A *not so short* Short Interlude - Part 2/2 - In which Lucy Collins has an interesting week

"Fine, Lucy. If you're going to be like that then I'm going to stop calling. I mean it. This is it. It's over. I'm not going to call back. Good riddance."

Lucy rolled her eyes as she deleted that message too. She didn't mind if he thought that he was the one who pulled the plug, if that's what he needed to save his ego she would let him have it. She was just glad to be done with him.

She was still feeling a little bit of tension inside that hadn't gone away since but it was getting better. Slowly. She was spending more time with her friends, thinking about her future and what she wanted from her life more, a product of hanging around Charlie and Tonks as they went through career pamphlets, and had come to a few conclusions that she was still coming to terms with. Things were still a little confusing and she hadn't come up with solutions for all her problems but hopefully those cleared up soon too.

All this confusion, tension and indecision culminated in a very interesting week near the end of May

Tuesday night the moon was high in the sky, the castle was asleep and Minerva had gone to bed after her nightly patrol. A small red fox scurried across the grounds away from the castle. She could see the Black Lake and Hagrid's hut coming up in the distance.

"Lucy Marie Collins! What in Merlin's name are you doing out of bed so late?"

Shit.

The fox turned to see Minerva, who's extremely regimented schedule should have her in bed right now, striding across the grounds towards her. The fox stepped forward and suddenly changed back into a human. Lucy looked up at her mother with a worried expression on her face when she noticed something off. Maybe it was in the way Minerva was walking, maybe it was the arch of her brow just not being sharp enough, maybe it was that she was standing slightly shorter than usual. Whatever it was, it made Lucy smirk.

"Nice try. You almost had me there."

Minerva laughed and suddenly her features began to distort until she looked like Tonks, bright pink hair and all. "Ah man, what was it that gave it away?"

"I think I know my mother," Lucy said with a laugh. "I don't know. I could just tell something was a little off. That impression was almost spot on though."

"Thanks, I've been practicing. Really freaked out some first years a couple days back."

"Nice!"

"So," Tonks said, "where are we headed?"

Lucy shrugged. "I didn't really have any other real plans aside from meet by the lake," she said, looking around the grounds. "Any ideas?"

Tonks shrugged too and they started walking down the grassy hills of the ground. Lucy was about to say something when suddenly Tonks shoved her and ran. "Tag!"

Lucy laughed. "How old are you?" she called as she ran after her friend.

Tonks looked over her shoulder and stuck her tongue out at Lucy. Lucy rolled her eyes and transformed back into a fox as she ran. Tonks looked back and saw the fox coming after her. "Hey! That's cheating!"

Tonks turned around to run faster when her foot got caught on a rock that she didn't notice until it was too late and she fell. She fell with a grace that only the truly graceless could accomplish.

"Ouf," she mumbled as she turned over onto her back. The fox hopped onto her chest and gave her a look. If a fox could raise their eyebrow, Tonks was sure that this fox would be right now. She rolled her eyes and pushed the fox's muzzle away from her. "Shut up."

The fox yipped to say that she had not said a thing but Tonks just shoved her off and sat up. Tonks shook her head and laughed as she ran her fingers through her hair to remove any grass that may have settled there. Lucy transformed back into her human form and crossed her legs, giving her friend a look.

"May I remind you that this was your idea?"

"You may not."

"Oh, oops."

Tonks laughed. "Get up," she muttered as she pushed herself to her feet. She looked over to see that they had made it to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. "Hmm…."

Lucy got up too and Tonks motioned to the forest with her head. "Sure."

Tonks started walking towards the trees and Lucy followed after her. They walked through the first few trees when Lucy said, "We should, um, probably do something so that we can find our way back out afterwards."

"That's probably a good idea," Tonks said, turning back around. "What should we do?"

"Hmm," Lucy mumbled, looking around. She walked up to a tree close by and set a hand on the bark. Suddenly a blue glowing X appeared on the tree. "We'll just follow the X's on the way back."

"Nice!" Tonks said, pulling out her wand. "Lumos."

The tip of her wand lit up and she walked further into the forest. Lucy followed after her, holding out a hand and creating a small flame in her palm to provide more light. She created a blue X on a tree every few feet.

The forest was thick and dark. Sometimes the trees would thin enough to let some moonlight through the canopy. The light created frightening shadows through the leaves that moved when the breeze blew.

"The forest really is creepy," Tonks said.

"It is," Lucy said. "I suppose that's why it's called the Forbidden Forest."

"I think this is the only place on campus that we haven't been too yet," Tonks said. "Does the map show the forest as well or just the castle?"

"Just the castle, I think," Lucy said. "I don't think Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs –"

"Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers," Tonks added.

"Right, those ones," Lucy said with a smile. "I don't think they mapped the whole grounds, just the castle and all its rooms."

"Except for the Room of Requirements," Tonks said. "Do you think they knew about that room?"

"They must have," Lucy said. "I can't imagine people who could make a map like that and not have discovered the Room of Requirements. I mean we did that and we're… well, you three aren't exactly the brightest of the bright."

"Shut up," Tonks said with a laugh, giving Lucy a shove.

Lucy smiled. "Anyways, maybe the Room of Requirements just can't be mapped. There are spells that can make rooms and buildings unplottable, meaning you can't find them on maps. Maybe there's something like that on the Room."

"Yeah, that make sense," Tonks said. "Well, I guess, since we've finally made it here to the Forest, we have officially broken every single school rule."

"Congratulations, Tonks."

"Congratulations, Lucy."

"My mother is going to murder me."

"Your mother is going to expel me."

They exchanged looks and laughed.

"Anyways," Tonks said, "What do you think lives in the Forest?"

Lucy thought for a second. "Hmm, centaurs, Hagrid's creatures," she lowered her voice, moved closer to Tonks and in a creepy whisper continued, "Monsters!"

Tonks laughed and pushed her away. Lucy smiled and shook her head. They walked further through the woods, pushing aside branches, looking at flowers, and climbing through bushes. They talked about life, what they wanted to do after school, plans for London when they both finally moved their together.

They walked through a bush and stumbled upon a clearing. Lucy stopped and stared with wide eyes but Tonks kept walking.

"Where are you going?" Lucy asked, grabbing her arm to make her stop. She pointed out at the clearing where a herd of black, skeletal looking, winged horses with hollow white eyes were grazing. "Look!"

Tonks looked over but saw nothing. "What?"

"There! Don't you see them? They're huge!" Lucy said, letting go of Tonks's arm and walking a little closer to the herd. One of the horses closest to her stopped grazing and stared down at her. Lucy approached it slowly but it didn't move. It stood unnaturally still, not even breathing.

"Lucy, I don't see anything." Tonks frowned and looked around uncertainly.

"But - but they're right here!" Lucy said, reaching out a hand and touching the horse's muzzle. It felt like she was touching bones. The horse didn't move so she patted it a little. "It's a horse with wings. You can't see it?"

"Oh! You're seeing a Thestral!" Tonks said. "We learned about them in Care of Magical Creatures. They're…" suddenly her smile faded and she stared at Lucy. "Lucy... you can only see them if - if you've seen... someone die."

Lucy's hand fell from the thestral's muzzle and she turned back around to look at Tonks. "What?"

"Professor Kettleburn said that only people who have witnessed death and gained an emotional understanding of what death means can see them. When Hagrid brought them out no one in class could see them," Tonks explained. "We were all convinced it was some sort of joke until bites started being taken out of the piece of meat Hagrid gave them."

"Oh," Lucy said, looking back at the thestral. It stared at her, white eyes boring into her.

"Can… can I ask who you've seen die?" Tonks asked a little uncertainly.

"Ah, yeah," Lucy said quietly. "It was my dad. I was in the hospital room when he passed away."

"Oh, I'm really sorry, Lucy."

"It's okay. I'm okay," Lucy said, walking back towards Tonks.

Tonks gave her a small smile and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let's go," Lucy said. "I'm okay."

Tonks nodded and they kept walking further into the forest, leaving the thestrals behind. Tonks kept glancing over at Lucy every so often to make sure that she was okay but Lucy seemed fine. They walked in silence for a while before suddenly Lucy spoke again, more to prove that she was in fact okay than anything else.

"So, Tonks?"

"Yeah?"

"What's up between you and Bill?" Lucy asked with an annoying smile.

Tonks rolled her eyes and gave her another shove.

Lucy laughed and shoved her back. "Come on! I know there's something between you guys."

"And what about you and Charlie?" Tonks replied annoyingly.

"There's nothing going on between me and Charlie," Lucy replied.

"Yeah sure," Tonks mumbled. "It's not like you and him keep accidentally touching hands and then awkwardly looking away."

Now it was Lucy's turn to roll her eyes. "And you and Bill never have any awkward moments ever, right?"

"I think after everything that happened with Freddie Radcliffe last year I'm ready to swear off guys," Tonks said, cheeks going a little pink.

Lucy laughed. "I'm ready to swear off guys too. Anyways, I think you improved Freddie's school uniform, honestly."

"Oh yeah, that colour changing ink really accentuates his eyes," Tonks said with a laugh.

"Do you like Bill?"

"Yeah, we're friends."

"No! You know what I mean!" Lucy said.

"I don't know, Lucy," Tonks mumbled. "I know that you like Charlie - don't try to convince me you don't - but I don't think I can think about Bill like that, you know."

Lucy nodded.

"Besides, I think I've ruined my chances by saying that I thought you were the sexist and not him."

Lucy smiled too. "Do you really think I'm sexy or was that just a joke?"

"Of course I think you're sexy. It's Veritaserum, Lucy, I can't lie. I think I explode or something if I do," she said with a smile. She looked over at Lucy. "Also, I don't want to give our mothers the satisfaction of me getting with Bill."

"What do you mean?"

"Didn't you know? Our parents, well, our mums, are betting on who of us are going to get together," she said.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I heard my mum talking with Mrs. Weasley over the Floo during spring break," Tonks told her with a shake of her head. "My mum and your mum are betting on me and Bill and you and Charlie getting together but Mrs. Weasley thinks it'll be me and Charlie and you and Bill."

"Oh god," Lucy mumbled, rubbing her eyes with her hands exasperatedly. "Why must they do this?"

Tonks laughed. "Because they're annoying."

"Maybe we should freak them all out by doing something they won't see coming," Lucy said.

"Like what?"

"I have not thought that far ahead yet," Lucy said, "but I'm leaning towards eloping."

"With who?"

"Not sure yet."

"We'll come up with something," Tonks said with a laugh. She jumped ahead of Lucy and walked backwards in front of her. "Until then we'll - augh!"

Tonks stumbled backwards into a huge cobweb. She struggled and tried to get all the webs off of her but it was stuck to her clothes. Lucy ran up and helped her get it all off.

"Oh my god," she muttered. "This is so gross!"

Lucy laughed. "Oh, calm down," she said. "It's coming off."

Lucy helped her brush the cobwebs off her jacket and jeans before looking around for more. There were a lot of them hanging from the trees and over the bushes. The white cobwebs glowed slightly in the moonlight.

"Lucy..." Tonks said, sounding very scared now as she looked around at the mess of cobwebs as well. "I just thought of something."

"Yeah?"

"How big would a spider have to be to make a web this big?"

Tonks's question did not take very long to answer. Lucy saw something move behind her friend's shoulder and her eyes widened. Suddenly she realized that they were being watched by hundreds of huge yellow eyes. She looked around and saw giant spiders sitting on the tree branches around them and looking at them hungrily.

"Tonks..." she whispered, though she was quite sure the spiders already knew they were here. She grabbed Tonks's arm and pushed her back the way they came. "Run!"

"What?" Tonks said though she started running. She looked back over her shoulder and her eyes widened when she saw the giant spiders scurry towards them. "Oh my god! Go! Go! Go!"

Lucy hurried behind her friend as she heard the thunder of long legs coming towards them. "Look for the X's!"

Lucy's heart was beating so fast and as she and Tonks ran from tree to tree with Lucy's blue X's on them. Tonks jumped over a protruding tree root and called, "Watch out for that -"

It was too late. Lucy's foot caught on the root and she fell forward. "Shit!"

Tonks quickly turned around and grabbed her by the arm. "Come on! Get up!"

Lucy tried to push herself up quickly but a spider grabbed her by the leg and pulled her towards it. She screamed and kicked as hard as she could but the spider held on tight. She turned quickly, stretched out her arm, and shot a ball of fire at the spider. The spider fell backwards and let her go. Tonks pulled Lucy up to her feet and looked around.

"Oh no," she whispered.

Lucy looked around as well and her eyes widened. They were completely surrounded. The spiders stood around them, moving in closer and closer. They stood back to back and hands, wands up at the ready. Lucy shot more fireballs and Tonks sent Stunners every which way as well but they were vastly outnumbered.

"What are we going to do?" Tonks yelled, shooting a spider that jumped at her with a repelling charm.

Before Lucy could respond a shower of arrows fell onto four of the spiders closest to her. The thundering of hooves could be heard behind them. Lucy turned around in time to see a huge horse jump over the two of them and kick the spiders away. It was a centaur! The centaur had long white-blond hair and a palomino body. He shot more spiders with arrows and back kicked some others.

"Be gone, vile creatures!" the centaur yelled as he showered the oncoming forces in more arrows. "Fall back and more of your brothers need not die!"

It took only a couple more arrows and a few more back kicks for the remaining spiders to get the idea and run off.

When the last spider had disappeared into the trees it had come from, the centaur looked back at the girls. "Are you two alright?"

Lucy took a deep breath and nodded. "Y—yes," she said. "Thank you. Thank you."

"Yeah, thank you so much," Tonks said, staring at the centaur. "We – we would have been goners if it weren't for you, sir."

"The Forest is no place for children to be taking late night strolls," the centaur said. "There are creatures here worse than you have already encountered that wish to do you harm."

"Worse than giant spiders?" Tonks asked with a shudder.

"Yes, far worse. They will not care if you are children. Or," he looked at Lucy, "if you are a child of a professor at the school."

Lucy stared at him. "I – well – how did you know?"

"We centaurs know a lot of things," he said with a small smile. "Now, you must leave this forest. It is not safe. Do you know the way out from here?"

"Yeah, there's our tree," Tonks said, pointing at a tree nearby with a blue X on it.

"Excellent," the centaur said. "I shall leave you to it."

"Wait! We didn't get your name," Lucy said.

He smiled again and said, "My name is Firenze."

"Well, I'm Lucy Collins and this is Nymphadora Tonks," Lucy said with a small smile. "Thank you, Firenze, for saving us."

"Yeah, we really owe you one," Tonks said. "I know that centaurs don't really care for humans very much."

"Well, we do not hurt innocents," Firenze said. "But I would leave now. There is no telling what else you may encounter if you remain much longer. Goodbye, young ones."

With that he thundered away, leaving Lucy and Tonks alone again. Lucy looked at Tonks before motioning for her to go. They ran as fast as they could out of the forest. They passed through the trees, jumping over logs and rocks. They ran through the clearing with the thestrals without slowing down for a second.

Even when they reached the edge of the forest, they kept running, passing Hagrid's hut and making it halfway up to the castle before finally losing steam. Lucy fell down onto her back and put her hands over her face, trying to catch her breath. Tonks fell down opposite her so that their heads were right next to each other. They didn't talk for a really long time, just staring up at the stars.

"That was terrifying," Tonks mumbled finally.

"That was a bad idea."

"I know. We literally almost died."

"Thank god for Firenze."

"No kidding."

"I think that we should probably go back to the castle," Lucy said. She looked over at Tonks and gave her a small smile. "I think that might be enough for one night."

Tonks smiled. "You're probably right," she said. She looked over at Lucy. "I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm glad you're okay too," Lucy said. There was silence for a really long time where the two girls just looked at each other until finally bursting into laughter.

Tonks recovered first and spoke again. "I think I'm going to have nightmares about giant spiders for like a month."

"Me too," Lucy said with a laugh, getting up off the ground. She held out a hand to help Tonks up. Tonks smiled and took her hand. As they walked up to the castle, still laughing and feeling a little high from their near death experience, Tonks put her arm around Lucy's shoulders and Lucy put her arm around her waist. They may have almost died but Lucy felt a little bit of the tension inside her unwind a little as she walked with Tonks up to the castle.

…

Wednesday during class, Tonks pulled out her notebook and told Bill and Charlie all about their adventure in the Forest.

C: Wow! A centaur! That's so cool!

B: I can't believe that you two snuck off into the forest and didn't get caught!

T: I hope that Firenze doesn't tell your mum.

L: No, I think we're safe. I wish we could talk to him again though. I'd love to learn more about centaurs

C: Centaurs like to stay away from humans so I doubt he'd go out of his way to tell Professor McGonagall about this. Which is good for you, Tonks! They could expel you for something like that.

B: Yeah! Being out of bed is one thing but out in the Forest? That's insane.

L: But we didn't get caught so it's okay.

T: Besides it's not like we're going to do that again. You really only need to be almost eaten by giant spiders once to get the hint that the forest might not be the greatest place to hang out.

B: Lucy, I'm in class with your mum right now. Maybe I could let her know for you...

L: Don't you dare, Bill Weasley, or I will be forced to... do something terrible to you.

B: Excellent threat, Collins.

C: I'd be careful if I were you, Bill. She may not have come up with something yet but when she does... I wish you luck.

T: What are you in right now, Charlie?

C: Charms. You?

T: I'm in Potions. Snape is giving me the evil eye. I'm writing your notes, you twat!

L: You three are great students.

B: Shut up. I hate that you don't have class.

C: Seconded.

T: Thirded? Thriced?

L: Oh, stop. Would you rather I was away at Oxford?

C: Yes.

B: Nah, I'm not that mean.

T: Charlie is, apparently.

L: If I wasn't here who would have your back with my mum, huh?

C: Fair.

B: Speaking of which, she's walking over. Gotta go.

C: That kid is going to get us all caught one of these days.

T: Eh, these notebooks were a good idea. They make it look like you're actually taking notes so the professors don't really know. Unless...

L: I have not told my mother about these, if that's what you're suggesting.

T: I would never.

C: Tonks and I have Study Hall next period, are you going to come down, Lucy?

L: No, sorry. I'm waiting for Nina and Daniel to call. They were supposed to call five minutes ago! What is taking them so long?!

B: Hmm… it's almost like they want to enjoy their honeymoon without you annoying them. Strange.

L: Shut up, Bill. I thought you were gone.

B: I left to impress your mother with my amazing Transfigurations skills and now that she is sufficiently impressed, I am back.

L: I doubt my mother is sufficiently impressed by you, Bill.

B: Oh, she was definitely sufficiently impressed last night.

C: You set him up for that one.

T: You really did.

L: All three of you are –

C: Amazing?

T: Wonderful?

B: The best friends anyone could ever have?

L: Horrible. Talking to Nina now. Bye!

T: Tell Nina and Daniel I said hi.

C: Me too!

L: I will.

Lucy closed her notebook and turned her attention back to the phone in her hand. "Sorry about that, I'm back."

"That's alright, love," Nina's voice came through the phone. "How are you?"

"I'm alright," Lucy said, leaning back in her chair. She was sitting in Minerva's desk chair in her office. "How are you and Daniel doing? How's the honeymoon going? I miss you guys so much."

Nina laughed. "It's going well. We're having a lot of fun but we both miss you too. He's having a massage right now, you know."

"Wow," Lucy said. "I didn't think Daniel liked massages."

"He thought he didn't but I convinced him to go and I suppose we'll see how he likes it when he gets back," Nina said. "Tell me about you. I know you're not having the greatest time right now. You and Jordan broke up?"

"Yeah, I broke up with him," Lucy said. "I feel good about it. I wasn't having the greatest time but I think my mood definitely improved with him no longer in my life."

"That's good, I'm glad," Nina said. "And now my mother isn't around to get you down either."

Lucy laughed. "I, of course, love your mother, Nina."

"Mmhmm," Nina said. She laughed. "No, it's alright. I'm glad your mood is improving. Daniel and I were a little worried about you. You seemed pretty out of it last time we talked."

"Yeah, I was… I wasn't in the greatest place then. I'm better now though."

"Good."

"Um, I did want to talk to you about something though," Lucy said a little uncertainly. "Now's probably a good time since Daniel's not around."

"What is it, love?" Nina asked.

"Um… how long do you think you have to wait between breaking up with someone before you date someone else?" Lucy asked.

"Oh, there's no real set time," Nina said with a little laugh. "It all depends on you and if you think you're ready. It sounds like you didn't like Jordan and are happy with the break up so it may take less time for you to want to start dating someone new."

"Hmm."

"Time is not as important as how you feel. If you still feel down from the break up then you may want to wait a little while longer. If you feel like you're in a place where you feel you're ready for something new then totally get back out there."

"And what if… what if you like someone but you don't think they like you back?" she asked.

"Well, how do you know they don't like you back?" Nina asked.

"I'm pretty sure they don't," Lucy said. "Not like that at least. Would you still tell someone you liked them even if you were sure they didn't like you back like that?"

"Maybe they do like you back. You'll never know if you don't talk to them."

"What if... what if you knew that you shouldn't like them but you do?" Lucy asked.

"You can like whoever you want, Lucy," Nina said. "I mean as long as they're not like sixty seven."

"No, they're not sixty seven," Lucy said with a small smile. She thought for a second and then her smile faded. "But - but they are my friend. What if me telling them that I like them scares them away and they don't want to be friends with me anymore?"

"I don't think that would happen," Nina reassured her. "If they don't like you back that's okay but you are too awesome for them to not want to be friends with you anymore."

Lucy smiled. "I hope so. I don't want them not to be my friend anymore and I wouldn't want to do something that would make them not be my friend."

"So you want to ask someone out but you're worried that it would jeopardise your friendship with that person?" Nina asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, I don't think you have to worry. I think that all of your friends would still want to be friends with you even if you told them you liked them."

"You think so?"

"I know so," Nina replied. "Now, are you going to tell me who this person is?"

"Nope," Lucy said with a smile. "Not yet."

"When then?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"After you tell them?"

"Maybe," Lucy said with a shrug.

"I hate you."

Lucy laughed.

"When are you going to tell them how you feel?" Nina asked.

Lucy sighed. "I don't know," she said. "It's kind of scary."

"It can be, yes," Nina said. "But it can also be hard to keep your feelings to yourself sometimes too. You might feel better if you tell them, even if you don't get the answer that you – oh, hello, Daniel…. Yes, I'm talking to Lucy."

There were some sounds of movement and then Daniel's voice came through the phone. "Hey, kid!"

"Hey, Daniel," Lucy said with a smile. "How are you? How was your massage?"

"It was good! Massages are actually nice. I didn't think I'd like letting strangers touch me but they're good at it."

Lucy laughed. "I'm glad you've discovered this about yourself."

"I've discovered a lot of things here," Daniel said. "I am a very good camel rider it turns out."

"He lies. He almost fell off his camel," Nina called.

"No, I didn't!"

Lucy laughed. "Well, it sounds like you guys are having a lot of fun."

Lucy talked with Nina and Daniel for a while before Minerva came back up to her office too. Lucy handed her the phone so she could talk with them as well. She collected her things so Minerva could have her desk back and headed down to meet up with Charlie, Bill, and Tonks before dinner. Tonks and Charlie were still going to through career pamphlets and freaking out about their futures. Bill was being very unhelpful as he watched them flip through requirements and wondering if it was too late to get into Arithmancy class. He, of course, had already gone through that and was happy that he already had a job in Egypt lined up for after he graduated. Charlie and Tonks's stress about their futures only made Lucy feel even less prepared for hers. She headed to dinner thoroughly worried about the direction her life was going.

After dinner Minerva was sitting on the couch in her sitting room read a book when a small fox ran across the room and hopped onto the couch as well. It rested its head on Minerva's thigh and covered its eyes with its paws. Minerva smiled, put down the book and pet the fox behind the ears.

"What's wrong, my darling?" she asked quietly. The fox didn't move. She ran her fingers through its soft fur and sighed. "Having a bad day?"

It nodded a little.

Minerva smiled. "Well, it's almost over," she said. "I know all this career advising stuff is making you confused and I understand, sweetheart, but you don't have to make any big decisions yet."

The fox backed up and transformed back to Lucy. She laid down on the couch, putting her head in her mother's lap. Minerva combed her long hair with her fingers.

"I don't know what I'm doing," Lucy mumbled, taking one of Minerva's hands and holding it tightly with both of hers. "Like with my life."

"I know, sweetheart," Minerva said, "but you don't have to worry too much yet. You still have two years and if you still don't know after two years you could always just do another degree."

Lucy smiled a little. "I don't think I want to do another degree," she said. "I don't know, Mum. I just feel like everyone else has their stuff figured out. Tonks is going to be an Auror, Charlie is going to be a Dragon Trainer, Bill is going off to Egypt to be a Curse Breaker, and I'm just here with no idea what I want to do."

"Not everyone figures it out right away," Minerva says. "I worked at the Ministry for two years before figuring out that I did not want to do that."

Lucy sighed. "I know... I just... at least you had some ideas. I'm so lost."

"It'll be okay, darling," Minerva says. "Just don't feel pressured to do one thing or another. I want you to do whatever would make you happiest. Don't go trying to please someone else."

"Maybe I'm overthinking it," Lucy says. "Maybe I need to just take things as they come."

"That's a good idea," Minerva replied with a smile. "You still have a lot of time, Lucy."

"Two years isn't a lot of time."

"It's enough."

"Is it?"

"If it's not then you can always take more," Minerva said. "Nothing is set in stone. There is no timeline you must follow."

Lucy nodded.

"Now, get up," Minerva said, pushing her up. "I was in the middle of a good book."

Lucy laughed and got up so Minerva could return to her book.

…

Thursday afternoon was slow and Tonks and Lucy were feeling very lazy. It was one of those days where you didn't feel like doing anything but laying in the sun and sleeping. Which was exactly what Lucy and Tonks were doing. Tonks hadn't felt up to studying so they spread a blanket out on the grounds and sat down in the sun. The birds chirped in the trees and other students ran passed them every so often, enjoying the warm weather. A warm breeze blew their hair back and rustled the tree branches and long grass.

"Lucy? Are you listening to me?"

"Huh?" Lucy looked up. "Yeah, yeah, sorry. What?"

"I was asking when your dance competition was," Tonks said. "You said you had one this weekend, didn't you? Are you going to be able to come to the Quidditch final on Sunday?"

"Oh, yes," Lucy said with a smile, laying back on the blanket. "My competition is on Saturday so I'll be able to come to the match on Sunday."

"Awesome," Tonks said. "I wish I could come see you dance. I'd love to see you do ballet."

"You should come! Mum's probably coming, she always come to my performances. I can ask her if she can bring you too," Lucy said with a smile. "You can be there when I lose."

Tonks laughed. "You're probably not going to lose," she said. "You're great at everything you do."

"I don't know, man. I've seen some of the other girls and they're really good," Lucy said, "but, yeah, I'll ask Mum and let you know. Hopefully she says yes."

"Yeah, I'll write a letter to my mum as well. Your mum will probably want me to get parental permission first."

Lucy nodded and rolled over so she was looking up at the sky.

Tonks yawned and looked up at the clouds too. "So, where are Bill and Charlie?"

"Bill's at a N.E.W.T. Potions review and Charlie was meeting up with Sylvia Dolson."

"Ooh," Tonks said with a laugh. "I didn't know he liked her enough to ask her out."

Lucy smiled. "She asked him."

"I wish I was that confident," Tonks mumbled. "Confident enough to ask people I like out."

"Yeah, me too," Lucy agreed. "But it's kind of scary."

"I know!" Tonks exclaimed. "I just wish we could skip that part and go straight into the fun stuff."

Lucy laughed. "How could you skip that part? It's an important part."

Tonks smiled. "I don't know."

Lucy looked over at Tonks and sighed. "You know, Nina says we just have to be confident and do it. She says that, yes, it can be scary but it will be so worth it afterwards."

"Who asked who between Daniel and Nina?" Tonks asked.

"Daniel asked her," Lucy replied with a smile. "But that's because he's Daniel. He's confident and personable and never feels scared of anything."

"Daniel is really brave. I guess you have to be when you do what he does," Tonks asked.

"Yeah," Lucy whispered.

They drifted into comfortable silence, watching the clouds move quickly through the sky. The warm breeze wisped on Lucy's skin, causing goosebumps on her arms. She and Tonks laid there for a long time until finally it was time to go back inside the castle for dinner.

They folded up the picnic blanket and Lucy shrunk it so she could stick it in her pocket. She and Tonks then walked over to the Great Hall. They sat down at the Gryffindor table with Bill and Charlie. The boys told them all about their days. Apparently the Potions N.E.W.T. was not going to be easy and Sylvia Dolson was way too hands-y for Charlie's liking.

After dinner, Lucy head up to the Headmaster's office for her appointment. She knocked on the door and a voice called, "enter."

"Hello, Uncle Albus," Lucy said with a smile as she walked into the office to find Albus Dumbledore sitting at his desk waiting for her.

"Good evening, Lucy," Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Come in, sit down. I am definitely going to beat you today, be warned."

Lucy laughed as she closed the door and walked over to the desk. Dumbledore pulled out his chess set and they started to play. She let him go first and he poured them both some tea while she made her move.

"Uncle Albus?" Lucy asked after they were a few moves in and he had been staring at the board for a very long time.

"Yes, my dear?" he replied, not looking up from the board.

"Have you ever liked someone you knew you probably shouldn't like?"

He looked up at her and smiled. "What do you mean?"

"I mean like... like you really liked someone but..." Lucy tried to think of the right thing to say, "but you knew that it wasn't right. You knew that you're not supposed to like that person like that but you did and you couldn't help it."

"Lucy, I don't think that there is anyone who you are not supposed to like," Dumbledore said kindly. "Love a funny thing. It comes when we least expect it, for those we least expect it."

Lucy thought for a second as Dumbledore finally moved a piece on the board. She quickly moved hers and saw the surprise on his face. She smiled a little as he returned to concentrating on the board.

"So you've never liked someone you weren't supposed to?" Lucy asked.

"What makes you not supposed to like someone?"

"Um..." Lucy thought about this for a second. "I - I don't know. I guess other people."

"I don't think you should let other people decide your life for you."

"Yet," Lucy mumbled, "it seems that other people decide most of my life for me."

Dumbledore looked up and gave her a smile. "You have the power to do what you want with your life, my dear," he said. "I know that you are strong enough to fight against what others think."

"I don't know, Uncle Albus. It's hard," Lucy whispered, looking down at her hands. "I'm supposed to go work at Collins Enterprises. I'm supposed to get with Charlie Weasley. I'm supposed to... to do great things even though I don't know what those great things are."

"I know it's hard, Lucy. That's how you know it matters. You don't have to decide anything right now. You still have a lot of time."

She nodded but didn't look up.

"And to answer your question, yes. Yes, I have liked someone that I wasn't supposed to," he continued. She looked up at him in shock. "It was many, many years ago now but I do understand how it feels and I learned then, what you will also learn, that other people cannot make your feelings invalid. You feel what you feel and that is alright. You can try to hide from your emotions but every day you do it gets harder and harder to keep them inside. I understand."

She smiled a little. "I'm glad someone else gets it," she whispered. "I was beginning to think I was the only one. I thought that I was weird."

"No, you're not," he replied with a smile. "No, what you feel is probably the most human feeling in the whole world."

"Some people think how I feel is wrong."

"Some people don't try to understand."

"You don't think that... that Mum would think that, do you?" Lucy asked. "Or the rest of my family... My grandmother and my Uncle Malcolm are really religious."

Dumbledore gave her a reassuring smile. "I don't think your family would think that. I think they are very open minded and accepting people, don't you?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah... yeah, you're right," she said. Then she smiled a little. "Anne says that love is love no matter who it's between. She said that she would love me no matter what."

"Smart girl, that Anne," he replied with a smile.

"Yeah," Lucy said, her smile growing. "I don't know why I was scared to tell her. She... she always knows what to say to make me feel better."

"It's good to keep people like that around, Lucy."

"Yeah, I'm not going to let Anne go anywhere," she said with a laugh.

Dumbledore chuckled. "So it seems you've spoken to everyone except the one person you really want to talk to."

"Not everyone," Lucy said, rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.

"Well, I think that you and Miss Tonks have a lot to talk about."

Lucy looked at him in complete horror. "How - how did you know?"

"I know a lot of things, Lucy," he said with a smile. "It's hard to hide things from me."

"You won't tell Mum, will you? I don't want anyone to know yet," she said quickly

"Don't worry," he replied. "I won't say a thing. It's not my place."

"Thank you."

Dumbledore smiled and finally moved his piece on the board. Lucy immediately moved hers. He frowned. "How many moves ahead of me are you?"

Lucy smiled. "Too many for it to be any good for you."

"You are definitely your mother's daughter."

…

On Friday night, Lucy went into London to have dinner with Amelia and Raj. She got in early, Raj hadn't gotten in from work yet, so she and Amelia were sitting in the living room of her and Raj's penthouse apartment, drinking tea.

"So, how are things up at Hogwarts?" Amelia asked. "Feeling a bit better now?"

"Yes," Lucy said, giving her a little smile. "Being up at Hogwarts with Bill, Charlie, and Tonks helps a lot. I have a lot of fun there. I miss Anne and Mitch though."

Amelia smiled. "How are they doing?"

"They're doing okay. Anne hates her job," Lucy said with a laugh. "She said that the people she has to deal with are the stupidest she's ever met."

"That'll be retail for you," Amelia said, laughing and shaking her head. "Mitch got work in research didn't he?"

"Yes, he's working in one of his professor's labs," she said. "He's having a lot more fun than his girlfriend it seems."

Amelia smiled. "I'm glad he's enjoying his work," she said. "And what about you? Still feeling a little confused, love?"

"Confused is the right word," Lucy said with a sigh. "I don't know, Aunt Amelia. Life is hard."

"I know, love," she said with a smile. "What are you confused about? Maybe I can help."

"That is one of the things I'm confused about," Lucy replied softly. "I'm confused as to why I am confused."

"Alright," Amelia said. "What else are you confused about?"

"Life. Love. Everything."

"Wow."

"I have a lot of issues, Aunt Amelia," Lucy mumbled.

"Oh, you're such a teenager," Amelia said with a laugh.

Lucy smiled. "I'm just trying to figure out what I want to do with my life," she said. "I mean, I've done a lot of different things in school but I still don't know which one of them I actually want to spend the rest of my life doing, you know."

"I understand."

"How did you know you wanted to go into Law?" she asked.

"Hmm, well, I don't know," Amelia said. "Law and criminology have always been big interests of mine since I was quite young. I suppose it was kind of in my blood. Most of my family worked in the Law Department, you know."

"Yeah."

"Not everyone has that," Amelia said. "Not everyone has an interest that they've always had and want to pursue further, that's not a bad thing. You're young, you have time to try new things. Find the thing you want to do. Maybe you work at Collins Enterprises and you find you don't like it. That's alright. Maybe you try law, in the Muggle or Magical World, and that's what you like. Maybe you try engineering or you try clinical psychology. Maybe you try something completely different. That's up to you. I know you'll find what you like though. It just might take some time. Whatever you do decide to do, I know that you will do it to the best of your abilities and if you try your hardest and put in the work there is no doubt in my mind that you will succeed."

Lucy smiled. "You really think so?"

"Of course," Amelia replied with a smile. "And when have I ever been wrong?"

"Never," Lucy said with a laugh.

Amelia smiled. "You're my favourite goddaughter, you know that."

"I'm your only goddaughter," she said, shaking her head at her aunt though she laughed. "Anyways, where's Uncle Raj? When is he getting home?"

Amelia looked at her watch. "Oh, he should be here in a half an hour or so," she said. "He said he would be a little late but that he would definitely make it in time for dinner so he could see you."

Lucy smiled. Then her smile faded and she sighed. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," Amelia said with a smile.

"How did you know that you liked Uncle Raj?" she asked.

"Well, that's quite complicated," Amelia said with a smile. "You know how long it took for us to finally get together. It nearly killed your mother."

"Yeah," Lucy said with a laugh. "She and Dad were trying to get you together from like day one I think."

"Definitely," Amelia said. "I think I realized I liked him when, one I got over my horribly stupid school girl crush."

"With Mr. Moody," Lucy said with a laugh.

"Your mother told you?" she asked, shaking her head. "I'm going to kill that woman."

"She didn't tell me," Lucy said. "I asked her after I saw you and Moody at the Potter's Christmas Party when I was seven."

"Oh god," Amelia said. "Was I that obvious?"

"It's okay," she said. "Everyone else was very drunk too."

"You really shouldn't have been there," Amelia said with a smile.

"Maybe not."

"Anyways, after he found out about magic and everything we started talking on the phone almost every night," Amelia said. "I think I knew I liked him when on the nights he didn't call me, I missed hearing his voice. I missed talking to him."

"Really?"

"Yes," she said with a nod. "I think when you like someone you just know. I think I knew that Minerva was right about my feelings towards Raj for a long time but I hid them from myself. Eventually I let myself feel those feels and I knew. I think that you know when suddenly you feel incomplete when the other person isn't around. When you get happier when you see them and when just being with them is easy. You never have to worry about saying something wrong or doing something stupid because you feel comfortable with them. You can feel your heart go crazy when your hands brush together and you would go out of your way to make sure you run into them. I think you know that you really like someone when you find yourself thinking about them even when they're not around. When you can't fall asleep at night because all you can think about is what you want to talk to them about when you see them again."

Lucy sighed. "And what if you feel like that but for the wrong person?"

"I don't think you can," Amelia said with a smile. "When you love someone, who they are shouldn't matter."

"But it does," Lucy said with a frown, looking away from her aunt. "It always does."

Amelia put a hand on Lucy's shoulder and gave her a smile. "It really doesn't, darling," she said. "Maybe it feels like it does because you are young and it's a little scary but you will learn that it doesn't."

"Aunt Amelia," she whispered.

"Yes, love?"

"Can I tell you something that I haven't told anyone yet?" Lucy asked.

Amelia smiled. "Of course," she said. "You can tell me anything, darling."

"And you won't be mad?" she said. "Or tell my mum?"

"Of course not."

Lucy took a deep breath and looked down at her cup. "I - I don't know," she said quietly. "I - I think I might like... I might like girls."

Amelia smiled and put her hand on Lucy's arm. "That's okay, Lucy," she said. "You are allowed to love whoever you love. No matter if they're a girl or a boy."

Lucy looked up at her aunt with tears in her eyes. "Really?"

"Of course," Amelia said with a smile. "I know that it's hard sometimes but we support you. All of us. We love you no matter what. If you like girls that's okay."

Lucy smiled a little and wiped the tears from her face. "I can't decide," she said. "I think I like girls but I think I like boys too. Is that weird?"

"No, love. It's not weird," Amelia said. "That's perfectly normal. It's fine to like both. You've got a lot of love to give. Why restrict yourself to only one gender?"

Lucy laughed a little. She set her teacup down on the table and moved closer to Amelia. Amelia smiled and hugged her tightly. She kissed her cheek.

"I know it's scary sometimes," Amelia said, "but I'm here for you, no matter what. So is Minerva, Nina, Danial and all the rest of your family. They'll accept you no matter what too. When you're ready to tell them, I'm sure you'll find they will be just as open and accepting as well."

"I'm not worried about Nina and Daniel and Mum," Lucy said with a sigh, moving a little so that she was just leaning into her aunt's chest now. "I know that they don't care about stuff like that. And I know that Nani and Uncle Malcolm are awesome and accepting but I also know that they're really religious and I just... I just worry..."

"There is nothing you could do that would make Isobel love you less," Amelia told her reassuringly. "She'll love you no matter what. She doesn't care about stuff like that either. Nor Malcolm or anyone else in that family. They are very accepting and loving people."

"I'm a little worried though," Lucy said, "about the media. They always write mean things and when I graduate and probably go to work at Collins Enterprises, they're probably going to write even more stuff about me. And it's not going to be like the things they've written so far. It's not going to be nice things about how I graduated so early and stuff like that. It's probably going to be mean."

"It might be at the beginning, yes," Amelia said with a nod, "but nothing we can't handle."

Lucy smiled a little. She liked that Amelia said we. "There might some sexist stuff, probably some racist stuff, some stuff about my age, looks, really anything they can think of," she continued, "and I don't want to do something else that could add to that."

"Lucy, you shouldn't live your life like that," Amelia said, running her fingers through her hair. "You can't live your life to make other people happy because, honestly, no matter what you do someone somewhere is going to be all up in arms and angry. You'll never be able to please everyone no matter how hard you try. The people who are going to be angry are not worth your time or thought. Do what makes you happy, sweetheart."

"I guess, but -"

"Lucy, listen," Amelia said, giving her a little squeeze. "You have so little time on this Earth and it will go by so fast. You should not swindle all your time trying to please other people. I want you to take this one life that you have and do everything you've ever wanted to do with it. Do things that will make you happy. Don't worry what other people think. The people that matter are going to be the ones that love you no matter what you decide to do or who you decide to love."

Lucy nodded. "You're right," she said. "It's just hard sometimes."

"I know, love, I know," Amelia said. "I think it's especially hard when you're so young. I know that there is a lot of pressures to be the way that other people your age are and even though you missed out on high school you're still kind of getting it but it'll get better. It always does."

Lucy smiled and nodded. "I'm glad I told you," she said. "It feels so good to get it off my chest."

"I'm glad you told me too," she said with a smile, kissing her cheek again. "I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to tell me these kinds of things. First as well."

"I'll tell everyone else," Lucy said. "Eventually."

Amelia smiled. "Whenever you feel ready," she said. "It's in your own time always."

Lucy nodded. "Thank you."

"Of course."

Raj came home soon enough and they all sat down for dinner. Lucy felt a lot better after talking with her Aunt Amelia and was in a very good moody when she went back up to Hogwarts.

Lucy appeared in the fireplace in Minerva's Hogwarts office late after dinner. Minerva looked up from her work and smiled. "Hello, darling."

"Hey, Mum," Lucy said with a smile, stepping out and brushing the ash off her clothes.

"Please try not to get too much ash on the carpet."

"Sorry," she said, looking around to make sure her shoes were clean before walking over to the desk and sitting down on the chair in front of her mother.

"That's alright," Minerva replied with a smile. "How was your dinner with Amelia and Raj?"

"It was good," Lucy said. "Aunt Amelia cooked some awesome food. She made so much. Uncle Raj was a little late because of some meeting."

"Yes, I think some big business man from America was in town or something like that."

"He didn't seem like he had a very fun meeting," Lucy said with a smile.

"Well, it seems it ran quite late."

Lucy nodded. "Anyways," she said. "My dance competition is tomorrow. Are you going to come?"

"Of course," Minerva said with a smile. "Wouldn't miss it for the world. I love watching you dance."

"Well, you'll get to watch me lose," Lucy said, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair. "I was at the studio earlier today and saw some of the other contestants and, honestly, don't think I'm even going to place."

"You always say that," Minerva said with a smile.

"Also... I was wondering if I could invite Tonks to come watch too," Lucy asked. "She wants to come see me dance too."

"She has to get permission from her mother," Minerva replied.

"She did. Mrs. Tonks said yes," Lucy replied, pulling the letter out of her pocket and handed it to Minerva.

Minerva took it and opened it up. She read the note inside and nodded. "Alright," she said. "She can come."

"Yay! Thank you, Ama!" Lucy said happily.

Minerva smiled. "It's alright," she said. "Now," she pushed some papers towards her. "I have to read and fill out these forms for our passport renewals so the two of us can actually go to Prague in July. Why don't you fill out what you can for me and I can get back to my fourth years' essays."

Lucy sighed and pulled the papers towards her. "I didn't want to do work. I'm on my summer break."

"Oh, poor baby," Minerva said, tossing a pen towards her.

Lucy smiled, picked up the pen, and got to work.

...

Saturday morning, Tonks walked up Gryffindor Tower and knocked on Minerva's office door.

"Come in."

Tonks walked in wearing her Muggle clothes and a small beaded bag around her shoulder. "Hello, Professor," she said with a smile. "Is Lucy gone already?"

"Yes, she left quite early this morning," Minerva replied, standing up from her desk after putting her things away. "She wanted to practice a little bit more before the competition. Shall we head out."

Tonks nodded. Minerva pulled out her jar filled with Floo Powder and held it out for Tonks. Tonks grabbed a handful of powder and walked into the fireplace. She threw the powder down into the fire and said, "Collins Mansion."

The office spun out of view around her and she reappeared in the living room of Lucy's house where Raj was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper.

"Hello, Tonks," he said with a smile.

"Hello, Mr. Pail," she said, stepping out of the fireplace. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thank you for asking," he said. "Lucy's just upstairs in her bedroom if you'd like to go up."

Tonks nodded and left the room as Minerva appeared in the fireplace as well. Walking up the stairs and across the hall, she stopped in from in Lucy's door and knocked.

"Come in," Lucy's voice came through the door.

Tonks opened the door and said, "Hey."

Lucy was sitting on her bed her her back turned to the door. Amelia was standing in front of her doing her makeup. Amelia gave Tonks a smile. "Hello, Tonks."

Lucy turned to look at her too. "Hey!"

"So, how's the caking going," Tonks asked, coming around the bed.

"I'm not caking," Amelia said. "My makeup skills are extraordinary."

"Usually Nina does my makeup," Lucy said, "but since she picked my brother over me I have to settle for Aunty Amelia."

Amelia gave her a look. "I could always do something very tasty with this eyeliner, Lucy, be careful."

Lucy smiled. "Sorry, Aunty Amelia," she said. She looked over at Tonks who was sitting down on her desk chair. "Aunty Amelia did Mum's make up for her wedding. She's really good at that kind of stuff. Hair and makeup and stuff. Not as good as Nina but still really good."

Amelia moved Lucy's head back into place with a little more force than necessary and Lucy whined about her fingers hurting.

Tonks laughed. "Well, you look great, Lucy."

Lucy was sporting light pink eyeshadow with winged black eyeliner. The mascara on her eyelashes made them look very long and her cloudy grey eyes were piercing against the black of the makeup. She was wearing the bottom part of her costume without her pink tutu.

"Thanks," she said, blushing a little bit.

"Alright, hold still now," Amelia said. "Let me finish."

Tonks sat down at the chair by Lucy's desk and watched as Amelia brushed brown and pink over her cheeks. She then put a red lipstick on Lucy's lips, had her close her eyes, and sprayed her with a setting spray. When that was done they moved onto hair. Lucy turned and Amelia sat down behind her. She combed through Lucy's long black hair and tied it in a tight high bun. She put an elastic around the bun and a thin hair net over it to stop any fly aways. Amelia pinned a silver tiara in Lucy's hair and then sprayed about half a can of hairspray over her.

"All done," Amelia said finally. She helped Lucy off the bed and she twirled around.

"How do I look?"

"You look awesome!" Tonks said, standing up too. "I never realized how intense the makeup and stuff was for this kind of thing."

"Oh yeah," Lucy said. "These competitions are intense."

"One hair out of place and you can get docked marks," Amelia said with a shake of her head. "Everything needs to be perfect and stay perfect. Which means don't go smudging your makeup."

Lucy nodded. She looked at Tonks. "Where's Mum?"

"She's downstairs in the living room."

"Okay, let's go," Lucy said, picking up her ballet shoes and bag from the bed and running out of the room. Tonks followed after her. Amelia smiled and put away her things before following them downstairs too. Lucy ran down the stairs and into the living room where Minerva and Raj were sitting.

"You look beautiful, Princess," Raj said with a smile as he stood up.

"Thank you," Lucy said with a smile.

Minerva smiled and stood up as well. "Amelia did a good job."

"Thank you," Amelia said, walking into the room.

"Alright, let's get going then," Raj said. "We don't want to be late."

The five of them walked out of the house and got into the car. Tonks had never been in a car before. She was terrified as Raj pulled out and started speeding down the road. Lucy laughed. She reached over and gave Tonks's hand a squeeze.

"Don't be scared," Lucy said. "Driving is fun. I'm going to get my licence in August."

"Amelia, when are you going to get yours?" Raj asked, looking over at her with a smile.

Amelia gave him a look. "I do not require a car to get around quickly."

"But it's a nice skill to have," Lucy said. "Mum doesn't have one either."

"Amelia is right. We can get around much quicker without one," Minerva muttered. "I like not having to worry about traffic."

"Precisely," Amelia said. "And if I do ever have the desire to take forever getting somewhere I'll just take the tube."

"Aunt Amelia is terrified of driving," Lucy told Tonks. "Uncle Raj always makes fun of her for it."

"I'm not terrified," Amelia said, glaring back at Lucy.

"'Oh, Lucy, watch out for that!' 'That's a stop sign!' 'Slow down, slow down, slow down!'" Lucy said, imitating her aunt. Tonks, Minerva and Raj laughed while Amelia just rolled her eyes.

"That was a very good impression," Raj said with a smile.

"It was not," Amelia mumbled.

"I think it was spot on," Tonks said with a laugh. Lucy smiled.

They pulled into the parking lot of the hall that the dance competition was being held at. Minerva took Lucy backstage to check in and get ready for the dance while Amelia, Raj and Tonks went to sit down. Tonks looked around and saw so many girls in tutus. All looking beautiful with their makeup and hair done. She, Raj and Amelia sat down a couple rows away from the stage.

"I've never been to a dance competition before," Tonks said as they sit down.

"They are long, I'm warning you now," Amelia said though she smiled. She opened the program that she had gotten on the door. "Lucy's doing a solo and a pas de deux."

"What's that?"

"A duet," Amelia replied.

"I do love coming to see her dance," Raj said, taking Amelia's hand in his. "I am her number one fan, of course."

"You are," Amelia said with a smile.

Minerva came back to sit with them a little while later, sitting down on Raj's other side, and the program began. Tonks thought the host was a little annoying but she was excited to see the performances. The judges were introduced and the crowd cheered very loudly. Apparently the judges were quite famous dancers but Tonks didn't know them.

"They are very famous ballet dancers. Performed all around the world," Amelia explained to Tonks.

"Wow, so this is like a pretty big deal, huh?" Tonks said.

"Biggest Ballet competition in Europe," Amelia said with a smile. "I'm very proud of Lucy for making it this far."

"Wow," Tonks said. "The biggest."

The competition started and music floated through the room. Tonks watched girls and boys come out onto the stage and perform. There were group categories and single categories. Finally it was Lucy's turn. The announcer introduced her and her partner, Brad Geller. The lights dimmed and soft, delicate music began to play. The lights turned back up and Lucy danced out onto the stage with a handsome blonde boy. They danced intimately together, twirling and jumping. Tonks watched Lucy move around with grace and beauty that she herself could never have. Her movements were fluid and controlled yet gentle and light at the same time. Her feet moved swiftly and delicately as she moved around the stage with the Brad.

"Wow," Tonks whispered. "Lucy's really good."

"Yes," Amelia said with a smile. "She's trained very hard and I think it definitely shows."

The program went on and more duets danced. Then it was time for Lucy to dance again in the solo category. Her dance this time was much faster and upbeat but still graceful and beautiful. When she was done, the lights dimmed again and she walked off the stage. More people danced and then finally it was over and time for awards. They went through the different categories, naming the runner ups and then the first place winners. The judges handed the winners trophies and shook their hands while camera lights flashed around them. Lucy and Brad won third in their duet. Finally Lucy's solo category was called.

"And first place goes to Lucy Collins!"

Minerva jumped to her feet and cheered as Lucy walked out onto the stage and accepted her trophy. Amelia, Raj and Tonks stood up and clapped as well. Lucy took a bow before retreating backstage again. The program ended and Tonks followed Minerva, Raj and Amelia over towards the stage. Lucy walked out and saw them. She ran over and hugged Minerva.

"Good job, sweetheart," Minerva said with a smile. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks," Lucy said excitedly. She pulled away and hugged Raj as well.

"Well done, love," Raj said. He held out a bouquet of flowers to her. "There you are, my love."

She smiled and accepted the flowers from him, kissing him on the cheek. He smiled and hugged her again. She then moved over to hug Amelia.

"How does it feel to win the biggest Ballet competition in Europe?" Amelia asked with a smile.

"It think it was the hair and makeup that pushed me over the edge," Lucy said with a laugh.

"Oh no," Amelia said. "It was definitely your dancing. You were wonderful."

"Thank you, Aunty Amelia," she said.

When they pulled away Tonks walked up too. "Good job, Lucy," she said. "That was really cool. I'm glad I got to see you dance."

"Thanks, Tonks," Lucy said with a smile. "I hope it wasn't too boring. I know these things can get really long."

"No, it was awesome," Tonks said with a smile. "I had fun."

"Alright, shall we head out?" Minerva asked.

"Yeah, let's go," Lucy said, handing Minerva her trophy and flowers. "I just have to say goodbye to Brad and Crystal and Margaret first."

"Alright, hurry along," Minerva said.

Lucy nodded and ran off. Tonks watched as Lucy hug Brad and talked with two other beautiful girls. She sighed and looked away. Amelia was watching her. Tonks gave Amelia a small smile which she returned. She motioned for her to follow and led her, Raj and Minerva out to the car. Lucy arrived a little later and Raj drove them somewhere fancy to eat and celebrate.

...

Finally Sunday came around and the Quidditch Final was upon them. Minerva was very nervous this morning as she and Lucy walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast. This was the closest Gryffindor had come in years to finally getting the cup.

"I won't be able to stand Severus if he wins again this year," she said quietly. "You better give those boys of yours a good pep talk. The fate of Gryffindor rests on their shoulders."

"Wow, I don't think I'll tell them that," Lucy said with a smile. "It'll be fine, Mum. They've been training hard."

Minerva didn't seem convinced, however. They made it to the Great Hall and parted ways, Minerva went up the the teachers table where Snape promptly asked her if she was ready for another loss this year and Lucy want to Gryffindor table where Tonks was trying to calm down a very nervous Bill and a flighty Charlie.

Breakfast went by in a barrage of "Shut up, Severus"s, "It's going to be okay, Bill, eat your toast"s, and "Sit down, Charlie, you're scaring the first years"s. Eventually they were making their way down to the pitch, excited for what promised to be the match of the year.

"Good luck, Charlie! Good luck, Bill!" Lucy called as the two boys followed the rest of the Gryffindor team into the change rooms. The boys waved at her and Tonks before disappearing behind the curtains. Lucy and Tonks walked up to sit down at the stands.

"I'm really happy for Bill and Charlie, I really am," Tonks said as they sat down on the Hufflepuff stand. "I just wish that Hufflepuff had made it to the finals."

Lucy laughed. "I know," she said. "Maybe next year."

It was a nice sunny day. There were only a couple clouds in the sky. A great day for quidditch. Lucy say her mother sitting on the opposite side of the pitch and waved. Minerva smiled and waved back a little.

"Mum's excited," Lucy told Tonks. "Gryffindor hasn't made it to the finals in a really long time."

"The team's been training really hard this year," Tonks said. "Bill has had them out practicing in all sorts of weather conditions getting ready for this season."

"You'd think he was a warden the way he yells at them," Lucy said with a laugh. Tonks smiled. "Mum said that Charlie would be taking over as captain when Bill leaves."

"Yeah, and I'm taking over as the Hufflepuff captain," Tonks said with a smile. "So Charlie better watch out."

"Oh no... I see a lot of quidditch disputes in my future," Lucy mumbled. "Of course Bill would leave me to deal with that all on my own."

Tonks laughed. "Don't worry," she said reassuringly. "I'll keep it civil as long as he does."

Lucy groaned. That was not very reassuring.

"Speaking of Bill leaving though, we have to do something special for him," Tonks continued. "Any ideas?"

"I don't know yet but I'm sure we'll think of something," Lucy said with a smile as teams began walking out onto the pitch. Bill shook hands with the Boris Reed, the Slytherin Team Captain and then the game got going.

"And they're off! Gryffindor got the upper hand quickly. Christine Lee soars passed Reed with the quaffle," Kyle Diddle of Ravenclaw's commentary echoed through the buzzing stadium.

The game began and Gryffindor scored twenty points. Slytherin's defense was really on point this game, however, blocking many more attempts. Reed managed to score two goals for his own team, tying up the score. Jared Kimmel of Slytherin then scored another goal, earning Slytherin the lead. The game went on constantly drawing and then Gryffindor would get out ahead, then another tie and Slytherin would come out on top. The teams were so evenly matched that it all came down, as it so often did, to the seekers. Lucy watched Charlie fly around the pitch slowly, looking for any sign of gold. The Slytherin's seeker, Darin Farnik, followed behind him. Soon the score was one hundred thirty to one hundred twenty to Slytherin and still no snitch in sight.

Suddenly Farnik dived and Charlie went after him. The crowd roared with excitement as the seekers streaked through the air almost side by side. Charlie caught up with Farnik but they were both falling fast. The ground was getting closer and closer and Lucy was beginning to get worried. Farnik flinched first, pulling up quickly as to not break his neck on the ground but Charlie kept going. He reached out, grabbed the snitch out of the air and pulled up in time to avoid hitting the ground with full force. His feet did, however, drag across the sand pulling him off his broom. Charlie rolled on to ground by the keeper's rings onto his back and held the snitch high above him for all to see.

"AND GRYFFINDOR'S DONE IT!" Diddle cried into the microphone. "AFTER A FIVE YEAR LONG DRY SPELL, GRYFFINDOR WINS THE QUIDDITCH CUP!"

Cheers roared from the crowd as student stood up and clapped. Lucy saw Minerva jump to her feet on the other side of the pitch as well. She watched her mother shake a very sour looking Snape's hand before going back to cheering for the Gryffindor team. Lucy laughed.

Tonks grabbed her hand and pulled her down the bleacher steps. "Come on! Let's go congratulate the boys!"

Lucy ran down with Tonks still holding her hand. They ran passed bitter looking Slytherins and happy Gryffindors on there way down to the pitch. The Gryffindor team was celebrating already when Tonks and Lucy made it down. They ran over to Bill and Charlie and gave them both huge hugs. To Lucy's relief Charlie was okay from his tumble. He was still gripping the snitch tightly in his hands.

"Party in Gryffindor common room," he said with a smile. "You two are coming right?"

"Of course," Lucy said with a smile. "Right Tonks?"

"Yeah, I'll be there," she said. She smiled and added, "even if I'm not technically supposed to."

Lucy smiled. "Oh yeah, like you've never been to any Gryffindor parties," she said, giving her a little shove.

"I have house pride Lucy. I would never be caught dead at a Gryffindor party," she replied with a smile, shoving Lucy back. They laughed and watched the Gryffindor team scurry off arm in arm to the change room before running back to the castle themselves.

As the children cheered and celebrated Minerva regained her composure long enough to walk by them into the castle. It was not an easy thing to accomplish. Every time she saw Snape's scowling face, her lips twitched and she had to remind herself that gloating would be unbecoming.

"Maybe I should always have you do paperwork after a Gryffindor win," Dumbledore said. They were sitting in his office going through Hogwarts papera and Minerva had a huge smile on her face. There were no students here after all so she didn't feel the need to hide her uncharacteristic bubbliness. "You work a lot faster and happier then."

She gave him a look before the smile reappeared on her lips, not being able to stay away for too long. "I'm just so happy, Albus," she said, excitement rivaling that of a child who was just told they were having a second Christmas. "Finally! Finally someone has knocked Severus off his high horse! Did I mention how much I love Charlie Weasley?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "You may have... a couple times," he said. "I may start getting concerned if you continue."

Minerva threw on scrunched up piece of paper at him which only made him laugh more. She sighed happily and leaned back in her chair. "Did you see the way he hugged her after the match?"

"Who?"

"Charlie and Lucy, of course! Have you not been paying attention?"

Dumbledore shook his head but smiled.

"If my predictions are correct, I will be coming into some money very, very soon. Maybe even tonight. She's going to the party in the Gryffindor common room, you know."

"I do," he replied. "Do you think it's healthy that you keep betting on Lucy's life?"

Minerva rolled her eyes. "I think it's nothing for you to be worried about."

He smiled and put his hands up. "I would never suggest anything like that, Minerva."

She smiled and shoved some papers she needed him to sigh towards him. He picked them up and started going through them. She and Dumbledore worked for a while longer before Minerva said her goodbyes and headed for her own office.

She walked through the halls, listening to happy chattering of Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws all scurrying to get to the party in the Gryffindor common room. She smiled as she overheard a Gryffindor tell his friend that he knew this year would be their year. She heard a Ravenclaw girl whisper to her friends about how handsome Bill Weasley was and had to hold back a laugh. It seemed all the houses were excited about Slytherin's dethroning. Or they were just happy about getting to go to a Gryffindor party. Her house always threw the best parties. Minerva knew that she would be having to get up in the middle of the night to tell everyone to go to bed multiple times tonight but she was still too happy to care.

She passed the common room door on her way to her office and could hear just how loud if was inside. She smiled and shook her head as she passed, not wanting to deal with it till later. They could have their fun for now.

In the Gryffindor common room, the team was hounded by adoring fans and tossed butterbeer after butterbeer. Lucy and Tonks stood in a corner with their own drinks talking and listening to the hum of the crowds around them. Someone had brought out their magic amplifier and was now playing music very loudly.

"'Oh, Charlie, let me get that for you'," Lucy said in a very dramatic girly voice, imitating Sylvia Dolson.

Tonks snorted and then gave it her own try. "Oh, Bill, your arms are so... big!"

Lucy laughed. "We're great friends."

"Eh, that's just what friends do," Tonks said with a laugh.

Lucy smiled and flung back the last few drops of her drink before looking over at Tonks's which was also empty. "Refill?"

Tonks handed her the cup and smiled. "Thanks."

"I'll be right back," Lucy said, walking towards the drinks table.

She pushed through the giggling girls who were admiring Bill's muscles and boys trying to get Christine Lee to sit with them. When she made it to the table, she put down her cups and stuffed some chips in her mouth before picking up a bottle to pour her and Tonks some drinks.

"Hey!"

Lucy spun around to see Charlie Weasley and smiled. She put up a hand up and gulped hard. "Hey, sorry chips."

He laughed and took the bottle from her to pour himself a drink.

"Great flying out there, Charlie," Lucy said with a smile. "You guys did awesome!"

"Thanks, Lucy," he said, turning back to her. "I'm glad you enjoyed the game."

"Really let that Farnik guy have it," she said with a laugh.

Charlie smiled. He took a sip of his drink and looked her over for a second. She gave him a smile and before she knew what was happening he was leaning in and kissing her. If she wasn't certain about her feelings towards Charlie before, she definitely was now. The kiss wasn't long but it was long enough for realization to hit her and her actual feelings to be reinforced. He pulled away quickly and looked at her apologetically. She saw Sylvia Dolson cry out nearby but ignored her.

"Charlie... I -"

"Did it feel kind of weird for you too?" He asked.

She sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry."

"I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have swung that on you," he said. He sighed and shook his head. "I just needed to know, you know... I think that I think of you more like a sister than anything else."

She smiled. "Yeah, I think that I think of you more like a sister to me too."

"Hey!" he laughed and gave her a little shove. She laughed too and picked up the two cups for her and Tonks. "Still friends right?"

"Of course," she said with a smile. "But I should probably find Tonks. I told her that I would be back soon."

He smiled and nodded. "See you later, Lucy."

She smiled and walked back through the crowd looking for Tonks. She was no longer standing in the corner that they had been. Lucy looked around and finally spotted a wisp of pink hair flying out of the portrait hole. She frowned and ran after her.

"Hey, Tonks, wait up!" she called once she got out into the hallway.

Tonks did not slow down. Lucy watched her turn a corner and ran after her. She followed Tonks up to the Astronomy Tower and found her leaning against the railing, looking over at the grounds.

Lucy walked over to her and leaned on the rail beside her. She held out her cup for her. "Hey, what's up?" she asked. "Why'd you leave?"

Tonks took the cup from her and sighed. "Lucy... I... I don't know."

"Hey, you can tell me," Lucy said with a smile. "We tell each other everything right."

"Right," Tonks mumbled though she smiled a little. She took a sip of her butterbeer and then looked over at Lucy for a second. She looked away, back towards the lights coming from Hogsmeade before speaking again. "Lucy... I really like... someone. But... but I think they like someone else and I - I don't know what to do."

"Oh," Lucy said quietly. Tonks liked someone else. Lucy felt her heart sink in her chest but pushed her disappointment aside. She had to respect Tonks's choices. She was her friend after all and Lucy didn't want to be selfish. "Tonks, I think that... I think that you should just tell them that you like them. Maybe they like someone else but maybe they don't. You'll never know if you don't try. That's what Nina says."

Tonks turned around and stared at Lucy. She looked... angry? Lucy was confused. Did she say something wrong? Tonks grabbed Lucy's cup and threw it over the railing with her own.

Lucy watched them fall down from the tower. "Tonks -"

"Lucy! What the hell is wrong with you?" she yelled.

Lucy's eyes widened. "I - I... I'm sorry?"

"Lucy! It's you! I like you!" Tonks yelled. "How could you not get the hint?"

"You... you like me?" Lucy asked.

"Yes! And I have for the longest time but I never told you because... because I was scared and stupid and - and -"

Lucy grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around Tonks's chest and rested her chin on her shoulder. For the first time in a really, really, long time she actually felt calm and relaxed. The confusion inside her shifted and everything felt... right. Tonks was shocked. She stood there for a second, not sure what to do, before wrapping her arms around Lucy too.

"I like you too," Lucy whispered. "I like you so much and I was scared too. I am so glad that you - that you said something."

"You - you do?" Tonks said when they pull away. "But... but what about Charlie?"

Lucy gave a look. "Charlie?"

"Yeah. I saw you guys kiss at the party," Tonks said.

"Oh! That? No, no," Lucy said with a laugh. "He kissed me but then we were both like, 'no that was weird'. We both decided we like each other like friends. Nothing more than that."

"He kissed you just to... like see?"

"Yeah," Lucy said with a nod. "It was weird."

Tonks laughed. "Oh... well... I guess one good thing came out of it."

"What's that?" Lucy asked with a smile.

Tonks smile, cupped Lucy's cheeks with her hands and pulled her close. They kissed and it felt amazing. Again Lucy felt like her feelings were reinforced but this time in the best way possible. She reached up and wrapped her arms around Tonks's neck.

When they finally pulled away, they sat down on the floor and looked out on the grounds. Tonks wrapped an arm around her. Lucy leaned her head on Tonks's shoulder and took her other hand in both of her's. Tonks rested her head on Lucy's and they sat there for a really long time. They talked quietly all through the night, surprised when they saw the sun come up in the morning as no one had come to the tower to yell at them for being out of bed. They watched the sunrise over the forest and smiled. Lucy hadn't stayed up talking all night with someone in a really long time. She'd forgotten how good it felt.

Finally they got up and Lucy walked Tonks back to the Hufflepuff common room before transforming into a fox and running back to her bedroom. She collapsed in her bed. She opened up her bedside drawer and pulled out her phone to send Anne a quick text before curling up in bed and falling asleep, feeling the most calm she had felt in months.

Author's Note:

I hoped you enjoyed this (not so) short interlude. The Next chapter will take place during the Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone timeline. Please leave a review letting me know what you think!