November 5, 2022

Lucy loved the library.

Her love of the library was entirely different than Molly or Rose's love for it. Whereas they loved the stacks and shelves of books, loved all the knowledge waiting to be discovered, Lucy simply loved the peace and quiet. Madam Turpin was very good about catching loud students, and only those who were in the Restricted Section - or right next to the Restricted Section - could get away with making noises any louder than a whisper. For Lucy - who had snagged the desk closest to Madam Turpin - it was a very good thing. Here, she could write without anybody pestering her.

As she dipped her quill into her inkwell - which was running low, she noted - she saw a couple sixth-years glance at her, and then whisper to each other. Her cheeks flushed. Louis's stupid plan had given her a degree of fame around Hogwarts that she really didn't want. She had been stopped by several students in the past month asking questions about her book. 'When will it be published?' and 'When do I get to know the ending?' were two of the most popular ones, to her annoyance.

She still harbored a seed of resentment towards Louis for spreading her book around. It hadn't been his place to do so. Even though she did want to publish someday, she wanted it to be on her own terms - and, for Merlin's sake, she wanted the book to be finished!

It was almost finished now, though. The past month had been excellent in terms of writing, and she knew that she only had a few more pages before the official end. There would be revising and editing to follow, of course, but finishing her first draft was a huge milestone that made her feel proud. She had never actually finished something before - at least, not something novel-length. The last time she had finished a story, it had been twelve pages, and she had been ten years old.

For a little while longer, she sat there and worked, actually feeling her heart rate speed up as she got closer and closer to what she was sure was the end. Just as she was again dipping her quill into the ink in preparation to write what she was sure was the last page, she was interrupted by somebody taking the seat across from her.

She swore under her breath as she glanced up. Molly. Lucy loved her sister, in a 'we're-family-and-therefore-I-don't-really-have-a- choice' sort of way, but Molly's personality often grated on her last nerves. Molly - just like their father - couldn't understand why Lucy devoted her time to writing a novel instead of working on school.

If Lucy had had her way, Molly and their father wouldn't have even known about the novel. She hadn't really had a choice, however; she worked on it enough during the summer that Percy inquired about it, and when he knew something, the whole family knew something. It was rather annoying, really. Neither of them was outright harsh about it, but it was obvious that neither of them approved.

"Hey, Molly," Lucy said wearily, putting her quill down. She knew with Molly around, the chance of her writing that last page was slim to none. "What is it?"

Molly frowned at Lucy's book, open on the table in front of them. "Is that your novel?" she asked, even though Lucy was sure Molly knew full-well what it was.

"Yeah," Lucy said. "Why?"

"Well..." Molly took a deep breath, her eyes darting downward again. "Dad wanted me to keep an eye on you. He wanted me to make sure that you were studying for your OWLs and focusing on schoolwork instead of writing."

"You're kidding," Lucy said flatly. Molly's facial expression remained the same. She wasn't kidding. Of course. Their dad was so obsessed with schoolwork that he would recruit his older daughter to spy on his younger daughter. He was so obsessed that he would ask one of his kids to keep the other in line. Lucy felt a surge of rage; she wanted to hit something. She understood that schoolwork was important, but the degree that he took it to was ridiculous. It wasn't as though Lucy planned to slack off on her OWLs, after all.

She would never study as much as Molly or Rose or Dominique or Percy himself had, but she would try her best - she didn't want to end up with one OWL any more than he wanted her to, after all. She did have her standards, and she knew that having a few OWLs would make her look more respectable when she went to publish her book.

Molly must have seen the anger on Lucy's face, because she held up her hands. "Don't look at me! Not my plan."

"Are you on his side with this?" Lucy tried to keep her voice even, but it just ended up sounding ice-cold. "Are you going to 'keep an eye on me', as he says? Spy on me and make sure that I don't do what I love?"

For a moment, Molly actually looked torn, and Lucy again felt an uncharacteristic feeling of anger wash over her. Then, Molly sighed. "Do what you want, Luce. I don't think focusing all your energy on your novel is the wisest decision, but to be honest, it really isn't any of my business. Just promise me that you won't do anything stupid, like slacking off too much."

"I promise," Lucy said. "Thanks for not being a bitch about this."

Molly nodded as she stood up. "No problem. Good luck, Lucy."

Lucy hurriedly turned her attention back to her novel, her quill flying across the page. It wasn't particularly late, but it was getting closer to dinnertime, and she didn't feel like skipping a meal today. She didn't want to have to hurry back to the library after supper, either, though - especially not since right now, she had a perfect seat. The words flowed from her mind onto the page smoothly and quickly, everything wrapping up smoothly as her characters Jack and Laurel got their hopeful ending, and then, just to be dramatic, just to make everything perfect for herself, she wrote the two words that she had, for a little while, doubted she'd ever write.

The End.

It felt amazing to write. She set the quill down and stared at the last page, stunned by it. The handwriting was even more cramped and messy than usual, but she didn't care at all. She had finished her first draft - she had written a whole freaking novel, and she was only fifteen. The feeling of accomplishment that washed over her felt absolutely amazing, and - after making sure the ink was completely dry - she closed the book and hugged it to her chest. The hardest part was over, in her mind.

After all, she had the plot, she had the characters, she had the themes, she had the world...whatever editing and revising she had to do would seem like nothing after coming up with a whole novel. She couldn't help the stupid grin that stayed on her face as she gathered up her things, careful to put her novel in its own special pocket of her book bag. Lucy practically sprinted to the Great Hall, eager to tell the others - even Louis - that she had finally finished.

The Great Hall had already begun to fill up with students eagerly waiting for supper, and Lucy scanned the Hufflepuff table, searching for her cousins. It took a moment - she was short and the room was crowded - but finally she spotted them, and she hurried over, her steps light and carefree. Albus raised his eyebrows. "What happened, Luce?"

"I finished!" She pointed to her book bag. "I actually finished!" She felt like bouncing on the seats, like jumping on the table and screaming it to the whole Great Hall. She had actually written a whole novel. In a way, it almost felt like a 'take that' to her father and Molly - she could do something with her writing. If she could only get this published...if she could hurry up with editing, and maybe publish it sometime this year...

"Congrats," Louis said, a wide grin splitting his face. "Always knew you had it in you."

"Thanks," Lucy said as Al and Hugo also congratulated her. Louis was still grinning stupidly, that self-satisfied 'I told you so' look on his face. Half of her wanted to hug him, and the other half wanted to slap that stupid expression off of him. He had been the one to tell her that her writing was good and worthwhile, that she had true talent. In his own way, he had tried to help, even if his plan had pissed her off more than actually helped her. She supposed that she could forgive him - after all, he was her best friend, and she couldn't stay annoyed at him forever.

When supper was over, she and the others headed back to the common room, and Lucy instantly composed a letter, her quill flying over the page almost as quickly as it had when she had written her last page.

Dear Dad,

Molly told me that you asked her to keep an eye on me - to spy on me, basically. Just so you know, I don't want to fail my OWLs. Just because I'm not a Ravenclaw, or just because I'm not completely obsessed with school, doesn't mean that I'm going to be an idiot and purposely slack off on things. I am going to study, thank you very much. And Molly also told me that she wasn't going along with your plan. She told me to do what I want.

I also thought I should tell you that I finished my novel. I haven't edited it - although I'm going to soon. It is a full-length novel, the sort found in stores, and I'm going to publish it when I'm satisfied that I'm done revising it. Multiple people at Hogwarts have read it and liked it, and considering that publishing in the Wizarding world is much easier than publishing in the Muggle world, I'm pretty hopeful that it'll be published. Imagine, me, published at fifteen - your slacker daughter.

I'm sorry if I'm coming off a little harsh. It's just...I'm not you, and I'm not Molly. I'm more like Mum, but I'm not her, either. I'm me - and I really hope that you can accept that, even if I'm not exactly what you want.

-Lucy

She tucked the letter into her book bag; she knew it would be a while before she worked up the courage to send it - if she did end up sending it. Either way, it felt good to get her thoughts down onto parchment - her real thoughts, not just her fictional ideas. Lucy put the letter in the same special compartment of her bag as her book, her fingers brushing against the spine of the book as she slipped the letter next to it.

If she ever needed to produce a Patronus, she knew exactly the memory she would use. The happiest memory of her life had been created today.