Chapter 13: Blind Theories

"Slow down there, you're talking too fast. I hate it when you talk too fast, especially when you're stressed," Shona held up a hand as Lucy began talking all at once about many different things as they sat in the Main courtyard with Dean. Lucy was telling Shona all about her vision with Zuc, the Half-Blood Princess' book and Matthew Jarvin. 

"OK, I'm sorry. Let me break it down for you," Lucy smiled. "Zuc's army is getting stronger, the Half-Blood Princess' book is scaring and me and Matt Jarvin is suddenly stalking me? What is going on!" 

"Look, I've already told you about the Half-Blood Princess' book. It's trivia and it doesn't matter, it's just a stupid book with a stupid name inside. Get over it!" (Lucy frowned). "As for your vision, don't worry about it. Zuc just wants to bother you that bit longer being the sod that he is. He'll do anything to make you un-happy. Hell, he'll even give you headaches when he doesn't want to force a vision into your head." 

"But what about Matt?" 

"Can I suggest something?" Dean asked, he had been very quiet since Lucy had brought up the subject of Matt Jarvin. "Didn't I say the other day about him missing when all of his friends bothered you? They were obviously bothering you because he loved you but didn't want to be with his friends. I think when I boy loves you he'll make fun of you." 

"That's what my old muggle primary school teacher used to say," Shona smiled and Dean's face lit up as he had support in his theory. "But they didn't fancy me, they just liked to bully me," and with that, Dean's face fell. 

Suddenly, Lucy spotted Harry walking into the main courtyard with Ron and Hermione. They were having some sort of argument but Lucy had been dying to ask Harry about the Half-Blood Prince's and Princess' books. She stood up and strode towards Harry, surely he had an answer for this. 

"Harry, for the last time you need to hand that book back!" Hermione protested as she went to grab the book but Harry held it up in the air for safety. He was obviously as protective with his book as Lucy was hers. 

"Come on, mate, you sit up all night reading that! It's got to back," Ron frowned, making a grab for the book but Harry moved swiftly so Ron was unable to grab it. 

"Harry!" Lucy called as she strode towards him. 

"Oh! Lucy! Finally!" Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and then turned to Harry. "Maybe your half-sister can talk some sense into — " 

"I have the Half-Blood Princess' book! It has to have something to do with the Half-Blood Prince's book!" 

"Or not..." Ron chuckled, Hermione elbowed him in the ribs. 

"You what?" Harry asked. "A-Are you — ?" 

Lucy pulled out the Half-Blood Princess' book, turned to the first page and pointed to it and showed Harry that she wasn't lying. Harry's eyes widened in shock, he took the book from her to make sure he wasn't dreaming. After a while he handed the book slowly back to her and then tried to regain the power of speech. 

"They have to be connected," Lucy announced after a while as it appeared Harry was in too much shock to speak. "But I don't know how." 

"Maybe these two were brother and sister?" Harry suggested all of a sudden. "Or they might have even been a couple." 

"Or this could just be a stupid scenario you're both making up in your heads!" Shona snapped as she approached them. "Seriously, Lucy, give it a rest and lets worry about more important things!" Shona dragged Lucy away from Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Sorry for wasting your time, guys, she won't bother you again, she's just not right in the head that's all!" 

Shona dragged Lucy into the great hall with Dean following right behind. When they arrived, Shona grabbed hold of Lucy and shook her. "Get a hold of yourself! It's just a stupid book!" 

Lucy frowned. "Everybody thought I was stupid once and now I've ended up in a — " 

"Mental asylum! I know!" 

"I was going to say Wizarding school but oh well..." 

"Just give the book a rest, OK? Focus on more important things..." 

"Alright, I'm sorry," Lucy sighed. Shona opened her book and began reading as she walked a bit behind Lucy and Dean. Lucy noticed Dean's concerned face. "What's wrong, Dean?" 

"Nothing," Dean shook his head and folded his arms. 

"Yes there is, tell me." 

"I-I just..." Dean began but his voice trailed off, so he shook away his stupid attempt and tried again. "I don't want that Matt Jarvin boy to hurt you. He's just taken a sudden interest in you and it seems strange to me!" 

"But you'll be there to protect me if he hurts me, won't you?" 

Dean puffed his chest out. "That's my job!" 

Lucy left Dean feeling proud as she opened the Half-Blood Princess' book and began looking through it, she hadn't actually taken a proper look yet. She flipped through the pages and took a read of every one of them as Dean steered her through the crowd. 

As she turned to the centre of the book a page fell out. She stopped walking and knelt down to pick the piece of paper up when someone else grabbed it before her. Lucy looked up and saw she was face to face with Matt Jarvin. 

"I think you dropped something," Matt grinned. 

"Some people would say it's my sanity," Lucy sighed as she reached for the page but Matt quickly moved it before she could get it. They both stood up so they were no longer face to face, now poor Lucy had to look up at Matt. "Please could I have the page to my book back?" 

Johnny took the page from Matt's hand, Matt's gang obviously followed him wherever he went. "What's this piece of paper about then, Snape?" 

"I don't know, I haven't read it yet — " Lucy began and then made a grab for the piece of paper but Johnny held it above his head. 

"Not so fast, short stuff!" Tyler joined in and took the piece of paper from Johnny. "We want to read it first!" 

"Since when did you idiots want to educate yourself?" Lucy hissed. "Now give it back!" 

Tyler reached behind him and gave the sheet to Alex. Lucy ran towards Alex just as he held the sheet of paper in the air. "If you want it so bad, jump for it!" 

"That's just insulting!" Lucy protested as Alex handed the piece of paper to Chris before Lucy could make a move. 

"Go on, Chris! Read it out!" Johnny laughed. 

Chris cleared his throat and then began to read. "'Dear whom this may concern!'" But before he could continue Dean stepped in. 

"Give it back to her!" Dean yelled. 

"Hey! You're that guy from the other day!" Alex grinned. "Who are you anyway?" 

"Lucy's bodyguard!" Dean smiled proudly but in return he was laughed at by all five of them. Dean's shoulders slumped but only for a moment. He put on his serious face and he was in 'ready to beat up anyone' mode.

"Bodyguard?" Tyler pretended to wipe a tear from his eye after he had finished laughing. "Are you serious?"

Dean nodded. "As serious as one can be, Sir!" 

As the five boys began laughing again, Chris handed the piece of paper back to Matt. Lucy looked at him and narrowed her eyes, he grinned at her. Matt held the piece of paper up above his head and shook it. 

"Go out with me and you'll get your piece of paper back."

"No thank you, the piece of paper is not that valuable," Lucy replied simply causing Shona to choke on her laughter. 

"Go on, Lucy, you know you want to really." 

"No thank you, I'm quite alright." 

"But you and me!" Matt said. "We're meant to be!" 

"Alright, American kid, what's the big deal? It was only on Monday you were insulting me like the rest of the world but now it's like someone's put you under Amortentia!" The five boys looked at each other in a confused manner, Lucy threw her hands up in the air. "Love potion! What is wrong with all of you?" 

"We never pay attention in Potions, " Alex shrugged. 

"It's pathetic," Johnny agreed. 

"And so are you!" Lucy snapped back, then turned around and faced Matt. "Why on Earth are you acting like this?" 

"It's because you're famous," Shona shrugged. "He's just got his stupid head around that fact and now he wants to go out with you because of your Merlin status." 

"Oh, I should have known..." Lucy sighed, thinking now that she was the stupid one. "Good day to all of you." 

"Hey!" Matt called as she was just about to walk down the corridor. "Are you going to listen to what your friend has to say or me?" 

"You haven't said anything on the subject." 

"Exactly, so, hear me out!" 

"Such a complicated sentence for a simple mind!" Shona gasped.

Matt glared at her before beggining. "Hey, I love you, why don't you want to go out with me?" 

Lucy pulled a face. "Why do you love me?" 

"Because I do..." 

"Well done! Bravo!" Shona clapped and Matt looked at her. "Such a fantastic way to tell a girl you love her! But tell me, Matt, have you had any experience with dating girls before?" 

"No, I've been too busy — " 

"Well! Before you speak to a girl you better sort yourself out!" And with that, Shona walked off. Lucy watched Shona go before turning back to Matt. She had a very sympathetic look on her face, Matt couldn't wait to get sympathy from the girl she loved. 

She placed a hand on his shoulder after taking the piece of paper from him which was now at his side. "Please don't speak out loud again, you lower the IQ of the whole corridor." 

Matt was left with his mouth hanging open as Lucy walked off with Dean. 

*      *      * 

"Idiots..." Shona muttered for at least the hundreth time as they made their way into Snape's quarters. 

"What's McGuire moaning about now?" Snape asked. 

"McGuire's moaning about the idiots that like to chase Lucy around." 

Snape paused. "Which one's?" 

"That Matt Jarvin's gang, they're complete and utter fools," (Snape looked confused.) "The American idiot and his gang." 

"I had to deal with Mr Jarvin only a few hours ago, it seems he thinks he can yell at the top of his lungs down the corridor. I will have none of that sort of behaviour on the seventh floor or anywhere else," Snape sighed. "I better go and patrol the corridors now in case he comes back." 

"Yes, you better he's the main idiot, he leads the rest of idiots around — right, Lucy?" Shona growled just as Snape left. Shona then faced her friend who was looking at the page that she had fought to get back earlier. "Lucky?" 

"Shh!" Lucy ordered as her eyes moved to and fro as she studied the paper. 

"What's wrong with you?" 

"I'm reading." 

"Oh you're not still tied up in the stupid mystery of that stupid book are you?" 

Lucy turned and faced Shona. "This stupid book might just help us." 

"How? Does it make Snape wear pink robes?" 

"No, listen to this," Lucy held the piece of paper on top of her book and began to read. "To whom it may concern, if you are reading this you have obviously found the un-finished Tale of the Knights. I understand you have been under quite a lot of tension for a while and you have been wondering what has happened. I can assure you that I will not be able to tell you the full tale here but I can give you some information." 

"Lucy," Shona said with wide eyes. 

"Yes, Shona?" Lucy asked. 

"Remember that time I was mean to the book?" 

"Yes, I do." 

"Niether do I, keep reading." 

Lucy pulled a face before continuing. "Here are some extracts from the Tale of the Knights: Sebastian made the sword, exaliber because he wanted it as a peace treating for Arthur. But he told Arthur that it was the only way to destroy the orb if it was used for evil." 

"So Sebastian called it excaliber, huh?" Shona pondered. "And he made it for Arthur and to kill the orb? Wow..." 

"That's what it says but the other fact is quite funny," Lucy smiled before continuing. "When Sebastian decided to hide the orb he wanted to think of somewhere really safe where no one else would look. So that's why he put it into the Basilisk's mouth. The place almost seemed too safe but Sebastian knew that only his descendant would be stupid enough to look for it there." 

"Are you sure Seb didn't actually know me?" 

"Please call your ancestor by his full name and I think that Sebastian might have seen someone like you coming...or you're even more like Sebastian than we thought."

"Maybe I am a lot like Sebastian? Maybe you're a lot like Merlin?"

"When I grow a long white beard, I'll let you know."

"Hey! He only had that beard when he was older! When he fought Vasil he was young, alright? Same with Sebastian."

"He still could have had a beard."

"Whatever, is there anything else on that sheet of paper?"  

"The orb," Lucy read out. "Was once attatched to a staff in which belonged to Merlin. The staff could stop time and Merlin kept the orb on that staff safe so that it would never get into the wrong hands. With his staff and orb he was very powerful." 

"WHAT!" Shona yelled. "WE HAVE THAT TIME STICK!" 

"Exactly! We knew it was Merlin's anyway, remember?" 

"Oh yeah...but still! This is fantastic!" 

"But I don't want the orb on that staff anytime soon, we don't know the consequences of it. Do we?" 

"No but it would be cool to — " 

"Don't even think about it," Lucy shook her head. "We have to tell dad about all these facts we've found, I'm sure he'll be interested in them as well." 

"OK, lets go."

Lucy and Shona made their way out of Snape's quarters and into the seventh floor corridor with Dean to speak to Snape. What they had found in the Half-Blood Princess' book was vital information, why it was there Lucy had no idea because it was a book she had found in Snape's drawer. 

The three of them were about to turn the corner when they saw Snape standing there talking to Jessica. Lucy and Shona paused while Dean strolled around the corner without a care in the world before being pulled back by Lucy, which he squealed at. 

Dean pulled a confused face and so Shona explained. "Lucy's old man and the vampire are around there so you don't want to interrupt them." 

"Is there something that needs to be said?" Dean asked. 

"Yes, they had a bit of history a few years back." 

Dean's eyes widened. "THE HEAD OF THE RESISTANCE AND — " 

In the next moment Lucy had her hand clamped over Dean's mouth, she accidentally lost her balance and the two landed on the floor in a heap. Snape and Jessica turned in the direction of the two and the whole hall fell silent. 

"Oh dear god," Shona muttered and slapped her hand against her forehead. 

"Oopsies?" Dean cringed but it was muffled underneath Lucy's hand.

"What are you three up to?" Snape snarled. 

"We've come to tell you about something important," Lucy said and was about to reach for the Half-Blood Princess' book when Shona grabbed it and handed the piece of paper to Snape. 

"It's more of the Tale of the Knights," Shona explained as Snape read the piece of paper. 

His eyes widened as he took in all the information. That piece of paper had been taken out of the book that was in his drawer! How did it get there? He never put that in there...besides that book was supposed to be for — 

"So the clue came from the book?" Jessica asked. 

"Yes, it did," Lucy replied as Dean stood up swiftly and then helped her up. "We just found it there, I was reading the Potions book and the page just fell out." 

"That's rather peculiar..." Snape agreed.

"I think there's more pages hidden around the school!" Shona grinned. "I say we go and look for them!" 

"You were only blaming me earlier for blind theories and look what you're doing now!" Lucy pouted. 

"My blind theory might be true like yours!" 

"I doubt it but as I'm a good friend I shall support you in your idea."

"Oh so I'm not a good friend? I got rid of those idiots!" Shona laughed, she was about to list yet more reasons why she was a great friend when Slughorn rounded the corner. He looked left and right, then spotted Lucy. 

"Ah! Lucy! Just the girl I was hoping to see!" Slughorn laughed. "I am hosting a dinner party tonight and I would be delighted if you could make it." 

Lucy turned to her dad. "Is that alright with you?" 

"Indeed," Snape murmured, his mouth was barely moving. 

"I guess it's a yes then, Sir," Lucy smiled. "Is everyone else going to be there?" 

"Yes, Mr Truman, Mr McLaggen and everyone else shall be there." 

"Is it alright if one more member is allowed to come with me?" 

"And who might that be?" 

Lucy pointed to Dean. "My bodyguard, it's just that it's essential he comes everywhere with me. Of course, I doubt it will be un-safe it's just that — " 

"Of course! Of course!" Slughorn waved her comment away and shook Dean's hand. "What's your name, young fellow?" 

"Dean Cousins!" Dean announced proudly. 

"Wonderful, I will see you both there!" Slughorn waved goodbye and he left the way he came. 

"Typical!" Shona huffed. "What am I then?" 

"You're a McGuire," Lucy joked. 

"Exactly! We're not invited anywhere! We never get the best in life and we never — " Shona was cut off just as Ben rounded the corner...

With Ellen. 

Ben smiled at Shona as he walked by. He held onto Ellen's hand tightly and it was apparent they were the new Hogwarts happy couple. Shona's shoulders slumped. 

"Point and evidence...need I explain?" Shona muttered before walking off.