Times Like These

by zzainishh

The war was getting worse and worse. The target on her back ever increasing due to her work on the Order of the Phoenix and her Professorship at Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall decided that leaving home was the safest option for her family. Two excruciating years go by and she receives some horrifying news that brings her home right away. (Set during the First Wizard War)

34. Interlude I

Quick Note:

I am very sorry for my long absence, things got pretty busy with exams and I had other things to deal with. I am back now and I thought an interlude to introduce you to the new peaceful Wizarding World a few years after the end of the war would be a nice before the real story picks up again. The interlude is in two parts but afterwards I will be starting to post chapters following Lucy's life during the events of the first Harry Potter book.

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A *not so short* Short Interlude - Part 1/2 - In which we are reintroduced to beloved characters and introduced to some new characters

"Lucy, come on, it was a joke. Calm down."

"I'm not talking about your stupid joke, Jordan," Lucy Collins muttered, glaring at the brown haired boy with the thin wire frame glasses and the rolled up sleeves she usually liked so much.

They were sitting in a coffee shop in Mayfair, three weeks into their summer break from Oxford University. Jordan Weller had come up to London for the weekend to meet with some friends. He had asked Lucy to come out to coffee with him since it had been three weeks since they had seen each other last. Of course, Jordan greeted his girlfriend, who he had not seen in three weeks, in the most gentlemanly of ways; with a proposition to have sex in the coffee shop bathroom.

Lucy and Jordan had been together for six months now and she had decided last week that she would be breaking up with him today. Their relationship had not been anything like Lucy had imagined her first relationship would be like. Sometimes she was happy being with him, other times she felt like they may be better as friends. Jordan was the first boy Lucy had kissed. The first one to ever touch her. The first one to ever even tell her she was pretty. Which is probably why she had stayed with him for as long as she had even though she had never been completely present in their relationship.

"I just don't think that this is working out," Lucy said, looking down at her coffee and sighing. "I haven't really been a hundred percent in it and I don't think that's fair to you so I think it's best that we stop seeing each other. Besides you'll be going off to Harvard in September and -"

"Is that it? Are you worried that I'll meet someone else in America?" Jordan asked with a frown. "Are you jealous of me getting into Harvard?"

"No, of course not," Lucy said, looking up at him with a frown. "I'm very proud of you for getting into Harvard, that's great. I just think that it's time we go our separate ways. Maybe you will meet someone else in America. That would be nice."

"Lucy, you're being ridiculous. You know it was a joke," Jordan said angrily. "I didn't really want us to go do it in the bathroom. I was just trying to be funny. It was stupid."

"It's not about that!" Lucy said. She took a deep breath and shook her head. "I wanted to tell you in person. I didn't feel right doing it over the phone. I am genuinely happy for you for getting into Harvard, Jordan, and I hope that you enjoy the rest of your degree there. Thank you for coffee. Goodbye."

Lucy got up and picked up her purse. Before she could turn and leave, however, Jordan got up and grabbed her arm. Lucy looked at him with wide eyes.

"Lucy, I love you. You're being stupid. Let's talk about this!" he said much too loudly, gripping her arm tightly.

"I'm done talking, Jordan," she said, trying to pull away but he was too strong. She looked around at everyone in the coffee shop looking at them and lowered her voice quickly. "I have to go. My mother is expecting me."

"Lucy, seriously. Just sit down!"

"No."

An older gentleman who had been sitting with his wife at a table nearby got up then and walked towards them. "Is everything alright over here?"

Jordan looked at him for a second and then down at his hand still wrapped tightly around Lucy's arm. He quickly let go and said, "fine. We're fine." He looked back at Lucy. "This isn't over. You're in a bad mood right now because of my stupid joke. I'll call you later and we can talk about this."

"I'm not in a bad mood. I have made my decision," Lucy said, glaring at him. "Don't call me. I won't pick up."

With that she turned, long black hair whipping around her shoulder as she did, and walked out of the coffee shop. She put her bag over her shoulder and crossed her arms angrily as she walked down the street towards the tube. She was glad that was over with. She had expected it to be that bad and had prepared herself for such. Jordan Weller was a man used to getting everything he wanted and not getting Lucy, who he had "worked so hard for", was a detrimental blow to his inflated ego.

It was the right thing to do though. Jordan could yell at her and tell her how much he loved her but the ball of tension that had been building inside her since their very first kiss eased up ever so slightly and Lucy was happy with her decision. She was content with leaving him fuming in that coffee shop alone. She was free.

Lucy got on the train and took it away from Mayfair, leaving Jordan and all the worry that came along with him behind her. She walked through the crowds of business people getting off work and school children laughing with their friends as they walk home from school. She jumped out of the way of a biker and crossed the road in front of a taxi cab that stopped just in time not to hit her.

Finally she made it to Whitehall and stepped into a red phone booth. She punched in the code, six, two, four, four, two, and slowly the booth platform began to lower like an elevator. The busy London street disappeared above her but none of the passers-by seemed to notice Lucy sinking into the ground.

Lucy stepped out of the booth when it settled on the ground in a large atrium. Busy looking wizards and witches were walking through briskly, getting to meetings or heading home for the day. Paper airplanes carrying important messages whizzed by overhead and a young man by a newspaper stand tried to get people's attention in order to sell papers.

Lucy ignored him and kept walking passed the large fountain in the middle of the atrium that had stood there for as long as she could remember. She saw the large banner hanging over head that portrayed the newly appointed Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge. The election had concluded just a few weeks ago and, as always, everyone was happy to put election season behind them.

Lucy made it to the elevators and took it up to level two. She was tossed left and right as the elevator moved at neck-breaking speeds vertically, horizontally and diagonally. Finally she shuffled out with a couple others into the lobby of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She walked through the hallways until she made it to the Head of the Department's office.

"Hello, Lucy," said the secretary sitting in front of the door. "How are you today?"

"I'm alright, Mary, thank you for asking," Lucy said. "Is Aunt Amelia in?"

"Yes," Mary said. "She's expecting you. Go on in."

"Is my mum here yet?" Lucy asked.

"Not yet," Mary said.

Lucy nodded and thanked her before walking through the door to the office.

Amelia Bones looked up from her desk and smiled brightly. "Hello, my darling," she said, putting down her quill and standing up. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," Lucy said, closing the door to the office and walking over to her aunt. Amelia smiled and Lucy gave her a hug.

"How'd it go?" Amelia asked. She was the only person, other than Anne Linwood, of course, that Lucy had told she was going to be seeing and dumping Jordan today.

"About as well as I thought it would," Lucy mumbled, pulling away and walking around the desk. She tossed her purse on one of the chairs and flopped down on the other. "He was angry but he'll get over it, I'm sure. He's already called me a couple times and left some messages but I haven't listened to them."

Amelia smiled. "Well, at least it's over now," she said, sitting back down and tidying up the papers and files on her desk. "How are you feeling?"

Lucy thought about it for a second. "Better, I think," she said almost a little cautiously. She was still trying to figure out for sure how she felt. "I think I feel better."

"I think you made the right decision then," Amelia said, looking up and giving her a small smile. "I am glad you're feeling a little better and, of course, it's still quite soon. I'm sure as it really sinks in, you'll feel even better."

"I really hope so," Lucy said with a small smile. "I was kind of hoping that it would all go away and I would feel normal again as soon as I dumped him but even though I feel a little bit better, I still don't feel normal yet."

"Well, I don't know what normal is but like I said, it takes time for everything to sink in," she said. "If you still feel strange and like something could be wrong just let me know and maybe we can try going and talking to someone. There's absolutely no shame in that. You have done it before after all and it helped you then, didn't it?"

Lucy nodded. Her first year at University had been worse than this year had. Lucy had graduated a few years early, meaning all her friends were older than her and having fun going to parties and age-gated events that she could not attend. She was alone most nights doing work and missing home and her family so much. There were nights where she thought about quitting and coming back in a few years when she was older and could handle it better but ultimately she stuck it out and she was glad that she had. Even if she had called her mother crying almost every night. She had talked with a lot of counsellors about her experience and that had definitely helped her feel better. She knew that talking to a professional could be immensely helpful but she felt like this time was different from before. She couldn't explain why. It just felt different somehow. She couldn't explain what the problem was or what she was feeling for sure like she could last time.

"So what's the plan then?" Amelia asked. "You and Minerva are going down to Rochester tonight, aren't you?"

Lucy nodded. "Mum says I have to go," she said with a sigh. "Said that Nina told her that Aunty Karishma's been saying that I'm avoiding her and Uncle Aman."

"Have you?" Amelia asked, smiling and raising an eyebrow at her.

"Of course not," Lucy said with a frown. "Why wouldn't I want to hear constant critiques of my clothes, my behaviour, and my pronunciation of the word rhistah?"

"Is it really that bad?" Amelia asked.

Lucy leaned her head back on the chair, closed her eyes, and nodded. "Why aren't you and Uncle Raj coming to dinner? I know Mum invited you two."

"We're busy tonight."

"Lies."

Amelia smiled. "We are," she said. "I'm going with him to a dinner meeting with some businessmen from America or some other country. I'm not entirely sure. He told me while he was running out the door this morning and I didn't catch everything he said. You could always come with us, if you'd like. Seen what a business meeting is like. I'll tell you now that you'll be very bored though."

Lucy scrunched up her nose and sighed. She opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. "Mum hates it too. She's been very mad at me for not coming to dinner the past couple days since Daniel and Nina left and leaving her to deal with them alone," she said. "Aunty Karishma is really mean to her too. She thinks that Mum can't do anything right with me and Daniel because she's white."

Amelia sighed. "I know," she said. "It's hard but it's only today and then they'll be leaving for India tomorrow morning."

Lucy made a whining noise but didn't say anything.

"Just her and Aman left right?"

"Yes," Lucy said. "Everyone else is gone. I wish Nina's cousins from Glasgow were still here. Then at least I could hang out with them and not have to talk to Aunty Karishma."

"It's too bad Kamillah had to go back to Brighton," Amelia said. "She was very lovely and it was nice to finally meet her."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "She was the one that let Nina stay with her so she could finish school here when her parents decided to move back to India when Nina was sixteen."

"That was nice of her."

Lucy nodded. "She was really nice," she said. "She left right away though. As soon as the wedding was over she left for Brighton because she didn't want to stay around Aunty Karishma for longer than she had too."

Amelia sighed.

Lucy sat up and looked at Amelia sadly. "Could you imagine," she asked, "being hated by your own sister just because you love someone that they think you shouldn't?"

Amelia sighed again and shook her head. "No, I can't," she said. "I hope that eventually Karishma comes around and realizes that no matter what Kamillah is still the same person she's always been. Still her sister."

"Me too," she said with a sigh. "Poor Aunty Kamillah. I hate overly religious people."

Amelia smiled a little. "Not all religious people think like that," she said. "Most understand that people are just people and you have to treat them with respect no matter who they are or who they love."

"Eh."

"Your uncle Malcolm is a preacher."

"I know."

"And your grandmother was a preacher's wife."

"I know."

Amelia smiled and shook her head. "Anyways," she said. "When do Nina and Daniel get back from their honeymoon?"

"Not soon enough," Lucy muttered. "I miss them so much!"

Amelia smiled. "They seem like they're having a lot of fun in Morocco."

"They are," Lucy said. "Daniel said that Nina's worried about me though because of all the stuff with her mum and everything with Jordan and everything else. I keep telling her I'm fine but she still sounds worried. I hope I'm not ruining their honeymoon."

"You're not ruining their honeymoon, love," Amelia said reassuringly. "You know Nina. She's going to be worried about you no matter what. She's a worrier."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "They get back the first of June. Then Daniel deploys to Iraq again a week after that."

"Oh, that's quite soon," Amelia said.

"I know," Lucy said with a sigh. "He'll be back for Christmas this year though so that's something at least."

"Yes," Amelia said. "That's nice. I'm sure –"

Just then there was a knock on the door making both Lucy and Amelia look over at it.

"Come in," Amelia said.

The door opened and Minerva walked in. "Hello," she said with a smile. "Oh, good, Lucy, you're already here."

"Hey, Mum," Lucy said.

"What is this?" Amelia asked, giving Minerva a smile. "Since when do you knock on my door?"

Minerva gave her a look before walking around the desk towards the chairs. "I was just making sure that I did not interrupt anything important," she said. She eyed Lucy's purse on the only other chair in front of Amelia's desk, looked over at her, and raised her eyebrow.

"Sorry," Lucy said with a smile, grabbing her purse quickly and moved it aside.

Minerva smiled and sat down. She looked at Amelia. "I would never want to interrupt you during an important meeting."

"Well, first off, you did. I am having a very important meeting with a very important person right now," she said making Lucy smile. "And second, that is a lie. You don't care. You just don't want to see Fudge."

"That is not true," Minerva said indignantly.

"It is," Lucy said with a smile. "Mum doesn't like Minister Fudge very much. She says he's too cheerful."

"I thought you thought I was too cheerful," Amelia said with a smile.

"You are but you're genuinely cheerful and it's hard to hate you for it," Minerva muttered. "He is obviously putting on a show of cheerfulness and I have no problem hating him for it."

"He's a politician," Amelia said.

"I hate politicians," Minerva muttered.

"I know," Amelia said.

"Mum," Lucy said. "I actually have this thing later tonight that I can't –"

"You're coming to dinner, Lucy," Minerva said, glaring at her. "I will not have you leaving me to deal – I mean… you are coming to dinner and that's final."

Lucy sighed and leaned forward on Amelia's desk, resting her head in her arms. "Muuuuum!"

Minerva rolled her eyes. "Also, you will be wearing a salwar kameez to dinner," she said. "Wear the nice white one with blue embroidery that Nina bought for you last time she went to India."

Lucy made fake crying noises. "I can't!" she said. "No matter how I wear it, she's going to have a problem with it!"

Minerva sighed and reached out, patting Lucy's arm. "Just tonight, love," she said. "They'll be gone before you even wake up tomorrow."

"And then off to Hogwarts," Amelia said with a smile. "I'm guessing you'll be spending most of your time up there with Tonks and the Weasleys as always."

Lucy looked up and nodded. Then she smiled a little. "Snape's petition for my banishment from the castle last year was unsuccessful," she said. "He tried very hard but Uncle Albus likes me too much to kick me out."

"Yes, but you four pull a stunt like that again, I will banish you from the castle," Minerva said, frowning and shaking of her head. She looked at Lucy who was still smiling. "It's not funny, Lucy. You could have gotten yourself and your friends killed! Severus had a point, you know. You're not a student. There is no reason for you to be at the castle and if you pull a stunt like that again, I will join his petition to banish you."

"Sorry, Mum. It won't happen again," Lucy said, looking down so Minerva wouldn't see her smile.

After Lucy graduated secondary school at the age of eleven, she had decided to go to Oxford University. Her friends, Nymphadora Tonks, Charlie Weasley and Bill Weasley, however, went to Hogwarts. So when her semesters ended at Oxford she would spend most of her nights at Hogwarts with her friends. Last year saw a series of events, not entirely their fault of course, that led to Snape hating her even more than usual and her almost getting kicked off the castle grounds. It also resulted in one of the best finds of any exploration of the castle that they had ever gone on though. A map. A wonderfully useful map that, after some work finding the password, showed the whole castle and how everyone was moving around within it. So, though they had almost died and Lucy had almost been banished from the castle grounds, it was worth it.

Amelia smiled and shook her head. "I'm sure it won't," she said. "And anyways, when hasn't Severus Snape had a problem with you."

"I don't know," Lucy said. "He's always hated me. Even when I was the cute little nine year old I was."

"Cute… right," Minerva muttered.

Lucy gave her look.

Minerva smiled and looked at her watch. "Well, shall we head out?" she asked and Lucy groaned. Minerva ignored her and looked at Amelia. "Are you sure you and Raj can't postpone your dinner? It is their last night with us after all."

"We can't postpone unfortunately," Amelia said. "I'm very sorry. I'm sure it won't be that bad. And if it is, they're leaving tomorrow."

Minerva sighed and nodded. She was about to get up when there was another knock on Amelia's door.

"Come in," Amelia said.

The door opened and the man from the banner in the main atrium entered the room. Minerva closed her eyes and whispered, "so close," making Lucy laugh a little.

Cornelius Fudge was a heavy set man with a charming smile that barely reached his eyes and a signature lime green bowler hat. He had short neatly combed blond hair and blue eyes that one Witch Weekly article had called 'divine'. Lucy didn't see it. He was much too old for her to find handsome and she had been told by her mother, usually while talking about this man in particular, to never trust a grown man with blond hair.

Fudge's campaign had been a surprise to all the political commentators in the newspapers and magazines when he had first announced it seven months prior. No one had expected the Director of Magical Catastrophes to run for Minister for Magic of the British Magical Community. No one had really known what to expect from this Minister race at all from very beginning, actually.

The previous Minister, Millicent Bagnold, who had been appointed near the end of the war and who was still riding high from being labelled the Minister that led them to victory against the Death Eaters, had not run again this year. Her approval ratings were still through the roof and some touted her as being the best Minister they had ever had, having gone on to do some of the most comprehensive and intensive reforms of both the legal and education system that the community had seen to date. She was a shoe in to win yet another happy term. She chose to end her political career here, however, after three terms as Minister. Bagnold was older now, more tired, and wanted retire to her seaside cottage near Dover to spend more time with her husband, children, and grandchildren.

After Bagnold, all the commentators held their breaths in anticipation to see if Bartemius Crouch, previously the Head of Magical Law Enforcement and now Head of International Magical Cooperation, would throw his hat in the race. He did not. A scandal from only two years prior revealed that Crouch's own son had been a Death Eater responsible for some of the greatest atrocities the war had seen. Barty Crouch Junior was carted off to Azkaban, leaving his father's reputation in ruins and destroying any chance he had at a Minister bid. Crouch Senior saw his approval rating plummet. It didn't help that he and his son shared a name. Misinformed rumours tarnished his reputation even further. Some saw him as a Death Eater himself, others a Death Eater sympathizer at the least. Calls for his resignation became too much and Crouch stepped down from Law Department, quietly accepting the job as Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation and quickly appointing Emmeline Vance as his deputy. A move that proved quite popular as everyone knew of Vance's great work for the Order of the Phoenix during the war. Bagnold appointed Amelia as Crouch's successor and Amelia graciously accepted. Her approval rating were higher than Crouch's had ever been even before the scandal. Amelia's work as a judge during the war, her record on the Wizengamot, and her all around genuine charisma and reputation for fairness propelled her ratings to rival that of Bagnold's. Lucy had always thought she should run for Minster but, for this election cycle at least, Amelia did not.

Candidates emerged from the woodwork. Some promising, others not so much. Despite the war having ended eight years ago, it still rang fresh in most voters' minds and anyone seeming to be a Death Eater sympathizer, whether the accusation was true or not, were forced to drop out early on. Through the mudslinging, empty promising, and general awfulness that was election season, Cornelius Fudge, with the help of his lovely wife, Zelda (who, Minerva had told Lucy, was the real mastermind behind most of Fudge's campaign and all of his platform), positioned himself as a candidate for the people. What he lacked in wit, he made up for in charming smiles and approachability. In the end even Minerva, despite never having much fondness for Fudge and having a strangely specific bias against adult men with blond hair, admitted that Fudge was the best choice for Minister.

"The lesser of two evils, I suppose, my darling," she had told Lucy over the phone, shortly before hanging up, going into the polling station and voting for the man. "Besides, he has promised to keep Amelia as Head of Law, so that's one good thing."

Lucy was not Fudge's biggest fan either. She had met him and his wife at a fundraiser her mother had forced her too and she had preferred Zelda. Zelda was smart and funny and, though a little condescending and upper class at times, nice enough to Lucy. She seemed to genuinely like her and Minerva, Amelia, and Raj had told her that having friends in high positions like that could become useful to her when she was older. Whatever that meant.

"Amelia, I was – oh, hello, Minerva! I was not aware that you were visiting us today," said Fudge heartily, flashing a smile their way. "And little Lucy! How are you, my dear?"

Little Lucy. Lucy had to stop herself from making a face. She was fifteen, sixteen in only a few months, and she did not appreciate being referred to as little Lucy. Whether that was referring to her age or her stature.

"Hello, Cornelius," Minerva said diplomatically. "Lucy and I were actually just heading out. We have a prior engagement."

"Oh, well that's too bad," Fudge said. "I would have loved to chat with you a little more about how things are going up at Hogwarts though. Why don't we schedule a meeting, you, me and Albus, to discuss it sometime next week?"

Minerva nodded as she stood up. "Next week would be perfect," she said. "Until then, Lucy, shall we head out?"

"Yes," Lucy said, getting up and picking up her purse. "It was nice seeing you, Minister Fudge."

"You as well, Lucy," he said with a smile. "Been Minister almost a month now, how am I doing?"

"Very well, sir," Lucy said though she was not sure what she was supposed to be evaluating. She didn't think Fudge had done anything yet that she could base her evaluation on.

Fudge beamed. "I'm glad you think so, my dear, I'm glad you think so," he said. He looked over at Amelia. "Well, Amelia, I wanted a quick overview of the budget for your department, if you have the time."

"Yes, please sit down, Cornelius," Amelia said.

Fudge moved towards the chairs while Lucy and Minerva headed for the door.

"Goodbye, Aunty Amelia," Lucy said, walking over to her aunt and giving her a hug.

"I'll see you soon, love," she said, kissing her cheek.

Lucy pulled away, Minerva said goodbye as well, and they headed out of the office. As they walked towards the elevators, Minerva said, "how are you, darling? How was your day?"

"It was okay," Lucy said. "I left the house quite early. Anne picked me up and we took the train into London. I didn't even see Aunty and Uncle this morning."

"This is why she thinks you're avoiding them," Minerva said with a shake of her head.

"I'm just trying to enjoy my summer, Mum," Lucy said. "Daniel and Nina are gone, Anne can only hang out once in a while when she's not working, and my other friends are either working full-time or living too far away for me to visit."

"I know, darling," Minerva said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I know that Karishma is not helping improve your mood but they'll be gone tomorrow and all the stress of the wedding will fade. Daniel and Nina will come home and things will go back to normal."

"I hope so," Lucy mumbled as they crammed into a stuffy elevator and took it back to the main building atrium.

"What did you and Anne do in London today?" Minerva asked when they squeezed their way out of the elevator and started walking through the atrium.

Lucy shrugged a little distractedly, looking up at the banner hanging from the ceiling. "We had lunch at a cute little place near Collins Enterprises and then went for a little bit of shopping in Mayfair," she said "You know, I think they got his nose wrong."

Minerva looked up at the banner and smiled a little. "I think it's a photograph, my love."

"Do you think he used magic to make his nose smaller before the photograph?" Lucy asked.

"Maybe," Minerva said. "Or maybe it was just makeup."

"Do you think he's done a good job in his first month in office?" Lucy asked.

Minerva laughed. "What's he done?"

"I'm not sure but he seems to think he's done loads."

"I suppose we'll see," Minerva said. "It may be mostly internal things that we are not privy to."

"Maybe," Lucy said. "I think Minister Fudge cares more about his looks than about fixing the economy or bringing back jobs or whatever else he claims to care about."

"I think you would be safe in that assumption," Minerva said with a smile. "I doubt he'll last very long."

"Minister Bagnold lasted twelve years."

"The wonders the end of a war can do for a political career," she replied. "I doubt we'll have to worry too much about that with Fudge."

"I definitely hope not."

"Maybe once this job starts greying his silly blond hair he'll become frightened off the toll it will take on his appearance and step down," Minerva said with a smile.

"Wow," Lucy said. "I'm very glad that Dad had black hair or I might never have been born."

Minerva laughed as she opened a telephone booth and held the door for Lucy. Lucy went inside and Minerva came in after her. As soon as the door clicked shut, the booth began moving back up towards the streets of London.

Lucy watched the Ministry atrium roll away underneath them and said, "I saw Jordan today as well."

"Oh? How is he?"

"Fine, I guess," she mumbled, not looking at her mother. "I dumped him."

Minerva looked over at her. "You broke up with your boyfriend?"

Lucy nodded. The booth came to a stop and she opened the door, stepping outside onto the unusually sunny street of Whitehall.

"Jordan was gross," she mumbled as she started towards one of the many Safe Apparition Zones scattered around the Ministry entrances. "He was annoying so I dumped him."

Minerva smiled a little. "Well, I'm glad," she said, following after her. "If you didn't like him very much then there was no reason to stay with him."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "I didn't really like him very much. I don't know why I was even with him in the first place, honestly."

"I think that's just part of being in your teen years," Minerva said. "I've definitely dated boys when I was younger for reasons I could not explain now."

"Really?" Lucy asked with a smile.

"Oh, yes," Minerva said with a smile. "I've told you about Dougal McGregor. The boy I almost married when I was eighteen just because he asked me."

"Yeah," Lucy said. "Your thirteen hour and twenty two minute long engagement."

"Right," Minerva said, shaking her head though she smiled. "A farmer's son. Can you imagine?"

"No, definitely not. You would ruin your black heeled boots on a farm."

"The farm life was definitely not for me," Minerva said with a smile. "Dougal and I parted ways and I cannot tell you now what possessed me to say yes to him in the first place. Though, I can say, that I am very glad I did not go through with it. I would have hated working the farm with him, locking my wand underneath my bed, not having you and Daniel and Nina in my life."

"Oh, who cares about them," Lucy said, looking over at her mother with a smile. "I'm the only one who really matters, right?"

"If I say yes can you stop complaining about dinner tonight?" Minerva asked.

Lucy rolled her eyes and kept walking. "Jordan wanted to get married too," she said. "Not like right away but he talked about it and I was like... um, I'm fifteen. I think it was just because of all the planning and anticipation around Daniel and Nina's wedding but it was still weird."

Minerva smiled. "It's much too early for you to worry about that."

Lucy nodded. "Also," she said, turning the corner into an alley and stopping. She turned around and face her mother. "Dougal McGregor is the most Scottish name I've ever heard."

Minerva laughed. "I cannot argue with that."

She pulled out her wand and held her hand out for Lucy. Lucy took it and with a flick of Minerva's wand, the two of them disappeared.

The two women arrived in Rochester outside a large gate. Minerva punched in the code and the gate opened for them. They walked up the long cobble drive and into the large grey stone house that sat at the end of it. Lucy was quickly sent upstairs to wash up and change for dinner while Minerva got started on the preparations.

Lucy walked up the stairs as quietly as she possibly, skipping the third step that she knew creaked the loudest. She was almost safely to her room when suddenly one of the other many doors swung open and a man with grey hair, a grey moustache and Nina's same brown eyes came out into the hall.

"Oh, hello, Lucy jaan, just got in?" asked Aman Chaudhry, the least insufferable of Nina's parents.

"Namaste, Uncle Aman," Lucy said politely. "Yes, Mum and I just got back from London. I hope you and Aunty Karishma had a nice day. You both had a bit of a lie in this morning so I hope I didn't wake you when I was getting ready to leave this morning."

"Oh, not at all, don't you worry, meri jaan," he said. "Karishma and I had a very slow day today. It was quite nice actually, very relaxing."

"That's good," Lucy said. "Mum is cooking a special dinner tonight since it'll be your last one here."

"That's quite nice of her. Will you be joining us tonight?"

Lucy nodded.

"Wonderful," he said. "Karishma will be happy to see you. You've missed our last few dinners."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"That's alright."

"Um, where is Aunty Karishma?"

"The kitchen, I believe."

Oh no, Lucy thought. "Oh, okay," she said. "Ah, well, I have to change and wash up quickly. I'll see you down in the kitchen."

Aman nodded and Lucy quickly hurried into her room. She threw her bag and coat over her desk chair and hurried to her closet. She pulled out the salwar kameez that her mother had wanted her to wear and got changed and ready for dinner, knowing full well that leaving her mother to deal with Karishma alone in the kitchen would not be good.

Lucy was out of her room and running down the stairs in record time, heading towards the kitchen. She walked in to find Minerva stirring a pot on the stove with a lot of concentration and narrowed eyes while Karishma peeled potatoes and ranted about spices.

"Really, I never understood why you people refuse to use anything other than salt and pepper."

"I am going to use spices, Karishma, I just –"

"Oh ho!" Karishma turned on Lucy. "Dehko, yahaan kaun hai! How wonderful to have Lucy Collins dining with us tonight. What's the special occasion, chotu?"

"Namaste, Aunty Karishma," Lucy said, poorly hiding the annoyance in her voice. This was also the second time today that she was being called little. Why did Karishma still have to call her chotu?

"Pyaari lag rahe ho salwar kameez mein," Karishma said, either not noticing Lucy's annoyance or choosing to ignore it. Lucy assumed the latter. "You should wear them more often."

"Thank you," Lucy said, walking towards the counter. "I can take this over for you, Aunty."

Karishma handed Lucy the knife and she got to the work. She looked back at her mother and Minerva gave her a little smile.

"Please fix your dupatta, Lucy," Karishma said when Lucy's scarf fell over her shoulder. "The neck of your suit is too low."

Lucy looked down and quickly pulled the scarf back up. "Sorry."

"That's alright, just keep an eye on it," Karishma muttered, walking around the counter and picking up a bottle of wine. As she poured herself a drink, she added, "much better than the clothes you usually wear either way."

Minerva frowned. "There's nothing wrong with the clothes she usually wears."

"Of course you wouldn't think so."

Minerva glared at Karishma. "Yes, I do think so," she said. "I think Lucy dresses very nicely. I don't find anything wrong with the way she dresses."

"Hmm," Karishma mumbled.

Lucy walked over to her mother with the potatoes that she had finished. As she did, she gave her mother a thankful look. Minerva squeezed her arm before taking the potatoes from her.

"I'm about done here," Minerva said. "You two sit."

Karishma did but Lucy hesitated. She watched Karishma sit down at the table and looked back at her mother. "Are you sure," she whispered, "that you don't need me to do anything else?"

"Just set the table, darling, thank you."

Lucy nodded and walked to the cupboard. She picked up the plates and walked over to the table to set the table. Karishma watched her with narrow eyes over her wine glass. Lucy didn't look at her. She focused on her plates and making sure that her dupatta didn't slip past the neckline of her dress. Just a few more hours, she reminded herself. A few more hours and Karishma would be gone, taking her harsh words and narrowed deep-set eyes with her.

"Lucy, how old are you now?"

Lucy looked up. "Fifteen."

"Right, right," Karishma said thoughtfully. "And that boyfriend of yours?"

"He was seventeen."

"Was?"

"I'm not seeing him anymore."

"Oh, good," Karishma said, sounding genuinely happy about this revelation. "You've left him then."

"I did, yes," Lucy said, looking up at her again and giving her a small smile. "He didn't take it very well."

"Of course, he didn't," Karishma said. "A girl like you with a boy like that? He knew how lucky he was and the realization that his luck had run out doesn't ever sit properly with people like that."

"You think he was lucky to be with me?" Lucy wasn't sure about that. She had always thought she had been lucky that Jordan had taken an interest in her. Not the other way around.

"Well, of course, look at you," Karishma said, setting her glass down. "Beautiful, smart."

Lucy smiled. She hadn't expected this from Karishma at all. "Thank you, Aunty Karishma."

Karishma gave her a little nod and Lucy turned to walk back to the kitchen to pick up glasses. Minerva gave raised an eyebrow at her and Lucy shrugged a little.

"You do not agree, Minerva?" Karishma asked from behind her.

"No, of course, I agree," Minerva said with a smile. "Jordan did not deserve her."

"A bit biased," Lucy said as she opened the cupboard and picked up four glassed.

"Completely impartial," she replied.

Lucy smiled and finished setting it and sat down in her regular seat. She looked over at Karishma. "Are you excited to go back to India, Aunty?" she asked.

"Oh yes," she said, leaning back in her chair. "It's been a long trip and it's very cold here."

"Not anymore," Lucy said. "We've had a pretty warm spring."

"Oh, but the winter was dreadful."

"It was a very cold winter this year," Minerva said. "I imagine you miss the hot Indian winters."

"Very much," Karishma said. "Why we decided to come for so long this time, I will never know."

"To help plan the wedding?" Lucy offered.

"Right."

"It was fun," Lucy said. "The wedding, I mean." She thought for a second before quickly adding, "and having everyone else over."

"Oh yes, it was nice to see everyone again. It's been so long," Karishma said. She paused a second and took a sip of her wine. "Jaanu, how did you like Nina's cousins from Glasgow, Asad and Qasim? You seemed to enjoy their company."

"Oh, they were very nice," Lucy said. They had been some of most tolerable of Nina's cousins. Lucy had spent most of her time at home, when she couldn't hide out with Nina and Daniel, with them. "It sucks that they had to go so soon."

"Yes, a shame," Karishma said.

Minerva, seeing where this conversation was going even if Lucy still wasn't, smiled as she finished up with dinner and carried her dishes over to the table. "Where is Aman?"

"Oh, he was just finishing up with the packing," Karishma said. "Now, Lucy, Qasim is a little old but Asad is going into his third year of a civil engineering degree, only a few years older than you."

"Yes…" Lucy said uncertainly, still not entirely seeing the direction this conversation was turning. "He told me. He's very much enjoying his degree which is good. It sounds like it would be a very interesting job."

"Yes, with good pay too."

"I suppose."

"Not that you have much to worry about in the department, of course."

"I – I suppose," Lucy said again.

"We are fortunate for that," Minerva said. "Should we begin without him or -"

"I'm here," Aman said as he walked into the kitchen. He gave them a smile as he walked over and took his seat. "Sorry for the hold up."

"That's alright," Minerva said.

"It looks wonderful, Minerva," Aman said.

"Let's hope it tastes alright," Karishma said. "We have more salt and pepper if you need it, Aman."

Minerva rolled her eyes but didn't speak.

They ate in silence for a little while before Karishma finally spoke again. "I was just telling Lucy here about Asad's degree."

"Huh? Oh, yes, civil engineering," Aman said with a nod. He was a little distracted by the food right now, however. "Very good. Very good choice."

"Lucy did mechanical," Minerva said. "And biomedical, right darling?"

Lucy nodded. "I thought it would be useful, mechanical I mean, if I go on to work at Collins Enterprises."

"If?" Aman asked. "You do not plan to work with you uncle?"

"I - yes, yes, I do. I just mean that... I don't know."

"It's, of course, her choice," Minerva said. "If she decides to do something else instead, that's completely fine as well." She looked at Lucy and gave her a smile. "Whatever makes her happy."

"I haven't decided yet," Lucy said.

"Hmm," Aman said. "Well, I hope you make the right decision."

Lucy didn't respond. She stared down at her plate and felt the ball of tension inside her stomach tighten. She hoped she made the right decision too.

"She doesn't have to make any decisions right now," Minerva said. "She's only fifteen."

"Yes, of course," Karishma said. "No, the reason I bring up Asad is because I noticed that she and him spent quite a bit of time together when he was here for the wedding and -"

"She is too young, Karishme," Aman said suddenly.

"It is never too early to make decisions for the future. I am sure Asad would be more than happy to -"

"No," Lucy said quickly, cheeks going bright red. "Please no."

"Lucy, you will not be young forever and when you do get to the age where you will like to marry it will be nice weight off your mother's shoulders to know that everything is already put in place for you."

"I am sure it will be fine," Minerva cut in. "I don't think Lucy needs to make any of those kinds of decisions right now. She is only fifteen." She turned to Aman and quickly changed the subject. "Your flight is quite early tomorrow."

"Yes, we have to head out at four thirty to make it on time," he said with a nod, happy for the change in topic.

Lucy glared down at her food as Minerva and Aman talked about their flight itinerary. Karishma tried to swerve the conversation back to Lucy and Asad but Minerva kept changing the topic whenever she tried. Lucy figured that Karishma felt like she had her power to pick Nina's husband taken away from her and was now taking that out on Lucy. She wished that Raj and Amelia could have been here to give her a little bit more conversational cushioning.

By the end of dinner, Lucy had turned five different shades of red and had marks in her palm from clenching her fists too hard. Finally she got the opportunity to leave and took it quickly.

"I don't know if I'll see you before we leave, Lucy," Aman said, "so I will say goodbye now."

Lucy gave him a small smile and walked over to him, bowing her head. "I hope you had a good visit, Uncle, and I hope you have a safe flight back home."

Aman smiled and put his hand on her head. "Goodluck with your studies. I will speak to you soon, hopefully. Do not be afraid to call us in India."

Lucy nodded. She then moved to Karishma who stood up and gave her a hug. "Stay away from those silly white boys," she said. "You do not need them. Maybe call Asad. Nina has their number."

"Okay," Lucy said, though she had no intention to do so. "Goodbye, Aunty. Have a safe flight."

"Goodbye, Lucy."

Lucy pulled away, said one last goodbye and hurried out of the kitchen. She ran up the stairs to her bedroom and huffed a little as she flopped onto her bed. She picked up one of the pillows and buried her face in it, letting out a muffled sound of frustration. She was exhausted and just wanted her home back. Why must these people stay here? Why didn't they leave when everyone else did? It had been days since the wedding and the rest of Nina's family had left already.

"They'll be gone by morning," she reminded herself, tossing the pillow to the side and taking a deep breath. "They'll be gone, Nina and Daniel will come back, and everything will go back to normal."

Lucy got up and walked over to her desk. She picked up her bag and pulled her phone out. She looked at the screen and saw the little voicemail symbol in the top left corner of the screen. She rolled her eyes but called the number to check the message. She walked back and sat down on the bed, putting her feet up and leaning back on her headboard. She dialed her passcode before setting the phone down beside her and letting the message play out loud.

"Lucy," a melancholy sounding male voice came through. "It's Jordan. Today was shitty and I think we can still make this work. I know that you're ignoring my call but I really need to talk to you. I'm sorry if you didn't like my joke about having sex in the coffee shop washroom but it was just a joke. I didn't mean it. Please call me back. I still want to be with you and I think you still want to be with me to. Call me back."

Lucy frowned and tapped the screen. A robotic female voice said, "message deleted."

The next message played and Jordan's voice came through again, sounding a little annoyed this time. "Lucy, honestly, it was just a joke. Call me back so we can talk about this," he said. "I never meant to make you feel like all I ever wanted from you was sex. I really like you so please just talk to me like an adult. I'm sure we can work this out."

Lucy tapped the screen of the phone again and again the voice said, "message deleted."

The next message played and this time Jordan sounded angry. "Listen, I really liked you, Lucy," he said, sounding like he was trying very hard to remain calm. It wasn't working well. "I stayed with you even when you were being so weird about our kiss and even when you avoided me for so many weekends. I stayed with you even when my friends told me to just dump you because you weren't worth all the bullshit! I thought we'd make a good couple, my father being who he is and your parents being who -"

Lucy tapped the screen before the message could finish playing and again the same voice said, "message deleted. End of messages. If you would like to rec-"

Lucy tapped the screen one last time to end the call before pushing her phone away from her and sighing. She had always known that she and Jordan would break up, though she did think he would be the one pulling the plug on their relationship not her. She had also thought she would be sad when they did but she was actually glad it was over. She was glad she didn't have to worry about him anymore and despite herself she laughed.

"It was just a joke, bro," she said in a stereotypical deep, stupid male teenager voice. "I didn't mean it!" Lucy shook her head and laughed to herself. "My father being who he is. What an ass."

Just then there was a knock on her door. Lucy looked up and hesitantly. "Come in."

The door opened and Minerva came inside. She gave Lucy a small smile. "Alright?"

"I'm okay," Lucy said.

Minerva closed the door behind her and walked over to the bed. "I know you've not had a very good day today, darling," she said. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Lucy said as she moved over and Minerva sat down beside her. "I'm okay."

Minerva put an arm around her and Lucy leaned into her chest. "Mum, boys are gross."

Minerva laughed. "Not all of them."

"Most of them," she said with a sigh. "They suck and I don't like them."

"Do you want to talk about your meeting with Jordan?"

Lucy shrugged. "Not much to talk about," she said. "I met him in Cafe Block 12, I broke up with him, he was upset, I left. Nothing more to report."

"Did you leave that boy crying into his coffee, darling?" Minerva asked with a little laugh.

"No, not crying upset," Lucy said, looking down. "Angry upset."

"Oh," Minerva said, smile fading. She sighed. "What did that idiot say?"

"Nothing really. Just stupid stuff. He's very used to getting everything he wants and he had a plan for what was going to happen between us and I was just dating him to make you mad."

"Were you?" Minerva asked.

"No," she said. "I don't know why I dating him, really."

"Well, I'm glad you two aren't seeing each other anymore. He really doesn't deserve you. I've always thought so. You were much too good for him."

Lucy smiled a little and shook her head. "Again biased."

"No, completely impartial, like I said," Minerva said with a smile, leaning forward and kissing her temple. "Now, I have some work to get done before bed. I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Alright, Mum," Lucy said.

Minerva got up and walked towards the door. "Goodnight, my darling," she said. "The driver will be here to take Karishma and Aman to the airport at four but you don't have to get up if you don't want to. You've already said goodbye to them."

"Okay, thanks," she said. "Goodnight, Mum."

Minerva left the room and closed the door behind. Lucy sighed and leaned back into her pillows. She reached her hand out and with a flick of her wrist a book from her bookshelf flew over to her. Before she had the chance to open it again, however, her phone rang again. She looked over at it and saw Jordan's name flash across the screen. Lucy rolled her eyes and turned back to her book as the phone kept ringing beside her.

"Go away, Jordan."

...

The next morning the first thing Lucy did when she woke up was hurry to the guest bedroom that Aman and Karishma had been staying in. She slowly opened the door and looked around the dark room. When she saw that it was empty, she opened the door wider and walked inside.

Aman and Karishma were gone. The room was clean, the bed was made, and any sign that people had once lived here was gone. Lucy checked the bathroom and the wardrobe and the desk drawers to make sure they didn't forget anything. She found a forgotten sock in the bottom of the wardrobe and a few loose papers, mostly receipts, in one of the desk drawers that they must have forgotten they had put in there. Lucy took her finds out of the room, walked down to the kitchen and tossed them in the garbage.

"All trace of them is gone. Now we just need to wash the sheets and everything will go back to how it was," Lucy said.

"Before everyone invaded your home?" Minerva asked from the kitchen table where she was drinking her coffee and reading her paper.

Lucy nodded as she walked over to the table. She sat down and Minerva pushed a plate in front of her.

"Eat."

Lucy smiled and picked up her fork. "I feel a little better now that things are starting to go back to normal. No more strangers living in our house. No more crazy wedding planning. No more Aunty Karishma."

Minerva smiled as she set down her newspaper and began folding it neatly. "I know it's been hard for you to let all of Nina's family that you didn't know into your space," she said. "I'm glad you feel a little better."

'I'm just glad it's over," Lucy said with a tired sigh. "Now I just need Nina and Daniel to come home and everything will be okay."

Minerva gave her arm a little squeeze. "Coming up to Hogwarts tonight, then?"

Lucy nodded. "I'll come a little later today after classes are over for the day," she said. "I'm going to meet Charlie and Tonks in the library. They've started studying for their O.W.L.s."

"Well, don't distract them too much," Minerva said, standing up and picking up her plate. She walked towards the kitchen and set the plate down in the sink. "Make sure you lock up before you come up."

"I will."

"And if you're not coming up before then, make sure you eat lunch, darling. I don't want to hear any of this 'I forgot' nonsense."

"I won't. I may go up to Collins Enterprises to meet Uncle Raj for lunch."

"Oh wonderful, do you mind popping into Diagon Alley to pick up some things for me, since you'll be in London anyways."

Lucy sighed. "I suppose."

Minerva smiled. She pulled out a small notebook and a pen out of a drawer and started scribbling down a list of things she'd like Lucy to buy. When she was done, she ripped it out of the book, walked back over to the table and handed the list over. "Thank you, my love."

Lucy took the note and looked it over. "A lot of these are the same ingredients we needed when you helped me with my Animagus process," she said. "Are you helping someone else become an Animagus."

"No," Minerva said. "There are other uses for mandrake leaves and Death's-head Hawk Moth chrysalis. I am researching a new potion actually, which will hopefully give the layman Animagus abilities for a few hours. Thank the American Animagus Institute for my funding."

"Wow, the American Animagus Institute," Lucy said. "Well, I'll pick this stuff up for you."

"Thank you, love," Minerva said, leaning down and giving her a kiss on the forehead. "Have a nice day, I'll see you tonight."

"Bye, Mum," Lucy said.

She watched Minerva leave the kitchen to go into the living room where she could Floo to her office in Hogwarts. She finished her breakfast alone and wasted the rest of her day reading in the library. Around lunchtime, she used the fireplace to Floo to the Leaky Cauldron in London and took a cab from there to Collins Enterprises.

The Collins Enterprises building was a tall building, standing at fifty two stories tall and employing more people than Lucy could even imagine. She had been told, over and over, however, that her father knew everyone here and at the warehouse and factory by name. And people wondered where her good memory came from.

Though she did not know everyone's name, everyone else seemed to know her. Walking through the Collins Enterprise head office was the closest Lucy every came to the feeling when you cannot seem to remember someone's name when they come to greet you in a way in which indicates you have met multiple time before. She did not like the sensation.

Lucy hurried through the lobby and into the elevator, avoiding everyone's gaze. She made it to the top floor and walked towards her uncle's office, passing the CEO's office on her way. She glanced over at the long since empty office quickly as she went by. Nothing ever changed, it looked the same as it did the last time she looked over at it. The lights were off, the door was closed, and, though you could not see inside, it gave off a feeling of emptiness. Nothing changed and yet something always made her look over at it, almost expecting to see the lights on and the blinds open.

Finally she made it to Raj's office without too much hassle, greeted his secretary, and went inside.

"Hello, Princess!" said Raj Patil, looking up from his desk. "How are you?"

"I'm alright," Lucy said. She held up a brown paper bag. "I brought lunch."

"Cheeseburgers, I hope," Raj said with a hopeful smile.

"Nope, salads," Lucy said with a smile. "You're supposed to be eating healthy, remember?"

Raj made a face as he cleaned up the things on his desk. "Amelia got to you too then."

Lucy laughed, sitting down in front of the desk and pulling the containers out of the bag. "I agree with her, Uncle Raj," she said. "A healthy diet is always good and it will help with your blood pressure."

"You take good care of me, Lucy. It's annoying."

Lucy pushed his salad towards him. "I am very sorry for wanting you to live a long, healthy life."

"I mean, whatever would you do without me?" Raj asked with a smile, opening the box and picking up a fork.

"I have no idea," Lucy replied. "So, how was your day so far?"

"Busy, tiring, and a little boring actually," Raj said. "I haven't gotten a chance to go out to the factory yet and that's where all the fun is."

"Right, of course."

"Maybe it'll be more fun when you're here too," Raj said.

Lucy smiled a little. "If I get here," she said. "I might be crushed under the weight of university and never make it out alive!"

"I was almost crushed," Raj said, smiling and shaking his head. "I should have left when your father did."

"Maybe I should leave," Lucy said.

"I'm sure your mother would be very happy."

Lucy made a face. "I don't think I'd get very far," she said. "She would get me."

"She would," Raj said with a laugh.

Lucy smiled a little. She changed the subject and they talked about other things for a little while before she finally told him about her break up with Jordan.

"You broke up with him?"

Lucy nodded.

"Well, I for one think that you deserve much better than Jordan Weller, Princess," Raj said. "He was a bit of a..."

"Snob?"

"Yes, a snob. And his father's not much better," Raj muttered. He shook his head. "Besides, he was much too old for you anyways."

"Only two years," Lucy said with a laugh.

"A year too many," Raj said with a shrug. "You shouldn't date older boys. You shouldn't date any boys for that matter. None of them deserve you."

"I guess I'll keep that in mind," Lucy said with a laugh. "Would you prefer to lock me in a tower then?"

"That implies a prince will come save her and I do not condone that either."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "You are terrible," she said. "I should have stayed in Oxfordshire."

Raj laughed. "So, you're okay?"

Lucy smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay."

They finished eating lunch and when they were done, Lucy said goodbye and headed out back to the Leaky Cauldron. She took a cab back to the pub and walked through it to Diagon Alley. She walked from shop to shop picking up the supplies and books Minerva had listed for her. It took her a little while to find everything but eventually she found the last thing on the list, Seahorse fins, and headed back to the pub where she took the Floo up to Hogwarts.

She arrived in her mother's office at Hogwarts to find it empty. Minerva had not gotten back from class yet. Lucy left her shopping on her desk and put her bag inside her room in Minerva's private quarters before leaving towards the library.

Hogwarts was different than Collins Enterprises. She knew most everyone walking through the halls here. She smiled and waved at friends she passed in the long castle corridors. She greeted ghosts and portraits and professors in passing. She took turns confidently and she didn't feel the need to avoid anyone's gaze. The castle was her second home, she felt comfortable here. Not as uncertain and self-conscious as she did at Collins Enterprises.

Lucy made it to the library and sat down at a table with her friends, Nymphadora Tonks and Charlie Weasley. They had their books strewn about the table and index cards scattered everywhere. Tonks had a pen behind her ear that she had forgotten about, using a new one to write more cue cards, and Charlie's hair was sticking up every which way from him running his hands through it. Lucy laughed when Tonks somehow managed to knock a half her notes off the table when she tried to greet her.

"Shut up, Lucy," Tonks muttered as Lucy and Charlie helped her collect all her papers. "God, quiet down, you're going to get us kicked out of here."

"It's not Lucy's fault that you're the clumsiest person in existence, Tonks," Charlie said with a smile, straightening up and handing over the pile of papers he picked up.

Tonks glared at him as she snatched the papers from him and sat down back down in her chair as gracefully as she could manage.

Lucy smiled and set her pile on top of Tonks's books. "Don't be mean, Charles," she said. "Tonks is just a little grumpy from studying all day."

"Don't call me Charles."

"Don't call me grumpy."

Lucy smiled. "Oh, I missed you guys," she said. "All the craziness of the wedding and the like twenty people staying at our house in Rochester was slowly killing my soul!"

"How did the wedding go?" Tonks asked as she sorted through her notes to put them back in the correct order.

"It went well. I think Nina and Daniel were happy which is all that really matters," Lucy said. "Nina's parents left back for India this morning and now the house is finally empty and I can come stay up at Hogwarts again."

"That's great," Charlie said with a smile. "We still on for tonight?"

"Of course," Lucy said. "I snuck into our wine cellar before I left the house so I have a good supply of alcohol for us."

"Brilliant," Charlie said happily.

Tonks smiled as well. "Tonight's going to be fun and I definitely need a break from all this studying," she said. "You're so lucky your semester is over, Lucy. We're drowning under Snape's shitty potions notes and you're so relaxed and free."

"I know you're all really stressed out right now," she said, "but hopefully your O.W.L.s go well."

"I hope so too," Tonks mumbled. "But right now I'm not so sure."

"Me neither," Charlie said with a sigh, looking down at his own books. "I think I might fail the stupid Potions O.W.L.."

"Me too," Tonks said exasperatedly. "Oh man, what's the difference between wolfsbane and monkswood?"

"There isn't one. They're the same plant that also goes by the name aconite," Lucy said. "Don't worry, you guys know a lot of this stuff and you still have a lot of time to study up on everything you don't know."

"Lucy, do you want to take my O.W.L.s for me?" Tonks muttered, setting her notes aside and looking at her textbook instead.

"Mine too," Charlie said.

"Oh yeah, I think that would go over great," Lucy said. "I'm sure no one would notice at all."

Charlie laughed again and closed his book. "Oh, we're having career advising soon," he said. "That means I'll have to go talk to your mum about what I want to do with my life when I leave Hogwarts."

"What are you thinking?" Lucy asked.

"I don't know yet. Dragon training looked pretty cool," he said, pulling out the brochure and handing it to her to read.

"My cousin Flynn and his wife are Dragon Trainers in Ireland. It looks awesome," Lucy said as she opened up the brochure and looked over the requirements and training. "And you've always loved dragons and Care of Magical Creatures is your favourite class. I think that's a good fit for you."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking too," Charlie said with a smile. "What about you, Tonks? What do you want to do?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe Auror but they haven't taken on new Aurors in years," she replied. "It's supposed to be really hard and require a lot of extra training and classes."

"I think you could do it," Charlie said, making Tonks smile.

"Yeah! I agree," Lucy said. "You'd be an awesome Auror."

"Thanks guys," she said, blushing a little bit. "I'll talk to Sprout about it and get some more information about these other tests that it talks about in the brochures and then decide if that's what I want to do."

"What about you Lucy? Given more thought to what you're gonna do when you graduate?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know," she said with a shrug. "I mean this is my last degree and I still have no idea. Maybe I should do another."

Tonks laughed. "How many are you going to do?"

"Probably won't do another," Lucy says with a smile. "I don't know. Anne's also graduating in two years so I think I'll just call it quits as well. I don't need a fifth degree. I don't even know what I would do it in."

"Are you going to take a job with your uncle?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know but I think whatever I do I'm going to move to London," she said with a little smile. "I like London. I think I want to live there."

"You should!" Tonks said excitedly. "If I become an Auror, I'll also be living in London! We could be neighbours! It would be -"

"Shhh," Madam Pince hissed harshly. Madam Pince was the librarian at Hogwarts and she was part of the small group of Hogwarts staff that did not like Lucy very much. Lucy was quite certain that she did not live anyone very much at all anyways so she wasn't too bothered but it. Pince was fluttering about, sending them glares every so often and waiting for them to get loud enough for her to kick them out of her library.

"Sorry," Tonks said while Lucy and Charlie laughed quietly. She shook her head and continued more quietly this time, "it would be awesome!"

"Yeah, it would be," Lucy said with a smile. "We'll be able to hang out all the time and, Charlie, you could visit and tell us all about the dragons."

Charlie smiled. "Yeah, I'll fly in on my dragon that I trained!"

"I don't think they'd let you fly a dragon over London," Tonks said with a laugh.

"Yeah, a muggle might find that a little odd," Lucy said.

"Maybe a little," Charlie conceded with a laugh.

They talked for a little while longer, not getting much studying done at all, before it was almost time for dinner. They packed up their books and headed to the Great Hall to eat. Lucy followed Tonks to the Hufflepuff table while Charlie went off to the Gryffindor table to sit with Bill Weasley and his other friends. Bill waved at Lucy and Tonks as they walked by.

When they sat down, Lucy looked up at the teacher's table at the front of the hall where her mother was sitting talking to Albus Dumbledore. She caught her mother's gaze and gave her a smile. Minerva smiled back.

Food appeared shortly on the once empty dishes sitting in the middle of the long house tables. As they ate, Lucy leaned close to Tonks and whispered, "I have to talk to you about something."

"What's that?" Tonks asked with a mouth full of chicken.

"I broke up with Jordan."

"Really?"

Lucy nodded. In a low voice she told Tonks about her break up with Jordan in far more detail than she had told her mother. Tonks's eyes widened.

"He grabbed your arm?" she asked.

Lucy nodded. "Pretty hard too."

"That's horrible. He's a dick. I'm so glad you dumped him."

"Me too. I feel a little better now that I have. I still feel kind of weird but a little better."

"That's good."

"I think I knew for a very long time that I had to break up with Jordan but I never did, I don't know why. I guess it was because he was the first person to really find me attractive and I… I don't know, I guess I didn't think anyone would."

"You are attractive!" Tonks said. "I think you're very attractive. I'm attracted – I mean…."

Lucy laughed as Tonks's cheeks turned bright red. "It's okay, I know what you mean," she said. "I think you're very attractive too. Jordan was gross and I'm glad that I finally got up the nerve to dump him."

"I'm glad you did too," Tonks said. "Boys are gross."

"They are," Lucy said with a laugh.

They finished their dinner and soon it was time to say goodbye. Tonks headed down to the Hufflepuff dorms and Lucy went up to her mother's office in Gryffindor tower where she would spend the rest of her time before sneaking out to meet back up with her friends.

She had to wait a while before she got the chance to sneak out. Minerva left on her nightly patrol through the Hogwarts corridors a little later than usual but finally she came back and Lucy heard her go into her bedroom. She got up, picked up her backpack and pulled out the bottle of firewhiskey she had hidden under the bed. She stuffed the bottle in her bag and picked up a black notebook sitting on her bedside table. Pulling out a pen, she started writing in the book.

L: Mum just went to bed. Astronomy Tower, ten minutes.

C: Map says the route is clear for you, Tonks.

Using the Marauders' Map and their magically connected notebooks, Charlie gave Lucy and Tonks directions to the Tower that avoid Filch the Caretaker and his infuriating cat, Mrs. Norris. Also part of the small group of Hogwarts staff that did not like Lucy very much. Lucy was definitely very good at making friend.

Lucy and Tonks were sitting precariously on the railing when finally Charlie and Bill came up. They jumped off the rail and Tonks spread out a blanket near the edge of the tower. They sat down in a small circle and Charlie put the map down in the middle so they could keep an eye out for anyone who might be coming their way. Lucy pulled out the whiskey bottle, Tonks handed out more blankets she stole from her common room, and Bill and Charlie pulled out the containers of food that they had snuck from the Great Hall at dinner. The boys made faces at being handed yellow and black striped blankets but the chilly May breeze made them change their minds pretty quickly. The four friends had a feast on the Astronomy Tower with their booze and leftovers. They talked, told bad jokes, laughed, and played games like Would You Rather, What If, and Veritaserum or Imperio.

"Alright, Lucy, Veritaserum or Imperio?" Bill asked.

"Imperio," Lucy said. "I'm no wimp."

"Okay," Bill said thoughtfully, trying to think up a good dare. "Imperio; you have to take five shots of this."

"Great, bring it on," Lucy said with a smile though she was already feeling a bit tipsy.

Bill conjured up five shot glasses and filled them up. "Ever done shots before?"

"She goes to university, Bill," Tonks said with a laugh. "What do you think?"

Lucy laughed and grabbed the first shot. She threw them back pretty fast. They burnt the back of her throat on their way down but she felt fine. She could handle her booze. As Tonks said, she was a university student after all.

"Alright," she said. "Charlie, Veritaserum or Imperio?"

"Veritaserum," he said.

"Wimp," Tonks said.

"I definitely cannot hold my boozes like Lucy can," Charlie said with a laugh. "I'll admit it."

"Okay, hmm... have you ever slept with anyone?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah, I have," he replied. "Eva Stanton."

"In Slytherin?" Tonks asked shocked.

"Yep," he said with a nod. "I've only ever done it once. With her. It was last Christmas when we stayed over at Hogwarts because Mum and Dad were taking the others too Great Aunt Muriel's and Bill and I didn't want to go."

"He's telling the truth," Bill said, taking a swig from the whiskey bottle. "He told me after it happened."

"Where?" Tonks asked excitedly.

"Well, we were the only Gryffindors staying over Christmas," Charlie said with a little smile, "so I brought her back to my dorm room."

"Oh my god," Lucy said. "If my mum had caught you..." she shook her head. "You would be so dead."

Charlie smirked. "I know but she didn't so everything was okay."

"I can't believe your first time was with a Slytherin," Bill mumbled with a shake of his head.

"Eh, Eva's not a bad Slytherin," he said. "We just never really hit it off when we were talking so we didn't go out again."

"Wow," Tonks said with a laugh.

"Okay, my turn," Charlie said. "Tonks, Veritaserum or Imperio?"

"Imperio."

"Imperio; kiss the sexiest person here."

"The sexiest person here?" Tonks said. "This one's kind of a Veritaserum mixed in with an Imperio. That's not fair."

"As the game master –"

"Who made you game master?" Lucy asked Bill with a raised eyebrow.

"I did, just now," Bill replied. "I say it's fair. Do it, Tonks."

Tonks rolled her eyes. "Fine," she mumbled, looking around at the three people in front of her. "Hmm... who do I think is the sexiest?"

She didn't have to think about it very long. In one quick motion, she leaned over and gave Lucy a peck on the cheek. Lucy's eyes widened in shock for a second before she smile a shy little smile and whispered, "You think I'm the sexiest?"

"Definitely," Tonks said with a laugh. "I mean have you seen these two loser?"

"I'll have you know that I am very sexy," Bill said. "And Sylvia Dolson definitely thinks Charlie is sexy."

They all laughed as Charlie's ears went bright red. "Shut up, Bill."

"Alright, my turn," Tonks said. "Hmm... who should I choose?"

Before she could decide however, Lucy pointed at the map. "Dumbledore, coming this way."

"Let's go," Bill said, standing up quickly.

He pulled out his wand and vanished the rest of the food and booze as Charlie folded up the map and Tonks grabbed the blankets. They ran down the stairs of the tower and used the map to help walk Tonks to the Hufflepuff common room without running into anyone. After dropping off Tonks they went back up to Gryffindor Tower. Bill and Charlie walked Lucy to Minerva's office before going back to their own dorm.

Lucy snuck back into her bedroom and laid down on her bed. She still felt a little tipsy from the drinking and her heart was racing from the flight from the Tower yet all she could think about was the kiss. Tonks thought she was the sexiest. Lucy didn't understand why she would but it made her really happy inside.

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Author's Note:

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review telling me what you think so I know that people still exist who want to read more haha