A/N: Through with self pity. Posting this anyway. Thank you, reviewers! :D
Chapter Seven: The Prophecy
Lucy stumbled up to the cave at which the Fates were supposedly located. Her red satin gown was torn by the time she arrived, but she had to know, she just had to know for sure.
The nausea came over her again and her mouth became dry and parched. She groaned as she fell to her knees and she soon felt the horrible taste of vomit rising in her throat. She coughed and sputtered and spewed the horrible liquid into the bushes.
"If I'm not pregnant " she muttered. "Then I'm definitely not well." Straightening up again, the nausea lessening slightly, she tried to look as presentable as possible with her pale-face and torn gown and robes. Finally, she worked up the courage to go into the cave.
The cave was as bright as a cathedral at noon, though it was midnight and there were no windows that Lucy could see in the cave and now candles from which the light might be coming from.
When she approached, she saw three females in a line around a spinning wheel, feeding the wheel with a thread. There was a child, no more than eight years of age at the beginning of the line, in the center, there was a young to middle-aged woman. Both of them shared a dark blond-colored hair. The final was an old woman, her brittle fingers handling the thread more precisely than Lucy thought someone of her age would. Their heads looked up at her together, as if they were one.
"Yes?" they said together. The next words were spoken individually by each of the Fates, starting with the child, then the middle-aged woman, then the crone.
"We," started the child.
"Have,"
"Been,"
"Expecting,"
"You," the middle-aged woman finished. The three of them smiled. Lucy frowned, suspiciously.
"I believe you know what I've come for." They nodded.
"We do," said the old one.
"You've come,"
"For the secret,"
"Of your child " and the old woman finished.
"Then it's true?" Lucy pressed. "I am pregnant?" They laughed.
"But of course you are pregnant!" they said together, their voices melodious and reverberant in the bright cave. "You must be pregnant! Your pregnancy decides the fate of many people, of many lives."
"I... I'm in love with him " Lucy muttered. The middle-aged woman smiled.
"Yes," she whispered. "You are. But that was not an intention of the fates. That was the intention of your own heart."
"What am I to do?" At this question, all the lights that had illuminated the cave went out and only an eerie one remained, lighting the faces of the Fates dimly and making them look like skeletons. A cold wind blew and played with Lucy's dark red hair.
"The birth of a Dark One is ensured
By yee who give him love
As the years pass by his power grows
And He is seen as a merciless God
Yet come later on the Fates contend
A Child is born to fight the Lord
If the Lord can't be killed by the dagger
Then the boy will be a sword
Two good souls have been chosen
To birth the Son of Light
For only with their fates
Can they help him win the fight
A fiery maiden with hair to match
And a dark-haired reckless spirit
Parents to help him with his destiny
And teach him not to fear it.
The battle's outcome is unknown
By even We, the Fates
For with good and evil, one never knows
Who is to win the race "
The wind stopped and light flooded the cave once more. Lucy's red hair fell lightly on her shoulders once more.
"Am I Am I the mother of this child you speak of? Is Is Geoffrey the father?" The Fates said nothing. "Answer me, you bitches!" Lucy screamed.
"You are related to the child," said the old crone at last. "Very close to him indeed."
"Oh no " Lucy's fingers flew to her lips in shock. "No, I I can't be in a a prophecy! Does Tom know about this?"
"He will," said the young woman. "In time."
"No " Lucy muttered. "He'll kill me if he knows I'm the mother of this beast who will bring about his downfall! No, I don't want it, I DON'T WANT IT! I can't be the mother of this thing, let me out of this prophecy, I don't remember signing up for it!"
"It is in your destiny," the little girl said. "You are part of the child's lineage."
"NO!" Lucy was outraged and burst out crying. "No, it WON'T HAPPEN! I won't LET it happen! I'll kill this thing! Oh Geoffrey!" She fell to her knees. The Fates continued to thread the string into the
spinning wheel.
"Your string grows short, young Lucy," said the old one.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Lucy snapped through her tears.
"As does your love's. His time is short," the young woman added.
"Right!" Lucy laughed, in hysterics. "Yes! Whatever you say, Oh Powerful Fates! Everything is how you make it."
"We did not intend for you to love the boy," the old one said softly. "You brought this pain upon yourself. You were merely the vessel for the baby."
"NO!" Lucy screamed. "I don't want to be a vessel! I don't want to be part of your stupid prophecy! Leave me alone, I want to go home!"
"It is in your destiny," the child repeated. "Everyone plays a part, even you. Not even a small child is insignificant in our plans."
"I want to go home!" Lucy screamed.
"You will," the old woman said.
"Soon," the middle-aged woman said.
"Sooner than you think," added the child.
"Your time,"
"Grows short,"
"Run to your love,"
"Show him, tell him,"
"Save your child,"
"Keep it away,"
"From the Lord,"
"Lest he destroys,"
"It and ruins the,"
"Plans."
"Go."
"Now."
"Run."
And Lucy ran, faster than she ever had in her life.
Geoffrey sat by the lake in the Scarlet Glade, skipping stones on the surface reflecting the solemn night sky. There were no stars tonight. He secretly hoped he'd run into Lucy there, but she was nowhere to be found. She was probably sound asleep in Slytherin tower by now. He tried to think about his uncle and what he had said, he tried to make reason of it, but rage blinded his mind and he could determine nothing.
Sighing, he sat on a fallen log. He had nowhere to go. Nowhere but this glade.
"Something wrong?" Geoffrey jumped at the voice behind him and turned. It was her, his goddess, his Lucy. He smiled.
"Not anymore," he said.
"Stumped?"
"It's no concern of yours " Geoffrey muttered.
"Please " Lucy said, sitting down beside him. "You know you can tell me anything."
"My uncle " Geoffrey sighed. "He thinks you're trouble. He thinks everyone I shake hands with is trouble. So I I left him. I ran away. I have nowhere to go." Lucy smiled.
"You can come with me," she said.
"I can't go back to the school " he shook his head.
"No," she said. "I mean, you could live with Tom and I. He's very interested in meeting you. He's heard all about you." Geoffrey started to shake his head, but stopped and looked up at the girl as if she were brilliant.
"Yes!" he cried. "That would really make my Uncle angry! I'd love to meet Tom!" Lucy grinned.
"Perfect."
Lucy lumbered through the door, carrying shopping bags and found herself face-to-face to a frowning, stiff Lord Voldemort. She stopped.
"Well?" he said, coolly.
"He's coming," she informed him. "Right behind me. He had to leave all his things in the castle, so we went to Diagon Alley before coming here You know, to buy him a wand and some new clothes so he wouldn't have to use yours " Lucy smiled at him playfully as she pulled the shopping bags past her. He watched her, inscrutably as she led them to a room.
"That's my room, remember?" he said. Lucy hesitated.
"Oh, right!" she said, with a smile, and stumbled up the stairs. "I'll give him the room down the hall... Why you always sleep on the first floor is beyond me, Tom. It would be a lot easier to use that room
as a guest room, where people don't have to haul their stuff up the stairs all the time."
"I like my room," Voldmort muttered, defensively. Lucy turned to him at the top of the stairs and truly grinned back at him. The pout on his face, the whine in his almost inaudible voice, made Lucy think he was the real Tom again. That's when she realized it: Tom was jealous! He believed Lucy felt nothing towards this man, and therefor let it be for he needed Geoffrey in his plans. But he was jealous with the time Lucy was spending on her assignment, and Lucy could tell he regretted giving it to her.
"Relax, Tom," she said, soothingly. "It'll be over soon. We'll turn him against his uncle. He'll be killed by his own flesh and blood. And then, everything will work out fine." Voldemort grinned.
"Yes, Lucy," he muttered. "Everything will work out fine." At that moment, Geoffrey chose to enter the large foyer of Voldemort's estate.
"Wow " he muttered, looking at the old chandelier and the grand staircase. "How did you get a place like this?"
"I have my ways," Voldemort uttered. "But I like to keep a low profile so many people believe Alan Cartwright is living here." Geoffrey approached Voldemort with a grin and his hand held out.
"I'm Geoffrey," he said. "Lucy's told me all about you."
"And I've heard much of you " said Voldemort in a very impolite manner. "I'm not saying it was all good things, though." Geoffrey laughed.
"Intelligent and a sense of humor! You should know that Lucy really admires you." An eyebrow raised in half-interest on Voldemort's brow.
"Does she?" he mumbled. Geoffrey nodded.
"Yes. I've been anxious to meet you." Voldemort smiled a crooked smile.
"I like you, boy," he said, truthfully. "Come. Stay with me, and I'll teach you everything you need to survive in this world. I'll show you power, I'll show you strength, I'll show you how I acquired this estate But only if you wish to learn." Geoffrey nodded, like an eager child. Voldemort's unnatural grin widened. "Excellent. What are your views of good and evil?"
"What do you mean?"
"Stealing a loaf of bread from a poor baker to help your sick wife. Is that evil?"
"No, not at all Well, even though the baker's poor, he still can make more bread, can't he?"
"A good attitude, son." Voldemort said.
"I'm older than you are," said Geoffrey. "And you call me son?"
"Believe me, boy," Voldemort chortled. "I am older than you in many ways."
"Alright " Geoffrey decided to accept this. He believed he could learn a lot more from Tom than his uncle had ever taught him.
"So, if stealing a bread from a baker to help your wife is not evil, what do you think about killing the baker who made a true statement of inflicting your wife with this deadly illness she has? Only to, of course, prevent him from inflicting harm on any other innocents." Geoffrey frowned.
"I suppose it's not that bad "
"And what if this baker stood in the way between you and success? Would you kill him?" Geoffrey hesitated.
"Success isn't everything," he said, finally. "It isn't worth the life of someone else."
"My dear boy!" Voldemort laughed, patiently. "Success is everything! Whoever told you otherwise was a fool."
"Yes " Geoffrey said, flatly, "He was." Voldemort put his arm around Geoffrey's shoulder.
"Stick with me, boy, and I will teach you all you need to know about the world around you "
Lucy watched them, hidden, at the top of the stairs as Voldemort led Geoffrey into the parlor.
"Yes, Tom," she said. "Do what you do best. Alter the perceptions of the na‹ve. Teach him to be evil, like you taught me. Destroy him, the way you destroyed me."
"How are you?" Lucy jumped and spun around at the voice. She scowled.
"Malfoy!" she hissed. "What do you think you're doing here?"
"Just thought you'd like to know. Marisa gave birth yesterday. A bouncing baby boy. Lucius, we've called him " Lewis looked away, sadly. "It's what she wanted to name him if he was a boy." Lucy frowned.
"What business have you here?" she demanded. Lewis sighed and looked at her once more.
"She was too young, Kilbourne," he said. "We were both too young. I never told anyone this, but... At first, everything seemed normal. But there were nights when she was in unbearable pain. That's why I always wanted to get back to her I thought it was a miscarriage But no. He came and he
destroyed her " Lewis sounded disgusted. He then looked at Lucy once more, who seemed genuinely curious. "But he's my son. I have to raise my son, for Marisa's sake."
"I... I'm sorry, Lewis " Lucy muttered. Lewis turned to leave and stopped with his cold, rigid back to her.
"I was going to tell him, you know," he said. "About you and Geoffrey's child."
"How did you..."
"But I won't now. I was angry with you. You were always Lord Voldemort's favorite. I just wanted a little piece of it. But I won't tell him now. Marisa wouldn't have wanted me to. I just hope you don't suffer like she did." And with that, Lewis disappeared.
Lucy didn't see him again, even at meetings, for a long time.
Chapter Seven: The Prophecy
Lucy stumbled up to the cave at which the Fates were supposedly located. Her red satin gown was torn by the time she arrived, but she had to know, she just had to know for sure.
The nausea came over her again and her mouth became dry and parched. She groaned as she fell to her knees and she soon felt the horrible taste of vomit rising in her throat. She coughed and sputtered and spewed the horrible liquid into the bushes.
"If I'm not pregnant " she muttered. "Then I'm definitely not well." Straightening up again, the nausea lessening slightly, she tried to look as presentable as possible with her pale-face and torn gown and robes. Finally, she worked up the courage to go into the cave.
The cave was as bright as a cathedral at noon, though it was midnight and there were no windows that Lucy could see in the cave and now candles from which the light might be coming from.
When she approached, she saw three females in a line around a spinning wheel, feeding the wheel with a thread. There was a child, no more than eight years of age at the beginning of the line, in the center, there was a young to middle-aged woman. Both of them shared a dark blond-colored hair. The final was an old woman, her brittle fingers handling the thread more precisely than Lucy thought someone of her age would. Their heads looked up at her together, as if they were one.
"Yes?" they said together. The next words were spoken individually by each of the Fates, starting with the child, then the middle-aged woman, then the crone.
"We," started the child.
"Have,"
"Been,"
"Expecting,"
"You," the middle-aged woman finished. The three of them smiled. Lucy frowned, suspiciously.
"I believe you know what I've come for." They nodded.
"We do," said the old one.
"You've come,"
"For the secret,"
"Of your child " and the old woman finished.
"Then it's true?" Lucy pressed. "I am pregnant?" They laughed.
"But of course you are pregnant!" they said together, their voices melodious and reverberant in the bright cave. "You must be pregnant! Your pregnancy decides the fate of many people, of many lives."
"I... I'm in love with him " Lucy muttered. The middle-aged woman smiled.
"Yes," she whispered. "You are. But that was not an intention of the fates. That was the intention of your own heart."
"What am I to do?" At this question, all the lights that had illuminated the cave went out and only an eerie one remained, lighting the faces of the Fates dimly and making them look like skeletons. A cold wind blew and played with Lucy's dark red hair.
"The birth of a Dark One is ensured
By yee who give him love
As the years pass by his power grows
And He is seen as a merciless God
Yet come later on the Fates contend
A Child is born to fight the Lord
If the Lord can't be killed by the dagger
Then the boy will be a sword
Two good souls have been chosen
To birth the Son of Light
For only with their fates
Can they help him win the fight
A fiery maiden with hair to match
And a dark-haired reckless spirit
Parents to help him with his destiny
And teach him not to fear it.
The battle's outcome is unknown
By even We, the Fates
For with good and evil, one never knows
Who is to win the race "
The wind stopped and light flooded the cave once more. Lucy's red hair fell lightly on her shoulders once more.
"Am I Am I the mother of this child you speak of? Is Is Geoffrey the father?" The Fates said nothing. "Answer me, you bitches!" Lucy screamed.
"You are related to the child," said the old crone at last. "Very close to him indeed."
"Oh no " Lucy's fingers flew to her lips in shock. "No, I I can't be in a a prophecy! Does Tom know about this?"
"He will," said the young woman. "In time."
"No " Lucy muttered. "He'll kill me if he knows I'm the mother of this beast who will bring about his downfall! No, I don't want it, I DON'T WANT IT! I can't be the mother of this thing, let me out of this prophecy, I don't remember signing up for it!"
"It is in your destiny," the little girl said. "You are part of the child's lineage."
"NO!" Lucy was outraged and burst out crying. "No, it WON'T HAPPEN! I won't LET it happen! I'll kill this thing! Oh Geoffrey!" She fell to her knees. The Fates continued to thread the string into the
spinning wheel.
"Your string grows short, young Lucy," said the old one.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Lucy snapped through her tears.
"As does your love's. His time is short," the young woman added.
"Right!" Lucy laughed, in hysterics. "Yes! Whatever you say, Oh Powerful Fates! Everything is how you make it."
"We did not intend for you to love the boy," the old one said softly. "You brought this pain upon yourself. You were merely the vessel for the baby."
"NO!" Lucy screamed. "I don't want to be a vessel! I don't want to be part of your stupid prophecy! Leave me alone, I want to go home!"
"It is in your destiny," the child repeated. "Everyone plays a part, even you. Not even a small child is insignificant in our plans."
"I want to go home!" Lucy screamed.
"You will," the old woman said.
"Soon," the middle-aged woman said.
"Sooner than you think," added the child.
"Your time,"
"Grows short,"
"Run to your love,"
"Show him, tell him,"
"Save your child,"
"Keep it away,"
"From the Lord,"
"Lest he destroys,"
"It and ruins the,"
"Plans."
"Go."
"Now."
"Run."
And Lucy ran, faster than she ever had in her life.
Geoffrey sat by the lake in the Scarlet Glade, skipping stones on the surface reflecting the solemn night sky. There were no stars tonight. He secretly hoped he'd run into Lucy there, but she was nowhere to be found. She was probably sound asleep in Slytherin tower by now. He tried to think about his uncle and what he had said, he tried to make reason of it, but rage blinded his mind and he could determine nothing.
Sighing, he sat on a fallen log. He had nowhere to go. Nowhere but this glade.
"Something wrong?" Geoffrey jumped at the voice behind him and turned. It was her, his goddess, his Lucy. He smiled.
"Not anymore," he said.
"Stumped?"
"It's no concern of yours " Geoffrey muttered.
"Please " Lucy said, sitting down beside him. "You know you can tell me anything."
"My uncle " Geoffrey sighed. "He thinks you're trouble. He thinks everyone I shake hands with is trouble. So I I left him. I ran away. I have nowhere to go." Lucy smiled.
"You can come with me," she said.
"I can't go back to the school " he shook his head.
"No," she said. "I mean, you could live with Tom and I. He's very interested in meeting you. He's heard all about you." Geoffrey started to shake his head, but stopped and looked up at the girl as if she were brilliant.
"Yes!" he cried. "That would really make my Uncle angry! I'd love to meet Tom!" Lucy grinned.
"Perfect."
Lucy lumbered through the door, carrying shopping bags and found herself face-to-face to a frowning, stiff Lord Voldemort. She stopped.
"Well?" he said, coolly.
"He's coming," she informed him. "Right behind me. He had to leave all his things in the castle, so we went to Diagon Alley before coming here You know, to buy him a wand and some new clothes so he wouldn't have to use yours " Lucy smiled at him playfully as she pulled the shopping bags past her. He watched her, inscrutably as she led them to a room.
"That's my room, remember?" he said. Lucy hesitated.
"Oh, right!" she said, with a smile, and stumbled up the stairs. "I'll give him the room down the hall... Why you always sleep on the first floor is beyond me, Tom. It would be a lot easier to use that room
as a guest room, where people don't have to haul their stuff up the stairs all the time."
"I like my room," Voldmort muttered, defensively. Lucy turned to him at the top of the stairs and truly grinned back at him. The pout on his face, the whine in his almost inaudible voice, made Lucy think he was the real Tom again. That's when she realized it: Tom was jealous! He believed Lucy felt nothing towards this man, and therefor let it be for he needed Geoffrey in his plans. But he was jealous with the time Lucy was spending on her assignment, and Lucy could tell he regretted giving it to her.
"Relax, Tom," she said, soothingly. "It'll be over soon. We'll turn him against his uncle. He'll be killed by his own flesh and blood. And then, everything will work out fine." Voldemort grinned.
"Yes, Lucy," he muttered. "Everything will work out fine." At that moment, Geoffrey chose to enter the large foyer of Voldemort's estate.
"Wow " he muttered, looking at the old chandelier and the grand staircase. "How did you get a place like this?"
"I have my ways," Voldemort uttered. "But I like to keep a low profile so many people believe Alan Cartwright is living here." Geoffrey approached Voldemort with a grin and his hand held out.
"I'm Geoffrey," he said. "Lucy's told me all about you."
"And I've heard much of you " said Voldemort in a very impolite manner. "I'm not saying it was all good things, though." Geoffrey laughed.
"Intelligent and a sense of humor! You should know that Lucy really admires you." An eyebrow raised in half-interest on Voldemort's brow.
"Does she?" he mumbled. Geoffrey nodded.
"Yes. I've been anxious to meet you." Voldemort smiled a crooked smile.
"I like you, boy," he said, truthfully. "Come. Stay with me, and I'll teach you everything you need to survive in this world. I'll show you power, I'll show you strength, I'll show you how I acquired this estate But only if you wish to learn." Geoffrey nodded, like an eager child. Voldemort's unnatural grin widened. "Excellent. What are your views of good and evil?"
"What do you mean?"
"Stealing a loaf of bread from a poor baker to help your sick wife. Is that evil?"
"No, not at all Well, even though the baker's poor, he still can make more bread, can't he?"
"A good attitude, son." Voldemort said.
"I'm older than you are," said Geoffrey. "And you call me son?"
"Believe me, boy," Voldemort chortled. "I am older than you in many ways."
"Alright " Geoffrey decided to accept this. He believed he could learn a lot more from Tom than his uncle had ever taught him.
"So, if stealing a bread from a baker to help your wife is not evil, what do you think about killing the baker who made a true statement of inflicting your wife with this deadly illness she has? Only to, of course, prevent him from inflicting harm on any other innocents." Geoffrey frowned.
"I suppose it's not that bad "
"And what if this baker stood in the way between you and success? Would you kill him?" Geoffrey hesitated.
"Success isn't everything," he said, finally. "It isn't worth the life of someone else."
"My dear boy!" Voldemort laughed, patiently. "Success is everything! Whoever told you otherwise was a fool."
"Yes " Geoffrey said, flatly, "He was." Voldemort put his arm around Geoffrey's shoulder.
"Stick with me, boy, and I will teach you all you need to know about the world around you "
Lucy watched them, hidden, at the top of the stairs as Voldemort led Geoffrey into the parlor.
"Yes, Tom," she said. "Do what you do best. Alter the perceptions of the na‹ve. Teach him to be evil, like you taught me. Destroy him, the way you destroyed me."
"How are you?" Lucy jumped and spun around at the voice. She scowled.
"Malfoy!" she hissed. "What do you think you're doing here?"
"Just thought you'd like to know. Marisa gave birth yesterday. A bouncing baby boy. Lucius, we've called him " Lewis looked away, sadly. "It's what she wanted to name him if he was a boy." Lucy frowned.
"What business have you here?" she demanded. Lewis sighed and looked at her once more.
"She was too young, Kilbourne," he said. "We were both too young. I never told anyone this, but... At first, everything seemed normal. But there were nights when she was in unbearable pain. That's why I always wanted to get back to her I thought it was a miscarriage But no. He came and he
destroyed her " Lewis sounded disgusted. He then looked at Lucy once more, who seemed genuinely curious. "But he's my son. I have to raise my son, for Marisa's sake."
"I... I'm sorry, Lewis " Lucy muttered. Lewis turned to leave and stopped with his cold, rigid back to her.
"I was going to tell him, you know," he said. "About you and Geoffrey's child."
"How did you..."
"But I won't now. I was angry with you. You were always Lord Voldemort's favorite. I just wanted a little piece of it. But I won't tell him now. Marisa wouldn't have wanted me to. I just hope you don't suffer like she did." And with that, Lewis disappeared.
Lucy didn't see him again, even at meetings, for a long time.