In the Melancholy Moonlight

Chapter LXIII: Pioneer

I won't run when bullets chase me
I won't rest where arms embrace me
I will love when people hate me
I won't hush, no you can't make me
Send the dark but it won't break me
You can try but you can't change me
Take my life, they will replace me
I won't hush, no you can't make me
I won't hush, no we will sing

Where are we going
Oh, I don't know
But still I've got to go
What will become of us
Oh, I don't care
All I know is I'll go anywhere
Pioneer

"Pioneer"
The Band Perry

LUCY:

It was nearly one o'clock in the morning on the night before the full moon when an owl arrived at the common room window. The twins and I were still up, trying to refine the Nosebleed Nougat George had used so effectively at the Yule Ball, when I heard tapping.

"Who the bloody hell is sending me a letter at this hour?" I wondered aloud, nevertheless going to the window and letting it in. I gently took the rolled-up parchment from its talons and let it clean its feathers while perched on my shoulder.

"What does it say?" George asked.

"You can read it after me," I replied, breaking the seal and scanning the letter quickly.

Dear Lucy,
I'm terribly sorry I haven't written you prior to this point. I feared that to do so would put both of us in danger, especially after Rita Skeeter's article about Harry, but I wanted you to hear this news from me before it was broken in any newspaper article, if it is even mentioned at all. Romulus is a remarkable owl, so please send your reply as soon as possible --- he will be able to make the journey.
Dolores Umbridge just passed a significant piece of anti-werewolf legislation. Following the issue of my Hogwarts employment last year, it seemed the Ministry was all the more determined to make it impossible for werewolves to get jobs. It says working at most jobs will come with a form of safety tax that would cut income in half, with heavy fees for whoever hires one, especially if the employer knows of the condition and hires a lycanthrope anyway.
I don't mean this to alarm you, as I know of other Ministry officials who are working even now to overturn it, but I wanted to warn you. It has perhaps never been more important to be careful and guarded --- your secret in the wrong hands could become a dreadful weapon.
I hope all is well for you this year. I can't imagine it's easy being so close to not just one but two of the champions. But if anybody could handle that kind of pressure, I know it would be you. Keep your head up, Lucy, but be careful. Things are stirring, and not entirely for the better.
Best regards, Remus Lupin

I wordlessly passed the letter to George, Fred reading over his shoulder.

Both of their faces grew increasingly flushed with anger.

George's jaw clenched. "I don't know who this Umbridge woman is, but this is-"

"I know," I interrupted. "I know."

Fred reached forward and laid a hand on the shoulder Romulus wasn't occupying. "Good Godric, you're shaking so much. It'll be okay, Cub, we can figure this out."

I shook my head. "You know I love you both, but this is so much bigger than us. You can't throw a Dungbomb at this problem and make it run away."

"Is that a challenge?" Fred asked with a crooked grin.