LUCY:

After dinner, I wanted nothing more than to drag Harry off to a far corner of the Burrow and laugh until we cried about that disastrous conversation, but I knew that would raise suspicions, so I sought Angelina out instead.

I found her sitting by herself in the den, looking at a photo of the Weasleys taken when Ginny was a baby.

"That's one of my favorites," I said with a chuckle, settling down on the sofa beside her. "Everyone's personality is so apparent."

"I was just thinking that." She laughed. "Merlin, I just can't get over the fact that Fred looks exactly the same, even though he's no more than four years old in this picture."

I nodded in emphatic agreement. "It's in the eyes. No matter how old he is, he looks like he's ready to commit arson at a moment's notice if it meant he'd be able to keep the people he loves warm."

"That's the most accurate description of Fred Gideon Weasley I've ever heard in my life," Angelina announced with a loud laugh, setting the picture frame back on the side table so she could lean all the way back on the sofa and clap me on the shoulder.

I couldn't help but join in her laughter and flop down beside her. "That's high praise coming from you."

"You've earned it. I'm guessing you wanted to ask me why we're back together?"

"I'll admit I'm quite curious," I said with a nod. "I tried to ask Fred, but he just smiled in response, that prick. Will you satisfy my curiosity, oh noble Quidditch Captain Johnson?"

"That I will, my noble successor."

"Well, technically, I'm only your co-successor — "

"All due respect to Harry, but he's just a Seeker. You're going to be the one running the Chaser drills, which is really one of the biggest parts of the job. You're my successor."

I smiled to myself, thinking that teaching Harry how to run Chaser drills would be a great excuse to have time together, just the two of us. But aloud, I said, "It's an honor, oh noble Quidditch Captain Johnson, but enough Quidditch talk for now. You're back together with Fred, and I would love to know every detail of your newfound happiness."

"Not newfound, just... rekindled," she said with a soft spark of joy lighting her dark eyes. "I had a feeling the two of us would find a way to work again someday, but — well, it didn't quite work out the way I imagined it would."

"What were you imagining?" I asked. "A fireworks display in the sky begging you to come back?"

"Oh, how'd you know?" she replied, only half-sarcastic.

"I know Fred. And I saw the plans on his bedroom walls for it."

Angelina blinked. "Wait, are you serious?"

"No, I'm just joking." I snorted. "The plans on his bedroom walls are for firework bundles that were disguised as flower bouquets that would explode into the words 'I LOVE YOU' in capital letters as soon as the designated recipient touched one."

"Okay, surely you're joking this time."

"No, actually, this time I'm serious. I'm sure he will figure it out by Christmas. Consider yourself warned. Don't tell him I told you."

Angelina shook her head, chuckling. "I love him."

"I know, I know, so do I, anyway, back to your story." I leaned closer to her expectantly. "So how exactly did you remember that you love him, if it didn't involve a fireworks display? Did he clean out Honeyduke's for you? Buy every flower in a Muggle florist's shop?"

"No, there were none of your typical grandiose Fred shenanigans," she said, suddenly solemn. "Truthfully, you had quite a bit to do with it."

I tilted my head at her in question. Merlin, I'm adopting Henry's mannerisms too. "Really? Every time I asked him about you this summer, he would just look sad and shake his head and say he didn't know how to fix it yet, then change the subject. I don't think I helped at all."

"Well, he showed up on my doorstep the morning after the Prophet had that article about what happened to you, looking like he hadn't slept in a week. I thought he had just been having too many late nights working at the shop, so I was a bit cold with him and snapped, saying something along the lines of 'Shouldn't you be at work?' He stumbled into my flat and broke down crying in my arms, talking somewhat incoherently about you and about how scared he was of something else happening to you because he couldn't be there to protect you and how he couldn't even bring himself to be in the shop that morning because he missed you so much and it just wasn't the same without you. And, well, that was step one toward reconciliation, because I was reminded of how much he cares about you and how damn protective he is, and how, er, endearing that all is. Then he grabbed me even tighter, somehow, and started talking about how he was terrified something would happen to me before he got the chance to make things right between us. That was step two, because I realized just how much I still meant to him. And how much he still meant to me too. And then, er, step three happened a while later in my bedroom, but I don't think you want to hear about that."

I shook my head. "Nope, I'll pass, thank you. Happy to hear everything worked out, though. Step four was him inviting you to family dinner tonight?"

"Yeah, and step five was me actually saying yes." She smiled. "We're still working through and talking through the issues that broke us up in the first place, but we both really want to make everything right." Her smile faded. "Especially with everything going on. How are you, by the way? Sorry, I really should have started with that — "

"No, no, it's alright." I dismissed her apologetic tone with a wave of my hand. "I'm alright. I'd much rather hear about something happy happening for you than talk about... that. That does remind me though, you said that Fred showed up the day after the article, and he couldn't bear to be in the shop that morning. Do you know how he spent the 24 hours or so between the article being published and Fred showing up on your doorstep? Nobody else will tell me, but I know something must have happened."

"I only know bits and pieces," Angelina admitted, "but, er, I do know that he spent the entire day with Professor Lupin trying to hunt Maxence down. I don't think they found him, but, er, if they did, no one else will ever find the body."

I exhaled slowly. "Bloody hell."

"Like I said, I don't think they found him, but... well, if they did, no one else will. Fred, er, slept quite soundly in my bed, after step three. He was awake for two nights straight before he showed up at my flat. He really loves you, you know."

"I know," I said with a nod and a small smile. "He really loves you too."

"I know."

I rose to my feet and gestured for Angelina to follow me. "Come on, I'll show you one of my favorite pictures of the twins. Fred looks particularly close to committing arson in it, because Ron was pestering Ginny, and you and I both know she's his favorite girl in all of existence."

Angelina laughed as she got to her feet. "Fred Weasley is Ginny's brother first, human being second."

When I spotted Henry standing by himself off to the side in the kitchen, I gestured for him to follow me as well, knowing there was a very cute picture of baby George right next to the picture of felony-ready Fred.

It was quite late by the time Fred, George, Angelina, and Henry left the Burrow, but I was still dying to talk to Harry, so I hunted him down immediately.

"Angelina made a good point about Quidditch, so I want to make note of it before I fall asleep and forget it," I said pointedly, loud enough for anyone nearby to overhear. "Co-captain strategy meeting on the sofa?"

Harry nodded, looking at me the same way he'd been looking at me all day. Soft. Sweet. Searching. Still disbelieving. Somehow, loving.

So we found ourselves on the sofa, blessedly alone, no one else stirring nearby. I put up a silencing spell just in case.

"What did Angelina have to say about Quidditch?" Harry asked.

I asked a question of my own in response, little more than a whisper. "Kiss me?"

He did, and we both released little pleased giggles. I blushed, which only made him smile wider, and I lifted my hands to cover my flaming cheeks.

"No, don't do that," he complained softly. "Please. I mean it, you're especially adorable when blushing."

The sincerity in his voice robbed me of mine, so I just sat there in silence as my face heated more and more with each passing moment. I tore my eyes away from him and tried to will myself to stop being embarrassed.

No. It wasn't embarrassment. Embarrassment was bad, and nothing about the way Harry loved me, even in that vulnerable moment, was bad.

I wasn't sure exactly why I was blushing, since it wasn't embarrassment, but all I knew was that I couldn't stop.

"So, er, Quidditch," I managed to say after a long silence. "I was thinking I could teach you how to run Chaser drills, in case I ever have to miss a practice for a you-know-what."

"I was already planning on scheduling practices around those," Harry said.

"I was too, I just mean — just in case — you know?" I lifted my injured arm for emphasis. "Just in case."

Harry paled. "Right. Okay. Just — let's — I don't know."

"Would you rather pretend I'm teaching you how to run Chaser drills for another reason?" I asked.

"There's nothing wrong with you," he blurted out quickly. "That's nothing to be ashamed of, Lucy, it's alright, we can accommodate you — "

I silenced him with a quick kiss (because I could do something like that, as his girlfriend) and laughed. "Harry, I know, it's okay. You're allowed to be upset about it."

"Not upset," Harry stammered, looking quite flustered all of a sudden. "Just... don't like thinking about the possibility of you ever being so hurt you couldn't just be with me at practice. I've never liked the thought of you being hurt, in any capacity, but now..."

"I understand," I replied in a whisper. "I'm sorry."

"Merlin, don't apologize, you have no reason to apologize. Can we just take it as an excuse to be alone together? You teaching me Chaser drills?"

I smiled as I nodded. "I was thinking that already."

"Right. Of course you were. You're brilliant. Sorry. I mean, no, I'm not sorry for saying you're brilliant, I just — you know what, I'll just — " He leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek. "I'll just shut up. I think I talk too much. Somehow, you bring out the best of me, yet I spend so much time around you making an absolute fool out of myself."

"I know the feeling," I replied with a soft chuckle. "I love you, fool and all."

"Fixer upper and all?" he asked, teasing smile toying with the corners of his mouth.

The dinner conversation returned to me in a rush, and I buried my very-red face against a blanket I snatched off of the back of the sofa before Harry could stop me. "Yes, fixer upper and all," I grit out. "Merlin, that was mortifying. Poor George. Poor you."

"I don't know, I rather enjoyed that conversation," Harry said with a laugh. "I mean, I know you told me everyone was just itching for the two of us to get together, but did you hear everyone? They started blatantly describing me at one point."

"I heard," I confirmed, knowing my voice was still muffled by the blanket. "Trust me, I heard. Poor George. Everyone got carried away, I tried to help George a little bit, at least."

"Oh Lu, you did, you did." Harry scooted closer to me on the couch and wrapped his arms around my balled-up form. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "You're so sweet. You're always thinking about other people, no matter what."

"I do my best," I whispered back, lowering the blanket from my face a bit and looking up at Harry. "I love George dearly, but... you're the one for me."

Harry's eyes — so green up close, so bright behind his glasses — widened.

"What?" I asked. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, no, not at all, sorry." Harry pulled away and cleared his throat, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "No, I just, er, forgot. For a moment. That I'm — we're — you know. It was a lovely reminder. You're lovely. Er. I'm just, like you said, a fool."

"My fool," I corrected.

"A fool for you," he said. It would have been suave if he hadn't turned a brilliant shade of red immediately after saying it. The instant blush made it sweet.

I couldn't help but laugh. "I get it now. You're adorable when you blush."

He groaned, raising his hands to cover his red cheeks.

I caught both of his hands in my own and kissed him for good measure. "I'm a fool for you too," I murmured.

I buried my face in the blanket again when I felt a matching blush rise to my cheeks at the words.

🩵💛❤️💜🩷

The first days of us were soft, sweet, searching. Still disbelieving. Still in awe of the "somehow." Somehow, we were in love with each other. Somehow, we had figured it out. Somehow, somehow, somehow.

I returned to Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes a few days before the full moon. It was a seamless transition, really, almost as if nothing had ever happened. Almost.

There was a new anger in Fred's eyes. Not directed at me, never at me, but I knew it was because of what happened to me. It was almost as if I had put it there. Almost.

There was a new fear in George's eyes. Not directed at me, never at me, but I knew it was because of what happened to me. It was almost as if I had put it there. Almost.

Since I wasn't working in the shop, Fred and George both needed to be downstairs at all times. (George told me that Henry had helped the day Fred had been asleep at Angelina's, because their manager had conveniently fallen ill and canceled practice that day.) That meant I spent all of my time in their flat, and Henry was there with me whenever he wasn't at practice.

There were a lot of new emotions in Henry's eyes. Fear, because of what had happened to me. Hope, because of what was happening with George. They were close to figuring it out, the same way Harry and I had.

We talked about George a fair amount, and about Quidditch even more than we talked about George. One evening, just before the shop closed and the twins returned, Henry confessed to me that he was worried about his sister being at Hogwarts without him, with everything going on. I promised him that I would keep an eye on her, and a part of the fear in his eyes faded away.

The morning of the full moon, it wasn't Henry who knocked at the door, but Remus.

"Good morning," he said with a grin that looked more like a grimace as I closed the door behind him. "How are you?"

"Ask me tomorrow?" I jerked my chin in the direction of the dozen hypothermia candies strewn across the counter. "Help yourself. I have a dozen more in my pockets already."

"Thank you, but the twins keep me well-stocked too." Remus pulled a handful from his own pocket. "D'you have a moment to talk, by chance?"

"No, not at all, I'm terribly busy sitting around waiting for Henry's Quidditch practice to end," I replied, perfectly deadpan.

He understood me, though, and chuckled. "Right. Well, I thought that might be the case, so I was hoping this was a good time."

"It's definitely a good time. What's up?"

"First of all, I noticed a distinct lack of David Bowie playing in the shop, so I decided to rectify that." Remus pulled two cassette tapes from his other pocket, setting one on the kitchen table and handing one to me. "One for the shop, and one for you. You obviously are under no obligation to listen to it if you don't want to, but David Bowie was my favorite artist when I was your age, so I figured I might as well be the one to introduce you."

"This is great, thank you! I'm not really in the mood for music today, full moon approaching and all, but I'll certainly listen to it and send you a full report on what I think. Professor," I added teasingly as we each lowered ourselves gingerly into chairs.

Remus smiled. "Just trying to continue your education, even though you're no longer my student."

"It's appreciated," I replied. "I get the sense you didn't come all this way the morning of a full moon just to give me a David Bowie mixtape, though. What else is on your mind?"

"Oh, plenty," he said, sighing, "but you're right, there's something else."

I extinguished the lights in the room with a wave of my hand. "I hope you don't mind, since it's just the two of us? I was leaving those on for Henry's sake, but I'm guessing you'd rather have the lights off too?"

I saw him nod in the darkness. "It is possible to adjust and be less sensitive, but yes, it's always nice to be in the dark when possible this close to the full moon." Remus traced the cassette tape for the shop with one finger as his eyes, unusually intense, bored into mine. "I know you've noticed that your magic has grown more powerful over the course of the past year, aside from that one hiccup when you first returned to school last autumn."

I nodded. "You said it's werewolf-related, but you've never explained how or why."

"That's what I'm here to do today," he said. "As best as I can, anyway. Truthfully, I understand it very little beyond my own limited experience, but I will do my best to tell you everything I know."

"You said it happened after the first wizarding war."

"Yes, I — it happened when I heard about how it ended... James and Lily dead, Peter supposedly dead, Sirius in Azkaban for supposedly being the traitor. I burst all of the pipes in my flat. Werewolves tend to naturally have more powerful magic than non-werewolves, but I've learned that there is sometimes a moment where this magic takes on a life of its own. I believe this moment for you happened over a period of time, instead of all at once like it did with me."

"In the cave?" I asked quietly. "With the borrowed wand? I don't — I don't think a non-werewolf would have been able to produce magic like that with somebody else's wand, especially not at the age I was."

Remus nodded. "I think that was the beginning of the process, yes. As best as I can figure it, our heightened magic is something of a survival tactic. I think that in a pivotal moment when we feel alone in the world, our magic explodes to try to keep us safe and alive, because, like wolves, werewolves need a pack."

"Of other werewolves?" I whispered, horrified.

"No. No no no," he replied quickly, "no, not at all. My 'pack' was my group of friends in school. When I — I lost James, Lily, Peter, and Sirius in one fell swoop, my magic exploded. I had one friend left, Mary, but she wasn't in the Order like the rest of us so she was deep in hiding because she was a Muggle-born. I felt so alone, for quite a long time, and I made... many, many mistakes. But I learned, and I'm still learning, so I'm here to try to share everything I've learned so far with you. A werewolf's pack can be anyone, but there's something important about having at least one other person who understands, you know?"

I nodded. "Harry understands me best, but it's still not quite the same. He's different, sure, but the world loves him most of the time. He doesn't know what it's like to be me, not really. Not the way you do, or the way Sloane does."

"Sirius understood me best, especially after he fled home, but, like you said, it's not quite the same."

"So what have you learned?" I asked. "What am I supposed to do with this magic I have?"

"Oh, right, yes." Remus chuckled. "My apologies for getting off-track. My conversations tend to be far less meandering." He shook his head. "Merlin, I haven't done that in a conversation since a very old friend of mine was alive. We got relentlessly teased for the way our conversations went from Point A to Point Z before circling back around to Point B. It reached a point where the two of us only talked behind closed doors so no one else could overhear and make fun of us."

I grinned. "I think I do that with certain people, too."

"Anyway, yes, what I've learned. Like I said, I am fairly certain that our magic comes alive, so to speak, in a moment where we feel most alone. I think yours perhaps happened in increments because while you were alone in the cave, you were close to home. It's grown more powerful over the course of the past year in moments where you've felt alone, whether you were truly alone or not."

"Is that bad?" I asked.

"I don't think attaching moral labels to werewolf magic is helpful," he replied gently. "It simply is. We have to deal with enough undeserved labels of 'bad' or 'evil' without doing it to ourselves."

I nodded after a moment. "I understand. So if it happens when we feel alone... why? To help us survive without a pack?"

"As best as I can figure, that seems to be the idea. We need packs, so when we are without a pack, our magic tries to compensate."

"But... in the Department of Mysteries, I was almost always with other people, and I was still powerful. Almost frighteningly so."

"I don't have all of the answers yet, but I believe that may have been because you were defending your pack, so to speak."

"Oh." I nodded. "Alright. That makes sense." I shifted on my chair and bit my lip, thinking for a moment. "What about the way full moons have changed for me? I mean... I overpowered the Room of Requirement, and I got hurt. How is that a survival advantage?"

"This is all just theory," Remus said quickly, "but there's — well, I have another theory. Not another whole separate theory, really, but another... explanation, I suppose. This one comes more from my own experience than anything I've been able to find in books." He looked down at the mixtape and began tracing it again. "I think there's a battle of sorts that happens within us. Human versus wolf. And I think when our magic is at its most powerful, it's when the wolf has the most control."

It felt as if all of the air had disappeared from the room. Even though Remus had said not to label the werewolf magic as "good" or "bad," I knew that human meant "good" and wolf meant "bad."

If powerful magic meant that the wolf was winning, I'd never do my special magic again. I couldn't.

I always wanted to be as human as possible. The wolf was never supposed to win.

I felt oddly betrayed. I'd grown to find comfort in my special magic. The way Harry's eyes widened in awe when I did it, the way the twins always encouraged me to push the limits of it and see what I could do, the way I felt so alive and free at times when I was letting my magic speak for me.

As if there could be anything good, anything redeeming, about lycanthropy.

"I'm guessing you feel more tired and less cold after full moons?" Remus asked, eyes still fixed on the mixtape, meaning he hadn't seen the way his words hit me like a punch to the gut. "And maybe more restless and more overheated before full moons?"

I nodded. "Something like that," I managed to say. I drew a deep, steadying breath. "So what am I supposed to do?"

Remus looked up then. His eyes looked pained, yet tender.

"I'm sorry, I don't know," he replied. "I'm still learning. I don't think there's a right or a wrong answer, if I'm being honest with you."

"Is my — is this werewolf magic dangerous?" I asked, seeking something, anything, that offered me something solid.

"It can be, but it doesn't have to be."

Another non-answer.

"If I stop using it, will full moons be easier?"

"In some ways, yes. In others, no."

Another non-answer.

I fought the urge to sigh. I needed something, anything. "What about Greyback?"

Remus blinked. "What about him?"

"Does he — know? Does he have it too? I don't — how does he fit into this?"

"Ah," he replied delicately. "You've stumbled upon Order business."

"Oh." I felt myself shrink back into my seat without really consciously meaning to do so. "So I can't know?"

A twinkle of mischief gleamed in his eyes. "I never said that. I was trying to figure out a way to tell you, but I hadn't quite come up with a smooth way of doing that yet. Thank you for kicking the door wide open."

"Happy to help." I snorted. "I was just hoping for a straightforward answer to one of my questions. No offense."

"None taken," Remus replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You're more patient than I am. If a werewolf twenty years older than me had been having this conversation with my sixteen-year-old self, sixteen-year-old Remus would have stormed out ages ago."

"Why?" I asked, unable to help myself.

"In search of my own answers, of course, seeing as the older werewolf was useless."

I shook my head. "You're not useless."

"My sixteen-year-old self would have certainly thought so." He sighed. "I thought I knew everything back then. I was so wrong." He sighed again and leaned forward. "Anyway, I've meandered again. I'm not supposed to tell anyone this, you perhaps least of all, but I'm going undercover with Greyback's pack once you all head back to school."

I blinked. "You're what? Why?"

"Dumbledore's idea," he replied quietly, "but I'll admit I have my own selfish motivations too. While I try to convert them to our cause, I intend to learn as much as I can about werewolves, and our magic, and Greyback in particular."

"But — what if something goes wrong and he figures out you're — what if something goes wrong?"

"Don't worry about me, Lucy," Remus said. "As previously discussed, I did survive the first wizarding war." His eyes glinted then, with a strong determination I had rarely seen from him before. "Not all of that was luck. I'll be back in time for Christmas, and I'll tell you everything I've learned, alright?"

I nodded. "Alright. Just — be careful, please, I — I don't want to lose anyone else. And Harry... you're the last link to Harry's parents." I narrowed my eyes. "If you do anything stupid and don't come back, I'll never forgive you. I'll ask Professor McGonagall to tell me all of her most embarrassing stories about you, and I'll get every last one published in the Prophet. We've got Rita Skeeter in our pocket, I could make it happen."

Remus, to my surprise, tossed back his head and laughed. "That's quite touching, thank you. I'll be sure to come back. I don't want wizarding Britain to know about the clown prank."

"The clown prank?" I asked.

"That same very old friend of mine who had meandering conversations with me pranked us once. Once." He grinned. "We got her back, but she got us first."

"Well, now I want to ask Professor McGonagall about it just because I can," I grumbled.

"Ah, best not," he said, growing more solemn. "That friend didn't survive the war, and Professor McGonagall always had a soft spot for her. But if I don't come back, you can ask as long as you tell her that I'm the one who said you could."

I nodded. "Understood."

"Well, I think I've taken up enough of your time this morning," Remus said as he rose to his feet. "George informed me that Henry's practice would be over within the hour, so I'll head out so you're not surrounded by too many people so close to the full moon."

"Thank you for talking to me. I have — a lot to think about."

His face softened as he tapped the mixtape still in my hands. "And music to listen to. Everything will work out just fine."

"I suppose I'll have to give you my full report when you're back for Christmas," I said, feeling despair rise in me as I realized this could very well be our final goodbye. "You will be back for Christmas, right?"

"Of course."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Remus smiled. "I'd rather not have the world knowing about the clown prank. You've offered me excellent motivation to return."

"And you have to return all in one piece," I added.

"I shall return all in one piece," he echoed.

I launched myself forward and hugged Remus tightly. "You better."

Too soon, the lights were back on, and he was gone, and I was alone again.

The silence was deafening. The weight of the information on my shoulders was heavy, so heavy.

I went upstairs and retrieved my Walkman, replacing Henry's cassette tape with the new one from Remus, letting the music wash over me. I could only tolerate one song before I was too overwhelmed and had to resort back to the silence, but I had a feeling that it would be on loop in my head for the rest of the day.

As I made my way back down the stairs to wait for Henry, I couldn't help but softly sing the first part of the chorus to myself. "Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes, turn and face the strange ch-ch-changes."

Strange changes was right. My life had always been full of strange changes.

The wizarding world was at war, again.

My biological family was on the other side of the world.

Cedric, Mum, Dad, Sirius, they were all gone.

My magic was at war with itself, within me.

But I was in love with Harry James Potter, and Harry James Potter was in love with me.

Strange changes, indeed.

🩵💛❤️💜🩷

A/N: Hi, everyone! :) I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

No, I haven't read All the Young Dudes, but yes, I know about the scene where Remus sings "Changes," so yes, I did this on purpose. But independently of ATYD, I wholeheartedly believe that Remus was a David Bowie enthusiast, and I realized that I don't have any David Bowie songs on any of my IMM playlists, so I fixed that in this chapter. Lucy will definitely explore the mixtape over time, so I hope you all enjoy that, it should be fun. :)

Well, now I've explained quite a bit about my ideas for the werewolf magic system! There are a couple more explanations that will happen once Lucy explains all of this to Hermione and they put their heads together, combined with what Remus learns, but I hope you all think it's interesting! To summarize what's discussed in this chapter, werewolves are inherently more powerful than ordinary magic-users because they're part human and part wolf, and the stronger the wolf is, the more powerful the magic is. This magic gets amplified in the case of a lone-wolf scenario, kind of like a dam breaking. For Remus, this happened all at once after the first wizarding war ended. For Lucy, this happened a little bit at a time, beginning when she escaped the caves and ending in Chapter 150 (evermore) when she unleashes the storm on the hill. When Lucy talks to Hermione, you'll get to see how Ilvermorny houses are tied up in all of this. :) ADDITIONALLY, I want to stress that Lucy's perspective (wolf = bad, human = good) is very warped right now, and she's going to grow a lot in that regard after a bit of soul-searching. But, in this moment, her initial reaction was one of panic, founded in fear. She will grow, with the help of the people who love her. She's going to find balance one day, I promise. This isn't going to be one of those stories where the female main character is super cool and powerful and then she gives it all up when she settles down with a man. Lucy has always been and will always be super cool and powerful, I promise.

I know, I know, I promised twins in this chapter, I'm sorry, it just didn't flow as well with more twin content in it. They were mentioned, though, and included in a sense via the conversation with Angelina and the family pictures and a little bit in Lucy's description of what moving back to the shop was like. Rest assured, they will certainly play a larger role in the next chapter. This chapter ultimately just needed to be about Lucy as much as possible, which I tried to do! I hope you enjoyed it!

Thank you for reading!