Friday, October 23rd 1998

"So, do you like anyone, Remus?" Dorcas asked with a childish smile. It was almost time for Lucy to get off school so they were standing by the front door waiting for her as usual. Other parents were standing nearby or sitting in their cars waiting in the parking lot. It was raining so Dorcas and Remus were standing close together under a black umbrella. "Anyone you're just madly in love with like Sirius and Marlene?"

Remus gave her a look but she persisted. Nudging him with her elbow and giving him a stupid smile. He sighed and nodded his head slowly. "Ah... there is... there is someone."

"Oh?" Dorcas said, a sinking feeling in her chest. She didn't know why she had asked the question if any answer would have hurt her. "Who?"

"A great girl."

"You're not going to tell me."

"Nope," he said with a small smile. "I haven't even told her yet. I can't tell anyone else first."

"Oh, but I wouldn't tell her," Dorcas said with a smile.

"Sorry, can't."

"Do I know her?"

"Yes."

"It's Minerva isn't it. You're secretly in love with your old Transfigurations Professor aren't you?" she said dramatically. He laughed and shoved her slightly. She laughed too and shook her head. "So, really? You're not going to tell me."

"Nope," he said. "What about you? Do you like anyone?"

Dorcas was silent for a long time before she smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah... yeah, I do," she said. Then suddenly her smile faded away and she sighed. "But he's in love with someone else. Not me."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Remus said.

"It's not your fault."

Remus sighed. He was glad he hadn't told her that he was in love with her. She was in love with someone else. Probably someone who deserved her more than he did. Someone who didn't put her in danger just by being near her.

"I'm still sorry," he said. He thought for a moment before, very awkwardly at first, putting his arm around her shoulder. Once it was there it felt right. She smiled and put her arm around his waist. It felt like they just fit together like two puzzle pieces. She leaned her head on his shoulder and he leaned his head on hers.

"I guess we're just... the perfect match," she whispered.

"Yeah," he said with a small smile.

They waited in comfortable silence for a while longer until finally the school bell rang and kids began filing out. The rain had gotten harder so children were scurrying around quickly, trying to get somewhere dry. Lucy ran out the front door after a little while and over to them.

"Hi!" she said, hair already frizzing up a little bit.

"Hey, Lucy!" Dorcas said with a smile, pulling away from Remus and sticking out her hand for Lucy to take. Lucy took it and came under the umbrella too. "How was your day?"

"It was good!" she said. "We got to play in the rain during recess! It was really fun but I fell into a puddle so my skirt is all muddy and stained. Mum's not going to be very happy."

"You fell?" Dorcas said, knowing full well that this wasn't the case. She knew Lucy was lying. The same girl who had pushed her the first day of school had done the same today too. The blond girl had thought it was hilarious when Lucy got up out of the puddle soaking wet and covered in mud.

"Yeah," Lucy said, not looking up at her.

Remus gave Dorcas a look so she dropped the topic. They walked away from the school and to their alleyway where they Apparated back to Hogwarts. They walked across the wet, muddy grounds and up to Minerva's office to drop Lucy off.

"Okay, love," Dorcas said as they stood in front of Minerva's office door. "Your mum said that she had a meeting so you can go inside and get changed and then go down to Classroom 3C to play with your friends before they leave for the weekend."

Lucy nodded.

"She said to tell you to behave but I don't think we have to tell you that," Remus said with a smile. "You're a good kid." Lucy smiled. "She said that she would see you at dinner."

"Okay," Lucy said. Suddenly her smile faded and she sighed. "You guys aren't going to be at dinner."

Remus smiled a little. "Yeah, sorry, kid. We're going on a mission so we have to leave right away but we'll see you Monday morning as usual."

"Yeah," Dorcas said, tousling Lucy's hair. "We'll be back in no time."

"Okay," Lucy said. "Stay safe."

"Of course," Dorcas said with a smile.

They said their goodbyes and Lucy disappeared into Minerva's office. Remus and Dorcas walked away towards the moving staircases. Dorcas gave Remus a look. "That's the third time she's pushed Lucy in the last two months and who knows what she's saying to Lucy that we can't hear!"

"Lucy still hasn't -"

"I'm beginning to think she's never going to say anything, Remus," Dorcas said. "We should talk to... someone about it. If you don't want to talk to Minerva, then maybe we could talk to one of her teachers and just ask them to, you know, keep a closer eye on the girls."

Remus thought about this before nodding. "Okay, we'll talk to them next week but we have to make sure they don't let Lucy know we told them."

Dorcas nodded.

...

Lucy was laying on her stomach on the floor of Minerva's office singing quietly and drawing in her notebook while Minerva got caught up on some marking. The fire was roaring in the fireplace, warming Lucy up a bit, and the rain was pattering on the window. Lucy was drawing a picture of herself, Remus and Dorcas standing in front of her school. She was a little sad because Remus and Dorcas were off on a mission this weekend, the Weasleys were spending the weekend in Hogsmeade, and the Tonks were off visiting Ted's parents, so she was alone. She hadn't seen James and Lily since they left for London and Sirius and Marlene came around very sporadically so she had no idea if they were going to be around.

She missed Daniel and Nina and Uncle Raj. Minerva had been very busy so they hadn't gotten a chance to visit them in Canterbury yet since the semester started and Uncle Raj hadn't come up to Hogwarts in a while. They had all written earlier today to see how she was and she had written a response but it didn't feel like enough. She wished that she could at least talk to them on the phone but there wasn't a phone anywhere in Hogwarts.

Lucy sighed. She put down her coloured pencil and turned over on her back, staring up at the ceiling. Minerva looked up from her desk and smiled. "Alright?"

"I'm bored," she mumbled.

"Well, did you finish your drawing?"

"Yes," she mumbled, sitting up and looking over at the picture. She picked up her coloured pencils and put them away in the box before picking up the drawing and walking over to her mother's desk. "Do you want to see it?"

"Sure," Minerva said with a smile. Lucy walked around the desk and held the drawing out for her. She took it and smiled. "Wow, Lucy, this is very nice. Are you going to show Remus and Dorcas?"

Lucy shrugged as she walked back around the desk and pushed a chair closer to it. She sat down and put her head down on her arms, looking out the window.

"You should," Minerva said, sliding the drawing across the desk towards her daughter. "I think they'll really like it."

"Hmm..."

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

She shrugged again.

"Lonely?" Minerva asked. Lucy didn't respond. "Don't worry, darling. It's just today and tomorrow and then everyone will be back."

"When can we see Daniel and Nina?" Lucy asked, turning her head to look up at Minerva.

Minerva sighed. "Maybe we'll be able to go next weekend, darling," she said, though she wasn't sure if that was going to be possible either. "I know it's been a long time and that you miss them. I miss them too but right now I've been really busy and leaving Hogwarts just isn't feasible. You know what feasible means right?"

Lucy furrowed her brow. "Yes," she said. "Of course I do."

Minerva smiled. "Right, so you understand why we can't go this weekend?"

"I guess," she mumbled, looking back out the window. "They said that they were okay. Said that they were planning to go to a Halloween party at Nina's friend's house next weekend."

"That's nice," Minerva said. "They're coming back to Hogwarts after their semester and exams finish for sure and you'll be able to see them everyday then."

Lucy nodded. She was about to say something when there was a knock at the door. Lucy looked up and slid off her chair. She walked over to the door and opened it. Upon seeing who it was, a huge smile spread across her face. "Aunty Amelia!"

Amelia smiled. "Hello, Lucy," she said. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," she said, moving to the side so that Amelia could come inside. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm good, love. Thank you," Amelia replied, closing the door behind her. She looked over at Minerva and smiled. "Hello, Minerva."

"Hello," Minerva said with a smile. "You seem to be in quite a good mood today?"

"I am," she said, walking over and sitting down in a chair in front of the desk. "I just found out that an Auror raid resulted in the arrest of twenty three Death Eaters. No one was hurt and everything went smoothly."

"That is good news," Minerva said with a smile.

Lucy walked over to sit back down in her chair. Amelia looked over and gave her a smile. She saw the drawing on the desk and picked it up. "Oh did you draw this? It's very good."

"Thank you," Lucy said with a small smile. She moved closer and pointed at the figures on the page. "That's me and that's Dorcas and that's Remus and we're in front of my school because they're dropping me off like they do everyday."

"That's excellent." Amelia said with a smile. She set the drawing back down in front of Lucy. "So, how is school going, love?

She shrugged. "It's okay," she said. "I get to see Anne which is good."

"That's nice," Amelia said.

"So, how are things in the Law Department, Amelia?" Minerva asked, putting her quill down and leaning back in her chair.

"Oh, you know how it is, Minerva. All these arrests need to be processed and trials conducted," she replied with a sigh. "We can't be letting our systems lax, especially during such times."

"Due process," Lucy said quietly, looking down at her drawing.

Amelia smiled. "Exactly," she said, looking over at her. "You've been reading the books I've given you."

Lucy looked up and nodded with a small smile. Minerva smiled too. "So, how many trials do you have scheduled for this week?"

Amelia shook her head and sighed again. "I've got five just on Monday."

"Aunty Amelia, are wizarding trails open to the public like trails in the Muggle world?" Lucy asked.

"Ah, yes, they are," Amelia said with a frown.

Lucy looked over at Minerva but before she could say anything Minerva shook her head. "No, Lucy," she said with a frown. "We will not be going to any of Amelia's trials."

"Why not?" Lucy asked. "It would be so cool to see how it actually works and how the lawyers work and -"

"No," Minerva said firmly.

"Lucy, these trials are not very fun," Amelia said with a small smile. "They take hours and they are quite boring. You wouldn't like sitting in those uncomfortable chairs for hours."

Lucy sighed and crossed her arms. She leaned back in her chair. Her bad day was getting worse and worse. Minerva rolled her eyes at her and looked at Amelia. "Lucy's been grumpy all day. She's lonely."

"Lonely? Why?" Amelia asked, looking down at the little girl.

"I'm not grumpy," Lucy grumbled. "Or lonely."

"Oh?"

Minerva smiled. "Everyone is away weekend. The Tonkses are visiting Ted's parents, the Weasleys are taking the kids to Hogsmeade, Dorcas and Remus are off on a mission, I don't think Sirius and Marlene are coming by anytime soon, Raj couldn't come down, and we couldn't go out to see Daniel and Nina this weekend."

"Oh, poor Lucy," Amelia said with a laugh. Lucy furrowed her brow. Amelia smiled, reached over and tousled Lucy's hair. "It's okay, love." She turned back to Minerva. "So, what about you? Very busy, I hear."

"Oh, yes. The semester is in full swing now so I have all this marking, assignments and test, and students to deal with on top of everything else," Minerva muttered.

Amelia nodded. She looked over at Lucy who was still looking a little upset. "Well, Lucy, why don't we leave your mother to do her work and we can go do something else?"

Lucy smiled and uncrossed her arms. "Okay!"

Amelia stood up and Lucy hopped off her chair. Minerva smiled and mouthed 'thank you' to Amelia as she walked away. Amelia smiled and nodded. She took Lucy's hand and they walked out of the office.

"So, where should we go today?" Amelia asked. Lucy shrugged. "Well, have you seen any of the common rooms yet? I could show you the Hufflepuff one. That was my house."

"Okay!" Lucy said. "The Sorting Hat said that Hufflepuff values loyalty and kindness."

"Yes, that's true," she replied with a smile. "Two very good characteristics, I would say. What do you think?"

"Yeah!" Lucy said with a smile.

"You know, kindness can get you a lot of things in life," Amelia said. "Everyone will tell you about bravery, ambition, and knowledge and those things are definitely important, love, but people seem to forget the power of kindness."

Lucy looked up at her and cocked her head to one side. "Really?"

"Yes," she replied with a small smile. "Kindness is the best way to get through the toughest trials you will face in your life. When you are kind you will find that life becomes a lot easier and a lot more beautiful."

"Hmm," Lucy said thoughtfully. "But what about if you try to be nice to people but they're still mean back to you. I try to be nice to them but they're still so mean."

Amelia looked down at her and sighed. "Not many people know the power of being kind, my love, and those people may not be as kind to you as you are to them but you must stay strong and be kind anyway because at the end of the day it's up to you to choose how you want to live your life and a life without kindness is a very sad life."

Lucy nodded. "My daddy was always nice to everyone," she said quietly. "He said that there are two ways to the top. You can either step on everyone else which is faster or you can be nice which takes more time. If you choose to be nice then you will find that you have a lot of friends when you reach the top and your life will become a lot easier."

"Your daddy is right," she said with a smile.

"You knew him, right?" Lucy asked.

"I did know him," Amelia replied. "He was a very smart and kind man. Maybe he would have been in Hufflepuff."

Lucy smiled. "Mum says he would have been in Gryffindor."

"Of course she does," she said with a laugh. Amelia shook her head though she smiled. "Your mother thinks that Gryffindor is the best because she was in Gryffindor but it's actually Hufflepuff that's the best house."

Lucy laughed. "You think so because you were in Hufflepuff."

"That might be true," Amelia replied with a smile. "You know what you should do? You should ask your mother about the November 1966 Quidditch game."

"Okay," Lucy said with a smile.

Finally they made it in front of a stack of barrels a little ways away from the kitchen. Amelia let go of Lucy's hand and walked towards the barrels. On the barrel in the middle of the second row, two from the bottom, Amelia tapped a specific pattern. When she was done the barrels shook and moved to one side revealing a tunnel. Lucy followed Amelia through it.

On the other end of the tunnel was a round welcoming room with yellow and black sofas and armchairs. The room felt warm and sunny even though Lucy knew that it was rainy and miserable outside. There was a large wooden mantelpiece with carvings of badgers on it. Above the fireplace was a portrait of Helga Hufflepuff, the house's founder. The room had low ceilings and small circular windows that provided a view of grass and dandelions swaying in the wind. The room was full of different plants that Lucy had never seen before. Green vines climbed up the walls, flowery plants hung from the ceiling, and tall ferns sat in the corner. There were students sitting around talking to their friends, doing homework.

"Wow," Lucy said.

"The dorm rooms are through there," Amelia said, pointing to two circular honey coloured wooden doors. "And over here is the bulletin board where you can find out what's going on. Oh, hello, Professor Sprout."

Sprout had been standing by the bulletin board hanging up a sign up sheet for students staying over the Christmas holidays. She looked over at Amelia and Lucy and smiled.

"Well, hello, Amelia. How are you, dear?" she said, walking over to the two girls.

"I'm good," Amelia said. "I'm sure you've met Miss Lucy Collins, here."

"Not formally, no. Hello, Lucy, I'm Professor Sprout. I teach Herbology," she said, sticking her hand out for Lucy to shake.

"Hello, Professor Sprout," Lucy said, shaking her hand. "It's nice to meet you. You teach Herbology? That sounds pretty cool. What exactly do you do in that class?"

"Oh, I teach students how to care for and utilise different plants," Sprout replied.

"Oh, like botany," Lucy said making Amelia smile.

"Yes, kind of but we also talk about plants that the Muggles don't really know about," Sprout said with a smile. "We talk about their magical properties and what they are used for. Some magical plants have magical properties in their own right, others are used in potions or even in Muggle medicines."

"That's cool," Lucy said. "What's your favourite plant?"

"Oh, that's a hard question," Sprout said with a laugh. "It's hard to chose one. Hmm... one plant I really like is called Devil's Snare. It's is a plant with the magical ability to constrict or strangle anything in its surrounding environment or something that happens to touch it."

"So it moves?"

"It grabs anything close by," Amelia said, leaning down and grabbing Lucy by the stomach. She pulled her close and tickled her, making Lucy laugh and squirm around.

Sprout smiled. "Yes, struggling or resisting the Devil's Snare's grasp will only cause the plant to exert a greater force of constriction."

"Wow..." Lucy said, thoughtfully after getting free of Amelia's hold. "So how do you get out of it if you get trapped?"

"You can use light to push it back," Sprout replied. "It will move back to get out of the light."

"Wow," Lucy said again. "That's cool."

Lucy and Amelia talked with Sprout for a while before Amelia decided that it was probably time to get Lucy back to Minerva's office. She walked them back to Gryffindor tower and dropped her off. Lucy thanked her for taking her out and Minerva thanked her taking Lucy out of her hair for a little bit while she worked. Amelia just smiled and told her that it was not a problem before saying her goodbyes and leaving.

Minerva took Lucy in her private quarters and they sat down on the couch together. Lucy told Minerva about what she and Amelia did. She told her mother about the Hufflepuff common room and what Amelia had told her about kindness. Minerva agreed with everything that Amelia had said except for the part about Hufflepuff being the best.

"That's ridiculous," Minerva said with a smile and a shake of her head. She had her arms around Lucy and Lucy was resting her head on Minerva's chest. "Hufflepuff being the best... everyone knows that Gryffindor is the best house at Hogwarts."

Lucy giggled. "Oh! Aunty Amelia told me that if you said that, I should ask you about the November 1966 quidditch game."

Minerva frowned. "She did, did she?"

Lucy looked up at her mother and smiled. "What happened?"

"It was my and Amelia's sixth year and we were both Quidditch captains," Minerva muttered, looking off into the distance and shaking her head. "Me of Gryffindor and she of Hufflepuff, of course. We had always been very competitive. Her mostly, I would say." Lucy gave her a look. "Okay, me too, I suppose." Lucy laughed. "Anyways, we were facing off and Hufflepuff won because she was playing dirty."

"Really?" Lucy said with a giggle. "But I thought Hufflepuff valued fair play."

"Okay, maybe she wasn't playing dirty..." said Minerva with a small smile, 'but she was still doing something."

"Playing better?"

Minerva gave Lucy a look making Lucy laugh. "No... well, it doesn't matter. We still won the Quidditch cup that year so you can tell her that she can -" she stopped herself before she said something very inappropriate. She finished instead by saying, "stop bringing it up."

Lucy laughed and shook her head. "You guys are very good friends."

"We are," Minerva said with a smile.

Monday, October 26th 1998

"Ready for school?" Dorcas asked with a smile as she and Remus walked into Minerva's office that morning to pick Lucy up for school.

"Yep," Lucy said. She had her backpack on her back and holding a piece of paper in her hand. She gave Minerva a quick one arm hug. "Bye, Ami."

"Goodbye, darling," Minerva said with a smile, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you tonight."

Lucy ran to the door, gave her mother one last wave before ducking out. Dorcas and Remus walked with her down the stairs towards the Entrance Hall. As they walked, Lucy held her drawing out to Remus. "I drew this of us in front of my school," she said with a smile. "You can have it."

Remus smiled and took it. "Wow, Lucy, this is great! Dorcas look," he said, turning it around for her to see. "She even put the red in your hair."

"Wow, that looks awesome! I'm a little jealous that you gave it to Remus and not me," Dorcas said with a laugh.

"Sorry," Lucy said looking up at her, feeling a little bad. She should have brought her a drawing too. "I can draw you something too if you want."

"I would love that," Dorcas said with a smile.

"So, Lucy," Remus said, folding up the drawing and putting it in his pocket next to his wallet. They walked out of the castle and across the grounds. "Anything exciting happening at school today?"

"Yes, actually! This girl named Kate, she's kind of mean, but she's leaving! She's moving away so she won't be school anymore," Lucy said happily. She had been waiting for this day a very long time. "She used to pick on me and push me around and I broke her nose once but she's gone now so school will probably be more fun now."

"Really?" Dorcas said. "How come you never told us about this girl? If someone was being mean to you and pushing you around, you should tell us or your mum. We can help you."

Lucy shrugged. "I didn't want you guys to worry. I'm a big girl. I can handle it."

"You don't have to handle it. You should get help for those kinds of things, especially if she pushes you. Violence is very serious," Dorcas replied with a frown. "You should tell us about stuff like that from now on, okay?"

"Okay," Lucy said.

"Um, so are we just going to ignore the fact that she just said she broke this girl's nose?" Remus asked as they walked out of the school gate. He gave Moody a wave before pulling out his wand and Apparating the three of them to Rochester.

"No, I want to hear about this," Dorcas said with a smile after they appeared in their alleyway in Rochester. She looked down at Lucy with a raised eyebrow. "When did you break her nose?"

Lucy smiled a little bit and told them about her last day of ballet when Kate had said something about her mother and father and ripped her father's book so Lucy had attacked her. Lucy had punched her as hard as she could in the nose and broke it. She got kicked out of ballet school because of it but, thanks to Nina, so did Kate for bullying. She told them about how Kate had been pretty scared of her for a while after that but how eventually she got over it and was mean to Lucy again. Since Lucy never really did anything back, Kate kept insulting her and even pushed her a couple times.

"It's how I ruined my skirt on Friday," she said with a sigh. "I didn't fall. Sorry for lying."

"It's okay, Lucy," Dorcas said with a small smile. She shook her head and laughed. "I can't believe you broke that girl's nose."

"I can't believe that all you got from Minerva was a 'violence is bad' speech," Remus said with a laugh.

"It sounded like a pretty awesome punch," Dorcas said with a smirk, making Lucy smile.

"Violence is very serious, Dorcas, remember?" Remus said, raising his eyebrow at her.

Dorcas rolled her eyes but smiled. "It is. No more awesome punches, Lucy, okay?"

"Okay," Lucy said with a laugh.

"God forbid anyone try to take chocolate out of your hands," Remus said with a laugh after Dorcas told him a story of her almost wrestling a pregnant Lily over chocolate.

She gave him a shove. "You're trapped under this cloak with me, Remus, so I'd watch it." He laughed and shook his head. "Paani me rahkar magar se bair."

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"You can't live in the water and be the enemy of the crocodile," Dorcas said with a smile.

He laughed. "So you're a crocodile now?"

"Well, I am just as vicious and dangerous," she replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh yeah, sure."

"I am!"

"Whatever you say," he replied with a smile.

She rolled her eyes. "You, Remus John Lupin, are a -"

She was cut off by the school bell going off, letting the students off for recess. He smiled and she shook her head. "Saved by the bell, Remus."

He laughed before grabbing her by the hand and dragging her further away from the school so they could keep talking without being overheard.

...

"Mum!"

Minerva looked up from her desk to see Lucy running into her office carrying a very large book. She was just getting home from school. Dorcas and Remus came in after her. Minerva smiled. "Hello, darling. Looks like you had a good day at school."

"Oh, just wait," Dorcas said with a small smile as Lucy pushed her big book onto the desk.

Minerva looked at it and saw that it was a book on World War II. Remus saw Minerva's expression change and smiled. "Alright, well, we'll see you tomorrow, Lucy, Minerva."

"Bye, Remus! Bye, Dorcas!" Lucy said as she climbed up onto the chair and shuffling through the pages of her book. She hadn't even taken off her backpack or coat yet.

"Goodbye, Remus, Dorcas," Minerva said, watching Lucy closely. When Dorcas and Remus were gone, Minerva said, "What do you have there?"

"A book on World War II," Lucy replied happily. "Mum, do you know Peggy Carter?"

"I do," she replied. "I've met her."

Lucy's jaw dropped. She stopped flipping through the pages of her book and looked up at her mother with an expression of shock on her face. "Really?!"

"Yes, before you were born. Your father used to work with her."

"Really! Daddy used to work with her? That's so cool!" Lucy exclaimed. "Can I meet her too? I want to ask her so many questions! She's so cool! Mum! Mum, can I meet her?"

"I - well, I'm not in contact with her at present," Minerva said a little taken aback by Lucy's enthusiasm. "I only met her twice."

"You're not... oh," Lucy mumbled, looking very disappointed.

"How do you know Peggy Carter?" Minerva asked.

"Today at school we talked about World War II and Captain America and my teacher talked a little bit about Peggy Carter and I thought she sounded cool so I looked her up in the library and she's so cool!" Lucy said, excitement coming back.

Minerva smiled. "Ah, so that's why you have this giant book."

Lucy nodded. "This was the only book I found that had a big section about her. All the others only had a page or a paragraph," she said. Suddenly she frowned. "Why aren't they talking about her as much as they talk about Captain America? She's like the girl version of him and she was on the Howling Commandos."

"I don't know," Minerva said with a sigh. "Well, what did you learn about her?"

Lucy smiled again. "She's so cool! She was the first female agent with the Special Operations Executive. This war division spearheaded by Winston Churchill himself during World War II. She trained soldiers and was the only female Howling Commando. She worked with Captain America and then after the war transferred to the American version of the SOE, the SSR. She was the first female SSR agent! Those agencies don't exist anymore but it's still super cool! She was a spy! She's like a real world Wonder Woman!"

"Wow," Minerva said with a smile. "So I'm guess you spent your whole break in the library."

"Maybe..." Lucy said with a laugh. "I got permission from my teacher. It's okay."

"That's good."

"So, anyways, we have to write an essay on our hero," Lucy said. "And I'm going to write on her so I had to find as much information as I could."

"Oh, I see," Minerva said. "Who is Anne writing on?"

"Her mum," Lucy said, looking down at her book, apparently done with this conversation.

"Ah, I see," Minerva mumbled, suddenly in a bad mood. "Well, you have a few hours until dinner. Why don't you get your homework done."

"I already did it!" Lucy said with a smile. "Can I go see Tonks, Bill and Charlie? I want to tell them about Peggy Carter too!"

Minerva sighed and nodded.

"Yay! See you later, Mum!" she said, taking off her coat and bag and running from the room.

"Bye, Lucy."

Saturday, November 7th 1998

"The castle is so cool, isn't Uncle Raj?" Lucy asked. She, Raj and Minerva were walking through the Hogwarts corridors. Raj had finally come down for a visit after so long and was excited to get a tour of the castle from Minerva. Lucy was excited too. There were still a lot of the castle she had yet to see and she wanted to see everything.

"It is very cool, Princess," Raj said with a smile.

Minerva smiled. "Yes, I love Hogwarts."

"Me too," Lucy said decidedly. "It's awesome! Moving pictures and moving staircases and ghosts! It's such an awesome school! I wish my school was like it."

"Well, when you're old enough, you can come to school here," Minerva replied. She honestly couldn't wait to have Lucy coming to classes. She was sure that Lucy would do so well in her transfigurations classes.

"Then you'll probably get a wand too, right?" Raj asked.

"Yes, she would get a wand and school robes and potions supplies and everything," Minerva said with a smile.

"And I'm going to be a Gryffindor too!"

"Of course," Minerva said with a laugh. "No matter what your Aunty Amelia says, Gryffindor is definitely the best house."

"I feel like I might be in Gryffindor," Raj said.

"I think you would be as well," Minerva said with a smile. "Let Amelia know that."

"She won't be very happy, I'm sure," Raj said with a laugh. "Oh, hey, Lucy. Remember when I said you were a real princess and you said you weren't because real princess live in castles? Well, look. Now you live in a castle."

Lucy laughed. "I still don't think I'm a real princess."

"And why not?" Raj asked.

Lucy shrugged and Minerva smiled and shook her head. "I think that maybe real princess have royal blood. If Lucy's a princess, am I a queen?"

"Well, of course," Raj said with a laugh. "You are the queen of this castle, aren't you?"

"I don't know about that," Minerva said.

"Mum is Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Lucy said importantly. "Head of Gryffindor House and Transfigurations Mistress."

"Wow," Raj said, looking over at Minerva. "Are you training her?"

"No, of course -"

"Oh! Order of Merlin, First Class," Lucy added quickly, remembering one last title she had missed. "I don't know what that one means though..."

Minerva's smile faded. "Where did you hear that?"

"I read it," she said. "In the article they wrote about you in some magazine on your desk. It was called Transfigurations Today."

"Wow," Raj said. "I think you're as famous here in the Wizarding World as Jay was in the Muggle World."

"Daddy's famous here too," Lucy said. "A lot of people know about him and Collins Enterprises."

"Really?"

"Well, the Wizarding World is inside the Muggle World, Raj," Minerva said with a small smile. "Also, a lot of wizards and witches start in the Muggle World."

"Right, I see," he said.

"So, what is an Order of Merlin, First Class?" Lucy asked. "Uncle Albus has one too. I read it on his Chocolate Frog card."

"It's an award given to wizards and witches who have done some good in our world," Minerva said. "There are three classes. First Class is given to people who have performed 'acts of outstanding bravery or distinction', Second Class to those who have 'achievement or endeavour beyond the ordinary', and Third Class to those who 'have made a contribution to our store of knowledge or entertainment'. I actually have both First and Third Class. I got Third Class first and then a little while after the war started, I was given the First Class award by then Minister for Magic Harold Minchum."

"Wow," Raj said. "An act of outstanding bravery or distinction, huh?"

"Yes," she said.

"What did you do?" Lucy asked excitedly.

"I think that's a story for when you're a little older," Minerva said.

"No! I want to know! I want to know!" Lucy exclaimed. "I don't want to wait till I'm older!"

"I think your mother might be right," Raj said, not wanting Lucy to get scared by Minerva's story. "Just wait a little while."

Lucy made a face. She wasn't very happy about this. She was about to say something but before she could they turned a corner and ran into a woman with large, thick, circular glasses that magnified her eyes to about ten times their natural size. She wore a big shawl and many colourful beaded chains around her neck. She had bangles and bracelets covering her arms, making noise when she moved, and numerous rings on her fingers. Her hair was big and frizzy and she looked very gypsy like.

"Ah, Minerva," she said in a mystic voice. She didn't sound too happy to run into her colleague.

"Sybill," Minerva muttered, sounding just as displeased. Lucy looked from her mother to the woman, wondering why they didn't seem to like each other very much, and then up at her uncle. Raj gave her a little shrug. "Sybill this is my daughter, Lucy, and my friend, Raj Patil. Lucy, Raj, this is Professor Sybill Trelawney. She teaches Divinations."

"Professor," Raj said with a smile, sticking out his hand for her to shake. She looked at it for a moment as if this gesture was foreign to her, Raj began to wonder if it was, and then took his hand. She gave it a very weak shake.

"Mr. Patil," she said. "You are Miss Lucy's father then?"

"No - what," Raj said quickly, looking back at Minerva awkwardly. "I'm just her uncle. Minerva and I are just friends."

"Friends," she said skeptically, earning herself a glare from Minerva.

Lucy didn't seem to notice how uncomfortable Raj and Minerva were. She smiled happily and said, "hello, Professor Trelawney."

"Hello, Miss," Trelawney replied. "I already knew who you and Mr. Patil were, of course. I saw you three coming down this way."

"Saw us?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, I'm a Seer," she replied proudly. "I possess the second sight. The power to see into the future."

"That's what Divinations is," Minerva muttered indifferently. She looked over at Raj and he had to stop himself from laughing at the face she made. Apparently Minerva was not one hundred percent sold on the validity of this field of study.

"See the future?" Lucy asked, sounding intrigued. Her interest annoyed Minerva slightly. "How do you do that?"

"There are many different ways," she said, mood improving. Maybe Trelawney would be able to convert the daughter of her biggest critique over to her field. Wouldn't that be quite ironic? "I can always teach you if you'd like."

"Really? Could you predict something right now?" Lucy asked.

"Well, the inner eye does not work on demand," Trelawney muttered.

"Right," Minerva mumbled. Trelawney gave her a look.

"Of course," Raj said. He could feel the tension between Minerva and Trelawney and thought it might be best to get Lucy and Minerva out of here. "You know, Lucy, maybe we -"

"Well, I do see... danger in your future."

"Danger?" Lucy said. "What kind of danger?"

Minerva and Raj glared at Trelawney.

"Sybill!" Minerva exclaimed.

"I can't change the future, Minerva. I just report it," she replied. "I see death, not yours... yet."

"Yet..." Lucy said, taking her mother's hand quickly.

Raj couldn't believe this woman. This was a seven year old girl she was talking too. She could have just made up a nice, happy prediction for her. Why did she have to go straight to danger and death? Lucy was already scared of the war.

"Yes, not yours," Trelawney continued, either oblivious to Raj and Minerva's glares or just ignoring them. "Someone else's."

"Who?" Lucy asked quickly, looking very worried now.

"Sybill stop," Minerva said sternly.

"Is your father well, dear?" Trelawney asked, putting her fingers to her temple and closing her eyes, looking like she was concentrating very hard.

Lucy's worry went away and suddenly she raised her eye at this woman. She let go of Minerva's hand and crossed her arms. She had an idea. "Yes, he's fine."

"I would spend a lot more time with him if I were you. There may not be very much time left."

"Uh huh..." Lucy said and Raj laughed a little. Minerva did her best to stop herself from smiling. Lucy was realizing that Trelawney probably could not really seeing the future.

"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you, dear," Trelawney said, opening her eyes again and giving Lucy a sad look.

"Thank you for the warning," Lucy replied, furrowing her brow and taking Minerva's hand again, ready to leave this woman.

"I'm sorry I could not give you very much details. If you would like I could always give you a palm reading. It would give me a better idea of what the future holds for you," she said, unaware that she had lost Lucy already.

"Ah no, that's okay. My dad used to say, 'hathon ki lakiron par barabar vishvas nahi karna chahiye kyonki takkdir to unki bhi hoti hai jinake hath nahi hote'," Lucy replied sounding a little annoyed now. Raj burst out laughing very loudly and Minerva looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Sybill frowned at him, not understanding what was going on. Lucy translated for them. "Which means, 'your future does not depend on the lines of your hands, because people who do not have hands also have a future'."

Minerva suddenly had a coughing fit to cover up her laughter. God did she love that man. She composed herself and sighed. Trelawney looked as if she had just been slapped across the face. She slowly composed herself too and glared down at Lucy.

"Well, your father does not appreciate the art of Divinations," she huffed. She fixed her shawl indignantly before pushing past Minerva and muttering, "Now if you'll excuse me..."

When Trelawney was gone, Minerva laughed and tousled Lucy's hair. Lucy frowned at the hallway Trelawney had just walked down. "I don't think she's a real Seer."

"I think you're probably right," Raj said with a laugh. He reached down and picked Lucy up, bouncing her up and down happily. "That was some very smart thinking, Princess."

Lucy laughed. "You thought it was very funny."

"I did," Raj said. "So did your mother, though she didn't want to lose her perfect composure."

Minerva laughed and shook her head. "I don't know if Sybill is a real Seer but she definitely thinks she is."

"She was kind of mean," Lucy said. "She scared me for a minute."

"She was kind of mean," Raj said with a nod. "Let's keep going and see more of the castle. That'll probably help you forget about her."

"Yes, let's go," Minerva said with a smile.

Lucy nodded and Raj moved her onto his back. He raced down the hall and Lucy laughed. Minerva shook her head though she smiled and followed after him.

...

"What kind of teachers do you hire here?" Raj muttered, flopping down in the seat in front of Minerva's desk.

"Sybill is new," she muttered.

"She couldn't have faked a nice future?" Raj asked. "I mean just say something like you'll get a strange surprise soon or you'll come into some money. I don't know. She had to go straight to danger and death?"

"Safe bet, I suppose. With the war," Minerva said with a sigh. "She is actually a real Seer, though. Well as real a Seer as a Seer can be. Real Seers just don't work like she thinks they do."

"So she's not a fraud?"

"No, she is."

"But she's also a real Seer?"

"Yes."

Raj stared at Minerva for a while before saying, "did I miss something? How can you be a real Seer and a fraud at the same time?"

"You can't read tea leaves or palms to tell the future, Raj," Minerva said with a sigh, "but Sybill can tell prophecies. They come unexpectedly and the Seer doesn't remember when they happen."

"Oh, she was the one that told the prophecy about Lucy," Raj said.

"Not about Lucy," Minerva said with a frown. "About the war. Her name's not in it. It could not be her."

Raj sighed and gave Minerva a look.

"It could not be her," Minerva said.

"That may be foolish."

Minerva sighed. She shook her head as she opened her bottom desk drawer. She pulled out the fake bottom and pulled out a bottle of firewhiskey. Minerva conjured up some glasses and poured them both a drink. She handed him his glass before taking a sip of her own.

"I'm not letting Lucy fight in a war," he said quietly.

"I don't want her to either."

"She's too young."

"Much too young."

There was silence for a while before Raj sighed again and decided to change the subject. "Well," he mumbled, "Sybill Trelawney may be a real Seer but she's bad at being one."

Minerva smiled a little bit. "Asked if you were Lucy's father and then immediately told Lucy she already knew who the two of you were."

"Yes, I caught that," he said with a laugh. He shook his head. "Me and you, augh. Gross."

Minerva gave him a look.

"I mean... not that... I wasn't trying to... I was just..."

"You're so much better at talking to women in bars than you are at talking to me," Minerva said with a laugh.

"Not true," Raj said. "I can talk to you. I'm doing it right now."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I don't find the idea of the two of us doing anything together very appealing either," she said.

"Oh, don't lie," he said with a laugh. "I know you've been in love with me since we met."

"Oh, yes, of course," Minerva said sarcastically. "How could I not fall for my husband's best friend especially right after he got done hitting on my best friend."

"I wasn't hitting on her! I was just asking what she doing there! Why is that so hard for you people to understand?" Raj said.

Minerva laughed. "You are completely in love with Amelia Bones, Raj Patil. I know you are. You can't hide it from me."

Raj gave her a look. "I am not," he said. "Now see, I thought this was going to be a nice drink where you tell me about how stupid Divinations is and now I'm feeling very attacked."

Minerva laughed and shook her head. "I can make a prediction right now."

"Shoot."

She closed her eyes and put her fingers to her temples like Trelawney had done earlier making Raj laugh. "I predict," she said, "that in the near future, hopefully a lot nearer than what I'm seeing right now, you and Amelia will finally profess your love for each other."

Raj laughed. "That's as good a prediction as Trelawney's."

"I think it's spot on," Minerva said, opening her eyes and picking up her drink again. "Maybe not this month, maybe not this year even, but soon. Soon you'll both stop being stupid, swallow your pride and tell each other how you feel. I predict it because I have faith in the both of you."

"Amelia and I are not meant to be, Minerva," Raj said. "It's not written in the stars!"

Minerva rolled her eyes. "And why not."

"Because you and I both know that she's in love with someone else," Raj said.

"She is not in love with someone else. She had a crush. It's basically over. She just admires his work is all," Minerva said.

"I can't do basically over," he said. "Besides relationships aren't my thing. Never been good at them. I think it's in my blood."

"Raj, I think you should talk to her," Minerva said. "And I think you need to not think about your parents relationship when you try to build your own."

"So, Jay told you."

Minerva sighed and nodded. "I'm very sorry."

"You don't have to be," he said with a shrug. "He did what he did and I'm not sad that he did it. My mother and I were better off with him gone. We didn't have to hide anymore. I didn't have to worry about him finding my new school or finding my mum and doing something horrible. It was actually a relief."

"You are so strong, Raj. Strong enough to put him aside and build relationships for yourself that you can be proud of," she said with a small smile. "Amelia would be very lucky to have someone like you in her life."

"I don't know, Minerva," he said with a sigh. "I don't know."

She sighed and looked out window. "I don't know either, Raj," she said quietly. "All I know, is that I would do anything to be able to talk to Jay one more time so to see two people that really love each other not talk to each other when they so easily could... it hurts."

He sighed. "That is not what this is," Raj mumbled. "That is not what we are."

"Well, we can agree to disagree," Minerva said, turning back and giving him a small smile. "For now."

"For now?" Raj asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I still believe in my prediction," Minerva said with a smile.

Raj shook his head. He straightened up and leaned forward to pick up the bottle of firewhiskey. He poured some more into his now empty glass. Minerva held her glass out to him. He smiled and poured some more into her glass as well. He raised his glass and she clinked their glasses before they took another sip.