I sighed as I looked around Platform 9¾. It was 10:30am yet it was swarmed with students and their families. I stood at Aunt Narcissa's side in her version of attention: head held high, shoulders held back, chest out, hands clasped together in a relaxed manner in front of my body, and feet together at a 60° angle. I looked down to make sure my black messenger bag wasn't causing any creases in my purple hoodie. As I did I noticed some dirt on my jeans and brushed it off quickly. I wasn't listening to what she or Uncle Lucius were trying to tell Draco and I, that is until I got a sharp jab from Draco. I turned my attention back to my Legal Guardians. "I swear Lyra. You grow more and more into your mother with each given day," my aunt commented before going on, "As I was saying, You two, along with your friends, are the Heirs to each Pureblood Family. You must live up to the expectations of your families at all times. More so at school. The five of you must be fighting each other for the top score in every class." Draco scoffed, "More like the second, since Lyra is in our year. She'll be top no matter what they through at her." Uncle place a hand on Draco's shoulder and squeezed while smiling. From an outsider's perspective it would look like a father giving his son words of encouragement, but those standing here knew it was a warning. Draco fell silent quickly. I spied Theo and Blaise in the crowd just then. Turning around to face my Aunt and Uncle, I curtsied, "Please excuse Draco and I. I've spotted Theo and Blaise entering and wish to have them accompany us onto the train." Draco quickly got the hint and bowed as well. There was a moment of silence before Uncle dismissed us.

We raised from our bows but didn't dare to raise our heads until we had walked backwards a few steps and turned around. Theo and Blaise were in the middle of asking to be dismissed from Theo's parents as Draco offered me his left elbow. I smiled and gently touched my hand to his forearm. "Oh. Also your hair and makeup have a 24 hour permanent spell in place as per our agreement Lyra," Aunt Narcissa called before we were out of earshot. Becoming painfully aware of the pressure the comb in my perfect bun, I gripped Draco's arm tighter for a millisecond before releasing him. I turned back to her and curtsied again, watching her through my eyelashes. She waved her hand in acknowledgment. I sighed in relief. I repeated the dismissal and rejoined Draco, who was now accompanied by Pansy. I clasped my hands in front of myself once more, as Pansy had Draco's right arm in her left hand. No of us spoke a word while we waited 5 ft away from Theo and Blaise to be dismissed. When two boys weren't released by 10:55 am, I floated over to be in between the boys and curtsied. "I'm terribly sorry to interrupt a family matter, Mr. Knotts. However we," I jerstered to the small group of Purebloods that had formed behind Draco and Pansy without looking up, "cannot board the train without them. We only have 3 minutes to board. Would you be so gracious as to dismiss them please?" The entire group bowed/curtsied as I spoke. Theo and Blaise have been bowing since they first requested to be dismissed. We waited in silence before Mr. Knotts spoke, "Very well. You are dismissed. Though Theodore, you should've been the one to bring this to our attention instead of your betrothed." Out of the corner of my I saw Theo's bow get deeper, "My apologies, Father." We were waved off. Quickly doing the dismissal, Everyone scrambled onto the train. The train started moving just as the last kid of our group jumped on.

Draco, Pansy, Theo, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, and I slid into the first empty compartment we could find. I sat next to the window after everyone's luggage was put away. Blaise sat across from me and patted his lap. I chuckled and moved to sit in his lap. Blaise wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my temple. Theo laughed as he took my original seat, "Lyra you act like you're engaged to Blaise instead of me." I laughed and stuck my tongue out at him. "It's because you don't do anything about it," Pansy stated as she sat next Blaise and I. Draco just scoffed as he sat next to Pansy. Goyle sat next to Theo and across from Pansy. Crabbe sat next to Goyle and across from Droco. Theo smirked, sat criss crossed and held out a hand to me. I felt Blaise's arms tighten around me as I placed my hand in Theo's. Theo gripped my hand and pulled me into his lap with ease, though Blaise wasn't actually trying to keep me where I was. Once I settled into my new seat, Draco cleared his throat. "So why did it take until Lyra butted in to get you two released?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "Because they caught Theo fixing my collar before left for the station, so we got the full 'You're a Pureblood Heir' speech," Blaise sighed while Theo started to hit his head against my shoulder. "And they wouldn't take that we were actually trying to be presentable as an answer," Theo added on against my shoulder. I patted Theo's head. "That explains a lot," Pansy muttered. Everyone nodded and went on to different topics. Theo and Blaise talked about a play that happened in a quidditch match they watched. Pansy was going on about something to Draco, who wasn't listening to her. Crabbe and Goyle were already starting to fall asleep. I smiled, resting my head against the window, as I watched the compartment resemble home. I slowly closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep in Theo's lap.

I was shaken awake, what seemed like, a few minutes later. Grumbling, I pushed away the hands and rubbed my eyes. When I opened my eyes, I saw that only Theo, Blaise and I were left in the compartment. Blaise was munching on a Pumpkin Pastie. It took a moment for me to realize that he was sideways. "Jeez how long was I out?" I asked sitting up. Theo chuckled, "It's just now turning 3pm so only about two hours. And before you ask: Yes, I got you some Every Flavor Beans. I have no idea where Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle went. And Pansy just left to use the Loo." I stretched and groaned as some of my joints popped. Then I leaned over to grab my box of jelly beans from the other side of Theo. I settled into my seat once more with said candy, smiling. I watched the scenery pass by us as I quietly ate the sweets. Suddenly the door slammed open. I jumped, turning back to see the rest of our group pile in at once. "He thinks he's sooo amazing. I'll show him, just watch," Draco ranted as he sat next to Blaise. Theo threw a Chocolate frog at Droca, whom easily caught it and started opening. Crabbed sat on the other side of Draco while Goyle helped gather up the other sweets so that Pansy would have a cleared Pansy sat on the other side of Theo and Goyle came to sit on the ground at Blaise's and my feet. I offered him some of my candy and he took some smiling. This entire time Draco was ranting and raving over someone. Finally I sighed, "Draco, who in seven hells are you talking about?" Everybody turned to me in shock. "What? It's like you don't remember that I wasn't apart of this group until two years ago," I stated as I started searching through my bag. Draco broke the silence quickly, "I talking about Harry Potter. I offered to be his friend and he denied me. Oh I know," I had found and pulled out my iPod Touch at this point. Completely ignoring Draco, I turned to Pansy. "This bag is awesome. Thank you again," I smiled at her. Pansy chuckled, "Thank my mother. She's the one who had the idea to put the undetectable Expansion Charm on it. I simply picked out the style." "It's still amazing," I stated as I placed my left earbud in.

I scrolled through my music gallery when Goyle said, "And to answer your question, yes we do." We froze and looked at him. Goyle shifted in his spot uncomfortable about being in the spotlight but continued, "It's easy to forget you were with your Aunt Andromeda up until we were all nine years old. Draco is our Leader. Crabbe and I are the Muscle. Theo and Blaise are the Pranksters. Pansy is the Princess. And you, Lyra, are all of our confidant. I'm sure you know more about each of us than the rest of us put together." I felt my cheeks glow red at his words. "Thank you, Goyle, for saying those touching words, but please stay on topic," Draco demanded as he went back into his rant. Everything went back to normal at Draco's words and Goyle deflated. I placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked up at me. I mouthed thank you and smiled at him. Goyle smiled back and returned to listening to Draco. I went back to my iPod and turned on What about Us by P!nk. I placed the other earbud in and lost myself in music.

I didn't move or interact with the group again until I realized it was dark outside. I sighed and climbed over Theo so I could stand without stepping on Goyle. Everyone looked at me. "It's dark out and I'm the only one who isn't in school robes. I need to go change," I answered the silent question that hanging in the air. Pansy immediately started to get up but I waved her off. "I'll be fine Pans. You just relax," I said as I opened the door. "You know she'll hear about this, don't you?" Crabbe asked, sounding scared for me. I turned and looked at him. "My Aunt nor my Uncle can reach us at Hogwarts. We all know this that's why we did what we want today on the train. Our easy banter. Draco's ranting. Pansy's candy eating. Goyle's little speech. Theo's and Blaise's mini fight over who's lap I was going to sit on. Here at Hogwarts we're free. I'm not scared of the punishments anyway. We all know I'll take all the blame if it does get back to them. You know that right?" I asked him. Crabbe nodded and so did everyone else when I looked at them. "Good. I'll be back in a few minutes," With that I closed the door and went to the loo to change.

I slipped through the other first years who were doing some last minute changing as well. Over my music, I heard a muggle born complain that her iPod wasn't working as I passed her. I lowered my head and hoped she didn't notice that I had my earbuds in. "Excuse me?" the girl called out while also grabbing my bag effectively stopping me from entering the stall I was headed for. I took a deep breath before turning around and taking out my right earbud. "I'm sorry. Is there a line that I missed?" I asked cautiously as I looked at the girl who stopped me. Taking in a quick assessment, the girl was about my age, had slightly bucked teeth, bushy hair and was already in her robes. "No, there's no line. I'm sorry to bother you. But I noticed that you were listening to earbuds and was wonder how you got you device to work?" she quickly explained as she released me bag. I tucked the unused earbud into the collar of my hoodie and faced her full on with my hands in the pockets. "I have no idea how it's working. I've been assuming my aunt simply charmed to work in Magical Areas. Though now that I think about it, my iPod still shouldn't work since we're on the train," I stopped to ponder the question then shrugged, "I guess my other aunt called in a few favors with the staff." The girl sighed and looked defeated for a moment before smiling once again. "Okay thanks anyway. I'm Hermione Granger by the way," she stated while extending her hand. I could still hear the disappointment in her voice but I didn't take her hand. She was still a muggle born after all. There were still some things I'll never take the risk of punishment for. "Lyra Lestrange. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to change before we get to Hogsmeade," I commented as I slipped into the stall.

I quickly changed though I didn't want to. When my shirt and pants were on I snaked my earbuds through my shirt so I didn't have to worry about them getting caught on anything. I placed my iPod in my back pocket and continued getting dressed. Once everything was where it was supposed to be, I walked out and got blindsided by the mirror as I washed my hands. My obsidian hair was made up into a perfect bun on the top of my head. My bangs fell just right to frame my lilac eyes and make them noticeable. Aunt Narcissa added even more effect by dusting a silver-grey eye shadow over my lids and cat eyed my eyeliner. Thankfully she didn't bother doing any foundation or cover up, saying something about blocking pores when I went to bed tonight. She did apply the faintest hint of pink lipstick to my lips. However what caught my eye the most was the comb that was holding my hair in place. It was a blooming emerald flower that was surrounded by vines of diamonds set in silver. I reexamined my makeup and realized that it wasn't to articulate my eyes. However it was to compliment the hair piece. Rage flared through my body and I stormed out of the loo after drying my hands.

I slammed into the compartment, closed the door and slid down to the floor with my back to it. "I guess you finally got the full picture of what my mother did to you," Draco asked softly. I looked over at him. Draco looked ashamed for his mother's actions. I sighed and shook my head. "Draco, I agreed to this so that I could wear the tux to my birthday ball, comfortable clothes to the platform, and the boy's uniform here at school. I just wish she didn't make the comb the center piece. It screams rich kid more than my iPod," I ranted. Draco nodded. Then Blaise laughed. We all turned to him. "Guys, Lyra is finally 11," he explained. I rolled my eyes at him as everyone joined in on his laughter. Just as I was about to give a retort, the train came to a stop. We became silent instantly. Pansy stood up and looked down at me. "Ready to become the pinnacle of Slytherin Royalty?" Pansy asked while holding her hand out to me. I smirked and took it. She pulled me up as I replied, "Only if you guys are by my side the whole way."