Forever Yours

24. Battle

The halls of St. Mungos were deserted.  Lucy had no idea what Adam had done with all of the workers, but she had to find someone, anyone to help her.  Suddenly a couple of orderlies rounded the corner, but they had wands in their hands and they were drawn.  She stopped dead in her tracks.  She couldn't trust them.  She couldn't trust anyone.  She had barely raised her wand at them when spells started to fly.  Lucy let them go right through her and she disarmed the both of them.

She leaned up against the wall to catch her breath.  She wasn't sure what had been in that syringe, but whatever it had been was weakening her.  The room started to spin around her.

"I have to get out of here," she said out loud.

"I don't think so."

She turned just in time to dodge a killing curse aimed at her head.  Adam was coming toward her now.  Lucy shot every curse she could think of at him, but he somehow managed to avoid them.  She picked up the pace, running at top speed, and shooting spell after spell that popped into her head.  She was doing fine until she ran smack into someone rounding the corner.  She fell backwards, the breath knocked out of her for a moment.  Then she looked up, noticing a wand pointed at her face.  She winced.  She knew whoever it was wouldn't miss at that close of a range.  But a spell never came.  Instead, the wand lowered.

"Lucy!" he exclaimed.

Recognizing the voice, she looked up at him.  "Chad!"

He grinned.  "I came back from lunch and the place was deserted.  What's going on?"

Lucy scrambled to her feet and got behind the wall, taking Chad with her.  She peeked around the corner.  Adam threw another killing curse her way and she dodged back just in time.  She had to let Chad know what was going on quickly in case she didn't make it out of the current situation in time.

"It's him!" she whispered hurriedly.  "It's Adam.  I saw my chart.  It was in invisible ink.  The tonic I'm taking is poison  He's been slowly poisoning me since I saw him in October.  Maybe even before that.  He has been causing my symptoms the entire time."

Chad's eyes widened.  "Did you take it this morning?"

"Yes.  I'm afraid I did."

"There's no telling what it may be doing to you, Lucy.  We've got to get a healing potion in you right away."

She immediately thought of Severus.  "I know just who to go to, but we have to get out of here alive first."

"Where is he?"

She indicated his direction with her head.  "Just around the corner."

Chad took a peek for himself and nearly lost an eye.  Adam was standing up against the wall just watching and waiting for the right moment.  

"Got it," Chad said.

Lucy snaked her wand around the wall and shot a spell at him.  He shot one back and the wall in front of them caught fire.  They had to move.  She threw a curse at him this time and it nearly missed him.  When he retaliated this time, his spell hit its mark.  Lucy took it square in the chest.  She fell back on the floor, her eyes shut tight.  Chad stole a glance at her while making sure Adam didn't fire upon him.  Lucy wasn't moving.

Chad rushed to her side, which put him directly in the line of fire.  He didn't even realize it until a curse nearly missed his head.

"That was a warning shot, Chad," Adam told him.  "Don't make me kill you.  Leave Lucy to me and I'll let you live."

"Not a chance, Adam," he responded.  "What do you want with her anyway?"

His lips curved into a malicious grin.  "To coerce her by way of the Imperius Curse to serve Voldemort.  She would be a great asset to us, you know.  A one way ticket into Hogwarts.  She's the "phantom", you see.  She can go right through walls and force fields.  With her he would be unstoppable."