▬▬ eighteen; the department of mystery.
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AND THE PLAN HAD WORKED. Just like Draco had told her to do, she had offered his friends som candy—but in fact, it was the Weasley twins' Puking Pastilles. She felt bad for Draco who had to eat one knowingly, guess that's what he was willing to do for her. 

When Umbridge's 'guards' had left the office to find a bathroom, Lauren, Ron, Luna, Neville and Ginny ran through the castle to find their friends. They couldn't stop laughing about what had happened, and when they ran into Harry and Hermione on the bridge they wore wide smiles.

"How'd you get away?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Puking Pastilles. It wasn't pretty," Ginny said.

"You won't believe it," Ron said and then looking at Lauren.

"Draco's idea actually," she confessed. "Told Ron to eat the sweets in his pocket and they told him to bugger off and ate the lot themselves."

"That was clever," Harry said. "Who knew Malfoy was such a gentleman." Although she heard the sarcasm in his tone, she couldn't help but smile. 

"It was brilliant," Neville snickered. "So how are we getting to London?"

Harry took a step back and gazed around at his friends, "Look, it's not that I don't appreciate everything you've done, all of you. . . but I've got you into enough trouble as it is." He walked past them but Longbottom once against raised his voice.

"Dumbledore's Army's supposed to be about doing something real. Or was that all just words to you?"

"Maybe you don't have to do this all by yourself, mate," Ron said calmly.

"So how are we going to get to London?"

"We fly, of course," Luna said brightly.

—

"Department of Mysteries," the lady said through the speakers when the elevator came to a stop. The ride here had been magical, they had flown on thestrals through the rainy weather. All London's light shone like stars underneath them when they passed.

"This is it," Harry announced and led them through the corridor. The walls and roof and floor was all melting into one tunnel because they were made of the same pattern of back marble. And in the end of the hall there was a black door that were just screaming for them to go through.

The closer they got to that door the more Lauren felt like they were walking into a trap. She had walked over these shiny floors before and she had seen her own reflection in the walls, she had seen all this the moment before she dreamt that she injured Mr. Weasley.

Before Harry opened the door she grabbed his hand and looked at him conflicted. He nodded, assuring her he had seen this place before, assuring her that he understood how she felt. But he still brushed her off and opened the tall door and walked through.

And when she walked through she stood in the middle of a new hall, only this hall had no walls or roof. Rows of endlessely tall shelves that held millions of small glass balls was all that she could see no matter which way she looked, and it made her want to cave in and disappear. The door they had walked through wasn't attached to a wall, it was just a simple door in the middle of the corridor.

"Something's not right," Lauren mumbled to herself while the others followed Harry who started rushing, counting the numbers of the shelves.

"Ninety-one. . ." she heard his voice become fainter as he counted. "Ninety-four. Ninety-five. He should be here."

She turned around to see their figures far away, no, she just saw the Lumos spell on the ends of their wands. It was like floating stars. Usually, Lauren wasn't one to run away from trouble, she had past years always sought the adventure and adrenaline of doing something dangerous. So now, that her body was telling her to run, she knew something was very wrong. 

"Harry. It's got your name on it." She heard their voices but had no interest in getting closer, instead, her attention caught a glass ball that glowed a little more than the others. 

She grabbed it and looked at the name tag, ignoring the heavy knot that formed in her stomach. 'Lauricella Riddle'. When she brought the ball closer to her ear she could make out the whisper to a sentence.

"The two with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches. And the Dark Lord shall mark them as his equal but they shall have power the Dark Lord knows not. For neither can live while the other two survives."

It gave her the bad kind of goosebumps and made her hands tremble so much that the glass slipped through her hands and crashed around her feet. Her friends turned around abruptly and ran over to her, and it turned out they weren't as far away as she had thought.

"What happened?"

"What's that?" Hermione asked when she saw the glass on the floor.

Lauren looked like she had seen a ghost, but she had just heard her cruel destiny. Her eyes locked with Harry's and she looked at the ball he was holding in his hand, and his name was on the name tag but she knew he had heard the same thing. Their destinies were one. Lauren had always seemed answers to why she was so different, why she always had such a connection with the Dark Lord and everything he did. . . but now that she knew, she wished she could've just stayed oblivious. 

"Neither one can live. . ."

"If the other two survives," Harry finished, and now he knew as well.

Neville stamped his foot impatiently in the ground, but couldn't hide how uncomfortable he was. 

"Harry," Hermione exclaimed. They all looked up and looked her way and saw someone dressed in a black cloak close upon them. The teenagers took out their wands at the figure in the black mask only to see that similarly dressed people came from all around them. 

"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked and looked at the masked figure walking with a snake crane. 

"You know, you really should learn to tell the difference between dreams. . . and reality." The man took out his wand and made the mask fade away. And Lucius Malfoy smirked and continued approaching just a little closer. "You saw only what the Dark Lord wanted you to see. Now, hand me the prophecy."

"If you do anything to us, I'll break it," Harry responded quickly and firmly. Lauren took out her wand as well and stepped away from her prophecy that was a dangerously sharp layer on the shiny floor.

A high-pitched laughed echoed between the shelves and Bellatrix Lestrange joined Lucius' side. "He knows how to play. Itty, bitty baby. Potter."

"Bellatrix Lestrange," Neville breathed, recognizing the women with anger.

"Neville Longbottom, is it? How's Mum and Dad?"

"Better, now they're about to be avenged!" He rose his wand against her and she was quick to follow, but both Harry and Lucius stopped their actions by raising a hand.

"Now, let's everybody just calm down," Mr Malfoy said, "shall we? All we want is that prophecy."

"Why did Voldemort need me to come and get this?"

"You dare speak his name? You filthy half-blood!" Lestrange's shout made Lauren flinch just a little.

"It's all right. He's just a curious lad, aren't you?" Lucius said, looking at Harry. "Prophecies can only be retrieved by those about whom they are made. Which is lucky for you, really. Haven't you always wondered. . . what was the reason for the connection between you and the Dark Lord? Why he was unable to kill you when you were just an infant? Don't you want to know the secret of your scar?"

And when Lucius had gotten closer he caught the girl hiding behind a tall Neville. Lucius tilted his head, "and Lauren, are you lost? Wasn't it about time that you. . . found out the truth?" He said and glanced down at the broken glass.

And then he turned to Harry again, "All the answers are there, Potter, in your hand. All you have to do is give it to me. Then I can show you everything."

"I've waited 14 years."

"I know."

"I guess I can wait a little longer. Now, Stupefy!"

"Stupefy!"

Lauren grabbed Ginny's hand and took a sharp right, the other following behind. And when a masked figure landed in front of her she controlled the fear in her bones and blasted the man away with a Stupefy spell. 

They ran from one corridor to the other, everything reminding her of a labyrinth and it made her sick inside.

"Get back to the door!" Harry yelled. They all stopped however and turned around to see all the black shadows fly against them as one big cloud, and Ginny pushed through and pointed her wand at them.

"Reducto!"

Lauren smiled proudly when the shadows disappear with the light blast, but it dropped when the shelves started falling and all prophecies fell down. It was a domino-effect and they wasted no time. They ran against the door they saw in the distance while the shelves were crashing on their heels.

They jumped through the door and flew down, down, and down. Just when they were about to collide with the ground they stopped, and then landed on their stomachs. 

"Department of Mysteries. They got that bit right, didn't they?" Ron said when they got up, trying to ease the tension. 

"The voices." They all turned to see Harry looking up at an archway of stone. On the top of a big rock in the middle of the room stood an archway and between it, there was a white mist. "Can you tell what they're saying?"

"There aren't any voices, Harry," Hermione said. "Let's get out of here."

"I hear them too," Luna then spoke, looking up at the archway that Harry took a few steps closer to. Lauren dragged her hands through her hair and leaned against the wall, trying to stop the screaming in her head. 

You're his daughter.

You're a monster.

You're a Riddle.

You've been living in a lie!

"Harry, it's just an empty archway. Please, Harry," Hermione pleaded. 

Ron turned around to see Lauren and walked over to her, "we'll be fine, mate. Come on, you're okay."

"Thanks, Ron, but it's—"

"Get behind me!" Harry yelled and pointed his wand upwards where shadows came flying down. Ron dragged Lauren with him to stand with the others. The shadows attacked them and pushed them around until Lauren felt something grab her throat and then she stood by the wall trapped between someone's grip and wand.

She looked around to see all her friends in a Death Eater's grip and then Harry Potter by the archway, and a blonde man approaching him.

"Did you actually believe," Lucius spoke, trying to hide how furious he was. "Or were you truly naive enough to think. . . that children stood a chance against us? I'll make this simple for you, Potter. Give me the prophecy now or watch your friends die."

"Don't give it to him, Harry!" Lauren yelled, and the grip around her throat tightened. But Malfoy whispered something in the boy's ear and the next moment Lucius had the prophecy in his hand.

"Get away from my godson," Sirus Black said as he walked up to Lucius Malfoy, his sudden appearance made everyone gasp. And then, he punched the long-blonde man right in his jaw. The Prophecy crashed in the ground and left Lucius with a devastated face.

After that, so light shadows filled the room that Lauren had to close her eyes not to get blinded. She didn't open them until she felt the grip around her throat leave and wind of air pushed her back down to the ground. When she looked up, Tonks offered her hand.

When Tonks had helped her back on her feet she saw the entire Phoenix Order fighting the Death Eaters. Lauren took out her wand and helped Ginny up from the ground and then ran over to help Lupin fight off two Death Eaters.

"Well done, Lauren!" He shouted when she had thrown a perfect spell to send the Death Eater to fly away.

A few more moments of fighting and flickering lights passed until she heard what she thought was a memory. The spell put everything around her on halt and echoed forever inside her head. She dropped her shoulder and turned around—she wished it had been imagination but it wasn't.

Lupin ran past her and up the archway and grabbed the screaming boy in his arms, and Lauren saw Sirius Black drift off into the archway like a ghost. 

Even though she felt as if she couldn't breathe, she ran up to Harry. Even though it reminded her so much of the moment she had spent months to erase, she embraced him. He crashed into her arms and screamed into her shoulder. All the denial she had experienced quietly when her brother died, was everything Harry couldn't keep inside. He had been through it too many times.

Bellatrix's body disappeared out of the room and Harry saw her, and he grabbed his wand tightly, and he pushed Lauren away. He rushed after the murderer and Lauren was fast behind—but she wasn't going to stop him.

"I killed Sirius Black!" She chanted on as she jumped out in the entrance of the Ministry. "You coming to get me?"

He sprinted after her, and when he was close enough he acted out of anger and grief. "Crucio," he said and the red light left his wand and pushed Bellatrix to the ground.

Lauren stopped behind when she saw how Harry pointed his wand at an unarmed Bellatrix. She could tell by the way his face tilted harshly from side to side that Voldemort was in his head now, using the anger to get to him. 

"So weak." Out of nowhere, another shadow flew past Harry and faded into a monster that made Lauren straighten her back. Lord Voldemort groaned when Harry tried to use his wand against him and not against Lestrange, and Harry was then left unarmed. 

Before Voldemort could say anything else or use his wand, green flames took off in one of the fireplaces. Lauren stood paralyzed while Dumbledore walked out of the flames and looked at Voldemort.

"It was foolish of you to come here tonight, Tom. The Aurors are on their way."

"By which time I shall be gone, and you. . . shall be dead," he said, but his voice wasn't raspy and weak anymore. He was strong again. He raised his wand and Dumbledore pushed Harry away with his wand and then he met Voldemort's spark with his own. 

While they duelled Lauren saw how Bellatrix got away through a fireplace, and she saw Harry struggling to get up. But there was no way she could get to him without walking right into the deathly challenge between two wizards.

They both were fighting to get the upper hand, and small energy sparks left their wands and crashed against the walls and black marble flew around like leaves in autumn. Lauren got down to the floor and covered her head and then moved to the wall. She ignored everything that happened around her, the sand and the glass, she just crawled along the wall until she reached Harry.

He also covered his head from anything that could fall down on him, so she pushed him further away from the fight. quickly use her wand to heal as much of his face that she could before he shook his head and gently pushed her hand away.

"The fight's not over yet, Lauren."

She didn't reply, she just nodded and looked away at the wizards, but he brought her back to him and looked her in the eye. "Lauren, promise me you. . . you have to promise that you'll always be one of us."

She titled her head confused, but then she understood. "He may be my father, but I will never stand by his side."

But Harry wasn't convinced, not at all, because he saw something green flash in her eyes. The same green colour she had in his dream last year, the dream when she joined Voldemort's side.

▬▬ author's note ▬▬
THIS CHAPTER WAS HELL TO WRITE. i suck at writing these action stuff but i hope y'all understand anyways. i feel like i don't have to be so detailed with all the scenes bc y'all probably seen the movie like ten times like me ;)
anyways, next chapter coming early next week!
stay tuned ! stay safe! thank u!