LUCY:

"What on earth are you doing in the library on the last day of Christmas break?"

I slammed the book closed and tucked it beneath my arm, looking up at Archie sheepishly. "Just getting ahead. Welcome back, how was your Christmas?"

"It was good," he said, sitting down next to me and resting his head on his arm. "The best part of my break was going to see the new Star Trek movie with my mom in London. What did you do?"

"Not much," I replied with a shrug. It wasn't a lie. After Christmas, I spent most of my time in the library or in my dormitory, researching a number of different things. Harry and Ron weren't much in the mood to look for Nicolas Flamel, which I didn't mind. I only looked for him part of the time, truthfully; most of the time, I sat in a dark and quiet corner, translating the book of ancient runes letter for letter. It didn't make a lot of sense yet, I hadn't made a ton of progress, but it was something to occupy my mind and distract me from the terrors that had begun to plague me at night.

Harry had pulled me aside after breakfast about a week after we had gone to the mirror. "Dumbledore moved it and told me not to look for it," he had said, "so I haven't looked in it for a couple of days, but I've still been having nightmares. Ron basically told me 'I told you so' when I mentioned it, but... I thought you might understand."

I had nodded.

"How can something that felt so good turn around and hurt me so much?" he had wondered out loud, looking crestfallen.

I had wanted to reach out and take his hand and somehow promise him it would be okay and tell him I would find a way to protect him from his nightmares, but I didn't. I couldn't. "I don't know," I had said instead, "but you're not alone. I've been having nightmares too. I understand, and I'm here."

Mine weren't about my parents like his were, at least not always. More often than not, I would be dreaming about something rather ordinary, then suddenly the sky overhead would darken and a full moon would rise, and I would transform and instantly maul anyone who was around me. Sometimes it was Cedric. Sometimes it was Hermione. Sometimes it was Harry, or Ron, or the twins, or Archie, or Neville, or my parents. But at least half of the time, if not more, it was the girl from the mirror who was my victim. Every time I woke up, I would be soaked in sweat, and my pillow would be drenched with tears. It was always hard to fall back asleep after those nightmares, so it was often in the early hours of the morning I made the most progress with the ancient runes book.

"What's this?" Archie asked, snapping me from my daze by reaching over and examining the bracelet around my left wrist that poked out slightly from under my sleeve. "Did you forget your name or something? Need a bracelet to remind you?"

I chuckled. "No, it's just my Christmas gift from Parvati Patil. She made the four of us Gryffindor girls friendship bracelets, so naturally, mine says Lucy."

"Yeah, it wouldn't make much sense for you to have Hermione's," he said, a stupid grin lighting up his face. "That's cool. I should ask her to teach me how to make one sometime. I could make matching ones for me and Cam."

"That'd be cool," I replied, borrowing his favorite adjective.

"Yeah." That dreamy smile that accompanied the name Cam was back on his face. I was about to point it out when he blinked and returned to earth. "Well, I'm going to go see if I can find her and leave you to your studies, Little Miss Overachiever. What are you even studying for in the first place?"

"Oh, nothing," I replied, shaking my head and tucking the book further under my arm. "Just reading ahead for fun."

He arched an eyebrow, disbelieving but not questioning. "Have 'fun' then. See you later."

"Bye, Archie."

I sighed and cracked the book again. In this particular instance, I was looking for Nicolas Flamel. After searching for a couple of minutes with no luck, I returned the book to its shelf and sighed. Archie had a point. I wanted to make the most of my last day before term started. So, naturally, I went to find the twins.

My hair had finally returned to its natural brown, but the twins and I had been engaged in something of a prank war ever since. It officially started when I charmed their underwear to scream "I am Fred's underwear!" and "I am George's underwear!" every time they tried to put them on, as my revenge for the red hair. From there, I constantly had to watch my step and glance over my shoulder. I never knew when they'd try to convince me to be their test subject for a new prank device they'd charmed overnight or hit me with a jinx they knew I didn't know the counterjinx to. (That being said, I had learned a surprising number of counterjinxes lately.) My revenge was far more subtle. It started small, with shrinking their Dungbombs to the size of a marble or charming their quills to transfigure into fully-grown birds when they tried to write. They liked showing off around me, but they respected me too much to treat me like any old prank victim. They hadn't lobbed a Dungbomb my direction since that night in the common room, and whenever they saw I was about to place my foot on a sink-step or trigger a magical trap, they would quickly stop me, undo the charm, tell me it was safe, and rig it up again once I'd passed. We had an unspoken mutual understanding; as long as I stayed out of trouble, there were no boundaries. And they were more than content with this; sure, I wasn't exactly part of their "prank team," but I was a valuable source of information nonetheless, in my own subtle way.

I didn't have to look far. They were actually on their way to the library as I was leaving, Fred's robes bulging suspiciously.

"Hi," I said, looking Fred up and down and making eye contact with George. "I was going to see if you two wanted to hang out, but it would appear that you're busy, so I'll go find my brother."

"Oh, we always have time for you, Cub," George said, glancing around nervously. "Right, Freddie?"

"That's right, Georgie!" he chirped, lifting his hand in a mock salute, keeping the other hand wrapped firmly around his torso. "Fred and George Weasley at your service."

"I'm not stupid," I retorted, rolling my eyes, "I know you were on your way to do something with whatever Fred's hiding under his robes, and I know better than to get in the way when you're about to prank someone."

"Alright, alright, you caught us." Fred sighed and opened his arms. A massive cloth bag fell to the floor, and a puff of white powder drifted from the opening at the top. "George was going to lure you out of the library and I was going to dump all of this flour on you as you left by wingardium leviosa-ing the bag then diffindo-ing it open."

"Good thing I left when I did, then. I guess now I need to help you figure out what to do with the bag."

"Oh, we know what to do with the bag," George said, smirking. I immediately recognized the dangerous gleam in their eyes and sprinted away to the stairs, drawing my wand as I went.

They were faster runners than me, but I had something of an advantage since they were trying to bring the bag of flour with them as well. Rather than running downstairs, as they probably expected me to do, I turned and raced up the stairs, ducking down narrow corridors until I reached a particularly dark and messy unused classroom. I left the door slightly ajar to avert suspicion and crawled under a desk in the corner of the room.

After a couple of minutes, I heard Fred and George struggling up the stairs.

"Where did you say she was?" George (I think) grunted.

"In this one," the other one replied in a softer voice. "Should I check one more time? We have to uphold our reputation as Lucy-finding experts, and I'd hate to waste my time walking into the wrong room."

"You're one to talk, you're not the one who just carried this up a flight of stairs." I heard a thud, then the rustling of parchment.

"Yeah, because I'm the oldest."

"Oh, shut up. I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

After a moment, Fred spoke again. "Yeah, she's still in there."

My curiosity was piqued. How did they know where I was? And what did George mean by "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good?"

I backed further into the corner as they walked in, drawing my wand. I pointed my wand directly at the flour bag, whispering, "Wingardium leviosa!" But my spell was too weak, and the bag remained firmly in George's arms.

"Heard you," Fred teased.

I sprang from my hiding spot and pointed my wand directly at Fred. "Rictumsempra!"

"Protego!"

George launched the bag of flour my direction. "Wingardium leviosa!"

I cast one of my own. "Wingardium leviosa!"

Fred joined the fray, pointing his wand at the floating bag as well. "Wingardium leviosa!"

With two wands against one, the bag inched closer to me. I furrowed my brow and tried to hone the magic coursing through my veins. The bag slowed to a halt, still two meters above our heads. I tried and tried to push the bag closer to them, but there it remained, hovering in the air above us, completely motionless.

I don't know how long we were locked in that position, none of us wanting to give up, before the bag slowly started to come closer to me.

"No!" I panted. A familiar fighting fire ignited deep within me, and I gritted my teeth into a grin as I lifted my wandless hand high over my head until it was level with my wand hand. I let the fire burn until it seemed my face would shatter from how hard I was smiling. The bag began to move away from me. I waited until the bag was over the twins' heads before whispering "Diffindo!"

This time, the whispered spell was enough, and flour fell like snow all over them. I dropped my wand and laughed, wiping the sweat from my brow with the sleeve of my sweater. "I think I win."

The twins were laughing too, as they attempted to brush the flour from their black robes.

"Bloody hell, Cub, how in Merlin's name did you overpower the both of us?"

"If I knew, I'd tell you," I said, sitting on a desk and wiping my forehead again. "I have a question of my own, though. How did you find me? I heard you two in the hall talking about checking something to make sure I was really there, but even if I hadn't heard that, you two are certainly good at showing up every time I'd really rather be alone and I suspect there's a reason why."

"Oh, you wound us," Fred gasped, dramatically placing a hand over his flour-encrusted chest. "You want to be alone? Without us? Impossible!"

"You're dodging my question." I raised a single eyebrow as best I could, but Cedric was always better at it than I was. I probably looked ridiculous, but for once, they didn't laugh.

They exchanged a serious look.

"I say we tell her, Freddie, she found it in my underwear anyway."

"I knew that scrap of parchment was important!" I crowed. "Tell me, tell me, tell me!"

They turned toward me at the same time.

"Help us destroy the evidence we were ever here, then we'll let you in on a little secret."

"Fair is fair," I said with a shrug, pointing my wand directly at George's face. "Aguamenti!"

He was too slow to avoid the jet of water I sprayed at him. Fred laughed. "Nice shot!"

I turned my wand and aimed the jet of water right into his open mouth. He coughed, still laughing.

Cleaning up took longer than we expected, as none of us were any good at vanishing charms, but when we were done, we sat in a small circle in the middle of the room, and Fred extracted the piece of parchment from his robe.

"Light your wand, Cub," George said. "You don't want to miss a single detail. I will too."

"Lumos maxima," we whispered in unison, and our wand tips sprang to life accordingly.

"This, Lucy, is the Marauder's Map," Fred said, laying it out flat on the floor between the three of us. He pointed his wand at the paper. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

The map came to life before my eyes. I leaned in to get a closer look.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" George murmured.

"This is amazing!" My voice was no more than a reverent whisper. "Oh look, there we are. Is that-"

"Filch coming this way? Yes."

"Nox!" I hissed, George quickly following suit.

"Mischief managed," Fred whispered, stuffing the parchment into his robe again and grabbing me by the hand as he jumped to his feet.

"Silencio!" George muttered, and our footsteps were instantly muted as we made our way to the darkest corner of the room. The twins shoved me under a desk, their message clear: Stay out of sight. I took it to heart and backed up until I was flat against the wall. I pulled my knees to my chest so at least one if not both of them could fit under there with me.

In the silence, we could hear the groundskeeper's heavy footsteps as he shuffled down the hallway. He was humming an unfamiliar tune, and I saw Fred crack an amused grin. George squeezed under the desk next to me and positioned myself so I was hidden from sight from anyone coming in the door. We waited for about two minutes after the humming and shuffling had faded away before moving.

"That was close!" Fred declared, shoving the desk aside and helping George wiggle out. I accepted the hand he offered to me.

"Yeah, it was."

"Students in an abandoned classroom!" a loud voice laughed. "Up to no good, I hope!"

I jumped, but the twins greeted the poltergeist that had suddenly appeared with a smile. "Wotcher, Peeves."

"You two remind me of that pink-haired prankster when you say that," he chuckled, floating back and forth gleefully. "But who is the third member of your party? Does she have a nice new trick for Peevesy to learn?"

I shook my head.

"She can't get in trouble, Peeves," George said, his voice uncharacteristically serious. "She's a brilliant prankster, but she only pranks us."

The poltergeist zipped over to me to take a closer look. "I know you! You're the sleepwalker! I've talked to you before! Not that you would remember, ha ha ha ha!"

I smiled, remembering all too well the exchange about cats Peeves and I had shared one night while I was sleepwalking. "I was too deeply asleep to remember, but I'm glad I could be of entertainment."

"Entertain me more!" He turned a flip in the air. "Play a prank, Sleepwalker!"

"Her name is Lucy," Fred said, "but she only pranks us so she doesn't get into trouble. If she gets in trouble, she has to leave Hogwarts."

"Alright, alright, very well. I don't want that. But in exchange for my silence, do tell me what you're doing here! Is that why you hid from dear old Filchy?"

Fred drew the map from his robes again. "We were just showing her this. Care to help us finish our explanation?"

As they traced secret passageways and good hiding spots on the map, I grew increasingly convinced that Fred and George were some of the brightest students Hogwarts had ever seen. Even as I fell asleep that night, my mind buzzed with all of the new information I had learned, and for the first time since Christmas, I slept without nightmares.

The night before the full moon, my nightmares returned with vengeance. I was home in Ottery St. Catchpole, working in Mum's garden alongside Cedric in silence. The silence was suddenly interrupted by uproarious laughter, and Cedric and I glanced up just as Fred and George burst through the flowers, faces hidden behind two of our Halloween masks. We laughed alongside them, when the sky suddenly grew dark. I jumped to my feet and began to run away, knowing that the full moon would come next, but Fred and George chased me.

"Where are you going?" they called.

"Don't follow me! Run! Run away!" I screamed, tripping over myself with how fast I was sprinting. I had nearly reached the forest when the first streaks of moonlight hit me. I turned around to make sure they were far enough away, but they were right there, right behind me. Cedric rushed forward, standing between them and me, his face soft as he watched me transforming.

My vision went dark, but only for a second. When it returned, the twins were backing away slowly, but Cedric stood his ground.

"Run!" I cried, as the last of the transformation took place. "Cedric, what are you doing? Run!"

"Lucy, it's okay," he replied, his voice completely calm. He even smiled. "I'm not afraid."

I had just lunged at him, fully a werewolf and no longer aware of myself, when someone grabbed me around the shoulders and shook me violently.

"Lucy! Lucy!" the person was shouting.

"Hermione?" I mumbled. My eyes opened, and Hermione, Lavender, and Parvati were gathered around my bed, looking at me worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"You were screaming," Lavender said, her voice soft and concerned. "You kept screaming for someone, Cedric I think, to run."

"Are you alright?" Hermione asked, one hand still firmly gripping my shoulder. I forced myself to a sitting position, my head pounding.

"Yeah," I said, not even convincing to my own ears. "I'm alright. Sorry to wake you all."

"It's okay," they said in unison, cracking small grins as they did so. I smiled, too.

"I'm going to go sit in the common room for a bit." I rubbed the back of my neck, and when I pulled my hand away, it was slick with sweat. "I need to clear my head."

"Do you want me to go with you?" Hermione's question was more of a statement, but I shook my head anyway.

"You can go back to sleep. I'll be back up in a little while. I just need to be alone for a bit."

I left before anyone could protest. I didn't want them to see how violently I was trembling.

The common room was empty when I reached it, to my relief. I made my way to the largest couch and curled myself into a ball, pulling my nightgown down so it covered my scarred feet. I took a couple of deep breaths to try to calm myself, but all it did was make me feel even sicker to my stomach. Cedric's voice was haunting. "Lucy, it's okay. I'm not afraid."

It wasn't okay. He should have been.

The real Cedric would have been afraid. The real Cedric would have saved himself. Right?

I made my way to the window, praying for a glimpse of the stars, but they were veiled by dark clouds. I leaned my head against the cool glass, finally feeling myself begin to relax. I closed my eyes and took a few more deep breaths to combat the queasy feeling in my stomach.

I never did go back to sleep that night. My mind was racing with too many questions and not enough answers. With the full moon that very next night, I was especially terrified. I hoped that my dream wasn't a sign of what was to come. I had never really been that big of a fan of divination. My dad liked to brag that he was the best Seer in his class, but my mum believed it was nonsense, so he didn't get the chance to brag about it very often. I most often agreed with my mom that it was silly, but that night, I was too shaken to know what to believe.

After what felt like an eternity, I stumbled back up to my dormitory and changed into my robes, dreading the day ahead. I made my way down to the Great Hall with Hermione, hoping to eat before it got too loud. Fortunately, it was a Sunday, so I had no classes to worry about, though I did have Quidditch practice before lunch. Even the ceiling seemed to understand the way I felt; the same heavy clouds that had hidden the stars still loomed overhead, and a steady rain could be heard falling outside. To my surprise, Cedric was already there eating by himself, so I made my way over to him, telling Hermione I'd be back, and rested my head against his arm. (I would have laid my head on his shoulder, but I was too small in comparison.)

"Good morning, Lu!"

"Good morning, Cedric," I replied. I must have sounded as horrible as I felt, because he immediately laid a comforting hand on my leg.

"That doesn't hurt, does it?"

"No. Thanks for checking."

"Of course. Is something wrong? More wrong than usual on this day, anyway?" he asked in a softer voice.

I lifted my heavy head and wiped at my eyes. "Bad dream. It's okay," I added quickly, noting his concerned expression, "I just... it's a lot to take right now."

"I'm here. Always will be."

I rested my head against his arm again. "Promise?"

"Promise."

I made it through the day, and through the night. When I awoke on the floor of the Shrieking Shack the next morning, my head was still pounding, and my throat was aching. I tried to stand, but my right knee buckled when I applied weight to it. A hoarse cry escaped my lips, and I tried to remember what could have possibly happened. A hazy vision of falling down the stairs rose to the surface of my memory, and glancing around, I realized I was in fact at the base of the stairs.

"Lucy?" came a muffled voice.

"Cedric?" I croaked, inching toward the tunnel by sliding on my backside, not wanting to try to stand again.

"Lucy, are you alright?"

"No," I whimpered. "I'm coming, but I can't walk."

"Just get to the tunnel," he said. "I'll help you. When you didn't come right away, I came to get you myself."

I made my way to the tunnel and dropped down into it, careful to only land on my left leg. Unbalanced, I fell right into Cedric's waiting arms.

"My knee," I managed, pushing myself to a standing position and hopping on my good leg. "I think I fell down the stairs. I must have hit my head and blacked out; I don't remember anything after that."

"Yeah, you've got a nasty bump forming. I'll ask Hermione to bring you a hat to cover it. We'll get you some Pepperup Potion, too," he said. "You sound like you have a cold. Here, get on my back."

I obeyed, burying my face in his shoulder. I was so exhausted I was half-asleep by the time I got to the Hospital Wing, and my hands trembled as I drank the horribly bitter potion. Madam Pomfrey wanted me to stay in the Hospital Wing for at least the morning, but I convinced her I'd be alright and left between Cedric and Hermione, who both refused to leave my side. We were nearly to the Great Hall when a girl in Ravenclaw robes suddenly ran to up to Cedric.

"Hi," she said, clutching her books tightly to her chest. "H-How are you, Cedric?"

"I'm well, thanks, and you?"

"I'm well, thanks," she said. I glanced her direction, and saw a fierce blush climbing into her cheeks. "I-I was wondering. I know it's still nearly a month away, but, well, would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me on Valentine's Day?"

I fought the urge to cringe. Poor Cedric, being asked out in front of his younger sister and her friend. But Cedric, ever the gentleman, responded calmly.

"I'm sorry, Bella, but I already have plans to meet an old friend at The Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer. I haven't seen her in quite a while, and we've had this plan for a couple of months now."

"Oh, okay, it's okay," she stammered. "Have fun."

With that, she turned on her heel and hurried down the hallway. Once her footsteps had faded away, I offered a sympathetic glance to my brother, who still looked uncomfortable.

"You alright, Ced?"

"Yeah," he replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "Valentine's Day makes all of the girls here get a little funny. I'm glad I have that plan with Adalyn, though."

"Oh! Adalyn is the one you'll be seeing?"

He nodded. "I haven't seen her since she graduated, and I'd really like to learn more about her job as a Healer. We've exchanged letters, of course, but it's not the same as seeing her in person."

"Adalyn? As in Adalyn Benson?" Hermione asked, eyes wide.

"The one and only," Cedric replied with a grin, but before he could reply further, the bell rang over our heads and we went our separate ways.

"Poor Cedric," I lamented under my breath so only Hermione could hear. "I don't know how he handled that so well."

She giggled. "He's probably used to it at this point. Everyone knows he's handsome."

I made a mock gagging noise. "He's my brother!"

"Certainly didn't matter to that girl," she said with a shrug. "Asking him out with you right there! I hope the other girls that ask him out have a little more tact."

Hermione's optimism was not rewarded. My poor brother was asked out left and right as Valentine's Day drew nearer and nearer. I had confessed to the twins that I suspected that Cedric was hiding his discomfort so he didn't hurt the feelings of the people who asked him out. From there, they took matters into their own hands, making an effort to ask Cedric out to Hogsmeade at least four times a day in the most ridiculous manner possible to try to lighten the mood.

When the big day finally came, the twins tried to convince me to borrow the Marauder's Map and sneak into Hogsmeade, but I was too afraid of getting caught, and I wasn't sure how to explain my absence to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who would surely notice. I instead spent the day in the common room with a large group of first- and second-years, playing a series of massive games of Exploding Snap. To the surprise of nearly everyone there, I was able to hold my own, and I nearly won one of the games. Ron was particularly impressed, and he was still talking about one particular move of mine when we made our way down to the Great Hall for the Valentine's Day feast.

I assumed my typical spot across from Harry, Ron, and Hermione and between Fred and George, though I was careful not to get too close to the twins, knowing they had spent the day at Zonko's. Professor Dumbledore offered a cheesy speech about love before we dug in, which drew both groans and giggles from the student body. It was quite a sickening sight, really; everywhere I looked, couples were holding hands under the table and resting their heads on each other's shoulders. It was nice to see people eating at other houses' tables for a change, but the PDA that went with it was just plain excessive.

I must have been cringing outwardly as well as inwardly when I saw Oliver Wood place a kiss on the cheek of the girl next to him, who blushed furiously and scooted even closer to him (which I hadn't even realized was possible) because Harry laughed loudly at the sight of my face.

"I take it Valentine's Day isn't your thing, Lucy?" he teased.

I smiled, my face burning with embarrassment. "Not my favorite day in the world," I admitted.

"Oh, just you wait, Cub," Fred said, resting his head on his fist in a mock dreamy fashion. "Once you meet your soulmate and fall in love, your whole world will change. This will be your favorite day of the whole year. You'll get to smother your one true love with chocolate and affection for a whole twenty-four hours."

"Yeah, just imagine," George added, nudging me with his elbow and pointing to Oliver Wood and his girlfriend. I thought her name was Willow, but I couldn't quite remember. I was too distracted at the moment by the way they were feeding each other grapes. "One day, you'll meet someone so amazing you'll act like that every chance you get and not feel the slightest bit of shame! Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?"

I wrinkled my nose. "If that's the case, I guess I'll be alone for life by choice rather than just circumstance."

Everyone laughed at that, myself included. We were interrupted by a Slytherin girl tapping Fred on the shoulder. "Can I talk to you and your twin for a second?" she asked, twirling her curly black hair around her finger, one hand tucked suspiciously behind her back. "I need a favor from you two. And don't worry, I can pay you for your trouble."

The twins exchanged a glance, shrugged, and rose to their feet. The girl smiled at me before she left. "You're Cedric's sister, aren't you?" I nodded, and she extended a hand. "Jenna Gordon. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," I replied. She smiled and ushered the twins from the room. I tried to see what she was holding in her hand, but her fingers perfectly covered whatever it was. I turned back to Ron, Harry, and Hermione. "What do you think that was all about?"

"I don't know," Hermione said, watching as they left, "but I've got a bad feeling about this."

Fred and George returned alone a couple minutes later, shaking their heads.

"What did she want?" I asked.

"She's trying to slip someone a love potion, but we told her it'd be too difficult to execute secretly right now with so many people here watching," George sighed as he sat back down. "She sure was insistent, though. Oh, there she goes now."

Fred grimaced. "Godric, she looks determined."

I watched with dread as she marched directly to Cedric, smile glued to her face.

"I should stop her," I muttered, my hand moving instinctively to my wand. "But how?"

"Not worth it, Lu." George placed his hand over mine. "I doubt Cedric will fall for it anyway. I mean look, the poor guy is already swamped by ten times more girls than usual."

"Want me to light her robes on fire?" Hermione offered jokingly.

I cracked a grin. "No, save that for Snape."

"Wait, what?" the twins asked in unison.

"I'll tell you later," I replied, dismissing them with a wave of my hand. "Oh, bloody hell, what does she have in her hand now?"

"Looks like a cookie to me," Ron said with a shrug. "She must have given up on the love potion."

"I don't trust it," I mumbled, watching as she parked herself between Cedric and Henry. "Oh, now that's too far, she separated him from his best friend. She's up to something. I should do something."

It was too late. She offered him the cookie, and he took a bite. His eyes instantly widened, and he looked at the now very smug Slytherin with renewed interest. I jumped from the bench and got there just as Cedric tipped his face toward her to kiss her.

"What was in that cookie, Jenna?" I hissed, pressing my hand firmly over Cedric's mouth before he made a fool of himself. "What did you do to him?"

Her dark eyes flashed with anger. "Nothing, it's my mum's recipe. What are you doing here? What are you trying to imply? We were in the middle of something."

Cedric wrenched my hand away, eyes glazed over. "Lucy, it's okay! It was the best cookie I've ever had! Oh Godric, Jenna, I love you!"

"Henry, help!" I pleaded, pushing Cedric away from her. "I think she smuggled a love potion into that cookie somehow, Cedric has never acted this way in his life. We need to get him out of here!"

Henry nodded and helped me grab Cedric under the arms and drag him out of the Great Hall. Jenna tried to follow, but she was stopped by the twins, who had their arms crossed over their chests. Once we made it to the hallway, Henry and I wrestled him against a wall.

"What do we do?" I panted, grabbing Cedric's wrist as he tried to bolt back into the Great Hall.

"What did you do that for?" he cried incredulously. "I was about to get my first kiss!"

"Save it for someone you really love, mate," Henry replied, ducking as Cedric swung his fist haphazardly toward his friend.

"Cedric, stop!" I squeaked, hanging onto his arm as he wound up to throw another punch. "It was just a love potion! It's not real!"

"No, it is real! I do really love her!" he exclaimed, looking as if he'd cry. His sorrow quickly turned to anger. "You interrupted a very intimate moment, Lucy! What do you have to say for yourself? You ruined it!"

"You'll thank her later, Ced," Henry sighed. He looked toward me, his brown eyes equal parts amused and exasperated. "Maybe Madam Pomfrey has something to balance him out?"

"She's all out of Hate Potion," an older Slytherin sighed as he walked past us. It seemed his friend, also in Slytherin, was in the same boat as my brother. The friend's eyes were starry and wide, and his mouth hung open in a half-smile. "You should just get him to his common room and hope he sleeps it off. Had to do that with old Jeremy here last year. Firewhisky helps, if you have any."

"Thanks for the advice," I replied, adjusting my grip on my brother's arm.

"Yeah, no problem. Hey, is that the Diggory kid?"

Henry nodded. "The one and only."

"Poor guy will probably have to deal with this again. My sister never shuts up about how hot he is."

"Your sister's name isn't Jenna, is it?" I asked reluctantly.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I told her not to do anything stupid, but I guess she's still pissed that he didn't accept her offer to Hogsmeade. Sorry you had to deal with that, I'll talk to her."

"It's okay," I said. I remembered Oliver and Willow and grinned. "I know love makes people do some crazy things."

"I'll say," he grunted, catching his friend by the elbow as he tried to break away. "I should probably take care of him. Name's Liam, by the way."

"I'm Henry, and this is Lucy. Thanks again for your help."

"Good luck!" he called as he marched his friend down the hallway and disappeared around the corner.

I sighed and turned to Henry. "Sounds like you've got quite the night ahead of you. Do you want me to stay with him in the common room overnight?"

"It's alright, I can handle him. Would you mind helping me get him down to the common room, though?"

"Will Jenna be there?" Cedric asked desperately, suddenly breaking his silence. "Please tell me Jenna will be there! I never got my kiss!"

"Yeah, she'll be there," I replied, thinking quickly. "But only if you get there really fast! Can you get there really fast?"

He nodded excitedly, reminding me of a puppy. Henry and I exchanged an amused glance. This was going to be funny. I released his arm, and Henry let go too. "Go ahead, mate, she's waiting!"

Cedric took off at a dead sprint toward the Hufflepuff common room, and Henry and I tore off after him. We clambered through the barrel hole just as he turned around, enraged.

"Where is she?" he demanded.

"Must have been too slow, Cedric," I said sadly. "But you know what, maybe if you go straight to sleep, she'll be there when you wake up in the morning!"

"I won't be able to sleep thinking about her beautiful face," he groaned, running a hand through his hair. He froze in horror. "What if she comes in and sees me with bedhead? What if I'm snoring?"

Henry chuckled. "I see it every day, mate, it's not that bad. And you don't snore."

Cedric nodded a couple of times, as if to reassure himself. "Okay. Okay. I'll go to bed. She'll be there when I wake up?"

"Yeah, of course," I lied, smiling. "Good night, Cedric."

"Good night!" he said brightly, taking the stairs two at a time.

Henry and I sighed simultaneously, then exchanged a glance.

"Cedric was so paranoid all day," Henry admitted. "Didn't drink a thing aside from a butterbeer when he went to see Adalyn, and even then, he was nervous about drinking even that much. He didn't even really trust the cookie either, but she somehow knew snickerdoodles were his favorite cookie and he probably felt obligated to accept it."

"What a snake," I muttered, "no pun intended. Her brother was nice, though."

"Yeah, he was."

I sighed again. "Poor Cedric. He'll be so embarrassed when he snaps out of it. Are you sure you don't want me to stay to help?"

"Don't worry about it, Lucy, I can take care of him. He's helped me out of a fair few sticky situations. I'm more than happy to help him with this one."

"Thank you, Henry. I guess I'll head back up to my common room. I'm worried that I'll hit Jenna with a bat bogey hex like she's never seen if I head back to the Great Hall now."

He laughed. "Can't blame you. Good night, Little Diggory."

"Good night," I replied with a chuckle.

A/N: Well, that was a fun chapter to write! Hopefully it was worth the wait, and hopefully you all enjoyed it even though I don't actually have any events from the books in this chapter.

Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me this far! I hope you're enjoying the story! And as always, please please please leave feedback! Comments on stories literally make my day. I love hearing from you!