Now take it in but don't look down
'Cause I'm on top of the world
I'm on top of the world
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I've been waiting to smile
Been holding it in for a while
Take it with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child
I'm on top of the world

"On Top of the World"
Imagine Dragons

LUCY:

The night before the Slytherin-Gryffindor Quidditch match, the common room seemed fit to explode.

Everyone was coping with the stress differently. Fred and George were cracking Angelina and Alicia up with their antics while Oliver sat in the furthest corner of the room, hunched over a model Quidditch Pitch and moving the little players around and talking to himself. Harry and I chose to isolate ourselves, too, with only Ron and Hermione for company.

The past month had been intense, to say the least. We had thrown ourselves into researching for Buckbeak's appeal, but the full moon had brought my efforts to a screeching halt. I had never taken wolfsbane two months in a row before, and it was rough, to say the least. I once again saw no sign of Sirius Black or the Grim in the Forbidden Forest, but I was still glad I had done it in the end.

Cedric was feeling the strain, too. His big match against Ravenclaw took place the first weekend in May, and both teams fought to the bitter end. However, just before the match, Henry fell victim to a nasty case of dragon pox, meaning they had to play their game with their back-up Keeper. Although Cedric beat Cho to the Snitch, Hufflepuff still suffered a horrible defeat. I was terrified that Cedric would catch Henry's dragon pox, given how much time they spent together, but to my immense relief, he stayed perfectly healthy.

Once both Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were out of the running for the Quidditch Cup, the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin grew astronomically. Slytherin tried to sabotage us left and right, especially Harry. Legs stuck out from every direction in the hallway trying to trip him, and he received a number of threats saying he needed to keep a very close eye on his Firebolt. He stopped leaving it in his locker and instead left it in the trunk at the foot of his bed. I snuck up to their dormitory one night to place extra protective enchantments all around it, just in case.

The night before the match, I could have cut the tension with a knife. Well, maybe not a knife... perhaps a very strong severing charm. Point being, everyone was nervous. Perhaps no one was more nervous than Harry and I were.

Wood had been mercilessly repeating the same thing before, during, and after every practice.

He'd start with Harry. "So you must catch it only if we're more than fifty points up, Harry. Only if we're more than fifty points up, Harry, or we win the match but lose the Cup. You've got that, haven't you? You must catch the Snitch only if we're fifty points up."

Then he'd turn to me. "Lucy, it'll have to be up to you to get those fifty points and stay there. You're the fastest one on the team, and the smallest Chaser. They're going to try to play dirty, but you have to be smarter and faster to get away when they try to cheap-shot you. And they will, trust me."

Then he'd turn back to Harry. "You have to catch the Snitch only when we're fifty points up, but do it as quickly as possible."

Then he'd turn back to me. "Be sure to stay on your broom and uninjured until he does. One dirty shot might kill you."

The night before the match, Oliver didn't say any of these things to us, but we still heard his words looping in our heads. My stomach fluttered uncomfortably, like it was full of angry bees trying to escape, as Harry and I watched Ron and Hermione play chess.

Something had changed in the month since that day he followed me to the Quidditch Pitch and I told him about Malfoy. Now, every time I saw him, my heart beat a little faster. I blushed a little more every time we teased each other, and I laughed a little louder at all of his jokes. The thought of Sirius Black being after him made me more nervous every day, and every time a Slytherin tried to trip him in the halls or said something mean about him, I got more and more angry.

Merlin... I was hopeless.

"Team! Bed!" Oliver announced, rising from his seat and gesturing toward the dormitories with a wave of his arm.

Harry and I rose reluctantly, and Ron and Hermione offered us sympathetic glances before returning to their game.

My hand grazed Harry's ever so slightly, and my whole arm felt like it was on fire. I smiled up at him. "Sleep well."

He smiled back, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "That's likely. But you too, Lu. See you in the morning."

I nodded. "See you then."

To my surprise, I did actually fall asleep almost immediately.

In my dreams, I found myself in a memory I had never seen in its entirety before.

Claire and I were by ourselves on a trampoline. I had seen a snapshot of us jumping on it, in my Claire memory vial, but in this memory, we were lying on our backs watching the clouds drift by overhead.

"I want to fly," I heard myself saying.

"Mommy says you can't, Lucy. She says it's impossible."

"I know," I said, sounding incredibly sad. "But... do you think I can?"

"I think we can do anything," she replied. "If you want to fly, then fly."

I pushed myself to a standing position. "I will! Claire, watch!"

I bent down into a low crouch and propelled myself upward. I was suspended in air for a couple of seconds before hitting the trampoline's surface again. I bounced a couple more times, willing myself higher and higher, giggling all the while.

"Look, Claire, look! I'm flying!"

She smiled and stood up. "Let's fly together!"

And so we did. We locked hands and bounced as one, reaching for the sky every time.

My dream began to fade, but just before it did, we jumped one last time. This time, the air around us grew energized. We shot into the air higher than we'd ever been, and lingered longer than we ever had.

As we fell, we exchanged a stunned, excited look.

"That felt like magic," Claire whispered, ocean-blue eyes wide with wonder.

The memory faded to blackness, and I found myself back in my dormitory with a couple rays of sun streaming through the window. I smiled, happy tears burning the back of my eyes, and rolled over so my face was buried in my pillow.

"That's because it was magic. I just didn't know it yet," I whispered, hoping against hope that Claire could somehow hear me, wherever she was.

I made my way down to the Great Hall in much higher spirits than I had been in mere hours prior. Harry seemed to be feeling the same way; when the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables erupted into cheers upon the team's entrance, he smiled so brightly it made my stomach flutter --- in a good way, not in an angry-bees way.

Oliver urged us all to eat, not touching anything himself. We ate what we could quickly, then he ushered us down to the Pitch to see what the conditions were like. Cedric rushed over to give me a good-luck hug before we left, and Cho called, "Good luck, Lucy! You too, Harry!"

I laughed and waved at her, and when I turned to look at Harry, he was blushing ever so slightly. Merlin, he was cute when he blushed. How had I never noticed that before?

We made our way down to the Pitch in silence, but the fear from the night before was gone. My dream had replaced all my fear with excitement. I was doing this for Claire today, who had believed all along that I could fly.

The team reached the Pitch then, and we stepped out onto the grass. Oliver surveyed the scene with his critical captain's eye. "Okay. No wind to speak of. Sun's a bit bright, that could impair your vision, watch out for it. Ground's fairly hard, good, that'll give us a fast kickoff."

After making a few more observations, Oliver led us to the locker rooms. I slipped into my locker to change, just as I always did, and we walked out onto the field without a pre-match speech. Everyone else looked terrified, but for the first time in a while, I dared to have hope. This would be a good match. I just knew it.

I took in the stadium. Massive maroon and gold banners were spread across sections of students, reading everything from "GO GRYFFINDOR" to "LIONS FOR THE CUP" to "LET US HEAR YOU ROAR." I nudged Harry and pointed to one sign hoisted up by Ginny, Neville, and Luna Lovegood. It was hard to make out because the letters were so small, so I read it out loud.

"'Make this match a memory worthy of a patronus,'" I shouted over the crowd. "Sounds like a good idea, eh?"

He nodded, exhaling slowly through pursed lips. "Yeah, it does. I hope it is."

I smiled and bumped his arm with my shoulder. "You got this. Good luck, Potter."

"Good luck, Diggory," he replied, grinning.

"And here are the Gryffindors!" Lee Jordan boomed. "Potter, Diggory, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood. Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a good few years-"

The rest of his sentence was lost among a sea of Slytherin jeers, but I laughed regardless. I never really listened to his commentary, choosing instead to focus wholeheartedly on the game, but from what I heard, he was rather witty.

"And here come the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes in the lineup and seems to be going for size rather than skill-"

The Slytherins booed again, but he wasn't wrong. Malfoy was the smallest on the team, by far --- everyone else looked rather troll-like as far as build was concerned. Maybe Oliver was right. A hit from one of those boys could very well send me falling to my death. I forced the thought away from my mind and mounted my broom as Marcus Flint shook Oliver's hand.

With the blow of a whistle, we were off. I was first to reach the Quaffle, but almost immediately, a Slytherin player wrenched it out of my hands. I swore under my breath and tore off after him, but Angelina was there first. When George pelted him in the back with a Bludger, she snatched the Quaffle and passed it to me.

"Thanks!" I shouted, flying as fast as I could to the Slytherin goal. I dodged one particularly burly player and swerved under a Bludger, sending the Quaffle flying cleanly through the center hoop.

I pumped my fist in the air as the crowd exploded, doubling back to give Angelina a quick high five, but before I could get there, Marcus Flint slammed into Angelina from behind.

"Sorry! Sorry, didn't see her!" Marcus Flint called as the crowd booed, but evidently, Fred didn't believe him. He sent his Beater's bat flying into the back of the Slytherin Captain's head, and his nose connected with his broomstick.

I laughed to myself as I went to catch Fred's bat.

Madam Hooch didn't find it quite as funny as I did. "That will do! Penalty shot to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty shot to Slytherin for deliberate damage to their Chaser!"

I tossed Fred his bat as Angelina flew over to take the penalty. "Nice shot, Weasley! Should have seen the look on his face."

"I'll admit that was some of my finer work," he said, blowing imaginary dust off his bat and flipping it around. "You had a nice shot, too."

We watched as Angelina scored, then Oliver prevented Flint from scoring.

"That's our boy!" I said delightedly. "Alright, back to the game. See you around, Freddie!"

"Don't die!" he called after me as I zoomed toward the Quaffle.

"I'll do my best," I shouted back, snatching the ball and rushing down back toward the Slytherin hoops. Before I could, however, a Slytherin Chaser appeared suddenly in front of me and grabbed me by the head.

My teeth clacked together as I found myself nearly thrown to the ground. The Quaffle fell from my hands, but I managed to lock my legs around my broom and pull myself up. I clung to my broom, my entire body shaking as my heart hammered in my chest. I realized all at once that he could have killed me.

"THAT WAS DELIBERATE!" Jordan bellowed into the microphone.

Madam Hooch seemed to agree, because she rushed forward and began hollering at Montague.

"You can take the penalty shot, Alicia," I called, rubbing my now-aching neck. I flew away from Montague, muttering under my breath, "ThatgoodfornothingbastardcouldhavekilledmeIsweartoMerlinthenexttimeIseehimIwillnothesitatetohexhimsohardhe-"

"You alright, Cub?" the twins asked in unison, flying up on either side of me.

I smiled. "Just peachy."

George egged me on. "What was that you were saying? Hex him so hard he...?"

My face flushed bright red. "Bloody hell. Just pretend you didn't hear any of that. I'm fine, really."

Apparently Alicia had scored, because Jordan yelled, "THIRTY-ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING-"

"Jordan," Professor McGonagall scolded, "if you can't commentate in an unbiased way-"

"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!"

"Try harder not to die," Fred advised as he and George took off in opposite directions. I adjusted my helmet on my head and gritted my teeth. If the stinking Slytherins wanted to play dirty, I would be the slipperiest Chaser they'd ever seen. I had been dumb in letting Montague get so close --- none of them would have that chance again as long as I could help it.

Angelina was the next to the Quaffle. I followed along underneath her, waiting to catch the Quaffle if she needed help. And not a moment too soon --- Flint snatched it from her, so I flew up underneath him and snatched it right back.

As soon as I had it secure, I turned a full 180 and soared straight up to get out of the Slytherin traffic. They tried to close in on me, but I kept my cool, whizzing between them with my eyes on the hoops at the other end of the field. The Quaffle soared clean through, and the stadium erupted again. This time, I kept my guard up and swerved out of the way just as both Slytherin Beaters sent Bludgers hurtling my direction. I didn't have time to revel in my victory, however, because Flint was flying at me from underneath. I got out of the way just in time and sent the Quaffle to Angelina.

One of the Chasers immediately undercut her and quickly scored on Wood, prompting a groan from the stands.

Alicia and I shot forward together, surrounding the Slytherin Chaser that got the ball next. I knocked it out, and Alicia caught it firmly. I shot ahead and waited for her to throw the Quaffle to me, but before she could, I was struck in the head by something massive and heavy. The crowd screamed, and I was once again nearly launched off of my broom.

"I thought she was a Bludger, she's so small!" the Beater protested.

George appeared out of thin air and elbowed him swiftly in the face. "Are you okay?" he asked me.

I nodded. "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'll take the penalty shot. We can still win this."

Alicia tossed me the Quaffle, and I soared over to the Slytherin hoops.

"This is for Buckbeak," I muttered, sending the Quaffle through the left hoop as hard as I possibly could.

To my immense relief, Oliver pulled off another miraculous save, so Slytherin stayed at ten points.

I got the Quaffle next, and I was determined not to let anybody get in my way. If this game went on any longer, people would get seriously hurt. If I scored, Harry would be allowed to catch the Snitch.

Slytherin didn't make it easy. Every three seconds, it seemed, another person was either in my blind spot or sending a Bludger to my blind spot. A Bludger even clipped my shoulder, but I gamely hung on to the Quaffle until I was close enough to scoring range.

Well... to be fair, I'd never even attempted a goal from that far away. But I spied both Beaters winding up to send Bludgers my way, and I saw that Fred and George wouldn't be able to reach me in time. So I wound up, muttered "Please," and let the Quaffle fly. To my shock, it soared cleanly through the rightmost hoop, making the score 60-10. I dodged one of the Bludgers, but the other one slammed into my stomach.

I doubled over, spitting profanities through my teeth as I drifted out of the field of play.

Harry flew over to me, brilliant green eyes wide with concern. "Lu! You okay?"

"I'm fine!" I insisted, though the way I clutched my stomach and the wheezing in my voice suggested otherwise. "Now you can get the Snitch! Go!"

I played a lot of reconnaissance while I tried to catch my breath, letting Angelina and Alicia have some of the fun. I screamed for them to watch out when a Bludger (or a Slytherin player) was headed their way, and I shouted directions at Fred and George so their Bludgers would be more successful than the Slytherins'. I watched with horror as Malfoy latched onto the back of Harry's broom, joining in on the crowd's boos as best I could with my lungs still feeling like deflated balloons.

I rejoined the game when the score was 70-20, Gryffindor. Slytherin couldn't score again.

Without me helping from above, Angelina and Alicia took their share of the beatings, too. I took another Bludger to the small of my back, and a particularly fast one bashed my elbow. After about five minutes of fruitless back-and-forth without scoring, Angelina finally made the score 80-20.

"SHE SCORES! JOHNSON SCORES! Gryffindor leads by eighty Points to twenty!" Jordan screamed. "And down goes Malfoy! Go, Harry, go!"

We turned around to see that, surely enough, Draco and Harry were plummeting downward toward a flicker of gold. Draco was far ahead, but the gap got smaller... smaller... smaller...

"YES!" Harry pulled out of the dive, fist held high above his head, the wings of the Snitch protruding from either side of his hand.

We had won the Quidditch Cup --- actually with Harry this time.

Wood reached Harry first, then the twins, then all three of us Chasers. As we all dogpiled on top of each other in a floating group hug, the people in the stands charged the field like a crimson sea. We slowly sank to the ground, and the crowd filled in around us. Before I had time to feel claustrophobic, I was once again in the air, lifted onto someone's shoulders. Harry was the next up, and we exchanged an amused look as the rest of the team joined us on top of the hordes of people. All seven of us were passed person to person until we reached the Quidditch Cup. Professor Dumbledore passed it to Oliver Wood, beaming, and the stadium erupted all over again.

Shouts of a party in the common room could be heard after a while, and the crowd began to disperse. The second my feet hit the ground, I was scooped up again.

"Lu!" Cedric exclaimed, spinning me in an excited circle. "I'm so proud of you! That was your best game yet!"

I beamed. "It was a good fight, for sure."

Once he set me down, a smiling Cho reached forward for a hug too. "That was spectacular!" she gushed. "You make me wish I played Chaser, you know that? You looked like you were having so much fun."

"I definitely was," I giggled. "At least, when I wasn't dangling from my broom, anyway. What a dirty game."

She laughed. "I know the feeling. Bole gave me a concussion when we played them last fall."

I looked from her to Cedric, grinning. "Are you two...?"

"Not yet," Cedric said. Cho shot me a pained look before glancing up at my brother (their height difference was adorable) with puppy-dog eyes. "Not until after my internship. We just watched the match together, since we were supporting the same team."

"Oy, Cub, you coming or not?" came Fred's voice from behind me.

"Coming!" I shouted over my shoulder. I faced Cedric and Cho apologetically. "Sorry, sounds like I need to go."

"Have fun!" Cedric replied.

"A party sure sounds a lot better than the Transfiguration essay I procrastinated," Cho said with a laugh. "Bye, Lucy."

"Bye!"

I wove my way through the crowd until George caught me by the shoulder and steered me toward the side exit. "Bloody hell, you're easy to lose in a mass of people."

"It's not my fault I'm small!"

Fred grabbed my other shoulder. "I didn't even see you when I called for you; I just saw your tall brother looking down as he talked to someone and yelled in that general direction."

"Hey!" I protested, laughing nonetheless. "Just you wait, I'll be taller than both of you one day."

"If that's the case, we'll be waiting forever, Cub," George teased as we stepped off the Pitch.

"Where are we going, anyway?" I asked, shaking their hands off. "Is the party that urgent?"

"We figured now was as good a time as any to take you with us on a Honeyduke's run, since you haven't gone with Harry yet."

"Ooh, yes! Wait, don't we need to change? Won't they be suspicious seeing three Hogwarts students on a non-Hogsmeade day? How do you pull this all off, anyway?"

"Watch and learn, Cub, watch and learn," Fred chuckled. "We're going to have to move quickly. Let's go."

We took off running for the castle, and didn't stop until we reached the statue.

"Bloody hell, we forgot our wands," George panted.

"I have mine," I said, reaching down my robes and hissing, "Dissendium!"

Once we were safely in the tunnel, Fred turned to me. "Why'd you have your wand?"

"Just in case the dementors wanted another round. I'm mildly disappointed; another Patronus would have been the only thing that could have made that match any better. Well, that and not being beaten to a pulp by the Slytherin team. But we won, so I can't complain. I'm excited, are you two excited?"

George chuckled. "We can tell. We're excited, too."

"How long does it take to get to Hogsmeade this way?"

"A while," Fred replied with a shrug.

"In that case, tell me about more of your products! You do have more, right?"

"You bet!" they exclaimed in unison.

While we walked, the twins explained some of their other successful products, along with their failures and the ones they had yet to try. I listened to all of this with wide eyes, trying (and failing) to wrap my mind around the scope of their plans --- they were geniuses.

"Alright, we're getting close, Freddie. Send 'er up!"

Fred knelt down and pulled something out of his sock.

"Is that the Snitch?" I asked, my hands flying up to cover my nose. With only four days to the full moon, my nose was too sensitive for Fred Weasley's foot stench.

"It's a Snitch," George replied. "Has Cedric ever told you about Jae Kim? He was a Gryffindor in Adalyn Benson's year."

"He might have, honestly. I mainly remember Adalyn and Penny and Diego. The Hufflepuffs, now that I think about it," I added with a laugh. "Is he your dealer, for lack of a better word?"

"You guessed it," Fred said. "The Snitch will hit the trap door until Jae opens it. The Snitch has a bunch of money in it, and based on how much is in there, Jae will drop down candy and butterbeer."

"Where do you get the money?" I asked.

"You would not believe how much gets stuck in between cushions. We rifle through the cushions every night for a couple of weeks before a match, and we always have tons of it to spend on this."

"And when we lose?"

"The next party's even better! But we don't lose much. We're Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake."

"You got that right," I said with a laugh. After a couple minutes, we reached the trap door the twins had mentioned. Surely enough, a young Asian man dropped into the tunnel, arms full of bags of goodies.

"Wotcher, Weasleys!" he said good-naturedly. "I see you brought some extra help today. I'm Jae Kim, and you are?"

"Lucy Diggory," I said, extending a hand.

"Cedric's sister?" he asked, obviously surprised.

"The one and only," George said, taking his fair share of bags. "Though Fred and I would have to take credit for her mischievous streak. Cedric can have credit for the Quidditch skills and study habits."

"D'you win the Cup this year?"

"We did!" Fred exclaimed. "Brutal game against Slytherin, but Harry pulled it out."

"Ah, the famous Harry Potter. Can't wait to see him in Hogsmeade, at least as soon as Sirius Black is caught, I hear. Anyway," he said, distributing the rest of the bags between Fred and me, "enjoy the party! Sure wish I could head down with you. I miss the Quidditch parties more than just about anything else."

"We'll bring the party to you sometime, Kim," George promised. "But in the meantime, we've got a Cup to celebrate!"

The return journey seemed a bit slower, even with shrinking the bags to make them easier to carry, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Fred and George took turns telling stories about the mischief they got into with Jae, along with the detentions they served together in the kitchens as a result of that mischief. We quickly made our way back up to the common room once we reached the castle, and our arrival was announced with a fair amount of cheering.

Ginny was the first to reach me, flinging her arms around my neck and screaming about what a great game I'd played. Neville was only slightly more reserved, lifting me off my feet the way Cedric had but not spinning me in a circle. Ginny then dragged Luna over, who asked if Quidditch had always been such a violent game. I didn't have a good answer to that, but her question did make me realize exactly how badly my ribs were hurting and how badly my neck was aching, so I excused myself and went to sit in a (relatively) quiet corner of the room for a bit.

I pressed a cold bottle of butterbeer to the back of my neck and closed my eyes, letting the relief wash over me. I had given it everything I had. We had won. And I had done it for Claire.

"Is the party too much for you already, Lu?"

I opened my eyes, blushing of course, as Harry sat down next to me with his own bottle of butterbeer in his hand. "Just a headache," I admitted. "I promise, I'll actually participate as soon as I feel better. I'm planning to stay for the whole party this time."

Harry glanced over, and his eyes widened. "Bloody hell, wait." He gently touched my hand (which made my cheeks grow even hotter) and lowered the bottle. "You have massive bruises on your neck."

"Those would most likely be from one of the Slytherins grabbing me like this-" I demonstrated loosely on Harry. "-and trying to launch me off my broom."

He winced. "Yeah, that'd do it. Is there anything I can do? I'm sure someone could heal it up pretty quickly."

"I could," I said with a shrug. I immediately regretted shrugging, as it sent a spasm of pain through my body. "But if even shrugging hurts, I think I'll just wait a bit," I added, laughing.

"Do you have your wand on you?"

I blushed even more, somehow. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I do. Same... same place as last time."

He blushed too. "Got it."

"You know what, I'm thirsty," I said, quickly reaching for my wand and holding it to my neck. "Episkey!"

Some of the pain vanished instantly, so I lowered my bottle of butterbeer and took a long sip.

"This is so damn good," Harry said, taking a sip of his own. "How did I go 13 years of my life without it?"

"I don't know, honestly. Dare I say it's one of the best parts of the wizarding world. Is there anything like it for Muggles?"

"Cream soda is about as close as it gets, I reckon, but I've only had that a couple of times."

I nodded thoughtfully. "So if I were to hypothetically live among Muggles one day, I should bring my own supply of butterbeer?"

Harry laughed. "Hypothetically, yes."

I twirled my wand in my fingers and took another sip of butterbeer. "I'm going to go run my wand up to my dormitory real quick, since I won't need it anymore. Then I'll come down and be here to stay."

"Sounds great," he said with a grin that made my stomach flutter for the second time that day. "Want me to hold your drink so no one puts belch powder in it or something?"

"Sure," I chuckled. "Thanks, Harry, I'll be right back."

But as soon as I rose to my feet, Hermione emerged from the crowd and grabbed my arm. "It's almost sunset," she whispered in my ear. "You need to head down to Hagrid's."

"Bloody hell, already?" I was painfully aware that Harry was watching curiously as we talked. I prayed the loud music was covering up what we were saying. "Alright, thanks for letting me know. Can you cover for me with Harry?"

She nodded, and I headed for the portrait hole instead of the dormitory stairs. I jogged down to Hagrid's, eager to get back to the party. He seemed nearly as excited about the victory as I was, and he offered a bit of firewhisky to help with the last part of my headache. I chugged my wolfsbane almost effortlessly --- after three months in a row now, I was getting better at it. I rushed back up to the common room and immediately found Harry, who passed my bottle back into my hand.

"Thanks," I said breathlessly. "Sorry I was gone so long."

"No worries," he said, but he looked somewhat worried. "Hermione said Hagrid wanted to talk to you, but she didn't know what about."

I forced a laugh and took a sip of butterbeer to settle my nerves. I hated lying to Harry, but I had to. Not that I thought I had a chance of ever being more than his friend anyway... but if he knew I was a werewolf, any tiny chance I might have had with him would be ruined forever. "Oh, yeah, he wanted me to tell Beaky about the match. Swears I'm his favorite human being."

Harry smiled, looking relieved. "You definitely are. You rode him first, after all." He studied my face closely. "I was worried at first that you were sick again. You are staying the whole time tonight, right?"

I smiled, genuinely. I was sick again, but after winning the Quidditch Cup, it would take a lot more than an impending full moon to ruin my night. "I am," I assured him, holding my glass out. "Cheers to a game well played, and many more Quidditch Cups to come?"

"I can drink to that," he agreed, clinking his bottle against mine. We exchanged a grin and took long swigs of the sweet, sweet drink that screamed sweet, sweet victory.

I thought taking wolfsbane two months in a row had been hard --- three months in a row was even worse.

The Quidditch match had successfully distracted me from noticing exactly how sick I felt. Well, to be more accurate, it gave me an explanation for how sick I felt. On Friday, I blamed nerves for my shaky hands and sensitive stomach. On Saturday, I was too busy to even really notice a thing. On Sunday, I blamed excitement for my flushed cheeks and general jitters.

My birthday fell on Monday. An unfortunate day to try to have a birthday regardless, but an especially unfortunate day to try to have a birthday when wolfsbane is involved.

The second I opened my eyes that morning, I was gripped with the horrible feeling that something was wrong. I jumped out of bed and sprinted to the bathroom, barely reaching the toilet in time. Once my stomach was empty and the evidence I had been sick at all was flushed away, I sat on the cold floor trembling and trying to catch my breath.

"Lucy?" came a soft voice. Hermione. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," I said weakly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"Nonsense," she replied, nudging the stall door open and wedging herself in next to me. "I was already awake, and I wouldn't mind anyway."

Hermione reached forward and laid a hand on my forehead, yanking her fingers away as soon as she made contact.

Her eyes were wide. "Lucy, you're-"

"I know," I groaned, closing my eyes and leaning my head back. I felt like I was burning from the inside out.

"Maybe you shouldn't go to class today."

"I can't miss class this close to final exams," I said in a small, defeated voice, opening my eyes. "And it's not for two more days. I can't miss three entire days of class."

"If you're sure..." She offered her best sympathetic look. "I wish I could help."

"It's okay," I said, pushing myself to my feet with some effort. "I'm going to go get my shirt from Cedric, the one that adapts to my body temperature. I forgot to wear it yesterday."

"You know, if you want some more sleep, we still have an hour or so-"

"I wouldn't be able to sleep, but thanks for thinking of that. I'm just going to head down to the common room to study for a bit, open the window and get some morning air."

"That's a good idea. I need to shower, but I'll be down in a little bit."

I nodded and returned to the dormitory, changing into my robes for the day (with Cedric's special temperature-controlling shirt underneath for good measure) as silently as possible. With a quick braiding charm and a drink of water, I made my way down to the common room with my bag for the day. As I had told Hermione, I opened the window to let the cool dawn air in and fished out my transfiguration textbook.

I hadn't been there more than a minute before the door to the boys' dormitories opened and none other than Harry James Potter stepped out.

"Happy birthday!" he said brightly.

I blushed. "Thanks, Harry. You seem proud of yourself for knowing about it this year."

"Oh, I am," he said, coming to sit in his typical (squished) position in the window seat. "If you can spare a couple minutes of your precious study time..." He drew a small package from his pocket and held it out to me with the most adorable sincerity in his green eyes.

I closed my book and accepted it. "You didn't have to get me anything," I said softly.

"Of course I did," he replied. "What's the point of knowing your birthday if I don't acknowledge it?"

I shook my head resignedly, a smile toying with the corners of my mouth, and popped the lid off the box. Inside lay a thin silver bracelet with two charms so far: a Quaffle, and a little bear.

"This is incredible," I breathed, extracting it carefully to get a closer look. "Thank you, Harry."

"Of course," he said with a grin. "I was hoping you'd like that. After all the time we've spent together, this year especially, I was thinking you might want something that kind of... I don't know, encapsulated everything. All the good that happened, anyway. Like winning the Quidditch Cup, and your patronus. "

I nodded. "This is so perfect. I love it."

Even though my day had started miserably, it was still my birthday, after all. I was allowed to be happy in spite of everything else. And the fact that Harry was still the only Gryffindor who knew made it all the more special.

I laughed suddenly. "What if I added charms for every adventure we've shared? Like a troll, and a three-headed dog, and an acromantula?"

Harry laughed too. "You could add a toilet charm for Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. And a chocolate bar for all of the patronus lessons."

We were still laughing and making more suggestions for ridiculous charms when Hermione burst out of the girls' hallway. Her eyes flickered from me to Harry to the bracelet on my wrist to the box in my lap then back to me.

She smiled impishly. "Today's your birthday, isn't it?"

I dropped my hand and pretended to stuff the box behind Harry's legs. "Absolutely not, what gives you that idea, don't be ridiculous... okay, yes it is."

"Happy birthday!" she squealed, rushing over and leaning across Harry to hug me. "Finally!"

I blushed. "Now it's down to the Weasleys, really. Bloody hell, how will I ever keep this a secret from them?"

"You'll have to tell them," Hermione singsonged. "You'll just have to!"

I groaned. "Oh, the twins love birthdays. Personalized pranks and all. Bloody hell, I hope they don't find out until they graduate."

"Good luck with that," Harry chuckled.

Hermione bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. "I got you something in Hogsmeade when we went on Halloween because I was hoping I'd figure out your birthday this year and wanted to be ready! I'll go get it! Wait..." She studied my face with a critical eye. "You probably won't want it until you're feeling better."

"You're sick again?"

The disappointment and worry and sadness in Harry's voice cut me to the core. I turned away from Hermione and managed to meet his eyes. They reflected the same emotion I had already detected in his voice.

I shrugged. "Not really. It's not that bad yet."

Hermione placed a hand on my forehead. "Lucy..."

Harry reached forward too, and his eyes widened. "Lucy!"

"It's fine," I protested, pulling away and tightening my robes around me. "Honestly. I'm alright."

"Lu, you're burning up," Harry said, looking at Hermione with a look that screamed Help me out here! "You're not 'alright.' Why didn't you tell me?"

I tried to force a smile. "Because I really am alright. I'm just warmer than usual because I'm embarrassed by all of the attention. Honestly. I'm sure I won't be quite so hot later."

Harry opened his mouth to protest, but Hermione sighed. "It's no use, Harry, I've already tried to talk her out of classes today. You know she's stubborn."

"Guilty as charged," I shrugged. "Really, I'm alright. I'm still Lucy. And hey, it's my birthday. How bad can it be?"

As it turned out, pretty swell. My morning classes were entirely review, so I didn't need to pay too much attention. At lunch, Cedric stole me away to give me his gift --- he had learned from Professor Lupin that chocolate could make anything better, so he gave me what he hoped was enough Honeyduke's chocolate bars to last me all summer and instructed me to eat one every time I missed him. Care of Magical Creatures was fun as always, and even Malfoy couldn't bother me in Ancient Runes. Harry examined me with a searching eye before DADA, making me blush.

"If you look at me for too long, I'm going to turn red, Harry. It's just a fact. You know I blush easily," I said with a laugh. He laughed too, relaxing slightly.

"Alright, sorry," he relented. "I'm just worried."

"I know, but you don't have to be. Honestly." The worst is yet to come, I added internally. "I'm still me. You sort of said yourself a couple months ago that this is just part of the deal when it comes to being me."

"Well, it's still not fair," he muttered. "I mean, it's your-"

"Shh!" I interrupted, swatting his arm. "Harry, this is still one of the best, er, special days I've ever had. Don't feel bad."

Before he could reply, the lesson began. I disappeared between the end of class and dinner to take my wolfsbane, saying Hagrid wanted me to visit Buckbeak, and made my way through dinner without further incident. Ron, Hermione, Harry, and I found a quiet corner to study in for the rest of the evening, and as the common room slowly emptied, I found myself practically alone in the room with just Harry. My heart was racing, and I doubted it was just from my allergic reaction to dittany.

"Are you sure you're okay, Lu?" Harry asked after a couple minutes of silence.

I glanced up from my book and met his eyes. So caring. So concerned. For a second, I forgot how to breathe. He really did care about me.

I nodded. "As okay as can be expected."

He reached forward and felt my forehead for himself. "You don't feel any cooler."

I grinned stupidly. "Aw, really? I thought winning the Quidditch Cup actually made us all at least a little bit cooler."

He smiled and shook his head, dropping his hand. "Shut up, Diggory."

I laughed. "See, Harry? Same me. This just happens sometimes."

"It's not fair that it happens even on your birthday."

"You can't control that," I said, shifting slightly where I sat. "And neither can I. No one can, at least not yet. But Harry, I mean it when I say this has still been one of the best birthdays of my life. I love the bracelet, and I can't wait to add to it. I'm actually kind of glad Hermione knows now, because keeping secrets from her is next to impossible. Cedric got me a ton of chocolate, which is never a bad thing. When I think back on this birthday in ten, twenty, thirty years, I don't think I'll remember being sick. I'll just remember Hermione, and Cedric, and you."

Harry sighed. "You have a point, I guess."

"I guess I do," I teased. "Well, we should probably sleep, eh?"

"Yeah, we should. You will sleep, right?"

"I'm not going to revise anymore, that's for sure," I said, slamming my book shut with a flourish. "Honestly, studying on my birthday is my true curse, if anything."

That got him to laugh. "That's a curse alright. G'night, Lu. Happy birthday."

I smiled as I stood up, cheeks burning hotter than the fireplace at my back. "G'night, Harry."

True to my word, I didn't do any more studying that night. But sleeping was also impossible, so I decided to sleepwalk --- but not before fishing my special jar out of the bottom of my trunk.

Since it was my birthday and I had done as Dumbledore had recommended and not gone back to the memories after my first time looking, I figured I deserved the little extra joy the memories of my family brought me. The Room of Requirement was open, so I slipped inside and cautiously approached the Pensieve. I studied the memories in the jar, settling on the memory of my fifth birthday party. It seemed appropriate.

The memory began in what I had learned was the bedroom I shared with Claire. The walls were a pretty shade of pink, but it clashed with the Star Wars blanket on my bed. I was sitting on the edge of the bed while my mom tugged at my shoulder-length brown hair, trying to force it into two buns, one bun on either side of my head. I was wearing what looked like white bedsheets, and I was going on and on excitedly about who all was coming to the party.

"Is Uncle Scott coming?" Little Lucy asked. "I know he likes Star Wars almost as much as I do!"

"He's coming, Lulu," my mom replied patiently, tucking a loose strand of hair into the first bun.

"Do you think he'll like my costume? Do I really look like Princess Leia?"

"You certainly do, my little princess," Dad said, coming in the door and crossing his arms. He glanced up at my mom. "Once you're done with her hair, Abby, Claire wants us all to open her gift for Lucy before the party starts."

Little Lucy bounced up and down. "Early presents! Yay! I like early presents!"

My dad winked before he left the room, and after about twenty more seconds of scrunchies and bobby pins, my hair was ready. I jumped off my bed and ran through the house until I found my dad and sister.

"Look, Claire! Mommy gave me Princess Leia hair!"

Claire stepped forward to take a closer look, reaching out and poking one of the buns for good measure. "You look like her, just a little smaller."

"Are you ready to open a present, Lucy?" my mom asked, entering the room with a knowing smile.

"Yeah! Let's do it!"

My dad chuckled as he handed me a gift bag. "This was Claire's idea."

I tore into it excitedly, pulling out what looked to Current Lucy like a fat, grey, plastic wand. But Little Lucy's face brightened, and she gasped. "A lightsaber!"

Claire nodded, grinning from ear to ear and quivering with enthusiasm. She hurried over to the armchair in the corner of the room and reached underneath it. She emerged with a matching lightsaber. "If you push this button," she said, demonstrating, "then the blade will come out!"

Little Lucy obeyed, and a blue tube began to grow from the grey part. "Whoa! Claire, do we match? Do we match?"

Claire activated hers, and surely enough, we did. "Now we can play lightsabers for real, and not just use our imagination! Do you like it, Lucy?"

"I love it!" Little Lucy squealed, rushing forward and hugging Claire tightly. "Thank you, Claire! This is already the bestest birthday ever!"

I stayed to watch the rest of the birthday party, trying to memorize the names and faces of all of the aunts and uncles and cousins and friends I had left behind. Uncle Scott was completely bald except for a bit of a beard on his chin, and he really did love Star Wars. His sons looked about five years older than Claire and me. My cousins were about 50% boys and 50% girls, and so were my friends. Christopher liked playing football. Jessica didn't like having her ice cream touching her cake. Uncle Lewis was really good at playing the piano, and his sister, Aunt Lisa, liked to sing along when he played. Grandma Dot and Grandpa Rob came all the way from Arizona (which I learned from Archie was one of the states) to come to my party and go to my cousin Jonathan's high school graduation. I absorbed every detail of every person as best I could, wanting to remember as much as I possibly could and carry it with me until I met all of these people again.

Cedric and I never got to spend time with our cousins, because both Mum and Dad were only children. Our grandparents had all either died in the war or didn't survive long afterward. Knowing I had such a large, loving family waiting for me somewhere, somewhere far away from where I was, was equal parts a blessing and a curse. Until I found them again, I really tried to focus on the family I'd been given, in Cedric, in the Weasleys, in Gryffindor, in Hogwarts in general. But it wasn't always easy; I found myself wondering on nights like that how long I'd feel torn in two.

Just the same, I was glad I had watched that memory again. It left my heart feeling light, and I drifted all the way back to my dormitory in a happy daze, blessedly uninterrupted by any patrolling prefects or professors. I fell asleep that night, impossibly, with a smile on my face. It had been quite a wonderful birthday after all.

I struggled to make it through Tuesday. Wednesday, I couldn't have gone to class even if I tried. My fever raged to the point where Hermione considered dragging me down to the Hospital Wing herself in case I literally self-combusted. I managed to convince her I was fine and stayed in the dormitory all day, getting out of bed only to douse myself in cold water and flop back on top of my blankets. I beat myself up for not even trying to study, but I knew deep down I wouldn't have been able to focus anyway. When the sun began to set, I slipped out of the castle and headed down to Hagrid's for the last dosage of wolfsbane.

Once again, I didn't see anything in the forest all night, to my immense relief. I hurried back up to the castle at sunrise, bumping into Cedric just in front of the Hospital Wing.

"How'd it go?" he asked, pulling me into a tight hug.

"Didn't see anything," I replied, letting myself relax against Cedric. "Merlin, I'm exhausted."

"Sounds like you could use some extra-strength wideye today."

"That exists?!"

"Not that I know of, but you could still use it."

I laughed. "Yeah, you bet."

I still very happily chugged my regular-strength wideye potion and showered quickly, making sure I put my new charm bracelet on my wrist before heading down to breakfast.

"Hey, she's alive!" Fred exclaimed as I slid between him and George.

"No need to sound so surprised," I teased, elbowing him gently in the ribs. "You've seen the way I get knocked around in Quidditch games, and I'm perfectly fine after those. It'll take something big to finally bring me down."

"Well, let's hope that's no time soon," Harry said, sitting down across from us and smiling in a way that made me feel like I was the only person in the room. "Welcome back, Lu."

I quickly shot my hand with the mood ring under the table and yanked it off as I smiled back at him, blushing. I couldn't risk anyone figuring out how I felt about Harry, not even Hermione.

Merlin... I was hopeless.

A/N: Hi, everyone! I really hope you liked this chapter! I wrote the Quidditch section right away after the last chapter, but the birthday and full moon section took me forever for some reason. I just had no ideas whatsoever. But hopefully you like what I came up with regardless!