Lucy/Lorcan
knight in tarnished armor
When she was six and he was nine they played together all day under the lazy summer sun. The Burrow was a wondrous place and it had everything imagination called for.
When she was six and he was nine, her sister would drag him into their games. The ones where Molly played the evil witch called Voldemorta and Lucy played the princess.
And why couldn't Molly choose someone else?
Well, you see:
The prince, the knight in shining armor, HAD to be a boy (silly).
Teddy was too old.
Louis outright refused.
Lysander was (claimed to be) too old for such things- and too busy playing quidditch with James and Teddy.
Which therefore eliminated James.
Fred was convinced that girls were invested with cooties. (but really, that had just been Roxanne's attempt to get him to go away)
Al was busy asking (begging) James to let him play.
Hugo was too young.
Which left Lorcan, who didn't really enjoy saying no nor did he particularly want to play quidditch (the hand-eye coordination just wasn't there).
So, that summer he became Prince Lorcan of the Kingdom of Scamander. Far away, across tall mountains and monster infested oceans was the castle (broom shed) of Princess Weasley where the evil witch, Voldemorta, was keeping her locked up with powerful magic.
Voldemorta was so powerful and everyone who tried to match her skill had failed.
Then one day (ten minutes) a brave prince arrived on his valiant thestral (broomstick). When Voldemorta laughed at him, he claimed to have magical power that not even she could match.
"I am the most powerful witch the world has ever seen! No one can beat me!" She shrieked in her best 'I am so evil' voice. Luc- Princess Lucy leaned out the window of her castle.
"Lor! Helpp!"
More cackling, of course.
"What you can't defeat, Voldemorta, is something you lack. Love!" The ohso brave prince reached out, poking the evil witch on the hand. And the power of love was so great that she melted. The prince released the princess from the old castle and they lived happily ever after.
(and maybe they'd heard too many stories, both real and fairy tales).
"You saved me Lor!" Lucy squealed. He gave a small smile,
"Of course I did. I will always save a damsel in distress. It's part of the job description for any knight in shining armor."
.
The fairy tales were put by the wayside though. Prince Charming, the knight in shining armor was sent away on a dangerous mission.
(or to school)
The age old tale was put away, doomed to collect dust on its lonely shelf. And soon the princess forgot, wondering vaguely if it had maybe been some sort of bizarre dream.
Lucy followed the footsteps of her onceuponatime prince, though hers were considerably more dainty.
Little tiny hops, pin points of pirouettes and perfect grades.
She was still was the little Princess, still in her tower. But the line was blurred about who put her there.
She slipped from class to class, quietly. Every night she would return to Ravenclaw. Every night she would dance away.
.
The air was chilly and the rain had begun to slap at her skin but inside was far too hot. Fires blazing to keep out the damp air. People dancing happily in the Great Hall, beautiful in their tight-topped dresses and high high heels.
Her dress though, was too loose and didn't fit the way everyone else's did and the heels put so much pressure of her foot and what good was having fun if it was too painful?
The rain was falling heavily now, soaking through the pale green dress and plastering her Weasley red hair to her face. The mud squished between her toes.
A hand landed on her shoulder softly and she turned to see Lorcan sitting beside her, his blond hair practically glowing in the night.
"Luce?" he asked softly, "Why are you out here in the rain?"
She had two options: lie or tell the truth. The latter won, for the first time in god knows how long.
"Because I'm not them Lor! I'm too little and for all my grace I can't stand those deathly devices called heels! Because they're all gorgeous and-"
She stopped talking not because she was done, but because Lorcan had covered her lips with his and god, it was like heaven. He pulled away, smiling slightly and tucking a dripping strand of hair behind her ear.
"Lucy, you are gorgeous, prettier than any of those girls," he reached into his robes and pulled out a pain of white ballet slippers and a bar of Honeyduke's chocolate, "So you don't like heels? Don't wear them. And eat this because," he paused, brainstorming a reason, "Well because chocolate is the cure for everything."
Lucy wrapped her arms around him, their wet clothing sticking together and the sound of rain drowning out the noise from inside the castle. Lucy slid on the slippers, lacing the ribbons around her ankles in the familiar pattern. Lorcan held out a hand and cleared his throat,
"Miss Weasley, the most gorgeous girl, may I have this dance?" Lucy giggled, curtseying extravegantly beforetaking his hand. A few strains of the upbeat music could be heard but the two by the lake were listening to a completely different tune.
"Thank you," she whispered into his neck. He kissed the top of her head.
"One of the obligations of being a knight, isn't it?"
And perhaps it wasn't like those summers at the Burrow, with a clearly defined enemy and a princess locked away. The tower was metaphoric now and the knights armor wasn't used to daily use.
But he was still there, holding his princess and well, tarnished armor was good enough.