Lucy Snape and the Return of Lord Zuc (Book Four)

It was just a dream

Chapter 37: It was just a dream

"I'm sorry, Severus, but Lucy is going to have to participate in the third task. She has made it this far and I'm sure she is very capable of completing it." Dumbledore said as he sat at his desk and peered over his spectacles at Snape who was close to tears. 

Dumbledore had ordered a meeting at midnight as soon as he had found out what Snape had seen, all the other teachers were horrified and believed he could see the future but others just believed that he was being pathetic and making it all up so he could get Lucy out of the third task. 

"I refuse to let her take part! If what I've seen is true then I will not have her participate. She's too young and she didn't even put her name in the goblet of fire. So I suggest you let her off." Snape raged. "People die in this tournament and I'm not having my daughter be the next victim."

"I believe Severus," Trelawney piped up and everyone stared at her as though she'd just got drunk and performed some ridiculous dance. "Earlier on in the year I told Severus bad things were going to happen this year, that hus daughter would be in great danger." 

Snape groaned all of a sudden that he was going to be asociated with the nutter who teaches divintation. And wished he hadn't of told Dumbledore about this after all so he could just pretend that Lucy was ill so she wouldn't have to participate. 

"That's as maybe but Lucy is going to have to participate no matter what, are you really going to make Lucy participate and put her in danger, Albus?" Snape said sadly. 

"I'm sorry but it's the rules," Dumbledore said sadly. "I would let her be excused but I'm afraid I can't." 

"B-But..." Snape tried to protest and he really thought he was going to cry. "She won't survive against him...She's too weak...She tells me she's fine but she won't be! She'll die! She's not strong enough!" He was in hysterics now and when McGonagall placed a hand on his shoulder he realised what  a fool he was making of himself. 

"Come on, you better go talk to Lucy," McGonagall said and opened the door and led Snape out while the other teachers stayed put. 

He gloomily made his way down to the dungeons and when he entered his private quarters and made his way straight to Lucy's room. She was fast asleep, completely unaware that she would have to fight Zuc in the third task, Snape didn't have the heart to tell her. 

He sat in the chair beside her bed and stroked her hair as it returned to it's usual colour. He couldn't believe that he couldn't save Lucy from the third task and she'd have to meet Lord Zuc and fight him alone. He refused to tell Lucy that his power was to see the future for it would scare her so much and kill all the confidence she had built up over the past couple of days. 

"Stop stalking me..." Lucy groaned and rolled over onto her other side so she was no longer facing him and Snape's shoulders slumped as he knew he'd woken Lucy. 

"I'm sorry but if you knew why you'd be scared too..." he muttered as Lucy sat up and glared at him as he woken her and one thing he knew not to do was wake Lucy as would be very annoyed. "You need anger management, you should be happy I'm here." 

"I don't need anger management, what I need is for people to stop annoying me." She snarled and got up and opened the window then she opened her draw and took out the tale of the knights she had 'kept' from the library and flicked to the back page and snarled. "And what I really need to know is the ending of this book." 

"We'll find out someday but for now all you've got to focus on is the third task." Snape thought about bringing the subject up would make her more cautious about what she might and will have to face.