Dear Cedric,

I hope you're doing well and learning a lot at St. Mungo's! Hogwarts hasn't been quite the same without you.

I've kept myself plenty busy, though, so there's no need to worry about me. With the threat of Sirius Black gone, Harry and I have been together on the Pitch nearly every chance we get. His Muggle family doesn't let him fly his broom on holiday, so he's trying to fit in all of the practice that he can now, and I'm all too happy to help in that endeavor. You know I'm never one to turn down the chance to be in the sky.

I went back to the Room of Requirement last night, to see all of my memories one more time before going home. I thought it would be a good idea, but to be honest, Cedric, it was a mistake. Now I'm more scared of seeing Mum and Dad again than I ever have been. I don't want them to know that I know, and I'm terrified of them somehow finding my jar of memories. I'm sorry to bother you with all of this, really I am, but I was hoping you might have some idea of what to do. You're brilliant, after all, and sometimes I think you know me even better than I know myself. You're my best friend. If anyone would know what to do, it'd be you.

I love you so much. I miss you. I hope you're having a great time doing what you do best --- helping people.

Love, Lucy

I folded the piece of parchment into thirds and slid it into the envelope I'd already prepared. I pulled back the curtains around my bed and squinted at the clock across the room. It was 6:47 in the morning, meaning the rest of the school was likely still sound asleep and likely to remain so for quite a while. In other words, it was a great time to head to the Owlery and have Malachi take my letter to Cedric.

His reply didn't come until nearly nine o'clock the night before leaving Hogwarts. I was in the common room with all of my fellow Gryffindor third-years passing around a box of Bertie Bott's when I spied Malachi at the window.

"Trust me, eat the purple one," I whispered to Hermione as I passed her the box. In a louder voice, I said to the group, "I'm going to go see what my family's owl brought. I'll be right back."

I quickly freed the envelope from his talons and tore it open as he perched himself on my shoulder.

Dear Lucy,

I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to reply. We had a sudden influx of patients --- somebody contaminated an entire supply of firewhisky with a moderately strong poison, so I've barely had time to sleep in 48 hours. But don't worry about me, I can honestly say I've never felt so... right. I love being here. I just know it's where I'm meant to be. I love feeling like I'm making a good difference, a real difference, in the world.

I'm glad to hear you and Harry have been getting quality time together on the Pitch. I'm sure that makes you happy for a lot of reasons (other than just the flying aspect). Quidditch is what first connected Cho with me, after all. Maybe it's just meant to be!

Don't worry about going home to Mum and Dad. I know you're strong, and I know you'll be okay. Remember what I said about the chocolates I gave you for your birthday, and remember you can always send a letter whenever you need me. I can't promise I'll always reply right away, because some days here are extremely chaotic, but I can promise that I'll always reply to you as soon as possible. Remember what I said about your friends, too, before I left. I know I'm the only person who knows about your family, but they can still be there for you if you let them be.

Keep your head up, Lucy. I miss you too, but we'll be okay. I promise.

Love always, Cedric

I returned the letter to its envelope and tucked it into the deepest pocket of my robes.

"You might as well stay here with me, Malachi," I said, stroking his feathers. "I'm taking you home tomorrow, after all. You know the way to my dormitory, yeah?"

He nipped my ear in reply and took off up the stairs. I took my seat next to Hermione.

"Thanks for the heads up on the purple," she muttered. "Grape is a lot better than the eggplant I usually get when I eat purple beans. How'd you know it was safe?"

I grinned. "It's a wolf thing," I whispered in reply.

She grinned back and jerked her chin at Lavender, who was squinting suspiciously at a red bean. "What's that one?"

"It's either chili pepper or tomato." I scratched at my nose to hide the fact that I inhaled sharply trying to tell which one she had grabbed. I giggled when I felt my nose begin to burn. "Oh no."

Surely enough, Lavender screamed as soon as she popped the bean in her mouth, prompting laughter from the whole common room. As the night went on, people headed up to their dormitories one by one until it was only Harry and I left... as tradition would have it at that point.

"The train ride here with the dementors seems like it was so long ago," he commented after a moment. "Bloody hell, what a year."

"I'll say," I replied softly.

What a year indeed. I had met another werewolf for the first time, and he had been amazing. I had learned the truth about the night I was bitten, and discovered my first family as well. I had realized my stupidly large crush on Harry, and allowed myself to hope from time to time that he might fancy me back one day. My patronus, the Quidditch Cup, the night with Sirius and Buckbeak. What a year indeed...

I glanced over at Harry. He was gazing into the fireplace with a sullen expression.

I'd taken the loss of Professor Lupin harder than anyone else, but Harry was a very close second in that regard. We'd spent a lot of time together on the Pitch, trying to stay busy, but in moments like these, everything from the year really sank in. The fights with Hermione, the horrible memories we'd been forced to live through again and again, the fact neither of us had gotten a proper Hogsmeade visit. It had been a great year, sure, but not a perfect one.

Eager to cheer him up, a sudden thought occurred to me. "Say, Harry, has Ron told you that the Quidditch World Cup is being hosted by Britain this summer?"

He blinked and sat up, turning to me excitedly. "Wait, really?"

I nodded. "First time in decades! Fred and George were telling me that Mr. Weasley usually gets tickets from work, and he's hoping to get enough for you and Hermione, too!"

"That... wow, that would be excellent! I'd love to go! Have you ever been to a World Cup? What's it like? Who's playing in it this year?"

"I've never been, I don't know, and we don't know yet," I said with a laugh. "The Daily Prophet is good about tracking the teams, though, so I'll write you a message every day with updates. Scores, injuries, notable plays, rising players, statistics."

"That would be great! I don't think the Dursleys would be terribly thrilled if I asked them if they had Quidditch updates for me in Muggle newspapers."

I giggled. "I'd imagine not." I sighed. "On a serious note, my offer from last year still holds. If you need me to come get you, just let me know. I'll drop everything and grab the nearest dragon and fly to your rescue."

He grinned. "I'd love to see it. You know, I was actually thinking I should tell them Sirius is my godfather. I can't imagine they'd dare to mistreat me if the threat of his wrath hung over their heads."

"That might very well be one of the smartest things you have ever said," I remarked with a smile.

"One of? What would the others be?"

I pursed my lips. "When you said life isn't fair. You weren't wrong."

"When did I say that?"

"After our first patronus lesson. We were talking about your parents."

He nodded. "I remember now. Yeah, well, I didn't even realize exactly how unfair life was then. I mean, what happened to Sirius-" His voice rose angrily, and he cut himself off.

"I know," I said, keeping my voice as soft and gentle as possible. For a second, I was tempted to rest my head on his shoulder, to comfort him, but nervousness made my stomach tie itself in a knot, so I didn't. For another second, I considered reaching for his hand instead, but my hands suddenly got sweaty, and I realized that was an even worse idea.

Just do it, Lucy, I told myself sternly. Don't be a coward. You're a Gryffindor.

But I was a coward. So I didn't do anything.

"You know what one of the smartest things you've ever said was?" Harry asked suddenly, being completely unaware of my raging inner debate.

I blinked. "Um, no. I tend to save the smart things for Hermione."

"You never give yourself enough credit. As I recall, it was you, not Hermione, who told me two years ago exactly, in this very spot, that the Stone was just the beginning."

"We're three for three now, as far as strange adventures every year go. When we were making predictions last year, did either of us guess time travel?"

He laughed, a sound I hadn't heard since the Quidditch Cup party. I couldn't help but smile hearing it.

"I don't think we could have seen that coming," he replied.

"Or the Scabbers thing!" I added. "I mean, what the hell. I still don't know what to make of that."

Harry kept laughing, and I laughed too. We talked a bit longer after that before retiring to our dormitories. That night, I fell asleep with a smile on my face. I was certainly going to miss Harry over summer, but I always enjoyed spending some of my last hours at Hogwarts alone in the common room with him, three years in a row and counting. I hoped the tradition would carry on until we graduated --- and selfishly, I let myself hope that the future held many more nights together in front of a fireplace, just the two of us.

The twins rescued me from my Cedric-less house on the first Saturday of summer holidays.

I had just gone outside to read The Hobbit --- the first of the four thick J.R.R. Tolkien books Archie had loaned me to read over summer --- when a somewhat large candy wrapped in bright green paper bounced off my forehead and landed in between pages 214 and 215. Knowing better than to eat it, I snatched the candy up and struck Fred directly between the eyes.

"Good morning to you too," I teased. "Come to bother me already?"

"Yes! And we would have come a lot sooner if Mum hadn't insisted we de-gnomed the lawn with Ron first."

"Aw, you de-gnomed without me? I'm insulted. Were you just scared I'd throw it further than you all? Again?"

"You guessed it, Cub. No, we just figured we'd let you have a couple hours of peace and quiet before we kidnapped you for the rest of the summer."

"How kind of you. Let me go tell Mum you two are kidnapping me."

"Would she mind if we kidnapped you overnight?"

"Oh, no, she'd be thrilled. She wanted me to help her paint the living room a couple days ago, but the smell of the paint was too much for me to bear. She'd be glad to have the chance to finish the project without killing me slowly in the process," I laughed. "I'll throw some clothes in a bag and meet you down here in five minutes."

When I returned to my front yard with a bag slung over one shoulder and my broom over the other, George clucked his tongue. "That was only four minutes and seventeen seconds. You have to stand there for 43 seconds now before we can leave."

"Oh, if only we could use magic outside of Hogwarts," I groaned as I marched right past them and out the gate. "I would have hit you with a tickling charm before you had time to blink."

"We'll be able to next summer!" Fred bragged.

"Oh, don't remind me of that horrible fact. I'll be sure to barricade myself in my room until September first," I replied, rolling my eyes. "So are you going to tell me what that candy was? I'm guessing I was right not to trust it in the slightest."

"Well... we don't know if it works yet. But it's supposed to make your tongue swell to the size of a watermelon, maybe larger."

"Bloody hell! How'd you figure that out?"

"Lots of trial and error over the course of six months," George said sheepishly.

"And not a lot of O.W.L. studying," Fred added in an undertone. "Don't tell Mum."

"I can keep a secret," I replied, smiling. "As long as she doesn't smuggle me one of your truth candies and ask me the exact right question, your secret is safe with me."

"Speaking of truth candies, reckon you'd be up for a game with us tonight?" Fred asked.

"Oh, definitely!" I agreed immediately. "Why wait until tonight? We could play now!"

"It is a nice day," George commented. "We should play outside so we don't pester Perfect Percy."

"What's the matter with Percy?"

"He got his first report to write up for his boss yesterday afternoon, and he made sure we all knew he was not to be disturbed until it was complete."

"Hasn't he only been working at the Ministry for... two days? Maybe three?"

"He's made quite the impression," Fred said with a roll of his eyes. "You know how he is, especially with people in authority. I bet you his nose looks a little browner than usual up close."

I nodded, giggling a bit at his last comment. "Yeah, you're right. Well, good for him. We can play outside."

Ginny was floating lazily on a broomstick in the backyard when we arrived.

"Hi, Lucy!" she called, flying over and circling around me a couple of times. "How's your summer been so far?"

"It was going alright until these doofuses showed up," I replied.

"Gin, she was reading when we came to rescue her!" Fred exclaimed. "Reading! Can you believe it? It's a good thing we saved her before she died of boredom, eh?"

I grabbed The Hobbit out of my bag and smacked him upside the head with it. "If you had come yesterday, you would have found me baking cookies to send to Cedric. It's not my fault you're slow." I tossed my bag aside and swung a leg over my broom. "Say, where's Ron?"

"Writing to Hermione, last I checked," Ginny said, looking at me meaningfully.

I smiled. "Glad to hear it. We were thinking about playing truth or dare. Want to play with us?"

"Oh, yeah! With the gummies?"

"We'll go fetch them!" the twins said in unison, disappearing into the house.

I swung my other leg over my broom and dangled upside down. "So, Ron and Hermione?"

"One of the first things he told Mum and Dad about when we got home was her punching Malfoy. He seemed to think it was rather impressive."

I laughed. "It really was. You should have seen the look on his face. He looked rather stupid."

"More so than usual, you mean?"

I laughed again. "Exactly."

The twins returned shortly with the bags of candy.

"Where are the cards?" I asked.

"We thought maybe we could get creative this round," Fred replied, reaching down for a broomstick. He and George soon joined us in the air, and the game began.

Ginny, fearless Ginny, went first, choosing dare. George dared her to stand up on her broomstick like it was a Muggle surfboard, which she did with much more grace than I thought was possible.

Fred also chose dare, and Ginny dared him to fly up to Percy's window and sing the Hogwarts school song at the top of his lungs.

George was the first to choose truth, so I asked him who he thought the most attractive professor at school was --- we all nearly died of laughter when he said Professor Snape, but fortunately, Fred realized he hadn't actually eaten the candy, only hidden it in his cheek. When he did actually eat the candy, he confessed that it was actually Professor Babbling, which made much more sense. She was the youngest female professor, after all. Most people who had taken her class had at least a little bit of a crush on her.

"Your turn, Cub," Fred said, holding out both bags. "What'll it be, truth or dare?"

"Oh, dare, easily. Remember what I had to confess to last time I chose truth?"

"Pick your poison," George said with a shrug, tossing me a dare candy.

I popped it in my mouth and swallowed, looking from person to person while they tried to think of the best dare.

"Oh, I know!" Ginny exclaimed. "Go do a slow dance with the ghoul in the attic for thirty seconds!"

Before I even knew what I was doing, my body acted of its own accord. It was as if I were a puppet being controlled by a clumsy puppeteer who kept tangling the strings. I shot up to the attic and flew through an open window. I dropped my broom and stumbled around until I found the ghoul. My hand jerked forward in an offering.

"Dance with me," I said, and as soon as the very-confused creature took my hand, I swept him off his feet and twirled around the room to the tune of a waltz George began whistling for me. At the end of my thirty seconds, I gently set the ghoul down and bowed.

I felt my face turn a bright red as I turned to face the now-howling Weasleys.

"I am never choosing dare again!" I announced with a laugh, climbing back onto my broom and shooting out of the attic. They followed, and we reconvened in a circle just below the tops of the trees.

"Ginny, you have the best dares!" George declared.

"Your turn," Fred said, holding out the bags.

"Truth," she decided, chewing the candy a couple of times before swallowing.

"Which house has the cutest boys?" Fred asked.

"Ravenclaw!" She clapped her hands over her mouth in horror. "Did I just say that out loud?"

"Welcome to the game, little sister," Fred replied, popping a dare candy into his mouth. "Hit me with your worst."

"Go steal a pair of Percy's underwear," Ginny said immediately, smirking devilishly.

Without hesitation, Fred made a beeline for Percy's window. We followed at a distance, already laughing.

Fred knocked on Percy's window relentlessly. "Let me in, let me in! Let me in! It's urgent!"

A very-irritated Percy opened the window. "What is it?"

Fred nearly knocked him over in his rush to get into Percy's room. We couldn't see what was happening, but we heard a fair amount of shuffling and shouting. About a minute later, Fred flew back out of Percy's room, boxers held triumphantly over his head. I would have fallen off of my broom laughing if George hadn't stabilized me at the last minute.

"Percy's going to hate us," I wheezed between bouts of laughter.

"He'll hate me," Ginny corrected, "but I don't care, this is fun! George, your turn!"

"I'm quite frankly too scared to choose dare after what I just witnessed, so truth."

I cleared my throat. "Smart choice. Okay, if you had to be in another house, which do you think would suit you best?"

"Slytherin," he replied automatically. "Fred and I are both rather ambitious, even if Mum disagrees."

I grinned. "Makes sense to me. Archie would probably be glad for your company."

"That was a boring question, they need to be juicier!" Ginny protested.

"I was genuinely curious," I said, pouting playfully.

"Truth or dare, Cub?" George asked.

"I have to choose truth. I don't want to find myself screaming at the chickens in Ron's pajamas if I choose dare."

"Eat up, then!" Fred said a little too cheerfully, tossing me the truth candy. Once I had swallowed, he grinned. "Alright, Cub, give us the full name of the person you fancy."

I couldn't fight it. The truth tumbled from my lips before I even comprehended the question. "Harry James Potter."

I clamped both hands over my mouth, but it was too late. My face was on fire, Fred was laughing maniacally, George was nodding his head and smiling, and Ginny was staring at me slack-jawed.

"You can't tell anyone!" I squeaked. "Ron can't know! Harry can't know! Cedric was the only person I told!"

"How long have you known you fancied him?" Ginny asked. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Ron saved me from answering. "Oy! I got a letter from Harry!"

I turned to the others quickly, muttering through gritted teeth, "Not. A. Word."

They nodded, still smirking, and we flew down to where Ron was.

I reached him first, jumping off my broom and reading the letter over his shoulder.

"What?" I squawked when I reached the end. "Oh no, we have to do something!"

"What is it, Cub?" George asked, now completely serious. "Is Harry okay?"

I nodded, pinching the bridge of my nose. "He is, for now. He said his cousin Dudley is going on a diet, and his aunt is making him follow the diet, too. They already don't feed him enough over summer, we figured that out the summer you went to rescue him in the Anglia. Bloody hell, we need to help!"

"Harry can't last all summer on carrot sticks," Ron added in a worried voice.

"Let's get Mum," Fred advised. "She'll know what to do."

Mrs. Weasley did in fact know exactly what to do. The second we told her what was going on, she scrawled a shopping list on a scrap piece of parchment and sent the boys to the market in the heart of the village to get ingredients for meat pies. While we waited for them to return, Ginny and I helped Mrs. Weasley bake muffins so Harry would have something a little sweeter for breakfast. All six of us started working on the meat pies once the boys got back, but the kitchen grew crowded so the twins walked with me back to my house so I could send owl food for Hedwig.

Around 4 in the afternoon, everything was ready. Ron and I headed up to his room, and I arranged everything as best I could on Hedwig while he wrote a letter back to Harry saying more food would be on the way as soon as he needed it. Ron asked if I wanted to add a bit to his letter, but I told him it was alright and that I'd send him my own letter in the morning... which was a lie, because as soon as Ginny left to take a shower that night and I found myself alone in her room, the first thing I did was dig the diary out of my bag.

I was at the Burrow when Ron got your letter, and rest assured, help is on the way! Ron and I just sent Hedwig off.

I started to tuck the diary away, but to my surprise, Harry replied right away.

Oh, thank Merlin. I'm glad Hedwig got there so quickly.

The return journey may be a little slower. She has a lot of food on her right now. Why didn't you tell me sooner, Harry? I could have sent Malachi off.

Sorry about that, I just didn't want Ron wondering how you knew so much sooner than he did. I was planning on the Weasleys telling you as soon as they got my owl, kind of a two-for-one.

I can't argue with that! Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you let us know so you could help. Does Hermione know?

I'll send Hedwig her way next.

I should warn you now that her parents like sending her sugar-free candies while she's at school, so that's probably what you'll get. How on earth do Muggles even do that? Why would they do that?

I wish I had an answer for you, but I don't understand either.

Sorry to cut this so short, but I think Ginny's coming back. I'll write you as soon as I'm home tomorrow!

Sounds good. Night, Lu!

Night, Harry!

I tucked the diary away just as Ginny returned. She closed the door quickly behind her and crossed her arms.

"You didn't answer my questions earlier."

"We were interrupted by Ron's announcement," I said with a laugh, feeling my face grow red.

"Well, he's gone now. So... when did you realize you fancied Harry?"

"Do you still fancy Harry?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm over it. I was just a starstruck little girl last year. Now answer my question."

I giggled and hugged my pillow to my chest. "Alright, alright. Um, well, I think... Ginny, this is hard, Cedric didn't ask questions!"

"He's a boy," she said dismissively, coming to sit across from me on the bed. "Come on, Lucy, think! I want to know!"

I gnawed on my lower lip. "Well... last year, Draco Malfoy was really mean to me in Ancient Runes. And after Buckbeak was sentenced to be executed, he was especially mean to me, and I kind of lost it. I ran off to the Quidditch Pitch after classes because I was so hurt and angry and upset, and Harry followed me. And..." I closed my eyes and sighed, recalling the scene. "It was almost sunset, and I was by myself in the commentary box. I heard Harry's footsteps, and-"

Her eyes widened. "How did you know it was him?"

"He walks a certain way, and it's really quiet. Haven't you noticed? I only heard him coming because the stairs are creaky and it was dead silent at the top that day."

Ginny shook her head. "No? What do you mean, he walks quietly?"

I furrowed my brow. What did I mean? "He... well, he walks on the balls of his feet a lot of the time, not really on his heels. It's like he's trying to tiptoe all the time, without actually tiptoeing. It's like he doesn't want to be heard."

"I've never noticed that! Merlin, you really do fancy him! Anyway, go on. You heard him coming and...?"

"And I realized he had somehow known exactly where I'd be and come after me to see if I was okay. And then I looked at him, and it was like..."

"Like...?"

"Ginny, his eyes are so green," I whispered, my face flushing even more. "And they're so expressive. I can see exactly how he's feeling just by looking at his eyes. And that day, he was so sweet and worried and-"

"What did he say?" she prodded enthusiastically. "Did he ask what was wrong? What did you tell him?"

I laughed. "Sorry, I got a little distracted there, didn't I? Well, I told him nothing was wrong, and he didn't believe me, so I told him that Malfoy was mean to me, and he asked me what he said. And I told him a tiny part of it, and he got mad about that, and when I told him the rest of it, he looked like he was going to go hex Malfoy himself. He jumped up and everything, I had to grab him by the arm and practically drag him back next to me to stop him from running off to punch him or hex him or whatever it was he wanted to do."

Ginny sighed dramatically. "What a man! What happened next?"

"We talked a bit more. I told him more about what Malfoy says to me, and he felt so bad for not knowing it was happening, and then I..." I giggled, feeling my face getting red again. "Then I rested my head against his shoulder, Ginny! I can't believe I did that!"

"I can't believe you did, either! You're so shy!"

"To be fair, I hadn't realized I liked him yet. But when I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, I... it just clicked. I realized I was in love. I think I'd liked him for a while before that, but that's when I realized."

"When do you think it started?"

"Um... I don't know. Ginny, is it obvious I like him? I really hope he doesn't know, I'd be so embarrassed."

"You two have always been close. I was a little surprised earlier, but it makes a lot of sense now."

"Do you... do you think he likes me back? No, never mind, of course he doesn't-"

Ginny shrugged. "He might. It's hard to tell with him. He keeps a lot of things hidden. But Lucy, you two make a lot of sense. Don't give up on him."

I nodded slowly, trying to process what she was saying. I cleared my throat and smiled. "Enough about me. Tell me about your love life."

"Oh no," she said, shaking her head. "No no no no no. Nothing to talk about. Let's go to sleep. You've got a letter to write to Harry in the morning!"

"Oh, shut up," I muttered, smiling nonetheless.

Much of that summer passed the same way. I spent loads of time at the Weasleys, flying around the woods with Ginny and losing to Ron at chess and talking with the twins about their plans for a joke shop (though I flat-out refused to play truth or dare again). When I wasn't at their house, I was either reading The Lord of the Rings, doing homework, or baking cookies.

Truthfully, I did more baking than anything else. After Cedric told me that the snickerdoodles I baked the first week of summer were the best he'd ever had, I baked another two dozen and sent them his way.

From there, I branched out to other audiences. Since it was summer, I kept the windows open while I was baking so the kitchen didn't overheat. So, naturally, the twins smelled the cookies one day and convinced me to bake another batch to bring back to the Burrow. Every single cookie I had baked disappeared in a matter of minutes --- even Percy had more than one. Fred and George became my all-too-willing taste testers, swinging by regularly to sample my latest creations. I branched out to other types of cookies, too, from chocolate chip to oatmeal to peanut butter to pumpkin and everything in between.

Cedric was a fan of my new hobby, too. He told me that some of his co-workers asked him nearly every day what I'd sent him lately; Cedric Diggory and his sister who baked really good cookies became somewhat legendary at St. Mungo's, from what I heard.

All in all, my summer was alright. I still missed Cedric terribly, but we exchanged letters as often as we could, and baking cookies for him as often as I did made him feel not quite so far away. On the lonely nights when I had to walk past his empty room, Tuck was there as a constant comfort. The Weasleys helped too, without even realizing, really. The twins and Ginny had lots of fun teasing me about Harry in whispers when no one else was around, and Ron and I spent a lot of time together making sure Harry was well-stocked on good food.

But in all of this, Harry was my bright spot.

We talked every single day. As we agreed on our last night before leaving Hogwarts, I kept him updated on the Quidditch Cup prospects, and he kept me updated on the Dursleys. Sometimes we talked about homework, too, and sometimes he asked about how Cedric was doing, and sometimes I asked how Sirius was doing. Sometimes he asked questions about growing up in the wizarding world, and sometimes I asked questions about growing up in the Muggle world. Sometimes we talked about silly things, like where in the world we'd like to go after we graduated or what careers we would have if we were living in the Muggle world.

But of all the various topics we covered and facts about ourselves we shared, one thing in particular always stood out to me. Or rather, two things --- one good and one bad.

In one of Cedric's letters to me, he started telling me one good thing that happened to him that day and one bad thing that happened to him that day, and I started replying in kind. His good things were most often kind patients or miraculous healings, and his bad thing was always that he missed me and Henry and Cho and Mum and Dad. My good things usually involved the Weasleys or Harry or Tuck, and my bad thing was always that I missed him.

Harry and I started doing the same every night before we went to bed, regardless of how long we'd been talking or how late it was (because we often stayed up talking while we did homework... it was a bad habit, but it was the best time to talk truly uninterrupted).

It was in those moments I realized exactly how much the wizarding world really meant to Harry. The Muggles he had to call family treated him like anything but. We were his family. The Weasleys, Hermione, Gryffindor, Hogwarts... and me. My heart hurt for him every time his "good thing" was a countdown to leaving Little Whinging. But for what it was worth, I had to agree --- the thought of being one day closer to seeing Harry again was in fact a very, very, very good thing.