Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.
Chapter 9 – Christmas
Christmas was fast approaching. It posed a serious problem for Lucy: should she stay at Hogwarts for the holidays, or should she go home to be with her parents? She was worried that her parents might be upset if she decided to stay at the castle, but she was very curious about how Christmas would be celebrated at school.
One morning in early December, Professor McGonagall came down to the Gryffindor table during breakfast with two lists: one for the names of the students who were going home, and one for those staying.
"Miss Jones?" Professor McGonagall asked expectantly when she reached the first-year.
"I—I'm not sure if I'm going to stay or go yet, Professor," Lucy answered timidly. "Can I have a few more days to think it over?"
"Yes, of course," Professor McGonagall replied. "Just let me know what you decide as soon as possible." Then she moved on to the next student.
After talking it over with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Lucy decided that she was going to stay at Hogwarts. Harry and Ron were also planning on staying at school: Harry had no desire to see the Dursleys, and Ron's parents were going to visit Charlie in Romania. Hermione, on the other hand, was going home to vacation with her parents.
Lucy was admittedly a little anxious about writing a letter to her parents to let them know that she was planning on staying at Hogwarts. However, they seemed very understanding in their response, and Lucy's guilt mostly vanished after that.
~LJ:TH~
Around mid-December, the Gryffindor first-years were once again in the dungeons for Potions class when Malfoy tried to start some trouble.
"I do feel so sorry for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home," he simpered, looking over at Harry.
Harry ignored him, continuing to measure the ingredients he needed. Lucy rolled her eyes but didn't say anything; she didn't feel like losing points that day.
At the end of the lesson, Lucy, Harry, Ron, and Hermione left the classroom together. They came up the stairs from the dungeons and were met with a giant pine tree blocking the corridor. Lucy turned her head sideways, finding a set of very large feet underneath the tree. Hagrid was dragging it towards the Great Hall.
"Hi, Hagrid. Want any help?" Ron asked, peering through the branches of the tree.
Hagrid's answer returned to them slightly muffled, "Nah, I'm all righ'. Thanks, Ron."
"That looks awfully heavy, Hagrid," Lucy said. "Are you sure you don't need help?"
Hagrid chuckled from the other side of the tree. "Tha's nice o' yeh, Lucy," he replied. "But don' worry; I got it."
Lucy exchanged grins with Harry and Hermione. However, their happiness didn't last long. Behind them, Malfoy and some of his Slytherin friends had turned up.
"Would you mind moving out of the way?" Malfoy asked rudely. He noticed the four Gryffindors and added nastily, "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose—that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family is used to."
Ron launched himself at Malfoy, and Lucy, whipping out her wand, shouted, "YOU SLIME—!" just as Snape came up the stairs.
"WEASLEY! JONES!" he shouted.
Ron dropped the front of Malfoy's robes from his hands, and Lucy lowered her wand immediately.
"They were provoked, Professor Snape," Hagrid explained, his face appearing from behind the tree branches. "Malfoy was insultin' the Weasley family."
"Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid," Snape replied, not even bothering to look at the gamekeeper while addressing him. "Ten points from Gryffindor. Be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you." He turned and swept back towards the dungeons.
Malfoy and the other Slytherins pushed past the tree, smirking and scattering pine needles all over the floor.
"I'll get him," Ron growled, glaring at Malfoy's retreating figure. "One of these days, I'll get him."
"I hate them both," Harry added scathingly. "Malfoy and Snape."
Lucy couldn't help but nod in agreement, putting her wand back into the pocket of her robes.
"Come on, cheer up. It's nearly Christmas," Hagrid said. "Tell yeh wha'—come with me an' see the Great Hall. It looks a treat."
The four Gryffindors had barely started following him when Lucy heard someone calling her name from behind her. She turned to see Jeremy hurrying to catch up with her, and she paused to wait for him.
"Hi, Jeremy," she said, smiling, as he reached her.
He grinned back at her. "How's it going?" he asked.
"I'm all right," Lucy replied. "Come on; Hagrid was just about to show us what the Great Hall looks like! Unless you have to be somewhere else, of course."
"No, that sounds like fun," Jeremy replied. He looked around Lucy to glance at the others. "Will it be okay with your friends?" Jeremy asked, sounding uncertain. "I don't want to start anything between you."
Lucy looked at them, too, seeing Ron and Harry sneaking peeks over their shoulders at them. "Don't worry about it," Lucy replied, turning back to Jeremy and grabbing his arm. She tugged him forward. "They're going to have to figure out how to deal with it. You're my friend, too, after all."
Jeremy smiled, looking satisfied, and the two of them hurried to catch up with Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
Eventually the group came to the Great Hall, where Professors McGonagall and Flitwick were overseeing the Christmas decorating.
"Ah, Hagrid, the last tree," Professor McGonagall said briskly. "Put it in the far corner, would you please?"
As Hagrid moved off to put the tree where it was directed, the five students stepped inside the hall and gazed in awe at how beautiful it was becoming.
"Amazing," Lucy breathed, and her friends nodded in agreement.
They stared for a little while longer before Jeremy nudged Lucy lightly. "I forgot that I have Transfiguration homework to finish, so I should get going," he explained. "I'll see you later, though, yeah?"
"Yeah, but wait a second," Lucy said before tugging on Harry's and Hermione's robe sleeves. "Guys, this is Jeremy. Jeremy, this is Harry, Hermione, and Ron."
There was silence for a moment.
"Lucy, we already know who he is," Harry said. "You don't have to introduce us."
Lucy sighed in annoyance, and her shoulders slumped. "Look, all of you are my friends," she said. "That means that you'll have to at least pretend to get along when you're around each other and not just stand there ignoring one another."
"Sorry, Lucy," Hermione murmured, and Harry and Jeremy nodded. Ron just stood there, not saying anything.
Hermione turned to Jeremy and extended her hand, saying, "It's nice to meet you, Jeremy."
Jeremy smiled softly before taking her hand and shaking it. "Likewise, Hermione," he answered. He then offered his hand to Harry, who shook it, and then to Ron.
Ron hesitated, but, after a glare from Lucy, took Jeremy's hand. "Good to know you're not a complete ass like Malfoy," Ron said, and Jeremy chuckled.
"Thank you," he replied. "I'll see you around."
The four Gryffindors said good-bye, and Jeremy exited the Great Hall.
Hagrid rejoined them then and asked, "How many days yeh got left 'til yer holidays?"
"Just one," Hermione answered. "That reminds me—we've got half an hour before lunch. We should be in the library."
"Oh, yeah, you're right," Ron agreed.
"Almost forgot," Lucy chimed in.
"The library?" Hagrid asked, sounding confused as he followed them out of the hall. "Jus' before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"
"Oh, we're not working," Harry assured Hagrid. "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel, we've been trying to find out who he is."
"You wha'?" Hagrid thundered, making some stray students look at him warily. Hagrid lowered his voice as he continued, "Listen here—I've told yeh—drop it. It's nothin' to yeh wha' tha' dog's guardin'."
"We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is. That's all," Hermione said.
Lucy almost rolled her eyes; Hagrid was absolutely right in assuming that they were trying to find out what Fluffy was guarding. She didn't see much point in trying to hide it when he already knew.
"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Harry asked hopefully. "We must've been through a hundred or more books already, and we can't find him anywhere. Just give us a hint—I know I've read his name somewhere."
"I'm sayin' nothin'," Hagrid replied roughly.
"We'll just have to find out for ourselves, then," Ron said, shrugging.
He, Harry, and Hermione turned and started for the marble staircase.
Lucy heaved a sigh. "I'm sorry, Hagrid," she said. "I've told them to just drop it, because it's not our business. They just really want to know."
"Lucy!" Ron shouted. "Are you coming or what?"
Lucy nodded and started after them, walking backwards to look at Hagrid.
"Why're yeh helpin' 'em then?" Hagrid asked.
"Because they're my friends, and that's what friends do," Lucy replied, shrugging, and then she turned and hurried after said friends.
~LJ:TH~
The holidays arrived quickly. After breakfast on the first Saturday of the break, the students who were going home gathered in the entrance hall to say good-bye to their friends. Lucy, Harry, and Ron said their farewells to Hermione before starting back to their common room.
As Lucy climbed up the marble staircase in the entrance hall, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Jeremy in the crowd that was getting ready to leave. She caught his eye, and he grinned and waved. She waved back and then followed Harry and Ron up the stairs.
The break began, and their new-found freedom had driven Nicolas Flamel from Harry's and Ron's minds. Lucy was secretly grateful, because she just wanted to have a nice and enjoyable holiday. Most of the other Gryffindors had gone home, so the common room was far emptier than it was normally.
On Christmas Eve, Lucy was in the common room with Harry and the rest of the Weasley family, along with a few others who had stayed. Ron and Harry were engaged in a game of wizard chess at one of the tables, while Lucy was sitting between the Weasley twins on a couch in front of the fire. Evie was curled up on her lap.
"This is the life, Lu," Fred said, stretching one of his arms along the back of the couch and slouching low.
"How so, sir?" Lucy questioned, running her fingers along Evie's spine lazily.
George threw his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in closer to his side. "Common room to ourselves," he explained, gesturing around the place. "No homework to worry about. Great food to look forward to tomorrow."
"In short, no responsibilities," Fred finished. He kicked his feet up onto the coffee table in front of the couch.
Lucy grinned, resting her head against George's shoulder.
Eventually, Ron and Harry stood up from the table and wandered over to the couch.
"We're heading to bed," Harry explained through a large yawn. "We'll see you tomorrow morning."
"Good night," Ron mumbled, rubbing an eye with the heel of his hand.
"Good night," Lucy replied, smiling at her friends.
The boys turned and dragged themselves to the boys' stairs.
"Will you be leaving our presence as well, fair maiden?" George asked when the boys had disappeared up the stairs.
Lucy giggled, which soon turned into a yawn. "Yeah, I guess I will be," she replied. "I didn't realize how tired I was. Well, good night, Freddy. Good night, Georgie." She stood up and stretched.
Then she turned to look at the twins. George was scowling slightly, and Fred was laughing.
"What?" Lucy asked, confused as to why George looked so annoyed.
"You called him Georgie," Fred answered, holding his stomach as he chuckled.
"Um… I'm sorry?" Lucy apologized, still confused. She didn't understand why Georgie would be such a big deal; it was just a silly nickname.
"It's okay, Lucy," George said, sighing heavily. "Our Aunt Muriel used to call me that."
"Then she used to grab your cheek, like so," Fred continued, reaching over and pinching George's cheek.
George batted his brother's hand away.
"Aw, come on, Georgie! Don't be so shy!" Fred shouted as they began to wrestle on the couch.
Lucy stepped out of the way, laughing and shaking her head. "Good night, you two!" she called over the noise. "Don't break anything, okay?"
The boys both paused to wave at her before George tackled Fred onto the ground. Lucy turned and headed for the girls' stairs, excited for the next day.
~LJ:TH~
Lucy awoke early the following morning. It took her a few seconds to remember what day it was. When she realized that it was Christmas, she sprang up in her bed and let out a small whoop. Since she had the dormitory to herself, she didn't have to worry about being quiet.
At the foot of her bed, there was a pile of wrapped presents. She clapped gleefully before picking up the closest one.
The first package was from her parents. She ripped the paper off and opened the box. Inside was a pack of red and gold headbands and hair clips. Also in the box was a king size bag of her favorite Muggle candy: Kit-Kats.
The next package was from her dad's sister. She had sent Lucy a small glass figurine in the shape of a lion. When Lucy gingerly pulled it out of the tissue paper and set it on her bed, the lion yawned and stretched out. Lucy gasped in happy amazement as the little figure shook out its mane and looked up at her. It walked forward and nuzzled her hand for a moment before turning around on the bed and lying down. Evie was lying nearby, and she gave the lion a wary look.
The next few presents Lucy opened were from her new friends. Harry had given her a note that said, "IOU: One ride on the Nimbus 2000". Lucy smiled at that and placed it on her bedside table to keep safe. Ron had given her her own pack of Exploding Snap cards, Hermione got her a pack of Sugar Quills, Sally-Anne had sent her some English Muggle candy, and Jeremy had given her a box of Chocolate Frogs.
The last present from her friends was from George, which surprised Lucy a bit. It was a small book of simple joke spells. When Lucy picked it up, a note fell from it, which she quickly picked up to read.
Lucy,
This is a book I found in Zonko's Joke Shop in Hogsmeade. I thought of you when I saw it, so I got it for you to get anyone back who messes with you.
Happy Christmas!
George
Lucy smiled and set the book aside to look at later.
There were two packages left. Lucy started with the large, lumpy-looking one. She quickly ripped into it and found a beautiful purple, hand-knitted sweater and a box of what looked like homemade fudge. She found the card that went with it, and it informed her that the gift was from Mrs. Weasley. Lucy laid the sweater out on her bed, deciding to wear it when she was finished opening her last present.
Lucy picked up the final present, opening the small box carefully and peering inside. There she found a small silver locket on a thin chain. She picked it up and looked at it, marveling at how beautiful it was and wondering who would have gotten her such a thing. Then she noticed a note folded up in the bottom of the box. She grabbed it and shook it out to read.
This was your mother's locket, which she wanted you to have when you came to Hogwarts. She got it herself for her first Christmas at Hogwarts and wanted to pass it to you. A very happy Christmas to you.
It wasn't signed, and Lucy was very bewildered. Her mother? Surely the anonymous note couldn't mean her real mother… could it? Lucy wasn't sure who else it could mean, though, unless it had been delivered to the wrong person. She shrugged to herself and quickly fastened the locket around her neck. Then she proceeded to get changed, lastly pulling on the purple sweater.
Once she was dressed, she decided to go and visit Harry and Ron in their dormitory; if they weren't awake yet, she would make them get up.
She was halfway up the boys' stairs when she met up with Fred and George, both of whom were sporting blue sweaters with the first initial of their names on them.
"Good morning, Lu!" Fred announced, grabbing her in a tight hug and swinging her around once. "I see you got a Weasley sweater from dear old Mum."
"Merry Christmas, Fred," Lucy replied, giggling.
As soon as Fred had stepped away from Lucy, George immediately pulled her into a massive hug, as well.
"And you, George," Lucy added. After George let her go, she continued, "Yes, this very warm and fuzzy sweater is courtesy of your mother."
"It looks nice on you," George said. "Anyway, we were just on our merry way to pay Ron and Harry a visit. Would you care to join us?"
"Why, of course, sir," Lucy responded. "In fact, that's what I was planning on doing, too."
Fred and George grinned identical grins and then both offered her an arm. She took one each, so she was between them, and they continued up the stairs.
When they reached the boys' dormitory, Fred flung open the door. Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy thought she saw Harry stuff something out of sight.
"Happy Christmas!" Fred called loudly.
"Hey, look," George said. "Harry's got a Weasley sweater, too!" He pointed at the emerald green sweater that was lying on Harry's bed.
"Very nice, Harry," Lucy commented.
"Harry's is better than ours, though," Fred said, picking up the sweater to examine it. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family." He gestured to Lucy's to help make his point.
"Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George asked, turning to his younger brother.
Ron's ears turned pink.
"Yeah, Ron," Lucy echoed, smirking.
"Come on—get it on," George continued. "They're lovely and warm."
"Oh, yes, very lovely," Fred commented, tossing Harry's back onto the bed.
"And very, very warm!" Lucy finished. She and the twins laughed and exchanged high-fives.
"I hate maroon," Ron muttered darkly, but he pulled his sweater on anyway. "You know, Lucy, it's spooky when you do that. It's like you three were separated at birth or something."
"Long lost brothers," Lucy mused, nodding. "I like that idea! Except I don't have the Weasley hair, so I don't think it's possible."
"You haven't got a letter on yours," George pointed out, looking at the front of Ron's sweater. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name, but we're not stupid—we know we're called Gred and Forge." Lucy snorted, and George winked at her.
"What's all this noise?"
Everyone turned to see Percy at the door, looking annoyed. He was carrying his Weasley sweater over one of his arms.
Fred grabbed it immediately. "P for prefect!" he exclaimed. "Get it on, Percy. Come on, we're all wearing ours. Mum even made Lucy and Harry their own."
Percy started, "I—don't—want—"
He didn't get to finish. The twins had grabbed him mid-sentence and roughly pulled the sweater over his head for him.
"And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either," George stated. "Christmas is a time for family."
With that, the twins marched Percy from the room—whose arms were trapped inside of his sweater—leaving Lucy, Harry, and Ron behind to laugh.
~LJ:TH~
Christmas dinner came quickly. At first, it was confusing to Lucy that Christmas dinner actually took place around lunchtime, but the others reassured her that it would be an excellent feast. In the end, she had to agree.
There were piles upon piles of food on all four house tables, even though there were so few people still there to enjoy it. Turkeys, roasts, and potatoes were some of the main dishes. For dessert, there were plenty of cakes and pastries.
There were also wizard crackers scattered across the tables. Lucy had never even seen party crackers before, since she had grown up in America, and they were fantastic. Harry and Fred pulled one together, and it went off with a loud bang. It also let out a large cloud of blue smoke, and from it exploded a tall hat and a handful of real white mice that went scurrying away along the floor.
After dinner, Lucy went with Harry and the Weasleys out onto the grounds to have a snowball fight. They broke up into teams: Harry, Fred, and Percy against Lucy, Ron, and George. The fight lasted a long time, and when they were finished, they were thoroughly out of breath and drenched in melting snow. The group went back up to the Gryffindor common room to sit in front of the warm fire.
Once they were back in their tower, Lucy watched Harry and Ron play a game of wizard chess. Ron won easily.
Later in the evening, they all trooped back down to the Great Hall to have a lighter supper, since most of them were still somewhat full from the feast earlier. Lucy helped herself to as much cake as she could fill herself with and then went back to the common room to lay on the couch with Harry and Ron.
Fred and George seemed to be the only ones with energy that night. They wasted no time in swiping Percy's prefect badge, and Percy chased them all over the common room to try and get it back. It was the perfect ending to Lucy's best Christmas day ever.
After writing a quick thank you note to her parents and borrowing Harry's owl Hedwig to send it, Lucy trudged up the girls' stairs to go to bed. She collapsed happily onto her bed, and Evie quickly joined her, the new bell on her collar tinkling softly. Lucy grinned, curling up with her cat, and fell asleep.
~LJ:TH~
"You what?" Lucy gasped at breakfast the next morning.
Harry had just finished telling her and Ron about how he had used the Invisibility Cloak he had gotten for Christmas to sneak out of Gryffindor Tower.
"You could have woken me up," Ron grumbled, stabbing at his eggs.
"No!" Lucy scolded. "Harry, I know you want find out about Nicolas Flamel and what Fluffy is guarding, but leaving the tower at night? You could've gotten into serious trouble! You're lucky you weren't caught!"
"Lucy, you're starting to sound like Hermione," Ron sighed. "Lighten up, will you? This mirror sounds really cool."
"You can come tonight," Harry said. "I'm going back, and I want to show it to you. You, too, Lucy. Unless, of course, you're too scared to go out at night."
Lucy scowled. "Do either of you remember what happened earlier this year?" she asked. "When you were supposed to meet Malfoy and instead we almost got caught by Filch and eaten by Fluffy?"
Harry shrugged. "I didn't have the cloak then," he reasoned.
"I'd like to see your mom and dad," Ron added to Harry.
"And I want to see all your family; all of the Weasleys. You'll be able to show me your other brothers and everyone," Harry said, nodding eagerly.
"You can see them any old time," Ron said, waving carelessly. "Just come 'round my house this summer. Anyway, maybe it only shows dead people. Shame about not finding Flamel, though. By the way, why aren't you eating anything? Have some bacon or something."
Lucy looked carefully at Harry. Ron was right; Harry hadn't touched any of his breakfast.
"Harry, you've got to have some food," Lucy insisted.
Harry shrugged and picked up his spoon, swirling his porridge around his bowl but not eating it.
"Are you all right?" Ron asked. "You look odd."
"Sorry," Harry muttered. "So, are you two in? Lucy?"
The boys both turned to her expectantly.
Lucy sighed loudly. "Fine," she said, "but only because I want you to be careful. We're not going to be wandering around the castle all night, either. If we can't find it, then we're going to forget about it and go back to bed. Promise?"
"Promise," Harry echoed, but he didn't look at her when he said it. He was gazing into his breakfast.
Lucy exchanged a glance with Ron; something seemed off with Harry.
~LJ:TH~
With the three of them under Harry's new Invisibility Cloak, they had to move slowly to avoid making noise. Harry took them to the library to start with, and he tried to retrace his steps from there.
They ambled around the castle for nearly an hour before Ron finally spoke up. "I'm freezing," he whispered. "Let's forget it and go back."
"No!" Harry growled. "I know it's here somewhere."
"Harry, you promised we wouldn't just go wandering aimlessly through the castle all night," Lucy reminded him, but he just shushed her and kept walking.
They went on for a while longer, but just as Ron started complaining that his feet were going to freeze off, Harry stopped them.
"It's here—just here—yes!" he exclaimed, pushing the door open to what looked like an unused classroom.
Harry was the first one out from under the cloak, practically sprinting to stand in front of a large mirror in the middle of the room. Ron followed eagerly. Lucy, on the other hand, wrapped the cloak over her arm and stayed by the door to listen for Filch or any professors that may have been wandering the corridors.
"See?" Harry whispered to Ron.
"I can't see anything," Ron replied.
Lucy shuffled over a bit to look into the mirror. All she saw was Harry and Ron standing side by side.
"Look! Look at them all.… There are loads of them," Harry said, pointing to the mirror.
"I can only see you," Ron said.
"Look in it properly. Go on and stand where I am," Harry offered, stepping to the side so Ron could stand directly in front of the mirror.
Lucy could see Ron's reflection looking completely bewildered but excited at whatever he was now seeing.
"Look at me!" he cried hoarsely.
"Can you see all your family standing around you?" Harry asked eagerly.
"No—I'm alone," Ron replied, "but I'm different—I look older—and I'm Head Boy!"
"What?" Harry gasped in disbelief.
"I am—I'm wearing the badge like Bill used to—and I'm holding the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup—I'm Quidditch Captain, too!" Ron babbled in happiness.
Lucy frowned; she had a very strange feeling about this mirror that continued to grow the longer they stayed.
Ron looked at Harry and asked, "Do you think this mirror shows the future?"
"How can it? All my family are dead…" Harry said. There was a beat of silence, and then he demanded, "Let me have another look."
"You had it to yourself all last night. Give me a bit more time," Ron argued, standing his ground.
"You're only holding the Quidditch Cup. What's interesting about that?" Harry asked. He stepped up next to Ron and tried to elbow his way in front of the mirror. "I want to see my parents."
"Don't push me," Ron said in warning.
Lucy whipped her head to the door, hearing something from the other side. The boys had been talking quite loudly.
"Quick!" Lucy hissed, hurrying over to them and throwing the cloak over all three of them.
They stood stock still, holding their breaths. Mrs. Norris slunk into the room and stood just inside the doorway, looking right where they were standing. Her tail swished slowly back and forth, and her ears would periodically twitch.
They were there for what seemed like forever before Mrs. Norris left again.
"This isn't safe," Ron breathed. "She might have gone for Filch. I bet she heard us. Come on."
Lucy and Ron had to practically drag Harry away from the mirror and out of the room. Harry didn't say much as the other two determined how to get back to the common room; he just followed silently.
~LJ:TH~
The morning after their little adventure, Lucy was sitting in front of the fire in the common room reading a book. Ron and Harry were sitting nearby.
"Want to play chess, Harry?" Ron asked.
"No," Harry replied quietly, staring into the fire.
Lucy frowned and put her book down. "Why don't we go down and visit Hagrid?" she suggested.
Harry didn't look at her. "No.… You two go," he said.
Lucy and Ron exchanged a look.
"I know what you're thinking about, Harry—that mirror," Lucy said firmly. "Don't go back tonight."
"Why not?" Harry asked irritably, finally looking up at his friends to glare at them.
"We've got a bad feeling about it," Ron continued, and Lucy nodded vigorously in agreement. "Anyway, you've had too many close shaves already. Filch, Snape, and Mrs. Norris are wandering around. So what if they can't see you? What if they walk into you?"
"What if you knock something over?" Lucy chimed in.
Harry scowled, folding his arms over his chest. "You two sound like Hermione," he mumbled grumpily.
"We're serious, Harry. Don't go," Ron finished.
He and Lucy both watched Harry for a few minutes, but Harry didn't look at them or reply. Lucy had a sneaking suspicion that he was still going to go visit the mirror, regardless of what they said to try and stop him.
~LJ:TH~
Sure enough, the following morning at breakfast, Harry was quick to tell them about what happened when he visited the mirror. Lucy and Ron were both surprised to hear that Harry had run into Dumbledore, and that the professor had let him go without giving him detention.
"You're lucky Dumbledore is so forgiving," Lucy scolded.
Harry scowled, but at least he was eating his breakfast again.
"Harry, we know you want to find out more about your parents," Lucy continued softly, "but standing in front of that mirror is no way to do it. You know that."
Harry nodded.
"It was really good of Dumbledore to not get you in trouble, though," Ron added thoughtfully.
~LJ:TH~
A few days later, the day before the start of the new term, Hermione returned. The other three wasted no time in telling her all about what had happened. Although she was disapproving of Harry wandering around at night, she was also disappointed that they hadn't found out anything about Nicolas Flamel.
That night, before the girls got into bed, Lucy showed Hermione the locket she had received.
"It's beautiful," Hermione breathed, holding it delicately between her fingers. "Look, on the front.… It looks like an L and an E."
"Really?" Lucy asked, scrambling over to Hermione. She had never noticed that there were letters on the locket; she'd always thought it was some kind of intricate design. Sure enough, when she looked closely, there was an L and an E engraved on the front of it.
"L and E…" she wondered aloud. "Do you think they're initials?"
"Could be," Hermione replied with a shrug.
She handed back the locket, and Lucy set it on her bedside table. The girls bid each other good night and got into their respective beds.
Lucy had a hard time getting to sleep that night. If the L and E were initials, then who had they belonged to? Was it a clue to finding out who her real mother had been?
~LJ:TH~
A/N: It was very important to me to NOT let Lucy look (properly) into the Mirror of Erised. I have no doubt that the deepest desire in her heart would be to learn who her parents/family were, and she probably would have seen Harry in the mirror. So, while Harry and Ron fight over who gets to look into the mirror, she kind of plays lookout for them.