October 1997

Lucy and Anne grabbed their books from their lockers and headed towards first period English class. Anne was telling her all about some new book she was reading but Lucy was only half listening. She was thinking about how her father had looked the night before and reminding herself to make sure she looked up what alveolar sacs were. She had heard a doctor say it yesterday.

Just then Kate, Grace and Tiffany walked by on Lucy's side. As she passed, Kate reached out and slammed her hand down on the books in Lucy's arms causing them to fall and slide across the floor. Lucy looked up at her with wide eyes as the girls laughed.

"You gotta be more careful, Lucy," Kate said with a laugh and a horrible smile. "Can't you do anything right?"

"Get a life, Kate," Anne said, glaring daggers at her as she reached down and picked up the book that had fallen right in front of her. "Don't be so mean."

"Whatever, Anne," Kate said, giving a dismissive wave of her hand and walking away. Her two cronies followed after her.

Anne glared at her back before kneeling down and helping Lucy pick up her books. She sighs when she notices Lucy's eyes begin to water slightly. Lucy looked away quickly and focused on picking up her books.

"She's so rude," Anne said. "I wish she'd stop being so mean to you."

"I'm fine," Lucy said, straightening back up and taking her books back from Anne. She had regained control of her tears and was able to push them back. "Just ignore her."

"I don't know, Lucy," Anne replied. "You've been ignoring her for a while and she still won't back off. Maybe you should tell someone. Like Daniel or your dad."

"No," Lucy said as she started walking again. Anne followed beside her. "Dad and Daniel both have more important things to worry about. I shouldn't bug them with something so stupid."

"Then a teacher, maybe?" Anne said. "Mr. Gregory really likes you. I bet he'd listen if you -"

"No," Lucy said again, more forcefully this time. "It's stupid. You don't have to worry about it. I don't even care. She can say whatever she wants. I don't care."

"Okay..." Anne said uncertainly. She knew Lucy liked to deal with her problems on her own and she knew that she had dealt with Kate on her own before but this time it was different. Lucy didn't stand up for herself like she used to. She didn't talk back when Kate said something horrible. She let Kate do or say whatever she liked. Anne hoped that Lucy's dad got better soon so Lucy could go back to the way she used to be soon.

Lucy's day just got worse from there. Classes were boring and it turned out alveolar sacs were just part of the lungs. She found no real information to help her figure out if her father was getting better or not. During recess, she and Anne played on the playground for a bit before Kate showed up again. She started talking very loudly with Grace and Tiffany about their last ballet recital. Lucy had also danced in that recital. She had gotten a solo and Kate wasn't very happy about that.

"It's not her fault that she's a better dancer than you," Anne said. She looked over at Lucy. "Good job on getting a solo, you never told me that. I would have come to see you dance."

Lucy smiled a little. "Thanks, Anne. Maybe you can come next time."

Kate glared at Anne and Lucy. "I don't think that Lucy a better dancer than us," she said. "I think Ms. Jade just gave her a solo because she felt bad for her."

"No one even came to watch her," Grace said with a laugh.

"My brother came," Lucy said quietly. "And his girlfriend too."

"My parents came to watch," Tiffany said.

"Mine too," Kate said with a smile. "And so did Grace's. Even though we didn't get a solo because they actually like us."

"Shut up, Kate," Anne said, glaring at the girl. "What's wrong with you? Obviously Lucy's dad would have came if he could. You're so rude."

Lucy didn't say anything. She just looked down at her feet.

"Yeah, and what about her mum?" Grace said.

Anne was about ready to punch all three of these girls in the face. She glared at them but decided that would be a bad idea. Instead, she took Lucy's hand and pulled her away from the playground. "Come on," she said. "We'll go have fun somewhere else."

Lucy sped up so that she could keep up with Anne. They walked to a table by the school and Anne sat down. She looks over at Lucy and said, "Lucy, I'm -"

"It's okay," she whispered, sitting down beside Anne on the bench. She didn't want Anne to apologize for what Kate had said. "Daniel came to my recital. He always watches me dance."

...

Daniel and Nina walked down the path from Nina's apartment building towards the parking lot where their cars were parked. Daniel was carrying Nina's overnight bag as she would be staying with him and Lucy in Rochester and accompanying them to London this weekend. They made it to the cars and Daniel opened the boot of Nina's to put the bag inside. He then turned to look at his girlfriend and smiled.

"Thank you so much for picking up Lucy for me," he said. "And for remembering that she had a half day when I forgot."

"Well, someone had too," Nina said, smiling too. "It's no problem at all, Daniel. Lucy's great and I'm excited to get to know her a little more."

"You really didn't have to go to all that trouble of planning a whole day," Daniel said with a smile. "I'm sure Lucy would have been fine just watching Aladdin at home. You know I've watched that movie like ten times in the last month?"

"Wow," Nina said with a laugh. "She really likes that movie, huh?"

"Yeah, her favourite. Next to The Lion King, of course but I don't like to play that one very often right now," Daniel said. He shook his head. "I cry everytime."

"Oh so do I! It's so sad!" Nina said. She liked how Daniel wasn't afraid to show his more vulnerable side. "Well, I think a day of fun will be good for Lucy. It may help take her mind off things for a bit."

"Yeah, hopefully," he said. "Oh, by the way, if she asks make sure you tell her that I'm working on a project for class, marketing I told her. She'll be very upset if she finds out that I'm going to see Dad without her again. He didn't want Lucy to see him after his surgery. Didn't think it would be good for her."

"I agree. It'll be better for her to just wait until tomorrow, I think," Nina said with a nod. "What time do you think you'll be back tonight?"

"I should be back by nine. I'm not sure though. It depends how long the surgery takes."

Nina nodded again. She and Daniel hugged, kissed, and said goodbye before getting in their cars and driving their separate ways. Nina to Rochester and Daniel to London.

The drive to Rochester wasn't too long. Since it was earlier in the day, Nina was able to beat much of the traffic. She drove up to Lucy's school and found a place to park before getting out and walking towards the front door. Other parents had also gathered to pick up their children. Nina stood there and waited for school to let out.

The bell rang and students started filing out. Lucy and Anne came out a little while later. Anne spotted her mother's car in the parking lot, waved goodbye to Lucy, and raced over to it. Lucy looked around for her brother or his car but didn't see him. He was late, again. She was walking towards the parking lot when she spotted Nian waiting for her. Nina smiled and waved.

"Hey, Lucy!" Nina said happily as Lucy walked over to her.

"Hi," Lucy said.

"Your brother has a huge school project that he has to work on today so he asked me to pick you up," she said. "I hope that's okay."

"Yeah," Lucy mumbled. She followed Nina towards the parking lot. "So is he meeting us in London or is he not coming today?"

"Ah, we can't go to London today," Nina replied, looking down at Lucy. "But -"

"We're not going to see Dad?" Lucy asked, eyes widening. She looked up at Nina sadly.

"Ah, no. We can't today but Daniel said we'll drive up first thing tomorrow morning," she said. "I know it's not ideal and that you really wanted to see him but we'll have some fun today and then go see him tomorrow. I've planned a lot of things for us to do while Daniel's away. We can have a little girl's night. Just the two of us. It'll be fun."

Lucy didn't want to have a girl's night. She didn't want to have fun or do things just the two of them. She wanted to go to London and be with her father. She had been having a bad day and this only made it worse. It being a half day at school, she had thought that she would get so much more time to be with Jay so why was Nina taking that away from her?

They made it to the car and Nina opened the backdoor for her. Lucy got in and Nina closed the door behind her before getting into the driver's side. She turned on the engine and started pulling away from the parking lot.

"So, how was school today?" Nina asked.

"Fine," Lucy replied, looking out the window and watching the trees and houses fly by. She noticed that they didn't turn when they were supposed to in order to get home. Maybe Nina had changed her mind and was taking her to London after all. Lucy felt a little bit of hope but before she could say anything, Nina spoke and all her hope disappeared.

"Well, I thought we could start our day by going out for lunch," she said with a smile. "Daniel said that you really liked the restaurant Brettington's so I thought we could go there. What do you think?"

Lucy didn't want to go to a restaurant. She didn't want to go anywhere but London. She was about to say so too when she saw the look on Nina's face. Nina seemed very excited to spend the day with her and Lucy didn't understand why. Why was she trying so hard to get Lucy to like her? She was Daniel's girlfriend, why should she care about Lucy? None of Daniel's previous girlfriends ever took this much interest in her. Nina was a lot different from anyone Daniel had dated before. They had all been nice but not in the same way Nina was nice. Not in the drive an hour into London almost every night, sit for two hours just to watch your sister dance for three minutes, take your six year old sister out to lunch while you were busy type of nice.

Lucy didn't want to be mean to Nina, especially when she was being so nice to her, so she just nodded. "Okay," she said.

They made it to Brettington's and Nina parked the car. Lucy got out and followed her to the restaurant where they were seated, given menus, and asked about drinks. Lucy got an iced tea while Nina got just water.

"I've never been here before," Nina said as she looked over at the lunch specials. "What do you recommend?"

Lucy shrugged. "I like the cheeseburger," she said. "It's good."

"Do you want that?"

Lucy nodded. "Without tomatoes."

"Right, Daniel told me that you weren't a big fan of tomatoes," Nina said with a smile. "I think I'm going to get the burger as well." She closed her menu and set it down. "So, did anything exciting happen at school today?"

"Not really."

"Do you have a lot of homework?"

"No. I finished it in class."

"That's good."

The waitress came back over with their drinks and took their lunch orders before collecting their menus and walking away again. Lucy took a sip of her iced tea and looked around at the other people in the restaurant. It seemed a lot of people were taking advantage of the school's half day. The restaurant was full with groups of friend and mothers with their children. Lucy watched a mother laugh with her daughter and ask her about her day a table down from them before turning away quickly.

"Are you okay, Lucy?" Nina asked.

"I'm fine," Lucy said quietly, looking back down at her glass.

"I know that everything's been pretty heavy on you lately and if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for you," Nina said, giving her a small smile.

Lucy looked up at her. Should she tell her about Kate and the other girls at school? She knew that Anne would want her too but she didn't know if it was a good idea. She decided against it. Nina wouldn't want to be bothered by that stuff. She probably had her own things to worry about too. "I'm fine," she said again.

"Alright," Nina said uncertainly. She decided not to push Lucy on it. They hadn't known each other very long so it was understandable if she didn't feel that comfortable talking to her about anything too personal. She couldn't imagine what Lucy was going through right now and she wanted to help her, she just didn't know how.

They talked a little bit more, Nina holding most of the conversation and Lucy only responding in short sentences, before the food came. The waitress that brought them their food was different from the first waitress. She noticed Lucy and gave her a small knowing smile.

"Hello, Lucy," she said. "How's your dad doing?"

"Hi, Kim," Lucy said, giving the waitress a little smile. She never really knew how to answer this question. She didn't know how her dad was really doing. She usually just lied or told them what she thought they would want to hear. "He's okay."

"Are you seeing him soon? I'll pack up his favourite order for you guys on the house," she said. "It'll probably be better than that hospital food they give him."

"Thank you," Lucy said.

"Yes, thank you. I'm Nina by the way," Nina said, sticking out her hand for the waitress to shake. "Daniel's girlfriend."

"It's nice to meet you, Nina," Kim said with a smile. "How long have you and Daniel been seeing each other?"

"It's been about three weeks now," Nina replied with a smile. "How long have you know the Collins family?"

"Since I was sixteen, actually. I started working here and they come here all the time," Kim said, she looked over at Lucy. "I've known Lucy since she was only a year old. She's also friends with our head chief's daughter."

"Her name is Sarah," Lucy said.

"That's nice," Nina said.

"So, where is Daniel today?" Kim asked.

"He had a very important project to work on," Lucy said. "He isn't coming home till late."

"I see," she said with a smile. "I guess he's really living the university student life now. Well, I'll let you get back to your lunch. See me before you leave, okay?"

"Okay," Lucy said.

Kim said goodbye and left back towards the kitchen. Nina picked up one of her fries and tossed it in her mouth. "She seemed really nice."

"Yeah."

"A lot of people know you guys. It feels like you know everyone in Rochester," Nina said with a smile.

"Daddy knows a lot of people," Lucy said.

They ate their food and Nina asked Lucy if she wanted dessert but Lucy said no. They paid and got up to leave. Kim came out with a take out box in hand. She gave it to Lucy and gave her a quick hug.

"You tell your dad that we're all rooting for him to get better soon, okay?" she said. "And as soon as he does you guys bring him here. We'll make sure he's well fed."

"Okay," Lucy said with a small smile. "Thank you, Kim. I'll tell him."

"Good girl," Kim said as she straightened up. She looked over at Nina as well. "It was nice to meet you, Nina. You two have a nice rest of the day."

"Thank you," Nina said. "It was very nice to meet you as well."

She and Lucy said one last goodbye and headed back to the car. They got in and Nina drove them towards the opera house.

"Did you know that dancers from the Royal Ballet are in town?" she said. "They're performing here in about thirty minutes. I thought the two of us could go see them."

"Really?" Lucy asked, looking up quickly. This was probably the most excited Nina had seen Lucy all day.

"Yes," she said with a smile.

They made it to the theatre and Nina pulled the tickets out of her purse. She handed them to Lucy and Lucy gave them to the attendant at the door. He ushered them in and they found their seats. People in dresses and suits came in to watch the ballet as well. Lucy looked around, down at her school uniform, and then over at Nina.

"Are we underdressed?" she asked.

Nina gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "We can appreciate good ballet even if we're not wearing fancy dresses."

Lucy smiled, a real smile. Not a small smile meant to make everyone else think that she was okay when she really wasn't. A genuine, happy smile. Throughout the performance, Nina looked over at Lucy and saw the wonder and excitement on her face as she watched the ballerinas twirl and jump. She was glad to see the little girl act like an actual little girl for once. Nina had known Lucy for about two weeks now and Lucy only ever acted like a six year old when she was around her father. Any other time, she acted so much older.

After the performance Lucy excitedly told Nina all about it as if she hadn't been sitting next to her the whole time. It was the most Lucy had talked all day.

"Did you see her grande plie? And her sautteƩ? She was so good! I wish I could do that," Lucy said, taking Nina's hand as they walked out of the theatre towards the front doors.

Nina smiled. "I'm sure that you could dance like that with more practice," she said. "They have had a lot more time than you have."

"You think so? You think I could really dance like that?"

"Oh, yeah. Definitely. I mean, I saw you dance and you're so good already," Nina said, looking down at Lucy and giving her a smile. "I'm sure that given even more time to practice, you could totally dance like that. You just have to want to do it."

"I want to do it!" Lucy said excitedly. She was so happy that Nina thought that she could dance like those ballerina. "Maybe when I'm older I can -"

Just then someone bumped Lucy as they passed by. Lucy looked over and saw that it was Kate walking beside her mother. Lucy's smile faded immediately. Kate looked at her and said, "hey, Lucy. Watch where you're going next time."

Lucy glared at her as she walked away with her mother. Nina saw her and smiled, not noticing Lucy's uncomfortableness.

"Is that a friend of yours from school?" she asked.

"No," Lucy said quietly. She let go of Nina's hand and started walking a bit faster.

Nina frowned and sped up to catch up with her. From that point on, Lucy was back to the moody little girl she had been before the ballet. Nina sighed. They got back to the car and Nina drove them back to Collins Mansion. They got out of the car and Nina grabbed her bags. Lucy grabbed her backpack and ran towards the front door. Nina walked after her and unlocked the door.

"Okay, I thought that after you got changed out of your uniform we could bake some cookies," Nina said, her day of fun far from over. "We can make some chocolate chip cookies with milk chocolate chips. I know those are your favourite."

"Okay," Lucy said, though she didn't really feel like baking right now. She ran upstairs to her bedroom to get changed.

Nina walked over to the kitchen, put the take out box they had gotten from Brettington's in the fridge, and pulled out her cookbook from her bag. She washed her hands, opened the cookbook and started grabbing the ingredients from the pantry. She set them on the kitchen island.

Lucy came into the room then and walked over to the counter. She looked up at the ingredients, saw that Nina's back was turned, and reached up to grab a handful of chocolate chips. Nina turned around, saw her and smiled.

"Sneaking chocolate chips?"

Lucy turned quickly and looked at her before bowing her head a bit. "Sorry."

"That's okay," Nina said with a smile, walking over and grabbing some for herself. "They're good, aren't they?"

Lucy smiled a little bit and nodded.

"Alright, wash your hands and we'll get started," Nina said with a smile. She walked over to the pantry and kicked a footstool out towards the kitchen sink for Lucy. Lucy walked over and stepped up to wash her hands. "We can eat some today and then take some with us tomorrow when we go into London so that your dad can try them too."

Lucy nodded and they got to work. Nina preheated the oven and Lucy kicked the footstool over to the kitchen island so that she could help.

"Do you like cooking?" Lucy asked, looking up at her brother's girlfriend when she walked over to the counter as well.

"I do," Nina said with a smile as she picked up an egg and held it out for Lucy. "Here do you want to crack this egg into the mixing bowl?"

Lucy shook her head. "I don't know how."

"Oh, it's easy. Here I'll show you," Nina said, pulling the mixing bowl closer to her. She took Lucy's hand and put the egg in it. She moved Lucy's hand over the bowl's edge. "Just hit it gently on the side of the bowl to make a crack and then pull it apart with two hands."

Lucy did what Nina said, Nina guiding her hands a little bit and the egg fell into the bowl. She smiled as she looked at the yellow yolk at the bottom of the bowl.

"Good job, no shell," Nina said with a smile. "Okay, butter. I'll do that." Nina grabbed the butter and a knife. "It has lines on the wrapper, see? So it's already measured for us. We just have to cut on the lines." Nina cut on the one cup line, took off the paper and threw the butter in the bowl. She then picked up the three quarter cup and handed it to Lucy. "Do you want to measure the sugar?"

Lucy nodded. Nina pushed the sugar jar towards Lucy and Lucy opened it up, scooping some sugar into the bowl. Nina then handed her the brown sugar. Lucy began scooping it up and was about to pour it into the bowl when Nina stopped her.

"Wait," she said, opening the drawer on the side of the counter and pulling out a butter knife. "You don't let it heap like that. You can use the back of the knife to flatten it out. Like this, watch."

Nina guided Lucy's hand back over the bag of brown sugar and scraped the back of the knife over top of it to level it. When she was done, Lucy poured it into the bowl.

"Have you ever baked cookies before?" Nina asked.

Lucy shook her head. "No," she said. "Do you bake a lot? You're not even looking at the book. Do you have the recipe memorized?"

"I think I might bake far too often," Nina said with a laugh as she picked up the teaspoon and the vanilla extract. She started measuring out the vanila. "I'm surprised you've never baked before. We can bake more sometime if you'd like. I can teach you how to make a whole bunch of different things."

"Okay," Lucy said with a small smile. "How did you learn how to bake?"

"Oh, my mother taught me," Nina said with a smile, pouring the vanilla into the bowl and putting it down. "She taught me how to cook and bake. She liked it too."

Lucy's smile faded away. "Oh..." she said. "I never cooked before. My mum never taught me."

Nina's smile faded too. She had completely forgot. How stupid was she? She shouldn't have brought up her mother. She really hoped Lucy didn't think she was bragging.

"I'm sorry, love," Nina said with a sigh. She reached up and put a hand on Lucy's shoulder. She knew that her mother had left two years ago but she didn't know much. Daniel didn't talk about her very much.

"It's not your fault," Lucy said, pulling away a bit. Nina took her hand away, not wanting to make Lucy uncomfortable, and Lucy looked down at her hands. "I'm fine."

"Alright, let's mix this up," Nina said, deciding to get back to the cookies. "Do you guys have a mixer or do we have to do it by hand?"

"We have one," Lucy mumbled, hopping off the stool and walking towards a cupboard. She pulled out a light blue hand mixer and walked back to Nina.

Nina took it from her and smiled. She started unwrapping the cord around it and said, "this is really cute. I like your mixer."

"It was my mum's."

Goddammit! Nina felt like she was just constantly putting her foot in her mouth. "Ah, so," she said, holding out the mixer to Lucy. "Do you want to do the mixing?"

"I guess," Lucy mumbled, taking the mixer and sticking it in the bowl. She looked at the buttons on top of it and Nina pointed out the one she had to press. Lucy pressed it and Nina quickly grabbed it to help her control the mixer and stop the dough from flying everywhere. Next they started mixing the dry ingredients and then mixed the two bowls together. Nina adds the chocolate chips and looks in the bowl.

"I think we need more chocolate chips," she said, looking at the sparsely mixed in chocolate chips. "We probably shouldn't have eaten so many."

"I think we have some in the pantry," Lucy said softly.

"Do you want to go grab them?" Nina asked.

"Okay," Lucy said, hopping off the footstool again and walking back towards the pantry. She grabbed the chocolate chips and looked at the bag. "It's already open. I think Daniel was eating them."

Nina laughed. "Well, I think half of this bag and half of that bag should be enough," she said as she pulled out a baking sheet.

Lucy walked back towards the counter when her foot got caught on a bag of rice laying on the pantry floor and she fell forward. She hit the ground with a crash and chocolate chips scattered across the floor.

"Are you okay?" Nina asked, rushing over to help her up.

Lucy didn't look up as she pushed herself up onto her knees. "I - I dropped all the chocolate chips," she whispered, sitting up on her knees and looking around. "I made a mess."

Nina saw the tears fill her eyes and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, hey. It's okay," she said. She picked up the bag. "There's still a little bit left in here that we can use and we'll clean up the rest of it. It's not a problem, don't worry."

Tears fell down Lucy's face and she fell back on her butt, sticking her legs out in front of her and hiding her head in her hands. "I - I can't do a-anything right."

"No, no," Nina said, soothingly, putting an arm around her and pulling her closer. "Lucy, it was an accident. It's okay."

Lucy just kept crying. She couldn't even really explain why. It felt like the floodgates had opened and now she couldn't stop herself. It had just been so much lately. She had been going through so much and she hadn't cried in a long time. She had tried to bottle it up for so long and now she felt like she was exploding. And the thing that finally pushed her off the edge; chocolate chips.

Nina pulled her closer and hugged her tightly, rubbing small circles on her back. "Shh... I know, love, I know," she whispered. "I know that this is about more than just the chocolate chips. It's hard. I can't imagine all the anxiety and pressure that you feel. It's okay to cry sometimes. It's okay to not be okay."

Lucy hugged Nina and buried her face in her chest. "I - I just want my mommy and daddy so bad!"

"I know, love," Nina whispered, tears filling her own eyes. She held Lucy tightly.

"N-Nina," she said, looking up with a tear stained, broken expression. "I'm - I'm scared. Th-they keep say- saying I'm brave and strong and I'm t-trying b-but I don't think - think I am!"

"You are, my love. You are so strong and brave. Sometimes even the strongest, bravest people cry," Nina said, reaching up, wiping the tears off Lucy's cheeks and cupping her face in her hands. "Listen, crying is not weak. It's not cowardly to be scared. Things happen and they... they suck and it's okay to acknowledge that they suck. It's okay to let yourself be scared or to let yourself cry. Being brave is what comes after."

"H-how do I be brave?" Lucy asked with a sniff, wanting nothing more than to feel a little braver, a little more in control, right now.

"You wipe the tears away, you pick up the chocolate chips and you keep making cookies," Nina said with a smile. She helped Lucy up and then got up on her knees so that they were face to face, putting her hands on her shoulders and holding her an arm's length away. "Lucy, I'm eighteen years old and in that eighteen years I've met my fair share of six year old. I can tell you with great certainty that you are the strongest, bravest, and smartest six year old that I have ever met."

Lucy smiled a little bit. "You think so?"

"I know so," Nina says with a smile.

Lucy moved closer and gave Nina another hug, wrapping her arms around her neck. "Thank you, Nina," she said quietly. "I'm glad that you're here."

"Of course," she said. "I'll always be here for you. If you need me, I'll be here."

And Nina meant it. She loved this little girl and wanted nothing more than to protect her from the world. Lucy needed someone right now. She needed Nina and god help anyone who tried to stop Nina from helping her. No matter what happened, she would be here for this little girl.

"Okay, let's get this cleaned up and those cookies in the oven. Then I'll order some dinner and we can just stay in for the rest of the night. I was planning on taking you down to the observatory as well because Daniel told me about how much you love space but I think we can do that another day," Nina said, standing up again. Lucy still clung close to her though. "Where is your broom?"

"Ah... actually," Lucy said, a little uncertainly. She took a deep breath and decidedly looked up at Nina. "Can I show you something?"

"Of course," Nina said with a smile.

"Watch," Lucy said, taking a step forward. She took another deep breath and put out her hand.

Nina raised an eyebrow, not quite sure what Lucy was trying to do. She was about to say something when the chocolate chips on the ground began to shake. Nina looked around the floor with wide eyes as the chips floated two feet up into the air and spun around Lucy until they collected into one group. The group flew towards the the sink, the cupboard door under the sink opened on its own for the cluster of chocolate chips and they settled themselves in the rubbish bin. Lucy then turned to look back at Nina apprehensively. She really hoped she hadn't scared her brother's girlfriend away.

"W-wow," Nina said finally. She quickly controlled the shock on her face and her eyes went back to normal size. "How did you do that?"

"Magic," Lucy said. "I'm a witch. Well, actually just part witch. My mum could do magic, she was a witch. Dad and Daniel can't do magic. I taught myself how to control it. My mum left a few books behind and I've been reading those too."

"Wow... I didn't know that - that magic was real!'

"Yeah, Dad and Daniel didn't know either until Mum told them. You're not supposed to tell people who can't do magic unless they're... they're really important to you."

Nina smiled. "That's really cool, Lucy. I knew you were special but I didn't expect anything like this!" she said. "Thank you for sharing that with me."

Lucy smiled too, walked back over to Nina again and hugged her one more time. They finished making their cookies and while they were in the oven, Nina ordered food for dinner.

They sat down on the couch in the living room, ate their pizza and cookies, and watched Aladdin instead of going out again. While the movie was playing, Lucy cuddled a little closer to Nina and told her more about the Wizarding World, what she knew anyways. She also told her more about her mother.

"I don't know why she left," Lucy said sadly, resting her head on Nina's chest. Nina, who had her arms wrapped around her, gave her a little squeeze. "Daddy keeps saying that she'll come back but it's... it's been two years now and she's still not back. I don't think she'll ever come home."

"Well, I think that it's horribly stupid for someone to give up the opportunity to have someone as amazing as you in their life," Nina said, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

Lucy smiled a little. "And Daniel and Daddy too. They're awesome too."

"Yes, they are."

Lucy also told Nina about the girls at school who've been so mean to her. It felt good to finally have it off her chest, to actually talk to someone else about it.

"That was the girl that bumped into you at the theatre?" Nina asked with a frown. Lucy nodded. "How long has this been going on?"

"Since I was five," Lucy said, holding up five fingers. "I was moved up to year six and I met her and she didn't like me even before I said anything to her. I don't know what I did."

"I don't think you've done anything," Nina said. "This girl sounds horrible. She must be a very sad person if she just decided to hate someone she didn't even know yet."

"A sad person?"

"A lot of the time when people aren't happy with the person they are, they'll take it out on other people," she explained. "It's terrible but it happens. I'll talk to Daniel, maybe he or I could talk to one of your teachers or -"

"No," Lucy said, looking up at Nina and shaking her head violently. "It's not that bad. You don't have to do that. I can handle it."

"It's okay to -"

"No. Please, Nina. I can handle it."

Nina looked her over for a second before finally nodding. "Fine," she said, though she still planned to talk to Daniel about it. "But if it continues then you tell me, okay? This isn't nothing, Lucy. It's serious. Bullying is bad and she should learn that."

Lucy nodded, though she had no plans to do that.

They finished their dinner and movie and then Nina called the hospital so Lucy could talk to Jay. Lucy told her father all about her day with Nina and informed him of all the food they were going to bring him tomorrow when they came to visit.

"I can't wait, Kitten," he said. Lucy could hear the smile in his voice and it made her smile too. "Your cookies sound delicious and I can't wait to try them."

"Nina says that we'll leave for London first thing tomorrow morning," Lucy said. "I can't wait to actually see you. I'm sorry we couldn't come today. I wanted to so bad."

"I know, my darling. It's okay. I understand. I can't wait to see you all tomorrow as well."

Lucy talked with Jay a little longer before saying goodbye, 'I love you' and giving the phone back to Nina. Nina talked to Jay as well and was informed that he was doing okay, very tired from his surgery but okay. Daniel was still there but would be headed out soon.

When she hung up the phone with Jay, she and Lucy walked back into the living room and Nina put on another movie for them to watch. They sat back down on the couch, snuggled close under a throw blanket and watched the movie.

Daniel came home about an hour later to find them laying on the couch with their arms around each other fast asleep. He smiled as he walked over and gave Nina's shoulder a little shake.

"Hey," he said when Nina opened her eyes.

"Oh, hey, Daniel," she whispers sleepily. "How was your day?"

"It was okay," he said. "The surgery was long and then it took a while longer for Dad to wake up. It's hard to tell right now whether it did anything or not, the doctors said that we'll have to wait to see. Hopefully... something comes of it."

"I hope so," Nina said.

"Well, should we head up to bed?" asked Daniel. Nina nodded a little and looked down at Lucy. Daniel moved and gently picked her up into his arms. Lucy stirred and opened her eyes.

"D-Daniel?"

"Yeah, kid. I'm home," he said softly. "Looks like you and Nina fell asleep while watching The Little Mermaid."

Lucy looked over and saw Princess Ariel being turned back into a human by her father. Nina sat up and found the remote so she could turn off the television.

"So, did you have fun with Nina today?" Daniel asked.

Lucy nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, it was nice," she whispered. "We went to the ballet and made cookies. It was fun."

"That's good," he said with a smile.

Nina stood up and they walked towards the stairs. They went upstairs and Daniel went into Lucy's bedroom to help her into bed while Nina went into his. She changed her clothes and climbed into bed. Daniel came moments later, changed and climbed in beside her as well. He put an arm around her and kissed her cheek.

"Thank you for staying with Lucy today," he said.

"Of course," Nina said with a smile, cuddling closer to him and resting her head on his chest. "So, Lucy showed me something quite odd today."

"Oh?"

"Now, this may not be news to you but it was definitely news to me," she said casually, "but apparently magic is real and witches and wizards exist."

Daniel didn't say anything for a second before finally sighing and saying, "that kid can't keep a secret to save her life."

Nina laughed. "I'm a little hurt you didn't tell me."

"There's like laws about it. We're not supposed to tell people," Daniel said. "But I'm glad you know. It makes things easier. Please don't tell anyone though. I don't want Lucy to get in trouble."

"Of course," she said. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Lucy's mum was the witch," he said quietly. "The Wizarding World isn't having a good time right now. Apparently there's a war going on."

"A war?" Nina asked, looking up at him with raised eyebrows.

He nodded though he didn't look at her. "There's a group of wizards who think that wizards born with two magic parents are better than wizards born with no magical parents. They're called Muggleborns. Muggle is what they call non-magical people."

"Wow."

"Yeah. That's why she left. Apparently it was safer. She thought it was anyway. I don't think my father agreed but he let her go anyways. We haven't heard anything from her or any wizard or witch since. Lucy hasn't seen her grandmother or her aunts and uncles. Her godmother. No one has even sent a letter."

"I'm so sorry, Daniel."

"It's okay. I'm okay. It's Lucy you should worry about. I know she remembers everyone. She didn't just lose her mother. She lost an entire half of her family."

"So did you," Nina said, reaching up and putting a hand on his cheek. "And it's okay for you to let yourself feel that. She left you too, not just Lucy, and it's okay to be mad at her for that. It's okay to think about how you're hurting too."

He looked down at her finally and have her a sad little smile. "Thank you, Nina," he said. "I just need to control my emotions for her sake. Lucy needs someone who can be strong for her and I have to be that person."

Nina sighed. Daniel was an amazing person. He helped everyone else before himself. He had to be strong for his sister, for his father, for himself. She just hoped he didn't burn himself out.

"Anyways, thanks again for looking after Lucy today," he said, breaking the comfortable silence. "I know that she can be a handful sometimes so I appreciate it."

"That's okay," Nina said. "Lucy's not a handful. She just needs a little bit more attention than most children her age and that's understandable considering everything she's been going through."

"Yeah."

"She wasn't having a very good day today when I picked her up."

Daniel sighed. "I know. She's been having a lot of bad days lately and I don't know how to help her."

"When we were making cookies," Nina said quietly, "she broke down. I think it just all got too much for her. She cried so much, Daniel. It was heartbreaking. She said that she was trying so hard to be strong and brave but she didn't know how and I told her that it's okay to cry. That a lot of very strong and brave people cry every now and again."

"Poor Lucy."

"Apparently there are these girls at school that aren't being very nice to her," Nina said. "She said that they say mean things to her but she doesn't want us to talk to the school about it. Said she can handle it herself."

Daniel sighed. "Should we talk to them anyway?"

"Maybe we should ask your dad what he thinks?"

"I don't know. I don't want him to worry. Maybe we'll just see if it continues and if it does we'll go talk to the school."

"Alright."

"Thank you for telling me."

"Of course."

"Why don't we get some rest. I'm sure Lucy will make us get up early tomorrow to go into London."

Nina smiled and nodded. "Okay, goodnight, Daniel."

"Goodnight, love."


Wednesday, July 14th 1999

Nina sighed as she leaned forward in her chair. She had her arms resting on Lucy's bed and her chin on her arms, watching the girl's chest go up and down irregularly. Daniel wasn't here. He had stormed off earlier after they had gotten into yet another argument. Isobel was also away. She had gone out for the day to check up on Malcolm and the others and to keep them informed of Lucy's condition. Amelia and Raj were at work so it was just Nina and Minerva sitting around the bed.

Minerva looked up at Nina from her papers. "If you need to take a little break as well, I don't mind," she said. "I'll be alright on my own."

"I don't need a break," Nina said quietly. "I just... I don't know."

Minerva sighed. "I know," she said.

"Have I told you about the first day Lucy and I spent just the two of us?" Nina asked, looking up at Minerva with a small smile.

"You have not," she said, putting her quill down and leaning back in her chair.

Nina straightened up and leaned back in her chair as well. "It was the day of Uncle Jay's lung transplant," she said. "He didn't want Lucy at the hospital when they did it because he was worried it would scare her but Daniel and Raj had to go be there for him, obviously, so they needed someone to watch Lucy. I offered to look after her and planned a nice day for us."

Minerva smiled. "That was very nice of you."

Nina shrugged. "It's not hard," she said, reaching out and running her fingers through Lucy's hair, "spending time with her. It's great. I had a lot of fun."

Minerva smiled again.

"She was definitely not into it at first," Nina said. "She didn't want to spend the day with me. She wasn't having a great day to begin with because some girls at school were being mean to her and she just wanted to go to London to see her father. A girls night with me was not something she was very psyched about."

"Oh, poor Lucy," Minerva said with a sigh.

"We had fun though," Nina said. "I took her to the ballet."

"I bet she loved that," Minerva said with a smile.

"Oh yes," she said with a smile. "Said she wanted to be just like them, the ballerinas. Asked me if I thought she could and you should have seen the way her face lit up when I told her that I believed she could. I told her that she was a great dancer and that if she really wanted to, I'm sure she could become a ballerina for the Royal Ballet."

"Definitely," Minerva said. "Lucy has the determination. Jay definitely though she was good enough as well. Her first ballet recital he decided that she was the best of the best. I laughed at him but, honestly, watching her up there now I could completely see her making it her career."

Nina nodded. "Uncle Jay was very sad when he could no longer go to her recitals," she said with a sigh. "Lucy was sad too. Daniel and I would go and Uncle Raj would come whenever he could but it wasn't the same."

Minerva looked down at her daughter and sighed. She reached out and took her hand, giving it a little squeeze.

"He had Uncle Raj bring daisies to the hospital so that he could give them to her after every recital even though he couldn't make it," Nina said with a small smile.

"Of course he did," Minerva said, smiling a small smile as well. Then her smile faded and she sighed. "Nina, you were there at the hospital. Do you really think this is not the same?"

"I believe it's not," Nina said confidently. "I believe Lucy will wake up. She's strong and she's brave. She doesn't think she is but she is. She's going to wake, I know she is."

Minerva smiled a little and nodded. "She is."

"After the ballet we went back home and baked cookies," Nina said. "She accidently dropped all the chocolate chips and then broke down crying. She had been bottling it all up for so long and then this just kind of pushed her over the edge. I told her that it's okay to cry. That even the strongest, bravest people cry sometimes and she asked me how you be brave."

"What did you say?"

"I said, 'you wipe the tears away, you pick up the chocolate chips and you keep making cookies'."


Monday, July 19th 1999

"How's she doing?" Remus asked as he walked over to Lucy's bed in the Hospital Wing.

Minerva looked up and sighed. "Has not changed a bit."

"Well... I brought some flowers," he said a little uncertainly, holding up a bouquet of brightly coloured flowers. "Thought it might... bring a little colour to this room."

Nina smiled, got up from her seat beside Daniel and took the bouquet from him. "Thank you, Remus," she said quietly as she put the flowers into a vase on the bedside table. "That was very nice of you."

"It's not a problem," he said, pulling up a chair for himself.

"So, how are you doing, Remus?" Isobel asked, giving him a smile.

"I'm fine," he replied.

"I heard you were taking a lot more guard shifts in Hogsmeade recently," Daniel said. Remus gave a little shrug.

"I know why," Nina mumbled. "Sirius has been at the castle more so you're hiding out in Hogsmeade."

"Not true," Remus said. Minerva gave him a look. He frowned. "It's not."

Minerva sighed and shook her head. "You two are being ridiculous."

"He's the one being ridiculous," Remus muttered, looking away. He shook his head. "I don't want to talk about him. I came down to see how Lucy was doing not to worry about him. Has Slughorn made any headway on an antidote?"

"Last time I went down to the dungeons to check on him I watched a cauldron blow up in his face," Minerva mumbled with another sigh. "So, I would venture to guess the answer is no."

"He's... trying," Isobel said. It was the nicest thing she could think to say right now. "Very hard."

Daniel looked down at his sister and took her hand. "It's been weeks."

Nina put a hand on his shoulder. "Slughorn will find an antidote," she said. "I know he will. We just have to wait."

Remus looked around the Hospital Wing at the other children and sighed. "Nine children," he whispered. "It was a large attack."

Isobel sighed and shook her head. "It was aimed at children," she mumbled. "Of course a child would not think twice about finding a random black box laying around. They were just excited for something new."

"I don't think Lucy will be allowed anywhere without either one of us present from now on," Minerva muttered. "From now on one of us will stay with her always."

Daniel nodded. "I think that's a good idea."

"I still think my flat is a good option," Nina said quietly.

"Nina, we barely fit in your flat just the two of us," Daniel said. He was very sick of her bringing that up constantly. "Where would Lucy even sleep?"

"On the bed with me," Nina replied sharply with a frown. She removed her hand from his shoulder and crossed her arms. "While you slept out on the couch."

"With my legs hanging off the end?" he muttered.

"The ground is always a good option for you as well," Nina snipped. "Maybe serve your spoiled ass a little good."

"I've slept on a floor before," he said, becoming angry now. "Just because I had more -"

"That's enough!" Minerva cut in with a frown before Daniel could say something very stupid. "You two should be ashamed of yourselves. We are all on the same side. We all want what is best for the safety of all of us. Fighting amongst ourselves will not help that cause."

Nina and Daniel both looked away angrily. Daniel stood up. "I need some air."

He took one last look at Lucy before sighing and walking away, out of the Hospital Wing. Nina watched him go for a second before looking back at Lucy too. She stood up too.

"I'm going down to the staffroom for coffee."

"We can order -"

"No, I think the walk will do me some good," Nina muttered, cutting Isobel off, as she turned on her heel and walked out of the Hospital Wing too.

Isobel sighed and shook her head. "They've been like that all summer."

Minerva sighed too and Remus gave them both a reassuring look. "Everyone's still scared," he said. "I'm sure once Slughorn finds an antidote they'll be fine."

"You and Sirius are fighting. Daniel and Nina are fighting. Everyone's fighting," Minerva muttered, looking down at Lucy and brushing her face with her finger gently. "I don't know how much more we can all take."

"Sirius and I are different from Nina and Daniel. I don't think they're fighting enough to actually break up," he said. "They're fighting because they both care. That's not really a mixture for the end of a relationship."

Minerva shook her head. "You're still so young, Remus."

He smiled a little. "I'm sorry I'm not as cynical as you are yet, Professor," he said. "Though I feel I may be getting there."

"Don't say that," Isobel said with a shake of her head. "You should never become as cynical as my daughter."

Remus laughed a little and Minerva gave her mother a look. She was about to say something when Sirius walked up to the bed. Sirius saw Remus and suddenly got very awkward. He was also holding a bouquet of flowers in his arms. "I was just... I'll come back another time."

"No," Remus muttered, standing up. "I'll see you later, Minerva, Isobel."

"You don't -" Minerva began.

"Bye," Remus said, walking past Sirius towards the door.

Minerva sighed and Sirius awkwardly held out his bouquet. "I brought flowers."

"Thank you, Sirius," Isobel said with a small smile, taking the bouquet from him. She conjured up another vase and set the flowers inside it.

Sirius looked over at Lucy's bedside table. It was covered in flowers, cards, and stuffed animals. He smiled a little and nodded towards it. "She's very popular."

"All of the Weasley children and one of her school friends made her get well soon cards," Minerva said with a smile. "And James and Lily and Remus and Peter all brought flowers as well. Raj and a lot of other Order members brought the toys."

"Hmm."

"Why don't you sit, Sirius?" Isobel said, motioning to the chair that Remus had just vacated. He looked at it for a second before nodding and sitting down.

"Sirius," Minerva said, watching him carefully. "This thing with Remus -"

"Don't tell me I'm being ridiculous, Minerva," he said, cutting her off. "I think he's the spy. All the evidence points to him."

"What evidence?" Isobel asked.

"He was the only one I told that I was going to be in Essex and then I was -"

"That was a coincidence!" Minerva exclaimed. "Sirius, Death Eaters are everywhere. Just because they found you there doesn't mean that he's the one."

"There are no coincidences anymore," Sirius replied quietly. He looked down at Lucy. "Do you think it's also a coincidence that the box was left in the Great Hall? Do you think whoever left it is looking around their trunk trying to figure out where they misplaced it?"

Minerva gave him a look. "That's different."

"Is it?"

"It is," Minerva said, glaring at him. "Sirius -"

"Maybe it was him who brought the package in to begin with," Sirius continued.

"Sirius!"

"Sirius, don't say that," Isobel said softly, looking down at Lucy with a sigh. "He's come to see her almost everyday. He loves her and would never do anything to hurt her."

"No, listen. He's a guard," he continued. "He could probably get a package in."

"Guards are checked too," Minerva said with a frown.

"He's really smart. Always has been," Sirius insisted. "He probably came up with a way to get it by the other guards."

"Sirius, I was aware of your suspicion of Remus so I did my own investigation and found no evidence that Remus was the spy," Minerva implored. She sighed and looked down at Lucy, taking her hand in her's. "Mother is right. Remus would never do anything to hurt Lucy. He's proven as much. He loves her and he's so good with her."

"He is very smart. Always has been," Sirius said again. "And what a better way to convince the Order he was trustworthy than to suck up to Minerva McGonagall's daughter."

"Sirius..."

"It's not really a surprise, I guess, that one of my closest friends would turn out to be the spy. I'm a pretty bad judge of character."

"Sirius, you're paranoid," Isobel said. "You're not a bad judge of character. You and Remus have been friends for so long. I've heard all the stories," she smiled a little, "all the complaints. You two have always looked out for each other. He would never turn his back on you and you him. You are allowed to have people in your life that you trust."

He didn't respond.

Minerva sighed and shook her head. "So nothing we say will ever convince you that he isn't the spy?"

He sighed and looked away. "I didn't want to believe it either but I don't see any other way," he said sadly. "He knew about your home in Rochester, he knew about Edgar's home, he knew about... Marlene's home... and he was there when Lucy let slip that you guys were going to up Castletown."

"His own flat was also raided," Isobel said.

"Good way to throw us off his trail," he replied. "Also, being at Hogwarts makes it easier for him to pick up information."

"But... Dorcas," Minerva said quietly, rubbing small circles on the back of Lucy's hand. "He loved her so much. He would never have given them the information that would get her killed."

Sirius didn't respond for a while. He stared down at Lucy and sighed. "People do horrible things to the ones they say they love."

"Sirius -"

"Ask my mother."

He got up quickly before Minerva or Isobel could say anything. "I hope Lucy and the others make a quick recovery," he said, still not looking at them. "I'm going to go check in on And and Dora quickly. I'll see you later, Minerva, Isobel."

"Goodbye, Sirius," Isobel said with a sigh.

"Take care of yourself, Sirius," Minerva said quietly. "Stay safe."

He nodded and left for the Tonks's bed.

Minerva looked at Isobel and sighed. Isobel reached out and took her hand. "It'll be okay," she said. "When we figure out who the real spy is those two will make up and be great friends once again."

Minerva nodded slowly. She looked down at Lucy and sighed again. "Since your house was overrun, she had a very hard time trusting people again. It's hard to show her that it's okay to trust people when so many people are starting to distrust each other."

"I know," Isobel said with a sigh. "She'll be okay. When she wakes up we'll make sure that she knows that it's okay to trust your friends."

Minerva nodded again.

Isobel checked her watch. "It's been a while," she said. "Maybe I should go check on Daniel and Nina."

"That's a good idea," Minerva said. "It's almost lunchtime."

"I'll find them," she said, getting up. She put a hand on Minerva's shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. "I'll be back soon."

Again Minerva nodded. She watched her go for a second before pulling her chair closer to Lucy's bed and took her hand again. "It's so hard right now, darling, to trust people and I know you were having a hard time too after what happened to your grandmother's house but we must still trust our friends. We need to find the people that are trustworthy and keep them close. Not push them away. This war has divided a lot of friends and families but the best way to fight it is together as one," she whispered though she knew Lucy probably couldn't hear her. "When you wake up I will stay with you so much more. No more running around outside of Hogwarts all the time investigating people that are our friends. I'll spend every night with you. I won't let you out of my sight."

She sat there with Lucy for a really long time until Isobel, Daniel and Nina came back. Minerva smiled when she saw them enter the room hand in hand. They had talked to each other, told each other how they felt, and now had a better understanding where the other was coming from. Daniel had explained that after everything that's happened and everything that they'd gone through he needed to keep the family together as much as possible. She understood and agreed that they should stay at Hogwarts. All she wanted to do was making sure that everyone was safe and if he thought Hogwarts was safe then she would agree to staying here.

Minerva was very relieved that the two had made up and that they were both onboard with keeping Lucy here at Hogwarts. Even with what happened she did believe that Hogwarts was the safest place for them. They would increase security and something like this would never happen again. Hogwarts was safe. She was sure of it.


Thursday, July 29th 1999

"No, I can put down this card and... block you?" Daniel said.

"You have no idea how to play this game do you," Nina said with a laugh.

"Not at all," he replied with a smile.

"Wait, I think I'm getting it," Isobel said with a frown. "He can't block you but doesn't that card beat your's because it's part of the royal family?"

"I think that we should just play a new game," Nina said with a laugh and a shake of her head as she started collecting the cards back up. Isobel sighed and handed her the cards in her hand. Daniel did the same though he looked very defeated over not being able to fully understand this new game.

Minerva looked at them over her newspaper, shaking her head but smiling. They were still sitting in the Hospital Wing by Lucy's bed trying to occupy themselves until Raj and Amelia got back from work. Minerva was about to say something when the curtain around the bed was pulled to the side and Dumbledore looked in.

"Minerva, could I please ask you to take a walk with me?" he said.

Minerva looked at him and saw the worry behind his eyes. She nodded, folded up her paper and got up. Isobel, Daniel and Nina watch them with concern.

"I'll be right back," she said as she followed Dumbledore out of the curtains and through the Hospital Wing. They walked quietly as not to disturb the other patients or families. When they finally got outside Minerva said, "What's happened?"

"London," he said, lowering his voice as they pass a classroom where people were talking and laughing. He led her through the Entrance Hall and out the front door. They stepped out into the cool night air and he finally turned to look at her.

"We're not going, are we?" Minerva said, feeling something in the pit of her stomach.

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "There's been another large scale attack. Thirty three muggles and fifteen wizards. Right outside the Ministry building. Muggle news has blamed a gas leak."

"Forty eight people!" Minerva exclaimed. Her bad feeling validated. "That's three large scale attacks just in the last two weeks! The war is escalating!"

"I know," he said. "And we may not be able to hide it from the Muggles if it continues for much longer."

"What's our next move?"

He took a deep breath. "We may need to strengthen our offensive," he said. "I'm sending people in to join the Death Eaters."

"What! How will you manage that? Any Order member will be sniffed out right away!"

"I'm going to be talking with the recently graduated Slytherin," Dumbledore said. "The ones Horace was keen on."

"You're joking," Minerva said. "You're sending in children!"

"It's the only way, Minerva," he said. "They have people in our ranks and now we need people in theirs. Like you said, any Order member will be sniffed out immediately. We need to use someone who is unknown to both groups. It's the only way."

Minerva just stared at him for a long time before finally speaking. "We have worked hard with these children to try and show them that they do not have to join those foul monsters and now you want to turn around and tell them otherwise?"

"It's the only way."

"I have personally spoken with many of them, trying to convince them that they do not have to follow in their parents footsteps. I have tried to create an environment where they will learn that a person's value is not dependent on who their parents were and I even think I've gotten through to some of them."

"Yes, and I commend you for it but -"

"And now. Now you expect me to tell them to forget everything I said and join that group. Do horrible things and get into You-Know-Who's inner circle."

"For the greater good," he said. "As the Muggles say, 'the ends justify the means'."

"Do they? I am not in the right state to debate with you right now but making children kill in order to save others does not seem like the ends are justifying the means," Minerva spit.

"It's our best option at present."

Minerva shook her head and turned on her heel. She walked back into the castle, leaving him out in the cool summer night not trusting herself to speak on the matter any further. He watched her go without a word knowing full well that she would never come around to his side on this, even if it was the only option they had right now.

...

"Oh, thank god!" Nina exclaimed when Raj walked through the curtain towards Lucy's bed. She walked around the bed and hugged him. "You are so late! We were so scared that you may have been close to where the attack had been!"

"I'm very sorry for scaring you all," Raj said, hugging her back. "I wasn't close to the explosion. It's okay. I'm guessing it wasn't a gaspipe."

"No," Minerva said with a shake of her head.

He sighed and sat down in his chair. Nina went back over to Daniel. Raj looked around. "Where's Amelia?"

"She's okay too. She sent word that she was okay," Isobel said. "The explosion was right outside her building so we were all very worried. She should be here soon."

Raj nodded. He looked at Lucy. "Still no change?"

"No," Daniel muttered. "Absolutely no change. Whatsoever."

Everyone looked at Lucy and sighed. Things were just getting worse and worse. It was hard to absorb it all. It was hard to keep up with everything that was happening.


Author's Note:

"You wipe the tears away, you pick up the chocolate chips and you keep making cookies"

God, Nina's the best!

Thank you for reading and I hope that you liked it! Please leave a review telling me what you think! It makes me happy seeing that people are actually reading my story!