In the Melancholy Moonlight, Part 4: Nebula

Chapter 194: Building to the Sky

LUCY:

I was very, very, very, very deeply asleep on Saturday morning when I was shaken awake.

"Sorry to wake you, Cub — " George started to say.

"No we aren't!" Fred interrupted loudly, too loudly. "Pack a bag, we're going on an adventure."

George grinned in the darkness. Why is it still dark outside? "Just enough for one night. Might want to pack a couple changes of clothes though, just in case, you never know what might happen."

"Oh, and bring your broom, too."

I blinked, and blinked again, pushing myself up to a sitting position. "What's going on?"

"Another ridiculous and risky but fun and foundational life experience!" Fred announced.

"But this time, it's a surprise!" George added.

"It was a surprise last time too," I mumbled sleepily as I tried to wipe the heaviness from my eyes. "What time even is it?"

"Around four in the morning, I believe," Fred replied. "You have about an hour before we told the others we'd be there. If you're ready sooner, though, sooner is okay too. Now come on, we've got the world to see!"

🩵💛❤️💜

GEORGE:

Lucy's eyes were half-open at most, but she seemed to understand. We left then, promising her coffee when she made her way downstairs.

Fred was practically buzzing with excitement. "This is going to be so much fun."

"I know," I replied, similarly excited. "Reckon she won't even need the coffee once she realizes what we're doing."

The two of us exchanged smug, conspiratorial grins as we set about making coffee anyway. She had been extraordinarily sleepy since Harry's birthday.

Nobody knew what exactly she and Harry had done after she dragged him out of the house. We had all watched from the window as they stumbled into the orchard, Harry dragging a giggling Lucy, and we were all still gathered around the turntable, talking and laughing, when Lucy returned an unknown amount of time later, the picture of serenity.

"What just happened?" Ginny demanded. "Where have you been?"

"Just talking to Harry in the orchard," Lucy replied with a soft smile. "We were reminiscing a bit."

"Is that what the kids are calling it these days?" Fred asked.

Lucy's smile faded, replaced by a look of genuine confusion. "What?"

"Were you only, ah, reminiscing?" I inquired.

"Yeah," she said slowly, as if it should be obvious, nodding.

Harry entered the room then, grinning widely. "You know what else was great? The moment you told me you had started flying again. You just casually mentioned that you did that instead of going to Herbology, last November. I told you that you were made to fly, and I never doubted that for a second even though you did for a couple of months there, the night after you got that letter from Malfoy."

Lucy flushed a bright red. "Almost falling off my broom that night was a low point."

"You got back up again," Harry said, playfully tugging on her bracelet as he walked past her on his way to flop down on the sofa beside Ron. "Always have, always will. Say, what song is this? It's nice."

Hermione passed him the album, pointing to the name of the song, as Lucy gazed at Harry with so much affection it was a wonder they weren't both glowing with warmth. She seemed to feel my eyes on her, and she glanced at me with a knowing look.