Hey guys
Sorry for it being a day late. I tried to upload it yesterday but there was an error, but it seems alright now! :)
Enjoy!
Natsu bolted out the door and ran through the halls to the Ravenclaw Common Room. He didn't know what came over him. It was highly unlikely Lucy was in danger, but he had a feeling. Just a feeling. After five minutes of running up the tower, he finally reached the Ravenclaw Common Room.
He banged the door with his palm, demanding to let him in. "What came first, the phoenix or the flame?" A voice boomed from the door. "I don't have time for this! I'm a member of Fairy Tail! I have special access!" Natsu yelled. A heavy click from the door came from behind the door, and the door swung open. When he entered the Common Room lounge, he saw a human shaped girl curl up in the center of the room. She was crying and shaking violently, her blond hair covering her face.
"Lucy!" Natsu gasped, running over to her side. He kneeled down, putting a hand on her back and shoulder. Lucy looked up, her eyes red and body in shock. "Natsu…" She gasped. She burst into silent cries, clutching his chest. "They came back Natsu…! I was so scared…! I could hear Acnologia! Like he was in this room!" She weeped. Natsu sat there for a while, then hugged her back. "It's alright. You're safe now…" He comforted, stroking her hair. Lucy took a few breaths, calming herself down. "You feel better?" Natsu asked, looking at her in the eye. "Y-Yeah…. Much better…. Thank you Natsu…. For coming here…." Lucy whispered, looking at him.
"Lucy! Natsu! Are you guys alright?!"
Both of them looked at the doors to the Common Room, and there stood Gajeel and Gray, panting and sweating. "Geez, how high is your Common Room?" Gajeel groaned. "Man it's huge!" He gasped looking around. "Guys!" Natsu stood up, helping Lucy too. She wiped away her tears, and stood up straight. "Did they visit you too?!" Gray exclaimed quietly, not wanting to wake anyone up. "The Dementors!" Gajeel clarified. "Huh? They visited you guys too?" Natsu gasped in shock. Lucy nodded. "I-It was there… then it just vanished…. But it was there long enough for me to feel the fear…." Lucy explained, still shaking.
"So they visited all of us…." Gray muttered, thinking. "Anyway, I'm glad nothing happened to us." Gajeel sighed, folding his arms. "Hey Lucy, why were you in the Common Room lounge anyway?" Natsu asked, looking at her. Lucy took a deep breath, until she could fully compose herself. "I was reading on the Dementors…. And something struck me as odd…" Lucy told them, picking up the book she was reading. She flipped through the pages, until she stopped at a page. "Here." She turned the book towards the boys. Gray grabbed the book and held it up, Gajeel and Natsu reading over his shoulder.
"What…?" Gray gasped. "What? What is it?" Natsu asked, looking at Gray, then at the book. "It says here that if a Dementor will have any chance, they'll seal your fate with a deadly kiss…." Gray read outloud. "What? But then…" Gajeel muttered. Lucy nodded, knowing what he was thinking. "Why did the Dementors leave us alone back then… It's been bugging me too…." Lucy muttered, thinking. "Well then, what should we do?" Natsu asked, looking at Lucy. She gave a hum then looked at the boys. "I think we should leave it for now." Lucy deducted.
"Huh?" The boys questioned in confusion. "First, it's too late to try think about this. Second, if you get caught being here, you could be in big trouble. Third, if we go out and meet a Dementor now, we may not be so lucky." She explained. The three boys hummed and looked at each other. "But if Dementors visited us individually. They might come back again." Gray noted. "Maybe we should go to the Meeting Room and sleep together. In case they come back." He suggested. "Oh yeah! Just like whenever we break into Lucy's Apartment!" Natsu pinged. "SO YOU DO SEE IT AS BREAKING IN!" Lucy yelled in fury, whacking Natsu on the head.
"Lucy! Shush!" Gray hissed. Lucy gasped, covering her mouth. Everyone looked around, making sure no one had heard her. After about five minutes of silence, everyone sighed relief. "Anyway, that sounds like a good idea. If the Dementors come back, we'll be ready." Gajeel agreed, folding his arms. Lucy looked down, then nodded. "Alright. Let's grab our stuff and go to the Meeting Room." Lucy instructed, the boys nodding and heading to their Common Rooms.
Natsu quietly closed the door behind him, careful not to wake anyone up. He patted a sleeping Happy, who was curled up and dreaming away in his bag. He gave a sigh, and looked at both of his hands. He gave them a triumphant fist and pulled his arms in, his eyes filled with determination to get to the meeting point. Without any interruptions. As he exited the boys' hall, he noticed a small candle flickering faintly.
"Huh? What's that?" Natsu muttered, definitely not seeing that when he came in, and since the fire was out on Natsu's return, Natsu was suspicious. He put down his bag and walked onto the balcony that looked over the Common Room. And there on the corner table, was Hermione. She didn't notice him, as she was too busy flipping the pages in her book. That and also her back was turned from him. Natsu watched and blinked for a while, before he decided to go downstairs.
"Hey." Hermione jumped up and turned around. As she did, her elbow accidently knocked over her glass of milk all over the table. "N-Natsu! Don't scare me like that!" Hermione scolded. She turned around and wiped the milk off from the table with a handkerchief. "S-Sorry…" Natsu awkwardly smiled, rubbing the back off his head. "Anyway, what are you doing down here?" Natsu asked. "I should be asking you the same thing Natsu." Hermione shot back as she turned around, folding her arms.
"Oh, I can't sleep is all…" Natsu admitted sheepishly. "Oh…" Hermione muttered, looking away from Natsu a bit. "Anyway, what are you reading?" Natsu asked, looking to the side. "A book about Dementors…." Hermione admitted, picking the book up. "Anything interesting?" Natsu asked, tilting his head. "No, everything so far is what we already know." She sighed. "I see…" Natsu sighed, looking up with his arms folded. "I'll leave you too it. I'mma head back up." Natsu said, turning back around. "Hey Natsu…. Since we're here, is it alright if we talk for a minute?" She asked, looking at him.
"Hm?" Natsu turned around, looking at Hermione, then back upstairs. His bag hidden in the corner. "Uh… sure. What about?" Natsu asked, folding his arms as he turned around. Hermione took a deep breath, then looked Natsu straight in the eye. "I want to know…. Why you're so brave…." Hermione muttered. "What?" Natsu tilted his head, confused.
"You're not afraid to leap into danger or break the rules if it means to help others without a second thought. I heard from Harry that when you went into the Chamber, you thrusted yourself into danger without even thinking what would happen to you…. And in the forest in our first year, you stayed by Harry's side when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Mentioned tried to attack you…. Even in classes and during school you're not afraid to express your feelings… How do you not feel any fear? Don't you ever think of the consequences?" Hermione asked, looking up to him. Natsu blinked and looked at Hermione.
"Where is this coming from?" Natsu asked, folding his arms. "O-On the train, when the Dementor tried to attack us…. I was frozen with fear. And Harry almost died because of it. Then I thought of you. How you would've jumped into the danger to save Harry…." She said, looking at the ground. "...That's not entirely true." Natsu said.
Hermione looked up at Natsu with confusion. "It's true I do launch into things without thinking….. But it's because I am scared." Hermione shook her head, baffled. "Wait, you won't jump into things unless you're scared? Usually it's the other way around…" She said. "Usually yes. But with the feeling that you'd lose your best friend, your team mate, the ones who always stuck by you… That's enough to motivate me to do what I do. Although, I always punch first, think later." Natsu chuckled.
Hermione gave a light and friendly scoff. "Well, just make sure you don't knock this castle to smithereens." Hermione joked. Natsu smiled and put his hands on his hips. "Yeah I know." Hermione smiled, and began to walk away.
She stopped, then turned back around to face Natsu with that same smile. "You know, there are many secrets in this castle….. but whenever I look at you… I feel like your hiding the biggest secret of them all…" Natsu blinked a bit, then gave her a toothy smile. "Well, who knows. We all have our secrets." Hermione gave a friendly huff and walked up the stairs, book in hand.
Natsu gave a sigh and looked at the candle, still flickering. The wax was almost done for, the wax spreading across the candle holder. He leaned over the candle, putting his and behind the flame and gave it a light blow. And the candle flicked out. Launching the room into pitch black.
"I'm here." Lucy sighed, entering the Meeting Room. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. Clearly tired. "Yo. Any problems getting here?" Gajeel greeted, pushing the big table with a few scratches on the floor. Lucy held her head, trying to block out the scratches. "Yeah yeah, fine. Can you try put it in your pocket dimension instead of pushing it around? I'm gonna get a headache if you keep doing that." Lucy groaned. "I don't want to. It feels weird using Erza's magic." Gajeel complained. Lucy shot him a look. Her eyes were dark and bloodshot like, dark aura emerging from her body, making her hair float. "A-Alright…" He sweatdropped. He had never seen Lucy so angry. He put his hand on the table, and the table and chairs disappeared in a gold light.
"Where's Lily?" Lucy asked, grabbing her blanket and pillow. "Over there." Gajeel pointed to his bag, where Lily was sleeping soundly. "Lucky, he gets some sort of bed…" Lucy groaned, sitting down on the floor. "Well we have to make do. It's not like we have a maid." Gajeel grunted, flicking a blanket down. "Maid... Maid… Ehhhh!" Lucy exclaimed pushing herself up. "W-What?" Gajeel jumped. Lucy rummaged through her small bag pulling out a Gold Key. "Open Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" A magic circle appeared in the room, and out popped Virgo in a bow. "You called Princess? Is it punishment time?" She asked. "Is it alright to grab some beds for us?" Lucy asked sweetly. "Of course."
Virgo snapped her fingers, and a circle of beds appeared around her. She summoned four beautiful beds, complete with pillows and blankets. The frames were decorated with stars and sparkles. The curtains on the beds were deep velvet with real life twinkling stars. Each bed was one of the house colours, and looked nice and warm. "Will this do princess?" Virgo asked. Gajeel gave a bit of an annoyed look, as he and Lucy had brought their own pillows and blankets, but still, it was better than nothing. "Yes, that's great! Thank you Virgo." Lucy smiled. Virgo took a bow. "I will take my leave then." And with that, she disappeared.
"Yes a bed!" Lucy exclaimed, jumping on her bed. She even forgot that she brought her blanket with her. Gajeel sighed and walked to his bed, sitting down. "Anyway, I hope we'll be safe. No one but the House Heads know about this place." Gajeel muttered, looking around the empty hall. Lucy nodded, pulling the sheets over her legs. "But still… I find it odd…. Why didn't the Dementors attack when they definitely had a clear opportunity? It just doesn't add up…." She curled her legs up into a ball and sank her chin into her knees.
"Hey, glad to see you guys are alright." Natsu panted, making his way in. He looked to the side with a hum, seeing the beds. "Ooo nice! Where'd the beds come from?" Natsu asked, putting his bag down. "Virgo." Gajeel replied blatantly. "Ah I see… Any troubles getting here?" He asked, tucking a sleeping Happy in bed. Gajeel and Lucy shook their heads. "That's good. Where's Gray?" Natsu asked, looking around. "Not here yet…." Gajeel sighed, folding his arms.
Gray silently made his way up to the Meeting Room, only his footsteps echoing through the empty castle. As he turned the corner, he saw a large shadow on the wall. He silently gasped turned back. He turned his head, his ear picking up footsteps. The thing casting the shadow finally came around the corner. Gray gave a bit of a gasp, as it wasn't a Dementor. It was Cedric, doing his nightly rounds. Gray tisked, and looked back, thinking.
"What should I do… I can't get caught…." Gray muttered. "Huh?" He then remembered to the time when they met the Dementor for the first time. He looked at his right hand, a cold frost emerging from his palm. He looked back at Cedric, who was heading his way. "I'm sorry about this Cedric…." He whispered. He crouched down and put his palm on the floor.
Cedric suddenly stopped, feeling the cold. His eyes went wide, and began to step back. He looked on the floor, and on the walls, the ice cracking and crawling everywhere. His breath was physical, and he pulled out his wand. Then down the hall, a shadow loomed. It's hands were thin, and a cloak like demon was getting bigger and closer. Cedric, scared stiff, decided to heel and hastily walk the other way.
Gray looked the corner, and sighed relief when he was gone. He pulled his shirt back down, the head hole resting back from his head to his shoulders. He looked at his hands that was wrapped in blocks of ice representing a Dementor's arm. Gray was grateful he got a look at what a Dementor's hands look like. It was amazing what Make Magic can do sometimes. He broke off his fake arms and bolted towards the Meeting Room. Before Cedric decided to come back.
"Gray, there you are!" Natsu growled. "Sorry. I was trying to avoid Cedric…" Gray sighed. "Great. Now that everyone's here, let's get some sleep." Lucy exhaled as she flopped on her bed, pulling her blanket over her. "Yeah…" The boys agreed, laying down on their respective beds.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU FOUR DOING HERE?!"
The four students shot up, jumping in fear. "Oh my, are we having a sleepover?" Everyone looked up and saw all the teachers and Charla. "Why are you four sleeping here?" Charla asked, looking down on them. "We should be asking you that! Why are you here?!" Natsu demanded, pointing at them. "Our room is close to here. We heard table screeches and talking so we decided to investigate." Levy explained.
"We had a bit of run ins in our Common Rooms, so we thought it would be best if we slept together for safety." Gray explained. "Huh? What do you mean?" Wendy asked. The boys looked at each other, then back at the teachers. Then Natsu noticed Lucy in a tired trance. She just wanted to sleep.
"We were all sleeping and then-"
"Actually, can we talk about that tomorrow? We're all pretty tired and we have class tomorrow." Natsu interrupted Gray and looked at Lucy. "O-oh yes! Of course." Wendy nodded, heading back up. Everyone else followed suit. "Give a yell if you need anything." Erza said, before leaving. Everyone sighed and flopped on their beds. "Alright, if anyone senses anything funny, wake everyone else up." Gajeel said, putting his arm up. "Yes…." Everyone groaned. And with that, everyone fell into a deep sleep.
"Kahsehaaaaaaath…"
"Natsu…."
"Seeeahthraaa…"
"You've grown so much…."
"Heeesiaaaeth…"
"I look forward to seeing you again…."
Natsu gasped as he woke up. He looked around the room, everyone still asleep. He sat up, digging his face in his hands. He gave a silent groan as he pulled his face down.
"Guah…."
Natsu heard a small whimper close to him and looked to the source of the sound. It was Lucy, shaking a bit in her bed. She gave short and shallow breaths, cold sweat running down her forehead. Natsu watched in hurt, seeing Lucy shake a bit.
"Please... " Lucy whispered. "Please…!" She pleaded again, grasping onto her sheets. "Don't take them away…!"
"Lucy… Lucy!"
Lucy snapped her eyes open and sat up. She felt a warm hand on her shoulder, and looked up. "Natsu…" She whispered. "Are you alright? It looked like you were having a nightmare…" He asked, sitting down next to her. Lucy sat up and stared at him for a bit, then looked down at her hands clasping the sheets. "I… I dreamt of a dark force, controlling everyone… Except me…. I was forced to watch as everyone was forced either kill each other or join the… the thing that controlled them…" She gripped her hands on the sheets, her face becoming angry.
Natsu sat there, listening to her nightmare. His eyes were wide, not believing Lucy had such a dream. "I… I'm sorry that you had such a dream…" He gasped. Lucy shook her head and looked down. "It's alright. With everything that happened, I'm just on edge… Pathetic isn't it?" Lucy wiped a tear and gave Natsu a painful smile. "I should be over it by now… and yet I'm still shaking like a baby… It's like someone's keeping me to act like this…." She said with a bit of a laugh. "I should be stronger than this…" She muttered.
Natsu sighed, and leaned back. He looked up, folding his arms. "It's not just you Luce. All of us are scared. Even though we don't look like it…." He sighed and looked at Lucy with a smile. "Don't worry. We're Fairy Tail! We won't be brought down that easily." Lucy blinked at Natsu, then gave Natsu a sad smile. "Yeah…. I think I'm going to go back to sleep…" Lucy yawned, rubbing her eyes. "Alright. I'll let you get some sleep." Natsu nodded, standing up. He then felt a tug on his sleeve. "Huh?" He turned around, and saw a heavily red Lucy, lightly holding his sleeve.
"U-Um…. Is it alright if you sleep with me? For some reason… I feel calmer when you're next to me…" She muttered, heavily embarrassed. "...Sure." Natsu smiled, lifting up the duvet and getting comfortable. Lucy shuffled over and layed down, facing Natsu. "What the hell am I doing… I usually kick him out of bed, not the other way around…." She mentally groaned, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw Natsu, staring at her. "W-What…?" She asked, flinching back a bit.
Natsu lifted his hand, and cupped her face. His thumb wiped a remaining tear hanging from her eye. "You know… I'm really happy that I invited you to Fairy Tail… You're one of the strongest people I know… We will always stand by you and we'll always protect each other…." He whispered. Lucy stared at him. Her mind flashed back to the war with Phantom Lord, remembering how Fairy Tail refused to let Lucy go with them. She burst into tears and dug into Natsu's chest, her tears drenching his shirt in her tears.
Natsu opened his arms and held her into a hug. He wanted to say more…. But Lucy had been through enough already, so he stayed silent. They stayed like that until they both fell asleep in each other's embrace.