Maybe your light is a seed
And the darkness the dirtIn spite of the uneven odds
Beauty lifts from the earth

"Uneven Odds"
Sleeping At Last

LUCY:

The next couple of days passed in a haze of fever and pain and restlessness. I wasn't allowed to leave my bed because of, well, the hazards of being completely blind, but with nowhere to channel the nervous energy that accompanied the days leading up to a full moon, I found myself instead somewhere between being asleep and awake. People would come and people would go, some talking to me and others merely about me. Cedric remained my most constant comfort; it was most often his hand on my forehead or on top of my own hand.

I reckoned it was the night of the full moon when I was roused from sleep by what seemed to be a serious discussion.

"If she can't see, she'd be no danger to any of us. She would be safe here." Cedric's voice was tight, worried. I knew his face wouldn't show any of these emotions, but his voice betrayed him.

I had gotten very good at identifying people's voices even in just the three short days I had been blind. I was beginning to be able to see faint patches of light in my vision. No shapes, no colors, not even a full picture. But there were a couple of spots of light at the edges of my vision, which was something to cling to. In this moment, though, my eyes were closed. I had also gotten very good at pretending to be asleep when the people around me were talking about me.

"We cannot take that risk, Cedric, I'm sorry. So little is known about the logistical aspect of these transformations. Professor Dumbledore doesn't want her going down to the Shrieking Shack following the most recent attack," said Madam Pomfrey from my right, "and we all know staying in the castle wouldn't be safe. We don't know what she might encounter, and it would be horrible if someone were to stumble across her."

"But that leaves..."

He didn't need to say it. I knew the only option was the Forbidden Forest.

"If you come back here an hour before sunset, you can walk her down yourself, if you'd like."

"I will. But how will we find her in the morning?"

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Hagrid already knows of the plan. Not happy about it in the slightest, mind you, but he knows. He'll find her as quickly as he can and bring her back, hopefully without anyone seeing her."

"Alright." I felt Cedric's fingers graze my forehead as Madam Pomfrey walked away from my bedside and crossed the room. His fingers disappeared, and I heard him quietly drag a chair to my bedside and lower himself onto it. "I'm sorry you've had to spend so much of your time at Hogwarts here in this room," he whispered. "You deserve so much more."

I drifted back off to sleep a couple minutes later, and found myself in another hazy fever dream that I forgot the second I was shaken awake.

It was Cedric again, his voice much louder this time. "Lucy? Lu, are you awake?"

"Yeah," I murmured. I rubbed my eyes and opened them, but I still couldn't see more than a little bit of light.

"I'm sorry, but you have to come with us. It's time to go."

"Us?" I asked, pushing myself to a sitting position and fighting the dizziness I already felt.

"I'm here too, Lucy," Hermione said. "Cedric managed to convince Ron that I'd be safe if the two of us came to visit you together. He hasn't left my side since you've been here!"

I smiled. "Good. Just the same, I'm glad you're here with me."

Cedric took my hand, and I could hear the worry in his voice when I stumbled trying to get to my feet. "I've got you, don't worry," he said, grabbing my elbow to steady me. "Fancy a piggyback?"

I couldn't remember the last time I'd had one. I couldn't find a smile to offer them, I was too weak, but I managed to nod before I found my arms wrapped around Cedric's neck and Hermione's hand on my back to make sure I didn't fall.

"Where am I going?" I asked, praying hard that the plan had changed while I was asleep.

"The Forbidden Forest," Cedric answered, his voice still worried and small. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Voldemort isn't there anymore, right?"

"He's not," Hermione said. "Don't worry. You'll be safe as long as you're careful."

I bit my lip. "I'll do my best."

We made the rest of the journey in silence. The frigid night air felt good against my feverish skin, and I relaxed ever so slightly.

After a couple minutes, Cedric set me on my feet and cupped my cheek in his hand. He had started doing it a lot lately, and I loved him for it. It was comforting, so comforting, just to know he was right there. "We're here now. Wait for Hagrid to find you in the morning, don't try to find your way back. I'll see you in the morning, okay, Lucy?"

I nodded, feeling my lower lip tremble slightly. I swallowed hard. "I'll... well, I won't see you in the morning, but I'll be here in the morning."

Hermione squeaked and threw her arms around me. With my vision gone, I had never smelled leather and ink and lavender quite so strong. And yet, it comforted me rather than overwhelmed me. "Oh, do be careful, Lucy!"

"I will be," I said, clenching my teeth against the way my head was spinning. "I should head in, I'm sorry. Which way is it?"

Cedric's hands gently turned me around. "Walk straight for as long as you can. There aren't any obstacles on the ground."

I nodded, taking a deep breath. "I'll be back soon." And with that, I took my first steps into the forest and didn't look back.

I was overly aware of everything that I couldn't see. I heard the leaves crunching beneath my feet as well as the ones that whispered in the trees. I felt the cool night wind on my face as well as the tension in the air. I smelled the approaching rainstorm as well as the dried blood still clinging to my fingernails from Saturday.

I heard Cedric and Hermione turn and slowly walk away once I had disappeared from their sight. I felt the particularly large rock I stepped on. I smelled the faint odor of gasoline, which I found unusual.

I didn't have time to process this, though. A shudder ran through my entire body. I dropped to my knees and screamed. Pain ripped through my body. My world remained black.

The scream made the two stop in their tracks.

"Is that Lucy?" the girl asked, her voice shaking.

The boy nodded. He hoped his companion couldn't see how pale his face was. For all of the transformations his sister had undergone, he had never been close enough to hear her screams that soon gave way to howls. The agony he heard seemed to tear apart something deep within him, like the pain was his own and not his sister's.

The girl wrapped her arms around her midsection as if she was feeling the same inner rift forming with each piercing sound. "Will she really be alright? What if she is completely blind still? What will she do?"

"I don't know," the boy answered honestly, reaching out to wrap an arm around her trembling shoulders. For as much as his sister shied away from physical contact, he found it hard to comfort someone without a small gesture to show that he was not only emotionally present but physically present as well. "But the sun always rises, no matter how long the night is. And we'll be there in the morning, just as we always are."

The girl nodded, swallowing her tears bravely, and the two of them entered the warm castle and made their way to the Great Hall. The girl headed to the table with red-clad students, the boy to the yellow-clad students.

Both students were asked the same question. "How's Lucy?"

The girl tried to find a smile and a white lie, but all she could manage was a sad shrug. "No better, no worse. But she's not giving up."

The boy managed a small smile while he carefully chose his words. "Strong and stubborn as always. She's fighting for her vision back as best she can."

The next question was also the same. "Any word yet on when she'll be okay again?"

This time, the boy answered before the girl.

"Not definitively," he said.

"Nothing for certain," she said.

"But," they said together, "she's going to be alright. Some day soon."

Meanwhile in the forest, as the children ate dinner and crawled into warm beds and watched the moon from their windows, heavy thunderclouds slowly obscuring it from sight, the blind werewolf found itself facing a new enemy it had never fought before. Every step posed unseen threats and unknown dangers. Everyone had dared to hope that the wolf would be able to see even if the girl couldn't. But it was blind as well. And that is why it ran headfirst into thick-trunked tree at midnight and slumped to the forest floor thoroughly unconscious, where it would remain until the jarring pain of the transformation at sunrise would draw it back into consciousness.

I was sprawled on the ground, throat dry and eyes streaming. I wiped my cheeks with the sleeve of my Hospital Wing pajamas, now probably muddy and torn, and tried to push myself to my feet. But the rain through the night had turned the forest floor to pure sludge, and I couldn't rise even to a sitting position, so I curled myself in a protective ball and waited.

I don't remember falling asleep, but Cedric informed me when I woke up that I had slept for two days straight. I wasn't terribly surprised; full moons were always exhausting, and adding my dittany allergy into the mix took it to the next level.

The next four weeks were strange, to say the least.

By the end of the first week, I could tell the difference between when it was light outside and when it was dark outside. By the end of the second week, I could begin to see figures and shapes as they came and went. By the end of the third week, I was able to see colors. And by the time the full moon came around again, everything was slowly starting to become less blurry and more clear. The world around me regained its balance.

Everyone who came to see me tried to keep me informed to some extent about the events of the world beyond my bed.

Cedric and Henry told me every detail of their match; Ravenclaw put up a good fight, but Cedric bested Leo Wilde yet again. They also came to visit me individually. When Cedric came, he would tell me about how my friends seemed to be faring, and I would ask about his. When Henry came, I would ask him how Cedric was doing.

"Every time I try to ask, he says he's fine," I explained in a soft voice one day. "But Henry, I can hear he's not, even if he's fooling everyone else."

"Don't worry, Lucy, he's not fooling me," he said. "To tell you the truth, he's scared."

I bit my lip. "Well, if anyone can help him, it would be you."

"I try my best," Henry said with a chuckle. "Someone has to keep an eye out for him while you're here."

Harry and Ron and Hermione were also frequent visitors. Hermione (of course) would tell me everything I missed in classes. I couldn't actually do any of my work, being blind, but she tried to keep me as up-to-date on the information as possible. Ron preferred to play wizard's chess with me, as soon as I was able to somewhat see shapes. Harry would help me make decisions, and he would also fill me in on the practices I was missing.

"Terribly lonely, walking down to the Pitch without you," he would say.

"If you drag me down there, I'd love to sit in the stands and get out of this Merlin-forsaken bed," I would retort back, which always made him laugh.

They also kept me up-to-date on how the potion was coming, which I appreciated. But I was worried. Cedric said our parents wanted us home for Christmas that year, and the timeline seemed to be pushed further and further back the longer it took to acquire the ingredients.

The twins came as often as they could, but they were often consumed by pranks and efforts to cheer Ginny up. They told me that she had been Colin Creevey's partner in a couple of classes, so she was again highly troubled by the petrification. They weren't sure why Ginny didn't seem to be feeling any better.

"Well, what have you tried?" I asked.

"Usually we cover ourselves with something-"

"Fur, boils, slime, even more freckles-"

"And jump out at her from behind a statue."

I laughed. "You might want to try something a little more conventional."

"Conventional?" they asked in unison. "Us?"

"Okay, maybe not. But still, maybe you should consider smuggling her some chocolate, or playing wizard's chess."

When Ginny came to see me a couple of days later, she seemed in better spirits. She was even happier when I told her that she could fly my broom after Quidditch practices if she wanted to as long as one or two her brothers would stay to watch her and make sure she got back to the castle safely.

A couple of days after that, Percy reported that Ginny was happier again and praised me for knowing her so well. I merely grinned and shrugged.

"Quidditch has always been my release. It would seem she functions similarly."

His tone grew more serious. "If that's the case, I cannot imagine you are terribly thrilled to be trapped here."

I managed a laugh. "You have no idea. As soon as I can leave here, I will."

"Well, do not rush yourself. Recovery takes time. Trust me. My roommate is Oliver Wood, and three of my brothers have played Quidditch here. I have seen more than my fair share of Quidditch-related injuries, and they always take time."

I bit my tongue. I didn't want to point out that I was suffering from Lockhart's stupidity rather than from the sport I loved, but I did recount the story to Ron and Harry later that day, making them laugh so loudly that Hermione's "He's really not that bad!" protests were drowned out.

My last night in the Hospital Wing was the night before December's full moon. I was still a tad bit nearsighted, but I was dying to leave. I couldn't sleep, feeling hot and sweaty and restless and uncomfortable, so I reflected instead on all I had missed.

I had never gotten around to finishing that poem about the Wagga Wagga Werewolf for Lockhart, not that I was terribly disappointed about that. I was sad, though, thinking of all of the early morning practices and late night conversations I had missed, and everything in between.

"One more night," I whispered to the darkness. "Just one more moon and then I'll be free."

Snow had not yet come to Hogwarts, but as the night progressed, the wind grew colder and colder. All who were warm inside the castle didn't know how cold outside it really was.

For the first time in several weeks, Cedric Diggory was sleeping soundly. His best friend, Henry Furls, was up late studying for the next day's Transfiguration test, but he glanced toward Cedric now and again to make sure he wasn't having another nightmare. Nightmares had plagued him lately, leading to many late-night conversations held in hushed tones, but it seemed that he finally had a night of peace. Both boys were warm in their dormitory.

Hermione Granger was wide awake. Her mind wrestled with the Chamber of Secrets and all the horrors that lay within. She stared at the purple half of her ring, which grew more intense every day, it seemed. But she was warm in her bed.

The occupants of the castle, whether awake or asleep, were warm. But the werewolf in the forest was freezing. It ran around all night, never once stopping. When dawn came, the wolf collapsed to the ground and howled as the transformation wracked its tortured body.

When I opened my eyes, I was myself again. I was freezing and exhausted, but I was myself.

I made my way to Hagrid's hut without incident, and by the time I arrived, Cedric was already there, looking better-rested than he had been in a while. He offered a blanket to me, but I shook my head.

"After having a fever for a month, it feels incredible to be cold," I said with a smile. "Just let me be cold."

"Lucy, you're practically blue," he replied, peeling the Hufflepuff scarf off from around his neck and draping it around mine. "At least take this. Are you hurt at all?"

"No, just exhausted."

"In that case, there's someone waiting for you in the Hospital Wing. I'll head up there with you."

Hermione waited for me in the Hospital Wing. "Are you coming to class today?" she asked, obviously trying not to sound too excited but coming across undeniably hopeful.

When I nodded, she reached to throw her arms around me before pulling back. "Sorry. It hurts after a transformation. Almost forgot."

"I'm not hurt, it's okay," I said, surprising her by hugging her tightly. When we pulled away, she dropped my ring into my hand. It was our new tradition, of sorts. Both halves glowed yellow. Not a bright yellow, but yellow nonetheless.

She beamed. "Everyone's going to be so excited to see you. Let's sneak you up to the dormitory for a shower first."

"How's the polyjuice potion coming?" I asked in a whisper as soon as we were alone in the hallway.

"We're missing ingredients," she answered. "But we have a plan to steal them."

"Steal them? From Snape? How?"

She explained as we climbed flight after flight of stairs. It was far more exhausting than I remembered, and by the time we reached the Gryffindor portrait, I could barely breathe.

"Curse these stairs," I panted as we crawled through the portrait hole. "I'm bedridden for one month and all of a sudden I can't climb them."

"It'll come back to you soon," she assured me. "You'll get your strength up. I'll make sure of it."

"But first? A proper shower."

We slipped silently up to our dormitory, and I grabbed a fresh set of robes before disappearing into the bathroom. I showered far faster than usual after a full moon, the thought of seeing everyone again --- really seeing them --- filling me with an energy I typically lacked.

The second I emerged from the bathroom, Parvati and Lavender squealed and rushed over to hug me. When I made my way down to the Great Hall for breakfast, the twins had nearly the same reaction when I wedged myself between them.

"Cub!" they exclaimed in unison, slapping each other in the face in their rush to wrap an arm around me and make sure I was really there.

I giggled. "Yes, that's my name. Godric, I missed hearing you sounding happy when you said it."

"Well, we missed you," George said with a shrug. "Don't ever do that to us again, okay?"

"I'll do my best," I replied, glancing down at the staff table directly at Professor Lockhart. "You should talk to him, though, not me."

"Lucy!" I whipped my head around just as Ron, Neville, and Harry joined the table. It seemed they had all spoken at once, because they all started laughing.

"Hi," I said, beaming.

"We missed you!" Ron exclaimed.

Neville nodded enthusiastically. "I didn't have my Charms partner for a whole month!"

"Sitting at the back of a classroom by yourself gets rather lonely," Harry added with a laugh.

"I don't see any steam rising from your ears," I commented. "Has Wood been going easier on practices?"

"No," he said with a shake of his head, "but last night's was cancelled because of how bloody cold it was."

"A miracle," Fred laughed. "Finally a weather condition too extreme for Wood. And the Pitch wasn't even burning down."

"Wow, that's wild. I can't wait to be on a broom again."

"You have to get cleared first," Hermione reminded me without looking up from her book.

"Yeah, well, we'll see," I said dismissively. I lowered my voice and lifted my mug of hot chocolate to my lips. "I don't think I can ignore the call of the sky much longer."