Lucy Riddle and the Boy Who Lived

The Daily Prophet

Chapter Forty-Four

They were staying in the Leaky Cauldron. It was too late to enter Hogwarts uninvited. Also, it wasn't safe in the night, especially since the Dark Lord could be lurking around trying to look for them. Luckily for them, Tom the Landlord despised him and allowed them to stay with him while he tried to continue on with business. Even with the bags of money above Harry and Lucy's heads, he welcomed the lot with open arms.

Lucy tried to comprehend why the Dark Lord would want to kill her now. Did he find out the rest of the prophecy? That couldn't be it — there was only three people who knew the full two prophecies: one of them was dead, and the other two kept their mouthes shut. Had there been someone spying on them?

Hermione, Ron, and Harry were lying on one of the two beds provided for them, whispering with hushed voices. Lucy didn't feel like entering into their conversation, and she didn't know if they would let her. So, she decided to go down to the dining room, just to have something to do.

The dining room was empty except for a few bundles of newspapers. It was quiet. The only light was from the chandelier high above the dining table and the reflection of the moon shining down on her. She moved swiftly around the table, taking a peek at the paper.

The Daily Prophet was sprawled all over the place. Lucy read the date on it. To her surprise, it said: January 19, 1997. She snatched the most recent Prophet and read the articles. There was so much going on while they were in the forest, it was unbelievable.

There was a secret radio station called Potterwatch. Though the founders of Potterwatch didn't write the article, someone did. It was said that they change their password every night and update anyone who was a supporter of Harry Potter. They believed that he wasn't in hiding but was planning something big.

The Daily Prophet was basically a paper about Harry Potter. There were many writers who wrote about the good or bad of his actions. Of course, Rita Skeeter added some of her opinions in the Prophet. To Lucy's surprise, though, they were good things.

Harry Potter has not been seen for months now. People are wondering where he is, where he's hiding — but I believe he is planning an attack. The Boy Who Lived is the Chosen One, and he will protect us from You-Know-Who. Harry Potter will save us all.

Lucy had no doubt he will. Harry was going to save the Wizarding world. The Dark Lord will drop from his throne, and everyone will be safe. She turned to the next page, continuing with her reading. To her amusement, she read a paragraph of Bathilda Bagshot's work.

Some of you may have read that nasty article from Rita Skeeter. Let me provide you with this one piece of information — she is a liar. Never in my life had I told her any of that. Yes, everything in there is true, but my thoughts on Albus Dumbledore are purely good, and I would never talk rubbish about him or the Dumbledores. Now, Harry Potter is a good young boy. If Albus believed him to be the Savior, then I believe he is too. Along with the girl, Lucy Donavon; though she is the daughter of You-Know-Who, she has a pure heart as do Harry, and should not be discriminated. Long live, the Boy Who Lived.

She knew that Rita Skeeter was a lousy know-it-all. Lucy remembered Hermione telling her she was an Animagus. Rita could transform herself into a beetle at will. Though it was a fantastic talent, it would evidently get her in trouble someday.

Lucy placed The Daily Prophet back on the table where it belonged. She took in a deep breath and smiled. The Wizarding world, though some didn't believe in them, were finally realizing that what Harry Potter and his friends are doing are good, and that the rubbish the others are saying is just what it was — rubbish.

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Hermione rubbed her temples. Ron was fast asleep while Harry was bugging her about going to Hogwarts immediately. He believed Voldemort would go to the school before them. Hermione believed Harry was getting paranoid. How would he know about them getting the Horcruxes? Voldemort was traveling around the world while they were on their journey.

"They're his Horcruxes, Hermione. He has to remember them. They're a piece of his soul! Especially during a time of war. The Horcruxes are the only things keeping him from dying. We'd be idiotic to believe he wouldn't try to collect them all before we can. And he knows where they are!" Harry argued.

Hermione sighed. "But how would he? Didn't you tell us before that Voldemort couldn't feel the Horcruxes being destroyed? Didn't Dumbledore tell you that?"

"But Dumbledore is gone. Stop believing everything I say is wrong because I'm not you. I may not think everything logically, but I think with my gut. My gut is telling me that Voldemort is going after that Horcrux in Hogwarts, and he's going to get it tonight."

"Harry . . ." Hermione let out another sigh. "We'll go tomorrow morning, okay? We're all tired. We need all the rest we can get. It's not time for us to after that Horcrux, especially since we don't even know what it is. How are we going to find it before him if we don't have a clue as to what it is?"

Harry grumbled, "Fine. We'll go tomorrow. Goodnight, Hermione, and have a nice sleep." He climbed into bed with Ron and turned his back to her. Harry may be acting like a child, but he was trying to keep Voldemort from staying eternal. They would never be able to defeat him if he had the Horcruxes in his possession.

Hermione shook her head and slipped into her own bed. Lucy hadn't gotten back yet. She was out there doing something. She should wait for her to get back, but Hermione was getting really tired, so her eyes started drooping until her eyes closed shut, seeing only black.

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Idiots! They're all idiots. With a hand on the door of Hogwarts, the hand pushed it open. Hogwarts was dark and silent. There wasn't a soul in sight. It wasn't a challenge to sneak passed all the ghosts, except for one.

"What are you doing here? Have you come back to retrieve it?"