#bitingdownclosed

Lucy kicked the door open and their hinges creaked. Aberforth Dumbledore looked dumbfounded as Lucy stormed in, wand in hand and clothes still disheveled. She had been very distracted as of late.

“I need to get into the castle. Now.” Lucy’s teeth were clenched. As she approached the bar, Aberforth had this crazy look in his eye. He didn’t seem surprised at all, and it wouldn’t have been the first time that anyone’s come to the Hog’s Head to demand entrance to the school. “It’s my sister!”

That was almost a shriek as she banged her fist on the bar. How the hell was he supposed to know who she was? She came in without so much as an introduction, but instead demanded just to see her sister – whoever that was. Fortunately for Lucy, Aberforth was done playing gatekeeper for the Order of the Phoenix.

“We’re not the Order of the Phoenix,” Lucy spat. “It’s not like any of them are actually helping us!”

The rationale as to why he let Lucy and her friends – well, some of them were her friends, some of them were random people off the street who wanted to help – go through was something she didn’t think to ask about. Did he just know they were good just by the knowledge of the passageway? No one else but the Order of the Phoenix and Dumbledore’s Army knew of the passage. Did he think that the danger was out there and giving them the way in was better for them altogether?

Or did he understand the rage of what it was like to lose your sister?

The bartender motioned for the painting in the wall. “There’s not anyone on the other side, is there?”

Without so much as a question, Lucy ducked under the bar to stare at her. She wasn’t as pretty as Molly; her forehead was too big and her hair was too thin. All she did was move out of the way, revealing some smoothed stone steps, and Lucy pulled herself up into the painting. She lit up her wand tip, her shadow like a ripple against the stone.

She moved forward, expecting the group to follow. Any of them could turn back now, and she wouldn’t care. Lucy was that much closer to Molly that she would have sprinted down the passageway had it not been so dark. Was it like this when they told the stories about that night when Voldemort was defeated? Lucy didn’t think that it would have to come to a fight – Professor Wood sealed the castle to protect everyone. She was just going for Molly.

“Fuck –”

The Order of the Phoenix didn’t tell her any directions to get into the castle; that wasn’t in the stories at all. Was this a new defense put up by the Aurors, to cause an illusion? Or was Hogwarts itself getting better at keeping people out? The Room of Requirement had acted against Snape and the Carrows once upon a time. They were intruders but it wasn’t like they were going to hurt anyone! She just wanted Molly!