The difference between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor had never been clearer to Lucy before this moment.
Harry's house had turned their back on him— apart from the token Weasleys and Wood— and they acted like Harry had spat on each and every one of their mother's graves.
Hufflepuff's reaction was lackluster in comparison.
"You could have lost more," Cedric told her when he saw the loss in points that morning. Hufflepuff didn't have many points in the first place, thanks to Cedric's absence as seeker and Rickett's absence as beater.
Lucy shrugged. She didn't feel bad about losing the points, she felt bad that she'd disappointed Professor McGonagall, the woman who had taken her shopping and paid for her extra items. Ugh, those extra items— her stomach curled in guilt just thinking about how kind she had been.
Anthony took note of her distraught look and lay a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, there's still time to lose more," he said encouragingly. "I reckon Hufflepuff has never been in the negatives before. Shall we make a day of it?"
"No," she said, unwillingly. Even though that sounded like the funniest thing ever.
Megan's head snapped around to look at Lucy in absolute shock. "No?! Is Lucy Rochester turning down an opportunity to get in trouble?"
"Do my ears deceive me?" Wayne agreed. He made a show of tugging on his ear which Lucy rolled her eyes at.
"No, they don't. Believe me, that offer is perfectly tempting. But I feel like I'm walking on rather thin ice at the moment." She pointedly glanced at the professor's table where Quirrell, Snape, and McGonagall were all giving her varying looks of displeasure.
Well, Quirrell always looked displeased, so there was really no change there. She thought the man was at least a little fond of her considering he never gave her anything less than an O, even assignments she knew she didn't try at.
"Ah, fair point, little duck," Anthony conceded. He ruffled her hair and she whacked at his arm, scowling. "Look at you, growing up! Well, if one of my ducklings are all matured, I guess I'll have to take Megan on this conquest to the negatives."
There was a mad gleam in Megan's eyes that Lucy didn't like one bit.
"Oh dear God," she muttered. Why did she feel like she was going to take the blame for anything they did?
"Try saying Merlin," Daisy suggested. "It makes you sound more Witch-like."
"Oh dear... Merlin? I dunno, feels unnatural."
"Took me awhile to get the hang of it, too," Daisy smiled. "Trust me, it will make your life easier in the long run."
Lucy would have to keep that in mind. She had to take anything that would make her life easier. For it only being her first year at Hogwarts, she certainly made a mess of things.
She frowned at her breakfast, not feeling very hungry anymore. "I'll be right back," she said and heaved herself from the Hufflepuff table. "I imagine I have some sullen lions to look after."
Not only was all of Gryffindor house mad, but Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were sore about their loss of points too. Most of their anger was directed at the supposed ringmaster of the operation, Harry Potter.
When she reached his table, Harry was sitting at the edge with the Wealseys and Hermione. Everyone avoided him like the plague. She gently shoved George Weasley to the side and took the place next to Harry.
"How dare you, little badger?" George said in an offended tone.
"Rickett's spawn, coming over here to torment Harry further?" Fred agreed.
"If you count hugs as a form of torment, then yes," she said. Lucy wrapped her arms around Harry's shoulders, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Sorry your house are a bunch of CRYBABIES," she said, throwing a mean glare at the rest of his table at that last word. She received plenty of glares in return but couldn't bring herself to care. Anthony's reputation was protection enough.
"They'll hate me forever," Harry sighed. He leaned his head against hers. "But you can keep on tormenting me, if you wouldn't mind."
"Well, I am a sadist, according to Hermione," she said amusedly, hugging him even tighter.
Hermione looked just as miserable as Harry did. She would hug her as well, but Lucy only had so many arms, you see.
Ron seemed fine, as he shoveled his breakfast into his mouth. He looked up to give Harry a reassuring look. "They'll all forget this in a few weeks. Fred and George have lost loads of points in all the time they've been here, and people still like them."
"They've never lost two hundred points in one go, though, have they?"
"Well, no," Ron admitted.
"Don't worry about it too much, mates. Anthony and Megan are planning on getting Hufflepuff into the negatives, while they're at it," Lucy said. She hoped it would offer them some consolation, but only Ron was interested, bless his soul. She decided to take a different route. "C'mon, school year's almost done! We have six more years here, and I'm sure this isn't the only adventure we'll have. Besides, I think it's about time you lot have gotten your first detention— they're not that bad, really."
Harry offered her a weak smile. She took that as a victory.
True to his word, Megan and Anthony formulated a siege in order to get Hufflepuff's points down to the negatives. The details were all very hazy— Megan would neither confirm nor deny anything, but there were two things Lucy was certain about: one, a full sized cow was involved; two, Dumbledore's favorite plum colored robe, which he wore every Thursday without fail, was suddenly gone. She could only assume the worst.
Honestly, Hufflepuff as a whole was impressed with the massive deduction of points. They had went from 200 points to a whopping -10, and that number was rapidly dropping as the rest of the badgers wanted to see how low they could get. Ross Meadowes lost them 30 points by hexing Snape's robes pink, and the mischief was only escalating from there.
Lucy had never been prouder to be a Hufflepuff.
Despite that bit of fun, it seemed like the school year would end on a low note. Harry was still very much miserable from their dragon excursion. Hermione was too, but less so as the exams were approaching, which would cheer any book-heathen up. Lucy gave Harry all the hugs she could, but hugs only lasted for so long and afterward, the feeling always returned.
Professor Quirrell was also acting strangely. Well, he was always a nutter, but he was acted weirder than usual. That was never a good thing.
Her lessons continued, but as of late they were shorter, and often ended abruptly. Her last lesson, Quirrell hunched over the desk, clutching at his skull with a look of agony on his face. His complexion, which had once been a light tan, now had an unnerving gray pallor to it.
"Uh, Professor? Are you okay?" Lucy asked nervously. It was the week before exams began, and she was set to meet Harry in the library. She'd stopped in to drop off some of his books, except Quirrell, sitting at his desk, had suddenly collapsed and held his head in his hands, his eyes bulging wide. She threw an alarmed glance toward the door. Would it be rude to leave now? Was he dying? Was it rude to leave if he was dying?
"Weak excuse for a vessel!"
She supposed it was Quirrell who had spoken, but she never heard his voice sound so snakelike before. Cautiously, Lucy inched toward the door. "Alright, Professor... I'm just gonna... go now... are you sure you're okay?"
"I will be," Quirrell said, and he sat up straight to look at her. His face was now even more gray, yet there wasn't a trace of fear on his features. "The time for us to act is fast approaching, Lucy. And then I won't be in this accursed shell for a second longer. Then, you will reap the benefits of choosing the winning side."
Ummmm...
"Sweet, I have to go now. Drink some water, you look a bit parched, Professor," Lucy said quickly. She gave him the thumbs up then dipped straight out of there.
She hated it when Quirrell acted so weird! It was like a flip would switch from a quiet sternness to a hissing, monologuing man. When she brought it up to Snape, his unsympathetic reply was always along the lines of, 'You antagonized this unstable man, here's the consequences'. Although he usually said it in a meaner way.
By the time Lucy arrived at the library to meet Harry, he had already finished his schoolwork. "Sorry, Harry!" She groaned. She genuinely wanted to spend time with him, but Quirrell had to have another one of his creepy episodes. It was a good thing she wasn't a Ravenclaw. "I was scheming with Quirrell, won't happen again."
"It's alright, I didn't get much done anyway," Harry smiled. Lucy inwardly blessed his sweet soul. "Want to come to the Gryffindor tower with me? Ron's challenged Hermione to a Wizard's Chess match. It's almost as fun as watching a duel."
"The same amount of violence too, I'd bet," she grinned. She linked her arm through his. "I'd love to."
They began walking, but as they started to pass Quirrell's classroom, they heard a whimpering from inside. Harry stopped in his tracks.
"No— no— not again, please—" Quirrell gasped. Lucy winced at the aghast look on Harry's face. If only she could see his weird moments. This wasn't even that bad, for Quirrell.
Quirell let out a choking sob. "All right— all right!"
Lucy shoved Harry behind a pillar just as the Professor resurfaced from the classroom. Quirrell straightened his turban, then cast Lucy a terrified look. She waved weakly at him and offered what she hoped looked like a reassuring smile. What she was reassuring him about, she had no clue.
As soon as Quirrell rounded the corner, Harry popped out from behind the pillar. "What I would give to do a little meddling right now," he said, throwing a longing look to the classroom. Lucy knew it to be empty, but she would bet a thousand pounds that Harry thought Snape was in there.
"How about you go tell the others," she suggested. "I'll do the meddling. If Snape's in there, well, then he can brainwash me some more, I suppose."
"Are you sure?" Harry frowned. He didn't like that idea. "What if—"
"I'll be fine, Harry. Go tell Hermione— she'll know what to do."
Giving her one last worried glance, Harry left toward Gryffindor tower.
Lucy walked into the empty classroom. She didn't know what she was looking for. Maybe some hint that Quirrell wasn't insane? That he wasn't talking to himself? She looked around the classroom. Everything seemed to be in order— but she noticed something new. The leather bound journal on Quirrell's desk was usually closed and shimmered with a protective spell, but it seemed like in his distress, he left it open by accident.
She quickly walked over to the book. She didn't dare touch it. The protective spell on it may alert Quirrell of any meddlers like herself, or worse, put a curse on her. But she could look at his most recent entry.
He is hungry and We are weak, he is always watching, takes over Us more often. Feels like I Am trapped in my own mind. The girl is nice, the girl must run. I must warn her he is always watching he is always watching he is always watching he is always
That was quite enough. Lucy jumped back from the book like it had burnt her and hurried from the classroom. What did Quirrell mean? Who was he? She had so many questions, none of which she wanted to bring up to Quirrell himself. She didn't dare ask Snape either. Unless she was sniffed out as a double agent, his attitude was always some variation 'suck it up' or 'your fault, idiot', and there were only so many times you could stand being called an idiot before it got boring.
Still, that journal entry gave her the creeps. She both wanted and didn't want this school year to be over with already.
On one hand, she didn't want to go back to Wool's. For once in her life, she was surrounded by people who liked her and didn't think she was a freak. She'd have to see Jennifer Bishop again– god, she hated Jennifer. She wanted to stay at Hogwarts and cast spells and pull off magical tricks with Anthony, to take Madame Hooch's brooms out for test runs whenever the woman 'accidentally' left the shed unattended.
On the other hand, this school year was dangerous. She still could hardly believe the vast difference in her life. She went from stealing cacti from Wool's greenhouse out of boredom to playing a dangerous game with an insane wizard. Plus, morale was at an all time low since their nighttime escapade.
Well, whether she wanted it to or not, the year was coming to a close. Lucy tried to take solace in the fact that it was literally impossible for her second year to be as dangerous. Maybe she'd get all the life-threatening adventures out of the way in her first year.
She could only hope.
The next evening, Lucy was all ready for detention. Truthfully, she was a bit excited for this one- most of her detentions involved her scrubbing cauldrons, floors, or polishing trophies ever since Madame Hooch ran out of broomsticks to test. She had on the standard Wool's coat her orphanage issued out and her torn jeans- which she now called her detention jeans, with how often she had to work in them.
She greeted Harry and Hermione cheerfully in the entrance hall. She noticed Ron wasn't there. "Where's the Weasley?" She asked curiously, looking around for him. He'd been there when they'd gotten in trouble, so why wasn't he here now?
"He's got detention with Snape tomorrow. I guess Professor McGonagall didn't want us all to be together," Hermione sighed.
Lucy felt her soul shrivel up a little. Ron was always there to balance the scolding Hermione gave her. Now who was supposed to laugh at her dumb jokes? Harry? Malfoy? They both thought she was insane.
"Not my favorite Weasley," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
"We're here too, you know," Harry said with a roll of his eyes.
"Listen, Potter, once you stop treating me like I'm insane, I'll make you my favorite."
Harry rolled his eyes again but couldn't help but grinning. She turned her attention over to Malfoy. "What are you doing in detention, Malfoy?!" She said with an outraged expression. "I can't believe this! What would your mother think?"
"You're here too," Malfoy pointed out, glaring at her.
"See, that's not even a sound argument, because I'm always in detention," she shrugged. "You on the other hand- you need to clean up your act, Mr. Malfoy!"
"Yeah, I'll get right on that."
She would have berated him more, but at that moment Filch entered, holding a lamp in his hand. He glared at Lucy as he walked into the room. "Follow me," he growled out.
Once they reached the cool night air, Filch's mood picked up. It must have had something to do with how particularly black the night was. It seemed like the ground blended in with the shadows.
"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule again, won't you, eh? Oh yes... hard work and pain are the best teachers if you ask me... It's just a pity they let the old punishments die out... hang you by your wrists from the ceiling for a few days, I've got the chains in my office, keep 'em well and oiled in case they're ever needed."
As they walked across the castle grounds, Lucy listened to his monologue thoughtfully. "So does that mean that you're old enough to have used that punishment on students?" she asked him.
His smile disappeared. "Quiet, you," he snapped.
"Well, I'm just asking, 'cause you seem to be very proud of yourself. Is Mrs. Norris that old too? Have you owned any other cats? I want to get to know you, Mr. Filch."
"I said quiet!"
Lucy snickered to herself, but she didn't push her luck. Filch walked in silence for a few minutes before he started up again. "I suppose you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? Well, think again- it's into the forest you're going and I'm much mistaken if you'll all come out in one piece."
"Well, you see, Mr. Filch, you're not considering the possibility that we will enjoy coming out in a few less pieces than we've already had. I've always wondered what a hook hand might do to my overall appearance," Lucy piped up. Filch shot her such a withering look that she was certain she'd ruined all his fun. He didn't even retort; he left for the castle.
Hagrid strode toward them, a large crossbow and a quiver of arrows slung over his shoulder. "I see yeh scared him off, Lucy," he chuckled. "Hope he didn' rile you too much now?"
"Annoyed him off is more the term I'd use," Hermione said, smiling at Lucy. Lucy smirked and gave her the thumbs up.
"I'm not going into that forest," Malfoy said at once.
Hagrid's jovial mood shifted, and frankly that was the scariest thing Lucy had seen all year. "Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts," he said fiercely. "Yeh've done wrong an' now yeh've got to pay fer it."
Lucy wondered why they were being sent into the Forbidden Forest as a punishment. Did it have something to do with Harry? Did he get all the exciting punishments? If so, she'd have to bring Harry along on all her trouble-making excursions. Skipping through the Forbidden Forest was a lot more fun than scrubbing the floors.
"But this is servant stuff, it's not for students to do," Malfoy protested. She rolled her eyes. She thought he'd been well in his right to protest going into a Forbidden Forest up until he'd played the class structure nonsense. "I thought we'd be copying lines or something, if I father knew I was doing this, he'd-"
"Tell yer that's how it is at Hogwarts," Hagrid growled. "Copyin' lines! What good's that ter anyone? Yeh'll do summat useful or yeh'll get out. If yeh think yer father'd rather you were expelled, then get back off ter the castle an' pack. Go on!"
Malfoy glowered at Hagrid but dropped his gaze.
"Right then. Now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don't want no one takin' risks." His gaze lingered pointedly on Harry. In fairness, he didn't look the slightest bit offended. "Follow me over here a moment."
They followed him to the edge of the forest. Lucy's heart thrummed excitedly in her chest. Truthfully, she hadn't considered going into the Forbidden Forest- she was in enough trouble as it was- but Anthony mentioned taking her out there when she was a bit older. Gotta love mummy ducky.
"Look there," Hagrid said, and he pointed at the ground. "See that stuff shinin' on the ground? Silvery stuff? That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna try an' find the poor thing. We might have ter put it out of its misery."
"We?" Hermione said, alarmed.
"Me," Hagrid amended. "I'll do the dirty business. We're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night at least."
Poor thing, Lucy thought.
"I want Fang," Malfoy said at once.
"All right, but I warn yeh, he's a coward," Hagrid said. Lucy wondered what the point of pairing children up with him was. "So me, Harry, an' Hermione'll go one way an' Draco, Neville, Lucy, an' Fang'll go the other. Now, if any of us find the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get yer wands out an' practice now."
Lucy shot up yellow sparks, just to be a git. Hagrid chuckled all the same. "That's it- an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'l all come an' find yeh. Let's go."
She didn't feel great about being paired up with Malfoy, but at least they were civil enough so that she wouldn't feel like she was in complete danger. They walked up the dark path, where it then forked off. Harry's group took the left, and Lucy's took the right.
Obviously, she led the way, holding her wand up as a flashlight. She had a trickle of yellow sparks so it looked more like a sparkler than anything. "You've got to wonder," she said, a note of curiosity in her voice. "What could kill a unicorn?"
"Nothing good," Malfoy said. He didn't bother trying to hide his uneasiness. "Unicorns are fast. Whatever's done it in is faster. Father'll throw a fit when he knows what that oaf has put us up to, I just know it."
"He did exaggerate a bit," Lucy conceded. "I've had loads of detention. Never gone into the Forest before."
"What if we find the creature?" Neville asked, his voice shaking. She looked at his face and could see it was pale through the light of her wand. "N-Not the Unicorn, but whatever's killed it."
"You mean, that creature?" Malfoy shouted. He pointed frantically into the woods and then broke off in a run. Neville let out a loud cry and shot a flurry of red sparks into the air, just as Malfoy slowed his run, laughing. "Oh, come on, Longbottom," he mocked, "Can't take a joke?"
Lucy punched his arm, glaring at him. "Come off it, Malfoy, this is serious! Do you want the creature to find us?" A movement caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. "You know what, hold that thought," she muttered. Maybe instead of the creature finding them, she could find it.
She stepped off the path, walking slowly to the trees. She dimmed her sparks to a faint glow. She tried to convince herself that this wasn't a bad idea. Maybe it was the unicorn in there, begging to be put out of its misery. How awful would it be, if the unicorn was left slowly bleeding to death?
Malfoy watched her. He was beginning to look nervous. "Rochester, what in Merlin's name are you doing?"
She didn't answer; she heard the snapping of a twig ahead of her.
"Rochester," he repeated. Still nothing. "Rochester. Lucy." His eyes were wide now, "Lucy, get back here!"
She looked over her shoulder to throw him an annoyed look. "If you want me to come back so bad, you'd better come get me," she said, knowing he wouldn't. Malfoy was a coward through and through. True to her words, he stayed on the path glaring at her. She rolled her eyes. "That's what I thought," she muttered.
She crept closer through the woods until the path was long out of view. She couldn't hear Malfoy calling after her any longer; all she could listen to were the sounds of the woods. There was never a still moment, never a moment's silence. Twigs snapped in each direction. The branches scraped against each other, creaking in the wind. She could swear that the trees were getting closer together. Did she always have to squeeze through each branch?
She couldn't tell how far she had walked, nor how much time had passed. A part of her brain told her that she ought to be afraid right now. The woods aren't safe, it muttered, Turn back. But the howling wind almost numbed her senses. Was that supposed to happen? Maybe this was why the forest was Forbidden. She didn't want to leave.
Over here, she thought she could hear the wind whisper. Lucy reflexively turned her head to the right. Her eyes darted to the ground and she saw thick, silvery blood glinting in the moonlight. "There we go," she whispered, clenching her wand tighter. She followed it cautiously. Although she wasn't afraid, she knew there was no point endangering herself. She turned her wand's light off completely and crept along, following the blood.
The trail of blood became thicker and thicker until Lucy almost tripped over a root. Her hand shot out, and she steadied herself on a tree trunk. Her gaze flickered up ahead of her. She had reached a small clearing, and there was the unicorn. Dead. She then saw two familiar figures step forward- Harry and Malfoy. She wondered how they reached the unicorn before her, but then again, she'd gone off the path. She supposed she took the long route.
Lucy didn't know why she didn't step forward, but she stayed concealed within the trees. Harry took a step forward. She heard a sound directly to her right, and then a soft cloak brushed against her skin. She clamped her hands over her mouth and felt tears spring to her eyes as a beast- a thing- crawled into the clearing, lumbering in a way no thing should go. The hood made her thing it was a man but no man should ever move like that.
It reached the unicorn and drank from the wound in the animal's side. She heard Malfoy let out a loud, terrible scream, and she saw him bolt from the clearing. Good for him, she thought, feeling her heart thrumming against her rib cage. At least one of them had functioning legs.
The figure raised its head and looked directly at Harry. A mixture of silvery unicorn blood and crimson blood dripped down its chin, making Lucy wonder what the hell else it killed. The blood seemed to have strengthen the thing. It got to its feet and walked swiftly at Harry.
This would not do- Lucy's hands flew away from her mouth and she pulled out her wand, but for the life of her she could not think of a spell. She was too far away, and the black night air didn't do her any favors. She started running toward it, but something else got to it first. She stopped twenty feet away from it when a large, galloping figure jumped clean over Harry and charged at the figure.
She barely registered Harry dropping to his knees. Her eyes were trained on the thing as it darted away from their savior and headed straight toward her. It stopped in front of her, and she felt her heart seize in terror when she saw a pale, white chin, blood dribbling down it smile and tell her, "See you soon."
He ran past her, back into the woods. She stood there stunned for a good few seconds before she looked back at Harry. A large centaur helped him to his feet before he turned to face Lucy.
"You there, are you alright?" the centaur asked.
She would have time to be amazed over meeting a centaur later. "Not really, but I'll live, thanks," she said breathlessly. Just another nightmare to add to the list. She'll put that one right next to the three headed dog and that one time Quirrell debated whether or not to kill her.
"Lucy!" Harry cried out. He ran over to his friend and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking her over for any injuries. "Hagrid's been looking everywhere for you— are you okay? Right, he already asked that— what was that thing?"
The centaur didn't answer. He was staring at the lightning scar on Harry's forehead. "You are the Potter boy," he said. "You had better get back to Hagrid. The forest is not safe at this time— especially for you Can you ride? It will be quicker that way."
He lowered himself on his front legs so that they could... climb aboard, for lack of a better word. Lucy felt a little awkward getting on behind Harry. She felt like she might fall off at any given moment, even after she wrapped her arms around the boy's middle.
"My name is Firenze," he added, as if it would make this situation any more familiar.
There was another sound of galloping, and Lucy looked over to see two other centaurs burst into the clearing. "Firenze!" One of them shouted. "What are you doing? You have humans on your back! Have you no shame? Are you a common mule?"
"Do you realize who this is?" Firenze asked. "This is the Potter boy. The quicker he leaves this forest, the better."
"What have you been telling him?" The other centaur growled. "Remember, Firenze, we are sworn not to set ourselves against the heavens. Have we not read what is to come in the movements of the planets?"
The centaur next to the grouchy one pawed at the ground. Lucy tracked their movements, amazed. She somehow kept forgetting how much she had to learn. "I'm sure Firenze thought he was acted for the best."
"For the best! What is that to do with us? Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold! It is not our business to run around like donkeys after stray humans in our forest!"
Harry turned around to exchange a nervous, awkward look with Lucy. She tried to communicate understanding the best that she could. They were both almost thrown off when Firenze reared back in anger; she had to clutch onto Harry tighter, and Harry had to grab onto Firenze's shoulders to stay on. She felt it in her bones that they looked absolutely ridiculous.
"Do you not see that unicorn?! Do you not understand why it was killed? Or have the planets not let you in on that secret? I set myself against what is lurking in this forest, Bane, yes, with humans alongside me if I must." Firenze then turned around and sprinted into the trees, leaving the two other centaurs behind them.
Firenze's pace slowed, and Harry took the now calmer atmosphere as a sign to ask questions. "Why's Bane so angry?" he asked. "What was that thing you saved us from, anyway?"
The centaur didn't answer at first, and for a few awkward minutes Lucy felt like he would never answer. But then he suddenly stopped. "Harry Potter, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"
Dimly, Lucy knew it had restoring properties, but Firenze made it pretty clear who he was talking to.
"No," Harry said. "We've only used the horn and tail hair in potions."
"That is because it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn. Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime. The blood of a unicorn will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death, but at a terrible price. You have slain something pure and defenseless to save yourself, and you will have but a half-life, cursed from the moment the blood touches your lips."
Cursed, how? Lucy wanted to know. Was it a matter of bad luck, or your soul? Who would want either one?
Harry was thinking along the same lines. "But who'd be that desperate? If you're going to be cursed forever, death's better, isn't it?"
"It is," Firenze agreed. "Unless all you need is to stay alive long enough to drink something else— something that will bring you back to full strength and power— something that will mean you can never die. Mr. Potter, do you know what is hidden in the school at this very moment?"
No, Lucy thought to herself, feeling her stomach drop. Quirrell wanted the stone for that... thing? Why on God's name would he? Had that thing been in the castle? Oh, things were so much worse than she thought they'd been...
"The Philosopher's Stone! Of course— the elixir of life! But I don't understand who—"
"Can you think of nobody who has waited many years to return to power, who has clung to life, awaiting their chance?"
She could feel the air tighten like a noose around the pair of them. Of course, there was only one person Lucy had ever heard of— the one Harry told her about. Did he mean...
"Moldevort?!" she burst out.
Harry turned around to face her, stunned out of feeling fearful. "Lucy... it's... it's Voldemort, not.. not Moldevort."
She slapped a hand to her forehead. It wasn't like she had never talked about the guy before, she just for the life of her could never seem to remember her name. She knew what he did, and why he was bad, but come on, why did he have to name himself that? "Oh, hell, of course it is. Blimey, I've said it before, what a name."
"Lucy, this means that Voldemort was in the-"
"Harry! Lucy! Are you all right?!"
Hermione ran down the path toward them, Hagrid travelling closely behind.
Lucy shot them the thumbs up while Harry nodded, still feeling dazed. He slid off Firenze's back and absentmindedly helped Lucy down as well. "I'm fine... the Unicorn's dead, Hagrid, it's in that clearing down there."
"This is where I leave you," Firenze muttered as Hagrid took Hermione and went to examine the Unicorn. Lucy stared after the giant man. Hadn't she technically been lost, and he was out looking at a unicorn? She shook her head. Typical Hagrid.
"Good luck, Harry Potter," Firenze said, "The planets have been read wrongly before now, even by centaurs. I hope this is one of those times."
He galloped back into the trees, leaving two shivering first years behind him.
Harry's shocked face soon slid away when he saw Lucy scribble something onto her hand with a pen. "Lucy, what are you—" he snatched her hand and groaned when he saw Voldemort written in red ink, "You're writing it down? Lucy, he killed my parents, you should be able to remember his name!"
"It's around thirty bloody syllables, Harry!"
"It's three, Hermione's name has three syllables..." He huffed and shook his head, but he couldn't stop a smile from spreading across his face. "Thanks, Luce."
She cast him a quizzical look, having abandoned her writing halfway through. She didn't know how to spell it, so she'd just written Voldy. "For what?"
"Being you, I guess. You just always know how to calm me down," he shrugged. "I think I might've been panicking right now otherwise. You do that a lot, you know."
Lucy felt a deep warmth spread throughout her body, so vivid that the cold night air couldn't diminish it. She smiled back at Harry, a bit sheepishly. "Thanks, Harry. You shouldn't panic, anyway. So what Voldy's trying to come back to life. We'll stop him— tomorrow, of course. I think tonight I'd like to get some sleep."
"You think you'll be able to?" Though Harry wasn't panicked, he still didn't look great. Nobody would, after facing their parents' murderer.
She thought back to those chilling words. See you soon, Voldemort had told her. She shook her head. "No, definitely not... Want to get your invisibility cloak? We can try and find the kitchens. Anthony's given me a hint, but that's about it. Should keep us occupied for the night."
Smiling slightly, Harry nodded. "Yeah. That sounds good."
They'd tell the others about what they'd seen in the morning. For now, Lucy and Harry needed a distraction. Although something told her that despite their best efforts, they'd never quite manage to remove the chill that had settled in their bones.