In the Melancholy Moonlight

Chapter CXXXVI: Whiplash

HARRY:

I was still in the common room when Lucy climbed through the portrait hole. She didn't look surprised to see me. She smiled weakly.

"So," she said.

"So." I smiled back for a second before it faded. "Are you alright? Did something happen?"

"I... I've been writing letters," she said, glancing down and wrapping her arms around herself. "I realized I should write one tonight once I got back to my dormitory, and then it showed up. Figured I should trust the room, I guess."

"It's a smart room." That was a dumb thing to say. "It's rather intuitive." Not. Helping. "Does it help?" That's better, at least. Wait, that's still vague— "Writing the letters, I mean?"

"I... yeah, it does. It was Luna's idea. She apparently mentioned it to Henry at the funeral, and it ended up helping him so he mentioned it to me at King's Cross." She clammed up, her face flushing bright red. She still wouldn't meet my eyes. She hadn't been embarrassed around me in quite a while.

"That's good, then," I said with a nod. I was desperate for her to stop looking so... small. Scared. Shut down. After everything I'd just seen for the past couple hours. After I'd seen her so strong, with her chin held so high. Please, Lu, where did you go? "Isn't it?"

Lucy looked up at me. "You don't think I'm insane for writing letters to my dead brother?"

"Oh, no, not at all. I know he... you two were... it makes sense to me. Really. You were close, you told him everything. And, well... I can imagine losing that would be really hard."

That was eloquent.

"Yeah, that's exactly it," she replied in spite of my lack of eloquence. "That's... exactly it." Lucy was silent again for a moment before smiling at me. "Harry, we did it." With that, she rushed across the room and plowed into me. She held onto me as if I were the last person in the world.

"I think that went well," I said, grinning.

She nodded and dragged her sleeves across her face as she pulled away. "I think so too. We did it," she said again, "and we're going to keep doing it." She opened her mouth to say something else, then closed it.

"What?"

"Nothing," she said quickly. Too quickly.

I narrowed my eyes at her. She blushed again.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

I grinned. "Nothing?"

"It's dumb."

"I doubt that."

"It is."

"I still want to hear it."

"Git."

"Prat."

"Fine." Lucy sighed, a sheepish smile on her face. "For half a second, I thought it would be fun if we had a handshake."

"A handshake?"

"Yeah, like... something the two of us could do before or after everything D.A. meeting, or Quidditch matches, or just because. It's dumb, I know—"

"I want a handshake," I interrupted with a grin. "It would be fun to have a handshake with you. Even though you're a prat who doubts herself far too much," I added. "Merlin, Lu, you'd think you were about to suggest we go celebrate the success of the first meeting with champagne in Umbridge's office with how much you were resisting telling me your idea."