In the Melancholy Moonlight

Chapter LI: Real Love and Truth

"I hope that real love and truth are stronger in the end than any evil or misfortune in the world."

Charles Dickens

LUCY:

I was jerked from a lovely dream by a gentle but persistent whisper.

"Lu, time to get up. You slept through your alarm, Dad's nearly ready to go."

I opened my eyes slowly and realized Cedric was hovering over me. He smiled when he saw I was awake.

"Come on, Lu. Harry's waiting."

"Oh, shut up," I mumbled, blushing nonetheless as I pushed my blankets aside.

"Were you dreaming about him? You were smiling in your sleep."

My embarrassed silence answered his question, and he laughed. "Go ahead and get dressed. I'll meet you downstairs in three minutes."

When he disappeared from the room, I reached for the outfit I had spent a solid ten minutes trying to put together the night before. It was just a light blue sweater with white polka dots and a pair of black jeans, but Harry never really got to see me in Muggle clothes --- I had to make it count. I placed his charm bracelet around my wrist with hands that were trembling from excitement and quickly braided my hair as I ran down the stairs.

I soon realized Cedric had the same idea I did, knowing he'd see Cho today for the first time in nearly two months; I could tell his light grey polo shirt had been newly pressed, and it was obvious he'd taken extra time brushing his hair. I made a mental note to tease him about that later, knowing full well he could easily tease me back for the exact same reason. Merlin, it was so nice to have my brother back.

"Well, there you are, Lucy," Dad said, checking his watch. "Ready to go?"

"You bet!" I exclaimed, quickly tying off my second braid and smoothing down my sweater. "Stoatshead Hill, right?"

He nodded, and a still-sleepy Mum approached to give me a hug.

"Have a great time, you three!" she said through a yawn. "I, for one, will be happily returning to my warm bed."

"Sleep well, Mum," Cedric replied, kissing her cheek.

With that, we stepped out into the frigid morning. My mind ran rampant with thoughts of the magic that had been obviously sewn into the fabric the night before.

Those Weasley twins would be the death of me --- they had obviously told me the wrong time for Harry's arrival, hoping I'd embarrass myself in my surprise when I saw him three hours sooner than I was expecting him. But I reckoned I'd done alright... it wasn't as if I'd dropped the basket and spilled cookies everywhere, anyway.

For all of their teasing, though, the twins were excellent wingmen. I appreciated Fred for ensuring that Harry and I were on the same Quidditch team, and I probably wouldn't have thought twice about sitting between the twins like I always did if George hadn't pointed out that there was an empty spot between Harry and Charlie. Cedric had been the key to finally getting a moment alone with Harry, when he offered to get the picnic basket and meet me at the gate.

I had meant to ask Harry if he'd heard back from Sirius, really I did, but I'd just been so distracted by how happy I was in that moment. The way the stars were just beginning to show themselves to the nighttime world, the fact that Cedric was home early, the knowledge that we'd all be together at the Quidditch Cup in a matter of hours, the nearness of Harry. I couldn't bring myself to think of anything unpleasant, like the fact that Harry's scar had hurt lately or the fact that the full moon was exactly a week away or the fact that Professor Lupin wouldn't be at Hogwarts when we returned. All that mattered was that, in that moment, everything was as close to perfect as I'd ever known.