In the Melancholy Moonlight, Part 5: Dark Matter

Chapter 204: New Love

LUCY:

I was hoping to climb the stairs, take a quick shower, and go to bed, but as soon as I walked in the dormitory, Lavender and Parvati descended. Hermione was still off being a prefect, making sure all of the younger girls were settling in nicely, so the three of us landed in front of the fireplace, sprawled on our stomachs, and started telling stories from the summer. I learned that Lavender and Seamus had broken up after a disastrous picnic date, and that Parvati had dated a Muggle boy for a couple of weeks but ended up kissing his sister as a joke before realizing how much she enjoyed it. I had replied to their concerned letters saying I was okay after they had seen my picture in the Daily Prophet, but they naturally wanted more details, so I told a few half-truths to satisfy their curiosity, saying that I had just wanted a drink after a long day at the joke shop and ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time with Maxence, the wrong person. From there, though, I masterfully pivoted the conversation in the direction of the joke shop, and I was in the middle of talking about Daydream Charms when Hermione returned.

I smiled and waved. "Welcome back! We're just talking about how summer was for us, if you want to join us!"

"Have you used one of the Daydream Charms Lucy's explaining?" Lavender asked. "They sound incredible!"

Hermione nodded. "I have, and they certainly are." She warred with herself for a moment before coming over to join us on the floor. "Even more incredible, though, was the idea Lucy had for Harry's birthday."

"Oh, bloody hell, I forgot! I wanted to do that tonight!" I exclaimed, slapping a hand to my forehead.

"It's alright, I was already planning on doing it tomorrow night," Hermione replied. "Ron and I had prefect duties, and then you and Harry had — whatever that encounter with Malfoy was."

"What was the idea?" Parvati asked, eyes wide as she and Lavender exchanged a brief, almost conspiratorial, glance.

I felt my face heat. "It wasn't incredible, but — "

"Oh yes it was," Hermione interrupted sharply. "It was brilliant."

With that, Hermione launched into an enthusiastic discussion of Harry's birthday gift, talking about the objects, the memories, and the incantation he would have to use to activate the memories. Parvati and Lavender agreed that it was brilliant, which made my face heat even more, but when all three of the other girls agreed that it was sweet, adorable even, I felt like my face was going to explode.

"Oh, bugger off," I mumbled. "I would have done something like that for all of my friends. I most likely will, for everyone's birthdays, it's — it's admittedly not a bad idea," I finished with a sigh.

"But Harry was fir-rst," Lavender singsonged. "Harry's spe-ecial to yo-ou."

"Well, yes, of course, all of my friends are special to me," I protested, face growing ever hotter.

"But he's the specialest," Parvati inserted.

Hermione smirked as she fixed me with a look. "I'll forgive the fact that that isn't even a word, because it's true. Harry's your specialest friend."

"I'm leaving now," I muttered, trying to get to my feet.

Lavender and Hermione each grabbed one of my arms and dragged me back down, and we all laughed for quite a long time.

It was good to be back.

When the first day of school dawned, I was already awake. I'd been having a nightmare about Greyback, then opened my eyes to see that the sky outside was grey instead of black, so I forced myself out of bed to avoid the risk of oversleeping on the first day. I had just started rummaging through my trunk looking for my tie when I heard Hermione's shower water slow to just a trickle before ceasing entirely. She emerged a minute later, her uniform perfect and her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail.