Wednesday, February 4th 1998

"Sock slides are fun, Lucy, but they get boring," Daniel told his sister. "Can't we do something else instead?"

"Like what?" Lucy asked.

Daniel shrugged. He stood up from the couch he was sitting on and looked around the room. "I don't know. There isn't really anything to do is there?"

"When's Nina coming back?" Lucy asked grumpily, crossing her arms. "She's more fun than you. She would do sock slides with me."

Daniel gave her a look and flicked her forehead. Lucy laughed and pushed his hand away. "Nina," he said, "isn't coming home till Friday. So we, my dear sister, will have to find a way to entertain ourselves until then without her."

"And how, my dear brother, will we do that?" Lucy asked with a smile.

"I have not thought that far ahead yet."

"Hmm," Lucy mumbled thoughtfully, standing up from the couch too. She thought for a moment before getting very excited and jumping up and down. "We could go to the park!"

"I don't want to go outside in the cold," Daniel replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Also, it's so far away from here."

"Okay..." Lucy said with a sigh. She really wanted to go to the park but she tried to think of another idea for something they could do instead. "How about we play a board game?"

"No, I'm too bored for board games."

Lucy frowned. It seemed like Daniel didn't want to do anything she wanted to do. "Well, I've come up with suggestions and you've said no to all of them," she said, "so you come up with something then."

"Okay, I will come up with a non-stupid idea. Just give me a minute." Daniel thought for a moment before smiling. "Sledding?"

Lucy laughed. "How can we go sledding without snow?"

"Inside of course."

Lucy looked at him with a raised eyebrow, not really sure what he had in mind. He motioned for her to follow him out of the room and she did.

...

"Oh yeah, this isn't stupid at all," Lucy mumbled, sitting on a sled at the top of the stairs. She looked down the staircase and made a scared face. They looked a lot longer and farther down than she remembered them.

"It'll be fine," Daniel said with a smile, putting a helmet on top of Lucy's head. "It'll be fun."

"Why don't you go first instead," she said.

"Because you offered."

"I change my mind," she replied.

"Don't be a wimp. We've gone down the stairs in sleeping bags and mattresses before," he said. "Why would this be different?"

"I don't know, Daniel," Lucy mumbled.

"Do you want a push?"

"No!" she said, looking back at him. He just smiled. She sighed and turned back to the stairs. "I guess it worked when Kevin did it in Home Alone."

"It did," Daniel said with a laugh. "I remember. Should I go down and open the front door?"

"Our front door is a lot further away from the stairs than Kevin's was," Lucy said. "I don't think I'll make it there."

"No, probably not," Daniel said.

"Should I buckle my helmet?" she asked.

"Eh, I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Alright," she mumbled, taking the rope handle of the sled in her hands and taking a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."

She pushed forward and the sled started going down the stairs. It worked for the first two steps but then on the third the sled didn't quite make it and snagged the front. It toppled over and Lucy was flung forward. The helmet, which, looking back she probably should have buckled, flew off her head leaving her with no protection as she rolled down the stair.

"Lucy!" Daniel yelled and ran down after her. Lucy fell down the last step after hitting her head on almost every step and landed with a thud on her back. Her eyes were closed and the sled on top of her.

Minerva heard a loud crash and Daniel yell from the kitchen and looked up from her essays quickly. "Daniel? Lucy?" she called loudly. "Is everything alright?"

There was no answer so Minerva stood up and walked towards the entrance hall. She walked in and saw Lucy on the ground unconscious and her eyes widened. "What the hell happened?" she screamed, falling to her knees at Lucy's side. She pushed the sled off of her and moved her over into her arms. "Lucy, sweetheart, are you okay?"

"Erm," Lucy groaned as she opened her eyes. She blinked a couple times and squinted up at Minerva. "What - what happened?"

"We were... ah... trying something," Daniel mumbled softly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand unconsciously.

Minerva looked at the sled and the helmet on the ground and her expression became furious. "TRYING SOMETHING!"

Lucy winced and groaned again at the sudden loud noise. She reached up and rubbed her forehead. "I don't feel good," she mumbled as she pushed herself up. She sat up properly and swayed a little. "I feel dizzy."

"I think she might have a concussion," Daniel said as Minerva put a hand on her back and steadied her. Minerva glared at him. He walked over and picked Lucy up. "Alright, kid, let's get you to the couch."

"I'm tired," she mumbled.

"I know," he said, as he walked towards the living room. He looked back at Minerva. "We should probably take her to the hospital."

Minerva stood up and shook her head. "No. I will get Poppy," she said. "If it's just a concussion she can have Lucy fixed up faster than a Muggle hospital can."

"A witch doctor then?" Daniel asked with a smile.

Minerva rolled her eyes. "I'm still mad at you," she said as she headed in the opposite direction towards the front door. "Keep an eye on her until I come back."

"Okay," Daniel said with a small smile. When Minerva was gone, he carried Lucy into the living room and laid her down on the couch. "I'm sorry, kid, that was a stupid idea."

"What was?" she asked confused.

"You don't remember what happened?"

Lucy thought for a moment and then smiled. "Oh yeah, stairs sledding."

"Yeah, stairs sledding," Daniel said with a smile. "I guess alliteration does not equal good idea."

"No, not really," she mumbled as her eyes got heavy. "I'm tired and gross. Can you turn off the lights? They're too bright."

"Sure," he said, standing up and walking over to the light switch. He turned the lights off and then pulls the curtains over the windows. "Anything else?"

"My head hurts."

"I know," Daniel said. "Don't worry, Min'll be back with a doctor soon."

"Okay," Lucy said.

"Of course the one day we do something stupid is the one day our live in nurse isn't here," Daniel said with a shake of his head as he sat back down by the couch in front of Lucy. He picked up a blanket and put it over her. "We should only do stupid things that could get us hurt when Nina's around."

"You should have gone first," she mumbled sleepily.

"You're probably right," he said with a smile.

"Where's Mum?"

His smile faded. "She went to get the doctor, remember?"

"Oh, right," Lucy said thoughtfully. "Where's Nina?"

"Okay, why don't you just lay back and relax," Daniel said.

...

Minerva ran into the Hospital Wing to find Madam Pomfrey sitting at her desk filling out some paperwork. Pomfrey looked up and gave her a smile though it disappeared when she saw the look on Minerva's face. "What's happened?"

"Poppy," Minerva said, "would you please accompany back to Rochester and look over Lucy? I think she may have gotten a concussion."

"Oh my," Pomfrey said standing up quickly. She grabbed her bag and walked around her desk. "Of course. Let's go!"

The two women ran from the Hospital Wing and out of the castle. They went down through the grounds until finally they came to the Hogwarts gate. Minerva grabbed Pomfrey's hand and they Apparated back to Rochester.

Minerva led Pomfrey up the driveway and through the front door of her house. They walked into the living room that was all dark and over to the couch where Lucy was laying. Daniel looked up and said, "Hi, I'm -" Before he could finish, Pomfrey pushed past him over to Lucy. He moved out of the way quickly and watched her move her wand over a sleeping Lucy. "Daniel Collins. If you need anything."

Minerva gave him a look. "Alright. Explain."

"Ah, well," he muttered. "We were bored and that led to avoidable, yet still unavoidable, stupidity."

"I never expected this from you, Daniel," Minerva muttered with a shake of her head. "Her, maybe, but you? Never."

"Never?" Daniel asked with a little smile. "Really?"

"Well, not now! I thought you had grown up by now," Minerva said crisply as she crossed her arms. "Evidently I was wrong. You're almost nineteen and you still behave like a child."

"I'm sorry," Daniel said. "It really was stupid and I should not have let it happen." He looked away and added quieter, "or came up with it in the first place."

Minerva glared at him and shook her head. She walked away, over to the couch where Lucy was laying. "How is she?"

"She'll be fine," Pomfrey said with a smile. Se zipped up her bag, turned around and stood up. "She might not remember what happened when she wakes up but she'll be fine. I've given her a potion that should alleviate the concussion. She just needs to sleep. She should wake up soon feeling as good as new."

"Thank you, Poppy."

"Of course," she said with a smile. She looks over at Daniel and stuck out her hand. "Sorry about earlier. I'm Poppy Pomfrey, the healer at Hogwarts."

"Nice to meet you," he said, shaking her hand. "Thanks for everything."

"Not a problem. Though, I do ask you not try whatever it is you did again," she replied.

He smiled and nodded. "Don't worry, we won't."

"Well, I best be off," Pomfrey said. "I'll see you tomorrow, Minerva."

"Goodbye, Poppy," Minerva said as Pomfrey picked up her bag and headed for the door. Minerva then turned to look at the sleeping Lucy and sighed. She moved and sat down beside her head, pushing some of the hair out of the little girl's face. Lucy looked to be sleeping peacefully. "You are both such idiots."

"But you love us," Daniel said annoyingly, sitting down in an armchair.

Minerva rolled her eye but said, "but I love you."

Tuesday, February 10th 1998

"Alright, kid," Daniel said as he pulled up in front of Lucy's school and looking back at her. "Nina and I will be back this weekend. Maybe don't go too crazy while we're gone. Min's probably a little out of practice dealing with your craziness."

"I'm not crazy," Lucy said, sticking out her tongue at him.

He laughed. "Whatever you say..."

Lucy shook her head but smiled. She opened the car door but looked back at Daniel before getting out. "Good luck on your midterms, Daniel," she said. "See you soon."

"Bye, Lucy," he said with a smile. "Oh, and you're taking the bus home remember."

She nodded and got out of the car, saying one last goodbye. She waved as Daniel drove away and then ran towards the school to find Anne.

The school day went by quite quickly and uneventfully. Lucy hadn't been bothered by Kate in a while since she had broken her nose. Kate was still scared of her so she left her alone. Lucy was more than happy to ignore her back. She also liked the way Kate ran away whenever she made a move to walk away or get up quickly. She had told Anne all about what she had done to Kate the day after and Anne thought it was hilarious. Kate's nose had healed now but she had to wear bandages around it for weeks after Lucy had broken it. Lucy had made new friends because of what she had done as well. She had started talking more with Kim Baker and Natalie Harold who had previously not talked to her very much because they had been worried about what Kate would have said to them if they did. Some of the boys had also started talking to her, congratulating her on her great punch and asking her where she had learned to fight. She had of course learned through wrestling with a much larger, older brother. They were quite impressed and Anne was very much liking having them around.

After school Lucy got on the bus with Anne. They sat together and talked during the bus ride. Anne told her all about this new book she had been reading. When Lucy's stop finally came she saw her mother walking through the gate towards the house through the window. She quickly said goodbye to Anne, thanked the bus driver and got off the bus. She ran towards her mother happily.

"Hey!"

Minerva turned around and smiled at her. "Hello, darling," she said. Hearing the happiness in Lucy's voice made her happy after a long day. "How was your day?"

"It was okay," she replied, coming through the gate and walking over to Minerva. Minerva smiled and tousled her hair a bit when she came up.

"So, Daniel's in Canterbury now?"

"Yep," she said, taking her hand as they walked. Minerva smiled and gave her hand a little squeeze. "He said that I shouldn't be too crazy because you might be out of practice with dealing my crazy."

Minerva laughed. "You are pretty crazy but I think I'll be okay."

"I'm not crazy!" she exclaimed though she smiled.

"So, it will just be the two of us tonight," Minerva said as they walked up the steps to the front door. "Raj has some work to do in London so he won't be coming over till tomorrow."

Lucy didn't respond. She stopped walking suddenly. Something caught her eye and she quickly turned her head towards a bush on the side of the house with a furrowed brow. Minerva looked over but saw nothing.

"What is it?"

Lucy shook her head and kept going the rest of the way to the front door. "Nothing. I thought I saw something but I guess it was nothing. Maybe I am crazy," she said with a smile. She pulled her mom towards the door. "Let's go inside. It's kind of cold."

Minerva decided not to push. She just smiled and followed her daughter into the house, giving one last glance over to the bush Lucy had been looking at but still seeing nothing. She and Lucy went back into the house.

...

It was late now. Lucy was in bed and Minerva was finishing up the dishes in the kitchen when she heard a knock at her window. She looked over and saw nothing. With a shake of her head she opened the kitchen window and leaned out. "You boys need to be more careful," she said. "Lucy very nearly saw you earlier."

Sirius Black and James Potter took the Invisibility Cloak off of themselves and smirked up at their teacher. "Sorry, Professor," Sirius said with a laugh. "We'll try to be sneakier. Your daughter is just very observant."

Minerva rolled her eyes. She looked at James and gave him a small smile. "How's Lily doing?"

"She's doing well," James replied. "She's having weird cravings though."

"Yeah, I was ordered to bring them anchovies in the middle of the night last night," Sirius said with a laugh.

Minerva smiled. "Well, she is eating for two."

"Apparently the baby likes anchovies," James said with a laugh.

"So far, I can't really get on board with his taste," Sirius said. He looked at his watch and then back at Minerva. "Dumbledore is showing up soon, right?"

"Yes, and then you two will be relieved of your task for a while," Minerva replied. She sighed. "Thank you again for doing this. It means a lot to me and I know you both probably have other things to worry about, I shouldn't be adding on top of that."

"Hey, no worries," Sirius said with a smile. "We're happy to help."

"Yeah, I mean your family is pretty awesome," James said. "I can't wait for them to actually meet us."

"Well, you've already met Daniel," she said with a smile. "And Lucy as well, if you remember."

"Yeah, but I don't think she remembers us now," Sirius said. "I'd like to meet Nina and Raj too. They seem nice. He plays with Lucy a lot."

"He's the fun uncle," James said with a laugh.

"The kind of uncle I'm going to be to mini-James," Sirius said with a smile.

Minerva smiled and James laughed, shaking his head. "Nah, man," he said. "Lily won't let me name him James Junior."

"I think it's mostly because you suggested it both as a girl's and boy's name," Minerva said.

"Nah, she doesn't want another James at all," Sirius said with a laugh.

"Hey! I'm great!" James said.

"Eh," Sirius replied with a little shrug. "Anyways, I can't wait to meet Lucy again. I'm just glad she doesn't really play with dolls anymore."

"What are you talking about, you loved playing dolls with the kid," James teased. "I think that was the most fun you had in our fourth year."

"I wouldn't say the most fun," Minerva said. "You four got up to quite a bit that year."

Just then a knock could be heard from the front door. Minerva turned to look in the direction of the door. "That must be Albus," she said, turning back around and reaching up to close the window again. "I'll see you two soon."

"Well, if we're doing a good job, you won't," Sirius said with a smirk. "See you, Professor."

"Bye, Professor," James said. He and Sirius pulled the Cloak back over themselves and disappeared.

Minerva smiled and shook her head. She closed the window and moved quickly to the front door to let Dumbledore in. She locked the door behind him and led him into the kitchen. It had been a while since he had been in this house. Lucy had been only about a year old before they had decided that their meetings in Rochester would only attract attention to the house as the war was beginning to start up.

"You've heard about Harold Mitchum, I assume," Dumbledore said as he sat down at the kitchen table.

"Yes," Minerva muttered sitting down across from him. "I can't say that I'm surprised. We've been at war for five years and still we haven't seen even the glimpse of an end."

Dumbledore sighed. "Well, he's being replaced as Minister by the Head of Department of International Magical Cooperation, Millicent Bagnold."

"Background check?"

"Came up clean," he replied, holding out a folder towards her.

Minerva nodded and took the folder from him. "Good," she said as she looked through it. She saw Bagnold's Hogwarts records, employment history, personal information, and reports from the Order member stationed to follow her. Nothing out of the ordinary here. She closed the folder and handed it back to him. She sighed and looked out the window. "Did you read Barty Crouch's edict?"

Dumbledore nodded, setting Bagnold's folder off to the side and picking up another. This one contained all Order member tasks and assignments for the next few weeks. He slid it towards her but she paid it no attention. "Yes," he said, voice sounding quite impartial. "I can't say that I am surprised."

"You can't really support this," Minerva said, looking back at him in shock. "Allowing the Aurors the use of Unforgivable Curses! That's ridiculous. How are we any better than them if we use those?"

"I cannot tell Barty Crouch to change how he runs the Department of Magical Law Enforcement," he replied. "In a recent poll, fifty seven percent of the population support this edict. They believe it will protect our Aurors."

Minerva stared at him. She wasn't asking him what the population thought about the edict. She had read the same paper he had, she had already seen the poll. She shook her head and said, "what do you think though?"

"I would never support the killing of another human being," he replied.

"The war is only going to get worse with this edict," said Minerva with a shake of her head, looking away again.

He didn't reply. They sat in silence for a little while before Minerva sighed and looked back over at him. "Emmeline told me that Italy and Spain are offering support now."

"Yes. They've sent Aurors our way."

"That's good."

He nodded. "The Queen is worried about the safety of the rest of the royal family after the death of Princess Diana last summer."

"They're not going to be staying at Hogwarts too are they?" Minerva asked.

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "I believe the palace is just as safe for them as Hogwarts but they want more Order protection for the children. They're worried that the royal guard will no longer be enough."

"The Order is already spread very thin," Minerva mumbled, finally picking up the folder he had placed in front of her and opening it up. She pulled out the list of members and their tasks and shook her head. "We don't have people to spare right now and the Aurors are much too busy as well. Moody won't want to lose more just to watch over the palace."

Dumbledore nodded. "I'll let them know that we can't expend more of our wandpower."

"Besides the guards have been investigated. They're on our side and they're trained well enough for their purposes. They are large in number. Maybe they should be helping us out more," Minerva muttered.

Dumbledore smiled. "Many of the royal guards are helping us out," he said. "There was a raid earlier today that ended with the arrest of five Death Eaters by multiple Royal Guards."

"That's good," Minerva said. "Why can't you come to me with good news more often?"

"Well, you could always give me good news," Dumbledore replied with a smile. "How are Lucy, Daniel and Nina doing?"

"I was not aware that this was going to be a social call."

"We can't drown in work every night, Minerva," Dumbledore said.

"They are alright," she replied. "Daniel and Nina are in Canterbury. Nina has work experience and Daniel has midterms so they decided to stay the rest of the week on campus. It was a big decision for him. He's worried about Lucy."

Dumbledore smiled. "Why was he worried?"

"Well, it's the first time he's left Lucy alone since Jay's death," Minerva said quietly. "She's been sleeping in their bed with them. She's been having nightmares."

"Is she sleeping now?"

"Yes," Minerva said sounding tired all of a sudden. "Finally."

Dumbledore smiled. "She's hard to wrangle."

"You have no idea," Minerva mumbled, leaning back in her chair. "Too energetic, I think."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," he reasoned.

"No, but she seems to get a burst of energy right before bedtime," she said with a shake of her head.

They talked about the war and strategy for a while longer. It was getting quite late now and the meeting was wrapping up when Dumbledore said, "Oh, I've began accepting applications for the Divinations position." He waved his wand and another folder appeared on the table in front of her. "We've already gotten a lot of applicants."

Minerva made a face as she looked through the applications. "Ridiculous subject, Divinations," she muttered. "Why even bother -"

"Hello," a small voice came from the doorway.

Minerva turned to see Lucy poking her little head through the door. She gave her a small smile. "Hello, sweetheart, couldn't sleep?"

She shook her head and slowly walked into the kitchen. She walked to her mother's side of the table, staring at Dumbledore. He smiled at her. "Who are you?"

"Lucy, that's not very nice," Minerva said.

Dumbledore smiled. "That's alright," he said. "I'm Albus Dumbledore. We've met before. You were very young then, probably have forgotten all about me."

"He is the Headmaster of Hogwarts," Minerva explained. "He's your Uncle Albus."

"Oh, it's nice to meet you, Uncle Albus," Lucy said, "again, I guess."

Dumbledore smiled. "The last time I saw you, you were so small," he said. "You've gotten so much older now."

Lucy smiled a little. She moved a little closer to her mother and Minerva picked her up onto her lap. "What happened, darling?" she asked. "Why aren't you in bed?"

Lucy turned and rested her head on her mother's chest with a sigh. "I had a bad dream," she whispered. "Can I stay with you?"

Minerva gave her a small smile. "Of course, love."

She looked up at Dumbledore and he gave a small nod. "I think I'll head out," he said. He looked at the folder. "I'll leave this here for you to look over. We can finish our conversation tomorrow when you get back to Hogwarts."

"Thank you, Albus," Minerva said. She looked down at Lucy. "Lucy, I'm going to walk Uncle Albus to the door. Can you wait here for me?"

Lucy nodded. She moved off her mother's lap so she could get up and then sat back down. She looked over at Dumbledore and waved. "Bye bye, Uncle Albus."

"Goodbye, Lucy," Dumbledore said cheerfully as he and Minerva stood up and left the room.

Lucy sat quietly at the table, kicking her feet back and forth as she waited for her mother to come back.

Minerva walked Dumbledore to the door and gave him a small smile. "Sorry about cutting our meeting short, Albus."

"That's alright," Dumbledore replied with a smile. "We can finish it tomorrow. I will see you at Hogwarts, won't I?"

"Of course," Minerva replied. "Stay safe."

"I will. You too, Minerva," he said opening the front door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she said. She watched him walk towards the gate for a second before closing the door and walking back towards the kitchen.

Lucy was standing by the kitchen sink using magic to get a glass out of the cupboard and get some water. Minerva smiled and watched the glass float down from the cupboard and into the sink under the faucet. Lucy made a small flicking motion and water came out of the tap filling the cup. When the cup was full, the water stopped and the cup floated out of the sink and into Lucy's outstretched hand.

"Good job," Minerva said, making Lucy jump slightly and almost drop the glass. Minerva smiled. "Are you using the spells from the books I gave you?"

Lucy smiled and nodded. She drank her water and then reached up to place the glass back on the counter. Minerva walked over to her and pushed the cup further away from the edge. "Alright, little one, you have school tomorrow so let's get you to bed."

Lucy took her mother's hand and they walked up the stairs. Minerva walked to her bedroom door and opened the door. She walked through but suddenly Lucy stopped in the doorway. Minerva looked down at her daughter. She didn't look at her mother. She just stared at the bed. "What's wrong?"

"Um... nothing, I - no, nothing," she whispered. She shook her head and walked into the room and over to the bed.

Minerva gave her a look. "Um, alright," she said. She reached over and picked Lucy up. She put her down on the bed and pulled the blanket up over her. "I'm going to change. I'll be right back, okay?"

"Okay," Lucy whispered.

Minerva grabbed her clothes and moved to the bathroom to change, brush her teeth and wash her face. When she came back into the bedroom she heard Lucy breathing quick short breaths. Minerva walked to the bed and got in beside her.

"Are you alright, my love?" she asked with concern. Lucy shook her head and moved closer to Minerva. Minerva wrapped her arms around her and hugged her close. "Shh... it's alright. We're okay."

There was silence for a while before Lucy said anything. Her voice was a little muffled as her face was buried in Minerva's chest. "It's been a really long time since I've come into this room," she whispered.

Minerva realized why Lucy had stopped in the doorway now. She gave Lucy a little squeeze. "I'm sorry, darling. We could move to your bedroom if you want."

"No, it's okay," she whispered.

There was another pause before she spoke again.

"Mommy?"

Minerva looked down at her daughter shocked. Lucy hadn't called her 'mum' or 'mommy' since she had come back home. She smiled and felt warmth fill her. She was so happy that Lucy was finally starting to forgive her and treat her like a mother again. "Yes, love?"

Lucy sniffed a little. "I miss Daddy so much."

"I know, sweetheart," Minerva said with a sigh, feeling sadness set in again. "I miss him too."

"Why did he have to go?" she whispered. Minerva could see the tears falling down her face. She moved a hand over to wipe them. "He was supposed to get better. He said he was - he was going to get better! But then he didn't... Why didn't he get better?"

"I - I don't know," Minerva whispered.

"I wanted him to stay. I needed him to stay."

"I know, love, I know. And you know that he would never have left by choice," Minerva said sadly, feeling tears in her own eyes now. "He wanted to stay here with you too. He loved you so much. He would never leave you."

"It's not fair."

"It isn't and I'm so sorry," Minerva whispered.

"When will it stop hurting?" Lucy asked. "I don't want to feel anything anymore."

"I know, darling," she replied soothingly. "I don't know how long it's going to hurt for but I know that he would want us to be strong and keep our heads up, right?"

"Yeah..." Lucy whispered.

"We'll be okay, darling," Minerva whispered, kissing her forehead. "We'll be okay."