Slowly the death eaters fell. Fifty became thirty, thirty became ten. Only a few remained now.
Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Tonks and Remus were working on taking out the last of the Death Eaters, while Oliver, Ron, Hermione, Percy, Fred, George, and Molly secured those death eaters that had been knocked out and stood guard over Harry, Ginny, Sirius and Lucy. "Stupefy!" Remus yelled knocking out Bellatrix. Oliver covered Lucy's body with his own as flames shot over their heads. He looked down at her face. She looked calm for the moment but for how much longer?
They entered the castle with their wands drawn and ready. The tension could have been cut with a knife. Once they were through the doors they came to a long dark narrow corridor. "Lumos," they all said. The light revealed that the corridor was only wide enough for one person. They walked down the corridor single file with Lucy in the lead, Ginny following close behind, and Sirius bringing up the rear. Lucy jumped as she felt Ginny's hand touch her shoulder.
"Just making sure you're still there," Ginny said. Lucy nodded and reached up to squeeze Ginny's hand. "Still here," she said. The corridor opened into a large room that looked very familiar.
"It's the Great Hall," Ginny gasped. We're in Hogwarts"
"Why would Hogwarts be here," Lucy said. "Harry loves it here"
"But all of his worst memories took place here," Sirius said thoughtfully. "The Basilisk, Riddle, Dementors, Voldemort. All at Hogwarts"
"So even though he loves it, it's also the center of his nightmares," Ginny said. "He has to be here"
"But where," Sirius said. "Gryffindor tower, the quidditch field, one of the classrooms, there are a hundred places he could be"
"No," Lucy said. "He'd be somewhere where he faced these nightmares"
"The Chamber of Secrets," Ginny suggested a slight tremor going through her. "Possibly," Lucy said. "Well we won't find him standing here," Sirius said. "Let's search the castle." They turned to go out the door but instead of the tall doors that led out of the Great Hall they found a black wall and three black doors.
"That wasn't there before," Ginny said. They turned and found that the great hall had disappeared. They were in a very small room with no windows and only the three doors in front of them.
"Which one do we take?" Ginny asked. Lucy swallowed hard.
"I think we're both meant to take a different door," she said quietly. From the looks Sirius and Ginny were giving her she could tell neither of them liked the idea.
"I don't want to go by myself," Ginny said her voice trembling. Lucy took the younger girl's shoulders and looked her straight in the eye.
"It will be all right Ginny"
"No," Ginny said. "I can't. That's what it wants. This place. It wants us by ourselves. That's when we're most vulnerable. I can't. I'm not good enough"
"GINNY!" Lucy said loudly making Ginny go silent. "Listen to me. It is going to be all right. You have to believe that. That's the only weapon we have right now. This place wants to frighten us. It's preying on us Ginny. On our fears, our weaknesses, and our self-doubt. The only way to fight it is to not be afraid. To believe in yourself. I know that your tired and scared. So am I and so is Sirius. But now is the time when we have to dig deep. Somehow we have to find the courage inside to go on. You have to Ginny. For Harry." Ginny sucked in her breath and nodded.
"For Harry," she said. She reached out and turned the knob in front of her. She swung open the door and disappeared inside. The door closed it disappeared.
"You did well," Sirius said. Lucy smiled weakly.
"Now if I can just take my own advice. She stared at the door in front of her. She was terrified of what lay behind it.
"You can do it," Sirius said. Lucy nodded and reached out her hand. She gripped the knob and turned it. "See ya later," Lucy said to Sirius. She stepped inside and disappeared. As before the door disappeared once it had swung shut. Sirius stared nervously at the final door. "Oh come on Padfoot," he snapped at himself. "If the girls can do it you can." He yanked the door open and stepped inside.
Lucy found herself standing on a street looking at a house. She'd never seen it before but there was something eerily familiar about it. Whatever this place was, it had to be significant to Harry. She took a step forward up the driveway. Looking around the house she saw nothing. No trees, no grass. Just the house. It looked dark except for one light in the top corner window. She stepped onto the stoop and reached for the doorknob. Before her fingers touched it it flew open.
"YOU CAN NOT ENTER!"
Ginny jumped back as the voice yelled at her. When she'd found her footing again she focused on the boy who blocked the door. He was about fifteen, blonde haired and very very fat. She'd never met him before but there was something familiar about him. Who was he and why was he here in Harry's personal hell? This had to be someone who Harry was afraid of. Someone who had hurt him. But who was he? After Dementors, and Voldemort, and the Basilisk, what was so horrible about this boy that he was here. Suddenly in a flash of insight Ginny knew.
"You're Harry's cousin. You're Dudley."
Sirius stared in the disgust at Vernon Dursley. The big man with no neck glared at him.
"Filthy murdering slime," Dursley snapped at him. "How dare you come to my house"
"Oh back off ya oaf," Sirius said pushing past the man. "I've got to find my godson." Spots danced in Sirius's eyes as he felt the blow across the back of his head. "Don't speak of that loony boy. I should have drowned that ungrateful brat when he was an infant. You and your whole freakish kind should be run out of the country."
Lucy's head was still reeling from the slap her aunt had delivered to her face. She slowly tried to get to her feet but a kick to her ribs knocked the wind out of her. "It's all your fault!" Petunia shouted at her. She weakly looked up as the bony woman glared down at her. "It's your fault that my horrid sister and that Potter died. And we got stuck with that brat!" Lucy grunted as she was seized by the back of her sweater and tossed into a glass table. She felt the blood trickling from her nose and mouth, but the worst was her hands.
"Why would you be with him?" Dudley asked her as he pressed hard against her throat. "He's nothing. He's ugly, and wierd. I'm the one they all want to be friends with. I'm the one with the looks, and the charm. He's the one they're all afraid of. Pretty girl like you," Ginny gagged as Dudley's fat paw squeezed her thigh.
"You ought to be with me. Not that freak." With a savage yell Ginny shoved Dudley on his fat behind.
"Don't you touch me. You fat pig, you are nothing but a spoiled fat lazy mamma's boy. The only way I'd be with someone like you is if I was dead." Ginny was flung back as a large gust of wind blew through the house. Dudley burst into flames and was gone in a pile of ash.
Sirius was backing away as Vernon Dursley threw object after object at him. Sirius fumbled in his robes for his wand but it was nowhere to be found. Why? Why didn't he have his wand?
"Filth!" Vernon yelled. "It's no wonder that boy turned out like he did. If that loony father of his was anything like you!" Sirius growled. He'd like nothing more than to transform into his doggy self and rip the man's throat out. But he couldn't. He was helpless. "Because Harry was helpless," Sirius said to himself. "These people tortured him and he couldn't do anything about it. He was powerless and alone." Not anymore. You're not alone anymore Harry. Suddenly his wand was in his hand. He leapt to his feet. Dursley backed away in fear. "What Dursley?" Sirius snapped. "Afraid to take on a grown man. Just like to pick on helpless little boys huh? Well let me tell you, that boy has more character in his little finger than you will ever have! You're nothing but a bully and a coward!" With a scream Dursley crumbled into dust.
"Please," Lucy moaned. "Please Aunt Petunia"
"Don't you call me Aunt Petunia!" Petunia snapped at her. "You are nothing to me! Nothing! You and that worthless boy! He was nothing but a boyle on my neck from the day he was born. And you are even worse. The bastard of a monster who made your mother his whore!" "SHUT UP!" Lucy roared, her aunt's last words giving her a second strenghth. "You are nothing compared to my mother. She was everything! Smart, powerful, brave. The only reason you hated her was because you were jealous!" With a horrible shreik Aunt Petunia faded away into nothing. Lucy heaved a huge sigh and looked down at her hands. The last thing she heard was the sound of someone shouting her name before everything went dark.