In the Melancholy Moonlight

Chapter CXXVIII: What It Isn't

HARRY:

My imagination was incredibly overactive after the way our fireplace conversation had transpired. My hands still shook a bit as I pulled my glasses off my face and crawled into bed. I tossed and turned quite a bit before dropping off to sleep, but eventually, I did. And with the sleep came the nightmares, one after the other after the other after the other. All of the nightmares I'd had about Lucy since Cedric died, back to back to back to back.

The dragon's spiky tail slammed directly into where she was sitting in the stands.

I reached the bottom of the Black Lake to find her lifeless with her eyes frozen open in terror.

The green light of the Killing Curse sent her flying backward across the graveyard.

I watched as black smoke snaked around her body and obscured her from view.

The full moon appeared in the sky overhead, and just like that, she was gone.

I listened to soul-splitting screams in complete blackness, I knew it was the caves.

The best way to describe Lucy's face after a dementor encounter was haunted, and I finally understood why.

I tried to yank Umbridge's quill from Lucy's grasp, but I must not tell lies was carved into her skin over and over and over.

The floor gave way, and we fell.

I felt as if the world had stopped when Lucy's name was pulled from the Goblet of Fire.

When I opened my eyes, the sun was beginning to rise. I let my eyes sink shut again, exhaustion pulling down on every part of me, but flashes of my nightmares appeared again so I pushed myself out of bed.

Just nightmares. Nothing you haven't experienced before. Just a little while longer, then she'll be back. Sirius said she'd be back today, and the initial letter said she'd be back beofre dinner, assuming no complications arose.

No complications? Since when has THAT ever worked out for us?

I sighed to myself as I made my way down the stairs to the common room. To my surprise, it wasn't empty.

"Ginny?"

She whirled around. "Oh, hi Harry. What're you doing up so early?"

"I could ask you the same question," I replied, heading over to the rug in front of the fire where she was sitting. "Is everything alright?"

"Could be worse," she said dismissively. She shrugged. "Nightmares. I just like coming to sit by the fire down here when it happens. I... well, Lucy is down here nearly every time I come down, and I was half-asleep and I thought she might be down here this morning before I remembered she wouldn't be."

"Well, I, er, I was heading down to Hagrid's to feed Tuck and Fang since she's not here. Do you want to come with me?"

"Yeah, actually, that sounds better than staring into the fire wishing the world wasn't falling apart."

I grinned. "You can wish that while petting one or both dogs. C'mon, let's go."

Ginny and I made our way through the morning mist to Hagrid's hut. I was expecting the sound of claws scraping against the floor and excited barking, but instead, the first sound I heard when the door opened was Ginny's high-pitched squeak.

Lucy whirled around just in time to intercept Ginny's hug. She glanced up at me, a small amused smile on her face despite the still-haunted look in her eyes. "You out here recruiting help, Potter? Are both dogs too much for you to handle on your own?"