LUCY:

I thought it was incredibly fitting that the exam I was dreading most was my last for the year: History of Magic. Cedric had helped me a lot by comparing his notes with mine; he always went back and put stars next to whatever had been tested in class, and I started to do the same. It made studying for the final exam easier, but I was still nervous. Charms and Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology were my easiest exams by miles, but I felt I had done well in everything else too. But when it came to History of Magic, I was something of a nervous wreck.

"Good luck, Lucy," Neville said with an anxious smile as we neared the classroom. "You look nervous, but I know you'll do well."

"Thank you, and so will you," I replied, offering the most encouraging smile I could find.

"Do you want to go to the greenhouses with me afterwards? To relax a bit? Professor Sprout said she could use some help, and when I asked if you could come too, she said you were more than welcome if you wanted."

"Sure, Neville, that'd be great." Assuming I survive this exam, I thought to myself. But he smiled even wider, and we entered the room together with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. We took our seats and set to work.

My hand ached with how much I had to write, but to my immense relief, I had studied everything that was tested. When the bell rang, a massive weight lifted from my shoulders.

"We're going down to the Black Lake," Ron said as we poured out of the room. "You coming, Lucy?"

"I'm heading down to the greenhouses with Neville, but I'll catch up with you later in the common room!"

"Alright, see you later!"

I turned to Neville. "Ready?"

He nodded. "Plants are better than history anyway."

I laughed. "I couldn't agree more. I feel so much better now that exams are done. How about you?"

"Well, I'm glad I don't have to study anymore, but I don't want my grades back," he admitted. "I don't think I did well in anything other than Herbology."

"Nonsense, Neville, you worked hard! Remember all of those hours spent studying in the Quidditch stands?"

"Yeah," he said reluctantly. "I just hope my hard work will be enough."

"It already is. You did your best, and that's all that matters, right?"

"Not to my gran. I don't want to disappoint her. I already did with the whole... dragon thing."

"Even then, you tried to do what was right, and that means a lot even if it didn't work out the way you wanted."

"I guess."

"But don't worry about that for now," I said quickly as we reached the greenhouse, "because exams are over and now all we have to worry about are these plants."

We pushed the door open.

"Hi, Professor Sprout!" Neville called. "Lucy and I are here."

"Excellent!" she said, clapping her gloved hands and beaming. "How were your other exams, dears?"

"They were okay," Neville said with a shrug. "Yours was still my favorite."

"How can we help?" I asked.

"I have a special task for you two today," she replied, eyes twinkling. "Follow me."

We followed her into another greenhouse filled with empty pots and bags upon bags of soil and fertilizer and wood chips lining the walls.

"One of the plants you'll be studying next year needs to be planted now so they can grow over summer. You'll likely not need these, but better safe than sorry," she explained as she passed us earmuffs.

"Are we planting Mandrakes?" Neville asked excitedly.

Professor Sprout nodded. "We certainly are, Mr. Longbottom! Now let me demonstrate what to do. Earmuffs on, please, I'd rather not take unnecessary risks."

We complied immediately and watched as she planted one as an example. Neville and I spent the next several hours working together to plant mandrake after mandrake. Neville was right in thinking it would help us relax; it required just enough thought to hold my attention, but it wasn't so intensive that I was stressed.

The mandrakes were tiny, too small to have any details, really, but Neville explained to me on our walk back to the castle that they would grow to the size of a human baby, and look rather like a human baby as well.

"I'm going to go shower," he said as we climbed through the portrait hole to a completely empty common room, "it was hot in there. But I'll see you later, Lucy."

"Bye, Neville!" I called as he climbed the stairs to his dormitory. I was about to take a shower of my own when Harry, Ron, and Hermione burst through the portrait hole.

"Lucy!" they exclaimed in unison. I whirled around, and they all began to speak at once, various expressions of fear and concern and anxiety on their faces.

"I can't understand a word anyone just said," I said, holding my hands up. "What happened?"

"Hagrid told us about how he got Norbert from a guy in a cloak and now we know that-"

"Snape knows how to get past Fluffy and-"

"And we tried to go after him ourselves but-"

"McGonagall held us up and-"

"Hermione couldn't do her part and-"

"Hey! I tried but-"

"And now we have to go after the Stone-"

"Tonight!" they all finished once again in unison.

I took a deep breath. "Okay." I took another deep breath. "So what's the plan?"

"I need to study," Hermione said quickly. "You never know what we'll find down there."

I nodded. "That sounds like a good plan. What about you two?"

"We'll use the Invisibility Cloak," Harry said. "And we get past Fluffy by playing music, and Hagrid gave me a flute for Christmas, so we don't have to worry about that."

"Okay." I took yet another deep breath as the gravity of the situation settled on my shoulders. "I'll be right back. I need a little fresh air. The greenhouses were hot," I offered as a weak excuse before leaving through the portrait hole.

I raced down staircases trying to get outside; my mind raced even faster. Professor Snape was going to get the Stone. We were the only ones who could stop him. But at what cost, I wondered?

I needed to see Cedric. It might be the last time.

As I had hoped, Cedric and Henry were playing Gobstones in the courtyard. Cedric smiled and waved me over when he saw me.

"You survived your first round of final exams! How'd it go?"

"Pretty well, I hope," I replied, sitting behind him and ducking as the stinky spray exploded in his face.

Cedric turned to me. "Want to play? I'm sure you're better than I am."

"It's okay, I like watching you get sprayed," I teased. I winked at Henry. "Keep it up, will you? I'm on your side."

The boys laughed.

"How were exams for you two?"

"You know your brother was perfectly fine," Henry retorted, "genius that he is. As for myself, the Ancient Runes final exam nearly killed me."

"You're exaggerating, Hen, I'm sure you did alright," Cedric asserted, ever the diplomat.

"Being professor's pet doesn't guarantee anything in that class, because if it did, I would have perfect marks," he argued with a laugh.

"Who's the professor for that class?" I asked.

"Professor Babbling," Cedric answered.

"Seems appropriate, I say," Henry added. "Not that she babbles, she's actually quite soft-spoken and unassuming, but my brain might as well be comprehending nothing but babbling in that class. I don't know why I let Ced talk me into it."

I felt as if I'd be struck by lightning as everything clicked into place. I needed to bring my translation of the riddle on the back of my birthday note to... wherever we were going that night. Though temporarily distracted, raw terror once again surged through me. I was glad Cedric's back was to me and that Henry was distracted by the game, because for a second, I knew that my emotions were written all over my face. I carefully arranged my facial features into a smile and forced away the chill in my veins.

"You excited for the match on Saturday?" Henry asked. "Skye Parkin's last match, isn't it?"

I nodded. "It should be great! We have one last practice tomorrow since we didn't have one yesterday, then we'll be as ready as we'll ever be."

"Hopefully you can gain back the points those first-years lost," he added in a lower voice. "We'd all love to see Slytherin's downfall. We put up a fight last week, but Gryffindor's our best shot to overthrow them for the House Cup."

I laughed. If only he knew what we planned for tonight.

I ended heading back to the common room without an official goodbye to Cedric. I just couldn't do it. I vowed to do it after dinner. Not that I ate anything at all; the four of us just picked at our plates and exchanged heavy glances.

"I'll meet you in the common room in a minute," I whispered to Harry. "I... I need to say goodbye to Cedric. Not that I think we'll... well, you know, just in case we..."

"I understand," he said with a nod. "Do what you need to do. We'll have to wait until everyone goes to bed anyway."

I slipped away and caught Cedric walking by himself. I breathed a small sigh of relief. "Cedric?" I called.

He turned around, already smiling. "Hi, Lu. What's on your mind?"

"Nothing much," I lied. "Just saw you walking alone and thought we might as well be alone together. Where's Henry?"

"Already asleep. He wasn't kidding about that Ancient Runes exam."

"That hard?"

He nodded. "I don't usually complain about exams, but... that one was hard."

I fingered the folded pieces of parchment in my pocket. The original note and the translation were already there; I didn't want to risk leaving them behind. I grew more and more convinced that it would become important that night.

"I'm sure you did well," I said once I snapped back to reality. "You always do."

"Something's definitely on your mind," he remarked.

"What makes you think that?"

"You hesitated. Unless you think I actually bombed it and you're just trying to protect my feelings?"

"No, no, of course not! You always do well."

"I'm just teasing, Lucy. Come on, now, out with it. What's bothering you?"

I didn't know what to say. I couldn't tell the truth. But I couldn't think of a good enough lie, either.

"I just..." I hesitated, scrambling for something to say. "I don't want anything to change."

"How so?"

I didn't want to die. I didn't want my friends to die, either. I didn't want to keep anything a secret from Cedric anymore. I wanted to tell him about the Stone, about the Forest, about Norbert. I wanted everything to go back to the way it had been at Christmas, when everything was right and happy and the troll was dead and we didn't know who Nicholas Flamel was and we thought Hogwarts was safe. But I didn't say any of this.

"Neville and I helped Professor Sprout plant Mandrakes today, and it just reminded me of everything that's about to change. This year will end. Skye will graduate. We'll go home. I won't see my friends again until September. Next year will be different."

I said all of this with more optimism than I honestly possessed. I didn't expect to see next year, not really, but Cedric seemed to believe me.

"I know a lot is going to change," he said, "but some things never will. You'll have all of the same professors next year, even if the classes are a little different. Skye will graduate, but she won't go anywhere. I saw Adalyn in February, remember?"

I cracked a grin. "I'm surprised you remember."

He blushed. "Yeah, I do. I'd rather forget the rest of that day, but seeing Adalyn was nice. That's another thing that'll never change. Friendship. Sure, you won't see your friends for a while, but they'll all be here next year. Besides, we still have the Weasleys nearby. And Fred and George and I have been talking. Apparently their mum wants us to spend more time with them this summer, assuming our parents are okay with it, and I'm going to do my best to convince them. She thinks we're a good influence, on the twins especially, and Mrs. Weasley wants their younger sister to have a female friend when she starts at Hogwarts next year."

I smiled. "That would be great."

I glanced up at my brother, taking the time to absorb every detail of this moment. The way the sunset filtered through the windows of the corridor and cast him in an almost unearthly glow. The way he intentionally slowed down so I didn't have to work hard to keep up with his longer strides. The way he smiled when he noticed me looking at him.

"What is it?"

"Just trying to hold onto this," I said, with complete earnestness.

"Good. Some changes will be sad, Lu, like Skye leaving, but some good changes are coming too. And some things will never change, like the fact I'll always be here for you and you'll always be here for me. Right?"

"Right."

We stopped on the threshold of the castle steps, taking in the June sunset. "This is another thing that will never change."

"What?"

"Hogwarts will always have the best sunsets."

I smiled. For what might be my last sunset, it sure was a beautiful one.

A couple hours later, when Lee Jordan, the last person in the common room, headed up to his dormitory, Harry followed to get the cloak. He returned quickly, and we gathered by the portrait hole.

"We'd better put the cloak on here," Harry said, "and make sure it covers all four of us. I think Ron and I should be in the middle, then Lucy and Hermione on the ends to make sure it stays all the way down. If Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own-"

"What are you doing?" Neville asked as he crawled out from behind an armchair, holding Trevor tightly.

Harry shoved the cloak behind his back as we all turned to face him. "Nothing, Neville, nothing."

"You're going out again," he said slowly.

Hermione's voice was little more than a nervous squeak. "No, no, no, we're not. Why don't you go to bed, Neville?"

"You can't go out. You'll be caught again. Gryffindor will be in even more trouble."

"You don't understand, Neville, this is important," Harry said. "We really have to go."

Neville ran to stand between us and the portrait hole. "I won't let you do it! I'll... I'll fight you!"

"Neville, get away from that hole and don't be an idiot!" Ron said.

"Don't you call me an idiot! I don't think you should be breaking any more rules! And you were the one who told me to stand up to people!"

"Yes, but not to us! Neville, you don't know what you're doing."

Ron stepped forward, and Neville dropped Trevor to hold up his fists. I darted after the toad to catch him before he got lost again, but he quickly disappeared under the couch. I dropped to my knees and snagged him by the back leg.

Neville rocked slightly on his feet. "Go on then, try and hit me! I'm ready!"

"No, stop," I said, standing between Neville and the others. I held Trevor out. "Neville, please let us go. I would explain to you what we're doing and why we have to do it, but we don't have time. If you take Trevor now and go to bed, we'll explain everything tomorrow."

He lowered his fists slightly. "But why should I let you get Gryffindor in trouble again?"

I opened my mouth to try to assuage his fears, but Hermione stepped up next to me.

"Neville, I'm really, really sorry about this, but we don't have any more time. Petrificus totalus!"

I lunged forward to catch him before he flopped to the ground, losing Trevor again in the process.

"Why would you do that?" I whispered in horror.

"What've you done to him?" Harry asked.

"It's the full Body-Bind. Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry," Hermione sighed.

"We had to, Neville, no time to explain, we need to go."

I dragged him to a rug. I didn't know how much he could feel, but I hoped it was more comfortable than the hardwood floor. "I'm sorry," I said, "I really am. We'll explain everything tomorrow." I glanced up toward the others. "Ready?"

I was next to Harry under the cloak. The halls were empty except for Peeves, who was fiddling with the carpet on the stairs. It wouldn't have been an issue if it weren't for the fact that he was between us and the door to Fluffy. We tried to move silently, but Peeves always did have a good ear for trouble.

"Who's there? I know you're there even if you're invisible. Now, are you ghoulie or ghostie or we student beastie? Should call Filch, I should, if someone's a-creepin' around."

Harry's voice was deeper than I had ever heard it. "Peeves, the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible."

It worked. Peeves nearly tripped over himself in midair trying to appease the "Bloody Baron" with glasses beneath an Invisibility Cloak. Had the situation not been so grave, I would have found it hilarious. I couldn't wait to tell the twins, assuming I ever saw them again. But Harry wasn't done.

"I have business here tonight, so stay away from here."

And just like that, the Peeves problem was gone.

"That was bloody brilliant, Harry!" Ron whispered.

"Was that a pun?" I asked, which earned soft snorts of laughter from the other three. But the laughter died as soon as we reached the door.

"If you want to go back, I won't blame you," Harry said. "You can take the cloak, I won't need it now."

"Don't be stupid, mate, we're coming," Ron replied. With that, we pushed the door open.

"Whoa," I breathed. "Now that's a dog."

"What's at his feet?" Hermione asked.

I squinted. "Some type of instrument. That must be what Snape used to get past Fluffy. I'm glad he didn't hurt him."

"Didn't hurt him?" Ron retorted. "I doubt Fluffy would think twice about hurting us." He had a point; all three massive heads were sniffing the air around us, and I could have sworn I heard his stomach growl.

"Well, only one way to prevent that," Harry whispered, drawing his Christmas gift from Hagrid and beginning to play some semblance of a tune. As soon as the massive dog was asleep, we shed the cloak.

"I'll take a turn," I offered, because I could see how red in the face Harry was growing from the nonstop playing. He passed it quickly, but even in the milliseconds of silence, the dog began to stir. But as soon as I puffed a note out, his eyes drooped shut again. I took a couple steps forward, and reached the hand not holding the flute to one of the heads. The content animal didn't even open its eyes, but it pressed its head ever so slightly into my touch. I smiled. Good boy.

I couldn't hear the whispered debate occurring near the trap door, but I watched as Harry then Ron then Hermione jumped in.

"Come on, Lucy!" came a call. "It's a soft landing!"

I backed toward the trap door, still blowing on the flute. I didn't stop playing until the last possible second. I shut my eyes tightly and jumped in.

The drop was far further than I was expecting, but I finally landed with a squish on something. I opened my eyes a crack and immediately gasped.

"Devil's Snare! Get out!"

Hermione and I scrambled to safety, but Harry and Ron were too tightly wound already.

"What did Professor Sprout say?" Hermione wrung her hands. "It likes the damp-"

"And dark!" I added.

"So light a fire!" Harry shouted.

"There's no wood!" Hermione exclaimed.

"There's no wood?" Ron cried. "Honestly! Are you a witch or not?"

"I got it," I said, whipping my wand out. "Incendio!"

The Devil's Snare immediately recoiled, and the boys were free.

"Lucky you two pay attention in Herbology," Harry remarked.

"Yeah, and lucky Lucy doesn't lose her head in a crisis," Ron added. "There's no wood? Really?"

"Down this way," Harry said, pointing down a stone passageway. We walked down, down, down. Harry led, whereas I brought up the rear. No one spoke until we heard the sound of thousands of wings flapping at once.

"Do you hear that?"

"Is it a ghost?"

"I think it's wings."

"Are you sure?"

"There's light ahead, I can see something moving," Harry said. "Let's go."

Surely enough, we soon reached a room full of what looked like mechanical birds.

"Do you think they'll attack us?" Ron asked.

"Probably." Harry shrugged. "But, well, there's no other choice but to cross."

"I see a door on the other side," I said. "I'll run."

Before anyone could protest, I sprinted across the room, arms over my head. I reached the door without a scratch and pulled on the handle.

"It's safe to cross!" I called to the others. "But it's locked."

I tried alohomora, along with another trickier spell Fred and George had taught me works on some doors in Hogwarts that really, really aren't meant to be opened, but to no avail.

"Know any explosion spells, Lucy?" Ron asked.

"There's got to be another way," Hermione said quickly before I could answer. Something told me she wasn't fond of using an explosion to open a door. "These birds have to mean something."

"Wait a second," Harry said, "those aren't birds! They're keys! Keys with wings! Oh, and look, broomsticks! We need to catch the key for the door!"

Ron looked at the lock. "I think we're looking for an old-fashioned silver one, and it's probably pretty big."

"Let's go!" I said, suddenly quite excited at the prospect of flying. I darted over and grabbed a broom, diving into the mess of keys. I looked for the key Ron described, but none of the ones I caught seemed quite right.

Harry, though, spotted it. "That one! That big one! With the blue wings! The feathers are crumpled on one side! We've got to close in on it!"

"On it!" I called, flying above the key and diving straight down at it. Hermione shot up from below, and Harry and Ron each chose a side. Harry pinned it against the wall, and I straightened myself out just before slamming into Hermione. We quickly dropped to the ground and rushed to the door. The key worked, and we stepped into the next room after taking half a moment to take a deep breath and gather our wits again. A brilliant light revealed the biggest game of chess I had ever seen.

"Now what do we do?" Harry groaned.

"I think we have to play our way across," Ron answered. "And I think we have to be chessmen." He stepped forward and touched a knight that sprang to life. "Do we have to join you to cross?" The knight nodded, and Ron rubbed his chin. "This will need some thinking about."

"Wish we had just brought brooms," Harry whispered to me with a grin. I smiled back just as Ron spoke again.

"Now, don't be offended," he said slowly, "but I'm the best at chess-"

"You definitely are," I agreed. "Just get us across. We'll follow your lead. Tell us where to go."

Ron had never played such a fantastic game. He guided us across the board expertly, never once losing his nerve, even as we watched pieces be smashed against the wall.

"We're nearly there," he said after a while. "But... well, now I need to think." The white queen turned her blank face toward Ron. He swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes... it's the only way. I've got to be taken."

"No!" the other three of us shouted in unison.

"That's chess! You've got to make sacrifices! Once I make my move and she takes me, Harry is free to checkmate the king, and we win."

"Ron, no, there's got to be another way," I protested.

"Do you want to stop Snape or not? Look, we don't have time." He stopped Harry before a word could leave his mouth. "If we don't hurry, he'll get the Stone. So here I go."

He stepped forward, and the queen knocked him hard across the head. The three of us exchanged a horrified glance, and Harry slowly moved to checkmate the king. The king smashed his crown at Harry's feet, and the defeated pieces bowed and allowed us to pass.

"He'll be okay," Harry assured us. "What do you reckon is next?"

"Sprout's was the Devil's Snare," Hermione said, counting on her fingers. "Flitwick must have been the keys, and McGonagall must have been the chess game. That leaves Quirrell, and Snape, and Babbling."

"What does Babbling teach anyway?"

"Ancient Runes," I answered. "My brother and his best friend take it together."

The stench of the next room nearly made me sick. An unconscious troll was sprawled on the ground.

"Glad we don't have to fight that one," Harry commented as we stepped around it. We entered the next room to find a table filled with various glasses and vials filled with potions. "Snape's. I wonder what we have to do."

As soon as we stepped through the doorway, purple fire erupted behind us. An identical black fire filled the next doorway as well.

"We're trapped," Hermione said in a small voice. "But there's this." She bent down and grabbed a scroll from beside the potions. Her face blanched. "I found Professor Babbling's."

She rolled it out on the ground, revealing line after line of runes.

"We'll never get the Stone," Harry whispered, sounding near tears. "Unless you happen to know ancient runes, Hermione?"

"I don't."

"I do," I said, stepping forward. I ignored their bewildered stares as I studied the scroll. My suspicions were confirmed. It was the same passage given to me on my birthday. I reached into my pocket for the translation, but it was gone. I felt all of the blood drain from my face, but only for a moment. Commit it to memory, the note had said. The author must have set something up that would magically remove any translations someone brought into this room. I swallowed hard and focused.

"Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,
Two of us will help you, which ever you would find,
One among us seven will let you move ahead,
Another will transport the drinker back instead,
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,
Three of us are killers, waiting bidden in line.
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;
Second, different are those who stand at either end,
But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight."

Hermione smiled. "I have no idea how you knew that, but we can talk about that later. This is brilliant! It isn't magic, it's logic! It's a puzzle! Most wizards don't have an ounce of it, some would be stuck here forever!"

"But how do we know which to drink?" Harry asked.

"Lucy, can you say it again?"

I repeated it twice more, as Hermione thought harder and harder.

She pursed her lips. "I've got it. The small one will get us through the black fire."

Harry grabbed the bottle. "There's only enough for one of us. Which one will get us through the purple fire?"

She pointed wordlessly to a round bottle at the end.

"You and Lucy drink that one." She opened her mouth to protest, but Harry didn't give her the chance. "No, listen, get back and get Ron. Grab brooms from the flying key room, they'll get you out of the trapdoor and past Fluffy. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, we need him. I might be able to hold Snape off for a while, but I'm no match for him, really. But you and Lucy should be alright together."

"What about you, Harry?" Hermione's lower lip trembled. "What if You-Know-Who's with him?"

"Well, I was lucky once, wasn't I? Maybe I'll get lucky again."

Hermione flung her arms around him. "Harry, you're a great wizard, you know."

He flushed a bright red when she let go. "I'm not as good as you."

"Me? Books and cleverness. There are more important things, like friendship, and bravery, and oh, Harry, be careful!"

"You drink first, Hermione," Harry said. "Then I'll go, then Lucy can follow you. You're sure you know which is which?"

She nodded and grabbed her bottle. "Positive." She took a swallow and shuddered.

"It's not poison?" I asked.

She shook her head. "No, but it's like ice."

"Quick, go, before it wears off," Harry said.

"Good luck, and-"

"Go!" we shouted at her in unison.

She disappeared through the flames, and Harry and I exchanged a long look, neither knowing what to say.

"I would go face Snape myself," I managed after a moment. "But I can imagine you wouldn't hear a word of it."

"You're right," he replied with a small grin. "I don't reckon your brother would ever forgive me if something happened to you."

"And I don't reckon I'd ever forgive myself if something happened to you," I said, "but I understand. You need this more than I do. B-But I... I'd still rather you not go. But I'll be right here when it's all over."

"Oh, and Lucy. One more thing?"

"Mhm?"

A small smile made its way to his lips. "If I don't make it back, you can have my broom. I think you were made to fly, Lucy."

I tried to smile, but instead, tears rose to my eyes and I threw my arms around him the way Hermione had. "Oh, shut up," I said, half-sobbing and half-chuckling. "You'll make it back. Quidditch practice wouldn't be the same without you. Nothing would be." I released him, and he grabbed his potion.

He smiled back one last time before swallowing his potion and shuddering. "Hermione was right. It's freezing." With that, he turned and walked into the fire.

"I suppose it's my turn now," I said to myself, taking a long swig of Hermione's potion. I ran through the purple fire, knowing we didn't have a moment to waste. I nearly bowled Hermione over in my rush, but she quickly recovered herself and we hurried past the troll.

We didn't speak. We both seemed to understand that nothing we could say would make the situation any better. Once we reached the chess room, we rushed over to Ron. Hermione pressed a finger to his wrist as I drew my wand.

"He's alive," she said, her voice shaking with immense relief.

"Good. This should help." I twirled my wand above him. "Episkey!"

Golden sparkles showered around him, and he stirred slightly.

"It's okay, Ron," I said softly, helping him sit up. "You're okay. We're going to get you out of here."

"Where's Harry?" he asked, his words slurring together as his eyes adjusted to the light.

"Don't worry about that right now," she replied in the gentlest voice I had possibly ever heard her use. "He'll be alright, and so will we. But we need to hurry and get Dumbledore. Can you walk?"

Hermione and I helped him to his feet, and he immediately stumbled. I ducked under him to use as a human crutch; I was pretty substantially shorter than him after all. Once we reached the room with the brooms, we each grabbed one and made our way to the door at the other end of the room.

I swore under my breath. The door had locked once we had gone through, much like the purple fire. We needed another key.

"What do you reckon this key will look like?" I asked.

"The other one was just like its handle," Hermione said, "so this one is probably gold, and quite small."

"Okay," I said, throwing a leg over my broom and shooting up toward the ceiling. With no Harry to lean on, it seemed my senses were more alert than ever. Suddenly, a golden key with red wings flew right in front of my nose. I nearly punched myself in the face trying to grab it. It darted away, right into a particularly thick bunch of keys. I darted right after it, ignoring the way the keys dug at the skin of my face and hands, unable to get out of my way fast enough. I reached, reached, reached, and closed my hand around it.

"Yes!" I yelled. "I got it!"

We didn't even bother to dismount our brooms. I unlocked the door, and we flew out above the Devil's Snare and through the trap door. Fluffy barked and snarled at us, but he couldn't quite reach us. But we couldn't reach the door, either.

"Someone get the flute!" Ron shouted. "I... I can't keep flying much longer."

"We can't reach it!" Hermione shouted back.

"What else can we do?"

I groaned. "Godric, I can't believe I'm about to do this." I cleared my throat and began to sing, an old lullaby my mum used to sing me. It was far from beautiful, but it did the trick. I gestured for Ron and Hermione to fly lower and lower as Fluffy's eyelids drooped. I didn't stop singing until we were safely through the door and had closed it behind us.

"That was a nice song," Hermione said.

I flushed bright red. "Tell anyone about that and I'll kill the both of you. There's a reason I'm not in the Frog Choir. Let's go."

We sprinted as fast as we could do the owlery, but before we reached there, we ran into none other than Professor Dumbledore first, moving just as quickly as we were.

"Harry's gone after him, hasn't he?" he asked.

When we nodded, he rushed off in the direction of the third floor. We remained frozen in place for several seconds, none of us sure what to do next.

Ron was the first to find his voice. "What do we do now?"

"You should go to the Hospital Wing," Hermione said. "You too, Lucy, those keys cut you up the second time. You must have been flying incredibly fast."

"No, no, I'm fine," I said, though I did drag my sleeve across my face to try to wipe away the blood I felt trickling down. "I'm going to go check on Neville. I suppose we can tell him the truth now."

"He's fine, thanks to us," came a voice in the darkness.

"You three are coming with us to the common room, and while you're at it, you can tell us the truth too."

I spun around to see Fred and George lurking in the shadows. I glanced toward Ron and Hermione.

"Let me lead the way," Fred said. "I've got the best instincts. We need to get you three out of here before McGonagall or worse catches us all out of bed. You talk really loudly considering it's nearly three in the morning."

We followed Fred wordlessly through the castle to the common room, George bringing up the rear to make sure none of us tried to bolt. Neville was half-asleep on the couch when we stumbled through, but he jumped up when he saw us. I was afraid at first that he would be furious with us, but instead, he rushed straight to me and nearly plowed me over with a hug, then did the same to Ron and Hermione.

"I was so worried! Wait, where's Harry?"

"We're wondering the same thing," George said, "but we heard Filch coming and knew we needed to get you out of there before you got into more trouble."

"Thanks." My voice was little more than a whisper. My anxiety seemed to have coiled around my vocal chords like a snake. "We weren't thinking about that, really. And... and Harry... it's a long story."

The twins ushered the three of us to the couch. I curled up in the corner away from the other two, pulling my robes tightly around my shoulders. The twins and Neville had plenty of questions for Ron and Hermione, who answered as best they could, but I couldn't seem to make out a word they were saying. All I could hear was Harry's voice. If I don't make it back, you can have my broom. I think you were made to fly, Lucy.

"Lululululululululu!"

I turned toward the twins, a reluctant smile finding its way to my face. "What?"

"Did you really get all cut up from flying keys?"

I blushed. "Yeah."

"Wicked," they said in unison.

"That's really the end of the story," Hermione said. "Once we were through the door, we flew over the Devil's Snare into Fluffy's room and were going to the owlery when we bumped into Dumbledore heading to get Harry. We... we don't know anything else."

"Harry will be okay," Neville assured us as best he could. "I mean, he's Harry Potter for a reason."

We all nodded slowly, a heavy silence falling over the room. I didn't remember falling asleep, but I woke to a stinging sensation on my face.

"Sorry," George whispered. "All three of you fell asleep and Fred and I figured we'd try to clean up those cuts. Don't worry, it's not dittany," he added quickly, holding up a wet towel. "Just water. But anything helps, eh?"

"Thanks." I pushed myself to a more upright position and glanced over to where Fred was trying to heal the bump on Ron's head. "Where's Neville?"

"We dragged him up to his own bed, but we figured you three would want to be down here so you were easy to find whenever someone comes with news."

It made sense to me, so I nodded silently. "How did you know about, well, all of this?"

"Freddie and I were going to head down to the kitchens for a post-finals feast," he explained with a grin, "but we were caught off guard by Neville's body on the couch. We performed the countercurse and he told us what happened, so we knew we needed to find you before anyone else did, especially since Harry and Hermione already got caught. What happened with all that, anyway? Was that related to the Stone too?"

I shook my head. "Not exactly. I was there that night too, but I got lucky. What happened with that was-"

I was cut off by the portrait hole swinging open to reveal a very troubled-looking Professor McGonagall. Her sharp eyes took in the scene, and she cleared her throat before speaking.

"The headmaster asked me to inform anybody awake in the common room that Mr. Potter is in the Hospital Wing now and will make a full recovery within a few days."

"Are we allowed to visit?" I asked. "What happened down there?"

"No visitors allowed yet, but he is in good hands so you needn't worry too much. And to be quite frank, Miss Diggory, I'm sure you have a better idea of what happened than I." She sighed. "It would seem you and the youngest Mr. Weasley should go to the Wing as well. Miss Granger too, I presume."

"Don't worry, Professor, we can take care of them," Fred said.

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips. "I don't even want to ask why you two are also awake and in the common room at this hour."

"I'm sure everything will be cleared up tomorrow," George replied. "Don't worry about these ones for tonight. It seems Harry needs you more."

"Professor McGonagall?" I asked as she turned to leave.

"Yes, Miss Diggory?"

I blushed and smiled. "If Harry wakes up when I'm not there, will you please tell him I knew I wouldn't need his broom? He told me I could have it if he didn't come back, but it sounds like he'll be flying it again someday."

She looked for a moment as if she'd cry, but she managed to return my smile. "I'll tell him." She disappeared through the portrait hole.

Fred swore loudly as soon as the hole closed.

"What?" George and I asked in unison.

"The Quidditch match! Saturday!"

"Well," I said slowly, "I pity the poor soul who has to tell Skye her star Seeker is otherwise occupied."

I don't know who ended up telling Skye, because as soon as my face was more or less cleaned up, I woke Hermione and we staggered up to our dormitory together and didn't wake again for several hours. To be honest, the only reason I woke up was because Skye herself shook me awake.

"Heard you had a long night, but we've got a match tomorrow and I really need you at practice today," she said. "Sorry. I'm guessing you heard about Harry?"

I nodded as I sat up. "What are we going to do?"

"We'll figure it out at practice. Meet you down there?"

"Meet you down there."

She left, and I quickly put on my practice clothes. Thankfully, Hermione was so deeply asleep she completely missed Skye coming and going, but I was careful to be quiet anyway. I threw my hair up in a ponytail, not bothering with my typical braids, and hurried down to the Pitch still wiping the sleep from my eyes. It felt weird walking alone, but I assured myself Harry would be okay and we'd walk down together again someday. I stopped in the locker room, but I didn't get Cedric's broom. I stepped out onto the grass with Harry's broom behind my back.

"Well, everyone," Skye said with a heavy sigh, "this isn't what we expected, but we're going to make it work. I mean, thank Merlin we have a reserve, eh? Couldn't imagine trying to win the game without a Seeker."

"Who will the Seeker be?" Oliver asked. "Because you and Lucy have both been primarily playing Chaser."

"I don't know," she admitted. "I don't know how we'll make do without Harry, or his broom, for that matter."

"Lucy should be Seeker," George said. "She caught a flying key in a room with thousands of them last night. She may prefer Chaser, but she is Cedric's sister. There's some Seeker talent there too."

"She is smaller than me," Skye mused, "which would help against Leo Wilde, who's built rather like a troll."

I cleared my throat, trying to sound braver than I felt. "There's something else that would help." I brought the Nimbus out from behind my back. "Harry said last night that if he didn't come back, I could have his broom. And, well, he did come back, but I don't think he'd mind if I borrowed it for this. Do you agree?"

Skye grinned. "Abso-bloody-lutely. Alright, team. Lucy's Seeker. Let's practice!"

As tired as I was, I came alive during practice. The Nimbus 2000 really was incredible. We practiced for a long time, and we practiced hard, and we missed Harry terribly, but our spirits were high as could be expected. When I headed back up to the castle, I had barely gone three steps before Cedric came flying at me out of nowhere and hugged me so tightly I thought I might burst. We talked for a little bit, and I gave him a shortened version of the night's events. It seemed he couldn't decide if he was horrified by how much danger I had put myself in or proud of the way I had handled everything thrown at me or both. But what I do know for sure is that he was incredibly relieved that I was alright, and he said in no uncertain terms that if I ever thought about doing anything like that ever again and didn't come back, there'd be hell to pay.

"Don't worry, Ced," I had assured him with a smile. "I'll always come back to you."

The night passed much less eventfully than the night before, and I was actually thankful for how exhausted I was; I was too busy sleeping soundly to really worry about the next day's match. As soon as I opened my eyes on Saturday morning, however, anxiety nearly overcame me. Like Harry on the day of his first match, I couldn't bring myself to eat a bite of breakfast. The Hall was full of speculation as to what Gryffindor would do. Nobody had found out about the reserve player all year. Slytherin looked particularly smug as they stared at the place at the table where Harry typically sat that was now empty.

Cedric offered a couple words of advice, one Seeker to another, and encouragement, one Diggory to another, before I headed down to the Pitch. I changed into my Quidditch robes in my locker, still not ready for anyone to see more of my scars than the ones I couldn't hide, and got Harry's broom out of his locker. My whole body trembled under the weight of the moment. I couldn't screw this up. Not for Gryffindor. Not for the team. Not for Skye. Not for Harry.

Even Skye looked somewhat nervous as she began her speech. "Well, this is it, everyone," she said. "Our chance to win the Quidditch Cup. We all know what we need to do, though some of us are taking on new roles." She fixed her hazel eyes on me for a moment before addressing the group as a whole again. "This is my last chance to win the Quidditch Cup. I don't want to ask you to do this for me-"

"We'll do it for you, Parkin," Fred interrupted with a grin. "You don't even have to ask."

"We'll do it for Harry, too," George added, and the whole team once again looked at me. I blushed fiercely and glanced toward Skye.

"For Gryffindor," Oliver said.

"For all of us," Skye said, looking each one of us in the eyes. "We've all worked so hard to reach this point. So let's do this. For Gryffindor. For Harry. And for me." She cleared her throat, and I might have even seen tears in her eyes. "Alright, time to go. I'll lead the Chasers, then Wood, then the twins can be on either side of Lucy. She's our secret weapon," she said with a smile, "and I'd love to have a dramatic reveal. Let's go!"

We broke the circle and approached the field. Fred stood to my left, George to my right.

"Nervous, Cub?" Fred asked.

I nodded. "Of course."

"You shouldn't be," George replied. "You can do this."

"I'm no Harry. He can do it better."

"We only need one Harry," Fred said, "and he's great. But today, Cub, we need you. We need Lucy Diggory, because Harry isn't here."

I managed a smile. "I can be Lucy Diggory."

We stepped out into the stadium. The bright sun shining overhead made the scene appear like something out of a painting. I might have thought I was dreaming if not for the roaring of the crowd that made my ears throb. We took to the skies, and with the blow of Madam Hooch's whistle, the game began.

I tuned out the commentary. I tuned out the crowd. I ignored the uneasiness of my stomach and the way the sun beat down on the back of my neck. I watched the game below us with near-perfect focus, watching as my teammates below fought for every point they could and waiting for the golden fleck of the Snitch.

I also found myself having to ignore the smirks of Leo Wilde. It was obvious he was highly entertained by me, both my size and the fact that I was a girl. He didn't say anything, at least not that I heard, but he didn't need to. I could tell he saw me as no threat whatsoever. I hoped his cockiness would be his downfall.

The Ravenclaws were putting up a good fight. We knew we'd never be able to out-strategize them, but we hoped our aggression and unpredictability would at least faze them. It seemed to be working, but the score still remained close. It would come down to the Snitch, which was nowhere to be seen.

After what felt like hours, I finally saw the Snitch. I hazarded a quick glance at Wilde, who was already staring at me. I smirked at him, then tore off down toward the Snitch. I had the feeling he was on my tail; the screams of the crowd confirmed it. But with the Nimbus beneath me, I flew faster and faster until it was within reach.

"Just like the key," I whispered to myself as I extended my hand and closed my fingers around it. I pulled up, the Snitch still secure in my hand, and held my fist above my head.

A sudden force from my left nearly knocked me off of my broom.

"Whoops," Leo Wilde said, smirking. "Didn't see you there, little Gryffindor. You got lucky this time, but you won't again."

"Lucky for you, I'm not Seeker," I replied. "Next time, you'll be up against Harry Potter." I flew down to my team, who all looked very, very, very excited.

The stadium was deafening at this point, so I couldn't hear a word they said, but I remembered their smiles. Skye especially seemed as if she'd explode from the joy of it all.

"Party in the common room!" Fred roared as we filtered into the changing tents. "Let's go!"

"I'll catch up with you in a moment," I said softly to George. "I need to take care of something first."

He looked confused, but nodded regardless.

I put Harry's broom back in his locker, not bothering to change out of my Quidditch robes before slipping out of the tent and making my way up to the castle. Once in the Hospital Wing, and approached Harry's bedside. I gently took his bandaged hand in my own.

"We won, Harry," I whispered, "we did it. And we did it for you."

His eyes didn't open, and he didn't move at all save for the rise and fall of his chest. But I hoped that, somehow, he had heard me, because we had done it. Survived final exams, and saved the Stone, and won the Quidditch Cup.

"I can't wait until you wake up," I added, smiling slightly. "We've got celebrating to do, and I need you to be there for it."