In the Melancholy Moonlight

Chapter XC: Never Alone

HARRY:

The next morning couldn't come quickly enough; my worries kept me up through the night. Ron was still asleep when I got out of bed and changed into my robes for the day. I hurried down the stairs, eager to see Lucy and confirm for myself that she was still there, that she had made it through the night. My diary was in my pocket; I hadn't forgotten our agreement, and I was honestly interested to see what she had written me.

The door to the kitchen was closed, but I could hear the voices inside with perfect clarity.

"She slept so fitfully I doubt she'll feel she's slept at all," Hermione was saying, sounding plenty tired herself. "Ginny wanted to stay so Lucy wouldn't wake up alone, so I figured I'd head down and tell you both how the night went."

"What do you mean by fitfully, Hermione?" Professor Lupin asked. "Was she in pain at all?"

"I'm sure she was, she had to have been," Hermione replied in almost a whisper. "Nightmares, too. I woke her up in the middle of one, but it took her so long to fall back asleep afterward Ginny and I agreed it would be better just to let her sleep and hope the sleep would benefit her more than the nightmares would hurt her."

"Poor dear," Mrs. Weasley murmured. "What did the healers at St. Mungo's say, Remus?"

"That she's remarkably resilient. That it's a miracle she's alive, and even more of a miracle that her memory seems to be unaffected." He sighed. "I just worry for... everything else. We all know she's resilient, of course, but some of what she told me..." His voice trailed off, and his voice was tighter than it had been when he spoke again. "I stand by what I said last night, Molly. It's best if she's never alone."

"I thought this was the safest place to be," Hermione said. "Surely no one will come for her while she's here, right, Professor?"

"She's completely safe here from any outside forces who would want to hurt her further," he replied immediately, "and the same will be true at Hogwarts, as well. It's whatever happens internally in the coming months that worries me."

"Meaning what exactly, Professor?" Hermione's voice shook.

He hesitated.

"Hermione will be around her more than anyone else at school, Remus," Mrs. Weasley said. "Sharing a dormitory and all."

"She'll be alright, won't she?" Hermione pressed. "She's not going to die of any long-term effects, will she? What is it that I can do by being there? What do you mean, she shouldn't be alone?"

Professor Lupin waited a long second before replying. "I just worry that in the coming weeks, as she begins to process what her life will look like now, with everything that's happened, she could... begin to lose sight of the fact that there is still a life of her that still has hope."

I heard Hermione suck in a breath as she realized what he meant. "Oh."

I didn't stick around to hear whatever was said next. I turned on my heel and made my way up the stairs silently.

Ginny was sitting by Lucy's bedside, looking as if she'd been crying. Her head snapped in my direction when I entered the room, but she relaxed when she saw it was me.

"Don't tell anyone downstairs," I whispered as I tiptoed across the room, "but I, er, sort of overheard what happened last night. I can take over until she wakes up."

Ginny nodded enthusiastically, a tiny smile on her face all of a sudden. "Sounds good. She'd like that."

Just like that, she jumped up from the chair, gestured for me to fill her spot, and hurried quietly from the room, closing the door behind her.