Sunlight shone through Harry’s window, playing upon his face and waking him. Ron was still sleeping. He thought it must be quite early, so he rolled over onto his stomach and closed his eyes again. The previous night was clear in his head. He’d meant to contemplate it all before falling asleep, but he’d been unable to stay awake.
She’s Malfoy’s sister, his brain reminded him, causing an acidic sensation in his gut.
But she’s different, he argued with himself.
Or was it all an act?
No, she’s still the same girl who makes you feel like you’re flying when there’s not a broomstick in sight, he told himself. Then he smiled. He was becoming rather maudlin.
Feeling downright silly, and unable to take any more time alone with his thoughts, Harry stretched and clambered out of his bed, retrieving his glasses and sliding them onto his nose. He wondered what scene would greet him when he went downstairs. In fact, he wasn’t sure what he would do when he had to face her. Would he still see her the same way?
He quickly dressed and made his way to the kitchen. The house was quiet. He heard the clinking of eating utensils as he approached. Lupin and Tonks sat there alone. Dread gripped Harry. Maybe she’d gone, after the terrible way he’d treated her. But it was early still. Maybe she was just sleeping late, due to being up most of the night.
“Where is… everyone?” he faltered.
Lupin looked up. “Good morning to you too.” He frowned. “Is there something wrong?”
Harry hesitated.
“I’m sure it’s none of our business, Remus,” said Tonks, a twinkle in her eye.
“Right,” agreed Lupin, returning her smile.
Harry sighed. “Did you know Luci was Malfoy’s sister?”
Lupin exchanged a troubled glance with Tonks, who said, “Your territory, not mine,” and walked away.
“Who told you that?” asked Lupin.
“I overheard.”
“Sit down, Harry,” he said gently.
Harry complied, walking over and taking a seat.
“There are people who can’t know about this…” Lupin began.
But Harry cut him off. “Malfoy’s heard already. He was pretty upset.”
Lupin raised his eyebrows. “I see. And can you tell me why you’re so upset about it?”
Harry feigned disinterest. “I’m not upset about that. I don’t care who or what she is. I just want to know why no one tells me anything that’s going on in my own house.”
Mrs. Weasley bustled into the room and immediately began about the business of breakfast.
“We only keep things from you for your own good,” Lupin explained in hushed tones.
“My own good,” Harry repeated. “That’s what they tell me.”
“You keep a lot of things bottled up inside, Harry, so I know that you can understand why we don’t tell you everything,” continued Lupin. “And it’s perfectly all right if you do care about Luci.”
Harry scowled, but Lupin grinned.
“So much like your father… You know, he adored Lily, even though she was very friendly with Severus, and we all warned him that anyone that close to such a strange… person… must have something wrong with her. We were mistaken, of course. And you are sheltering your feelings for Luci the same way that your father did for your mother. He often threw me that identical glare.”
Harry, who had been listening attentively, took a deep breath.
Lupin carried on, “I’m out of the loop here, but your father was right to follow his heart. You inherited great instincts, Harry. Think. Have they ever failed you?”
Was Lupin encouraging him to pursue Luci? It would be a first from anyone in this house.
At this moment, Ron entered the kitchen and groggily sat down beside Harry, oblivious that he was interrupting a very important conversation.
“Didn’t sleep too well last night,” he muttered. “You?”
“No,” said Harry.
“We’ll talk later,” Lupin said with a smile, and he stood and walked away.
“Did I miss something?” asked Ron, rubbing his eyes.
“Yeah, actually.”
Hermione and Ginny came in together, seating themselves across from Harry and Ron.
“Harry says we missed something,” said Ron through a yawn.
“Sorry?” asked Hermione.
“Dunno,” Ron shrugged.
“Luci,” said Harry.
Ginny let out a low growl.
A pang of guilt pierced Harry’s chest. But he was coming to terms with it - he wanted Luci. He couldn’t help it. None of it mattered anyway. He was a marked man. Besides that, Luci still thought he was the boy who lived. And she was Malfoy’s sister. There could never be anything between them. He would just have to get over this preposterousness. He’d be crazy about Ginny again in no time. He was sure of it.
“What about her?” Hermione asked.
Harry wavered, but then responded quietly, “I found out last night that she’s Malfoy’s sister.”
“What?!” all three of them shrieked together, as Bill and Fleur swept into the room.
“Keep it down!” Harry shushed them. “Everyone here knew but us anyway.”
“This is brilliant!” Ron exclaimed. “How does it work?”
“Ron!” Hermione scolded. “What happened, Harry?”
He took a bite of the toast that Mrs. Weasley had placed in front of him and mumbled his thanks to her. “Lucius Malfoy had an affair with a Muggle, and that Muggle was Luci’s mum.”
“That’s impossible,” Hermione snorted, incredulously. “The Malfoys hate anyone who isn’t Pure-Blood.”
“Well, now we know why,” replied Harry. “It’s all an act, isn’t it? No one would suspect that Malfoy’s dad had a Half-Blood daughter.”
“Excellent!” Ron grinned through a hearty bite of eggs. “Does Malfoy know?”
“Yeah, we found out at the same time, and he didn’t take it very well.”
“Figures,” said Ron.
“How did you find out?” Ginny asked.
Harry didn’t look at her, but he replied, “I couldn’t sleep. I ended up in the hall with Malfoy and we overheard it all. The worst of it is that Dumbledore basically committed suicide.”
“What?!” they said again.
So Harry explained what Dumbledore had told Luci, including why she was here in the first place. He didn’t mention that Luci was in contact with Snape, however.
“Dumbledore informs one person of his plans to have Snape kill him, and it’s some girl no one’s ever heard of?” asked Ginny. “Harry, you were close to Dumbledore, and he didn’t mention anything to you, so why a stranger? Sounds to me like she’s fed you a load of bull.”
Harry glowered at her.
“Well, it would be necessary, wouldn’t it?” said Ron. “She would want to know why Malfoy needed her protection.”
“Oh, don’t defend her!” Ginny retaliated.
Ron blinked. “I’m not defending her.”
“I hate that girl,” mumbled Ginny.
Harry was thunderstruck. Ginny got on with everyone. He’d never met anyone who didn’t like her, aside from Malfoy, who was a dolt, and she was congenial to everyone in return.
“Ginny, we’ve talked about this,” Hermione was saying. “Just let it run its course.”
Ginny’s nostrils flared. “But she promised me!”
“Let what run its course?” asked Harry.
Hermione looked furtively at Ginny.
“Your stupid crush,” spat the redhead.
“You’re talking about me behind my back?” exclaimed Harry.
“Oh, Harry, it’s not like that,” Hermione replied.
“Right,” he said.
“Look, we’re sorry that the lines of communication haven’t exactly been open between all of us. Luci comes along and you’re telling her all of your secrets! Poor Ginny has been a wreck!”
She got up angrily. “Sorry, Ginny,” she said, and stomped away from the table.
Ron gave Harry a chastising look and then followed Hermione out of the room. Both of them had entirely forgotten their breakfasts and Mrs. Weasley was now staring suspiciously in Harry’s direction.
He looked at Ginny and she was crimson with embarrassment.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered.
She shrugged and said sadly, “We ended things. And I gave up on you weeks ago.”
“What? Why?”
She was refusing to look at him. “You said her name in your sleep. Once, when I was watching over you. I tried to convince myself that you were just delirious, but after a while of paying attention, I knew.”
Harry didn’t know what to say, so he just mumbled, “I’m sorry, Ginny,” again.
“Is there anything going on between you?” she asked quietly.
“No,” he answered.
“But you’d like there to be?”
Harry didn’t respond, and instead, stared into his plate. They sat there in silence for a few moments. Then Ginny slowly rose, and with her back to him, dashed from the kitchen.
Harry finished his breakfast alone, listening to Bill and Fleur as they told Charlie, who had also come down to the kitchen, about the new house they’d bought in London, and how they were planning on moving in the next day.
None of the Malfoys made an appearance in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place that morning.
When Harry returned to his room, he found Ron waiting for him.
“So you’re just going to break my little sister’s heart?” he greeted him.
“We broke up!” Harry defended himself.
“Yeah, so you could go save the world,” countered Ron, “not so you could go find someone else!”
“I haven’t found someone else,” Harry snapped. “We’re just friends.”
“Oh, come off it, Harry! I see how you look at her. I just want to know why my sister isn’t good enough for you anymore.”
“Ron, you’re being an idiot.”
“An idiot?” Ron scoffed. “Listen, I put up with you dating Ginny, but I never liked it. Let’s face it, Harry; you’re not normal. And you did exactly what I knew you would “ you hurt her.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
“But you did.”
Harry stared at the floor.
“Will you just promise me you won’t start anything with Luci? It would crush Ginny.”
“I can’t promise that.” Harry paused. “I think I love her.”
Ron eyed him skeptically. “You’re joking.”
Harry shook his head.
“Bloody hell,” Ron swore.
“It just happened,” Harry tried to explain.
“And she feels the same?”
“Dunno. Haven’t said anything.”
“Are you sure? Maybe you just think you love her because you can’t have her,” Ron suggested matter-of-factly, crossing his arms satisfactorily in front of his chest.
Harry looked up at him, suddenly very angry. “I know how I feel,” he said, between gritted teeth.
“You just told us she’s a Malfoy! Doesn’t that make a difference?”
“She’s not like them,” he spat. “She’s…”
“You hardly know her!”
“That’s not true; we’ve spent loads of time together!” Harry countered.
“What do you know about her?” asked Ron. “Half of it, you found out last night!”
“Maybe, but I know how I feel,” Harry said again.
“This is mental!” exclaimed Ron.
“Look, I know it sounds crazy, but I’ve tried to fight it and deny it and everything else, and I just can’t make it go away.”
“Then how do you know it’s real? You wouldn’t want to fight it.”
Harry shook his head in frustration. “Well, how did you know with Hermione?”
Ron looked away. “I just… felt it…”
“And how long were the two of you in denial?” Harry pointed out.
“Years.”
“Right.”
“Does your chest hurt?” Ron asked abruptly.
“I… what?”
Ron’s face reddened. “Hermione,” he hesitated. “Sometimes, she…” He put a hand to his chest, but didn’t continue.
Harry smiled. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”
They looked at each other for a moment.
Then Ron shrugged. “You’re my best mate, Harry. And I really do like Luci. But Ginny’s my sister.”
“I know.”
“So there’s no hope for the pair of you?”
Harry shook his head. “I was never any good at Divination, Ron.”
“But you’re going to date Luci now?” Ron questioned.
“I haven’t told Luci anything. And since it’s not safe for me to date anyone, I’m not going to tell her. I broke up with Ginny because I’m dangerous. So how can I turn around and put Luci in danger instead?”
“So you’re going to wait this out?”
With a sigh, Harry responded, “Yeah, I’m going to wait. I’m not sure if I can take the rejection on top of everything else that’s going on anyway.”
Ron shifted his weight uncomfortably. After a few moments, he advised, “You should tell her how you feel.”
Harry was stunned. “Y-you think?”
Ron nodded. “But this doesn’t mean that I’m not bloody furious at you for hurting Ginny.”
“Fair enough.”
“And now I have to worry about her rebounding towards some prat who doesn’t deserve her, and that’s your fault, Harry.”
Harry shook his head. “Ron, I…”
But Ron cut him off, muttering, “Good luck with Luci,” and leaving the room.
Harry, feeling arrantly guilty about upsetting Ron, but also somehow encouraged, ceased battling his desires and finally made his decision.
Harry rapped softly on Luci’s door. He was going to tell her! He was going to tell her how he felt, and then he was going to finally kiss her and make sure that she knew she was forgiven for everything. He was going to inform her that it wasn’t safe for them to start anything now, but that he wanted to be with her, as soon as Voldemort was dead. And he was going to hope that she felt the same way about him. Otherwise, Harry was about to make quite a fool out of himself. His heart was beating so fast that he thought it might jump from his chest.
But there was no answer. Was she still asleep? Malfoy and his mother hadn’t emerged from their rooms either.
He pushed open the door and peered inside. Luci wasn’t there. In fact, he noticed that many of her things were gone. He felt his racing heart plummet into his stomach. Where was she?
Darting into the hall, he threw open the rooms where Malfoy and his mother had been staying. They were empty, as well. The Malfoys had gone.