Author's Note: Hello, hello! Welcome to yet another Sirius/OC story. Just the thought of you clicking on this makes me exceptionally happy. I originally posted this without any sort of commentary outside of the story itself, but I was starting to feel disconnected from you and the lovely community, so alas. (Disclaimer: JK's creations belong JK).
Enjoy!
Lyra was relaxing in one of the cushioned armchairs in the Gryffindor Common room enjoying the fire. The week had dragged on and the days felt like they were slowly getting longer even as winter approached. Luckily it was Friday and she was able to shut her mind off if only for a few hours. The entire population of students around her seemed to have the same idea. The room had a slight hum of light conversations with the occasional laugh or a groan in defeat of a Wizards' Chess game.
The portrait hole opened, and Remus Lupin walked in and looked around. His eyes passed over Lyra in the same manner in which they would have passed over a tiny flower in a massive garden. He joined his friends James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew, who were lounging on the couch. Lyra watched them for a minute. James, always joking around and very rarely serious. Speaking of, Sirius: laid-back, rebellious, and attractive- a trait he shared with James and Remus. Of course, Remus was the one who held the four of them together with his problem solving; he was clever enough to be in Ravenclaw. Peter always seemed to be the odd one out; he was treated like their friend, but never completely included as he trailed after them.
The past six years Lyra had observed and studied. Seventh year was going to be different. She was going to experience. After all, she only had the rest of this year to enjoy Hogwarts, and she was going to go out with a bang.
"Lyra!" Lily called as she walked into the Common room from the portrait hole.
"Lily!" Lyra mimicked her best friend with a smile. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw James turn his head in Lily's direction. "Guess who's staring at you... again."
Lily shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I don't know what his problem is. For five years I have told him there isn't a chance."
"Come on, Lils, he can't help being totally in love with you," Lyra teased.
"If he was in love with me, he would make an effort to not be an arrogant prat all the time, now wouldn't he?"
"I don't know, some might find it endearing," Lyra laughed.
"So, the reason I was looking for you..." Lily changed the subject, "Have you started that Transfiguration essay yet?"
"It's six o'clock on a Friday night. What do you think?"
"Alright, fair enough. But I have a few questions that I need answered now if I'm going to start it tomorrow morning."
"Well, if you need help, there are only so many people to turn to," Lyra said with a pointed look toward the four boys on the couch.
Lily sighed. "Come on, then."
"I don't think so. I'm quite comfortable here, thanks," Lyra said, flashing a grin.
"Either you come with me or I call them over here."
"You wouldn't dare. You're too polite," Lyra retorted, though she looked a little apprehensive.
It wasn't that Lyra was afraid of them, per say. She just knew they could all be friendly when they wanted to, but James and Sirius especially tended to interact with outsiders somewhat harshly.
"You wanna bet?" Lily raised her brow.
"Fine," Lyra grumbled and stood from her seat.
Lily walked toward the boys with Lyra close on her heel. Once they reached the four, Peter looked up and stared. James, who was in the middle of a sentence, did a double-take.
"Lily! What brings you over here?" James asked eagerly.
"Remus," came the casual reply from Lily, to which James blanched.
"Transfiguration essay," Lyra said by means of an explanation.
"Of course. What exactly do you need to know?" Remus asked Lily as he removed himself from the couch. The two walked off to a table nearer the edge of the room.
Lyra stood rocking onto her heels, wondering what she was supposed to do.
"Lyra, so nice to see you," Sirius said in an overdramatic voice.
"Likewise," she responded plainly.
"What do you want?" James asked, sounding like a little kid who didn't get his way.
"Just because Lily didn't come over to talk to you, doesn't mean you have to take it out on me," Lyra told him. To this, James looked slightly ashamed and cast his gaze downward.
This was pretty much how all of Lyra's interactions with these boys went. James was resentful toward any girl that wouldn't help with him get Lily, Sirius was outgoing and flirty toward any girl at all, and Peter really didn't say much... She didn't get much of a chance to interact with Remus, probably because he was always studying as he was currently with Lily.
"Anyway, as much fun as this is... if Lily comes back, tell her I went to our dorm, would you?" Lyra broke the awkward silence.
"Will do," said James, ever ready to communicate with Lily.
"Always a pleasure," Sirius said mechanically as Lyra strolled away. She raised a lazy hand in response.
Once safely in her dorm, Lyra flung herself onto her bed, face first. Rolling over, she let out a tired groan. She planned to lie here until dinner, eat, and then return to this exact position. She was so comfortable...
Lyra awoke to the sound of light snoring in complete darkness. She sat up and blinked as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light. Looking around, she saw that all of her roommates were fast asleep. Her stomach growled. Slept through dinner, she thought, no point going back to sleep now… may as well be productive about it. Reaching beside her bed, Lyra felt around for her Transfiguration book. Once that was located, she picked up some parchment, a quill, and ink to start her essay.
She stood up as quietly as she could and silently exited the room. As Lyra arrived in the Common room, she expected to find it empty. She was surprised to find James and Sirius on the same couch she had last left them. Lyra walked over to a chair across from them and sat down.
"Do you two never leave this couch or something?" She gave a small smile.
"Coming from the girl who spent the past," James stopped to count, "six hours in her dorm."
"Hey, I fell asleep. Missed dinner too." As if crying out an affirmation, her stomach then rumbled loudly.
"Too bad. It was quite good," Sirius told her with a smirk plastered on his face.
Lyra rolled her eyes. "Why up so late?" Irritation was evident in her voice.
"Trying to enjoy the roaring fire in peace, but I guess now that you're here it won't be silent-"
Lyra cut James off by saying, "Well, you won't have to worry about me bothering you. I'm only here to work on my Transfiguration essay in good lighting. Of course, that depends on whether or not I can figure out how to do it. Probably should have listened to Remus and Lily's conversation earlier..." Her stomach groaned again.
"Just try to keep it down," James responded pompously.
"Whatever."
Turning her attention to her essay, Lyra realized she actual would need an enormous amount of help. Either that or she could wing it and ask Lily to correct it later. Since Lily correcting usually meant rewriting it to make it much better, Lyra decided to go with winging it. The essay was on a new type of conjuring spell the class was learning. Lyra could only conjure items a little more than half the time, so she had no idea how to write about it. She figured they couldn't all be that different from each other, so maybe... Lyra's concentration was broken by a stomach growl.
"Are you really that hungry?" Sirius laughed.
Lyra looked at him, eyebrows raised. "I haven't eaten since lunch. I'm starving."
"Do you want me to get you something?"
"You don't have TO DO THAT," Lyra answered loudly, trying to cover up the noises of her empty stomach.
"Alright, I'm not just going to let you sit there. You sound like you're in pain," he said with a grin.
"Come on, don't leave me here alone. With her," James whined, glancing at Lyra.
"Then by all means: you go," Sirius deadpanned.
"And if I don't go, you will?"
"Yep."
James stood and walked to the portrait hole. He then turned to Lyra and said, "I'd ask what you want, but I don't particularly care." With that he climbed through the portrait hole and out of sight.
"What's his problem anyway?" Lyra asked once he was out of sight.
"Ah, don't mind him. He's just been especially sensitive about Evans lately, and seeing you – her best friend – just reminds him of what he can't have," Sirius responded with a shrug.
"Maybe he'd have a chance if he weren't so moody. Lily's got enough of a temper for the both of them. Anyway, where's he going? The Great Hall won't have food anymore." Lyra looked to Sirius with a confused expression upon her face.
"To the kitchens. This isn't the first late night food run we've had," Sirius informed her.
"And you haven't ever been caught?"
Sirius smiled, and there was a certain glint in his eye. "We've practically got a marauder's map of this place. Getting caught hasn't been an issue since first year."
"I sometimes wonder just how much you guys know about that the rest of us are blissfully unaware of... Like where the kitchens are. I'm sure most of the staff doesn't know that."
"Well, if you ever figure out even one of our secrets, I'll personally carry your books around for a week," Sirius told her, a bit of a cocky smile playing on his lips.
"I accept your challenge," Lyra replied with a smile of her own. She held out her hand and Sirius shook it. "In the meanwhile, I really need to figure out how to write this bloody essay."
"What subject?"
"Transfiguration," Lyra groaned. "It's got to be the only subject I've never been any good at. How I ended up in the NEWT class, I'll never know."
"The key to Transfiguration is not to overthink it. Just focus on the action you want performed, and it'll happen. As for this particular essay, just write down the history of the spell and the mechanics. Nothing too hard, and most of it ought to be in the book," Sirius said completely casually.
"When did you get so smart?"
"I've always been smart, love. Just never been one for showing it off."
For another twenty minutes, Lyra asked for information and Sirius gave it to her. By the time James came back in with a basket filled over the brim with food, she had all she needed to write her essay the next chance she got.
"Now what are you prepared to give me for these delicacies? I've got steak and kidney pie, butter beer, and éclairs," James said to Lyra as he strutted to the couch and sat lazily upon it.
"What? You went to get food specifically for me! You can't just deny it to me," Lyra exclaimed.
"Oh, but I believe I can," James retorted, wrapping his arms protectively around the basket in question.
"Sirius, do something," Lyra pleaded.
"I'm afraid it's too entertaining watching you both. Not to mention, I'm waiting for the moment you'll snap and attack him. Because I know it's coming." Sirius grinned.
James deliberated a moment before thrusting the food basket into Lyra's lap, scooted over a bit, and crossed his arms. Lyra smiled in triumph at her victory. Sirius caught her eye and winked, at which her grin turned to a smirk.
"Thank you, James," Lyra said in a voice completely sugar-coated.
She reached in the basket and pulled out three butter beers. After passing one each to Sirius and James, she broke into the steak and kidney pie. The second the food hit her taste buds, she sighed in content; she then continued to shovel the food into her mouth at a pace rivaled only by a homeless and starving man. Lyra looked up and saw both James and Sirius staring at her with matching looks of disbelief.
"I'm slightly horrified," James said.
"I don't think I've ever met a girl with that much of an appetite," Sirius added.
Lyra rolled her eyes. "Sure you have. We all eat much more than you think. Most girls just put on a polite show in public so you'll think better of them."
"Why would we care how much you eat? If Evans were to scarf down an entire roast pig, James would probably just become more obsessed," Sirius said in confusion.
"I know that. Why do you think I eat like I haven't seen food in years? But try telling other girls that guys couldn't care less about anything but the level of attraction," Lyra said honestly with a shrug.
"I resent that," Sirius said in defense. He sounded kind of angry, but Lyra could see the corners of his lips were turned up.
"So do I. I am not obsessed with Lily. She's just the reason I wake up in the morning." The voice with which James said this was completely somber.
It may have been James' expression or it may have been the late hour. It may even have been a combination of the two, but after a split second of complete silence apart from the crackling of the fire, Lyra and Sirius shared a glance. They then looked back at James, and broke down in fits of laughter at his expense.
The next morning, Lyra woke up after a couple extra hours of sleep. She felt quite refreshed, though she wasn't hungry enough to eat much breakfast. Still, when Lily asked if she was ready to go to the Great Hall, she answered that indeed she was.
"You must have been exhausted to have slept since yesterday evening," Lily observed.
"Actually I woke up in the middle of the night and did some work on that Transfiguration essay. Let me know when you're going to write yours, by the way, we can do it together."
"Will do," Lily agreed. "Aren't you going to have more than that piece of toast? You missed dinner last night; I would've woken you, but you looked so peaceful."
"Don't worry about it. Anyway, I had something when I woke up the first time." She was purposefully dancing around the subject of her time with Sirius and James especially, as he was a sore subject with Lily. She hoped Lily would forget the subject and not ask where she'd gotten the food.
"How'd you get it? We don't have anything to eat in our dorm, do we? If you have a secret stash, I won't tell the other girls." Lily furrowed her eyebrows, never one to let a detail drop.
"Oh, no, I don't have anything. Someone in the Common room just had resources," Lyra shrugged it off, taking a sip of her pumpkin juice.
"...Resources?" Suddenly a light seemed to go off above Lily's head. "It was Potter, wasn't it?"
"How can you know that? I swear, Lily, sometimes you're too brilliant for your own good."
"Why would you ever willingly take anything from him? It could've been poisoned. Maybe it was poisoned! Are you feeling feverish?" Lily started frantically. She reached the back of her hand toward Lyra's forehead before Lyra lightly slapped it away.
"Lily, calm down. He may be immature, but he's not a felon," Lyra laughed.
"I'm sorry. You're my best friend and I want to make sure nothing happens to you. Particularly not at the hands of James Potter," she said sincerely.
"Did someone say my name?" James sat down across the table from Lily and Lyra. His three friends followed suit.
"What do you want, Potter?" Lily sighed.
"You're the one who was talking about me," he stated with an innocent expression.
"I'm allowing you five seconds to give me a reason to associate with you before I get up and walk away," Lily said icily.
"You can't be serious-"
"Three."
"Lily, wait a minute!"
Lily then stood up and asked Lyra, "Care to join me?"
"I'll catch up, okay?" Lyra answered.
Lily nodded and walked briskly toward the entrance to the Great Hall and around the corner.
Lyra faced James. "You're an idiot."
"What are you even still doing here?" James returned with a glare. By this point, Remus and Peter were having their own conversation, and Sirius was vaguely paying attention to James and Lyra as his eyes wandered the room aimlessly.
"I wanted to thank you," Lyra told James. At his confused expression, she continued, "For last night? The whole food thing. You as well, Sirius." His eyes travelled to her. "I'm almost positive this will be the only Transfiguration assignment I will get an actually good grade on. I'm close to asking for regular tutoring sessions. As much as Lily knows, Transfiguration isn't her strong point."
"I'll tutor you," James said quickly.
"Huh?" Lyra asked.
"Once a week. We can meet in the library for an hour, and I'll help you," he said, trying to convince her.
"I don't think that would be a good idea. Lily already came close to a panic attack when I told her I had taken food from you. Imagine what she would do it she found out I was spending an hour with you at a time."
"Then don't tell her. No, listen to this. Don't tell her for a few weeks, and then when you do, she'll realize I'm to be trusted with anything, or anyone, in this case. And as an added bonus, every time I help you, you will in turn help her, so every time I help you, I'll really be helping her. It's perfect!" James argued his case.
"Did that make any sense to you?" Lyra asked Sirius.
"I've learned to just smile and nod whenever he makes an attempt at using logic," he replied with a smirk.
"Please? Just give me a chance," James begged.
The look of vulnerability in his eye is what caused Lyra to cave in. "Only because we really need the extra help."
"Yes! Thank you, Lyra!" James' face lit up like Christmas had come early. "You have no idea how many months this puts me ahead in my plan..." He paused. "Er, forget I said that. A strategically thought through method of winning Lily's love would be childish..." James muttered awkwardly.
Lyra gave him a look as if he were mentally unstable before deciding to let the unusual comment slide. "Right... So when do you want to do it?"
"How's Thursday? At eight?" James asked as though he had a completely full schedule.
"That's fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find Lily. And not a word about this to her, got it?" Lyra said while standing.
"I wouldn't dream of it."
"Good. See you Thursday. Besides class, that is..." Lyra said before exiting the Great Hall.
Lyra spent the rest of the day lounging, writing essays, and studying. She found that Transfiguration was truly the only class she had trouble with. That was once of the many similarities between Lily and herself.
"He's just so infuriating!" Lily cried, breaking the silence. The two girls had been working on Potions homework before Lily's outburst.
Lyra immediately knew that Lily was thinking of James. "You know, for someone who you hate so much, you sure talk about him a lot," Lyra said with a smirk.
"Oh, be quiet. I wish I could completely erase him from my mind, believe me. I probably could too, if it weren't for the fact that whenever I need help with Transfiguration, the only person I can ask is one of his best mates." Lily was clearly aggravated.
"Why not just ask McGonagall herself?" Lyra asked, though she was already almost sure of the answer. Lily didn't want any of the teachers to think she was anything less than extraordinary. She had been that way ever since she was first teased for being Muggle-born.
"I can't do that. She'll just treat me like an ignorant child," Lily sighed. "Though I suppose getting help from Remus isn't that bad, it's not like it's Potter tutoring me or anything."
"Oh... yeah, tell me about it. That would be awful," Lyra rubbed the back of her neck in guilt.
"Is your neck alright?"
"It's fine. I just, er, slept on it wrong is all," Lyra replied quickly.
Lily shrugged it off and went back to listing potion ingredients on her parchment.
Lyra looked back down at her assignment as well, feeling bad about not telling Lily about her plans with James. I'm sure she wouldn't mind, Lyra tried to reassure herself. It was different than if Lily was being tutored by James. Lily wouldn't need to get anywhere near James, and she would still have a source of information if she needed it. It was perfect. At least Lyra hoped it would be.
A/N: It's off to a rocky start, I know. These first couple of chapter were written years ago, and I know I've improved since then. Review, follow, fave. xx