In the Melancholy Moonlight

Chapter CLVIII: Man on a Mission

Maybe you could save my soul
From all the things that I don't know

So pray for me brother
I need redemption
I'm just a man
A man on a mission
I want no trouble
I want no trouble
I want no trouble
I want no trouble

Pray for me sister
Give me a mention
I got no faith
And oh, did I mention
I want no trouble
I want no trouble
I want no trouble
I want no trouble

"Trouble"
Imagine Dragons

~

GEORGE:

Though she wasn't fooling any of us, Lucy continued to insist she was alright, and since she did really seem to feel better once we left St. Mungo's, we didn't press her. Once we got back to Grimmauld Place, she seemed nearly normal except for the sickly coloration of her face, so we all exchanged subtle looks and shrugs as we followed her into the sitting room.

Lucy smiled at me as she turned around. "Do you have truth or dare with you?"

"Of course we do," Fred answered before I could even truly register the question. "Grab my arm, you can come with me to grab it."

She did, and the two disappeared with a crack.

"What the hell happened?" I asked the room at large. "Why is she like this?"

Harry shook his head and sighed. "Lockhart, Sloane, Mungo's in general, I think it was just too much for her."

"Lockhart—?"

But before anyone could answer me, Lucy and Fred returned, each with a bag in hand, and the game began.

Ginny went first, choosing dare, and she had to let me draw whatever he wanted on her arm with our seven-day semi-permanent ink. I, obviously, wrote "GEORGE IS MY FAVORITE BROTHER" in the largest letters possible.

For my turn, I chose dare too, and I had to peel my socks off using just my teeth. It was gross, of course, but I made it more fun by launching my socks at Fred's face once I was through.

Hermione was the first person to choose truth, and we all learned that she was more afraid of banshees than any other magical beast or being.

Ron chose truth as well, and we all learned that he once went an entire week without showering after losing a bet to Seamus, which was thankfully not a recent incident.

Fred went with dare, and he had to cram an entire piece of parchment in his mouth and leave it there until his next turn. (It was Lucy's idea, and I was sure she had done it just to avoid whatever Fred had in mind for her turn.)

Harry opted for truth, and when we asked who in the room he would most hate to see naked, he answered Ron because he'd already seen that on accident and he'd rather not repeat the experience.

Lucy decided on dare after a couple of seconds of deliberation, and she had to do her best Snape impression whenever she talked until her next turn. She committed to the role, taking her hair out of its ponytail so it hung like curtains around her face. I offered to make it greasy like Snape's and to turn her robes black if she really wanted to do a proper impersonation, but she said she'd pass.

We got through four rounds total before dinner, and it was a much-needed distraction from the unexpected heaviness of the day.

Even though Lucy looked a bit better, she was still clearly exhausted, so none of us were surprised when she said she was going to bed as soon as we were through with dinner. Once we heard her heading up the stairs, Mum turned to Harry.