In the Melancholy Moonlight

Chapter XLVIII: I'll Come Back When You Call Me

It started out as a feeling
Which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word

And then that word grew louder and louder
'Til it was a battle cry
I'll come back
When you call me
No need to say goodbye

"The Call"
Regina Spektor

LUCY:

I found myself wishing it were illegal to schedule final exams for the week of the full moon.

Four months of wolfsbane in, trying to take final exams was the closest I'd ever been to torture. I reckoned I'd scraped up good scores because of all of my studying for the months leading up to that dreadful week, but after each exam, I would flee to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom to throw up, splash cold water on my face, cry, or sometimes all three. It was torture, but it wouldn't be over until Saturday morning. Oh yeah, I nearly forgot to mention --- the last day of exams was the day of the full moon, and Cedric was leaving immediately after his last exam.

Even before the day began, I knew it would be an exhausting day, physically, mentally, and emotionally --- but nothing could have prepared me for all that occurred.

My Defense Against the Dark Arts exam took place that morning. I hadn't slept a wink the night prior, obviously, but Professor Lupin's exam was my absolute favorite. He had assembled a sort of obstacle course outdoors featuring a number of creatures; it was right up my alley.

I jumped at the chance to go first, incredibly excited and intrigued by the challenge.

The first task involved wading across a pool full of grindylows. The water was likely to only go up to the waists of my classmates, but it went much higher on me. I kept my head, though, and as soon as a grindylow tried to wrap its fingers around my thigh, I shouted "Relashio!" and severed its grip. A couple more grindylows tried grabbing my ankles, my calves, even my waist, but they were each met with their own revulsion jinx.

From there, I had to dodge potholes filled with red caps, and cross a marsh inhabited by hinkypunks. I could have easily destroyed them with a wand-lighting charm and a couple of knockback jinxes, but I didn't think Professor Lupin had any more, so I just ignored them and relied on other methods to navigate my way across.

The last challenge was a boggart. Since I no longer had any reason to be afraid of dementors, my boggart manifested as myself in werewolf form.

"Riddikulus!" I cried, and I became nothing more than a werewolf pup.

And just like that, it was over. I made my way over to the shade as quickly as I could, feeling sweat dripping down my neck. The shirt from Cedric helped keep my chest and arms and torso cool, but I still felt like I was on fire everywhere else.

Harry went next, and he made his way through as successfully as I did. I slipped my ring off when he came to sit next to me, as was my new habit. Hermione hadn't noticed a thing yet, and I planned to keep it that way for as long as possible, but I knew it was only a matter of time before she would connect the dots --- trying to keep a secret from that girl was no easy task.

"Nicely done, Potter," I said, moving over so he could sit next to me.

"You too, Diggory. Have you ever had so much fun taking a final exam?"