Chapter 20: Courageous Camping 

That night Lucy slept soundlessly, dreaming about many things. She still felt a little shocked at Fred's actions, however. Why did he come after her like that? It was just plain wrong considering he was going out with Angelina now. Besides, he would never win her back after what he did as it had upset Lucy too much. They were just not meant to be. 

Despite this fact Lucy still enjoyed the fighting she had done in the Ministry of Magic, (even if Snape, Shona, Fudge, Dean and herself had been chased out afterwards) she felt a lot better for it. Especially now that she knew that she could use other things other than magic. She knew she would still have to use magic but now that she could use other weapons, it made her fighting methods expand. 

As she turned in her peaceful sleep she wondered about Matthew Jarvin. She had only seen him in Transfiguration earlier and he seemed to be only talking to her when necessary, he was doing a good job at keeping his feelings to himself. But Lucy was still extremely confused about him, what would she do with him? He would obviously be tired of being just friends after some time, wouldn't he? 

Just then a rock hit her window, it disturbed Lucy causing her to sit bolt upright as soon as she awoke. She rubbed her eyes and let them adjust in the darkness before another rock hit her window. She got up despite her brain protesting that she needed sleep and opened up a window just as a rock was about to hit it. She caught the rock and threw it back out her window, letting whoever out there know she was awake. But she knew who it was already, just judging by the rocks. 

"Matt?" Lucy yawned. 

"Lucy, come down," Matt urged and as Lucy looked down into the darkness she saw Matt pulling one of his cocky smiles. Lucy rubbed her eyes once more and yawned again, her sleeping pattern had already been interrupted yesterday night and she wished it wouldn't be disturbed again. 

"It's eleven o'clock at night," Lucy moaned. 

"Exactly," Lucy could practically hear the smile in his voice. "We'll have less of a chance of being spotted!" 

"And...?" Lucy asked in a stupid tone, she didn't even know what she was saying as she was that tired. 

"I told you I'd show you where me and my friends battle sometime and that time is now! So lets go!" 

"Now?" 

"Now. Come on, it'll be fun!" Matt urged her as mumbles echoed through the drifting mist. 

"Who's that?" Lucy asked curiously. 

Matt remained silent for a moment before speaking. "Friends." 

"Look, Matt, I really don't want to come now, I'm too tired. Maybe another time?" 

Matt sighed and bit his lip even though Lucy couldn't see it properly as she didn't have her glasses on as well as the darkness creating a thin curtain of blindness between them also. "If you want to but you'll be missing out on something." 

"Oh OK fine, I'll come," she said distracted as she watched her door carefully to make sure she hadn't woken Snape. "I'll get changed and I'll be out in a moment." 

"Oh...you might want to take some camping stuff too," Matt called innocently. Lucy looked at him strangely. "Just do as I say." 

It was too late to argue now so Lucy just flung her hands around blindly looking for items and got changed. She flinched at every creak of the floorboards and listened to every noise that occurred in this late hour. Eventually she was ready. Lucy wore a skirt, tennis shoes and a Gryffindor t-shirt with a cardigan in case it got too cold. She had packed a bag with a sleeping bag with some snacks as well as a torch. But before she looked out her window and bothered to listen to the voice and to see the shadows in the decreasing mist, she put on her glasses for good measure. 

Lucy slowly walked into the hallway to check her dad's bedroom. The door was wide open and Lucy could see Snape fast asleep, it appeared not even an earthquake could wake his deep slumber. Just like her father, Lucy was a heavy sleeper. Lucy smiled before shutting the door carefully and creeping back over to her window. 

"Jump," Matt mouthed. 

"Down there?!" Lucy looked completely shocked. 

Matt shrugged. "I'll catch you." 

Lucy stood on the ledge of her window and prepared to jump. Matt opened his arms invitingly before Lucy stepped off of the ledge and jumped into Matt's arms. Lucy made a slight noise as Matt put her down. Laughs erupted as lights flashed around and Lucy finally got to see Matt's 'friends.'

"Shona?" Lucy called into the darkness. 

"E.T GO HOME! — Oh...hi!" Shona laughed as she realised she was being watched. She waved in her silhouette form to Lucy. Lucy peered over to another shadow, which lead to even more. 

"Ben? Ginny? Neville? Wait Ron and Harry too?" 

"Matt's been trying to get in our good books," Shona said as Lucy's eyes got used to the dark even more as she shivered in the cool night. Ben had a navy blue t-shirt on as well as jeans, Shona wore a green hoodie while Ron was stood there stuffing his face with chocolate. 

"Only way to win Ron's heart is through food," Matt murmured into Lucy's ear and she giggled slightly in response. Matt walked forward and lead them on, Lucy nervously but excitedly followed. Leaving Snape soon far behind. 

About half an hour later they were all hiking up a large mountain leading to an increase in the valley. As they neared the top, Lucy caught up with Shona. 

"So are Ben and Shona sitting in a tree yet?" Lucy asked Shona in a quiet whisper. 

"We haven't even got near the tree," Shona replied glumly and her shoulders slumped. Lucy sighed in response. 

"You should have got there before Ellen." 

"I know but Ellen is far quicker than me," Shona muttered before whispering in a solemn tone. "Ellen snogged him the other day." 

"No!" Lucy gasped in shock. She looked back at Ben as he talked happily to Harry. 

"He was standing there and she forced himself onto him," Shona sniffed. "I've seen her stalking him as well, I've got no chance." 

"Doesn't mean to say he doesn't like you." 

"Are you kidding me? Ellen is one of the most popular girls in the school, blonde hair, she wears lots of make up and she gets anything she wants." 

Lucy shrugged and was about to speak until Ben quickened his pace and caught up with the two girls. He smiled making Shona tremble. "I-I heard this place is amazing, I can't wait to camp there." 

"Camp?" Ben repeated. 

"Yes, we're camping overnight," Shona added as Ben nodded. 

"I can't go! Snape will — " Lucy began but Matt silenced her worries.

"Don't worry, Lucy, I'll get you back before then!" Matt called from the front of the queue. 

"I'll get you back if he forgets, don't worry," Shona added as Lucy noticed Ben secretly smiling at Shona until he noticed Lucy looking at him. He didn't shy away but gave her a simple nod before turning away as though nothing happened and walked ahead. 

"You think the tree is far away? I think you're already climbing it!" Lucy laughed as Shona smiled slightly. But soon there were gasps from all of the group apart from Matt as he already knew what was up ahead. 

The mountains held a secret pocket inside, it was like a long grassy field but was maintained by someone or something. It laid down by the mountains and made a large slanting wall around it, but someone had carved steps into the side of the mountain to make it easier for them all to climb down. There were three tents parked almost unnoticeably in the middle and there was an ember glow coming from a fire in the middle. There was an open cave to the left side of the valley where a light ember appeared from as well and it looked like another entrance to under the castle for the Resistance. 

The group settled themselves comfortably in the middle of the wonder, warming themselves up as Lucy shook hands with a couple of Resistance fighters who'd come to snoop. They bowed to her and murmured their greatest respects for the descendants. They set up their things as Shona roasted s'mores over the fire. 

"This is fantastic," Lucy muttered. One of the commanding Resistance fighters nodded. 

"It is a very beautiful place. In my land, never has so much beauty been seen by innocent eyes. My people never imagine the Wizarding world like this, it is out imagination that drives us to continue," he finished, it was apparent that he came from the Medieval Islands like most of the Resistance. Lucy just nodded. 

"Wise words," Ben said as he sat down and ate one of the s'mores. Matt had put up his tent and sat next to Lucy by the fire. Even though it was nearly midnight no one felt tired, even Lucy had woken up now. As others chatted Ben noticed Shona sitting there by herself and he walked closer. 

"Can I sit here?" He wondered and pointed to the place next to her. 

"Sure," Shona welcomed him and he took a seat on the log next to her. 

"Are you enjoying Quidditch at the moment?" 

"Of course!" Shona grinned. "It's fantastic I'm on the team now." 

"Weren't you before?" 

"No, I didn't make it. First year I wasn't allowed, second year didn't really bother me, there was a lot going on in third year, there was no Quidditch fourth year and Umbridge practically banned Quidditch in fifth year." 

"She banned it?" 

"Well, most of the Gryffindor's got banned so it really wasn't fun at all..." 

"Agreed," Harry said as he walked over. "Quidditch last year wasn't exciting at all." 

"I was one of Umbridge's victims!" Lucy called out, she lifted up her left hand and pointed to it with her right. "You can still kind of see the scar from where she made me write those lines!" 

"She was horrible..." Shona scowled at the memory of Umbrudge. "Want a s'more?" 

"I'm OK," Ben said calmly before looking up at the stars. "Wow..." 

"Fantastic, I've never seen such a sight," Shona gasped as she looked up as well to look up at the stars, which looked like a solar system rather than a blank night sky. 

"I can't believe how bright it is," Ben gazed in wonder as did Lucy. 

Ben and Shona then continued to involve themselves in their conversation about Quidditch as Lucy remembered Matt sitting next to her. 

"Hey, you like the view?" Lucy asked. 

"Oh yes," Matt licked his lips, ridding them from the chocolate that he had put on the s'more he had eaten earlier. There was a lovely humble feeling as all began to socialise happily. It was the only time Lucy had felt the strong force she would have to fight against but at the same time she had the best feeling about the people who would take a stand with her. 

Lucy suddenly lowered her voice like she had earlier. "Why did you invite Ben?" 

"Don't think I know about Shona's little crush on him," Matt gave a low laugh in reply. "I think I'm a good matchmaker," Matt nodded to Shona and Ben who continued to gaze at the stars and talk. Lucy suddenly shivered in the night air, it wouldn't normally bother her as she had spent five years of her life dealing with it. 

"Are you cold?" Matt asked and placed the back of his hand on her cheek. "You are, aren't you?" 

"Just a little, I should have brought a thicker cardigan..." Lucy felt very silly now, she should have known it was going to be this cold. She wrapped her arms defensively around herself as though trying to consume as much heat as possible. 

"Take this — " Matt slipped off his hoodie and placed it around her shoulders. His heat had transferred onto it which then transferred onto Lucy which made her feel a lot better. 

"Thank you," Lucy smiled at him. 

"Don't mention it, I'm not cold anyway," he shrugged and admired the plaid shirt he had on. It took a while for Lucy to warm up properly and just for good measure Matt placed an arm around her. If they were back up at Hogwarts Lucy would have protested for him to get off but Matt was so warm and she even leaned into to him, just to steal some of his heat. 

"Are you sure no one will catch us, Matt?" Lucy wondered all of a sudden. 

"Positive," Shona answered for him as she held out a piece of parchment. "Signed by the headmaster himself. Just give this to any teacher and they'll think nothing of it." 

"So we can just walk into school and no one will suspect anything?" Neville asked. 

"Not at all. We might be going out here regularly training the Resistance so this will come in handy." 

Soon it was time for bed and all said goodnight to each other and crept into their tents. Ben and Matt shared a tent (this worried Lucy) which Shona had dubbed the 'six pack tent' it had caused many people to laugh. Lucy was one of the last awake, Shona had gone over to talk to the Resistance while Lucy cleared up the rubbish which had been left. 

She zipped up Matt's hoodie and tried desperately to keep herself warm while she bent down and picked up various pieces of litter and then threw them in a bin provided. She couldn't stand the mess and she thought she would be the only person who would clear it up. 

She was starting to get bored and didn't realise that someone was standing behind her and when they spoke she almost jumped out of her skin. 

"Do you want to go out with me again?" 

Lucy turned and once again Matt was standing there, dressed in a light blue short sleeved top and pyjama bottoms while he held a battered looking toothbrush. He had nothing on his feet and just looking at him made Lucy cold. 

"Not yet," she smiled. 

"I'll wait 'till next time then," he moaned and brushed his teeth more. Lucy looked at him sadly as she threw the last of the rubbish in the bin. She brushed her hands together and thought desperately, his one sentence had triggered her to go into a blind state of panic. 

"Matt, wait," she said. Despite all her frantic thoughts, that was all she could say. 

Matt automatically stopped himself from walking back to his tent, turned around and spat in a cup and chucked it away. It made Lucy screw her face up a little. He strolled carelessly up to her and didn't look bothered but had an edge that most bad boys had. He had a cocky smile as if to say 'I know what I'm doing.' 

"Look, Matt, I've been in a bit of a dilemma..." 

"It's fine, you know, I'll work it out," he tossed the comment aside like it was unimportant. 

"No it's not like that. I'm not ready for anyone yet. I'm sorry." Lucy remembered her experience earlier, how Fred had chased after her in the Ministry. 

Matt didn't smile at this as he shrugged and kicked the ground softly. Lucy looked awkwardly at the ground as Matt cleared his throat with a simple cough. 

"It's fine," was all he said, he looked deeply disappointed and Lucy felt very guilty, why didn't she tell him earlier? He had suffered being her friend and now he was being rejected, all his effort for nothing.

"I'm going for a walk," she murmured under her breath before taking off to explore the rest of the area. She knew Matt would follow her but she didn't mind, it would give her an excuse to talk to him and sort things out. 

Lucy saw Matt take her side as she walked but he didn't say anything, neither of them did. After Lucy's comment it had made them both feel very confused and upset. 

"Why follow the stupid English girl who's messed up?" She wondered out loud, aiming her thoughts at Matt. 

"Maybe I see something in the stupid English girl," Matt replied. "Maybe I like her." 

"She'll die soon, don't touch what belongs to Satan." 

"Do you believe in that?" Matt asked. 

"No, I was merely using it as an expression." 

"It was a good expression though." 

"Do you think I belong there too?" 

"No, but it was funny." 

They both smiled and it gave Lucy a little more courage to add depth to their conversation that she hoped would last. 

"Tell me some more reasons why you're so into me," Lucy asked, not even thinking her question through. 

"Well, what is there to say really," Matt gazed up at the sky. "I just like you, is there any other way to describe it? Besides, it's hard to describe how you feel." 

Lucy looked away from Matt and up at the sky, it looked so beautiful tonight. She just wished it would make her happy, but it didn't, Matt was just confusing her so much. 

"You remember the other night when I showed you the stars?" Matt asked as they both gazed up into the night. 

"I remember," Lucy nodded. "We were testing out my glasses."

"I read somewhere that the stars are supposed to tell the future." 

Lucy shook her head. "They don't."

"I believe you. You can never tell what's around the corner, there is no foreshadowing in reality only in books." 

Suddenly, without thinking, Lucy walked towards him. Matt didn't see her approach as Lucy stood on her toes bravely before kissing him softly. She let go quickly, feeling disappointed in herself. Matt looked at her almost shocked before holding her face in his hands and pulling her back. Both stood in an embrace for a much more comfortable kiss, much longer and sweeter than the last. They knew it was a sign they wouldn't be together. 

Lucy pulled away slowly and left Matt standing there. He held her hand gently until she slowly took it from his grasp and walked teary eyed back to her tent. Matt watched her closely and felt very sombre as Lucy disappeared from sight. 

*      *      * 

The next morning Lucy awoke to the sound of everyone packing up the tents, except her's and Shona's. She got out of her tent quickly, after gathering her things, and joined everybody else outside. 

"Morning, Lucky!" Shona waved. "Sleep well?" 

Lucy noticed Matt staring at her. "It was...OK." 

Shona then noticed Lucy staring at something so she turned around to address the situation but Matt turned around just in time. Shona looked back at Lucy but she was too busy doing up her bag to notice. 

"What's going on?" Shona frowned. 

Lucy looked up innocently. "What do you mean?" 

"You know what I'm talking about," Shona then nodded to the hoodie Lucy was wearing to jog her memory. Lucy looked down at the hoodie she was wearing and remembered it was Matt's. "So are you going to tell me what's going on?" 

Lucy grabbed hold of Shona's arm and pulled them both out of the way so nobody could eavsdrop. When Lucy had made sure the coast was clear she began explaining what had happened the previous night after she had cleared up the rubbish. 

"Last night I went for a walk with Matt and I kissed him." 

Shona's eyes widened. "Sorry but I thought I just heard you say that you kissed him, are you sure he didn't kiss you." 

"Shona, I think I remember what happened." 

"Well you better elaborate on this because I'm worried." 

"I kissed him because before hand we were talking about the stars and how they were supposed to tell the future and they don't. So I kissed him because I wanted to tell him I didn't want to be with him." 

"Lucy, Lucy, Lucy..." Shona shook her head and almost looked kind for a minute before she whacked her friend over the head with the newspaper she was holding. "THAT IS NOT HOW YOU TELL A GUY YOU DON'T WANT TO BE WITH HIM!" 

"Is everything alright?" 

The two girls looked up to see Ben standing there. Shona held up the newspaper and laughed. 

"Everything's fine!" Shona grinned. 

"No it's not!" Lucy scowled and rubbed the spot on her head where Shona had whacked her newspaper. 

Shona frowned at Lucy but grinned sweetly at Ben. "Don't listen to her, she doesn't know what she's talking about. She never does, come on, Lucy, lets get you back to the castle before you hurt someone else — "  Shona was about to drag Lucy away when Matt appeared too. "Helpful," Shona muttered. 

"I was just wondering what you wanted for breakfast," Matt shrugged but Ben and Shona left the scene leaving Lucy and Matt alone. 

"I think I'll have breakfast up at the castle," Lucy panicked and tried to leave but Matt held her arm before she could run away. 

"Wait a minute," he said and let go of her arm, trusting she would stay put. 

"What is it?" Lucy looked around frantically, looking for an escape route, "Matt, I really need to — " 

"Don't you think we're ready to go on another date?" He asked and Lucy's eyes widened in shock, she still wasn't ready for that. 

"I kissed you yesterday to tell you about the unexpected and what should never be," Lucy replied, Matt didn't say anything and his facial expression did not change. "I know it was stupid but — " 

"It wasn't stupid," Matt whispered. "You know we can make this work if you gave me one more chance." 

"I don't know if I want it to work..." 

"Could you possibly give me one more chance?" Matt paused for a moment. "Please?" He threw in just to remind her he had changed. 

"One more chance, that's all I'm giving you. If you fail this time we'll forget everything that ever happened and go on with life as strangers," Lucy held out her hand. "Agreed?" 

Matt held out his hand. "Agreed." 

The two stared at each other for a moment as though sizing each other up. It wasn't long before they realised their hands were still interlocked in agreement but they felt too awkward to let go. 

Matt spoke finally. "Tonight I'll meet you outside the Gryffindor common room and we'll go on a date together, is that alright with you?" 

"It's fine with me," Lucy nodded. 

"I'll meet you at nine o'clock," Matt was about to leave when Lucy stopped him. "What?" 

"You're forgetting something — " Lucy began unzipping the hoodie she still had on that belonged to Matt but he stopped her hand from unzipping the hoodie any further. 

"You can keep it." 

"But — " 

"I insist," he smiled. 

"I — " 

"Besides, you look cute in that," and with that Matt left. Lucy zipped the hoodie back up and smiled a little but she still had to wonder why she kept giving Matt all these chances.