Welt·schmerz
/ˈveltˌSHmerts/ - noun
a feeling of melancholy and world-weariness.
"You'd think that being the son of the most influential wizard in history, you'd be a little more assertive." A cool voice spoke in the darkness.
The fresh air caused the crenelation to damp, and a feeble condensation was present on the linings of the crenelation's brick walls. Two students were stood outside alone. A girl with auburn ringlet curls hugged her cream coloured sweater as a stinging breeze blew harshly against her tan skin. She then turned to the pale boy who stood to her right, lifting her chin to face him.
The boy, sixteen years old, looked just like Harry Potter in his youth. His shaggy dark hair contrasted against his bright green eyes, which glowed in the moonlight. Lyra Avery found them intriguing, and she believed that the glint in them perfectly described Albus Severus Potter's cunningness. Everyone assumed Albus to be the stoic hero that his father was, and his physical appearance only encouraged it. Therefore, Albus being sorted into Slytherin six years ago and befriending Scorpius Malfoy only confused the public. But to Lyra, it only made Albus more interesting.
It was past three in the morning on the first Thursday of the school year, and the pair were stood in the deserted Astronomy Tower. Albus Potter stood about a meter away from the auburn-haired girl, watching her, and not inching away when her intimidating gaze met his.
"You'd think that being the daughter of a cold-blooded killer, you'd have more compassion."
His response stung Lyra harshly. She was used to people attacking her, and didn't expect her new-found acquaintance to do any different. But regardless, his words hurt the young girl, reminding her of how rapidly her life had changed in the past few months.
Lyra used to be an average girl, and she used to blend into the shadows. Standing at five feet and six, she appeared to be short compared to Albus's tall stature. The brunette was a Ravenclaw, one who did good enough in classes to pass by, but simultaneously, she never stood out. She didn't participate in Quidditch, and her student leadership involvement as a prefect used to go unnoticed. But to Lyra, that was okay. She didn't expect attention, especially as the child of single mother, in a school filled to the brim with children of war heroes (and villains).
The one thing that Lyra did not expect before her fifth year at Hogwarts was the reveal of her father, who turned out to be the infamous accused death eater, Aurelius Avery, CEO of Avery International, the leading magical commodity company. It happened quite suddenly, literally the moment she got off of the Hogwarts Express with her younger siblings, Ladislaus and Astraea, from her fourth year at Hogwarts.
One day, she was half-blooded Lyra Brown, who lived in a magical cul-de-sac, the next day, she was Lyra Avery, first born of the next generation of Avery children.
Instantly, Lyra transformed from a nobody, to the heiress of the Avery fortune, promptly gaining all of the responsibilities and burdens that come with the infamous name. And Lyra knows that the distaste that she receives from the majority of the student body, including one Albus Potter, was not particularly shocking.
Regardless, the disgust in his forest-colored gaze was not something that Lyra particularly relished in. Yet, the young girl kept her head high, and took one step closer to the brunette, and maintained her eye contact as she spoke.
"You asked me to come here, Potter, and I'm here now. Don't waste my time, and say what you want to say." The spiteful tone in her words was carefully calculated by the young girl, and that was something that Albus recognised immediately. He recognised it because that's not something that the old Lyra would do.
The brunette took a step forwards as well, stepping into the silver light supplemented by the full moon on that chilly September night, and as he responded, Lyra could have sworn that he sounded almost hurt.
"What happened to you, Lyra?"
What happened to her? Oh God, how Lyra wished she could take another step forward. A step forward, to hug Albus. A step forward, to bury her face into his firm chest, as she had only half a year ago. A step forward, to sob her eyes and tell him everything that had happened over the summer. A step forward, to explain why she never responded to the plethora of owl mail that he had sent. A step forward, just to be closer to him.
But she couldn't. Circumstances in Lyra's life had altered, and Lyra had to change. So letting out a shaky breath, the young girl instead took a step backward, and responded to Albus's question in a detached voice.
"Nothing."
Albus, however, wasn't having any of it. He took strides forward, grabbing her arm whilst retorting.
"That's bullshit, Brown. We both know it." They did both know it, but that didn't mean that Lyra could acknowledge it, even in private. Even to Albus.
Therefore, she was obligated to pull her arm out of his grasp, and respond the way she did.
"Eloquently spoken, as usual, but unfortunately, I am not aware of what you speak of." Lyra could see the anger flashing through the teenage boy, and she could understand some of it as well, not that she'd allow herself to. "I came at your request, as a curtesy for looking out for Astraea last year. Don't mistake what I'm saying, Potter. I'm thankful, but I do not owe you any explanation."
Albus remained silent, and Lyra couldn't blame him. She was not the same timid girl he had said goodbye to at the end of fourth year, and she would never speak the way she is right now. Nevertheless, Lyra tried not to care, because as far as she was concerned, Lyra Brown, Albus's Lyra, was dead.
Glancing at Albus again, Lyra sighed, before walking towards the exit. Looking back at Albus, who stood frozen, the young girl spoke.
"Avery. I won't respond to Brown anymore."
Chapter notes
hello! my name is sabina, and i hope you enjoy this little one-shot. i primarily utilise archive of our own (ao3) to update my stories, but i am posting some stories in bulk here just to back up my work. if you do like this, please do leave some love and a review, i'd really appreciate it! if you want to be completely up-to-date with my work in general, you can check out my profile on ao3, i have the same username (belovedmind).
and eeek! i've started another fanfic, yet again. of course, i'd like to make promises about uploading new chapters on a weekly schedule and being very organised, however, i've learned by now that i will most probably never be like that. however, i do get motivated to write when i read reviews or see that the story is being enjoyed.
until next time,
s