The Empire

Lucy/James – Empire

For: Connect the Weasleys Challenge

Don't own the characters

Ever since she was a little girl, Lucy had her own empire.

Ever since he was a little boy, James was loud and obnoxious. But he had a sense of guilt that Lucy lacked. They were the same age and, surprisingly, they got along best.

"I'll be a leader one day." Lucy said proudly. "I'll just say 'go' and I'll get everybody to do everything for me."
"It'll come back to bite you." Eight year old James argued, "Mummy always says 'karma'. So you'll be really bad one day."
"Aunt Ginny's stupid, daddy says." Lucy snapped back. "I'll have an empire."
"And I'll be there?" James asked hopefully. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"Perhaps." She grinned, poking her tongue out.

Lucy grinned at him across the table. "You're on." She snarled. James grinned back, dark eyes locking.

"Mmm, good luck with that, sweetheart, you know how good I am at Monopoly." James teased. Lucy rolled her eyes, the fourteen year old's brown hair rippling over her shoulders.

"But look at my empire, James." She grinned. "I've got all the dark blue ones, the green ones, the yellow ones and the train stations. You've just got cheap street and the dumb utilities."
"Dumb?" James pretended to be shocked. "Not so dumb when you land on them with a twelve, eh?" His brown eyes glittered in the light filtering through the window. Lucy snarled, her white teeth glinting. The other Weasleys sat around them, placing bets on who would win.

Lucy stood tall and proud with the purple cloak draped over her shoulders. Her eyes were dark and they scanned the crowd.

"I am Lucy Weasley, daughter of Percival Weasley and Audrey White, Niece of Harry Potter!" Lucy said, the wind ruffling her hair. It was the first group meeting of her group; the group of Hogwarts kids she'd assembled, telling them that it was a club where they'd get to be leaders. She wasn't a Slytherin for nothing. Her father often talked about leadership and power; Lucy agreed, but she believed that the ministry was wrong in their beliefs.

"You shall listen to me, and only me!" She commanded raising her wand towards the ceiling. "We shall rise to be the most powerful leaders of the Wizarding world!" She continued in fierce words; she had made sure no children under fourth year were allowed. She herself was a sixth year. And then she felt arms snake around her waist, and she was pulled back towards somebody. Their chest was warm and it instantly relaxed her.

"Power hungry, eh?" The joking voice said. It was James. She felt completely at ease, apart from the fact she was losing her followers quickly.

"Later." Lucy hissed into his ear, catapulting off him and marching to the front of the stage. "Ministry Resistance League!" She yelled, shaking her hand in the air. James laughed.

"You are in so much trouble."

"No."
And the door shut again.

Lucy was darker now. Her brown hair tumbled across her shoulders elegantly. Bags were draped under her eyes. And her eyes, her dark eyes, they were as black as darkness and as hard as steel. The key to her parents' house had been ripped from here, and there was nowhere left to go. Their invasion of the ministry had failed. No one left.

But him.

"I told you it wouldn't work, Luce." James said in a cutting tone. "I tried to save you."
"It worked." She countered. "They know about us now."
"And you've lost your entire family for the cause."

And then the tears started flowing because he was right, so right in every way. Then she stopped and just let him hold her for a while in the pouring rain. Her castle had failed, crumbled, it was too fragile to stand in the first place.

Just like her.

She couldn't just go home any more.

Her empire had tumbled down.

The mirrors hated her; all they showed her was a once bright, lively girl trapped and suffocated into a realm of depressing darkness.

She felt like she'd entered a battle zone, where all was lost and taken from her.

Everything but him.