've ever heard how the 'Cub' thing started. With the twins, I mean."

I smiled. "Well, they called me Little Diggs at first, the way Skye did, and I hated it. It took them three weeks to come up with Cub, as in a little lion cub, to match the Gryffindor lion. Since I was a first-year, two years younger than they were, and small at the time."

"You say that as if you're not small anymore," he said, flashing a stupid grin at me.

"I grew over summer!"

"Oh, I know you did, you just still have a ways to go."

I laughed, wadding up another piece of parchment paper and throwing it at him. "Shut up, Potter."

I was about to reach for his Divination homework to read over it when there was a tap at the window just behind us.

Harry's entire face lit up. "Hedwig!"

He rushed toward the window to let her in, and she landed gracefully atop Harry's Divination homework.

"Hiya, pretty girl," I said, stroking her feathers. "Harry, she's got a reply!"

"About time!" He hurried back over and untied the parchment from her leg. "He says, 'Harry, I'm flying north immediately. This news about your scar is the latest in a series of strange rumors that have reached me here. If it hurts again, go straight to Dumbledore; they're saying he's got Mad-Eye out of retirement, which means he's reading the signs, even if no one else is. I'll be in touch soon. My best to Ron and Hermione and Lucy. Tell Lucy Buckbeak is doing just fine. Keep your eyes open, Harry. Sirius.'"

Harry hit himself in the forehead with his fist, and I lunged forward to catch his hand before he could do it again. "Harry, no! Don't do that! What's wrong?"

He shook his hand free. "I shouldn't've told him! It's made him think he's got to come back! Coming back, because he thinks I'm in trouble! And there's nothing wrong with me!"

I bit my lip. I had been the one to suggest Harry tell Sirius in the first place. Did he remember?

"Harry," I said, "Sirius will be okay. It's like I said... he's smart. He won't get caught. And if push comes to shove... he's already escaped Azkaban once, yeah?"

"I guess," he muttered. He glanced at me, his face softening a bit. "Why're you looking at me like that, Lu?"

"Like what?"

"Like... well, I don't know exactly. What's on your mind?"

The intensity of his green-eyed gaze made my cheeks start to heat. "I-"

The door to the boys' dormitories creaked open, revealing a pajama-clad Colin Creevey. He didn't seem to notice us in the corner, and he shuffled to the couch by the fireplace, sinking into it and resting his head in his hands. When we heard a soft sniffle, Harry and I exchanged a brief glance before moving in unison to sit on either side of him.

He glanced up, looking between me and Harry. "Hi, Lucy. Hi, Harry. I... I couldn't sleep."

"What's wrong, Colin?" I asked gently.

"D-Do either of you take Divination?"

"Oh," Harry said, jumping in realization. "Colin, was today the day Professor Trelawney had you read tea leaves for the first time? And she predicted someone's death?"

Colin nodded slowly. "Mine. How did you know?"

"It happens every year," Harry explained. "She predicted my death last year, and Lucy's brother's three years ago. And the two of us are just fine, aren't we? So don't worry, Colin, you'll be alright too."

"Really?"

"Really." Harry clapped him on the shoulder. "I'll let you in on a little secret, Colin. Ron and I just finished writing complete nonsense on our homework. Divination is... foggy. And confusing. To say the least. I can't think of a single one of Professor Trelawney's predictions that has come true yet."

"In other words... you will be totally, completely fine," I assured him. "And if you somehow fall off the Astronomy Tower tomorrow and snap your neck, you can become a ghost and tell us 'I told you so.' But I doubt that will happen, so don't lose any more sleep over it."

"Coming from the most sleep-deprived Gryffindor herself," Harry added with an amused grin. "But yeah, Lucy's right. You'll be okay."

"Alright," Colin said, rising from the couch. "Thank you. I feel better now. See you two at breakfast!"

"Night, Colin!" Harry and I called after him.

"Are you alright after Moody's class today?" I asked as soon as Colin left. "I meant to ask you earlier, but with Neville being as shaken as he was, I didn't get the chance."

"It's alright, Lu, I know you're the only one who really understands why he was so upset. I'm alright, it's just..." He sighed shakily. "The Dementors never showed me how my parents died. I saw the green light whenever I fainted, but it was so much more than just... the... the way the spider just... well, like Ron said..."

"I understand," I said, inching closer to him on the couch. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"If you could tell Sirius not to come, that'd be great," he mumbled. "I only just got him back, the last thing I need is him dying too."

"He won't be caught, Harry. I know he'll be careful." A couple moments passed in silence. "Do you want me to check your Divination homework?"

"It's okay, but thanks for offering. I'll look it over in the morning. I'm too tired to change it, if you find any duplicates."

"Fair enough."

We rose from the couch and gathered up our homework. I thought back to the conversation with Colin, and found my eyes wandering once again to Harry. For as much as Colin annoyed him... he had been so kind and helpful. Almost... brotherly. Harry would have made a great big brother, I realized, if only his parents had-

"You're looking at me again," Harry commented, smiling.

My face was instantly red, and I busied myself with my parchment. "Just thinking about how glad I am that Professor Trelawney was wrong about you dying," I stammered. "And how glad I am that your head will still be attached to the rest of your body on October first."

Harry laughed. "Fair enough. Good night, Lu."

"Good night, Harry."