Fractured paths

Moving the pieces

Lucy hummed quietly as she walked down the hall hand-in-hand with Remus—the best, kindest young man in the world. His warm hand fit snuggly into hers.

She leaned into him and inhaled the scent of chocolate, tea, fur, and books. Why does he always smell like chocolate? It's so nice.

"Remus, we should go somewhere—when we're done with Hogwarts—somewhere that's not England, with people who don't know about any a this. I know! We should go ta Iceland! That's where me grandmum's from. Ye know, she's troll. She's where I get me creature blood. The tribe clan's there. They live underground. We should go see! Can ye imagine? An entire city of 'em, underground! And above ground, there's a ton of magical creature that don't live anywhere else anymore. I even heard they have a sanctuary to keep the creatures safe. And it's run by a half goblin!"

"That does sound pretty great," said Remus.

"Just the two of us. Backpacks, wanderin' the land—think of all the things we could find."

Remus chuckled and fluffed her unruly hair. "I'll look forward to it."

Lucy grinned, stood on tiptoe, and kissed Remus.

He blushed.

"It's a promise," Lucy said. "When I'm done with Hogwarts, we'll be goin'. No objections!"

"LUCY!" A floating head appeared two feet away.

Lucy screamed and jumped—right into Remus, nearly knocking him down.

Black hair, usually neat, spread around the bodyless head's face like a bush, and wide gray eyes filled with relief. "Lucy! I found you!"

"Regulus!" Lucy ran to him, caught the invisibility cloak and pulled it back.

Regulus was covered in scrapes and dirt.

She pulled him into a crushing hug. "Regulus! Ye're back!" she cried. "I'm so happy ye're back!"

Regulus gasped for breath. "I—I'm happy to see you. I'm glad you're okay." He grunted as Lucy gave him one last squeeze and let go.

"Thank Merlin," said Remus. "Sirius will be so relieved."

"Remus!" Regulus' expression changed.

"Is... something wrong?" Remus said.

Regulus swallowed hard.

A shadow fell over Remus' eyes. "Oh... I know that look. So, you figured it out."

"Yeah... Just tell me Lucy knows. I saw you just now, holding hands. I'm happy for you—really, I am—but if you're going to do this, she has to know!"

"Of course, she does. She's way too smart not to have figured that one out," Remus said.

Lucy blushed. "Aye... part a me knew for a long time. I'm sorry, Regulus. How did ye find out?"

"I met his parents," Regulus said. "They were really nice. Oh, and they're safe."

"Good," Remus said. "I was worried. Sadly, me being with them puts them in danger."

"There's something even more important. Voldemort's army! They're coming through the Forbidden Forrest! They could attack any day."

"What!?" Remus and Lucy chorused.

"It's true. And Voldemort won't be far behind. He wants the castle," Regulus said. "He's bringing the fight here. That's why I came. I want to fight. I want to stand with the only friends I've ever had. I won't run away from this."