In the Melancholy Moonlight

Chapter LXXVIII: What About Me?

You've got your peace now, but what about me?

Thought we had the time, had our lives
Now you'll never get older, older
Didn't say goodbye, now I'm frozen in time
Getting colder, colder

One last word
One last moment
To ask you why you left me here behind
You said you'd grow old with me

"You Said You'd Grow Old with Me"
Michael Schulte

LUCY:

I opened the door to Cedric's room only to rest his trunk at the foot of his bed.

Books and soil and evergreen soap.

Yellow walls and Magpies posters.

A stack of letters from his summer at St. Mungo's.

His uniform from St. Mungo's hanging on the outside of his wardrobe.

Curtains parted to show the sunset over the forest.

It was too much to take.

I shut the door behind me and sprinted to my room.

I couldn't sleep that night. I could hear my parents' muffled cries down the hallway until well after midnight, but I couldn't bring myself to face them.

I wasn't their daughter, after all.

Cedric was the glue that held our family together.

I may not have been their daughter, but I was his sister.

With Cedric gone, there wasn't much to say.

The next morning dawned altogether too soon.

When my mom poked her head in and said I should start getting ready, I pulled myself out of bed and made my way to the shower. The steam helped keep my congestion at bay just a bit longer, aided by the Pepperup Mum had left on my nightstand, and I slipped my dress over my head.

There was a soft knock at my door. "Lucy?"

"Ginny," I breathed, throwing the door open.

She wrapped her arms around me and held tight for a moment. "Mum thought we girls should head over and see if you needed help with anything last-minute. Mione's here too, downstairs with my mum." She pulled apart and studied me head to toe. "You need to brush your hair. But other than that, you look alright."

"I was just about to," I said, reaching for the brush and dragging it through my wet hair. "It might still be a bit wet by the time it starts."

Ginny shook her head. "It's warm outside. It'll dry quickly." There was a brief pause. "Merlin, you look exhausted."

I nodded. "Didn't sleep."

"At all?" came a surprised voice in the doorway.

I shook my head as Hermione came in. She immediately sat next to me on my bed and studied me for herself.

"You poor thing," she said after a moment.

I couldn't think of an intelligent response, so I just averted my eyes and kept brushing my hair. We eventually went back downstairs to find that Mrs. Weasley and my parents had made their way outside. A small crowd had already gathered, and I spotted Henry first. His curly hair was combed and his suit was neatly pressed, but I could tell that he hadn't slept either. He was standing silently with Cho, who had wisely not worn mascara, and I saw Luna approaching the pair of them from behind. I watched Cho's mother embracing mine, both women crying. Archie and his father arrived with a pop nearby, but I quickly made my way in the direction of the male Weasleys.