A/N: Ah, the formalities... Harry Potter belongs to J.K.R., because sadly
I'm not creative enough to make him up myself. Lyria and Casilda, however,
*do* belong to me, and Lyndell belongs to herself.
I also need to offer up never-ending thanks and praise to a certain friend of mine by the name of Snuffles... er, Tatt Skywalker (heh, wrong RPG!). Tatt wrote this the first part of the prologue and assisted with the brainstorming session. He is also an RPGing wonder and a wonderful writer himself, and therefore I order you to go read his fanfic. We love you Snuffles!!
And now, on with the show.... (Remember please this first part is Snuffles' doing....)
~*~*~*~
The stage at the front of the theater was brightly lit and the crowd was silent. A dignified looking man dressed in a set of fancy robes stepped up to the podium and raised his wand to his throat. "Sonorus," he whispered. Then, in a largely amplified voice he said, "Welcome, fellow witches and wizards. Today we honor our brave brethren – both dead and alive and here with us today -- by awarding them the Platinum Wand!"
The crowd cheered. "Our first recipient is a man of great renown," the wizard announced. "His work behind the lines in the heart of Voldemort's organization paved the road for victory and caught many a traitor *cough* Peter Pettigrew *cough*. Today we honor... Severus Snape!"
The crowd cheered again. A somewhat tall man with greasy hair walked over to the man at the podium.
Fudge shook Snape's hand and gave him an elegant looking award. It was a silverish wand floating in mid air above a hard wood base. The air around the wand sparkled silver and gold.
"Our next recipient is a woman just as renowned as Mr. Snape. We award this next Platinum Wand to the Ministry's top Auror, Lyria Strider-Black!" There were cheers as the young woman walked out onto the stage.
"Mama..." one of the twins Lyria's husband, Sirius Black, held said.
"Wan! Mama get wan!" his sister cried delightedly, clapping her hands. Sirius Black smiled and blushed slightly as the crowd laughed.
Lyria received her wand and came back to where her husband and children were sitting. She gave Sirius a quick kiss and showed the curious infants the award.
"We'd also like to award the Platinum Wand to Lyria's husband, Sirius Black, for his help in the defeat of Lord Voldemort. Sirius risked his life countless times rushing information from Mr. Snape to the Ministry and accompanying his wife, friends and Ministry officials to the front lines of this hard and long battle against evil. Sirius?"
Sirius smiled and handed the twins willingly over to Lyria. "Dada get wan!" the little girl yelled happily.
"Yeehee!" her brother added.
Sirius accepted his award and came back to his seat. "Take a look at this Orion," he said as he took the infant boy and showed him the award.
Fudge continued. "We also want to give this wand to Mr. James Potter and his wife Lily Potter. Their names shall be remembered for ages. We award them the Platinum Wands for their hand in the final destruction of the Dark Lord. We owe much to all of these brave young people."
James and Lily walked up to the podium and received their awards. Lily smiled as the crowd went wild. Her young son, Harry, looked out at the bright blurry crowd with wonder. James and Lily kissed and walked back to their seats.
The ceremony was soon over. The Potters, Blacks, and Snapes had to be hurried out the back to avoid the crowd of people wanting to shake their hands. Casilda Strider-Snape held her and Severus' son, Salazar, in her arms as the group walked to the back alley. They piled into a magically altered car. In the back were their friends Remus Lupin, his Elven wife Lyndell, and their infant son Jake.
"Congrats guys ... You're celebrities!" Remus said.
"You deserved an award too, Moony," Sirius told his friend.
"They'd never give one to a werewolf," Remus replied, not in the least perturbed. "Besides, I don't need any award... I have Lyndell and Jake. We have a good house, I have a good job ... what more could a wolf boy need?" He grinned.
Everyone smiled, even Snape, which was perhaps as much an achievement as the destruction of Voldemort.
~*~*~*~
And here they were, ten years later, Lyria mused. All of them changed in some ways, and yet still very much the same...
Severus and Cassi had four children now, despite Severus being away teaching much of the year. Remus and Dell had Abby to deal with now, but fortunately she didn't transform like Jake did. James and Lily had wisely stopped with Harry.
And of course, you couldn't forget her little family. Orion and Gemini had been joined by Everett, James & Remus, Holly, Polaris, Darione, and Oliver. Quite the collection of children for a pair of Aurors to keep up with.
Orion and Gemini—as well as basically everyone else's oldest—had received their letters for Hogwarts at the beginning of the week, and it was a letter Sirius had received that was the topic of their discussion tonight.
"There's nothing wrong with being an Auror... it's not that," Sirius was saying as Lyria started paying attention again. "I'd just really like to take this position, Lyri."
"You need to be kept busy all the time," Lyria said, an amused smile on her face. "And being an Auror's gotten rather boring."
His expression told her she'd hit it squarely on the head. "I don't want you to feel like I'm abandoning you, either."
"If Cassi's managed three kids all these years, and four now, then I can manage seven." Lyria replied, taking her husband's hand. "If you really want to go back to Hogwarts and teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, I'm not going to stop you."
He squeezed her hand in a sort of thanks and kissed her softly.
Lyria broke the kiss with a mischievous grin. "Just make sure you don't owe McGongall any detentions before the year starts."
He laughed.
I also need to offer up never-ending thanks and praise to a certain friend of mine by the name of Snuffles... er, Tatt Skywalker (heh, wrong RPG!). Tatt wrote this the first part of the prologue and assisted with the brainstorming session. He is also an RPGing wonder and a wonderful writer himself, and therefore I order you to go read his fanfic. We love you Snuffles!!
And now, on with the show.... (Remember please this first part is Snuffles' doing....)
~*~*~*~
The stage at the front of the theater was brightly lit and the crowd was silent. A dignified looking man dressed in a set of fancy robes stepped up to the podium and raised his wand to his throat. "Sonorus," he whispered. Then, in a largely amplified voice he said, "Welcome, fellow witches and wizards. Today we honor our brave brethren – both dead and alive and here with us today -- by awarding them the Platinum Wand!"
The crowd cheered. "Our first recipient is a man of great renown," the wizard announced. "His work behind the lines in the heart of Voldemort's organization paved the road for victory and caught many a traitor *cough* Peter Pettigrew *cough*. Today we honor... Severus Snape!"
The crowd cheered again. A somewhat tall man with greasy hair walked over to the man at the podium.
Fudge shook Snape's hand and gave him an elegant looking award. It was a silverish wand floating in mid air above a hard wood base. The air around the wand sparkled silver and gold.
"Our next recipient is a woman just as renowned as Mr. Snape. We award this next Platinum Wand to the Ministry's top Auror, Lyria Strider-Black!" There were cheers as the young woman walked out onto the stage.
"Mama..." one of the twins Lyria's husband, Sirius Black, held said.
"Wan! Mama get wan!" his sister cried delightedly, clapping her hands. Sirius Black smiled and blushed slightly as the crowd laughed.
Lyria received her wand and came back to where her husband and children were sitting. She gave Sirius a quick kiss and showed the curious infants the award.
"We'd also like to award the Platinum Wand to Lyria's husband, Sirius Black, for his help in the defeat of Lord Voldemort. Sirius risked his life countless times rushing information from Mr. Snape to the Ministry and accompanying his wife, friends and Ministry officials to the front lines of this hard and long battle against evil. Sirius?"
Sirius smiled and handed the twins willingly over to Lyria. "Dada get wan!" the little girl yelled happily.
"Yeehee!" her brother added.
Sirius accepted his award and came back to his seat. "Take a look at this Orion," he said as he took the infant boy and showed him the award.
Fudge continued. "We also want to give this wand to Mr. James Potter and his wife Lily Potter. Their names shall be remembered for ages. We award them the Platinum Wands for their hand in the final destruction of the Dark Lord. We owe much to all of these brave young people."
James and Lily walked up to the podium and received their awards. Lily smiled as the crowd went wild. Her young son, Harry, looked out at the bright blurry crowd with wonder. James and Lily kissed and walked back to their seats.
The ceremony was soon over. The Potters, Blacks, and Snapes had to be hurried out the back to avoid the crowd of people wanting to shake their hands. Casilda Strider-Snape held her and Severus' son, Salazar, in her arms as the group walked to the back alley. They piled into a magically altered car. In the back were their friends Remus Lupin, his Elven wife Lyndell, and their infant son Jake.
"Congrats guys ... You're celebrities!" Remus said.
"You deserved an award too, Moony," Sirius told his friend.
"They'd never give one to a werewolf," Remus replied, not in the least perturbed. "Besides, I don't need any award... I have Lyndell and Jake. We have a good house, I have a good job ... what more could a wolf boy need?" He grinned.
Everyone smiled, even Snape, which was perhaps as much an achievement as the destruction of Voldemort.
~*~*~*~
And here they were, ten years later, Lyria mused. All of them changed in some ways, and yet still very much the same...
Severus and Cassi had four children now, despite Severus being away teaching much of the year. Remus and Dell had Abby to deal with now, but fortunately she didn't transform like Jake did. James and Lily had wisely stopped with Harry.
And of course, you couldn't forget her little family. Orion and Gemini had been joined by Everett, James & Remus, Holly, Polaris, Darione, and Oliver. Quite the collection of children for a pair of Aurors to keep up with.
Orion and Gemini—as well as basically everyone else's oldest—had received their letters for Hogwarts at the beginning of the week, and it was a letter Sirius had received that was the topic of their discussion tonight.
"There's nothing wrong with being an Auror... it's not that," Sirius was saying as Lyria started paying attention again. "I'd just really like to take this position, Lyri."
"You need to be kept busy all the time," Lyria said, an amused smile on her face. "And being an Auror's gotten rather boring."
His expression told her she'd hit it squarely on the head. "I don't want you to feel like I'm abandoning you, either."
"If Cassi's managed three kids all these years, and four now, then I can manage seven." Lyria replied, taking her husband's hand. "If you really want to go back to Hogwarts and teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, I'm not going to stop you."
He squeezed her hand in a sort of thanks and kissed her softly.
Lyria broke the kiss with a mischievous grin. "Just make sure you don't owe McGongall any detentions before the year starts."
He laughed.