In the Melancholy Moonlight

Chapter XLI: Sky Eyes

LUCY:

I rushed to the Owlery as fast as my legs could carry me. Malachi, surely enough, clutched a package in his talons with a note attached.

Dear Lucy,
   Here is everything I have to give you. I hope it reaches you alright. I am sure Professor Dumbledore will instruct you in how to safely use a Pensieve. As I said in my previous letter, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns, and perhaps one day we can meet in person.
   Happy Christmas, Lucy, and I hope you can find peace now.
      Sincerely, Paul Midgen

I shoved the letter into a pocket of my robes. As soon as my trembling fingers managed to successfully untie the parcel, which was a jar with what looked like no more than ten vials inside, I clutched it to my chest as if my life depended on it. In a sense, it was my life I was holding in my hands... or at least, what my life could have been, should have been, would have been if only I had never been bitten.

I wrote my letter to Mr. Midgen the last week of term. He replied immediately, saying he'd send my memories the first day of the holidays so it had the slimmest chance of being intercepted by anybody else. I waited on pins and needles all day Saturday, not really expecting it to arrive so soon but hoping regardless. When I had seen Malachi on the way to Hagrid's, it was as if nothing else in the world mattered.

I carefully tucked my first life under my left arm, close to my heart, and slowly made my way toward the castle. My half of the ring throbbed purple with dread, and I hoped Hermione wasn't paying it any mind.

Before I really knew where I was going, I found myself in front of the Room of Requirement. I entered silently and closed the door behind me.

The only contents of the room were a Pensieve and a table. The room was lit by bright torches on the walls that cast a warm glow. I set the jar on the table and held the various glass tubes in my hand.

Each was labelled with a small tag, and some of them were tied together with small pieces of string.

One group was tied with red string. Happy memory #1. Happy memory #2. Happy memory #3.

One group was tied with blue string. Sad memory #1. Sad memory #2.

One group was tied with black string. Scary memory #1. Scary memory #2 (being bitten).

The last group was tied with yellow string. Mom. Dad. Sister.

I carefully drew out my memory of being bitten. It seemed like the most appropriate place to start.

My hand trembled violently as I twisted the cork out of the top. I poured the silvery-white contents into the Pensieve and tried to breathe, but my lungs felt as if someone had filled them with molten iron. I gripped the sides of the Pensieve, hesitating, but the gravity of curiosity ultimately pulled me into the memory.

The night was dark, which I thought was odd, considering I knew it was a full moon. When I squinted, I could see that I was standing in front of a small hotel, and a family had just exited a side door.

"Where are we going, Daddy?" a small American voice asked. I followed the family, knowing it was mine.

"The moon is going to play a game tonight!" a man replied.

"A game?" a different voice asked. My throat tightened. It was my voice. I just knew it. "How?"

"It's going to play hide-and-seek! See, sometimes the moon uses Earth to hide from the sun, and that's tonight! It should look really neat!"

"Wow," Little Lucy said. "I like games!"

"Will Nanna be able to see it, Mommy?" the first girl asked softly. "Nanna loves the moon."