Preface
You know that feeling that you get when you realize that something is wrong? Sometimes the feeling settles in with slight unease, but other times the feeling of dread makes you jump up and find the source of the discomfort. My discomfort is, and will forever be my family; immediate and extended.
I didn't have a very good understanding of the danger that we were actually in when I was a child. Then again, I didn't exactly grow up with the threat of my father looming over us like my older brother, Orpheus did. He was eleven years old when my Hades incarnate father was defeated by a child of my own age; one and a half. The boy who lived was not even consciously able to formulate sentences. Orpheus knew our father, and even as a boy he knew what kind of evil he was capable of. I never had to deal with that growing up.
I am a metamorphmagus; apparently it is a freak thing. It is supposed to be a hereditary trait, but according to Orpheus no one in our family has the trait except me.
"Ay! Lyra! Come on inside, It's not safe out there anymore!" Orpheus screamed from inside. I know that he is only thinking of my best interest but honestly, the back yard, won't expose me to any more evil than the house that we reside in will. The most noble and ancient house of black, or one of them that is. The manor is full of whispered secrets and buzzing eerily with dark magic from the past decades of practice. The manor has been just a peachy place to live for the past couple of years.
I changed back into my human form and apparated into the living room, scaring Orpheus more than he would like to admit.
"OI! LYRA! BLOODY HELL! WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU ABOUT APPARATING! YOU STILL HAVE THE TRACE WE COULD BE FOU-"
"WOULD YOU SHUT UP 'PHE? You know that I figured out how to remove the trace."
"I don't know anything! You've never been properly trained!" My rebuttal was weak, and immature, which I knew before I even said it.
"Neither have you!" I said cheekily as I moved to sit in the windowsill of the turret adjacent to the living room.
"Lyra, something doesn't feel right."
Because of our current tricky predicament of not being able to show our faces to the wizarding community without trying to be captured, killed, separated, or worse- all three, we were never able to attend Hogwarts like other kids usually would. 'Phe was home schooled before my mother; Bellatrix Black was taken to Azkaban for the rest of her life immediately following my father Tom Riddle's, demise. 'Phe was only eleven, but from there he was able to teach himself with all of the books that were left behind and the wretched Malfoy's who we stayed with temporarily after our mother was incarcerated.
"Ignore it, everything is perfectly fine." 'I reassured with a forced smile. The truth was that it was likely we were in trouble. 'Phe gets premonitions occasionally; we've joked that he must have seer in his blood.
"Seriously kid, be careful with your magic. We can't afford an accident now of all times." 'Phe said, in my opinion overly dramatic. 'Pheus always looked at my magic as unstable at best, because I'm a metamorphmagus and growing up I couldn't control my physical changes like I can now. They always reflected my mood. It made it difficult for him because he tried to hide us in muggle towns, when the tyranny of the pureblood world would get to him. We couldn't exactly show up in Diagon alley, we are the children of two of the most hated wizards in Britain, and have made quite a name for ourselves as, "filthy blood-traitors" in the pureblood community.
'Phe is overbearing and controlling but I know he only acts like that because he cares. He uses our mother's maiden name to work, because while it's a red-flag to most wizards indicating dark magic it is certainly less conspicuous than Riddle.
Most recently he got a job as an Auror at the Ministry of Magic. He has always had very poor hours but he works hard to support the two of us. I know he doesn't think I understand his situation and I don't appreciate what he does, but I do.
Orpheus' problem is that he cannot see me as anything except a child. As a woman of sixteen years old this is clearly an issue.
"Lyra, I'm going to work and for the love of Merlin stay out of trouble, and stay here." Phe sighed exasperatedly. I simply nodded and turned my head to roll my eyes. I may or may not have a habit of sneaking off to have fun on my own terms. I am almost of age; and I am significantly better at magic than any witch or wizard my age. He gets angry because "Someone might recognize me," which is not likely with my metamorphmagus abilities. Honestly, he doesn't have to treat me like I'm an imbecile. And locking me in a bloody manor is cumbersome after a while.
He left and I waited five minutes before I left my perch in the large turret or observatory that resides across from the living room of the manor. I walked down the pristine, Victorian hallway and admired for the thousandth time the riches adorned throughout the walk. Affluence filled the hallways like a fragrance wafting around almost mockingly.
'Pheus and I have never been as rich as the Black family is known to be. It was just the two of us, and we were both mere children when we were forced to fend for ourselves. However we found ways to earn us money- especially in the streets of muggle London where we were unknown. Magic helps of course, a simply placed memory charm and the muggle is on their happy way, robbed unbeknownst to them. 'Pheus would always get angry at my way of earning money to contribute, saying it is immoral and cruel to fool muggles. And that you shouldn't trick people that can't fight back. I always figured what they don't know won't hurt them and there is no reason for him to get his knickers in a bunch about it.
A bright flash of maroon light followed by a sharp, screeching gust of wind blew open a door a few paces in front of where I stood in the grand hallway.
The crystal chandelier swayed and twinkled ominously with the gust, and a sudden coldness filled the room. I silently hid in an alcove by the portrait of an ancient Black relative, which had been magically blinded to the manor ages ago when 'Pheus and I took residence here. Two pairs of footsteps filled the hall and I quickly ducked out of the line of sight.
"Lucius where are they?" I could hear an old death eater named Rodolphous Lestrange mutter to another set of footsteps. It's Lucius Malfoy, another death eater, or used to be during the war. He is also my uncle by marriage; he wed my mother's sister Narcissa Black. She is nice enough, to purebloods that haven't betrayed their status.
"I haven't the faintest idea Rodolphous. I honestly doubt that my blood-traitor niece and nephew would take residence in the most noble and ancient house of Black." Malfoy pompously stated, before beginning to nose around the grand hall. I rolled my eyes. He turned up his aristocratic, angular features at the idea that we could associate with anything pureblooded now that we are blood traitors.
This is not good. There are two death eaters inside the house, 'Pheus isn't here and I left my wand in my bedroom. If they nose around any longer they are bound to find evidence of people living in the manor, and that would be disastrous. I cannot apparate without alerting them to my presence and if I move a muscle they are bound to hear me. Sweating and frozen to the spot I'm standing in I hold my breath and I listen for anything that might help me get out safely, praying to that they don't walk up the hall towards me.
"Did you hear that you're your ickle-blood traitor nephew is an Auror now. All grown up he is! What would his father say, hell what would Bella say!" Rodolphous chortled in mirth. Lucius made a sound of amusement before replying, "Yes, I have heard of his recent misadventures with the ministry. The last time we saw him he was no older than a fifth year challenging me to a duel! Bella would be outraged at his brashly obvious Gryffindor traits!" This had them in stitches, entirely distracting them from their purpose of being here.
"But you showed him, he still has the nasty scar across his face, doesn't he?" Lucius looked proud and lethal as he nodded in confirmation.
I was boiling with anger.
Narcissa is 'Pheus and I's closest living relative that hasn't been sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban. Naturally as children of ages eleven and one we were sent to live with her. We stayed until I was seven and 'Pheus was 15, and suffered beatings and mocking's at the hand of dear old Uncle Lucy. The Malfoy's would not allow Orpheus to go to school at Hogwarts either, saying that a wizard of his lowly stature is shouldn't be allowed to practice magic. It was as if he was a squib, or a house elf. His son Draco was close to me then, before at least as we were almost exactly the same age. But we were mere children then, he was always a conniving, spoiled, selfish boy. But if you caught him when he wasn't in a tiff he wasn't so bad.
The night he is referring to, Lucius hit me with dark spell after spell until I was bleeding and coughing, the torture hurt like I was dying and very slowly one excruciating spell at a time. Then my own uncle cast the torture curse, and much like its name it was unforgivable to 'Pheus. I was very close to death for breaking a priceless vase, which actually I didn't break at all; it was that git Draco, who blamed me for breaking it as he didn't want to clean up his mess. 'Pheus stood up for me, and in the process ranted about what he really thinks of muggles and said, "If loving muggles makes me a blood traitor then I am proud to call myself a blood traitor!" and Lucius, obviously, did not take kindly to any of that and cast sectumsempra and caught 'Pheus across his face.
I was too young to recall all of the sordid details but somehow through the red haze of blood he grabbed me and apparated for the first time, at fifteen years old to St. Mungo's hospital for magical maladies where he was healed rather quickly, as was I. We never went back to Malfoy manor after that, and we went place to place trying to find another relative that would take us in, but it became harder and harder as we grew up away from the pureblood mania and propaganda fed to the children of death eaters to ensure they take the same path as their parents. No self-respecting member of the noble and most ancient house of black would take in two filthy blood traitors. And clearly the Riddle line was out.
"Well let's get down to business, Lucius. Search the grounds, they have to be here, why have all the paintings been blinded, and who could have done it if not those ungrateful deviants?"
I held in a gasp. It seems so obvious, and stupid that we didn't think of that but we weren't expecting people to check in. We had lived in this house for two years with no incident. Before we found our mothers property titles; it was a lot of camping and house squatting.
I looked to my side and caught an ancient mirror and analyzed my reflection. I was visibly scared. My long curly black hair was hanging down my face and on to my chest playfully, despite the seriousness of the situation I couldn't help but notice how much I have grown since I saw Lucius last, when I was a mere child. I was weak then, incapable of defending myself; But now? Now I am a grown woman. I am proficient at wandless magic; I am powerful despite my stature and pretty face. I am fierce. I am not going to hide from Malfoy and Lestrange. They are pathetic old men, easily taken care of despite my lack of wand, I have cunning and strategy.
Feeling a strong wave of confidence, and hereditary viciousness I silently stepped into the grand hallway not twenty paces from the older, more experienced death eaters. But I still had the upper hand; I had surprise which is an enormously powerful weapon.
First I cast a non-verbal Accio for my wand, and then I raised my hands in their direction and produced a powerful defensive spell. A burst of warm gold light exploded from my hands in their direction, hitting Lestrange first and then Lucius. I heard my wand coming before I felt it and reached my hand up while the two were still disoriented and grabbed my wand from the air, immediately spinning it in my fingers to grab it appropriately and hitting them both with a spell that ties one of their legs to the ceiling, while disarming them.
I accio'd their wands and grinned. Honestly, nothing to fear at all. I cast my patronous and a fox burst out of the end of my wand and immediately went to Orpheus with my message in Parseltounge for safety, alerting him to the situation.
"Malfoy and Lestrange broke into the manor. They were looking for us. The situation has been dealt with; they are disarmed and captured, please send an Auror to collect them. All is well."
"Let us down from here at once you dirty little half-wit!" screamed Lucius enraged. His face was turning purple from all the blood rushing to his head from being help upside down. I giggled pompously.
"That's a thought. Isn't it? But I have to decline your offer, say hello to mother for me in Azkaban." I said as impartially as I could. His face, had it not been filled with blood would be ghostly pale as he realized the implications of what I intended to do, and he proceeded to beg me like a coward instead.
I quickly performed a memory charm, which are my specialty, on the both of them making them forget they saw me, to ensure the safety of our stay in the manor, and turned and headed for my room three flights of stairs up. Orpheus and the other Aurors would get there soon.
I transformed into a bird and flew up the staircases, and quickly entered my room landing on my bed in my human form.
'Phe doesn't really understand, I could be helping people. Not sitting, alone in a creepy old mansion while he gets to gallivant around magical London saving the day.
I looked around my room and saw a moving picture from when I was a child in the picture a younger version of myself and 'Phe play in a park somewhere on a beautiful day. 'Phe looks rough, tired but happy. 'Phe is ten years older and when I was a child and he was my age he had a six year old kid to look after. I can't imagine that kind of responsibility. I understand his concern and over protectiveness; He has been my parent since he was a first year! It wasn't fair to him that I took his childhood away and now he spends all of his free time worrying himself grey about me instead of enjoying his youth.
"LYRA!" speak of the devil…
"Merlin Lyra what the bleeding hell happened, I was gone for ten minutes and Death Eaters show up and try to kill you?! And what were you thinking fighting them, you could have been killed! You know how dangerous it is for you especially ever since Voldemort's return! I MEAN REALLY! HAVEN'T YOU EVER HEARD OF A BLOODY DISILLUSION CHARM!?" I let 'Phe yell himself out quietly still thinking about how he doesn't deserve any of this. When he was finally done screaming he said he was staying here with a few other Aurors just in case more Death Eaters show up. I nodded obediently and sat on my bed. He sighed,
"I'm just trying to look out for you, you know that right Lys? I gave him a snarky half-smile in return.
"Right then, mushy stuff is over?" He grinned and closed my bedroom door.
I lay back on my bed and looked at the ceiling. The ceiling I look at all of every day, wasting my life staring at this ceiling. I sat up with a sudden eagerness and rushed to my closet and found my tent, emergency bag with an undetectable extension charm and starting throwing my stuff in the bag like mad. Once I got everything I cared about bringing with me, I put the picture of 'Phe and I in last.
This life is too short to sit around waiting for good things to happen, action is everything.
I grabbed my bag and started towards the wide window in my bedroom.
'Phe is going to be better off without me, and honestly it's about time he didn't have to worry about me anymore.
Silent as night I opened my window and transfigured into a sparrow darting into the dusk and past the wards to a new life, free of obligation and worry-wart family members.