Saturday, May 22nd 1999

Today was the day. Minerva had gotten a letter from Raj yesterday telling her that the day had finally arrived. She got Lucy out of bed, got her dressed and ready to leave. Lucy was still confused as to what was actually happening. Her mother wouldn't tell her where they were going or what they were doing. She just marched Lucy out of her office and out of the castle. They walked through the grounds and out the gate before Apparating.

At first Lucy didn't know where they had ended up, it just looked like an empty car park, but as they walked down towards an elevator Lucy recognized the building. They were in the Collins Enterprises underground car park. Minerva pulled out a key to get the elevator going and let Lucy press the button for the top floor.

The elevator climbed up the building. It dinged and the doors opened when it finally reached the top. Lucy realized that this was actually her first time back at Collins Enterprises since her father's death. She quickly grabbed her mother's hand, holding it tightly as the walked out of the elevator and towards her father's old office.

They made it to his office and found Raj standing there waiting for them beside a woman with shoulder length grey curls and wearing a smart grey suit. Raj had a very stupid smile on his face and greeted them happily as they approached.

Upon seeing the woman, Lucy gasped. She had known that her uncle had claimed he would try to get them a meeting but she never thought it would actually happen.

"Minerva, it's nice to see you again," Peggy Carter said with a smile, sticking out her hand to shake hers when they were close enough. "It's been a long time."

"Nice to see you again as well, Peggy," Minerva said, shaking her outstretched hand. "This is my daughter, Lucy."

Peggy kneeled down in front of Lucy and smiled, sticking out her hand towards her as well. "Hello, Miss Collins," she said as Lucy shook her hand still gaping at her. "My name is Peggy Carter. Your uncle here has told me all about you. It's very nice to finally meet you."

"Y-you're - you're Peggy Carter..." was all Lucy could manage to say. She didn't move, looking frozen in place.

"Yes," Peggy said with a smile.

"You're - I - oh my god!" she said, barely able to contain her excitement. She finally unfroze and took Peggy's hands. She was basically jumping with excitement. "Oh my god! You're - You're Peggy Carter! I absolutely love you! You are so cool! I read all about you in school and wrote an essay about you a couple months ago!"

"Well, thank you Miss Collins -"

"Please, call me Lucy."

"Alright, and you can just call me Peggy," Peggy said with a laugh. "I'm very flattered. I wasn't aware that they were teaching about me in schools."

"Well, they talked about you a little bit when we did World War II in history but I did most of the reading on you on my own," Lucy said, feeling the blood rush into her cheeks. "I read all about your work training soldiers during the war and your adventures with Steve Rogers and then your work in the SSR. It's so cool! I hope I'm as strong as you when I'm older. You're like real life Wonder Woman!"

"Wow, you've read a lot about me. I'm glad I made you proud, Lucy," she said with a bright smile. "So, Raj tells me that you wanted to talk to me."

"Yes," Raj said. He walked towards Jay's office for and opened it. "You two can go talk in here. Minerva and I will be waiting out here."

"Wonderful," Peggy said, straightening up and holding her hand out for Lucy. Lucy took it quickly, a huge genuine smile on her face, and followed Peggy into the office.

When the door closed behind them, Raj looked over at Minerva with a small smile. "So, who's the best uncle in the world?"

"That was a nice surprise for her, Raj," Minerva said with a smile. "Thank you. I think it will definitely help."

"Yes, I hope so," he said. He walked over to the desk in front of Jay's office and pulled out the chair. He motioned for Minerva to sit and then pulled another one over from a little ways away for himself. "I'm an amazing godparent. Amelia Bones has nothing on me."

"This isn't about helping Lucy at all, is it?" Minerva said. "This is about out doing Amelia as a godparent."

"No, of course not, this first and foremost about helping Lucy," Raj said with a smile. "Out doing Amelia is just an added bonus."

Minerva shook her head though she smiled.

"Lucy's already gotten a whole lot better. I'm hoping this is what pushes her right back to how she was before all this," he said.

Minerva nodded. "I hope so too," she said. She looked at the door for a second. "Well, I predict that the war and the Wizarding World will not remain secret for very long. I probably should have warned her not to tell Ms. Carter about it."

Raj shrugged. "After Jay died, I took over a lot of his responsibilities," he said. "Part of that was with Stark and Carter. They work for an organization called S.H.I.E.L.D.. Basically an intelligence agency."

"Intelligence?" Minerva said with a raised eyebrow. "Are you telling me my husband was a spy?"

"No," Raj said with a laugh. "More of a consultant for a spy firm. I've learned a lot of things about Jay since he passed actually. I was very surprised."

"Wow," Minerva said.

"Anyways," Raj said. "S.H.I.E.L.D. already knows about the Wizarding World."

Minerva looked back at him in shock. "They do?"

He nodded. "Yes," he said. "They have agents who are wizards and witches. They have files on everybody. Peggy knew that you were a witch and that you worked at Hogwarts before she met you."

"I don't know how I feel about that."

"It's top level clearance. Not a lot of people in S.H.I.E.L.D. know about it. Just the top agents, Peggy and Howard Stark," he said. "They were surprised that I knew."

"Hmm," Minerva mumbled.

Raj smiled. "It's okay, your information is safe," he said as he reached down and opened the bottom drawer of Maria's desk. He pulled out a bottle of wine. "Jay's secret stash. Maria would confiscate it every so often."

"Upon my request actually," Minerva said with a smile.

"Really? Well, I'm sure she wouldn't mind if we indulged a little bit while we wait," Raj said with a laugh. He pulled out a bottle of wine and waved it at her. Minerva smiled and took it from him.

"I'm sure she wouldn't," Minerva said, pulling out her wand and conjuring up some glasses. She poured the wine into them and held out his glass towards him.

"Thank you," he said, accepting the glass from her.

...

Peggy closed the door behind them and Lucy looked around the room. It looked exactly the same as the last time she had been here. Nobody had used the office since Jay passed, Raj had made sure of that.

"I haven't been in here in a really long time," Lucy whispered.

Peggy looked at her and gave her a little smile."I'm sure that if you're uncomfortable your uncle wouldn't mind finding us a different room to use."

"That's okay," Lucy said, leading the way over to the couch. Peggy followed her. She sat down and smiled down at her.

"You know, your father told me all about you," she said. "He was very proud of you."

"Really?" Lucy asked with a little smile.

Peggy nodded. "I know all about you thanks to him. He absolutely loved bragging about you," she said. "He told me about your photographic memory. Your very high IQ."

"Wow," Lucy said, cheeks going a little red.

"You're in year eight now, right?"

Lucy nodded. "You know all about me like I know all about you!"

"Yes," Peggy said with a laugh. Suddenly her smile faded away and she sighed. She took one of Lucy's hands and said, "so, your uncle told me that you were having a little bit of a hard time right now."

Lucy sighed and looked down. "My friend died," she said quietly. "Well, actually a lot of my friends have died."

Peggy sighed too. "I know that a lot is going on in the UK right now," she said, "and it's starting to feel a little hopeless but it will get better, Lucy. It always does. Trust me. I've been there. I've felt the way you felt and I too felt very hopeless but it got easier. It just took some time."

"My friend, Dorcas Meadowes, liked you too. I told her all about you," Lucy said, looking up again. Peggy gave her a little smile. "She was really strong like you and she fought really hard for what she thought was right."

"She sounds like a great girl. How old was she?" Peggy asked.

"She was twenty," Lucy replied.

Peggy sighed. "That's very young."

Lucy nodded. "They said she was one of the strongest members of the Order of the Phoenix and everyone thought that she was untouchable... but..." Tears started falling down her face. "But then he killed her. He's called He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I don't know why. Apparently he's really strong too. Stronger than her."

"Sometimes in a war," Peggy said, pulling a kleenex out of the box on the side table and handing it to Lucy, "we lose people we love. They fight really hard and they sacrifice so much for what they believe in. They are heros. They all are."

"How long did it take you to forget?" Lucy asked. "After - after Steve Rogers died."

Peggy smiled a little. "I like that you call him by his real name," she said. "Most people just say Captain America."

"I read what you said about it," Lucy said with a small smile. "That he was so much more than Captain America. That he was Steve Rogers."

"And he was," she said with a smile, reaching out and tousling Lucy's hair. "You don't forget, Lucy. You never forget but you learn to live with it."

"My chest hurts," Lucy said. "I feel like I have a hole in my chest and it won't go away. I just want it to go away."

"I know, love," Peggy said with a sigh, putting her hand on Lucy's shoulder. "I feel the same way. I feel like there's a hole in my chest too but I learned how to live with it. It hurts a lot right now and it will probably still hurt every now and again but you learn how to live with that pain. You learn how to live around what was left behind by that person."

Lucy thought about this for a second. "You can live with a hole in you chest?"

"You'd be surprised with how much a person can live through, Lucy," Peggy said with a smile. "You seem like a very strong little girl. I think you could overcome anything."

"Can I ask you a question about Steve?" she asked.

"Sure."

"They say that you were the last person to talk to him. What did you talk about?" Lucy asked.

Peggy smiled a little. "He asked me to go dancing."

"Really?"

"Yes, at the Stork Club in New York City. Saturday at eight o'clock on the dot," she said. Lucy didn't respond. She knew that he did not keep his date. Peggy gave her a small smile. "It's okay. I'm okay."

They sat in silence for a little while before Lucy decided to try changing the subject to something less sad. "My mum," she said, "told me that you can do one hundred and seven one armed push ups."

Peggy laughed and shook her head. "I used to be able to do that many but I don't think I can even do one now."

"I read about your work for the SSR," Lucy said. "Can you tell me about when you got Howard Stark off for treason?"

Peggy smile and nodded. She went into the story of the first real case she got at the SSR after the war. Lucy asked her more questions and she told her more stories. Lucy loved every second of it. Talking to Peggy Carter only made her admiration for the woman grow. She looked up to her so much and wished that she could be as strong and awesome as Peggy was.

Eventually it was starting to get very late. They had talked all through dinner time and much past Lucy's bedtime without realizing it. Finally Peggy looked down at her watch and her eyes widened. "Wow," she said with a laugh. "It's almost midnight! We've been talking for a very long time, Lucy."

Lucy sighed. "You have to go?"

"Unfortunately I do," Peggy said with a small smile. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small card and a pen. "This is my card," she said as she started scribbling on it. "And this is my personal number. If you ever need anything just call this number. Maybe when you're older we can talk about my organization, S.H.I.E.L.D.. I think you might be a good fit for it but we can talk about it more then."

Lucy smiled and took the card. "Thank you."

Peggy stood up and took Lucy's hand. As they walked towards the office door, Peggy said, "You're probably the strongest seven year old I've ever met, Lucy. I know that you don't think you are right now but you are. Just remember, if you know your value, anybody else's opinion doesn't really matter."

Lucy smiled. "Thank you for talking with me," she said as Peggy opened the door and they walked outside where Raj and Minerva were waiting. "I really love everything you've done. I hope that one day I can be awesome like you."

"I'm sure you will be," Peggy said with a laugh as Minerva and Raj stood up and walked towards them. "I think you're already a lot more awesome than I am."

"No way," Lucy said with a laugh. "You're much more awesome than I am! You're like real life Wonder Woman!"

Raj smiled. "I'm guessing that went well."

Peggy smiled. "You have quite the daughter, Minerva," she said. "You should be very proud."

"I am," Minerva said with a smile.

Peggy knelt down in front of Lucy again and gave her a hug. "It was nice to meet you, Lucy," she said. "I hope to see you again soon."

"Bye, Peggy," Lucy said with a smile.

They pull away and Peggy said goodbye to Minerva and Raj as well before heading down to where her car was parked in the parkade downstairs. When she was gone, Lucy ran to her uncle and hugged his legs tightly. "I can't believe you got Peggy Carter to come here and talk to me!" she exclaimed in the happy, excited voice that Minerva had missed so much. "Thank you so much, Uncle Raj! You're the best!"

Raj laughed, reached down and picked her up. "I know. I'm pretty great, huh?"

Lucy nodded vigorously and Minerva rolled her eyes. "Alright," she said. "We should get back to Hogwarts."

"I know it's late but why don't we go out for some food?" Raj said. "Neither of us have eaten anything and would it really be that bad if you stay away from Hogwarts for a little while longer."

"Can we, Mum?" Lucy asked. "Please!"

"Alright," Minerva said with a smile. She was happy to hear Lucy sounding like herself again. "Let's go."

"Wonderful!" Raj said. "My car's downstairs. Let's go."

He started walking with Lucy still in his arms and Minerva followed behind them. They got in Raj's car and he drove them to a nice nearby restaurant. They got a table and ordered their food. In between bite, Lucy excitedly told them all about what she and Peggy had talked about. Minerva was happy to see her appetite had returned. Lucy was hardly able to get through any of her stories as she just kept cutting herself off by interjecting "I love her so much!" and "Isn't she so awesome!"

Finally they left the restaurant, Raj drove himself back home and Minerva Apparated herself and Lucy back to Hogwarts. She finally got her to calm down a little bit and get into bed, her own bed thankfully, and then went back to her own room to get ready for bed as well.

Thursday, May 27th 1999

As the days passed Lucy got a lot better. Her conversation with Peggy Carter really helped her get back on track. She gained back most of the weight she lost. She played more with her friends and she sounded more like her usual energetic, enthusiastic self. Anne was so happy to see Lucy getting back to how she used to be before Dorcas's dead. Lucy told Anne, Tonks, Charlie and Bill all about her meeting with Peggy. Some would describe it as bragging but they were all very interesting in hearing all about the Peggy Carter. At least the first few time anyways. They couldn't believe that Lucy actually got to talk to her.

Daniel and Nina came back to Hogwarts as well and Lucy wasted no time telling them about Peggy too. She held off on telling them in letters because she wanted to do it face to face. They were both very happy to see Lucy getting better as well. Nina loved hearing all of Peggy's stories but Daniel got tired of them pretty fast and left them to talk on their own while he went and laid down. He couldn't believe that he had actually missed Lucy talking his ear off.

Lucy bragged about her meeting with anyone who would talk to her. Remus heard all about it every morning and after school. He saw the way she improved at school while watching her play with her friends at recess and was glad to see her finally getting better. He reported his findings back to Minerva, who was very happy to hear it. James, Lily, and Sirius were also told very loudly and frantically about the Peggy Carter. Sirius and Remus were still not getting along very well and Lucy had tried to get them to talk but they didn't seem to listen to her. She asked Minerva what was wrong but Minerva said that she didn't know. Lucy wasn't sure that she actually believed that.

Dumbledore and Amelia weren't safe from Lucy's excitement either. Her weekly chess game with Dumbledore was filled with conversation related only to Peggy Carter or the other Howling Commandos and Amelia's weekend visit consisted mostly of stories and 'did you know' facts about the woman. Amelia wondered if Ms. Carter truly understood how much her meeting had meant to Lucy. She was glad to see Lucy happy again. Lucy showed her the card Peggy had given her. She kept it in her photo album and said that it was in case of emergencies only. Lucy told herself that when she was older she would call the number and ask Peggy about this S.H.I.E.L.D. organization she talked about.

"I have to hand it to you, Raj," Amelia said into the phone. She was sitting at the desk in her office at home talking with Raj like she did almost every night. "You may have singlehandedly fixed everything."

"I know," Raj said with a laugh. "I will accept my Best Godparent of All Time award now, thank you."

"You may have gotten a very big lead but I don't think the race is over just quite," she said with a laugh.

"Maybe not," he said. "I look forward to seeing how you catch up."

"I'm sure I'll think of something soon, though I will remind you," she said, "it is not a competition."

"When has anything with you not been a competition, Bones?" he said. "I recall the four of us going out and you coming back to the table having gotten a guy's number after I got a girl's number just to prove that you could do it as well."

"Hey, I recall you only getting that girl's number because you wanted to prove to me that you could do it in less than two minutes so..."

"So..."

Amelia smiled and shook her head. "You're annoying. I don't know why I talk to you."

"Yet you call me almost every single night."

"I think it was you who called me today, Patil."

"Was it? I'm not sure," he said with a laugh. It had been him. Of course it had been him.

Amelia smiled. "You are a child," she said.

"Eh, but you love me," he said with a laugh.

She didn't respond. Her smile faded. It was a joke. It was just a joke. Raj was always making jokes. She shook her head and smiled again. "Well," she said, "I took Daniel and Nina up to Hogwarts the other day."

"Yes, that's good," Raj said. He wasn't smiling anymore either, she could hear it in his voice. "I'm glad they're up there now. It makes me feel a little better."

"Yes, me too. Hogwarts is a lot safer than Canterbury," she said with a nod.

"You know, Daniel's been working really hard. They both took spring courses this year which is why they got off later than usual," Raj said. "I was talking to him the other day and he was telling me that he may be able to graduate a year early."

"Wow," Amelia said. "That's excellent. Will he be taking over Collins Enterprises after he graduates?"

"I'm not sure. It'll be up to him of course. I don't think he's decided yet."

"I see."

"So, anyways, what about you? How's work going?"

"So busy," Amelia mumbled with a sigh. "You can still feel the absence left by Dorcas. Everyone still misses her a lot. She wasn't an actual Auror but she did so much for them."

Raj sighed. "She was a great girl," he said. "I only met her a few times but she seemed wonderful. And I will admit that I do love seeing more Indian people in high status positions like her."

Amelia smiled a little. "It's a shame that you don't see it more often."

"It is," he said.

"Alastor acted very strange after her death," Amelia said.

"Really?" Raj asked. He wasn't thrilled about having to talk about Alastor Moody right now. "I didn't think that man felt anything at all."

"Me neither," Amelia said with a sad little laugh. "It was actually quite shocking to see him like that. I think he actually cried a few tears. I have never seen him cry before. He and Dorcas were very close. They worked together a lot and he took a liking to her. He was hoping that after the war was over she would take a job in the Auror office and he would train her personally. He keeps talking about how powerful a witch she was and how much good she would have done on the Aurors."

"She would have," Raj said.

Amelia took a deep breath. "I just... I know he misses her. I know he was hurt by her death," she said softly, "and I know that this is going to sound horrible but... can I tell you something?"

"Of course."

"I think... I worry that it isn't just Dorcas that he misses," Amelia whispered. "It's her power. I'm sure he liked her a lot but... the way he talks about her now... I don't know. It just makes me feel like all he cared about was how powerful she was. I mean, I know everyone talks about how powerful and strong she was. Lucy talks about it all the time but when you talk to her you know that she loved Dorcas for more than just her magic. Dorcas was an amazing witch with her whole life ahead of her. She was very powerful but that wasn't all she was. Alastor sometimes makes it sound like that's all she was."

"I... wow," Raj said softly. "I don't know what to say. I don't know him very well so I can't tell you for sure if that's true or not but that really sucks."

"Yeah..." Amelia said with a sigh. "When I think back... it's always been this way. Two years ago a very close friend of mine and Minerva's and his wife were murder. Fleamont Potter. You've met James, I think. His father. He and Euphemia Potter were killed on their forty fifth wedding anniversary by a Death Eater and Alastor was the same after he died. I thought they were friends too. Fleamont was Deputy Head of the Auror Office and had known Alastor for years and years but after he died... Alastor just talked about how powerful he was and how much great magic was wasted."

"That's horrible."

"And you should hear the way he talks about Lucy," she continued. "He's seen her do magic. He knows how powerful she is. You know, I've actually heard him mix her and Dorcas's names up before."

"That feels kind of... racist."

"I don't think he means to be but I can see how you could feel that way," she said with a sigh. "He knows it makes me uncomfortable when he talks about how great it would be to have Lucy on our team but he does it anyway."

"Lucy is seven. She is not fighting this war. There is no way Minerva, you, and I are going to let that happen."

"I know but I wish he would stop. He likes the idea of not needing a wand," she said. "Says it's good for combat because there's no risk of being disarmed."

"He doesn't know about the Prophecy, does he?" Raj asked, very worried now. He couldn't imagine Moody finding out and then trying to get Lucy out there on the front lines. Raj would do anything to keep that little girl safe and if that means having to fight a huge, muscular wizard so be it.

"No, thankfully no," Amelia said. "And I doubt he will. I couldn't imagine the ideas he would get in his head if he heard that."

"I know," Raj said with a sigh.

"I think that he's always been like this," Amelia mumbled. "I just didn't see it till now. Like you said, he doesn't feel anything at all. For Fleamont, for Dorcas, for Lucy... for me."

"I never meant -"

"I think that Alastor Moody is a great wizard. He is great at what he does, he is a great Head of the Auror Office and I think that he will be for a very long time," Amelia said, cutting him off. "He is a great soldier, a great man, but he's not a good one. He's not a very nice person."

Raj sighed. "I don't think he's a very nice person either," he said. "And I think that he must be a lot worse than I thought if he's getting that from the nicest person I know."

"I am not the nicest person you know," Amelia said with a little laugh.

"You are. You are very nice and kind," Raj said with a smile. "So to hear you say something as horrible as telling me that Moody isn't a very nice person? It's shocking. Just absolutely shocking."

Amelia laughed again, wiping the tears off her cheeks. Raj was good at making her feel better. She remembered why she liked talking to him every single night so much now.

"I know that I'm not a very nice person either but -"

"What are you talking about?" Amelia said. "You are a very nice person. You've proven it time and time again. I mean, you got the Peggy Carter to come down to the UK just to talk to Lucy. You take care of them all so much. Not just the kids either, Minerva too. You do so much for her. I've seen it. You are a very nice person."

Raj smiled. "Well, I guess I did do that stuff," he said, "but it's not that big a deal. It's just my job."

"It's not your job which is what makes it so great, Raj. You could have dropped them. You could have left, took the CEO position for yourself, made more money than you already do, and completely cut them out but you didn't," she said. "You stayed and you helped them. You set things up to ensure their success in the future and they appreciate it. They all do. So, so much, Raj."

"But the custody -"

"That's forgiven and forgotten," Amelia said with a smile. "That was you just trying to protect those children again. It was just a misstep. You were under a lot of stress too, Raj. You were going through a loss too. You are allowed to make mistakes."

"I suppose."

"And you didn't have all the information then either. You had no idea what was going now and why Daniel had just let this woman walk back into his life without any problem whatsoever," she continued. "You were allowed to have your reservations about that. Now you know, now you understand, and you have apologized too. I mean, that's not something I could see Alastor Moody ever doing... Not that I'm trying to compare the two of you, of course."

Raj laughed. "I don't know how well I would stack up to the great Alastor Moody."

"Oh, you would definitely win over him any day," Amelia said with a smile. "You may not be a wizard but you are a much better person than he is. Much better."

"Why, thank you, Bones," Raj said with a smile.

"Of course, Patil," Amelia said.

There was a pause in which Raj thought over everything she had said. Was she really over Alastor Moody? Did she not have a crush on him anymore? He wondered if now was a good time. Should he say something? Minerva would say yes, but she wasn't here right now.

"Ah, Amelia -"

"Well, I should - oh, sorry, what was that?"

"No, you go ahead."

"I was just going to say that it was getting kind of late and that we should both probably head to bed," Amelia said with a smile. "What was it you were saying?"

"Oh, it's nothing. It can wait," he said, shaking his head. Now wasn't the time for stuff like this. Amelia had bigger things to focus on and he shouldn't distract her from them. "It is getting quite late. I'll talk to you soon."

"Alright, have a good night, Raj."

"You too."

They said goodbye and hung up the phone. Amelia shuffled the papers on her desk into a neat little pile and got up. She walked out of the office and into her bedroom. Before she even had a chance to start getting ready for bed however, an owl tapped on her window. She opened it and took the note from the owl's leg. It flew off as she opened the note.

Twenty two Death Eaters arrested in raid. Need your expertise. Please come at once.

A.M.

Amelia sighed, folded the note back up and closed the window. It seemed she wasn't going to be getting very much sleep tonight. She grabbed her travel coat and headed for the door so she could Apparate to the Ministry.

Author's Note:

I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you for reading! Raj is an amazing character and probably one of my favourites of all my characters. He's such a great guys and I have fun writing him. I'd love to know which characters you guys like! Please review and let me know!