You can't Predict it All

Team: Appleby Arrows

Chaser 3 Prompt: Ace of Swords — Upright: Breakthrough, Clarity, Sharp Mind, Reversed: Confusion, Brutality, Chaos

Additional Prompts: 2. [quote] "Any bright ideas now, fearless leader?" 4. [action] to spill something/knock something over 15. [object] Flask

Title: A Day of Rage

Disclaimer: Do not own Harry Potter

Word Count: 2991

At first, there were loud cracks like the sparkle of fireworks. Silence reigned for exactly one minute before screaming shook the peace of the small muggle town. Lucy startled at the loud screech, sitting up from where she had been lying in her window seat reading The Tales of Beedle the Bard. She pulled on her curtains to look outside.

"Lucy!" her father's voice snapped as he charged into her room. "No, come away from there."

Her father lifted her off the seat, settling her on his hip as he nearly ran out of the room.

"Will?" a woman called up the stairs, running up the first couple steps. "Will! Lucy!"

"I have Lucy," the man, Will, said, coming down the steps. He handed Lucy over to his wife, Elizabeth, pushing past her as he said, "Get to the shelter. I'll meet you there. Boys!"

Will walked down the hall, pounding on different doors. Elizabeth hugged Lucy to her chest as she made her way through the kitchen and to the back door. Lucy tightened her grip around her mother's neck.

"Mum, what's going on?" Lucy asked.

"The town is being attacked, sweetie," Elizabeth said, kicking the back door open. She settled Lucy down, taking her hand and sprinting across the backyard. Both girls screamed and fell when a loud explosion shook the ground. Lucy covered her ears.

"Get up, get up!" another woman screamed, helping Elizabeth to her feet. "Come on, hurry!"

Lucy didn't move until she saw her cousin, Stella, standing above her and offering a hand. She accepted the hand and Stella pulled Lucy to her feet. Together, the two girls followed their mothers to the underground weather shelter. Elizabeth pulled out her wand and flicked it at the shelter's wooden door, and it unlocked. She held it open for the others to crawl down first.

"Will!" She cried, looking at the house, flinching as another blast shook the ground.

Inside the shelter, Lucy and Stella were seated on a loveseat, waiting for everyone else to arrive. Stella's parents, who lived down the street from Lucy, were busy enlarging more seats for everyone to wait out the attack.

"Why don't we apparate away?" Stella asked her father.

"We are safe down here," he answered. "The wards will keep us hidden and undetectable from the bad people. And then we'll need to help when the Aurors arrive. The muggles will need special treatment for the wounds they might have."

At that, Will and two teenaged boys walked down the stairs, followed by Elizabeth, who shut the shelter door and put a locking charm on it before spelling the door above to look like a patch of grass. She turned to look at everyone, counting heads.

"It's You-Know-Who," one of the teen boys said, twirling his wand in his fingers.

"Peter," Will scolded.

"You saw the mark in the sky, it has to be him and his followers," Peter continued saying, his brother nodding. "I think one of our professors' is a follower—maybe he's out there right now. Could you imagine, Wyatt?"

"No, stop, you two," Elizabeth said, "you're scaring the kids."

"I'm not scared," Lucy said, sitting up straighter.

A loud blast shoot the shelter and Lucy and Stella squeaked and huddled closer together as earth crumbled around them. Everyone in the shelter remained quiet, listening for any sounds directly above them. After a few minutes, Will nodded and motioned for everyone to gather around, whispering in quiet voices about what the plan was.

"Wait!" she cried, standing and facing the adults in the small room, interrupting the conversation. "What about Charlie? And his parents?"

"I'm afraid there's really nothing we can do," Will said.

"Nothing?"

"We can't risk going back out there. We are safe in here and we are going to stay in here until the danger is gone. Then we will find your friend Charlie."

"But Daddy," Lucy felt her eyes water.

"Don't give me those green, puppy eyes, sweetie. This is for everyone's safety, especially yours. Aurors could be arriving at any minute and they'll make sure no one gets hurt. We will make sure he is okay then."

Lucy huffed and sat back down next to Stella and watched everyone begin their whispering once more, huddling in a circle away from the girls. Lucy looked over to a plaque of wood covering an emergency exit tunnel that led out to the surrounding trees away from the town. She inched off the sofa and toward the plaque. Stella looked over at her and gave her a "what are you doing?" look. Lucy jerked her head the door, motioning for Stella to follow.

Stella shook her head, mouthing "no."

Lucy waved to her to come, giving her cousin a desperate look.

Stella rolled her eyes with a silent huff before sliding off the love seat, backing away from the oblivious adults and older boys. She jogged over to Lucy and they both slipped out of the door, running as quietly as they could down the exit tunnel, leaving the safety of the underground shelter. At the end of the tunnel, the two girls pushed on a second plaque of wood that lay flat on the ground. They managed to slide it off their exit enough to slip out, quickly replacing it.

The two girls stood and looked down the hill they were on, shock and fear forcing every muscle and nerve to quiver.

The town below was in chaos. There were people running and screaming as strangers in dark robes and masks chased after them, casting curses that knocked people to the ground and made them writhe. Cars appeared to have been blasted to prevent people from leaving if the blown tires and smoking engines were anything to go by. Three houses were on fire, and a dark robed wizard sent a fourth house up in flames, screaming echoing from within. In the blackening sky was a greenish, cloudy symbol of a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth, wrapping around the skull.

"Oh Merlin," Lucy said, her face pale.

"What do we do now?" Stella asked. "We should go back and tell our parents what's happening."

"No, we can't. Not without Charlie."

"How are we supposed to get him back here? Unless you've forgotten, we're seven."

Lucy looked past the houses and toward the back of the town. "There's Charlie's house. We'll stay to the edge of town and work our way in. We can cut through the park."

Stella growled loudly in frustration. "Fine. But this is the last time I let you lead me on one of your mad adventures."

"You said that last time. Come on."

The two girls used the trees as cover as they made their way down the hill. Once they reached the town, they ducked behind cars and weaved between a few buildings, running for the park. Several times a curse flew over their heads or a loud blast knocked them off their feet. But Lucy encouraged Stella to keep going and neither girl retreated.

Finally, they reached the wishing well at the park and hid behind it, catching their breath. The wishing well stood at the center of the park, a display bucket resting on top of the ledge. It offered the girls good cover as well as a place to evaluate their situation. There were dark-robed, masked wizards all around them, one standing at the edge of the park, one roaming the street the park was on, and another carelessly shattering every window in eyesight. Lucy gulped and shivered, trying to spot any hidden cover to get from the park to Charlie's house.

"Any bright ideas now, fearless leader?" Stella asked, glaring at her cousin with teary eyes.

"I'm thinking," Lucy said.

Slowly, Lucy peered over the wishing well and nearly had a heart attack at the sight of a masked wizard standing just on the other side of it. She sucked in a breath, but made no noise, keeping her eyes just above the well. She looked in the direction of Charlie's house, but the rest of the way there was too open and exposed to make a run for it, especially with so many wizards and witches around.

Stella peered over the edge and squealed at the sight of the man in front of them. Lucy pulled herself and Stella down and shushed her, covering Stella's mouth with a hand. Stella nodded.

"Shh," Lucy shushed her again. She pointed to the back of the park. "We go back to the trees. It'll be a longer way, but we can approach Charlie's house from behind and lead them around the town back to our tunnel."

Stella nodded and the girls slowly rose up. However, Lucy's elbow knocked into the pail sitting on the well's ledge, knocking it to the damp grass at their feet, cold water sprinkling over them as the pail spilled.

Lucy and Stella gasped and dropped back to the ground as the wizard in front of the well spun around. The girl's eyed each other, shaking as the footsteps slowly made their way around the well. Lucy was trying hard not to breathe, two hands covering her mouth, her eyes focused on the chipped paint of the roundabout. Stella had tears rolling down her face, her brunette hair cascading down in front of her as she curled up and hid her face in her knees. They made no noise as they waited for death to fall upon them.

A quick tap of a thin object on the shoulder startled Lucy and she gasped, back crawling into Stella, who fell over and stared up in fear. The masked wizard was staring down at them, his wand pointed at them, lanky black hair conflicting with the off-white, designed mask. Dark eyes sneered down at them from the eye holes. The wizard said nothing.

Lucy sniffed, her green eyes glistening as she said, "Don't hurt us, please."

The wizard still said nothing for a long minute. Then, he lowered his wand and brought a finger to where one's mouth would be. Be quiet, he meant.

Lucy and Stella nodded, still shaking against each other.

The wizard reached into his robe and pulled out a flask. He dropped it next to the girls, running away from the well.

The girls breathed a sigh of relief. Lucy picked up the flask. All it said was "One sip for invisibility, two sips for visibility." Lucy showed Stella, who frowned.

"It's a potion," Stella said, taking the flask and looking at the contents. "Mum's a potioneer, she'd know what this is."

"Well, Aunt Mary Ann isn't here," Lucy said. "Do you think it'll work?"

"How do we know it's not a trap? This could be poison."

A curse flew over the well and struck the roundabout, sending pieces flying everywhere. The girls dropped to the ground and covered their heads as shards barely missed them. A witch was eerily laughing, and the laugh was coming closer.

"I guess we'll just have to find out the hard way," Lucy said, taking the flask, uncorking it, then taking a quick sip.

She waited, feeling no change, but Stella smiled.

"It worked," Stella said. "You're invisible."

Stella took the flask and swallowed a sip. Lucy was surprised when she could no longer see her cousin. She smiled as well, reaching out a hand to feel for her. They touched hands, and without losing their grip, decided to go straight to Charlie's house, running from a car on fire and a wizard torturing a muggle in the street. It was a hard sight to take in, and the man's screams hurt the girl's ears, but they continued, sneaking inside Charlie's house, shutting and locking the door. They each took two sips of the flask, turning visible once more.

"Charlie!" Lucy called.

"Lucy, shush!" Stella scolded. "We don't know if Charlie's in here or if they're in hiding. Someone else could be in here, too."

"Right."

The girls tiptoed through the house, looking for Charlie and his parents. The house was still untouched, nothing was broken or on fire. The dining room still had plates of half-eaten sandwiches and glasses of lemonade. The chairs were pushed back, and one chair was toppled over. In the kitchen, every component needed to make the sandwiches was still out. The girls found the first of the many bedrooms, but the bed was made up and no one was inside.

"Where would they have gone?" Stella asked.

"That door is closed," Lucy said, pointing at a door at the end of the hall. She tried to open it, but it didn't budge. She knocked. "Hello? Is anyone in there? It's me, Lucy Davies. Stella's here, too."

There was some shuffling and then the door opened, revealing Charlie's father, a tall man with dirty blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Girls, you should be at home where you're safe," he said. "Come in, quickly."

"Yes, Mr. Hughes," Lucy said. She and Stella ran into the small closet space, finding Mrs. Hughes and small Charlie sitting on the floor. Lucy and Stella sat as well, and Mr. Hughes sat down next to him.

"Are you two all right?" Mrs. Hughes asked. "You're not hurt, are you? What were you doing out there?"

"We're okay," Lucy said. "Our family is hidden in an underground shelter. We came to bring you to it so you can be safe."

"Oh, that was very brave of you. But do your parents know where you are?"

"No, but we had to come get you. Those are bad wizards and witches out there. They're out to kill all the muggles and—"

"Muggleborns," Mrs. Hughes nodded in understanding, looking down at Charlie, whose face paled. "This is the . . . You-Know-Who your brothers were talking about, isn't it? The one trying to take over the Wizarding World?"

"Yes, it's him. We have to get out of here because they will find you."

"How do you suppose we do that?" Mr. Hughes asked.

"I have the perfect solution," Lucy smirked. She picked up the flask and sipped it, turning invisible in seconds, the flask now seemingly floating in the air.

Mr. and Mrs. Hughes gasped while Charlie smiled and exclaimed, "That's so cool!"

"It's an invisibility potion," Lucy said, startling the two adults. "We'll use it to walk right down the main road and we'll take you right to our hideout. It's warded against dangerous spells."

"All you have to do is take a sip," Stella said, handing the flask to Charlie, who eagerly took a sip then gagged and spluttered.

"That is disgusting!" He stuck his tongue out, then faded from sight. "Is it working yet?"

Mr. and Mrs. Hughes fretted over missing Charlie for a second, happy when they could still feel him, and he assured them he was fine. Stella handed the flask to Mr. Hughes, who sniffed it and retched a few times.

"What's in this?" he asked Stella.

The young girl shrugged. Mr. Hughes sighed and looked at his wife. A loud blast outside and a woman's scream made him shudder and he sipped the potion, handing it to Mrs. Hughes just as he disappeared. Mrs. Hughes plugged her nose and took a sip herself, handing the flask to Stella, who sipped it.

"Are we all ready?" Lucy asked, standing up. "Let's all hold hands and we'll leave together in a big train, like at school."

Everyone took hands and slowly walked out of the house, Lucy in the front and Mr. Hughes bringing up the rear. They moved slowly through the street, passing a flipped over, burning car and a witch who was laughing hysterically as she skipped past them, oblivious. Lucy had Charlie's hand, and she could feel her schoolmate trembling.

They walked past several houses on fire, and a loud blast had them all look back to see Charlie's house go up in flames. Mrs. Hughes caught a sob in her throat, the sound muffled by the blast. Mr. Hughes urged everyone to keep going, and Lucy led them forward.

As they turned toward the hill where the escape tunnel exit way was, Lucy paused, her eyes focused on something.

"Lucy," Stella whispered as loud as she dared, "keep going."

"You take them the rest of the way," Lucy said, letting go of Charlie's hand. "I'll catch up."

"No, Lucy, come back!" Stella yelled before slapping a hand over her mouth.

Lucy ran down a dark side street, slowing down as she approached a wizard with dark, lanky hair. The man was waving his wand over an unconscious woman on the ground, and the deep gashes on her chest, stomach, and extremities slowly healed together. Lucy gasped, recognizing her primary school teacher.

The man jumped to his feet and spun around, his wand pointed directly between her eyes, though his eyes darted back and forth.

Lucy pulled the flask out from under her shirt, revealing the object. The wizard watched the flask rise to invisible lips, and then Lucy appeared before him, her eyes sparkling. The dark eyes narrowed behind the mask.

"Thank you, sir," Lucy said. "You saved my friend. You're not like the others, are you."

The man said nothing, though he did lower his wand. Lucy smiled at the man.

"Lucy!" Will yelled, running down the hill toward his daughter. He picked her up, his wand on the Death Eater. The dark wizard held up his own wand, but instead of casting a spell, he backed away, disappearing down the alley.

Lucy was apparated back to the shelter, where her family fretted over her, Stella, Charlie and his parents. When everyone was satisfied no one was injured, and Lucy received a tongue lashing from her parents, Mr. Hughes spoke.

"Your daughter was quite the fearless leader, Will."

"She is, isn't she?"

Lucy smiled proudly.