A week later, Lucy awoke to a doe gliding into their bedroom. She quickly threw on the silk robe lying on the floor as the glowing blue Patronus demanded her attention darting around the room. Draco began to stir as well, pushing back the covers to reveal his lean torso.
"Bloody hell! What the—?" he began.
The doe dissolved into a mere glowing orb.
"Potter has just broken into Gringotts. A battle is inevitable now. Survive it, and I will find a way for you to disappear," Snape's curling voice filled the room before the Patronus dissolved, leaving them in darkness.
"Do you think he's serious?" Draco gasped.
"He's got to be, hasn't he? You-Know-Who trusts him,"
"We have to go back to the Manor,"
"What? No!" countered Lucy.
"If Snape is right, we'll be hunted down if we aren't there when the Dark Lord calls for us," Draco explained, running a hand through his pale locks.
"But what about your father?"
"I'm not afraid of him, Lucy,"
Lucy nodded, biting her nails anxiously.
Within the hour, the two had packed up their belongings and hand in hand, stepped out into the cold mountain air.
Lucy wore a simple long-sleeved black dress that fell to her knees beneath her long coat. Draco was back in his crisp suit, a stark contrast to the casual flannel and jeans he had been in the last few days.
She looked at him, eyes full of words left unsaid as he nodded and they Apparated. They were suddenly met with a torrent of rain being unleashed from the dark, cloudy skies. A gasp of shock emitted from her as freezing rain pelted her face and plastered her hair.
Lucy quickly whipped out her wand, casting the Umbrella spell over them as they hurried past the formidably tall hedges. She could not help but notice they were due to be trimmed. They slipped right through the misty gate, rain splashing at their feet.
Warmth seeped into their bones the moment Draco swung open the front door to the Manor. Lucy wordlessly cast drying spells over the two. Immediately, terrified screams met their ears as Draco drew his mother's wand and carefully led the way to the drawing room. Lucy's heart pounded as they stalked down the narrow hallway before dull lighting flooded her eyes.
Nearly a dozen figures stood in the drawing room, yet another dozen littered the floor. The deep wooden panels of the floor were stained with puddles of blood and Lucy's eyes grew wide as saucers at the sight of the massacre before her.
"Draco," came out the stuttered gasp of Lucius. The bags under his eyes were deep, and his beard was unshaven. Lucy's gaze snapped to Lucius and Narcissa who stood before a figure that was facing them. The blood drained from Narcissa's pale face as she saw the couple.
Then the male figure turned around, and Lucy felt the breath leave her as she met eyes with Lord Voldemort. His cruel eyes were beady and red and a sinister smile fell on his abnormal, creepy face. It was then Lucy noticed the gigantic slithering snake at his feet, its pink tongue darting around towards the dead bodies.
"Ah, Lucille, Draco, how pleasant of you to join us," Voldemort's voice hissed, studying them.
Draco's hand tightened on Lucy's while his face remained calm, poised.
"Although last I recall, you were to marry Theodore, is that not correct?" the Dark Lord asked cunningly.
"It didn't work out," Lucy said coolly, her eyes dropping down to the sparkling ring on her left hand.
Narcissa stared in shock at the ring, her face unreadable.
"Pity," he grated before he turned towards the unknown people in the room. It was then that she noticed then that it was guards and goblins from Gringotts that were lining the drawing room walls.
"Now tell me—how did Potter get past your defenses? What did he have?" Voldemort cruelly demanded from a nearby wizard guard. The man whimpered under the predatory gaze he was receiving as Voldemort dived into the man's mind.
"I don't—" the man began before Voldemort flicked his wand and a flash of green light flared as the man dropped to the floor, dead. His snake then slithered towards the fresh kill, and Lucy's eyes flicked down to her boots as she listened to the sickening crushing and squelching of flesh. Her heart dropped as she did her best to disassociate from the current moment.
This continued until a layer of blood covered the drawing room floor while Voldemort hissed at his snake in Parseltongue. Bodies piled around him as he shamelessly walked past them, his bare feet covered in spilled blood.
"Come, Nagini," Voldemort hissed at last before Apparating away.
Narcissa's composure immediately fell apart as she dashed forward to Draco, pulling him into a deep hug.
"Oh, Draco," she cooed before turning to Lucy, her brown eyes watering as she pulled the girl into the hug. Lucius awkwardly watched from afar.
When she finally pulled away, Narcissa couldn't help but gush over the ring on Lucy's finger. Meanwhile, Lucius gave a curt nod before waving his wand as the bodies and blood disappeared.
Lucy could still feel the eerie presence of death lurking all around them though, and a chill ran down her spine. If only the horrors would end in this room.
✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
Two hours later, Lucy's arm burned. Her Dark Mark was sizzling against her skin as she stared out the window into the now wilted garden. It was a beacon, demanding her presence. The time had come, and a battle was approaching. She tugged her sleeve back down apprehensively.
"When we get there," Lucy began softly, turning to look at Draco who sat wordlessly in a chair. "What side are we fighting for?"
"Freedom," Draco replied simply.
Lucy nodded, glancing down at her clothing. She had changed into a pair of denim jeans and a black v-neck top. There was no way she would be dueling in a dress, although the outfit made her feel rather mundane. "And if it kills us?"
"Then we leave this world together,"
She smiled softly—sadly—at him, fiddling with the stunning ring on her finger.
"I need my wand," Draco suddenly insisted. "If I'm going to fight, I need a wand that answers to me. My mother's is...mediocre at best,"
"Who has it?"
"Potter," he stiffly answered.
"We'll get it back,"
The sound of a voice clearing grabbed their attention as Narcissa stared at them. "We're being summoned. We can't wait much longer,"
"I have something I need to do first. We'll be along," Draco curtly replied.
"Please, be careful," choked out Narcissa, hugging her son tightly as tears spilled down her pale cheeks.
"You'll make a beautiful bride one day, Lucy," she managed to say, tugging the girl into a bone-crushing embrace before wiping away her tears.
"We'll be okay," Draco reassured her before she turned and exited the room.
Lucy studied the man before her, utterly unrecognizable from the cunning, self-righteous boy he had been years ago. His icy eyes caught her staring and he gave her a knowing look before striding over and placing a tender kiss onto her lips. It was a kiss that Lucy wished would last forever, but even she knew that fate did not work like that.
Instead, he reached out a hand she took carefully, and the two Apparated away again.
Chaos and voices erupted around them as Lucy's feet hit stone and she found herself in the familiar hallways of the dungeons of Hogwarts. To her left would inevitably be the hall that leads to the common room, and the right, the Potions dungeon. However, now, the halls were filled with anxious voices and the pushing and shoving of students. Lucy was suddenly glad to know that Blaise and Arielle wouldn't be down here, and hopefully somewhere safe instead.
Draco once more pulled her in for a passionate, soul-consuming kiss. When he pulled away, he had already disappeared into the throng of students. A shoulder bumped into Lucy as she pulled out her wand and began following the others out of the dungeons.
When she finally made it towards the Great Hall, she stared at the windows where an opalescent shield glowed and was currently being cursed at. Lucy hurried up the moving staircases towards the nearest tower to watch in horror as the shield that had been cast around Hogwarts exploded and crumbled before her eyes with the sounds of thunder and lightning.
The battle had begun.