AN: I've wanted to do this for a while, but wasn't sure how to go about it. This is my best shot, I hope it's okay. This is set the school year after Whispers In The Dark, so Lucy is sixteen and in her sixth year of school.
Disclaimer: I only own what you don't know.
A loud scream broke Lucy Weasley out of her slumber and she jumped up quickly, looking around and pushing her hair out of her face in order to try and see what was causing the loud noise that had disturbed the first peaceful sleep she felt like she had gotten in a while.
Suddenly, Lily Potter raced into the room, sliding to a stop behind Lucy with a smile on her face as Lysander and Lorcan Scamander appeared behind her, holding their wands and pointing them at both girls.
"No magic outside of school! Especially not to spray me with water!" Lily yelled, making Lucy's eyes go wide.
"We're of age, my dear. You should know, you were at our birthday celebration a few days ago" Lysander said, a smirk on his face as he raised his wand, Lorcan copying his actions a moment later.
Lucy took a step forward, her eyes narrowed.
"Today is my first day back at Hogwarts and the end of the worst summer of my life. If you two gits make it any worse by spraying me and Lily with water because you feel the need to show off the fact that you've gotten to the age where you can, then I will personally make you miserable" Lucy growled, raising an eyebrow as both her boyfriend and his brother slowly lowered their wands, frowns on their faces.
All three of the other people in the room stared at her with concerned looks on their faces, but at the look on Lucy's face they let it drop for now.
"Alright, well, we have to go home and finish packing now. We'll see you all in a bit on the train, okay?" Lorcan asked, leaning forward and pressing a light kiss against Lucy's cheek, before turning and pulling Lysander out of the room quickly, the frown still on his face.
Lucy sighed loudly and rubbed her forward, before grabbing her trunk and opening it on her bed and starting to throw things into it.
Lily watched her older cousin carefully, an unsure look on her face before she started helping Lucy pack, figuring that if she ever wanted to talk about what was wrong, she would.
The Hogwarts Express seemed far larger then Lucy ever remembered it, and she could see the students staring at her as she climbed up the stairs onto the train, her eyes never leaving the ground in front of her.
Lucy knew that she had been all over the Daily Prophet during the summer, despite her uncle's and father's best attempts to keep the case agaisnt Owen out of the public eye, it hadn't worked and soon the entire Wizarding World knew about Harry Potter's niece being the victim of a horrible crime. Owen had been taken to Azkaban for what he had done to Lucy, and for his use of one of the Unforgiveables on Lily, but it did little to comfort Lucy.
To be honest, she was still completely terrifed of returning to school.
Slowly, Lucy opened the door to a compartment, and after finding it empty, she slipped inside and closed the door, sighing in relief as she sat down, looking around carefully.
After only a few moments, the door opened again and Lucy looked up to see a very timid looking Scorpius Malfoy standing in front of her, a slight smile on his face as he stepped inside the compartment, his black cat settled on his shoulders peacefully.
"Hello, Lucy. Do you mind if I sit here? There's nowhere else" Scorpius said, his voice slightly cheerful as he stepped forward.
Lucy watched him carefully, trying to control her breathing.
It was just Scorpius. Malfoy would never do anything to hurt anyone, especially not one of the Weasley/Potters, who were all his best friends since he and Albus became close in their first year, and Lucy knew that.
But knowing that did nothing to calm her fears, and suddenly she found it very difficult to breathe.
Scorpius' eyes went wide and he stood, opening the compartment door and yelling for help.
Just as he opened his mouth to yell again, Scorpius was pushed aside and Hugo entered the compartment, his eyes a little wide when he took in the sight of his cousin trying to catch her breath and slowly failing.
"Luce, look at me. Breathe, alright? No one here is going to hurt you, and you know that. It's just Scorp. The silly, moronic git that our cousin is madly in love with and can't stop snogging, right? So just relax and take a few deep breaths" Hugo said slowly, his voice calm as he spoke.
Lucy's eyes met Hugo's and at the sight of someone so familar and so close to her she started to calm down a bit, as Rose and Abigail appeared behind Scorpius.
"Don't crowd in here, you lot. Get going, find somewhere else" Hugo ordered the small group of students that had started to crowd around the compartment, all of them trying to get a look at the girl inside.
Slowly they started to leave and Hugo let out a sigh of relief.
"Are you sure you're alright to go back to school? There are plenty of people who are just taught at home, and even if your dad and mum don't have time for it, my mum would, or Uncle Harry" Hugo said, turning his attention back to Lucy.
Lucy looked at him, and for the first time since everything had happened, he could clearly see how much she was hurt.
"I don't want anything to be different because of him" Lucy muttered.
Hugo sighed and nodded his head, moving to sit in the seat beside Lucy and motioning to Rose and Abigail that they could leave.
Both girls nodded and turned, walking away.
"Please don't leave me, though, Hugo" Lucy's voice broke through Hugo's thoughts and he looked up at her, a small, hesitant smile on his face.
"I'm not going anywhere, Luce" he promised, holding his cousin's hand tightly.
"She says she's alright and that she doesn't want anything to change, but I don't believe that she's okay. She shouldn't be here, especially not with a few of that wanker's friends hanging around the school still" Rose said quickly, sliding into the empty seat beside Hugo at the Gryffindor table.
Abigail sat down next to her a moment later and Hugo sighed loudly.
"I know she's not alright. Trust me, we all know that, but there isn't much that any of us can do when she won't admit it. We just have to be there for her and not discuss her personal problems behind her back. Understand?" Hugo asked, raising an eyebrow.
Rose appeared a little shocked by the anger in her younger brother's voice but nodded her head to show she understood his point.
"Fantastic" Hugo said, before standing up and leaving the Great Hall.
In the girl's bathroom, Lucy sat alone on the floor, her head buried in her legs as she struggled to keep herself from crying.
Things were already horrid at school just today, and there was a long time left before Lucy could leave for the holidays and return to the safety of her family.
Tears started to fall to the floor and the bathroom door opened, before it closed quickly again and someone tapped Lucy's shoulder, nearly giving her a heart attack as she leaped backwards, muttering something that the other person couldn't quite hear under her breath.
"It's alright, Lucy. It's just Alexandra. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise" the voice muttered quietly.
Lucy's eyes opened and she saw Alexandra Zabini, Hugo's girlfriend, standing in front of her, a worried look on her face.
"Don't" Lucy said loudly, backing away when Alexandra reached out a hand to touch her.
"Alright. I won't. I'll just sit right here and wait for you to calm down. Is that okay?" Alexandra asked, her bag hanging off her shoulder as she stopped where she was, waiting until Lucy nodded slowly before she sat down across from Lucy, a small smile on her face.
The two girls sat there for nearly an hour in complete silence until Lucy stood up and muttered a thank you and sprinted out of the bathroom, leaving a confused Alexandra alone on the floor.
She had no idea what had just happened, but she was determined to find out.