Lucy Riddle and the Boy Who Lived

The Lake

Chapter Forty-One

Harry was asleep not long after. Lucy was still outside keeping watch and claiming she wasn't tired when it was really the opposite. She had to reassure Harry that everything was fine so that she could be alone and breathe. Everything was happening too quickly — Ron abandoning the camp and his words . . . words are more powerful than actions.

Lucy felt lightheaded as she swept the grounds with her eyes. There was nothing, and the only sounds were the owls hooting, the leaves rustling, and the light snores coming from the campers inside the tent.

She stood up, grabbing her wand, and had decided to walk around the forest. Though Harry and Hermione were fast asleep, and Lucy was supposed to be on nightshift, walking around the perimeter was still considered patrolling.

Lucy's dark hair was flowing down her shoulders. Her breath mingled with the cold, frozen air. She could see her breath particles floating around her as she breathed. It was almost winter now, probably late October or early November. She didn't know. There weren't any newspapers around, and her companions didn't keep track of the days of the week.

She scanned the area. There was nothing to see. No critters were scattering around or any insects humming into the dark night. Lucy sat down in a dry, cool patch of grass. She needed to practice some spells she remembered reading from Rodolphus's complicated spell books. (She stole it from his "favorite" safe.) It's too bad she left it at home — it would've been more helpful rather than trying to think of the spells from the top of her head.

Just as she was half an hour in her study session, she saw a shimmering, misty animal — a doe. Fascinated, she followed the creature. It was like a Patronus, but then again . . . not.

She trailed after it until she reached a lake. Lucy gazed at it. The moonlight was reflecting off the fresh water, casting a silvery light. She looked around for the doe, but it was gone. Lucy stared back at the lake and its contents. What is in that lake?

The silvery light never disappeared as she walked around, only growing brighter. When she was close enough to touch the water, she noticed the object. Her mind was buzzing with questions as to how it had gotten there. Perhaps they were wrong after all — the Sword of Gryffindor was never with a person, but in that lake.

Snatching her wand, she pointed at the freshwater. Letting loose a shaky breath, she said softly, "Accio Sword."

Nothing happened.

She cursed mentally. The only way to get the Sword was to dive into the lake and bring it out.

Lucy dipped her index finger into the waters and whipped her hand into her chest. The water was ice-cold and numbing. Whatever; I can cross something off my bucket list now: jumping idiotically into a freezing cold lake. She shrugged off her jacket, leaving her in a tank top. No way was she going to let her jacket become soaking wet and possibly shrink.

Lucy sucked in a breath and held it in her lungs before cannonballing into the frigid lake. Her breath was taken away as soon as the cold liquid touched warm skin. She sank towards the bottom. But her oxygen levels were decreasing, so she was forced to resurface.

Lucy dove back in another time, shivering to her wits, and had to resurface again. It happened another three times before she felt something between her fingers. Something sharp and smooth was touching her fingertips, and she knew it was the Sword of Gryffindor.

Her hand tightened around the halt of the Sword, and she kicked off the bottom of the lake. With her grip on the Sword and her head bobbing up and down, she swam back to the shore, feeling victorious.

Once she got out of the water, her body was numb. Slowly, she made her way to the soggy ground where she laid motionless and shivering on that small patch of grass beside her jacket. She stared at the jet-black sky. There were a few stars out. They were shining so bright; Lucy tried to name the constellations.

"Orion's belt," she whispered into the black that was surrounding her. "Hello, Ainitak, Ainilam, and Mintaka."

Lucy knew that was the weirdest thing to say, but she didn't really care. She was delirious. Her mind was soggy, and she felt like something was trying to overcome her. Fatigue. That was it. Fatigue was trying to take over. Her eyes started to droop, but she willed herself awake.

I need to stay awake and bring the Sword of Gryffindor back to Hermione and Harry. We need to destroy the Horcrux around Harry's neck, she thought.

Lucy tried to stand up. Her body was so heavy that she couldn't do anything but stay on the ground. A frown crossed her lips. This wasn't what she had expected after she had her mini pep talk. Lucy thought she'd be walking about now to back to the camp and surprising everyone, but nope.

She grumbled, "Well, this is just fantastic." Nevertheless, she still tried to overcome the cold, but nothing would stop her feverish shaking or the numbness of her body. Slowly, but surely, her eyes started to droop again until she wasn't able to open them. She was still conscious though, but all she saw was black.

Lucy laid there for a few moments. She was regaining a little energy, but not enough. In that moment, she knew she was going to passed out. Her temperatures and blood pressure had dropped too low.

She tried again to open her eyes. A crack was all she could do. She was still in the woods. The scent of mildew and freshwater was there too. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the misty doe again. It stared back at her and started to grow dimmer and dimmer until it disappeared.

The last thing she remembered was the sound of footsteps running her way and the familiar pair of brown eyes staring into her own, her name being shouted into the cold, cold air.

[a/n: what do you guys think will happen in the next chapter? let me know in the comments :)]