Some truths, over time, can learn to play nice
Some truths are sharper than knives
Some truths we only see in the corners of our eyes
Some truths we wish we could hide

Some truths can save us
Some take our lives
Some truths are fire
And some truths are ice
No matter what category you fit into
Truth's got its sight set on you

"South"
Sleeping At Last

The morning after March's full moon, Hermione Granger was waiting on pins and needles for her best friend to meet her in the Hospital Wing. She hoped that maybe exhausted, cold, post full moon Lucy might finally see reason and agree that Rubeus Hagrid was in fact responsible for the Chamber of Secrets.

She'd tried and tried and tried again to talk to her after the Valentine's Day disaster where Lucy fled the room nearly in tears, but it seemed everything she said went in one ear and out the other. Ron Weasley tried to talk sense into Lucy himself, but the same thing happened. Harry Potter knew better than to try to convince her of something he himself found nearly impossible to believe, so he instead gave her a bit of space.

They weren't angry with each other. They didn't go out of their way to avoid each other. To anyone on the outside, nothing had really changed among the four of them. But they all knew that invisible walls had been erected separating Lucy from the other three, and that it would take something drastic to tear them down.

When Hermione dropped the ring into Lucy's hand, the soft "Thank you" that followed didn't come with the smile it always did. When she secured it around her finger, her half glowed blue and purple, but there was no scarlet anger. Just sadness and fear. Hermione's soon matched, and they left the Hospital Wing in silence.

The month between moons passed the same way. Lucy built her walls higher and higher, trying to protect herself. But she found that the higher the walls climbed, the more Hermione's words echoed in her mind until she could hear nothing else her best friend said.

Monster. Monster. Monster. Monster.

That one word was all it took.

LUCY:

In the weeks that followed the horrible night T.M. Riddle convinced Harry -- and by extension, Hermione and Ron --- that Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets, I needed time to myself as often as I could find it. More often than not, I sat at the Hufflepuff table with Cedric. Many other kids sat with their siblings, too; Padma Patil often joined Parvati and Lavender at the Gryffindor table, and the prefects table was empty so each prefect could spend more time with their house mates. There hadn't been any more attacks, but since the culprit had never been caught, nobody really wanted to be alone.

I seemed to be the only exception. Every chance I got, I made my way down to the Quidditch Pitch for a couple hours of silence and solitude. Most of the time, I would do homework or study in the stairwells, but from time to time, I would fetch my broom from the lockers and fly around the grounds to clear my head.

There was no doubt in my mind that Hagrid was innocent. I wasn't angry with the others for questioning him, not really; Riddle had made it pretty clear that he thought Hagrid was the one who had opened the Chamber of Secrets, and the attacks had stopped when he was expelled from Hogwarts. But it seemed easy to believe, too easy to believe. I still couldn't shake the feeling that I was missing something obvious, something right under my nose. I would ponder this as I flew around the castle, over the Forbidden Forest, through the Pitch, but for all of my hours in the spring sunshine, I could never place my finger on what exactly was bothering me.

When the time came to decide on my electives for the next year, I had no trouble choosing Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, and Study of Ancient Runes for my classes. The only other person who was able to make an easy decision was Archie, it seemed.

"I'm only interested in Arithmancy and Muggle Studies," he declared one night at dinner. He and Cam had more or less permanently moved to the Hufflepuff House, it seemed. Apparently, the Slytherin common room password was changed to "pure-blood" following the attack on Justin Finch-Fletchley, and they both refused to say it to get in. The Hufflepuffs had rallied around them, along with the couple of other Slytherins who also refused to say it, and set up a fancy tent in the Hufflepuff common room where they could sleep every night. It was for that reason, really, the Hufflepuff table's second most common robe color those days was green. "Divination seems like a load of dragon dung," he continued, "I don't need to know about magical creatures to dismantle the regime of blood supremacy, and why would I need ancient runes if I'm working to make a better future?"

"But Care of Magical Creatures seems so fun!" Cam protested. "And Divination would certainly be easier than Arithmancy, I've heard Trelawney is a total pushover and will accept any assignment as long as your predictions are tragic enough."

"I can't deny it," Henry chuckled. "Cedric still actually puts effort into the class, but I don't remember the last time I actually saw anything useful in my tea leaves. I think I predicted in this week's homework that one of the house elves in the kitchens would be petrified next, and she totally ate it up."

"You don't believe any of it, do you, Cedric?" Archie asked incredulously.

My brother shook his head. "Nothing she's predicted has actually come true yet, but my dad wholeheartedly believes in it and expects me to solve the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets by the end of the year using a crystal ball, so I figured there's no harm in trying."

I laughed. "To be fair, Ced, Dad's also the one that stopped eating cheese for two years because someone at work who ended up being... what do Muggles call it? Lactose intolerant?" Archie nodded. "Someone at work who ended up being lactose intolerant said that cheese actually carried a curse that only affected middle-aged men."

Everyone laughed at that, even Cedric, who was loath to laugh at anyone no matter how deserving they were.

As I found out later that evening from Neville, I'd share Care of Magical Creatures with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but I'd only have Hermione in my other electives.

"She's taking them all," Neville whispered. "I don't know how she plans on doing it, but she's all signed up and everything."

I pursed my lips. "That's peculiar. I wonder how she'll make that work."

He shrugged. "If anyone can, it's her."

"That's for sure. Which classes are you taking, Neville?"

"Care of Magical Creatures and Divination, same as Harry and Ron," he said with a sigh. "I'd rather just take extra Herbology classes, but I can't. I've already asked and Professor Sprout and Professor McGonagall both said no."

"Well, think about it this way. If you took all of your advanced classes as a third- and fourth-year, you wouldn't have any Herbology at all as a fifth-, sixth-, or seventh-year."

He nodded sullenly. "You're right. I still wish I could."

I nodded. "I know the feeling. It's alright."

After a couple seconds of silence, Neville spoke again. "Sure is a good thing we had the Mandrakes this year, isn't it?"

"Definitely. It would be horrible to have to wait even longer to see everyone healed."

"Do you want to be a healer, Lucy?"

I felt the blood drain from my face. Another question about my future. Another question I couldn't answer. "I don't think I could be," I answered slowly.

"Why not?"

"I get squeamish around other people's blood," I admitted. "I would love to be a healer, the way Cedric wants to be, but I could never. The sight of other people suffering is too much for me most of the time. I would feel better preventing it than helping once it's already happened. I... I wish I could be a healer like Cedric though, really. Trying to protect everyone at once can be hard."

"So if someone really needed it, you could help them, but you'd rather not have them need it at all?"

I nodded. "Exactly."

"You know," he said, "I think we need both types of people. People like you protect everyone they can, but there's no way to protect everyone. People like Cedric help save the people you can't protect."

I smiled. "I think you're right, Neville. Which type of person do you think you are?"

"I think I'm a protector too. Or well, I want to be. It seems much more Gryffindor-like, don't you think?"

I looked down at the scars on my hands. "When it comes to blood and gore and suffering, Cedric is braver than I'll ever be. Hagrid says he never once hesitated to save me that day from the Forest, even though I was covered in blood and on death's door. I would like to say I'd do the same, but it would be much harder for me than for him." I paused for a second. "I think there's a great deal of bravery in healing too."

"Lucy." Someone grabbed my arm just as I was about to enter the Great Hall on the day of our match against Hufflepuff. I turned to see it was Harry.

"What?"

"Lucy, I know you're still upset with us all for the Hagrid thing-"

"I'm not upset with you, I just need time to think-"

"-but I need to talk to you."

"Can it wait until after the match?"

He shook his head. I let him pull me out of the crowd and down a hallway to a bench. I drew my wand out of habit and scanned the corridor up and down, just in case.

"Can't be too careful," I said softly.

"Lucy, the diary is gone. Someone stole it out of my trunk."

I bit my lower lip. He waited patiently for a response, but I could think of nothing to say.

"Hermione wants me to report it," he continued after thirty seconds of silence, "but I don't want to tell a teacher about the diary. Even more than that, I don't want to be the one to bring up the fact that Hagrid was expelled."

I nodded slowly. "I understand."

"This also means it's a Gryffindor who... who, you know..."

"Yeah." I leaned forward and rested my head in my hands. "Yeah, it must be, no one else knows our passwords." I sighed heavily. "I guess we should probably go to breakfast."

"Yeah," he agreed.

I settled myself between the twins, since the Quidditch team was eating all together, but Harry and I made frequent eye contact while everyone around us talked excitedly.

"What's the matter with you, Cub?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, why so quiet?" George echoed.

Harry and I locked eyes again before I answered. "Just thinking about how sweet it'll be to beat Cedric at something for once in my life." I grinned at Harry. "Beat him to the Snitch, will you? I think we all deserve a massive celebration party after how disastrous the last match was."

Harry smiled back and nodded. "Sure thing, Lu."

And for a moment, a brief moment, everything felt okay again.

But as we left the Great Hall, everything flipped right back over.

Harry gasped loudly, stopping dead in his tracks. He looked around wildly. "The voice! I just heard it again! Didn't you?"

Ron and I shook our heads, but Hermione's entire face lit up the way it did when she had an epiphany. "I think I've just understood something! I've got to go to the library!" She spun on her heels and sprinted away, leaving us to stare, dumbfounded, as she went.

"What does she understand?" Harry asked.

"Loads more than I do," Ron admitted.

"But why's she got to go to the library?"

"Because that's what Hermione does. When in doubt, go to the library."

"As her roommate..." I said softly. "Yeah, that's exactly what she does." I glanced down at my watch. "Harry, we've got to go, it's nearly eleven."

We sprinted all the way down to the locker room, and I climbed into my locker to change into my scarlet robes, illuminated by the dim purple glow of both halves of my ring. I wasn't as nervous for this match as the last one, but I doubted I'd ever be truly free of any nerves whatsoever. I pulled my helmet on and emerged from my locker, grabbing my broom.

"Why do you do that?" Angelina asked.

"Hm?"

"Change in your locker, I mean?"

"Oh, I-" I tugged my gloves on, securing them as tightly around my wrists as I could. "Just... just... my scars... you know?"

She nodded understandingly. "It's okay. I can't blame you. But you can change out here with us whenever you want; everyone's insecure about something."

"Thanks," I stammered, feeling my cheeks heat. I cleared my throat and crossed the room to sit next to Harry. I glanced at him shyly. "If you catch the Snitch within ten minutes, I'll stay in the common room for the entire party, if you want."

He smiled. "Sounds good to me."

"Oh, we're taking bets?" Fred asked excitedly. "Lucy, if you score three goals, I'll turn Harry's hair green!"

I laughed as Harry protested. "You're on!"

Oliver silenced us by clearing his throat loudly. His speech was shorter than usual, though he did add in some remarks about Lockhart's incompetence that made us all chuckle and roll our eyes. He fixed his gaze on Harry and me. "You two especially, watch out for each other out there. I don't expect Hufflepuff to play as rough as Slytherin-"

"Hufflepuffs are incapable of hurting a fly," Fred cut in.

"-but the last thing we need is another incident."

"Trust me, Oliver, neither of us want that to ever happen again," I said with a laugh.

He smiled. "Glad we all have reached an understanding. Let's go!"

My spirits were higher than they'd been in quite a while when we stepped out onto the Pitch.

"Good luck, Harry," I said, bumping his shoulder with mine.

"Good luck, Lu," he replied. "Try not to take a Bludger to the face this time. I c- oh no."

"What? What is it?"

I followed his gaze and spotted Professor McGonagall. She was half-walking and half-running, megaphone pressed to her mouth.

"This match has been cancelled. All students are to make their way back to the House common rooms, where their Heads of Houses will give them further information. As quickly as you can, please!"

The stadium swelled with confused shouts and disappointed boos. I glanced toward the Hufflepuff team and made eye contact with my brother, whose hand was reaching ever so slightly for Henry's. I was about to make my way over to Cedric when Professor McGonagall's voice made me stop dead in my tracks.

"Diggory, Potter, you better come with me..."

Harry and I exchanged a horrified look, but followed her immediately. Ron started fighting through the crowd to get to us. I expected Professor McGonagall to shoo him away, but she merely nodded slowly. "Yes, perhaps you'd better come, too, Weasley..."

Harry and I threw our brooms over our shoulders and followed her up to the castle. Every second that passed felt like an eternity, yet when we arrived outside the doors to the Hospital Wing, it was like I had merely blinked and we were there.

Professor McGonagall had never sounded so gentle. "This will be a bit of a shock. There has been another attack... another double attack."

My heart lurched against my ribs. We followed Professor McGonagall into the Hospital Wing. One body was that of Penelope Clearwater, a Ravenclaw prefect. Beside her was Hermione.

"Hermione!" Ron gasped.

I rushed forward and leaned my broom up against her bed so I could yank my glove off. Her half did not glow at all; it was completely silver. My half couldn't decide how I was feeling. I couldn't decide how I was feeling either.

Harry and Ron walked up on either side of me.

"They were found near the library." Professor McGonagall held up a small mirror. "I don't suppose any of you can explain this? It was on the floor next to them."

We all shook our heads slowly.

"I will escort you back to Gryffindor Tower. I need to address the students in any case."

Back in the common room, I sat by myself in a dark corner, holding my broom in my lap and absently tracing over the logo with the index finger of my non-gloved hand as Professor McGonagall addressed the room, reading from a roll of parchment in her hands.

"All students will return to their House common rooms by six o'clock in the evening. No student is to leave the dormitories after that time. You will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No student is to use the bathroom unaccompanied by a teacher. All further Quidditch training and matches are to be postponed. There will be no more evening activities." She rolled the parchment up and addressed the room as a whole. "I need hardly add that I have rarely been so distressed. It is likely that the school will be closed unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught. I would urge anyone who thinks they might know anything about them to come forward."

She left through the portrait hole, offering me a sympathetic glance as she left. Harry and Ron started walking toward me, but Lavender and Parvati made it first, tears streaming down their faces.

"What are we going to do?" Lavender sobbed.

I immediately wrapped both of them in a hug and squeezed tightly. "Hermione will be back as soon as the Mandrakes are ready. But even before then, we'll be okay."

"How do you know?" Parvati croaked.

"Hermione would want us to be," I said firmly. "She'll be back soon. She's not gone forever, none of them are."

"But what if the next attack is fatal?" asked a third voice. I glanced up to see a very pale, very shaken, very ghostly-looking Ginny hovering nearby, arms wrapped tightly around her midsection as if she were about to be sick.

I swallowed hard. "Then we'll learn to be okay in that situation, too. But for today, let's be thankful that everyone we've lost so far is coming back to us, okay?"

Ginny nodded faintly, and I gestured for her to join the group hug. We remained in that corner until dinner, various people coming and going and seeking reassurance. I kept my brave face on, telling whoever came by that it would all be okay as soon as the Mandrakes were ready.

To my surprise, Percy Weasley was perhaps the most shaken of all. I recalled what Harry had told me about Percy's interaction with Draco Malfoy on Christmas night. The petrification of Penelope Clearwater proved that nobody, not even prefects, were safe.

As soon as I entered the Great Hall, Cedric caught me in his arms and held tightly.

"I heard about Hermione," he said hoarsely, as if he'd been crying. "Are you alright?"

I nodded and buried my head against him, taking a deep breath to steady myself. My emotions were growing more intense by the moment, but I couldn't afford to fall apart yet. "I know she'll be back as soon as the Mandrakes are ready. I'm sorry, Ced, but the Gryffindors need me tonight, I've been more or less elected their counselor for the day. I'll eat with you tomorrow, though, alright?"

"Take care of yourself, Lu," he said. "Please?"

"I will," I assured him. "I'm okay, really. I know she'll be back."

My brother still seemed unconvinced, but he relented and headed to the Hufflepuff table. I noticed the way he reached forward to lay a reassuring hand on Allie Longshore's shaking shoulders and smiled to myself. For tonight, both Diggorys were designated counselors and healers, it seemed.

After dinner, Harry and Ron pulled me aside and said they were heading down to Hagrid's that night.

"We understand if you'd rather not come," Ron said, his voice heavy. "You were right, after all. Hagrid would never... he cares too much about Hermione..."

"I'll go," I said. "The three of us need each other now more than ever."

"I'm sorry for doubting you, Lu," Harry said softly.

I shook my head. "Don't be. Blaming him made logical sense."

"Then why couldn't you?"

I bit my lip. "I've asked myself the same question for two months, to tell you the truth. I have no answer other than just instinct."

"Your instincts are better than ours, it would seem," Ron admitted.

"Everyone has their highs and lows," I said. I lowered my voice and smirked. "I mean, all three of us have agreed Lockhart is a fraud from the beginning, didn't we?"

This drew small smiles from the two of them. I reached down and squeezed both of their hands.

"We'll be alright, boys. Really. She'll be back before we know it."

"I sure hope so," they murmured in unison.

That night, I was still in the common room when Harry and Ron came down. We didn't speak as we threw the cloak over ourselves, me stuck between the boys, and made our way down to Hagrid's hut. The door opened violently, and a crossbow was pointed at our noses.

"It's us, Hagrid," Harry said, slipping the cloak off.

"Oh, what're you three doin' here?" he asked as he ushered us inside.

"What's that for?" Ron asked, pointing at the crossbow.

"Nothin', nothin', I've bin expectin'... doesn' matter. Sit down, I'll make tea."

We watched silently as he blundered around the kitchen and poured us glasses of boiling water --- he forgot the tea bags.

Harry's voice was gentle. "Are you okay, Hagrid? Did you hear about Hermione?"

"Oh, I heard, all righ'," he replied, sounding near tears.

Harry was about to ask another question --- the question --- when there was another knock at the door.

I hurriedly threw the cloak over the three of us and rushed to hide in a dark corner for a second time that day.

The door opened to reveal Dumbledore. "Good evening, Hagrid," he said, his voice solemn. I felt my heartbeat quicken when Cornelius Fudge himself followed Dumbledore into the small hut.

"That's Dad's boss! Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic!" Ron whispered.

I elbowed him gently to make him be quiet.

Hagrid looked like he was going to be ill as he collapsed into a chair.

Cornelius Fudge's tone sent shivers down my spine. I hoped neither boy could feel how horribly I was trembling. "Bad business, Hagrid. Very bad business. Had to come. Four attacks on Muggle-borns. Things've gone far enough. Ministry's got to act."

Hagrid gulped. "I never... you know I never, Professor Dumbledore, sir-"

"I want it understood, Cornelius," Dumbledore interrupted, "that Hagrid has my full confidence."

The Minister shifted on his feet. "Look, Albus, Hagrid's record's against him. Ministry's got to do something, the school governors have been in touch-"

"Yet again, Cornelius, I tell you that taking Hagrid away will not help in the slightest."

"Look at it from my point of view. I'm under a lot of pressure. Got to be seen to be doing something. If it turns out it wasn't Hagrid, he'll be back and no more said. But I've got to take him. Got to. Wouldn't be doing my duty-"

"Take me? Take me where?" Hagrid croaked.

"For a short stretch only, not a punishment, Hagrid, more a precaution. If someone else is caught, you'll be let out with a full apology-"

"Not Azkaban?" he asked miserably.

If the boys couldn't feel my trembling before, they certainly could at that point. The arrival of another man to the hut made Harry gasp. I was too shaken to elbow him the way I had elbowed Ron. It was Lucius Malfoy.

His voice was like ice. "Already here, Fudge. Good, good."

"What're you doin' here? Get outta my house!" Hagrid roared.

"My dear man, please believe me, I have no pleasure at all in being inside your... er... d'you call this a house? I simply called at the school and was told that the headmaster was here."

Everything within me burned with anger. I couldn't take much more of this. Little did I know the worst of the night was yet to come.

"And what exactly did you want with me, Lucius?" Dumbledore asked.

"Dreadful thing, Dumbledore, but the governors feel it's time for you to step aside. This is an Order of Suspension. You'll find all twelve signatures on it. I'm afraid we feel you're losing your touch. How many attacks have there been now? Two more this afternoon, wasn't it? At this rate, there'll be no Muggle-borns left at Hogwarts, and we all know what an awful loss that would be to the school."

The Minister stumbled backwards. "Oh, now, see here, Lucius, Dumbledore suspended? No, no, that's the last thing we want just now."

"The appointment --- or suspension --- of the headmaster is a matter for the governors, Fudge. And as Dumbledore has failed to stop these attacks-"

"See here, Malfoy, if Dumbledore can't stop them... I mean to say, who can?"

The grin the blond man flashed make me even angrier. The ring on my finger responded, burning a bright scarlet. Anger; no, fury. Ron and Harry both stared at it, and I had to bite my lip against the pain. Lucius Malfoy was maddeningly smug. "That remains to be seen, but as all twelve of us have voted-"

Hagrid leapt to his feet. "An' how many did yeh have ter threaten an' blackmail before they agreed, Malfoy, eh?"

"Dear, dear, you know, that temper of yours will lead you into trouble one of these days, Hagrid. I would advise you not to shout at the Azkaban guards like that. They won't like it at all."

The massive man wasn't done. "Yeh can't take Dumbledore! Take him away, an' the Muggle-borns won' stand a chance! There'll be killin' next!"

"Calm yourself, Hagrid," Dumbledore said, fixing a steely glare on Lucius Malfoy. "If the governors want my removal, Lucius, I shall of course step aside-"

"But-"

"No!"

"However, you will find that I will only truly have left this school when none here are loyal to me. Help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it." And for a second, Dumbledore looked at our corner before meeting Malfoy's eyes again.

"Admirable sentiments. We shall all miss your, er, highly individual way of running things, Albus, and only hope your successor will manage to prevent any, ah, 'killin's."

Malfoy opened the door and ushered Dumbledore out. The Minister of Magic soon followed, but Hagrid lingered a second longer. "If anyone wanted ter find out some stuff, all they'd have ter do would be ter follow the spiders. That'd lead 'em right. That's all I'm sayin'. An' someone'll need ter feed Fang while I'm away."

As soon as the door shut, Ron yanked off the Invisibility Cloak. "We're in trouble now. No Dumbledore. They might as well close the school tonight. There'll be an attack a day with him gone."

"Is your finger okay, Lucy?" Harry asked. "That looked painful."

I nodded. "I've been getting used to it. Lots of extreme emotions today, you know?"

Fang howled mournfully, scratching at the door.

"Seems like he feels the same way. C'mere boy," I called softly. The massive dog tilted his head at me, but I held out my hand, and he made his way over. My eyes wandered to Norbert's blanket, still draped over the back of a chair, unused for about a year at that point. "Remember when Norbert was our biggest problem? And losing house points?"

"I would give anything to go back to that," Harry said in a small voice.

"Me too," I agreed.

"Me three," Ron echoed.

We sat in silence for a couple more minutes, me stroking Fang's head and the boys lost in their own thoughts.

"We should head back," Harry said. "Are you two alright?"

Ron nodded. "As alright as I can be."

"I don't know," I admitted.

Harry's eyes wandered to the ring. "It looks bruised."

I held it up to see for myself. Blue and purple swirled together. Sadness and fear. "Yeah." My voice was little more than a whisper. "To tell you the truth, my heart feels bruised. But tomorrow's a new day, and tomorrow's one day closer to having her back, right?"

"Right," Harry said after a moment.

Ron made a funny noise that sounded halfway between a sob and a squeak and threw his arms around our necks. We stood there, hugging each other, for a moment. "Please promise me we'll stick together," Ron begged. "Please. I can't lose you, too."

"Promise," Harry and I said in unison. Harry threw the cloak over us, and we crawled back up to the castle in silence.

One last stab through the heart waited for me in my dormitory. There was a reason I was still in my Quidditch robes. I wasn't ready to see Hermione's empty bed.

At the sight of it, I fell to my knees and allowed myself to cry for the first time that day.

Three hours. That's how much time I allowed myself.

I borrowed Harry's Invisibility Cloak for the night, saying I would go feed Fang. They volunteered to go with me, but I said I didn't mind going alone. Ron seemed relieved; Fang was agitated without Hagrid around, and I was the only one who seemed able to calm him down. He nearly took the boys' hands off, the way Norbert had. I had another mission in mind: I was going to find Helga Hufflepuff's secret room.

I had a couple of reasons for this. I wanted to assure myself that it wasn't the Chamber of Secrets. I doubted very much that it was, but I needed to be 100% sure. I needed to know that I had turned over every possible stone. But selfishly, I wanted a place to transform.

Without Hermione to cover for me, and without a Hospital Wing to recuperate in, I couldn't risk any injuries I couldn't explain away as sleepwalking.

I made my way down to Hagrid's hut quickly and fed Fang. Normally, I lingered for a little while to keep him company, but that night, I was on the clock.

With prefects and teachers patrolling everywhere, I had to be incredibly careful. I crept down corridor after corridor, casting whispered silencing charms from time to time when I was certain I wouldn't be overheard. I scanned the walls for any sign of a hidden door, occasionally casting revealing charms on any walls that seemed like possibilities, but it wasn't until I reached the seventh floor I had any luck.

I knew in my heart it had to be the door. I held my breath as I checked left, right, left, right, looking for any sign of anyone else, living or dead, that might walk by as the door opened. When I saw and heard nothing, I opened the door and slipped inside.

I immediately sank down to my ankles in spongy carpeting. I shed the Invisibility Cloak and stepped further into the room.

It was perfectly circular, it seemed, and the walls were made of the same soft material. I wound up and threw my hardest possible punch; it didn't hurt me in the slightest. The wall seemed to hug my hand. I grinned. There was no way I'd get hurt in here.

The ceiling was like the Great Hall, in that it wasn't much of a ceiling at all. It was the night sky, expansive and beautiful. I noticed, too, that the room was cold. I didn't feel like I was overheating in the slightest.

I checked my watch. It was nearly three in the morning. My self-assigned deadline was approaching, but I didn't want to leave this incredible room. I took a deep breath and threw the cloak back over myself. I would be back the next night.

I made my way back to the common room without incident. Harry and Ron were sound asleep on the couch. I felt my breath hitch in my throat. I hadn't expected them to stay up --- try to, anyway --- for me. I gently shook them awake.

"Everything go alright, Lucy?" Ron asked, rubbing his eyes as Harry adjusted his glasses on his nose.

I nodded and settled on the couch between them. "Yeah, I didn't get caught. Fang was happy to see me. Why did you two stay up?"

Harry sat up a little straighter. "We wanted to make sure you got back alright. Will you let us go with you next time?"

"Oh." I nodded. "Sure thing."

Ron ran his fingers through his tousled red hair. "Well, now that you're back, I'm going to bed. G'night, Lucy."

"Morning, more like." Harry grinned as he rose from the couch and started to follow Ron to their dormitory, but his grin faltered when I didn't move toward my dormitory. "Are you going to bed too?"

I shook my head.

"Why not?" His eyes were soft with concern and curiosity.

I shook my head again and handed him the Invisibility Cloak. "Every time I close my eyes, I hear Hermione asking why I couldn't save her. Every time I open my eyes, I see her empty bed. It's easier to stay down here and read all night, which is what I've done ever since that night at Hagrid's."

"Do you want someone to stay with you?" He asked without hesitation, and the earnestness in his voice took me off-guard.

"It's okay," I said, "but thanks. You can go get some sleep."

"You know you should too, right?"

I nodded. "I will. But for tonight..." I sighed shakily. "Well, I still have enough in me for one more night. I'll sleep tomorrow night."

"I'll hold you to that," he said with the ghost of a smile. "I can't imagine your brother would want you falling asleep into your cereal bowl."

I smiled back. "I'd imagine not. Good night, Harry."

"Good night, Lucy." With that, he climbed the stairs to his dormitory and disappeared. I walked over to the bookshelves grabbed the book I'd been reading, looking for answers about Tom Riddle's diary. I had been beating myself up for not asking Harry if I could borrow it before it was stolen and seeing for myself what it could do, but I figured I could do my best to figure out how it worked and why it worked.

I was still reading when Percy Weasley returned from his patrol shift. He blinked in sleepy surprise when he saw me.

"Lucy? What are you doing awake?"

"I couldn't sleep," I said.

His confused expression gave way to one of sympathy. "I take it the loss of Hermione Granger weighs heavily on you?"

I nodded. "I reckon you've felt the same way about Penelope."

He turned the same shade of red as his hair as he nodded. When I spied a glitter of tears in his eyes, I made room for him on the couch next to me.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," I said quickly. "It'll be okay, Percy, she'll be back soon."

He nodded, clearing his throat. "You're right, of course, I just..."

"Miss her in the meantime?"

"Yeah." He cleared his throat again. "Can I tell you a secret? One only my sister knows?"

I nodded. "Of course."

"You won't tell anyone else? Ginny is sworn to secrecy too."

"I'm good at keeping secrets," I said. If only he knew exactly how good I was. "You can trust me."

He nodded slowly to himself. "Well... I think I fancy her. I was about to ask her to be my girlfriend when... well..."

I smiled. "I understand why you're so anxious for her to come back, then."

He cleared his throat a third time, staring at the fire so he didn't have to look at me. "I've been wanting to ask for a while now, but with the atmosphere of the school, and..."

"Hey, it's okay," I said. "No need to be embarrassed. I think her return will be the perfect time to ask. Not the most romantic, perhaps, but-"

"I don't think I could wait any longer," he admitted, a reluctant smile crossing his face. "Well, thanks for talking to me, Lucy. I should probably go wash up before the day begins. There's still a while before classes start, if you want to get some sleep."

"I'll be okay, but thanks, Percy," I said.

He looked at me with concern for a second, as if he was trying to decide whether he should use his duties as a prefect and concerned brotherly figure to force me to sleep, but he instead turned and headed up his stairs. I closed the book and rubbed my burning eyes before heading up my own stairs.

Careful not to look at Hermione's bed, I grabbed a fresh set of robes for the day and disappeared into the bathroom to freshen up.

I headed down to breakfast early and made a beeline for Cedric. I noted with concern how awful he looked. I could tell he hadn't been sleeping, either. Just the same, he smiled when he saw me.

"Morning, Lu. What's up?"

"Why does something have to be up?" I teased.

"It's written all over your face that you're excited about something."

"I don't have to go to the Forbidden Forest anymore," I blurted out.

His eyes popped open. "What?"

I lowered my voice to a barely audible whisper. "Helga Hufflepuff created a room that can be magically altered to someone's needs. I found it-" I cut myself off before I gave myself away. "I think I know where to find it, at least," I lied, "and I think it'll be safer."

"Oh yeah, it's tonight, isn't it?"

I nodded.

He studied me critically. "You look better than you usually do on this day."

"I haven't slept in a couple of days," I admitted. "I think the lack of sleep is dulling my senses."

"Haven't slept? Like, at all?"

I shook my head and leaned against his arm. "Ced, if you had the choice between falling asleep looking at your best friend's empty bed and not sleeping, you wouldn't sleep."

He wrapped his arm around me and rubbed my arm up and down. "Just don't make a habit of it, okay? You still need to sleep."

"I will after tonight," I said.

"I'll make sure someone holds you to that."

I huffed. "Fine. As long as you sleep, too. You look tired."

"I told you so," Henry said as he sat across from us.

I sat up and gently punched Cedric's arm. "Listen to us, your best sister and your best friend." I glanced over at Henry. "Sneak some sleeping draught in his drink tonight if you can."

Cedric chuckled. "I could ask the twins to do the same with yours."

I yawned. "I won't need that, don't worry."

I had never been so tired before the full moon, but I had also never been so calm. I could barely stay awake and alert in class, but Professor Lockhart's fuchsia robes actually didn't make my eyes burn and the smoke from Seamus's failed transfiguration didn't completely choke me.

I met Cedric and Madam Pomfrey outside the Hospital Wing after my last class. Both were excited and intrigued by my idea, and I led them quickly and quietly up to the seventh floor.

"Here it is," I said, opening the door and stepping inside.

"Whoa," Cedric breathed. He looked around with wide eyes. "There's no way you'll get hurt in here."

I nodded. "It's perfect."

"Just the same, I'll be here at dawn," Madam Pomfrey said, gesturing for Cedric to follow her out of the room. "Be safe, Lucy."

I offered the bravest smile I could as the door closed. Even the back of the door was padded. Cedric was right. I was in no danger.

I flopped down onto the ground, exhaustion swaddling me like a leaden blanket. The transformation was as painful as always, but as soon as it was complete, I fell into a deep sleep, curled in a ball in the middle of the room. I didn't dream, at least not in any way I could remember, but I slept until I transformed back.

When I was human again, I reluctantly pushed myself off the ground and cracked the door open. Cedric and Madam Pomfrey were just rounding the corner.

"How was it, Lu?" Cedric called softly.

My smile told him all he needed to know.