Lucy Snape and the Final Battle (Book Seven)

Transition

Chapter Two: Transition

The Tale of the Knights.

We've all heard of that before. We've all heard of the story of those three fine young heroes destined to defeat the forces of evil from taking over the Wizarding World and bending it to their will. That was all that had been apparent for some time.

Things didn't look good in that respect, the trio of heroes had split up. They'd gone their separate ways. One was out in Worthing, trying to figure out what to do with her life. Was this her destiny? Another was out in Spinners end — no, he wasn't there. Or was he? His whereabouts had been unclear since his apparent union with Lord Voldemort and even he, himself didn't know where he was. Did he think about his true calling? Did he think about his daughter? That was unclear too.

Finally, there was our most important hero. She was eighteen now. Her whereabouts was unclear too.

She was a girl.

She was a girl who  —

Hang on just a minute.

That's how its always gone before. A scared little girl running from all of the problems she should be facing. A girl who was destined to save us all but just locked herself up or hid in her fathers arms or in the laughter that erupted from her mouth when her best friend told a joke or the compliments her boyfriend granted her.

Thats how its always gone.

That wasn't how its supposed to go.

I'll tell you how it's supposed to go.

And it's not how it's gone before.

*

There was a knock at the door at around ten o'clock. As soon as Matt heard it, he ran out of his bedroom and into the living room.

"Matthew!" Anna shrieked from where she was sat on the sofa next to Scott. "Stop! You don't know who it is!"

"SON, DON'T ANSWER IT!" Scott yelled.

Matt reached into his pocket and pulled out his wand anyway. Some protection was better than no protection. He held his wand up in front of him and then slowly advanced the rest of the way towards the door. His hand gripped the metal handle of the door and then he yanked it open.

"Who are you?!" He demanded. "Tell me who you are otherwise I'll kill you!"

"Hello, Matthew."

Matt's jaw dropped.

*

Matt remembered the first time he'd seen Lucy. It was on the Hogwarts express. He'd heard about her before coming to Hogwarts because his parents thought she was so great. He hadn't thought so.

And when he saw her in person he hadn't been impressed either.

Her school uniform was just like everybody else's. She looked mediocre. She didn't look like the one to save us all. She didn't look anything special and she was too busy flaunting her prefect duties which made her pretentious.

They didn't talk.

They just stared.

The black cloud offered him the opportunity and run.

He took the opportunity.

*

Her hair was waist length and brown, it no longer hung lank and instead fell in waves. Her eyes were a green that sparkled, her face was as white as a sheet. She was around 5 ft 7 and wore a skirt. Not just a skirt that was part of her school uniform but one that was tight fitting and black and hugged her figure. Her school shirt had turned into a pristine white one with gleaming cufflinks to finish it off. She no longer wore glasses and it seemed she had visited the Muggle world for a safe and discreet replacement; contact lenses.

Matt had always liked her eyes but they always seemed to be lacking something. Even when she laughed there was a part of her missing. A spark. True happiness. But now she didn't even have to smile to have that spark present, it just came naturally.

Her face got the treatment too, she now wore make-up. Eyeliner to line her lids, mascara to adorn her eyelashes, red lipstick to cover her lips. Of course, her metamorphmagus abilities could transform her but they couldn't change her look entirely.

They couldn't change her personality either.

She looked mature, she looked entirely new. As if the week away had cleansed and re-birthed her.

It had taken only a week for her to change from a girl to a lady.

"Lucy..." Matt whispered, trying to take her all in with one glance. "You're back."

She nodded, her wavy curls bouncing about. "I'm back."

He embraced her tightly, she buried her face in his shoulder. Matt felt complete again and it was as if he were the happiest man in the world just to have his girl in his arms again.

"Lucy!" Anna exclaimed and ran towards them, Scott following behind.

"Where'd you go?" Scott asked although he wasn't angry, he was smiling.

Matt's hug was accompanied by his parents and all of a sudden they were all embracing each other and laughing. There hadn't been much laughter recently and to finally hear it was something else. It felt much better, it was a light in the infinite darkness. A beacon of hope.

After sometime they composed themselves and Matt held her back to get a good look at her. "Who are you?" He joked.

"Changed." She responded with a smile.

"No offense, but why?"

"Because I couldn't go on the way I was. The girl I was wasn't who I needed to be, she wasn't good enough to defeat Zuc. She just lived one day over and over but things need to move forward now. I'm getting ready, I'm getting ready for when the worst comes. But right now it's time I start living and learning."

"That's a great philosophy," Scott admitted and Lucy turned to him. "But, quite seriously, where did you go?"

"Away."

"Away where?"

"I went on an adventure." Lucy nodded, recalling her memory. "I went out to find who I truly am."