Sirius waved his arm to signal Lucy. She tilted her borrowed broom to set it on a gentle decline. She hadn't initially planned on bringing anyone along, especially not Sirius fucking Black. He was smart, though. And good in a fight, and an animagus, and familiar with dark magic. Part of her would have preferred Severus. Another part of her, the part that she'd buried deep for so long, the part that wanted to race Sirius to the ground, was glad it wasn't Severus.
In a sudden bout of energy, Lucy urged her broom forward. The wind thundered in her ears, the bright sky raced past, and the earth seemed to rush to meet her. She heard an indignant cry before a dark figure blurred past. The bastard was even upside down. Lucy frowned, determined not to be outdone, and threw herself against the smooth, wooden handle.
Sirius twisted at the very last second to land deftly on his feet. Lucy pulled out of her dive and landed gracefully beside him.
"I win," he said, a wide smile cutting across his face. He had prominent canines. She wondered if he always had or if it was Padfoot bleeding through.
"Show off," she muttered.
She tapped the broom with her wand. After it shrunk to a quarter of its height, she shoved it deep into her leather bag. Her bag was one of the rare things she allowed herself to splurge on. If she was going to die, she was going to do it in style. Lucy had always liked pretty things. She wouldn't let destiny or fate or some stupid god take that from her too.
"Right, so, where are we?" She asked.
Her abysmal sense of direction was another reason to bring someone along. She'd probably somehow end up in the Falkland Islands if she tried to do this on her own. Granted, if she'd done it alone, she would have just used Muggle transportation. Apparating to a new place was never a good idea, especially for the inexperienced, and she didn't know if Voldemort was keeping an eye on everything. Probably not, but it didn't hurt to be safe.
Sirius pulled the map out of the back pocket of his jeans to study it.
"Looks like a few miles northeast through this forest and we'll be there."
"Is the village close to the trees?"
"Yeah, looks to be."
"Okay. Then we should use our animagus forms."
Sirius froze much like a dog that had caught a glimpse of a squirrel.
"I don't have an animagus form," he grumbled, suddenly very concerned that the map was stowed away carefully.
Lucy bit back a smile. "Mm. Neither does James Potter, I presume."
"Of course not, we're far too young."
"And definitely not Peter Pettigrew."
"No. And neither does Lupin, so let's move. We'll need-"
"Cut the bullshit, Sirius. This is important, far more important than a stupid ministry law."
"Fine," he decided. What are you?"
"You'll see."
"No. You brought this up."
"You won't know what it is anyway."
"Try me," he demanded, setting his chin defiantly.
Lucy straightened her spine. "I'm a raccoon."
His scowl lightened to a confused frown. "A what?"
"It's a small mammal native to North America."
"Shift."
"No. We need to talk first."
"I want to see."
"Sirius, this is important."
He crossed his arms and planted his feet. Lucy groaned, throwing her hands up into the air. Maybe she should have brought Severus. Boring was safe. He would have simply taken the muggle train with her. They could have spent the day reading in a peaceful quiet or spent the hours perfecting their plans.
Lucy took deep breaths to calm herself. She focused inward, pulling on her magic, imagining every part of the raccoon. With enough experience, she would be able to switch between forms in the blink of an eye. As it was, she hadn't mastered the transformation until March. Three months didn't make her an expert.
Soon, the world grew. The trees towered over her. Light became brighter as the colors dulled and the scents sharpened. Lucy shifted her weight from side to side. The most jolting change wasn't the tail or the near colorblindness. It was the sensitivity in her paws. Humans didn't have anything like it.
Sirius threw his head back in laughter. He laughed and laughed. And laughed. He laughed long enough to that she grew bored and decided look for a snack. That was another thing about raccoons. They were always hungry and always curious. They always wanted something to plunder into or a new place to explore. She couldn't wait to go back to Hogwarts.
"Merlin!" Sirius cried when he finally gathered himself.
Lucy jerked, nearly falling into her bag. That would have been a nightmare to get out of. Would the curses allow Sirius to help her out? Shit, she'd have to tie him into the magic in case something bad happened.
"Come here. Let me get a closer look."
Well. She was extremely adorable and she had worked on it for over a year. It wouldn't hurt to show off. She strode over with light footsteps to highlight her elegance. Sirius didn't bother trying to hide his amusement.
"I cannot believe this," he said, grinning like a maniac. He knelt on the ground to study her further. "I would have thought you were a scorpion or a snake or something! May I?"
She nodded her acquiescence. He reached out run a hand down her back, which was far more enjoyable than rubbing against the bottom of her bedframe. Next, he held out his finger. She wrapped her tiny black paws around it. She squealed as he scooped her up and held her close to his face.
"Look at that nose," he said, twisting her this way and that. "You're so fat and fluffy!"
Quick as a snake, Lucy struck out and bit him hard on the nose. He cursed and fell back on his ass. She scampered away to shift back. This was the most difficult part. Lucy still remembered her old body. She remembered being tall and slim and brunette. Sometimes she got bits of her old self mixed into the new one. The first time she'd done it, she'd had to go to Madam Pomfrey to get her legs to match.
It took a moment, but she soon stood tall and regal above Sirius Black.
"Don't ever call me that again," she snapped.
"Oi!" He protested, rubbing his nose. "I didn't mean it like that! It was cute is all. None of us turn into furry woodland creatures."
"What do you turn into, then?"
Sirius smirked. Far quicker than she could, far quicker than he had any right to, he morphed into a massive black dog. It was tall and broad with pointy ears that added to his threatening demeanor.
"Show your teeth," Lucy said.
He snarled. She shuddered involuntarily. Poor Ron being dragged around by such a beast.
"You're much more terrifying like this."
He wagged his tail eagerly. Lucy snorted and conjured a piece of fabric to sit on.
"Come on. We've got a lot of work to do," she said, summoning her bag.
Sirius transformed back and sat across from her on the grass.
"Didn't take your for the girly type," he said, eyeing her makeshift seat as if it had deeply insulted his personal honor.
She sniffed. "There's a lot you don't know about me."
"Like how you're a cheeky little fuzzball at heart?"
"Yes, exactly," she said drily. "Now, its time to focus. We've got a country to save."
Lucy would have liked to brainstorm until the sun dipped below the trees. She wanted contingency plans for her contingency plans. Sirius would have none of it. He declared them prepared after they had two different ways to escape. Lucy consented with great trepidation. It certainly wasn't her style, but that might be for the best. Flitwick had given her advice that she would have given someone else. It was time to open up. Her peers were no longer children. They were young adults that had grown up in a time of war.
Little Hangleton was indeed nested against a thin forest. Unfortunately, the shack was half buried in a copse of malevolent trees. Darkness waded from it, choking their animal senses. They decided to set up camp a good hundred yards away, warding their campground until even Dumbledore would be hard pressed to notice them. They watched for three days. On the third night, they decided they were ready. It seemed that Voldemort was arrogant enough to think no one would investigate his past. Either that or he had moved the horcrux. Or set a deadly trap. She couldn't decide which was worse.
They cast dillusionment and silencing charms on each other, then crept across the rolling field. Lucy could think of no other way to describe the Gaunt shack other than sad. A sorrowful aura permeated the very ground they stood on. Beyond that, though, were the wards.
"Bloody hell," Sirius cursed. He waved his wand in a complicated pattern. "This is almost as bad as Grimmauld Place."
Lucy's lips quirked into a small smile. "Almost?"
He sneered back. "Almost."
It took them the better part of four hours. It might have taken Lucy twice as long on her own. She was good, but she didn't recognize have the curses woven into the latticework. Finally, just as the moon began to dip from its apex, the wards hummed and dropped.
"Fuck," Sirius cursed vehemently.
"Fuck," Lucy agreed.
She tightened her ponytail and stepped forward. There was a magical tripwire of sorts that she banished with half a thought. The door, however, nearly caused her to turn back. She'd never been afraid of snakes until her first year. She liked them still, found their magical abilities and genetic makeup fascinating. To not have any limbs and still be one of the most feared predators on a planet! She loved odd things like that, special things. It was what made her and Tom Riddle alike.
Still, seeing a dozen dark hissing things unfurl from the vines ran a shiver up her spine.
"Inrita maledictum," Sirius said. He stood tall in front of her, waving his wand and chanting a melodic set of words. "Inrita maledictum. Eiecto anathema. Ego ex cruor purus, ego ex magica nigrae. Inrita maledictum."
Black tendrils of shadow fell from the tip of his wand. It fell onto the writhing beasts like soft snow. They hissed almost contentedly before fading back into the nettles and thorns.
"What was that?" Lucy whispered.
"That was one of the only good things about being a pureblood. Black family magic. Dark magic."
"It was beautiful."
Sirius let out a shaky breath. "It's tempting is what it is. Stay behind me. I might need to do it again."
Lucy did not argue against it. She'd encountered books cursed against readers with 'dirty blood'. Voldemort might be half muggle, but he was also half Slytherin. She didn't have an ancient lineage to fall back on. Dragonhide gloves wouldn't protect her against fatal curses. She couldn't even fall back on the AK like she had so long ago.
Sirius silenced the snake nailed to the door with a jet of white light, then waved his wand to open the door. They stepped through threshold and quickly moved to stand back to back. It was dark and filthy. The sheer amount of dust and dirt and magic itched at her nose. Something terrible was inside, something that called for them. A shiver ran down her spine and made her toes dig into her trainers.
"What the fuck is that?" Sirius asked, his voice a hoarse whisper.
"That's what we're here for."
Lucy waved her wand in a wide arc. Soft pink witchlight erupted in a series of sparks, then danced together to hover in the middle of the room. It cast a bright glow onto their surroundings. Sirius, meanwhile, was already fighting his way through another magical tripwire and literally burning through runes seared into the floor.
They worked in tandem, fighting their way past Voldemort's defenses. A rune set out a jet of flame that scorched Lucy's arm. She grit her teeth and tried to ignore the pain and the smell of burnt hair.
Finally, after what felt like hours, they found themselves staring down at a loose plank in the floorboards. It was still calling as it had been the entire time. It scratched at the base of their skulls and violated their senses until it was nearly irresistible. She wanted it, desired to cherish and care for it until the end of her days. She didn't know why, but the irresistible urge was there. She would be complete if only she could possess it.
"What is it?" Sirius hissed.
Lucy shook the compulsions off slowly. It felt as if she were surfacing from a murky pond. She reached into her bag, shuffling around until she found a small iron box. Runes were carved into the border in a precise pattern.
"Here, hold this open for me," she ordered.
Sirius squatted to hold the it close to her side as she knelt on the dirty floor. She hesitated, chewing on her lip as she thought something through. Sirius waited with surprising patience as she came to a decision.
"Right," she murmured, nodding her head. "Better to do this all in one go."
She stuck the tip of her wand in her bag and muttered a spell. A pair of dragonhide gloves and a large ring shot out into her waiting palm. She put her wand and the ring on the ground long enough to pull on the gloves, then took a deep, steadying breath before she cast a spell. The floorboard creaked as it pulled itself up. Another spell and a ring floated out from the depths.
"Holy fuck. I can almost taste it," Sirius said. He sounded strangely wistful.
Lucy nearly shoved the horcrux into the box. He snapped it shut just as hastily. Immediately, the slimy tendrils of dark magic ceased pawing at their exposed skin. They both let out sighs of relief.
"Put that away and let's get out of here," he said, sounding much more like himself.
It took them almost an hour to escape back out onto the rolling plains. They didn't remember or even know all of Voldemort's curses, but they warded the shack with everything they knew. Lucy reasoned that he might send someone to ensure the Shack was untouched. It wasn't, of course, but it might fool anyone who didn't investigate thoroughly. It might earn them a day or two sometime in the future.
"Can you apparate to the Leaky?" Sirius asked.
"I don't know," she admitted. She was exhausted and London was nearly three hundred miles away.
"Come on," he said, gripping her hand.
He took a deep breath and the night disintegrated around them.
Lucy hardly remembered paying for a room or trudging up the stairs. Sirius, thank god, was the one who warded their room to the high heavens. She collapsed on the leftmost bed to watch as he cast spell after spell. She passed out after the third one.
They woke long after the sun rose. It was nearly noon by the time they were both showered and dressed and full of caffeine. She was surprised to find that he had applied salve and bandages to the burn on her arm.
"So are you going to tell me what that was?" Sirius asked, leaning back against the small table in their room.
"No."
He scoffed. "Are you going to tell me where you're going to hide it?"
"No."
"Lucy!"
"I have motions set in place in the event of my death or arrest," she said, sipping on her coffee. She was infinitely grateful that she wasn't lactose intolerant this time around. In fact, she wasn't sure if witches and wizards suffered from it at all. "Copies of my will will be sent out to several people from several places. All of them have instructions on where to find a copy of my journal, all of which are hidden in different places. Those people will convene and decide what to do with the information I've given them."
He frowned. "But what if something else happens? What if you're captured?"
"You ever seen a spy film?"
"No," he said, almost amused.
Lucy settled onto his bed to explain. "Spies in movies have something called a cyanide pill. It's implanted into their mouths somehow and when they're captured, they bite down and die almost instantly."
"Merlin, you can't mean-"
She cut him off by pulling a necklace out from under her shirt (an authentic Led Zep concert tee from the show Ted had surprised her with earlier in June- seriously the best brother ever). A strange waxy stone hung on a silver chain.
"I've got seventy two seconds to swallow this antidote after I speak the password that activates the fake molar in the back of my mouth."
"Fucking hell, Luce!" Sirius said, rising to his feet. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Of course I'm not! He can't know what I know or the whole fucking world is doomed."
He raked a hand through his long hair. "There's got to be another way, something else-"
"You're smarter than that, Sirius," she admonished.
He scoffed and crossed his arms. "Who else knows. Who else knows what you're doing."
"No one."
"No one?"
"Flitwick knows the most. I had to tell him something. He was afraid I'm trying to rob Gringotts." Sirius huffed in amusement. "Ted and Andy have an idea, but they know better than to ask questions. It's safer for Nymph that way."
"So it's just me?"
She shrugged. "Pretty much."
"Why me?"
She shrugged again. "I thought you would be more fun than Severus."
Sirius choked. She smiled placatingly.
"Come along, minion," she said. "We're off to the banks."
At a small bank in Muggle London, she gave him access to a safety deposit box. She rolled her eyes at the ID he carried around. He had a cheeky smile in the picture and boasted the name 'James Padfoot'. After flirting outrageously with the teller, he followed Lucy into the private room. A large metal box waited for them on the table.
"What is all this?" He asked, looking around the room curiously.
"Muggle banks offer these things called safety deposit boxes. Only you and the people listed are allowed to request the box be brought up from the vaults. It's usually used for expensive jewelry or important papers."
Sirius broke out into a devilish grin. "And you're using to hide the Dark Lord's artifacts."
"I figured no one would think to look here. And I don't plan to keep them here forever, just until I have the means to destroy them."
"And how do you plan to do that?"
"Telling you that would tell you what they are."
"They? How many do you have?"
She opened the box to reveal another box, this one much larger than the ring's.
"Just two. But there are five altogether. For now, anyway. He'll make more as time goes on."
"So it's something he makes that has to be destroyed in a specific way?"
"Yep. You'll figure it out. Don't worry."
At Gringotts, the goblins led her to one of the newer, smaller vaults. There wasn't a lot of money. Most of her funds came from things she'd scrounged up and the little she'd inherited from her mum. She could've got more, but she figured Ted needed it worse. He had a family of his own on top of keeping Lucy fed and sheltered.
She took out fifteen hundred galleons, a sizeable chunk of the small mounds of gold and silver and bronze. Sirius shifted uncomfortably.
"My Uncle Alphie left me-"
"No," Lucy said sharply. "We can't be connected more than we already are."
He sighed. "When are you going to-"
"Thank you, Griphook. We're ready," she said firmly.
Sirius rolled his eyes, but took the hint. "What do you need that much gold for, anyway?"
"You'll see."
An hour later, Lucy stood on an upscale wizarding street with Sirius Black and a house elf at her side. Coco was named for her big chocolate colored eyes. Her ears were longer than any of the others in the shop ("a sure sign of fertility") and walked on near silent feet ("you won't even know she's there!"). Most importantly, she was the first elf to step forward when Lucy had said she needed a brave elf that wouldn't mind going on adventures. She'd even chosen the same tea towels that Lucy would have chosen herself. Their's was a match made in heaven.
"Thank you for all your help, Sirius," Lucy said. "I would say I couldn't have done it without you, but I could."
"Wow. Thanks, Lucy."
"Anytime. Thank the Potters for letting me borrow a broom."
"What? You think I'm going back to Prongs'?"
Lucy frowned. "You're staying with Andy?"
"Absolutely. I can't wait to see her face when you come home with a house elf."