Lucy Riddle and the Boy Who Lived

The Return

Chapter Forty-Two

She was sitting on a cliff with Fred. His flaming-red hair was flying around along with the wind, but it still looked perfect to her. Fred cupped her hand in his, placing a soft, light kiss on her knuckles. Lucy shivered at the sensation. The spot was blazing on her skin.

Fred had flown them to a nearby cliff so that they could watch the sun set. The sky was turning a dark orange, scarlet, and indigo. Her gaze was on beautiful sun, a grin growing on her face. She could feel Fred's heated stare on the side of her face. Lucy turned to look at him, and he was looking into her dark eyes.

Fred leaned closer to her until they were a hair away. He brushed his plump lips against hers and kissed both cheeks, her nose, and then, softly, her chin. Just as he was about to plant a kiss on her lips, he started screaming, "Lucy, Lucy!" with wide, bulging eyes.

She gasped, opened her eyes, and shot straight up. Lucy scanned the room and saw the terrified faces of Hermione, Ron, and Harry — no Fred Weasley or a cliff. Frowning slightly, she asked them, "What's going on?"

Hermione had a blanket wrapped around her body, Ron's arm around her shoulders. Harry was the closest to her. He was gripping onto her bed set, taking deep, long breaths of oxygen. Lucy examined herself. She was wearing her outfit from when . . .  she dove into the lake!

Lucy quickly scavenged for the missing Sword. The others stared at her as if she was crazy. "The Sword!" she heaved. "Where's the Sword of Gryffindor?"

"It's okay," Ron reassured. "I brought it back while I was carrying you back here."

Lucy's shoulders slumped. She let out a sigh of relief. Before she could do any more, Hermione pounced on the poor girl and gave her a bone-crushing hug. Every breath she had in her lungs exited immediately.

"I was so worried about you. I thought you left, like Ron," she whispered. "Don't ever do that again, you hear? I won't be too lenient the next time. I'll just hex you into oblivion. Got me?"

Lucy chuckled. "Yes ma'am."

Harry and Ron had to pry Hermione away from the girl. She had a hard grip and was intended to never let go, but the boys were stronger. They settled onto their beds to discuss what happened.

"Explain to us how you got here, Ron," Lucy said. She had her hands curled around her elbows, running them up and down her arm to create some warmth.

Ron began to explain his journey. "Well, I was trying to look for you guys. I didn't mean to leave. It was the bloody locket. I really don't feel that way about you guys. I was staying at Bill and Fleur's cottage for a few days." Hermione slapped Harry and Lucy in an attempt to show them she was right, and they were wrong. "I used Dumbledore's Deluminator to get back here, actually. It created a portal for me when I clicked on the button and thought about you three. It brought me to the forest, but I had no idea where you guys were. And then I saw this doe out of nowhere. I followed it because it was really shiny and all, but it led me to Lucy. I saw her jump into the frigid lake but wasn't able to stop the idiot in time. When I finally got there, Lucy was about to pass out. So, I carried her back here where Hermione brought me in. That's really all there is to it."

"Now that that's settled with — do you two boys want to destoy Horcrux now?" Hermione asked, bringing the Sword and the Horcrux to them. "I think we're all sick of it."

The boys nodded their heads silently and left. Hermione and Lucy sat on the beds and just thinking. Hermione was smiling at Lucy like a lunatic, but so was she.

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Harry and Ron finished abolishing the Horcrux. They were walking back to camp when Harry fell to the ground. His head hurt, though not his scar. He screamed in agony while Ron was trying to console him. Ron had to pin the Boy Who Lived before Harry could keep still.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Ron asked. His face was hard with concern. There was a tiny slash on his face from Harry's nail. Ron's flaming-red hair was messy with debris.

"Nothing" was Harry's reply. He pushed his best friend off of him, but lent him a hand to help him up. Ron took it and walked with Harry. When they were a few feet away from the girls, Harry pulled Ron over to the side. "Can we not talk about what happened earlier? I — I'm really fine. Something hit my head, I guess."

Ron just nodded. "Okay."

The boys entered the tent. Hermione and Lucy weren't talking at all, just sitting on their beds staring into oblivion. They didn't ask about the Abolishing Horcrux Experience or why it took so long, which was lucky for them.

They decided to eat Hermione's pre-made soup. Ron didn't complain at all, rather he said, "This is delicious, Hermione — you're a really good cook." Hermione just gave him a small smile and finished eating.

The lot tried to figure out what the other Horcruxes could be. Harry believe they'd be something valuable to Voldemort. Why would he use useless objects — like Portkeys — as Horcruxes? If it got lost, he wouldn't know which was his soul. It had to be at Hogwarts. Voldemort did try to get a job there as a teacher.

Hermione was the only one not thinking about the Horcruxes. She stared amongst her and was grateful for the people sitting around her. There wouldn't be anyone else she would want to die with than her best friends. They were fighting for the greater good, for a better world. Happiness can be found in even the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.