It was a perfect day
What I'd give if I could find a way to stay
Lost in this moment, now
Ain't worried 'bout tomorrow
When your busy living, feels like dreaming,
Slowly drifting through this perfect day

"Perfect Day"
Lady A

LUCY:

I was ecstatic when Dad said we'd be staying in Tahoe another week. Sure, it meant the full moon would be the same day we got back. Sure, it meant Cedric and I would be doing nothing but homework as soon as we got home. But according to Harry, the Weasleys were in Egypt until the end of August anyway. Truthfully, I wanted to stay in Tahoe as long as possible.

"We're heading to the beach!" came Brandon's voice on our second-to-last full day. "You two coming?"

Jessica glanced toward me, and I shrugged. "Sure. You want to go?"

She pulled her shirt off her shoulder to show the straps of the bikini top she was already wearing. "We'll be right down!"

I glanced at the clock, and jumped slightly. It was 3:58. "I'll meet you down there in a couple minutes," I said, getting to my feet and hurrying up the stairs.

I wrenched the diary out from its hiding place between the mattress and the bedframe and pulled a quill out from my drawer. I flipped to the most recent page of conversations and waited.

The pages of the books were enchanted to glow slightly when there was an unread message. They were also enchanted to erase all of their messages as soon as every page was full to make room for more messages. We hadn't filled the diaries yet, but I reckoned they would be full by the end of summer. Between Ron accidentally getting Harry in trouble with his aunt and uncle and Hedwig not being allowed to send letters, I was the only person from the wizarding world he could talk to, which led to us talking a lot, whenever we could.

I watched Jessica's small electronic clock, waiting for it to read 4:00 (meaning it was midnight in Little Whinging) so I could be first to wish him a happy birthday. I knew that this year, I might be the only one who could.

When 4:00 came, I put my quill to the paper and wrote in my nicest handwriting.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY! I'm sorry I'm not there to celebrate with you in person, but I wanted to be the first person to wish you a happy birthday. Here's to many more years of adventure. (Hopefully the non-lethal type, but I'll be there for you every step of the way anyway.) I hope you're asleep right now, because you should be, but you should see this in the morni-

Before I could even finish writing, a couple of letters began to appear. I set the quill down and laughed to myself as his words appeared.

Okay, first of all, you're one to talk when it comes to sleeping habits. But thanks, Lucy, I'll admit I was happy to see the pages start glowing. I didn't even realize how late it was.

Working on homework?

Yeah, that essay about Wendelin the Weird

How fun. Well, I'll leave you to it because you really should be sleeping

Harry's handwriting was shaky, and I had learned that meant he was laughing as he tried to write.

Lucy, again with the sleeping thing

But happy birthday again

Thanks, Lu, I'll talk to you later

Good night, Harry!

I closed the diary and quickly changed into shorts and a loose Gryffindor t-shirt. The more time I spent around Jessica, the more confident I felt in my body in spite of my scars. She never stared, and she never asked questions, and I loved her for it. Cedric had explained to them both at some point what had happened, and they left it at that. I was still much too shy to wear any kind of swimsuit, but I'll admit that it was nice not to be suffocating in jeans and long-sleeved shirts in the 30 degree weather. (Or 90 degrees, as Brandon and Jessica said.)

"Where have you been?" Jessica called, gesturing for me to join her on the towel as our brothers tossed a football back and forth.

"Got distracted," I answered, pulling my hair up into a ponytail.

She narrowed her dark eyes at me. "Hmm."

"What do you mean, hmm?" I asked, feeling my cheeks heat with something other than sunburn.

She studied me a second further before shaking her head. "Never mind. I'll get it out of you eventually."

"Get what out of me?"

"Oh, we'll see. Do you want me to braid your hair?"

"Sure," I relented, knowing that she would have braided my hair eventually even if I had said no. I scooped some sand out in front of her so I could sit in the depression and be at the right level for her to do whatever she wanted. We'd spent most of our afternoons this way, the boys in the water and us on the sand. Sometimes we threw the football between the four of us, sometimes we'd play an informal version of volleyball in the sand. I even went in the water from time to time, never that deep, but deep enough to let the freezing water cool my sun-baked skin and watch the minnows flash around my feet.

This afternoon was little different. Jessica and I sat in comfortable silence at first as she braided my hair, then we wandered into our typical game that she called 20 questions. We rarely actually answered 20 questions, either losing interest after 10 or going on well past 30, but it was a fun way to pass the time while our brothers did whatever brothers do. This time, however, was different.

"Should I start, or should you?" Jessica asked.

"Do you have a question already? I don't."

"I'll go first, then. What's the most bizarre compliment you've ever received?"

I pursed my lips. "That's hard." I twisted my ring out of habit, then jumped. "Oh! I know! I told you about how the ring is a mood ring that's half me and half my best friend, yeah?"

"Yeah, you did."

"Well, there's this kid at school who acts like he's better than everyone else most of the time. He hates Harry and Ron and Hermione, and just about everyone else I care about, but when he overheard me explaining to someone else about how the ring works, he was actually sort of impressed. He implied that I was good at charms and told me I should stick to that instead of playing Quidditch."

"What a jerk!" she exclaimed.

"Trust me, coming from Draco Malfoy, that was a high compliment," I replied with a sarcastic snort. "Alright, my turn... um, if you could instantly perfect one single magical skill, what would it be?"

"You know, now that you ask, charms. I'd love to be able to make cool things like your ring."

I blushed slightly, thinking about how much harder the secret diaries had been. "It wasn't too difficult, honestly. You could probably figure it out. I got lucky."

"Oh, shut up. You're too humble. It's a seriously cool piece of magic you did there. But I digress. If you could have one of your friends from school here with you, who would it be?" she asked. "I'll let you count the twins as one person, if that helps."

I laughed. "Thanks, but the answer is actually easy and straightforward. Harry."

"Harry? As in Harry Potter?"

I nodded, or at least as well as I could while her fingers tugged at my hair. "Yeah. His family isn't the best. I bet he'd love it here anyway, but I wish I could help by getting him away for a little bit." I cleared my throat, asking my question before she could ask for more details. "What's your happiest memory? Ever?"

She paused. "That's a good one."

"You can think about it. I don't mind waiting."

The braid forming on the back of my head got looser as her mind wandered. "One time, my best friend and I snuck out in the middle of the night, completely spontaneously, and managed to make it outside without getting caught. While we were outside, it started snowing for the first time that year. It was super late, and it felt like the snow had come just for us. We stayed out as long as we could, and as soon as it got too cold, we headed back to our common room, where we thawed out by the fire and fell asleep on top of each other."

A wistful sigh escaped my lips. "That sounds amazing."

"It was. Can I ask the same question back to you, or is that cheating?"

"I don't know what my answer is," I chuckled, "so I'll say it's cheating. Ask me a different question."

"Okay. Well, what's your saddest memory? Maybe not worst, necessarily, but saddest."

An image popped into my mind immediately. "This happened last year," I said, not even thinking twice before the story started pouring out of me. "It was right before my second Quidditch match. My friends and I had... well, disagreed, I guess, but Harry and I were starting to get more comfortable, joking with each other before the match just to alleviate some of our nerves. I was genuinely excited to play, because it would have been my first match against Cedric, but my Head of House came out onto the field and told us to go back to our common rooms immediately. Everyone knew something was wrong right away, and I can still see in my mind's eye the terrified look on Cedric's face. But before he could get to me, Professor McGonagall told Harry and Ron and I to follow her, so we did, and it turned out that my best friend, the fourth person in our little group so to speak, had been petrified."

"Petrified? Like... by a basilisk?"

I nodded again. "She was totally fine later, of course, but I just remember feeling so... hopeless. I had promised to protect her, but I couldn't."

She let out a low, sympathetic whistle. "Ilvermorny has never had something like that happen to us. I can't even imagine how horrifying that must have been."

"Thankfully, no one died," I said. "Everyone was okay in the end."

"That's good. But still..."

"Yeah, still... anyway, what's your favorite song?"

"Lucy," she laughed, "do you really expect to switch topics just like that?"

I managed an embarrassed giggle. "Yeah, I guess I did. Do you want to keep asking me questions?"

"I mean, yeah! A basilisk in your school? That's crazy!"

"If we start talking about Hogwarts being crazy now, we'll never stop!" I declared.

"We've got all the time in the world," she replied, tying off the braid with a hair tie. "And for the record, 'Boot Scootin' Boogie' by Brooks and Dunn. I'll play it for you tonight."

(I had never heard a song like it, but by the end of the night, I knew every word. Jessica and I danced around her room until we collapsed onto our beds in fits of giggles. That night, I dreamt of cowboys in a dimly-lit bar spinning me in circles.)

It seemed I had just closed my eyes that night before a persistent rapping at the door yanked me from sleep.

"Who, wha-?" Jessica called.

The door banged open to reveal our brothers, grinning from ear to ear.

Jessica launched a pillow at Brandon. "What d'you want?"

He flicked the light on. "The Diggorys have to see a sunrise before they leave! C'mon!"

"Fine, fine," Jessica groaned. "Lucy, you up?"

"Yeah, I am," I said as I sat up. "What time is it?"

"5:30!" Cedric said cheerfully. "See you girls downstairs!"

I smiled. "See you there."

Jessica and I stumbled around in the dark, clumsily changing into shorts and t-shirts. I slipped my birthday gift from Cedric under my shirt --- with less than two days to my transformation, I was already uncomfortably hot, something that would not be remedied by the summer weather.

"This reminds me of Quidditch practices," I said, feeling more alert by the second. "Our captain woke us up at-"

"The butt crack of dawn?" she chuckled.

I laughed. "Yeah, that. I enjoyed it, actually. This isn't the worst."

"Well, I've never played Quidditch, so this is cruel and unusual punishment for me."

Despite her complaining, we arrived in the living room a couple minutes later. Cedric pulled me to his side in a gentle hug. "Ready to make the most of our last day?"

I nodded. "I'm counting on it."

There's nothing quite like watching a sunrise on a lake, especially one like Lake Tahoe. None of us spoke as the sky and the water alike were painted in beautiful colors. The chill morning air clung to the exposed skin of my face and neck and hands, but it didn't feel heavy. It just felt... present. It was there. And I was glad it was there.

The reverent moment was interrupted by someone's stomach growling, so we headed up to the cabin to make one last (huge) batch of pancakes. My pre-full-moon stomach helped me set a record for most pancakes eaten in a single sitting; even Brandon was impressed. Brandon and Jessica played cribbage downstairs while Cedric and I packed. I was nearly done when he came in to check on me.

"What do you want to do today, Lu?" he asked as he leaned against the door frame.

I studied his face and huffed a laugh. "You look like you have something in mind."

He grinned. "Only if you're up for it, of course."

I tried to cock an eyebrow, but the motion only made him snicker slightly. "Now I'm nervous," I said.

"Lu, I swear that riding a Jet Ski is in the top three greatest experiences of my life. You should do it before we leave."

I gnawed on my lower lip. "You really think so?"

"You don't have to," he said quickly, "but you could ride with me. I wouldn't let anything happen. You know, I've never really asked, but what scares you about the water, anyway?"

I shuddered as various images came to mind. "I just... the thought of drowning is terrifying. Being surrounded on all sides by something you can't even really see that's pressing you down and suffocating you just-"

"Hey, it's okay," he said, knowing to interrupt me before I spiraled into more anxious thoughts. "If I promise not to let you drown, will you ride with me?"

I waited a second before nodding, just to make him nervous. I figured I might as well take advantage of every last unique opportunity in Tahoe before we left, no matter what it was. "Sure. But I'm not going to try to convince Jessica."

"Don't worry. That's Brandon's job. I knew he was the only one who stood a chance of convincing her, so I-"

A squawk of "No way!" could be heard below us.

"Sounds like it's going well," I commented. "Hey, Ced, if I do this, you reckon you could rally for a bonfire tonight? Jessica and I talked about that, apparently while you and Brandon were scheming about the Jet Skis."

He chuckled. "You know what, that's fair. You face your fear, I face mine."

"What scares you about fire?"

It was his turn to shudder. "It's so unpredictable. And so damaging. I know what you mean about drowning, but I imagine being on fire would be so much worse. With water, there's a way out, if you can find it. There's always a way up. But once a fire has started..." He shuddered again. "It takes a lot to make it stop."

I nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. Well, we'll keep the fire under control tonight. And all else fails, there will be millions of liters of water right there next to the fire pit."

"You have a point," he admitted with a laugh. "And you'll be wearing a life jacket, so you won't drown."

"Do they have one small enough for me?" I asked.

The answer was no. But as I stood on the dock, in a swimsuit for the first time in probably five years or more, Cedric was determined to make it work.

He yanked a strap as tightly as he possibly could, grunting with the effort of it. "Is that any better?" he asked, his grey eyes analyzing the situation.

"Yeah, it's tighter," I said.

"I'll tighten the rest if you want," Brandon offered.

"You just want an excuse to escape your sister's murderous glare," I accused jokingly.

Jessica huffed. "You got that right. I can't believe you agreed so readily, Lucy. Are you absolutely crazy?"

"Maybe I am," I chuckled. Cedric grunted as he tightened the next strap. "I don't know if it has to be quite so tight, Ced, you've had a lot of practice driving at this point. I know you won't flip it."

"Oh, he's not worried about flipping it," Brandon called, jumping on a Jet Ski and pulling his sister down behind him. I could have sworn he was smirking as he revved the engine and pulled away. "Meet you out there!"

"What does he mean by that?" I asked as Cedric yanked on the last strap.

He shrugged.

"You're a horrible liar."

He shrugged again, jumping on the front and offering me his hand and a smile. "Hold on tight, okay?"

"Oh, I get it now. You're worried that I'll fly off because I'm small and light, huh?"

"Yeah, that's it," he muttered unconvincingly. "Grab on."

I wrapped my arms around Cedric's torso and pressed my face to his life jacket. I took a deep breath. "Okay. Go ahead."

I was glad to be holding on as tight as I was. The Jet Ski lurched forward with unprecedented speed, and I instinctively shut my eyes. A bitingly cold wind whipped around us, but I had never felt so comfortable before a full moon in my life. It was invigorating.

I cracked my eyes open and watched as small white-capped waves rushed out of our way. I opened my eyes further and lifted my head.

"See, Lu? Nothing to be afraid of."

"Whoa," I breathed, glancing around.

It was still early enough in the morning that the four of us were the only people we could see on the water. In front of us, blue seemed to stretch on forever; only the mountains and trees separated the lake from the sky. I found myself recalling something Jessica had said.

I know it sounds like a sappy tourist thing, but we always say that here the fabric is thin between heaven and earth.

In that moment, I believed it.

I slowly loosened my grip on my brother. He instantly glanced over his shoulder at me. "You okay, Lu?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay." I took a deep breath and managed a smile. "This is..."

When I couldn't find the right word, he turned back around and nodded. I could hear the smile in his voice as he replied. "I know."

We continued on in a straight line until we reached the middle of the lake. Brandon and Jessica signaled for us to stop, so Cedric killed the engine.

"Ready to show the girls some real speed?" Brandon called.

"Yeah!" Cedric called back, the engine roaring to life again.

"Real speed?" I squeaked. "But that was already so-"

Cedric gunned it. An involuntary scream escaped me. I barely got my arms around him in time. I could tell he was laughing.

"It's not funny!" I shrieked, but the sound of my own laughter betrayed me. After a couple minutes, I loosened my grip and sat back up, not wanting to miss this view even if the speed terrified me. I tried not to think about the water below me. I focused instead on the smell of the pine trees in the air, and the way the sun had lightened Cedric's hair to a more caramel color in the past weeks, and the sound of the purring machine cutting through the waves.

Or so I thought. Before I knew what was happening, the Jet Ski became airborne and splashed back down. And before I registered that, I was airborne again, this time without the Jet Ski. I screamed again before I hit the water, but my scream was cut short as my head was fully submerged.

With a single kick and the help of my life jacket, I bobbed to the surface again. Cedric whirled the Jet Ski around.

"Are you okay?" he shouted.

I flashed a thumbs-up as I coughed some of the lake water up. "Yeah!" I croaked.

Brandon turned around too. "You good? That was some serious air!"

I laughed. "Glad I could impress you!"

Cedric hauled me back onto the Jet Ski. "Sorry about that," he chuckled. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, just wet."

He smirked. "Only one way to fix that."

I wrapped my arms around him just as he gunned it again. This time, I also looped my fingers around the straps, for an extra layer of launch protection. It seemed to help, because I wasn't bucked off again.

As promised, I was almost completely dry by the time we returned to the dock.

"That was more fun than I'd like to admit," I said softly to my brother as we shed our life jackets. "Thanks for convincing me to do that, Ced."

"Of course, Lu. That was the easy part."

I offered an encouraging smile. "Your end of the bargain comes tonight. Oh, watch out!"

I elbowed him out of the way and jumped up to catch the football Brandon had lobbed at his head.

"Rude!" Cedric called.

Brandon laughed. "I had to get your attention somehow."

I launched the ball back at Brandon, and laughed as he jumped too high and landed on his butt in the sand. "Karma!"

"Oh, you asked for it!" He stood to his feet and sent the ball flying at me. I caught it against my chest, but the sheer force of the ball knocked me off balance, and I splashed down into the water.

I kicked to the top in a panic with no life vest to help me. Cedric was already offering a hand up. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, grabbing his hand and scrambling back to the safety of the dock. "I'm not hurt. Just don't like the water."

"Do you want to head up to the cabin and catch your breath?"

"It's okay," I said with a shake of my head. I snatched the ball up and tucked it under my elbow. "Hey, Brandon, pick on someone your own size!" I teased.

"With an arm like yours, you'd think you were my size!" he protested. "Not my fault you're tiny!"

"Tiny, huh?" I called, sprinting toward where he stood on the beach. I wound up as I got closer, planning to peg him with the ball. "You better hope you're faster than me!"

A flicker of genuine uncertainty flickered across his face, and I was suddenly laughing too hard to throw the ball. The rest of the day passed that same way, bantering back and forth and tossing the football and splashing in the water and turning pink under the summer sun.

Later in the afternoon, I volunteered to help Brandon build the fire while Cedric and Jessica got the food together.

"I usually build what I call a chimney," he explained as we got firewood from the side of their cabin. "Try to grab two pieces of wood that look kind of like this."

I studied what his arms already held and reached for one that looked similar. "Like this?"

He nodded. "Exactly. You got it?"

I wrinkled my nose. "What, you think it's too heavy for me?"

He raised his eyebrows and tried not to look surprised as I grabbed two massive pieces of wood. "No, apparently not."

"Apparently?"

He shook his head as we trudged back down to the fire pit on the sand. "You're full of surprises."

I felt a blush creep to my cheeks as I recalled the last time someone had told me that. "So I've been told."

"Oh, I know what we should play tonight. Remind me about it later. Time to build a fire!"

I watched as he arranged the wood into a square. While he went to get a couple more pieces of firewood, he sent me off in search of dry brush. I returned with a bunch of dead pine needles and leaves, and dumped them in the middle as he placed his wood on top of the little "chimney" he had formed.

"Now we just need a wand and a good old-fashioned fire spell," I commented.

He grinned. "Time for some No-Maj technology," he replied as he reached into his pocket for a slim metal box. "This is a lighter. If you flip the lid back-"

I jumped as it clicked to life, a small flame suddenly coming from the corner.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

I nodded. "Muggles, I mean No-Majs, are surprising sometimes. That's brilliant!"

"Comes in handy over summer while our wands are stuck at Ilvermorny," he replied with a shrug. "Now, you want to try to catch the dry brush first, because that will burn most easily. Once part of it catches, blow on it. It'll make it bigger."

I leaned as close as I dared, inhaling deeply. "Now?"

"Now!"

I blew as hard as I could, and the flames danced across the brush. I recoiled slightly, surprised by what I had done.

"Attagirl! Watch it grow! Try again!"

I blew again, and the fire continued to grow. By the time Cedric and Jessica had returned with sweatshirts, a picnic basket, and things that looked like stretched-out forks, the fire was glowing merrily against the darkening sky.

"Hot dogs, corn on the cob, and everything we need for s'mores!" Jessica announced. "Oh, and a few cans of soda, of course."

I sat close to Cedric as we started roasting our hot dogs over the fire, just in case he got scared, but he seemed to be alright. He was in high spirits, though I knew he was just as sad to be leaving in a couple of hours as I was.

I had finished half of my hot dog when Brandon announced that we had to play a game.

"I was thinking Two Truths and a Lie," he announced.

"Ooh, that's perfect!" Jessica agreed. "Have you two played before?"

We shook our heads.

"What games do you play at school? If you don't play this, or twenty questions?"

"Exploding Snap, wizard's chess," I said with a shrug. "Quidditch."

"These are much more fun. Anyway, you play by saying three things about yourself, but only two of them are true. We have to guess which one is false. I'll start." She chewed thoughtfully on her hot dog for a moment before speaking again. "Let's prohibit siblings from guessing the lie, if possible. Otherwise it's too easy."

We all nodded our agreement.

She swallowed and nodded. "Okay, I know. I made out with a prefect last year, I've dyed my hair purple, and I once charmed my friend's hat to make it sing every time she put it on. Which one do you think is the lie?"

No one answered right away.

"You haven't dyed your hair purple?" I guessed.

"Nope! I did it on a dare last year! Guess again!"

"There's no way you snogged Tyler!" Brandon laughed. "I call BS!"

Her smirk told us all we needed to know. We all laughed loudly.

"I didn't think you would ever charm someone's hat to sing," Cedric said. "That's complicated magic just for a prank."

"Yep! That was the lie."

"It is possible, though," I said. "Or at least, I think it is. I charmed someone's underwear once."

Jessica chuckled. "Save it for your turn, you'll run out of material. That's a lie, obviously."

"No, seriously," I laughed. "I did! They changed my hair to red, I charmed their underwear to scream at them. Fair is fair."

Brandon choked on his hot dog. "Like I said, I guess. Full of surprises. Your turn."

"Alright. Uh..." I bit my lip. "I've been to the Forbidden Forest three times, I was blinded by a professor who tried to fix my broken nose, and I'm a huge Holyhead Harpies fan. Which is the lie?"

Cedric looked at me, bewildered. I snickered and looked to the twins for their reactions.

"There's no way a professor blinded you," Jessica said. "Right?"

"Unfortunately, that one is true."

"What? No way!"

Cedric nodded to back me up. "She took a Bludger to the face during a Quidditch match that broke her nose. Our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at the time tried to fix it up, but he blinded her for a month instead."

"That's insane! Well, so you must be bluffing about the Forbidden Forest."

I shook my head. "Nope, I've been three times. I'm a Magpies fan."

"How the heck am I supposed to compete with that?" Brandon chuckled, shaking his head.

"Let me guess," I laughed, "I'm full of surprises?"

He nodded. "Okay, my turn. I once knocked our referee out cold during a Quidditch match with a Bludger, I asked Peyton out while I was in the infirmary with a concussion, and I would be playing No-Maj football if I weren't, you know, a wizard."

"There's no way you knocked a referee out," Cedric guessed.

"Yeah, you got me. I honestly forgot I had asked Peyton out until I woke up holding her hand three days later. She'll never let me live down how un-romantic that was."

I giggled. "Honestly, I think it's sweet. If someone asked me to be their girlfriend while they were half-dead, it'd be hard to say no."

"I guess she felt the same way. Your turn, Ced."

He pursed his lips. "Harry Potter beat me to the Snitch last year at the age of eleven, I can produce a patronus charm, and I was in the same room as Madam Pomfrey, our school's healer, when she was petrified my first year."

"You see, I feel like this should be easy," Brandon said slowly, "but it's not, because Hogwarts is that crazy."

"Tell us about it," Cedric said with a wry grin. He looked at me. "Try the Philosopher's Stone next. See if they believe that you helped rescue it."

Jessica pressed her hands to her head. "One freaky thing at a time! I'm going to guess Harry didn't beat you."

"Nope, he did."

"I really want to guess the last one, but I'm going to have to say you can't produce a patronus."

"Correct! I can't. I think it's a sixth- or seventh-year spell."

"I can't wait to learn how to cast a patronus," I said with a sigh. "They're so pretty!"

"Right?" Jessica agreed excitedly. "I haven't been able to cast one yet, but I have a friend whose patronus is a dragon. It's so cool."

My jaw dropped. "I didn't even know that was possible. I want mine to be a dragon!" I laughed. "Anyway, your turn again, Jess."

And so the night went on in a blur of smoke and laughter. The sun sank lower and lower until it dipped behind the mountains. To see a sunrise and a sunset on the same day was something I'd done several times before, especially the past year with all of my sleepless nights, but there was something particularly magical about that day. Something about being with my brother, being with our new friends, being on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Something about how for all of the pain I'd been through in the past year, beautiful things still waited on the other side. It would have been easy, too easy, to mourn the fact that we were leaving, but as I sat there, my head against Cedric's shoulder and plucking the gooey marshmallow off of the tip of my campfire fork, I felt nothing but contentment.

My eyes glittered with tears as we said our final goodbyes that night. Jessica hugged me tightly, promising to write as often as she could. Brandon picked me up and spun me around, saying he'd see me on the Quidditch Pitch one day when I was playing for England, or maybe on an American football field. I smiled bravely, not letting the tears fall until I was alone in my room back home. I buried my face in Tuck's fur and held tight for several minutes as reality settled back in. The full moon was coming. As amazing as my vacation had been, the moon didn't stop for anything or anyone.

August 2, 1993 - 9:30 AM

Hi, Harry! Well, I'm home from America, but I think the time difference is messing with me. I don't feel great. If I'm a little slow to reply, it's because I'm sleeping it off. I hope your birthday was better this year than last year!

August 2, 1993 - 9:30 PM

I'm sorry you're sick! Feel better soon! My birthday was actually much, much better. Hermione, Ron, and Hagrid all managed to send me things, so that was a pleasant surprise. Everything arrived shortly after you wished me a happy birthday, funny enough, so it's a good thing I was awake so late. I won't be able to talk too much the next couple of days, either --- my Aunt Marge is here. Well, she's not my Aunt Marge, but that's what I've always had to call her. My family told her that I attend St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys, so I've had to keep up that facade. I wouldn't be able to bear it if it weren't for getting my Hogsmeade slip signed. My uncle said he'd sign it as long as I didn't say anything about my "abnormality," as they call it. I hope to talk to you soon!

August 4, 1993 --- 11:42 AM

Sorry it's taken me so long to reply. I was more sick than I realized. Best of luck with your relative! That sounds like a nightmare. From what I've heard, Hogsmeade is worth it, though, so I hope it works out for you.

I'm glad you're feeling better! So far so good, I think. I hope it's good enough. Only time will tell, I suppose.

I have faith in you. Keep your head up, Harry. You can do it.

Thanks, Lu. I hope so.

August 7, 1993 --- 8:30 PM

Lucy, I messed up. I'm writing by the light of a street lamp. I can't go back there. I

August 7, 1993 --- 8:52 PM

I'm so sorry, Harry, I just saw this! What's going on? Is everything okay? I won't leave until I hear back from you. I promise.

August 7, 1993 --- 10:03 PM

I'm okay. I'm in the Leaky Cauldron now. I don't know how to explain what happened

It's okay, Harry. I'm glad you're okay. Do you want to talk about it?

I blew up my aunt.

What?

I accidentally made her glass explode the other night when she made me angry. I don't remember the last time I lost control of my magic, but I did. And I did it again tonight. I didn't make her explode, but she swelled up like a balloon and I ran away. I wrote to you as soon as I stopped running, but there was a big black dog in the alley behind me, and I freaked out a bit, and before I could keep writing, the Knight Bus showed up. It brought me here, and Cornelius Fudge was waiting for me. I'm not even expelled or anything. I'll be staying here until school starts again.

Sounds like quite the night. I'm so glad you're alright. Just breathe. It's okay now, it's over.

Yeah. Yeah, you're right, it is.

I'm guessing you didn't get your Hogsmeade slip signed?

No. And Fudge refused to sign it, which seemed odd to me. If not even the Minister of Magic can give me permission, who can?

I guess we can keep each other company at school, then. I'm sorry you didn't get yours signed either.

Wait, why isn't yours signed?

It's signed, but Cedric and I aren't allowed to go until Sirius Black is caught again. My parents are terrified of him.

Oh, okay. Well, selfishly, I'm glad I won't be alone.

Selfishly, me too. We'll try to think of something fun to do just the two of us, okay?

Okay. I like the sound of that. I should probably go to sleep, but thanks for staying up to talk to me. I didn't have anyone else tonight.

I'll always be here, Harry, as much as I can be. Just write if you need anything, okay? I'll keep this close while I catch up on homework the next couple weeks.

Okay, thanks. G'night, Lucy.

G'night, Harry.

August 9, 1993 --- 9:13 AM

The Weasleys and Hermione are going to meet me in Diagon Alley the last week of summer holiday! Do you know if you'll be coming then, too?

I wish, but my parents did all of our shopping for us already. Sirius Black again. It's like they expect him to jump out from behind every corner, I swear.

That's too bad. I was really hoping to see you. I miss you.

I miss you too. See you September first?

Write to me before then?

Of course! How have you been?

Honestly, I'm having fun. Being here instead of the Dursleys is better than words can express.

I'm glad you got out, even if circumstances were... less than ideal. To say the least.

All's well that ends well, I suppose!

That's one way to put it, for sure! Sorry, but I should get back to homework. Enjoy Diagon Alley extra for me, since I'm not going this year!

Will do. Bye, Lu!

Bye!

August 13. Four pages.

August 14. Three pages.

August 15-22. Twenty-five pages.

August 22-29. Thirty-two pages.

August 30 --- 2:34 AM

I promise I'll be on the Hogwarts Express, but I'm really sick again. I don't know how much I'll be able to write to you before I see you. Is everything okay? Are Ron and Hermione there with you?

August 30 --- 8:42 AM

Yeah, everything's okay. They're coming today, I think. Don't worry about me, Lu, just take care of yourself. I'm okay. Are you?

September 1 --- 7:14 AM

I'm feeling a little better. I'm not contagious, I promise. Just tired. Excited to see you, though, and Hermione and the Weasleys. See you on the train!

See you there, Lu. Glad you're better. I've missed you.

A/N: Well... that was different! Please let me know what you think down below! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! As always, thank you for reading!