Chapter 31: There's nothing better than a game of Quidditch
CLANG!
This was all that could be heard the next day in an old classroom in Hogwarts. Many would be shocked to find Lucy Snape being let lose with a sword, especially after what had happened yesterday.
But Lucy was determined to prove herself and others wrong, so she had ventured to this old classroom to have a sword fight with an old dummy that had been left lying around. She knew she would need more than magic to fight Kingston and Zuc. And she'd have to train to use something that the two wouldn't expect.
Lucy hadn't told anyone about the blood writing on the wall, Snape knew she was a little shaken after the encounter with Kingston's room but that was it. What didn't concern him, didn't concern him.
'You lack confidence,' Snape's voice echoed inside her mind and she shook her head viciously and tried to dismiss it.
"No I don't!" She said aloud, but she knew inside that she did and unless she got a grip she'd always need saving and never live up to the house she was in.
She then took her sword and with one swift motion she sliced the dummy in half. As long as her opponent kept still she would be perfectly fine.
She slung the sword with great force to the other side of the room and it stuck itself in the wall, she hissed at it then repaired the dummy and shoved it back in the cupboard and sat down on the floor with her knees hugged to her chest.
Despite having lots of friends and people always surrounding her, she always felt so alone and that no one understood her. No one understood what she went through, many just thought of her as a psycho who was making these visions up about Kingston and Lord Zuc. She couldn't express to anyone how she felt. Unless they experienced this themselves they'd never know and Lucy would never wish this upon anyone.
She cringed as Zuc's laughter echoed around her head and she tried to drive her mind into thinking something happy but nothing sprung to mind that would be happy enough to save her from the tourture of her enemy's laughter but it wasn't happy laughter it was taunting laughter and it was hurting her inside.
Lucy often wondered if Zuc and Kingston were just playing tricks on her and what they were saying inside her head wasn't real, and maybe they were out there but they just had a clever way of making Lucy thinking that they were doing worse things than they actually were. Maybe even Zuc wasn't that bad and maybe Kingston had gone to suffer the consequences of losing to someone so weak, losing to a girl of thirteen at that time and he was supposed to be a strong fighter.
She got up then removed the sword from the wall and traced her finger along the edge of it, harder than she meant to resulting in a cut. She winced and wiped the blood away on her school shirt, she'd wash it later.
Lucy placed the sword in it's cover then placed that on her back, she couldn't get expelled for carrying the sword around as Dumbledore allowed the thing in the castle so she walked out of the empty classroom and down to the dungeons where she sat outside the potions classroom and waited for Snape. She didn't like going into his classroom alone anymore, just in case anything strange happened.
"Good morning, Lucy," Snape said as he walked down the stairs.
"Hey," she said.
"And why are you sitting on the floor?"
"I was waiting for you. I don't like going many places without you now."
Snape nodded in an understanding way then pushed open the door to the potions classroom and Lucy got up weakly and walked inside after him. She sat in her usual place that she would when in a potions lesson and waited patiently for Snape to talk to her.
"Why do you have blood on your shirt?" Snape frowned, nodding to her shirt.
"Cut myself on the sword," she muttered, fearing Snape would take the sword off of her and never give it back.
"Pardon?"
"I cut myself!" Lucy snapped taking the sword off her back and chucking it on the table. "Take the sword, I shouldn't be let lose with it."
"Why would I - "
"Just take it, do it for your own good."
Snape took the sword from the table and laid it on his desk just as Anastasia trotted into the room, her shoes clumping on the floor echoed throughout the room making it almost eerie.
"Good evening, Lucy! Good evening, Professor Snape!" She grinned then stood next to Lucy.
"Yes, Miss Garcia?" Snape asked, trying to think of some way to get rid of the child.
"Is it alright if I take Lucy down to the Quidditch pitch?" Anastasia asked.Lucy mouthed 'no!' Desperately making a motion as though cutting her throat and Snape nodded at her.
"Of course she will but I expect her back by twelve o'clock sharp."
Anastasia nodded then her and Lucy left but not before Lucy shot a glare at Snape who just waved.
Before long the two girls were walking around Hogwarts, Anastasia leading the way. Anastasia was speed walking so Lucy had to run to keep up with her long strides, she often cursed her height and wondered if this had come from her mother rather than Snape for he was very tall.
"Anastasia, where are you taking me?" Lucy asked as the two of them headed through yet another corridor.
"You'll find out soon," Anastasia said and before long they had approached the viaduct and there was Shona, Fred and George standing there waiting for Lucy and Anastasia.
"Alright?" Fred asked as Lucy approached.
"I'm good," Lucy smiled.
"Well, I'll be off! Madame Maxime wanted to speak to me," Anastasia said and they all waved goodbye to her and she skipped along the viaduct and down to the Hogwarts grounds to the Beauxbatons carriage to find Madame Maxime.
"So what are we doing here?" Lucy frowned and in answer to her question Shona grabbed Lucy's enchanted bag and pulled out her firebolt.
"Fancy a game of Quidditch?"
* * *
"YOU LOSE, SNAPE!" Shona yelled. The four of them had made their way down to the Quidditch pitch and were enjoying their own game of Quidditch and had now, according to Shona, finished their first game.
"I don't think so, McGuire," Lucy laughed as she reached up casually and when she opened her palm there was the snitch. Shona looked around then opened both her palms and frowned.
"And how did you get that from me?"
"Haven't you heard of Accio? The summoning charm?" Lucy smiled and put her wand away.
"That's cheating!"
"You're right! That is cheating but this isn't real Quidditch so me and Fred win!"
"No you don't! Me and George win!"
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do not!"
"Oh put a sock in it!" Fred yelled as he shut the both the bludgers back in the crate. "We've both won!"
"No we haven't!" Shona pouted and touched down on the ground and Lucy handed the snitch to Fred who placed it back in the crate then closed it and put it away. "I won! I caught the snitch!"
"Whatever, McGuire," Lucy laughed.
The four of them sat on the Quidditch pitch for a while, staring up at the clouds and generally daydreaming before they were interrupted by Shona who turned to Lucy and prodded her in the arm. Lucy was about to protest that Shona had won to prevent another argument when she realised Shona was quite serious.
"Have you figured out the egg yet?" Shona asked and Lucy looked away guiltily.
"Quite honestly I haven't had time to figure it out. You know? Too busy worrying about Kingston and that."
"But have you opened it?"
"I did the other day and all it did was make a noise like a cat being strangled." Lucy shuddered thinking of the ear splitting noise.
"Well, you better figure it out soon otherwise you won't know where the second task is..."
"Or maybe I could just ask Cedric? He seems to have the answers for everything."
"Now there's a thought..."
"Hufflepuff Pride..." Fred muttered as the two girls got up and headed up to the castle for lunch.
* * *
After lunch it was potions and the whole class went into the potions classroom and sat down and began chatting to one and other because Snape hadn't arrived yet and they found it the perfect time to enjoy a little bit more leisure time.
But then the door slammed shut and there was Snape, strutting into the classroom and Shona had to prevent herself from laughing as the images of Snape on a catwalk for too much for her to handle.
"Turn to page Three hundred and ninety - ," Snape began but Shona stood up and finished his sentence.
"SEVEN!" Shona yelled and the whole class erupted with laughter as they had remembered last year when they had a defense against the dark arts lessons with Snape and he had ordered the class to turn to page '394'
"Thank you, McGuire," Snape said sarcastically.
"You're welcome, Snivels," Shona winked then sat down again and Lucy tried to hold her laughter in as Shona pulled faces at Snape behind his back when he was writing on the chalk board.
"Who can tell me the proper name for the love potion?" Snape asked and they all looked at him dumbstruck apart from Lucy who's hand shot up in the air. And then Shona's...
"Yes, McGuire?" Snape sighed and Lucy's shoulders slumped.
"I don't know what it's called but I know damn well that's the only way you're going to get another girlfriend," Shona winked and Snape frowned.
"Ten points from Gryffindor," he mumbled. "I can't give you another detention because you have enough to last you until after you leave school."
"I practically live in these dungeons don't I?"
"I wish you didn't..." Snape turned to Lucy. "I'm sure you have the right answer, Lucy."
"Amortentia, it's the strongest Love Potion in the world." Lucy said.
"Snape would still need a lot of it..."Shona muttered but then grinned and got up and stood at the front of the class. "Hey! Everybody! Do you remember that time when Snape got high on love potion? Well if you don't, today we'll test it out on him to find out just how strong it is!"
"Shona, he asked you to marry him..." Lucy whispered and hid her face in shame afterwards.
"I could write a book about that...Imagine how many reads I'd get!" Shona laughed.
"McGuire, sit down," Snape growled.
"Alright, I've had my fun today, I'll go..."
Shona sat back down and Snape continued the lesson, picking on unfortunates like Neville until the lesson was over and Lucy and Shona stayed behind. Shona, for her detention and Lucy, because this was the place she stayed anyway. The two of them played cards while Snape sat at his desk
"McGuire, I wish you'd stop making up lies like I asked you to marry me," Snape hissed as he marked test papers.
"I'm not lying! That's what you said! If you don't believe me ask Lucy!"
"It's true, dad," Lucy said and placed one of her cards down. "You even asked her to hit you, it was quite amusing I will confess. And Jessica gave you the love potion, Shona didn't do it."
"Jessica wouldn't do something like that..."
"SHE BIT YOU!" Shona yelled, and hit Snape. "ARE YOU THAT STUPID?"
Snape shook his head and continued marking test papers and tried to get the though of Jessica out of his mind.