Chapter One.
Lucille ran as fast as her legs could take her through the dark forest. She tried to avoid the large, gnarled roots as she ran, spells being thrown at her from behind. She felt her sides cramping and sweat starting to coat her, but she kept running with her necklace tucked under her shirt. She looked back to see Crabbe, Goyle, and her own brother, Lucius, running after her, intent on getting her to come back for the initiation Voldemort had planned for her. The nineteen year old girl had been planning this escape since she heard about the meeting.
As she reached the edge of the forest she kept running over the large field, heading towards the lights of the Muggle town. Spells were still being shot at her, but she easily dodged them all. When she reached a guard rail, she quickly hopped over it and kept running on the sidewalk, thanking God that not many Muggles were out at two in the morning.
The boys stopped running, standing back on the sidewalk, pocketing their wands and watching her go. She looked up into the sky to see Death Eaters on brooms, circling above her. She ran faster, looking for the house called Grimmauld place Dumbledore had told her she would be safe at.
Lucille screamed and fell to the ground as one of the men above her swooped down to grab her, but missed by inches. She quickly got up, pushing her silver, blonde hair out of her eyes and continued to run, getting closer to the house. The necklace had come from under her shirt and hung where it was visible. It was a small key necklace with a pearl caged at the top. She led the Death Eaters to some other part of Muggle London before changing her course unexpectedly, losing the men and women after her.
Slowly, she made her way up the steps to Grimmauld Place, knocking on the door, panting and feeling her vision blur around the edges. As she tried to hold onto consciousness, she saw a man her age with shaggy black hair and piercing blue eyes open the door, before she collapsed into darkness.
"Dumbledore! I think she's waking up!" A voice said in a whisper voice above Lucille as she moved around on the uncomfortable makeshift bed she was on.
"Gee, nothing gets past you Wormtail." Another voice came, his tone sarcastic. Wormtail? Where had she heard that name before?
"Peter, Sirius, shh! This girl has been through hell and back and doesn't need to get a headache from your sarcasm or excitement!" Came a female, mother-like voice.
"Molly, will you and Lily go get the Potions needed to fix Mrs. Malfoy up please?" Came an elderly man's voice, obviously Dumbledore. Peter… Peter… Yes, she heard this name before. Peter… Pettigrew? Possibly? And Sirius… Sirius Black! Regulus' 'traitor of a brother'.
"Of course Albus." The woman said, hurrying off with another set of footsteps following her. Lucille sighed and opened her eyes, quickly shutting them again from the blinding light. She groaned and stretched out her stiff and aching muscles, finding this a bad idea, being that one of her ribs was cracked. She hissed out in pain, clutching at the injury as she opened her eyes again to find four boys, Dumbledore, Arthur Weasley, and Alastor Moody looking at her.
"Hello Mrs. Malfoy. How are you feeling?" Dumbledore asked politely, moving closer to her and smiling. Lucille closed her eyes again.
"Shitty." She mumbled, rubbing her face with her hand. Everyone chuckled at her remark, and she felt a wet rag press to her forehead. "Thank you."
"You're welcome dear. " The motherly voice said, surprising Lucille and making her eyes snap open to see Molly Weasley. "Come on, it's time to sit up some so you can take your Potions."
Lucille started leaning up but forcefully fell back, her rib aching. "Oh, someone help me lift the poor dear." Molly said, looking around until a boy a few years older than Lucille with sandy blonde hair walked behind her and helped her sit up slowly, pausing when she gasped with pain. Remus… Remus Lupin. She remembered, a Gryffindor Prefect.
Molly tilted Lucille's head back slightly and put different vials to her mouth, all of which Lucille drank, feeling her rib mend itself and her headache disappear. "Alright, she's done. Now, one of you four needs to carry her up to Lily's room. They'll be sharing it." Molly said, pointing to the four boys that had graduated two years before Lucille. They all looked at each other, everyone knowing Peter was out, for he was not in-shape and Remus was out because the full moon had just passed two nights ago. So that left James and Sirius staring each other down.
"I'm not carrying her up! She's one of them!" Sirius exclaimed, glaring at James. The messy haired boy sighed and rolled his eyes.
"She obviously isn't if she came here Sirius!" James exclaimed, fairly annoyed. He began to lift Lucille into his arms when Dumbledore held out a hand.
"Wait, first I have to ask her a few questions." He said, making James put her back onto the padded table they had her on. "Mrs. Malfoy, what happened?" He asked, looking down at her over his half-moon glasses.
"Talked about killing the Weasleys, said that Arthur was to die tonight and I was supposed to be the one to do it, for my initiation. But I ran away, I'm not one of them." She said, almost panicking. What if they didn't believe her?
"Yes, I know dear. Did you find out anything else?" He asked her. Lucille nodded, looking around the table and pointing to Sirius.
"He was to be killed as well, by Regulus." She said, not looking to see Sirius' reaction. Dumbledore nodded, a troubled look on his face.
"Did they follow you?" He asked her. She nodded and began explaining before anyone else could speak.
"But I lost them about six blocks away. I led them to the Muggle Park." She explained, her eyes growing droopy. Dumbledore nodded, motioning for James to get her. James lifted her in his arms again, one arm under her knees while the other was around her back, letting her head rest on his shoulder. His three friends followed him up the steps, along with Molly and Lily. He set her limp body on the extra bed, for she was already asleep. He looked at his other friends, whom were watching as if hypnotized by the moon hitting her silver blonde hair and her porcelain skin almost glowing. If he wasn't dating Lily, he too would have been drooling over her. But he had finally got Lily and wasn't going to give her up easily. He quickly moved back to her, kissing the top of her red head before exiting the room.
Sirius seemed to snap out of his fantasy and quickly turned to his friends, starting to push them out of the room. Before he left, he shot one last glance at the girl Molly and Lily were fussing over before following his mates down the steps to finish the meeting.
"Lucille has very useful information. But she needs protected, she knows too much and that can destroy the Dark Lord." Dumbledore explained to all the Order. "Now, it is most likely to be someone around her age." He continued, looking down at the Marauders, Frank Longbottom, and Robert Mathews.
"But who?" Peter piped up, shrinking back in his seat as everyone turned to look at him.
"The older members shall decide tonight, while you six get some sleep." Alastor growled, making a movement with his hands to tell them to leave. All of them got up, waving and mumbling 'goodnights', thanking god to be able to go to bed.
When the doors shut and they heard the boys out of earshot, Dumbledore turned to the others. "Do you still think Sirius is the one?" He asked, smiling as they all nodded.
"He's one of the best Aurors and we all know James would never leave Lily." Arthur said, leaning his elbows on his knees. He was worried about the young girls' fate as much as the others.
"But the question is, is he mature enough to handle taking her to a different country and not 'meddle' with other girls." Moody grunted, shifting on his cane. That made everyone pause for a second.
"I guess we are going to have to out our full trust in him." Dumbledore said, looking around the room to see everyone nod though they were still deep in thought. "Well, we should sleep on it and if any of you have any objections in the morning we shall discuss it tomorrow." Dumbledore said, motioning for everyone to head up to their rooms to sleep. All members present nodded, getting up and heading off to bed, thinking long and hard about their options.
::
"You want me to what!" Sirius shouted, standing up abruptly causing his chair to fall backwards. "I'm not a bloody babysitter! I'm an Auror!"
"We are well aware of this Sirius. But she is important. She knows all of the Dark Lord's secrets and is very talented. We need someone to watch over her." Dumbledore explained calmly while Sirius calmed himself down and got his chair upright to sit in.
"But why me?" Sirius asked.
"You are a great Auror, Sirius. And we trust that you will take good care of Lucille where ever you travel." Dumbledore said, smiling at him from across the table. Sirius thought for a moment, listening to James, Remus, and Peter lean in and tell him how great this could be for him; how he could see the world like he wanted to and it could help him with his job. He finally sighed, glancing over his shoulders at the stairs.
"Give me a few hours to think about it. Okay?" He asked, looking over at Dumbledore with pleading eyes. The kind wizard smiled and nodded. Sirius sighed and got up, exiting the room without a glance back and headed up to his room. As he looked at all the pictures there, of his friends, his favorite uncle and a picture of the whole Order hanging around his room. He heard creaking in the next room over, Lily's room and his Auror instincts kicked in, making rush to the other room to see Lily picking out clothes for a confused looking Lucille while Molly checked over her, making sure every part of her was healed.
"Hey Sirius." Lily called over her shoulder as she fussed in her closet.
"Hi Lils. James has been wondering when you would come down." Sirius said, leaning on the door jam and crossing his arms over his chest. As two little boys ran in squealing, and laughing, causing a dozing Lucille to jump from her daydream. Lily pulled Lucille up, starting to strip her and help her into her borrowed clothes.
"Mummy, who is the pretty girl?" Bill, the eldest of the two Weasley boys asked, looking over at Lucille.
"Lucille darling. She is our special guest." Molly explained, pulling a brush through Lucille's knotted hair, making it smooth and waved her wand, making it clean, blood free, and in ringlets again.
"When did she get here?" Charlie asked, looking up at her with awed eyes.
"Last night while you were in bed." Molly answered, doing a cleaning charm on all of Lucille's body. "Alright dear, let's go get you some breakfast." She said, pulling her lightly along as they left the room. Once they were out of the room, Sirius took Lily's arm before she could leave.
"What were her injuries?" He asked, making Lily look at him with a puzzled look.
"A cracked rib, various bruises, and the Cruciatus Curse was put on her." Lily said. "But she's fine. Said she's used to it." She explained.
"That's not possible! No one can get used to that pain." Sirius said, walking into the room and pulling his fingers through his hair, irritated. Lily shook her head as she looked at his back.
"This is Voldemort we are speaking of. He would do anything to anyone. She obviously didn't have a good family, with Lucius and her dad. Anything is possible Sirius." She said, leaning on the door jam while Sirius looked around the room for something.
"Where are her clothes from last night?" He asked, turning to face Lily. She pointed to the heap by the closet and Sirius quickly snatched them up.
"I'll see you down stairs." He muttered, carrying the girl's clothes into his room, stowing them away for later tests. He then hopped down the steps to hear one sentence that came from Lucille.
"I don't need a babysitter." Sirius smirked, so she saw it the same way he did? Then he would just make it as miserable for her as possible.
"Okay, I've decided I'll do it." He said, coming in and smiling cheerfully. Everyone's faces lit up, all except for Lucille's. Hers darkened as she turned to glare at him with her grey eyes.
"Excellent. Would you two please follow me to the living room?" Dumbledore asked, motioning to the room next to them. Sirius smiled at Lucille and motioned for her to go first. She rolled her eyes, got up and walked, more like strut in Sirius' mind, gracefully into the living room. Sirius followed after her, nodding to his three best mates as they rolled their eyes.
Once the two were gone, Arthur raised his hand. "Yes Arthur?" Dumbledore asked, amused at his school action.
"Can I change my answer for her protector?" He joked, smiling at Dumbledore while the others laughed. Dumbledore shook his head, chuckling and glided out of the room. When he entered the living room, he found Lucille curled up on a chair on one side of the room and Sirius lounging on the couch on the other side of the room. "So, Sirius, you're sure about this?" Dumbledore asked.
"Well, no. But if it'll help us beat You-Know-Who, then I'm all for it." He said. "But first, I want to know about you more." He said, pointing to Lucille who shot him a 'if looks could kill' look.
"You have three days to get to know each other, pack, and map out where you'll go. You must pack lightly though, for you never know when you'll be leaving. And you must always give us a status report on how things are. Do we understand each other?"
Sirius nodded, suddenly serious and in Auror mode. "Yes."
"Yes." Lucille murmured, flipping her hair over her shoulder and looking at the picture on the mantle.
"Great. Now, I am going to go finish my lovely breakfast." Dumbledore said, smiling and heading out into the kitchen again. Sirius looked over at Lucille who was glaring at her manicured nails.
"Listen Malfoy," Sirius began in an irritated tone. "I don't like this arrangement any more than you do, but I need this for my job, and you need this to stay alive. This will only be for a few months so I don't want to see any pouting. Are we clear?"
Lucille looked over at him, glaring. "Crystal." She snapped, getting up and walking, strutting, back out into the kitchen. Oh this is going to be a long few months.
::
"So Malfoy," Sirius began, walking into the girl's room without knocking. "I've got a map and I just thought that we'll wing it and go as we please."
"Hmm, alright." She said carelessly, her back to him as she looked out the window. Sirius stared at her back, wondering if she actually heard him, but decided to leave it and went up to his own room.
"She's gorgeous! Padfoot is so lucky!" Peter exclaimed when Sirius came into the room.
"Yeah, but I bet you don't have the nerve to talk to her Wormy." Sirius chuckled, plopping on his single bed.
"Yeah Wormy, tomorrow at breakfast you have to go and sit next to her and chat her up." James said while reading his new assignment.
"Fine…" Peter mumbled, chewing nervously on a brownie Molly had made.
As Sirius stared up at the ceiling, he thought back to his last year of Hogwarts when he last saw her.
::
The Marauders sat in the library, looking up specifics for their next prank. They heard the light taps of heels and all looked up to see Lucille Malfoy trying to put a book back on its shelf. Unfortunately, even in heels, she was one of the smallest girls in the school, disclosing the thirds and lower.
The four watched as Regulus came behind her and took the book from her, easily sticking it back on its shelf. He smirked at her, one that matched Sirius' almost perfectly. She rolled her eyes but smiled and continued her way to drop her other books off. The five watched her butt while she walked before Sirius excused himself to speak to his younger brother.
"Reg, why do you hang out with them?" Sirius asked, shoving his hands in his jean pockets as he came to a stop behind his younger brother. Regulus whirled around, startled by his brother's random appearance.
"What do you mean?" He asked, his eyes narrowed at his brother.
"You know who I'm talking about. The Malfoy's, Bellatrix, Narcissa, Snivellus, Evan Rosier, Avery, and Mulciber. I don't want you to be like our parents Reg." Sirius explained, looking down at his brother.
"I can take care of myself. You don't even really care anyways. I mean, you left me in that house, alone. Don't you have a girl to shag or something?" Regulus snapped, backing away.
"Regulus, you know I had to leave." Sirius whispered, moving after him. "She'll hurt you Reg. She'll talk you into dark things like her brother is probably doing to her right now."
"Don't talk about Lucille like that!" Regulus cried, ignoring the fact that they were in the library. "She cares about me more than you have cared!" With that he stormed after Lucille, grabbing her hand and dragging her from the library when he found her.
Sirius watched Regulus for days after their dispute. Lucille was always there, watching him with concerned eyes and holding his hand.
She found him in the library, searching for more specific items to use in a prank.
"How dare you!" She hissed, glaring up at him.
"How dare I what?" He asked nonchalantly, filing through a book before putting it back. She punched his arm hard, hard enough to leave a large bruise. "Ow! Bloody hell woman, you're nutters!"
"How dare you assume that I am like the rest of the Slytherins? I am not a mad woman like your cousin or a stuck up prat like Narcissa and my brother. You don't know anything about me Sirius Black and don't presume to do so." She snapped, touching the charm on her short chain necklace. With that, she gave him one last withering glare and turn on her heel, storming away with the angry 'clicks' of her Slytherin green heeled short boots.
::
It had been the last time he spoke to her since he graduated. He smiled slightly at the thought of the bruise that marred him for two or three weeks.
"So, do you boys wanna pull one last trick together and spy on the girls?" James asked with a dangerous smirk.
And of course, they all agreed.
