Chapter 2
Hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: The amazing J.K. Rowling owns it all.
DRAKE sat calmly, propped against his bed rail. He was watching as Lyra continued to fret about Ridley in a mess of nerves.
"I just don't understand… She should be back by now!"
Lyra paced the length of her room for the likely the hundredth time.
"Something, must be keeping her," she continued to ramble. Drake couldn't stop himself from admiring the way her white-blonde hair fanned out behind her each time she swiveled back around. That is, until she turned her icy greys on him as she stalked forward. Drake braced himself for a lecture. He had been staring a bit more than he should have.
But nothing was said. Lyra was much too distracted. "We have to go look for her," she decided after a moment of biting her nails. Drake let out a breath, surprisingly thankful for her current train of thought.
Lyra looked to him with a frown.
Of course the sight just had to bother him. He reached out and gently held her shoulders in his grasp. "Lyra, you and I both know Ridley can take of herself. You're not her mother, just breathe a little." Using the moment, Drake subtly pulled her closer. He waited with a baited breath.
"I know." Pent up energy suddenly slipped from the blonde's frame and she relaxed in his arms. He smiled to himself and let his fingers trail down the length of her arms. Suddenly, Lyra tensed. Anxiety filled Drake again and he looked to her for an answer. "But there are less than five minutes till curfew! I mean she's reckless not stupid! Why aren't you worried!?"
Drake held in a growl. Even when she isn't around, Ridley still manages to get in the way. A forced politeness escaped him, "Alright then, listen. Ridley left with Will. For one, we know him, and two, he works at a bakery not a butcher shop. Three, Morgan would personally castrate anyone who would even think of letting any harm befall Ridley. And lastly, you and I both know Madame Stone would personally see to it that Ridley was found just so that she could give her hell for it."
Drake looked up from his four open fingers, used to illustrate his point, and did a double take. Before him, Lyra was barely containing a smile, while broadcasting a look of utter adoration.
Words escaped him, but none were needed as the blonde threw her arms around him for a tight hug. Worth it, Drake cheered internally.
"Mr. Harris. Ms. Gold."
Came the scolding voice of the devil herself.
Lyra sprang a meter away.
Drake held in a grin despite the tutting that filled the room.
The open doorway, was filled with Madame Stone's thick frame. The warden stood with lips pursed, hands on hips, and eyes narrowed: the perfect picture of scorn and suspicion.
"The curfew bell is meant to ring any second-"
"Hah, see Lyra, it hasn't rung yet!" Drake cut in with a secret smile in Lyra's direction. He turned back to Madame Stone. "She was so worried she was late, but now we hear we have plenty of time!"
The older woman's glare turned sinister as her cheeks reddened. Lyra's greys would have put a doe's to shame in that moment with how wide they had grown.
"Rather, I think I shall be going now Drake." Lyra's voice turned timid as the witch's gaze pierced her.
Ignoring the shift in the atmosphere, Drake smiled. "Aww, if you must."
"To your room, Ms. Gold," Madame Stone ordered, finally recovering her voice.
"Yes ma'am."
Lyra moved to leave, but as she reached the woman's side an arm shot out stopping her. Drake tensed, prepared to intervene.
"Wait," the caretaker surveyed the two orphans for a moment. "Where's the other one? Declan?"
The two froze.
Then-
"Must be in her room already," Lyra noted so casually that Drake had to stop his jaw from dropping. Lyra almost never broke the rules.
Madame Stone accepted the explanation without even blinking and ss the woman's arm dropped, Lyra threw a secret smile back at Drake before sliding out of the room.
…
RIDLEY huffed her annoyance. "This blows."
"And whose fault is that?" Drake retorted sourly.
The night before, Ridley had not-so-subtly signaled her return by bursting through the orphanage's front doors forty minutes past curfew. Her shit-eating grin had dissolved however, as she came upon the sight of a hundred tired children surrounded by a number of fuming personnel. They had all been woken and forced to await her return.
Madame Stone had then proceeded to happily dish out a painful number of chores and sanctions for not just Ridley, but all of the rooms occupants. One of the more unfortunate punishments had been that no child was allowed to leave the compound for the rest of the month.
"You know, I could argue that it's yours," Ridley pushed a second later.
Drake's jaw clenched.
"How exactly is it my fault that you were too busy shagging some bloke, instead of trying to make curfew?"
Lyra didn't spare the two a glance, choosing to continue reading another one of the Potter books. Coward, Ridley grumbled silently to her friend, despite knowing she had made her own bed. Might as well lie in it.
"Well," Ridley began with a feigned, illogical confidence. "It was your idea to go to the bakery you know. Besides, you didn't even bother looking for me."
Lyra snapped up to give Ridley a sharp gaze. "Don't even."
"Don't what?" Ridley snarked.
"Don't give Lyra shit because you couldn't keep it in your pants." Drake glared, acting as defense. "She covered in front of Madame Stone for you, wanted to run down the streets yelling your name I imagine. And you didn't even feel it keen to share where you were headed-"
"Bloody hell, alright, I'm-"
The wooden door burst open, saving Ridley from apologizing.
A young boy stood sniffing in the hallway and Lyra jumped to action.
"What's wrong Charles?" She cooed, while leading him in to her room.
Ridley knew Charlie to be a soft-hearted seven-year-old whom Lyra favored.
"A-Adam a-and Jacob, they-they w-won't play with me. I asked them to play H-Hide & Seek and th-they said I was stupid and that no-no one likes me."
"What ass-"
Lyra released an angry cough. Ridley tried again.
How about we give it a go with you?" She offered.
"If you count first," Drake added, to Lyra's notable chagrin.
Nonetheless, Charles nodded enthusiastically, happy just to have others to play with.
Lyra helped him settle on her bed and it wasn't long before they were all ready.
Slow counting began to fill the room and the trio quickly took off sprinting down the hall.
As if synced telepathically, the lot of them matched each other turn for turn down the first few hallways.
If they plan on steal my hiding place in the kitchens, they are in for a rude-
Ridley crashed into the back of Drake and three bodies tumbled forward like dominos.
Drake groaned as Lyra let out a small yelp, and a few unladylike words joined the chorus as they slid out of Ridley's lips.
"What the hell-"
Lyra's hand slapped the brunette's mouth close. Ridley gave her friend a rude glare.
"What was that?"
Ridley paled, and Lyra seemed to shrink into herself.
The voice belonged to Madame Stone. A very irritated Madame Stone.
Within seconds the sound of clacking heels moving down a nearby hall could be heard. The trio shared nervous glances.
Technically, their current area was off-limits. And while no one really ever gave the rule any mind, Madame Stone was not to be trifled with after yesterday's incident.
In no time, Lyra was up and pushing, rapidly forcing Drake and Ridley down a nearby corridor. Coming upon the nearest door, she fumbled with the knob, and proceeded to shove her two friends through its soon open entry like she didn't weigh just over a hundred pounds.
"Gretchen, it sounds to me like there is a riff raff in the restricted section!"
If Ridley hadn't known any better, she would have sworn Madame Stone was excited by the concept. Oh wait… she did know better. Rotten little, thick troll, Ridley growled.
Three pairs of wide eyes locked, despite the pressure. Their gazes briskly flicked away to inspect the room for an escape. Unfortunately, the search offered nothing but covered furniture and unpacked boxes.
Ridley turned back to the door, gently placing her ear against it.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," Madame Stone tutted.
Clicking heels were definitely turning down the group's current hallway. The building's thin walls were momentarily bittersweet.
"Ridley, over here!" Lyra's urgent whisper had her jumping out of her skin. The brunette swung her gaze from the door to see her friends' waiting at the base of a looming cabinet. A dusty drape was hanging from the blonde's grasp.
Drake beckoned Ridley to hurry, acting as a team player for once, and she scurried over on the tip of her toes. It was a tight squeeze, but the three managed to pack themselves into the narrow closet.
The lock clicked shut just as the room's door slammed open.
One of them flinched. Ridley couldn't determine who has her eyes worked to adjust.
The trio braced themselves for a new level of hell as heavy footfalls entered the room.
"Elephant," Drake mouthed almost silently, as their eyes came somewhat into focus. Lyra's hands flew up to hold in a giggle. Ridley managed a small smirk.
"I know you're in here… Come out, come out, wherever you are."
A gasp escaped the only blonde in the group and Ridley turned to glare.
Unseeing eyes greeted her. Lyra fell into Drake's shoulder in a dead faint.
That's one way to flirt… Have I taught you noth-
Out of nowhere Ridley's mind, sight, and feeling went dark.
The last thing she heard was a dull thud.
And then…
Nothing.
.
Nothing?
A deep groan startled Ridley upright.
Lethargic was the best word to describe her feeling at the moment. Stiff limbs, a heavy tongue and dry mouth, along with a throbbing headache left her wishing the groan had escaped from her instead. That would just about sum it up. What the bloody hell happened?
A hand rose to her forehead in order to massage soothing circles into her temple.
After a moment she finally cracked open her lids, only to do a double take.
What am I doing in a closet with Lyra and Drake? We didn't… There's no way! Ridley's hands flew to her body, checking for clothes. Oh thank, Merlin! …Who's Merlin? Wait… Madame Stone! A rush of memories suddenly resurfaced, and Ridley tensed.
No sound, but the wind- no sound at all actually- greeted her ears. The troll hadn't found them, and they must've of… what? Had we fallen asleep? Oh, whatever. I can't be in a dark closet with these two horny lovebirds.
Ridley fumbled along the walls, searching for the door. I can barely make out a bloody thing, argh-
The jiggle of a knob had the girl suddenly cheering. A moment of struggling to maneuver the handle behind an unconscious Drake, finally gave her a satisfied click!
Under his weight the door fell open and a rush of blinding light flooded the cramped space. Ridley moved forward to escape, but her body argued otherwise.
A wave of vertigo hammered painfully through her and three bodies slumped to the floor before Ridley's traitorous mind went dark once more.
...
LYRA groaned from the feeling of a new set of bruises. Then, a charming headache decided to join the fun by attacking her skull.
"Ow," she oh-so eloquently announced to the room.
"Looked like it hurt," offered a snooty, unfamiliar voice. The words had her jumping to her feet in alarm.
"Who's th-"
Her jaw found the floor and was likely taking up a permanent residence there.
Despite her best efforts to shut it, Lyra's brain could no longer respond. Instead, she spun on her heel, working to keep up with her rapidly unraveling sanity.
The only working part of her brain flitted through an unbelievable checklist.
The pensieve and memory cabinet, animated paintings decorating the walls, and Fawkes… Fawkes! The bloody phoenix is here! Lyra's wide greys examined the fiery creatureperched above the cluttered desk looming before her.
Seconds, minutes, or hours could have passed as Lyra stood stock-still, enraptured by the impossibility of it all. However, the spell was broken as a mirror to her right revealed movement. Lyra turned to watch Ridley and Drake rise to their feet.
The fact that she was in the presence of a fairytale reality had left her stunned.
The sight of her friends' faces had her contemplating insanity.
It's just a dream, it's just a dream. Her legs almost gave out and Lyra gripped a nearby armchair as her mind threatened unconsciousness once again. Those words never worked for her. She knew that it was indeed only reality failing her.
"Bloody hell," Drake breathed at the sight before him. Ridley echoed his sentiments by remaining silent for the first time in her life.
The sight of the two left Lyra fighting the urge to cry against the urge to run screaming for the hills.
Her once matured friends had become the picture of innocence and naivety and a nearby reflection confirmed dangerous suspicious.
"What's happened to us?!" Lyra croaked desperately. A pair of heavy amber stones and a set of foreboding evergreens met Lyra's steely gaze. The three friends were at a loss for words. For how could someone possibly replace the best years of a person's life with an arrangement of twenty-six letters.
"Ms. Gold? My apologies, was I supposed to be expecting you?"
Another voice jarred Lyra back to focus.
Before her stood a man with the longest beard she had ever seen. It was draped over him like a blanket and assisted his floor length robe in covering his entire body.
But it was only when Lyra met tired, cobalt eyes, rimmed with the famous half-moon spectacles, that everything was sent knocking into place.
A block of ice would have envied her stillness in that moment.
Lyra Gold- a muggle- was within Hogwarts, standing in the Headmaster's Office, before the Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.
Her jaw would be sore the next day.
Lyra remained transfixed.
"Is this- Is this Hogwarts?" Ridley was the first to rise from the stupor.
The elderly man considered her question. A thought seemed to occur to him.
"How did the three of you come upon my office?"
Ridley exchanged an uneasy glance with her friends while Drake managed to raise an arm. He gave the black cabinet an accusatory point.
"The Vanishing Cabinet?" Albus Dumbledore mused in clear astonishment.
"Sir, we just came from an orphanage in Dover," Ridley picked up with a confession. "You're- You're just a character. I don't- What on earth?" Ridley's wild eyes searched the room for some sort of answer. Instead she found only more questions as her reflection met her gaze. A squeak escaped the girl.
"A character? As in belonging to a book?" The wizard was confused, but seemingly very amused.
Lyra looked to Ridley, whose hands had started searching her face for the last six years; then to Drake, who was frozen in his shock, and back to the celebrity hosting the chaos.
"Perhaps we should all sit while I try and explain…" Lyra suggested.
And in no time chairs were summoned and four dumbfounded individuals were gathered around to hear the puzzle of a lifetime.
.
No one moved for several minutes once Lyra finished.
Together, their gazes wandered to the cabinet.
Finally, Albus Dumbledore rose from his seat to approach the suspect. As it squeaked open the trio snapped into focus, given the chance to peer into the deceiving room. Four pairs of eyes studied the antique for answers. Then, Albus turned back to the intruders.
"It's a Vanishing Cabinet," he paused as if waiting for a reaction. Only Lyra recognized the term. "Inoperative… or so it had me believe. I was told it was defective when I found it, however, I had intended to mend it at one point."
"Sorry, a Vanishing Cabinet? Could someone explain that to the ignorant folks?" Drake spoke sarcastically. Lyra studied him with nervous eyes before speaking.
"They come in sets or pairs, are able to transport you in a way similar to teleporting, um, they are like an escape hatch of sorts, I suppose."
"So basically, we're in bloody Narnia," Drake deadpanned. The girls could sense his barely dormant fury, but those words led to a suppressed smile on Lyra's face.
"Wait, how were you able to recognize Lyra, professor?"
Ridley's question raised a few eyebrows, turned a few heads.
"Truthfully, I have given that question some thought already Ms. Declan. I happen to know the Gold's story, as well as those of yours and Mister Harris's."
Lyra hadn't thought the situation could not get any more bizarre. She was terribly wrong.
Albus Dumbledore proceeded to tell the three orphans that they were, in fact, not quite orphans anymore. While Lyra's parents remained deceased, her sister was likely awaiting her return. Ridley's mother had passed, but her father was not the negligent man of the past. And Drake, his home held two parents and two brothers.
Each snippet that Dumbledore was able to offer them unfortunately led to immediate headaches. But it also released an onslaught of memories, if you could call them that, of their other lives.
"Unbelievable," Ridley breathed through her reflection.
"What does this mean for us, Professor?" Lyra wondered.
"At this time I am unable to provide definite answers. This situation is beyond my experience. I am going to have to ask that you spend a few nights at your respective homes while I try to work on a solution. I know this is unorthodox. But I have little to offer you besides the option of travelling by Floo powder at the moment," Albus reflected sympathetically. "Of course I will immediately send word if any interesting theories come up.
"Yes, I understand. Thank you for your time, sir," Lyra started. She looked to her friends. "May we have a moment?"
"Certainly," Professor Dumbledore understood. Within seconds the three stood alone in an unbelievable situation.
"So… Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Wow. I wonder what year Harry is in," Ridley reflected lightly.
"We're only ten years old," Drake sighed. The trio immediately sobered. "I can't believe this. Did anything like this happen those books you read, Lyra?"
"No." Her truthful response willed itself to be a lie. "Professor Dumbledore will likely come up with something though. He's the greatest wizard of all time."
"In a book," Drake grumbled. Ridley shot him a look.
"It'll be best if we head to our respective homes. You can't tell me you're not the least bit curious, grumpy pants."
Lyra giggled at her friend's words, but Drake remained quiet.
"I, for one, am eager to get to… 817 Ludwig Lane in Falmouth," Ridley continued brightly, with just a hint of teasing. Anyone with eyes could tell that the members of the trio were sporting a bit of poorly-veiled excitement.
"Forgive me if Puddletown isn't calling my name." Drake's tone had finally lightened, and the two girls giggled.
"Let's make the best of it," Lyra suggested softly. "Worst case scenario we spend a couple of days with people half as crazy as Madame Stone. Best case scenario we get to see family as it should be."
Her best friends shared a look that Lyra didn't quite understand, but everything it seemed was settled. Hugs were dispersed, a Floo Powder lesson was given, and nervous smiles were shared.
Ridley was first up to bat. Almost too-eagerly the powder was thrown, and the destination had her whisked away.
Drake went next. A few words of encouragement were needed, and Lyra offered a hug to put him at ease. And then, suddenly, it was only Lyra, left to stare down the fireplace.
"Here goes nothing," she sighed to an empty room.
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