"Lucy, Lucy, wake up! Please, something terrible's happened!"
Her hand dove for her wand underneath her pillow and she barely managed to stop herself from aiming it at the intruder. She sighed in relief seeing it was only Megan, but she grew concerned, seeing the fearful look on her friend's face.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Her mind was still slow from just waking up. She stumbled out of bed, reaching for her socks as Megan pulled at the ends of her hair nervously.
"There's been another attack! Colin Creevey's been petrified!"
"What?!"
The sock fell from Lucy's fingers, and she stared at Megan, gobsmacked. Colin? Who would attack Colin? He was a bit much sometimes, but he was one of the nicest people she had ever met.
"The Heir really is going after the Muggle-borns," Megan's eyes began to fill with tears. "Why do they hate us so much? What did we ever do to them?"
Oh, no. Lucy didn't know how to deal with tears. She reached toward her friend and brought her into a tight hug, hoping it would help. "You didn't do anything, Megan— and no one's going to hurt you, either. If they try, they've got a lot of protective badgers to go through... Including one future prison resident."
Megan laughed thickly into her shoulder. "Sorry, I'm overreacting... it's Colin who I should be crying for, not me."
"Colin will be alright, and so will anyone else who happens to get petrified," Lucy thought back to her Herbology lesson with the Mandrakes, then back to what Harry told her about petrification. "Professor Sprout has the Mandrakes. She'll be able to unfreeze him before the end of the year."
"That's a relief." Megan pulled back, wiping at her eyes. Lucy hesitantly smiled at her. "I'm going to go to breakfast, Wayne's waiting for me... Sorry I woke you up... Did you get enough sleep last night? You look sort of pale. And no offense, you smell a bit like burnt plastic, too."
Well that was new. Sniffing her shirt, she pulled a face as she realized she did, in fact, smell gross. "Oh, for God's sake, I reek!"
"It's not that bad—"
"I smell like a pile of burning trash! Megan, my lady, please spare yourself from my filth!"
Megan laughed as she left the dorm, and Lucy was glad to see her in higher spirits. However, the news brought a feeling of dread in her chest. Why Colin? Megan was right, he hadn't done anything wrong. If he was attacked, who would be next? Justin? Hermione?
She took a quick shower and changed into her Weasley jumper. It was her favorite sweater and no matter what the circumstance, it never failed to make her feel comforted. She then pulled the diary out from under her pillow.
"Riddle," she whispered. "Are you there?"
Yes, one moment— I need to finish this memory.
As a matter of fact, it took several moments. Around one hundred and eighty of them, to be exact! When Riddle appeared at last, she gave him a sour look.
"Don't give me that," He rolled his eyes, but his expression turned more serious seeing her worried look. "What's wrong?"
"There's been another attack," she explained, wringing her hands.
Riddle nodded slowly, still not getting it. "And... you're upset, why?"
"What do you mean, why am I upset?" She demanded. "An innocent person's been attacked!"
"An innocent person—" He narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you joking? If you are, I won't be amused this time."
"Colin Creevey's pretty innocent, if you ask me!" Lucy glared back at him. She knew he didn't like muggleborns, but did he seriously not see how this was a problem? She may be mean to people she didn't like, but she would never want someone hurt over a silly thing like blood purity.
His irritation expression left. He wasn't concerned, but he looked genuinely confused. "Colin Creevey's been attacked? That annoying boy with the camera?"
"Enemies of the Heir, Beware," Lucy said in a 'duh' tone. "Muggle-borns are enemies of the Heir. And thinking back on it, Squibs are too— I reckon the Heir was trying to attack Filch for being a squib, but they accidentally caught Mrs. Norris instead. They're not very good in terms of accuracy, are they?"
"Maybe the same happened this time, and he was in the wrong place at the wrong time-," Riddle said in an annoyed tone. "What was Creevey doing out of bed in the first place? And do not try and tell me he could have been in his dormitory— if that were the case, all the other Muggle-borns in Gryffindor would have been attacked as well."'
"I don't know. But I intend to find out." Lucy glanced at the clock. Breakfast was still going on, but she had other plans. Harry spent the night in the hospital wing, so he must have heard about Colin already. Still, it wouldn't hurt to pay him a visit.
"Promise me you're not going to get involved with your friends' foolish investigation," Riddle said, eyeing the determined look on her face. "The Professors will sort it out; they don't need your help."
"Like they didn't need our help when Quirrell was going after the Stone?" Lucy let out a humorless laugh. Harry had gone to McGonagall with the information, and she didn't believe him. If he hadn't shown up, Quirrell would have eventually gotten the stone and Voldemort would have returned to power.
She was going to go along with her friends' plan for the fun of it all, but now her focus was shifting. She was studying advanced magic— dark, but advanced— and if anyone had a shot at protecting her friends, it was her. It was time to quit playing around. She had to take action.
"Professor Dumbledore isn't as on top of things as he thinks," She said decidedly. "I don't know if we'll end up finding the Heir. Maybe they're not even here, and it's someone else using their name. But I've got to try— I've got all this magic, it's time to stop using it pointlessly."
Riddle sighed and shook his head, but it looked like she won the argument for the time being. "I suppose I can't stop you, if you're so set on investigating."
"No, you can't, but I'll like you anyway," she grinned. "I'm going to see Harry— feel free to go back to whatever weird memory thing you were just doing."
"You're so gracious, you know that?" He said sarcastically. "Eat breakfast before you go. Solving mysteries isn't an excuse to look like you're wasting away in Azkaban."
"Alright, mum."
Scowling, he disappeared into the diary.
Lucy decided to heed his words, even though she was tempted not to just to spite him, and she grabbed a bowl of cereal from the Great Hall. She noticed Ron and Hermione weren't at the Great Hall at all. She'd bet anything that they were in Myrtle's bathroom right now.
"Good morning, Madam Pomfrey," Lucy called, walking through the doors.
"Hello, Lucy. I'm a bit busy, so take a seat." The matron was busy stretching out Harry's fingers.
She sat on the bed next to Harry, criss-crossed with a bowl of cereal in her lap. Harry pulled faces at her as she ate. She had a feeling only half of them were because of the stretches, and the other half were just for the fun of it.
"That's awful cheeky of you, Harry. How's your arm?" she asked.
"It's— ah! — full of bones, thankfully."
Madam Pomfrey finally finished stretching his arm. "All in order, I suppose. When you've finished eating, you may leave." With that, she glanced at Lucy and headed into her office. It was awfully handy, having Pomfrey trust her enough to leave her alone. Riddle was right— sucking up to teachers paid off.
Harry drew the curtain around his bed and started getting dressed. "You've heard about Colin, right?" he called from behind the curtain.
"Yes, Megan's told me. The whole school knows by now— I think Ron and Hermione have started the potion."
He drew open the curtains, dressed in his Weasley sweater as well. "Hey, we match!" he said brightly.
"Lockhart will be pleased," she grinned.
As they walked through the hallway, a few students sent them cautious looks— the theory Harry was the Heir was still going strong, unfortunately, and Colin being petrified didn't help clear peoples' doubts at all. It was common knowledge Colin followed him around all the time and while Harry was never mean to the boy, he sometimes was exasperated by him.
"Dobby showed up again last night," Harry told her, like she would have any idea what he was talking about.
"Sorry, who?"
He gave her a surprised look. "Didn't I tell you? Dobby the House Elf— he was the one keeping my letters from me all summer."
"No, you did not tell me! Geez, I can't believe you forgot to update me again," she complained. It wasn't as bad as the time he didn't tell her Fluffy was guarding the Philosopher's Stone, but still, something withholding personal mail was definitely something she wanted to know. "What even is a house elf?"
"Fred said they're servants— slaves, really— for a wizarding family. Dobby's been trying to keep me from going to Hogwarts; he's the reason the Dursleys locked me up. He said there was a plot to make 'terrible things' happen."
"To you?" Lucy's eyes narrowed at the thought.
"Not to me in particular, I suppose. But he said Voldemort's somehow involved. I don't know whether it's a servant of him or Voldemort himself, but..." he trailed off, frowning.
Lucy didn't know what to make of it, either. The Chamber of Secrets opening was dangerous, certainly, but she hadn't expected Voldemort to be involved somehow. And if he was, why wouldn't he target Harry? A monster attacking students surely wouldn't bring him back to power.
"So why did Dobby visit you? Did he tell you anything else?" She asked hopefully. Any clue would help her, because boy did she plan to research later. She already had a mental list of things to ask Mallory.
"He wasn't pleased I was at Hogwarts. He was the one who stopped the barrier, and when that didn't work, he fixed the bludger in hopes they'd send me home," Harry explained. Lucy's eyes flared with anger, but he didn't seem upset by the fact at all. "I know he's going about it the wrong way— but Lucy, you should have heard the things he said about his 'master'. He gets beaten regularly, and he said he gets loads of death threats... I feel bad for him... I think he's trying to help me, even if he's— well, insane."
Of course he did. Never mind the fact that Dobby could have killed him. Lucy sighed, crossing her arms. "I guess I can understand that. Bludgers aside, did he tell you anything?"
Harry's eyes lit up. "He did! He told me the Chamber of Secrets has been opened before! He didn't tell me who opened it last time, but it's something, isn't it?"
"It definitely is," She agreed fervently. It wasn't to say that the perpetrator was the same person as last time, but at the very least they might be able to find out what the monster was.
They finally arrived at Myrtle's bathroom. Harry opened the door and they stepped in, hearing Ron and Hermione's voices from a locked stall.
Lucy grinned to herself. Lowering her voice, she shouted in her best impersonation of Snape, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
She heard Ron's frightened yelp, and Hermione hastily poked her head out of the stall. She glared upon seeing Lucy standing there. "Don't do that!" Hermione hissed. Lucy laughed, and she rolled her eyes and turned to Harry. "Come in- how's your arm?"
"Fine," Harry said. They squeezed into the stall. It was a tight fit with four people, and there wasn't much elbow room. Lucy looked at their set up. She was actually impressed; upon the rim of the toilet was a cauldron, and in the bowl itself Hermione had lit a fire. Nobody ever entered Myrtle's bathroom, so it was the perfect place to brew the potion.
"We'd've come to meet you, but we decided to get started on the Polyjuice Potion," Ron explained. "We've decided this is the safest place to hide it."
"Colin Creevey was—" Harry began.
"We already know. McGonagall told Flitwick this morning," Hermione interrupted. "That's why we decided we'd better get going—"
"The sooner we get a confession out of Malfoy, the better," Ron growled. "D'you know what I think? He was in such a foul temper after the Quidditch match, he took it out on Colin."
Lucy frowned. "I saw him after the match, actually. He was a bit sour, but he didn't look angry." Seeing Hermione's glare, she decided not to play the Devil's Advocate for once. "But, of course, even if Malfoy didn't open the Chamber, there is a chance he knows someone who did," she admitted.
It was viable; she and Malfoy were friendly but considering her group of friends, he wouldn't tell her if he knew who did it. And he'd certainly be pleased about Slytherin's Heir attacking Muggle-borns, the stupid git.
Harry explained everything Dobby had said the previous night, and once he was done, Ron and Hermione gaped at him. "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened before?" Hermione gasped.
"This settles it," Ron said, like he'd gotten it all figured out. "Lucius Malfoy must've opened the Chamber when he was at school here and now he's told dear old Draco how to do it."
Although Riddle hadn't appeared, she heard him snicker. She rolled her eyes; even if she didn't agree with the theory either, there was no need to be mean about it.
"It's obvious," Ron continued. "Wish Dobby'd told you what kind of monster's in there, though. I want to know how come nobody's noticed it sneaking around the castle."
"Hermione and I can go to the library and research later," Lucy suggested. She would help her friends with this investigation, but she'd also conduct her own. With a monster on the loose, there was no such thing as too much caution. "I think for now, the only thing Harry's got to worry about is a house-elf."
Ron laughed. "Damn right. You know what, Harry? If he doesn't stop trying to save your life, he's going to kill you."
Over the next week, the entire school was appropriately on edge. The younger students, including her friends, flocked together in groups. Anthony, Cedric, and Daisy rallied together the older students from other houses and suggested they keep an eye out for all students below fifth year. Although Cedric was in fourth year too, he was the top of his classes, and Lucy heard he was mean in a duel.
Ginny had sat next to Colin in most of her classes, and she was on a warpath. She led her group of friends around and Lucy heard she'd gotten into a fight with Bertram Aubrey over something he said about Colin. Lucy was proud of the younger, frightening Weasley. Fred and George jumped out at her at one point and out of reflex, she punched them each in the stomach.
"This is ridiculous," Riddle scoffed, seeing people trading various different protective trinkets. "None of these would work in the first place— is that a Longbottom buying some? He's a pureblood!"
It was the morning of her first Quidditch match, and Lucy and Tom were entertaining themselves by making fun of the stupid things people were buying. The monopoly was especially strong during break.
"Is that a rotting newt tail? Neville, mate, come on," Lucy agreed. She was sitting in the courtyard and her Hufflepuff scarf did little to warm her. Wool's coats really were terrible and in the month of November, the days only seemed to get colder.
Just then, her owl flew over the courtyard walls and landed in her lap, hooting happily at her. "God, Snape, I love you so fucking much," Lucy said, very aggresively. She couldn't help it; Snape was a sweetheart. It was like he was doing his best to prove his namesake wrong.
Riddle looked over at her disapprovingly. "Language, Lucy," he scolded.
She gave him a 'really?' sort of look.
"I don't care when you're older, but you're too young to make swearing a habit."
"Too young," she repeated incredulously. She turned to Snape. "The man lets me cut trolls in half and learn spells to make a grown man vomit, but nooo, swearing's off limits!"
By now, Riddle knew when she was trying to start an argument. He smirked as she grew disappointed she hadn't baited him, and he pointed over across the courtyard toward a pack of first year Ravenclaws. "Ravenclaws are supposed to use their wits, yet they're buying plastic amulets from... is that a Muggle-born?"
Lily Moon was a first year Slytherin, and yes, she was indeed a Muggle-born. Lucy looked on admiringly. "She's brilliant, is what she is. She's profiting off a stressful situation. Isn't that Slytherin of her?" she grinned.
"Quite," he admitted.
Lucy took her letter from Snape, smiling when she saw Mallory's elegant handwriting. She knew it was just for show— on the inside she used absolute chicken scratch, the same as Lucy did. She opened it up, and Riddle looked over her shoulder:
I know a little about the Chamber of Secrets, but then again, so does mostly everyone.
Mallory was never one for greetings.
The last time it was opened was fifty years ago. The Ministry kept it all under tight wraps, of course, and to be honest, I never cared enough to ask. It opened five years before I ever attended Hogwarts. I always thought it was a crock of shit and a waste of time, so I never looked into it. Of course, everything you do I think is a crock of shit, so you're definitely going to investigate it.
Have fun, kid, but try not to die— I need you to work for me next summer.
Now, I don't know why you're interested in ex Death Eaters, but who am I to judge?
Romulus Lestrange died in battle in the 70s. His sons Rodolphus and Rabastan are in Azkaban. So is Rodolphus's wife, Bellatrix. Lucius Malfoy is an ex-death eater, and so was his father Abraxas. Abraxas died of Dragon Pox. Walden Macnair's a right git, executing magical creatures. There's Vincent Crabbe. He's an idiot, not much to say about him. George Goyle is marginally less of an idiot. Both of them were never put on trial. Igor Karkaroff was a reputable Death Eater, but the idiot snitched for a plea deal. He sold out Augustus Rookwood and Bruce Mulciber.
The Carrow siblings, Alecto and Amycus, work in the Ministry. So does Theodore Nott Sr. And Lorenzo Selwyn. And Corban Yaxley. And Alistair Avery. Are you seeing a pattern here?
Barty Crouch Jr. is in Azkaban. It's a shame, he was a smart young boy. And Sirius Black was technically convicted as a Death Eater among other crimes, but he was a blood traitor if I've ever met one. He murdered a lot of muggles, but all my sources tell me he wasn't a Death Eater. His brother Regulus was, though— also a smart lad. He died, I believe. Severus Snape was a Death Eater, although he was never put on trial. He's in good with Dumbledore now, so I expect he offered something up in return.
These were the most notable of the Death Eaters; there are countless others scattered about Europe, but I hope this satiated your sadistic curiosity for the time being. Word of the wise— don't go showing this list around. I'm quite certain you weren't supposed to know Severus was a Death Eater. While he's a right git, I don't believe he's on the Dark Lord's side anymore.
Anyway— good luck on your Quidditch match, kid. If you don't do well, I'll hate you forever, but no pressure. Try not to get killed this year.
No signature, either. Good old Mallory. Lucy looked over at Riddle to survey his reaction. He was the one who wanted to know all about Lord Voldemort and his followers. She could understand his interest; this was a wizarding war the likes of which she had never seen before. She thought World War II was unbelievable, and she'd heard about it all her life. To suddenly learn about an entire war that had gone on under your nose... it was fascinating.
Riddle looked neither pleased or displeased. He caught her eye and shrugged. "Thank you for finding out for me. It's interesting how many ended up in the ministry. Although I wouldn't have pegged Severus Snape for a Death Eater."
"It actually doesn't surprise me at all," Lucy mirrored his shrug. "He looks like someone who made terrible choices in his youth. I still stand by my theory that someone stole his girlfriend— doesn't he scream 'bitter' and 'lonely'?"
"I wouldn't know," Riddle said dryly.
She took that the wrong way and shot him a scandalous look. "Tom if you start bragging to me about all your girlfriends, I swear to god—"
"What? No!" He looked equally as grossed out. "Merlin, no! There wasn't a lack of trying on their part, but I had more sense than to waste my time chasing girls."
"Sometimes I wonder how you were popular. You don't like Quidditch and you never went on any dates." If anything, he sounded like the bookworm Nott. Nott was respected but she wouldn't say he was the King of the School or anything.
"I was charming and intelligent enough for people not to question me. You might want to take notes," he smirked. "And you're not so boy crazy yourself— I don't see you fawning over Lockhart like most of the Hogwarts population. Not even the famous Harry Potter, like the Weasley girl."
"I'm twelve, I have an excuse," she sniffed.
"Lucy, I have to listen to your dorm-mates inane chatter as much as you do. Being twelve is not an excuse."
She snorted. He learned to tune them out over time but when he first was able to hear outside the diary, he refused to stop listening, even if what he heard was the equivalent to nails on a chalkboard. She couldn't count how many times Megan, Hannah, and Susan discussed various boys of all sorts of houses and years.
"There isn't anyone who's caught your eye?" Riddle pressed on, seeing she was being talkative today. It was rare they talked about anything of personal substance, at least on her part. It wasn't that she didn't trust him, she was just so distracted with new spells, Quidditch, her friends... There was so much to do all the time.
She humored him and thought about it. Her friends were, well, just her friends. Blaise and Daphne were fun to team up with and both were cute, but she could hardly imagine gushing over them.
"I mean, Graham Montague's a looker, if I had to pick someone," Lucy shrugged. "Maxine, too."
"Maxine?" He arched an eyebrow at her.
"Yeah. Why, is that bad?" She gave him a worried look.
"Well, some people think it is. Personally, I don't think it is." Riddle then fixed her with a stern look. "But you were right earlier. Twelve is much too young— don't even think about it."
She giggled, spotting her Quidditch team approach her from across the courtyard. Little did they know, she just had a girlish talk with her personal spectre. "I think you're living up to your diary reputation after all, Riddle," she joked out of the corner of her mouth.
"I'm so happy to accommodate," he said sarcastically.
"HELLO, my rebellious child!" Anthony beamed down at her as he reached her.
"Are you ready to die for the honor of Hufflepuff?" Maxine asked in all seriousness.
"For you? Absolutely, Maxine," Lucy said, just as solemnly.
Anthony began to look panicked. "I don't like the way this conversation has gone!"
"Oh, relax, drama queen." Daisy rolled her eyes before turning to smile at Lucy. "We're going to head down to the pitch. I figured you'd be here, but Anthony just had to interrogate everyone you associate with. Draco Malfoy looked about ready to call in his lawyers by the time Rickett finished with him."
Lucy imagined Anthony assaulting Malfoy with questions and snickered at the image. "Well, thank you, mum. I very much appreciate it. You lot can go on without me— I've just got to take care of something."
"If you're late, I'll kill Cedric," Anthony warned.
"What? Why me?" Cedric demanded.
"Who else would I kill? Heidi? She's an angel!"
Maxine cracked her knuckles, glowering. "Are you hitting on my girlfriend, Rickett?"
"What? No! Daisy is my one and only, I swear!"
"So you're cheating on me, before the divorce papers come in?" Cedric gasped.
Lucy heaved herself to her feet, looking at the team amusedly. "My family is so strange," she said to herself. Anthony beamed at her, and she hugged him before she left.
"Instead of commenting on how strange that entire conversation was, I'll instead ask what you have to take care of?" Riddle walked alongside her.
"Well, if I'm going to be playing Quidditch, I can hardly keep the diary with me," Lucy winced just thinking about having it out of her sight. It was like abandoning Harry in the Forbidden Forest— she would never want to do that to her friends. "It might get lost or damaged. I was thinking of leaving it with someone..."
Riddle gave her a cautious look. "Who?"
She hesitated. "You're not going to like it."
There was only one person she could trust to guard her satchel with their life. And it just so happened to be the friend who annoyed Riddle the most.
"No." He was aghast, seeing the look in her eye. "Potter?! You want to leave me with Potter? That fool will drop me under the bleachers!"
"No he won't! He just about died to save a dumb magic rock, and that was for Dumbledore. Would you rather I leave it with Ron? Ginny? Hermione?"
Ron was fiercely loyal but he didn't think things through very much. Ginny tended to get caught up in the moment, and she might lose track of it. Hermione, bless her heart, would try and get into the satchel, just to find out why Lucy carried it all the time. Harry was both thoughtful and would guard her secrets with his life.
"Do you promise Potter will not lose the diary?" Riddle said sternly.
"I promise. There's no one else I'd trust with it," Lucy said in a serious tone. Then she looked thoughtful. "Well, apart from you, but you can't very well guard your own diary from the outside."
The added compliment finally convinced him, and he sighed in defeat. "Very well, I trust your judgement."
"Nothing will happen," she reassured him again. "At worst, you might witness Ron throw up slugs again."
"Wonderful," He muttered.
He unhappily followed her through the castle. She felt like he was savoring his time without Harry for as much as possible which was just silly. Hopefully being forced to spend time with him would show Riddle how ridiculous he was being.
"HARRY POTTER!" Lucy yelled as soon as she entered the Great Hall.
Most of the students were filling up before the match. At her arrival, most of the students turned to stare at her and then to Harry. He sighed from the Gryffindor table, trying to hide from their stares.
She continued, just as loud if not louder. "HELLO, BOY-WHO-LIVED!"
"Will you speak quietly like a normal person?!"
"I HAVE A REQUEST FOR YOU—"
"Yes, I'll do it, just stop shouting!" he groaned. Even though she just embarrassed him, he still budged over to give her room. She sat down at the table, facing outward. "Don't you have to be at the pitch right about now?"
"Yes, but I have an important task for you, Potter." Lucy regarded him grimly. She took off her satchel as if it pained her to do so. She was nervous about being away from the diary— she had it by her side since the beginning of summer— but she felt better about giving it to Harry for the time being. "Can you hold this for the match?"
"Really? Yeah, sure." Harry slung it over his shoulder and fixed her with a quizzical look. "Was that it?"
"Yeah, basically," she grinned. "I've got to get going now. Thanks!"
She went to get up, but Harry grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug. "Now it's my turn to wish you good luck," he laughed. He kissed her on the cheek and released her.
It took every fiber of her being not to turn red. "Thanks, Harry. See you later!" She quickly darted toward the doors.
Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Riddle standing, looking at her unhappily. Right before he disappeared, he rolled his eyes and mouthed 'Good luck'. She beamed at him and ran all the way down to the Quidditch pitch.
Harry finished breakfast quickly. When he turned to look at Ron and Hermione, they were giving him smug looks. "What?" he said, confused.
"That's a lot of luck you gave her, mate," Ron grinned.
Fred and George flanked either side of him. "Holding her purse for her?" Fred added.
"You're whipped," George concluded.
Harry glared at them all. He didn't feel embarrassed at their accusations but he was a bit annoyed. "That's how she wishes me luck all the time," he scoffed. "What's the difference if I do it?"
"Harry, girls kissing guys on the cheek for luck is normal. Usually a boy only does it if they're together," Hermione explained, not bothering to hide her smile.
"Well that's dumb." And that's about all Harry thought about the situation.
He, Ron, and Hermione all headed down to the stadium together. He didn't mind holding the satchel, but when Malfoy saw it he pointed and laughed at him. Then again, Malfoy always did that so it didn't matter if he had a reason to or not.
"Do you want me to carry it?" Hermione offered after yet another Slytherin laughed at him.
"No," Harry said firmly. "I promised I would."
She held up her hands in surrender. Ron looked impressed with his resolve.
They found their seats a little before the match began. Harry wasn't sure who would win— Lucy was a brilliant flyer, but Ravenclaw had nearly pummeled Slytherin last year and Hufflepuff was last in the running. He found himself more excited to watch this match than he had any other one. For once, he had a friend to watch play.
"Lucy'll do fine, I reckon," Ron said. "It's Diggory who has to beat Cho Chang."
Harry didn't think Cedric would be able to. Cho was the second best seeker at Hogwarts and she had no problem trying to knock anyone off their broom if it meant catching the snitch. He smiled just thinking about it, and his eyes wandered over to the Ravenclaw seeker.
It was Ginny who broke through his thoughts. "You may have her purse, Harry, but I have her cat." She held up Grayble, who was fast asleep even as she moved him.
"What— when did you get here?" Ron demanded, turning around to look at her. She shrugged. "And how'd you get her cat?"
"One of her weird friends handed him to me. Isn't he dear?" She scratched under Grayble's chin, and he woke up just to purr at her. She exchanged a grim look with Luna. "She might have to fight me to get him back."
"Maybe Dumbledore can transfigure another bed for you," Harry said absently. The match was about to start, and he leaned forward in his seat, ignoring the confused and disturbed look Ginny was giving him.
Before she could begin to question him, Madame Hooch blew her whistle, and each team shot into the air.
"The Quaffle is off to Daisy Locke— she's a bit frightening, honestly, looks like Ravenclaw's chaser Ralph Chambers agrees, he dove right out of the way— and she passes it to Heidi Macavoy, back to Locke, score! 10-0 Ravenclaw!"
Lee Jordan found it easier to stay unbiased this match, but of course that couldn't last for long. "Quaffle goes to Roger Davies and he throws it to Chambers— and it's intercepted by Lucy Rochester! Funny thing about Rochester, she's evil incarnate, absolutely mental and Frederick and Georgia Weasley approve this message—"
"LEE!" McGonagall snapped. Harry laughed, and from his seat he could see Lucy laughing too.
"Rochester– blimey, that's a mouthful– makes a neat pass to Macavoy, back to Locke, and— hey, what's that Bludger doing?"
Harry's stomach dropped. "No," he groaned as not one, but two Bludgers changed direction and hurtled toward Lucy. What was Dobby doing?
"I thought you told Dobby to stop that!" Ron said, horrified. Lucy rolled out of the way of one and the Bludger sailed right where her head would have been.
"I did! I don't know why he'd go after her— it's me he wants gone." Harry's hands curled into fists. Was this how his friends felt watching him? It was easier to put his nerves aside when all he focused on was dodging the Bludger, but now he had to witness it for himself.
He was distracted by a tugging at his pant leg. Looking down, he saw Dobby staring up at him with wide, bulging eyes. "Please, Harry Potter, Dobby is not doing this!" The house-elf said desperately.
"What the—" Harry was getting some weird looks so he quickly took off his robe and threw it over Dobby. Leaning down, he whispered, "If you're not doing it, why are you here? Do you know who's doing it?"
His voice muffled, Dobby explained. In the background, Lucy dove for the Quaffle as Maxine and Anthony worked together to keep the Bludgers off her. "A house-elf knows when its name is being said, Harry Potter, sir. You must believe Dobby– he does not want to harm Harry Potter's friends! Even if his friend—"
Dobby stopped talking. Harry pulled the robe back to see the house-elf hitting his head against the floor. "Dobby cannot tell, Dobby cannot tell!" He sobbed.
"What about Lucy, Dobby?" Harry's voice came out harsher than he would have liked it to. There was a lot going on at the moment and if something was going after Lucy, he wanted to know. Dobby only wailed harder and pulled at his ears. "Dobby, you need to tell me, why would someone—"
"Dobby cannot, he cannot! Please, Harry Potter must stay away from— danger—" Dobby's hands wrapped around his own throat and he seemed to be choking himself in order not to say the words. "Dobby must go," he said tightly. "Harry Potter should leave Hogwarts!"
And with a loud pop, Dobby disappeared. He thanked whatever forces were looking out for him that nobody saw the house-elf; they were too focused on the second case of rogue Bludgers. Suddenly, he heard Lucy shout across the field,
"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"
He turned just as two Bludgers maneuvered around Maxine and Anthony's beater bats and headed straight for her. He didn't know if it was his own eyesight but the Bludgers didn't look like they were moving as fluidly as they did when they went after him. The movements were more jerky, forced even. It was like... well, it was like someone was pointing where they should go.
"Rochester grows frustrated with the Bludgers, can't blame her!" Lee said. "Luckily for her, her teammates are still scoring, and it's 60-30 Hufflepuff!"
He could see Anthony growing frustrated, trying to catch up to the Bludger. It darted out of his way and swerved at Lucy, who cursed and dove downward. If Harry had any doubt someone was directing the Bludger, it was cleared up when he saw it dive downward as if it had predicted her move. It slammed into her right shoulder, nearly knocking her off her broom.
"Good Godric!" Ron winced at the sight of it. "Harry, mate, I thought the last match was bad— someone's trying to kill her up there!"
Hermione pulled out her binoculars and started scanning the crowd. She kept a pair on hand for each match ever since Quirrell jinxed him last time. She huffed, "I can't see anything out of the ordinary!"
"Is anyone missing?" Luna questioned. "They could be hiding themselves so they're not interrupted— that's what I would do..."
Ginny gave her friend an uneasy glance. "Why do I surround myself with blonde maniacs?"
"Well if you're going to do something, you'd better do it quick," Ron said, pointing as Lucy was now being flanked by all four beaters out on the field. It was a brilliant show of sportsmanship in Harry's opinion, but Daisy and Heidi were relentless in scoring— it was now 90-40 Hufflepuff.
Two of the Bludgers turned over to Anthony and went for him at the same time. He drew back his bat with all his might and hit it at the pair of them— only for his bat to split in half. Everyone in the crowd watched with bated breaths, whispering to one another; even the Slytherins didn't know what was happening.
"THAT'S IT!" Lucy shouted, glaring furiously at the Bludgers. "Everyone scatter, I'll keep them off us!"
"Lucy, NO!" Anthony yelled
"LUCY, YES!" Maxine threw Lucy her bat, nodding at her. "Give 'em hell, Rochester!"
"We've got to stop this!" Harry groaned.
He got to his feet, clenching his wand in his hand. His friend was plenty capable but Harry knew full well she wasn't fit to be a beater. For one she was as scrawny as he was and for another, she had two Bludgers going after her on a Comet 260.
Hermione followed him as he headed underneath the bleachers. "What are we doing?" She whispered. The crowd let out a pained noise and Harry winced; she must have gotten hit again.
"I'd bet anything it's a Slytherin doing it— maybe Malfoy," he whispered back.
"But they're friends—"
"Yes, but Lucy's practically Muggle-born. And she's always taunting the Slytherins." There was no question in Harry's mind that it was Malfoy doing it. Friends, yeah, sure, he thought to himself. When he hid in the cabinet at Borgin and Burkes', Mr. Malfoy was being oddly nice to the girl. He likely wanted her to go to Hogwarts so his son could petrify her as well as the other muggleborns...
"If someone's jinxing the Bludgers, they'd have to be making eye contact," Harry continued. "I say we start another fire. On all of the Slytherin section. It's bound to break their concentration, isn't it?"
"And what if they're not in the Slytherin section?" Hermione looked at him like he was insane.
"Well, a huge fire's bound to distract anyone."
Hermione was quiet for a moment. Then she nodded, determined. "Oh, alright. But I'm not using a real fire, that's just insane."
She and Harry crept along behind the stands, keeping an eye out for anyone else. Finally, they reached the Slytherins. Hermione furrowed her brow and tapped her wand to the hem of a Slytherin's robe, muttering some spell he had never heard of. Bright red flames spread from their robe to another, and they jumped back as panicked screams broke out from the Slytherin section.
"You're sure it was fake, right?" Harry stared at the smoke with wide eyes.
"I think? No, yes, of course they're fake." She glanced at the sprinting students again. "It wouldn't hurt to run, though."
She didn't have to tell him twice. He gave the bleachers one last cursory glance, then sprinted away.
"This entire match has been complete nonsense!" Lucy complained, batting a Bludger away for the fifth time. She thanked the Heavens she was left handed— her shoulder throbbed with each movement, not to mention when one of the Bludgers crashed into her thigh.
She didn't even want to play Quidditch in the first place. She could have been in the audience, cozying up with a bag of licorice wands, but nooooo, she had to be friends with Harry Potter and get killed by his stalker of a House Elf!
Her spirits brightened considerably when she noticed the Slytherin section.
On fire.
Someone set all the Slytherins on fire.
It was probably Hermione.
In the midst of the chaos, the Bludgers stopped their assault on her and instead spread out amongst the players like they were supposed to do. Lucy sighed in relief and caught up with her fellow chasers. "Alright, ladies?" she called.
"Are we alright?" Daisy huffed and threw the Bludger over to her.
Lucy caught it, dodging out of Davies' way. Heidi flew beneath her and she dropped the Quaffle to her. It was sort of hard to carry and throw it with one arm.
Heidi threw it and unfortunately, Ravenclaw's keeper blocked it. Despite the interruption, Lucy found herself getting back into the game. She now understood how Harry was so nonchalant about it; up in the air, it was hard to worry about anything.
She was almost disappointed when the match ended. Cho Chang caught the snitch after winking at Cedric. Lucy didn't mind losing as much as she minded that she had to land on the ground. Despite the pain in her back, she felt more awake than she had in ages.
"What a match," Cedric said, a goofy smile on his face. The wink Cho gave him just about made up for the snitch.
Anthony glared, smacking him upside the head. "The hell do you mean, what a match? One of our cubs nearly died!"
"I did not," Lucy huffed. Sure, the Bludgers nicked her a few times, but she felt fine. She wrapped her left arm around Anthony anyway. "Thanks for protecting me, mum!"
He hugged her back, mindful of her shoulder. "It's my job, young one. It's my job... Now let's go up to the Hospital Wing, shall we?"
He turned around and crouched down, and with a grin Lucy hopped on his back, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Keep an eye out for Lockhart," She joked. "I'd like to keep my shoulder, thanks."
"Will do, cub. Hey, did you see the Slytherins all catch on fire?"
"Yeah. That was kind of cool."
They arrived at the Hospital Wing in short order. Madame Pomfrey sighed upon seeing her. "Quidditch," she said exasperatedly. "It's a miracle no one's died yet..."
"Maybe next time," Lucy said encouragingly. Pomfrey narrowed her eyes at her. "Anyway, what's the verdict, Madame? Am I losing my shoulder? My leg? Both?"
She wouldn't mind a peg leg. It was very pirate-ish, if she did say so herself.
"No. You got off lucky— there will be some bruising of the bone, but as long as you take it easy for the next few weeks, you should be fine." Madame Pomfrey handed her a set of potions and a clear disc with a shimmering green substance in it. "Take one potion every other day before bed for the pain, and apply the bruising cream every night."
"Great, thanks." Lucy gave the matron a bright smile, but it faltered when she noticed the curtains around Colin's bed were wide open.
It was a far worse sight than Madame Pomfrey. The small and normally happy boy was frozen in place, holding his camera in front of his terrified eyes. She wondered if he could hear everything or if he was simply unconscious. She hoped it was the latter; she would go insane if she was trapped staying still for months on end, or even forever. It was a fate worse than death, in her opinion, to be preserved with no way out.
Anthony followed her gaze. His jaw set. "That's not going to happen to you lot, not on my watch," he promised.
"You better be careful too," she warned him. "If I see you in a hospital bed, I might lose my mind."
"And you haven't already?"
"Ouch!" Lucy scowled and hopped off the hospital bed, only to wince at the strain on her leg. He headed forward to help him but she held up a hand to stop him. "No, I've got this. I'm not a coward."
"I know you're not a coward, insane people rarely are," Anthony said exasperatedly.
Harry stopped her as she left the Hospital Wing. Anthony gave him a curious look, but he kept walking anyway. "If she's not back by midnight, Potter, I'll kill you!" he warned.
"Go away, mum!" Lucy called after him. She shook her head, grinning as she turned back to Harry. "What's up, Potter? Why'd Hermione set all of Slytherin on fire?"
"It wasn't real," he said defensively. "I think Malf— some Slytherin was hexing the Bludgers."
She gave him a confused look. "Harry, not to rain on your parade, but I think Dobby has an established record of fixing Bludgers—"
"Dobby showed up and told me— there's no way it was him. I'm just warning you, be careful. I think someone's out to get us..." He looked around for any observers. He leaned in and whispered, "I think it might be the Heir."
"Why would he go for me? Wouldn't it be you, the Boy-Who-Lived?"
"No offense, but you're not the nicest to most of the Slytherins."
She wanted to argue that she was nice to some of them, but that wasn't quite true. She could only list the amount she liked on one hand— Malfoy, Nott, Zabini, Daphne, and as of most recently, Montague.
"I'll be careful," she promised. Not that he knew, but she had a few nasty spells up her sleeve if anyone tried anything. "I'd better get back to the common room. Even though we lost, there's definitely going to be a party and I want to be fast asleep before it has the chance to start."
Harry chuckled, and he took off the satchel. Lucy hardly realized he still had it, but as soon as he offered it to her, a feeling of great relief came over her. She slung it over her shoulder and waved goodbye to her friend.
As soon as she was alone, Riddle appeared in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. He did not look happy.
"Oh come on, was Harry that bad?" She wondered.
"Potter?" he spluttered, "You think this is about Potter? Merlin, Lucy, someone tried to kill you!"
"Kill is a strong word..."
"Someone who sends two Bludgers after a twelve-year-old girl does not care whether or not she survives," Riddle glared. "Starting now, I'm training you in defensive spells." She opened her mouth to argue and he cut across her. "No arguments! How am I meant to teach you anything of worth if you don't survive until the end of the year?"
"You're right," Lucy sighed. She didn't have a problem with learning defensive magic, but the darker spells were much more fun to learn. She hadn't tried defensive tactics yet and honestly, she was worried she wouldn't do as well with it. And looking bad in front of Riddle was like fumbling in front of a professor.
She started walking back to the dorm. Riddle walked right by her side. He was worse than Anthony with his hovering. They walked in silence for a few minutes before she started snickering to herself.
He arched an eyebrow at her.
"I can't believe Hermione set a whole section on fire," she said, struggling to contain herself.
"I can. I was there," he said. He had a smirk on his face, remembering it. "It was a Gryffindor plan if I've ever seen one. You know, Potter seems to think it's Malfoy trying to kill you."
Of course he did. Lucy rolled her eyes at the idea. "Malfoy's smart, but he doesn't know how to fix a Bludger. 'Sides, if he wanted to kill me he'd have poisoned me by now."
"Perhaps it was Dumbledore."
"Riddle!" Her eyes lit up with glee. "Was that a joke you just made?"
"I've been known to make them on occasion, you know."
"It was very funny. Ten points to Slytherin, I'm honored to call you my friend."
He shot her a flat look. She laughed at him. She rounded the corner, and it was by pure luck that she noticed a poster on the wall, dimly lit by torches.
"Huh," she mused. "It looks like the Professors have the same idea as you, Tom."
Riddle followed her gaze, and he let out an incredulous laugh.
"Dueling club next week? With Lockhart?" He said delightedly. "Oh, Lucy, this is going to be brilliant."
She couldn't agree more.