Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. It's a surprise, I know.
A/N: Thank you for the response to the first chapter, and I just want to clear something up! You can read this while reading Broken but Beautiful, as there are no major spoilers! Thank you! Keep reviewing! Use exclamation marks!
Enjoy xx
It took the two people in the living room a long time to speak, and when they did, it wasn't exactly proper words that they uttered.
"I…you…what…how?" The woman asked, and Lira bit her lip.
"Well, it's kind of hard to explain…I was with my Uncle Robert…"
"Your Uncle Robert? What? Who are you and what are doing in my house?"
"Our house, James." The woman corrects, and she peers at me thoughtfully. "So who are you, and what are you doing here?"
"My name is Lira Munns, I'm fourteen years old, and I'm a w-oh, I might not be able to-"
"It's ok, we're magical too, just go on." The man interrupted her impatiently.
"I was in the Ministry with my Uncle Robert because my mum and dad are on a business trip, and I needed the toilet, and my uncle said that the toilets were on level nine. The thing is, they're not, and level nine is actually where the Department of Mysteries is. And I…well…I went to have a look around, hoping that there actually were toilets there and I found a room, and it was full of clocks, and there were Time Turners. I had a look at them, and then I heard someone coming, so I panicked and I must have spun it when I tried to put it back…oh Merlin… What year is it?"
"It's 1981. What year did you think it was?"
"Oh no…no no no…I can't…and the time turner…it…it…"
Lira was now as a white as a sheet, and the woman was starting to look concerned.
"Are you alright?"
"Not really, no."
The woman sat down on the sofa, and tucked her long hair behind her ears.
"Well, I'm Lily, and that's my husband, James, and our son Harry. Did you say that your name was Lira?"
"Yeah, Lira Munns."
"And are you feeling okay?"
Lira was so surprised by Lily's concern that it took a moment for her to answer.
"I think so, just a bit…shocked."
The man, who was called James, waved his wand in her general direction and nodded.
"There're no concealment charms on her, nothing to hide her identity."
"I promise you, I'm telling the truth, and I need to get back to the Ministry."
"We can take you to the Ministry." Lily said, despite her husband's outraged look.
"No, I need to go to the Ministry in my time."
"In your time?"
Lira took a deep breath, preparing to tell her story.
"My name is Lira Munns and I was born on the 19th of July, this year. The Time Turner, it must have sent me back in time, and now the Time Turner's gone, so I can't go back…"
The poor girl was getting more and more agitated as she explained her predicament, and James' intense gaze softened slightly as his wife put her arm around the girl's shoulders.
"Ok, Lira, this is what we're going to do. Tomorrow morning, I will take you to Dumbledore, I'm guessing you know him?"
"Yeah, he's the Headmaster at Hogwarts, my school."
James sat down next to Lira on the sofa, holding Harry tightly.
"What house are you in?"
"Ravenclaw." Lira smiled weakly, and then she looked up at Lily, obviously sensing a kindred spirit. "But what am I going to do until then?"
"You can sleep here for the night, and we'll go and see Dumbledore tomorrow, and we can see if he can send you home."
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
"Don't worry about it. Now we'll-"
A loud knocking on the door cut off what she was about to say, and James stood up, handing Harry to his mother, to go and see who it was.
Harry, being a baby, did the first thing that a baby will do when presented with a new person; grabbed her hair. Lira smiled down at him, gently extracting her hair from his firm grip, and Lily, being the trusting person that she was, picked him up and held him out to the girl.
"Do you want to hold him?"
Lira smiled so widely that Lily thought her face might split in two.
"Ooooh, yes please!"
Lily handed the baby over, and he grabbed at Lira's white-blonde hair, chuckling in the cute way that babies do when something amuses them.
"Hello, Harry, hello, hello, hello! I'm Lira."
"Lee-ra!"
"Yes, Harry, I'm Lira!"
"Mama! Lee-ra!" He was now waving his little hands at the grinning fourteen year old.
"Yes, Harry, Lee-ra!"
"He's lovely." Lira muttered shyly, and his mother smiled.
"Thank you."
"Where's my favourite flower?"
A friendly voice sounded in the hallway, and Lily, knowing who it was, stood up and laughed.
"I'm in here, Sirius."
"And my godson? James hasn't lost him again, has he?"
Lily laughed, and as she did, a man came around the corner and stepped into the living room. He was tall, taller than Lira, so she looked up from Harry to peer at him curiously.
Now, Lily knew what Sirius looked like, but Lira didn't, and neither do you, so I'll describe him for you.
Sirius Black was a well-built man with long dark hair, and an air of casual elegance that Lira was instantly jealous of. This was a man that could go for a swim in the Black Lake, get attacked by a werewolf and get caught in hurricane, and still look like he had stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine. Unknown to Lira, Sirius had actually done two of those things, and irritatingly, looked just as camera-ready after both of those experiences.
Sirius crossed the living room in three strides and pulled Lily into a bear hug that made Lira wonder how her ribs were still intact. The man then proceeded to let go of Lily, kiss her on the forehead, and turn to speak to his godson, who was, rather adorably, trying to call out to him.
"Pad-foo! Pad-foo! Lee-ra, Pad-foo!"
At the unfamiliar name, 'Pad-foo' peered at the blonde curiously.
"Hello. Don't mean to be rude, but who are you?"
"I'm Lira. Lira Munns."
Lira, unbeknownst to Sirius, was quite intimidated by this bear of a man, and shrunk backwards slightly into the sofa, like it would swallow her up if she pressed against it hard enough. Sadly for her, it didn't, and Sirius was very confused.
"OK, Lira Munns, what you doing here?"
"I…umm…well…it's a long story."
"Well, I've got a while."
"She broke into the Department of Mysteries by accident and accidentally sent herself back in time and she needs to go to Dumbledore but right now she's staying here."
Lily summed up quickly, sitting next to her husband on the enormous armchair next to the window.
"Right." Sirius still looked confused, and Harry, growing impatient, grabbed at his beloved godfather's hair and gave it a sharp tug.
"Pad-foo!"
"Yes, yes, sorry, Harry, I'm not ignoring you."
Sirius gently plucked Harry out of Lira's arms and tousled his hair.
"So, you broke into the Department of Mysteries? The most heavily fortified part of the Ministry?"
"By accident!" Lira added hurriedly, and Sirius laughed.
"How old are you, anyway?"
"I'm fourteen."
"What year were you born?"
"July this year. Lily said she'd take me to see Dumbledore to see if I can go back."
"That's insane. How come you were at the Ministry anyway?"
"Well, it was all because of my Uncle Robert."
"Your Uncle Robert?"
"Yeah. It's all his fault, really."
"Pad-foo! Lee-ra!"
The one-year old was getting agitated now.
Sirius looked down at him, frowning and said, "What's up, Harry?", like Harry was going to answer him in full sentences. Harry, being a rather sensible baby, decided to try to communicate with his mother, who seemed to be the smartest of all of the adults present. "Mama, Lee-ra!" He then held out his chubby little hands for emphasis. Lily cocked her head at him, and James shrugged.
"What does he want?"
"You're his mother, you find out!"
Lily smacked James on her arm, and Lira had an idea. Holding out her hands, she bent down slightly and held her arms out.
"Harry? Do you want to come to Lira?"
"Lee-ra!" Harry cried happily; finally, someone understood what he was trying to say, and snuggled up on her lap, dribbling on her clean white blouse. Not that Lira mind, of course, but she couldn't help but wonder what her mother would say when she had to wash baby drool out of her daughter's favourite blouse.
The three adults began talking about an Order, and Lira had the feeling that they weren't talking about ordering food, which was a shame, because she really was getting hungry. They mentioned You-Know-Who a couple of times, but Sirius would replace what he called him with ridiculous alternatives that made Lira and Lily giggle, like Snakeface and Evil Knievel and No-I-don't-know-who.
Meanwhile, back at the Ministry, Robert Livingstone was starting to twig that something was wrong. His niece hadn't returned for almost an hour, and while he knew that she could take care of herself, going to the toilet couldn't take that long, and she was sensible enough to ask for help if she needed it. So Mr Livingstone reached for his quill, and fished in his drawer for the template memo he had been given on his first day. He had never needed to use it, so it was dusty, its purple colouring slightly faded, and the 46 year old wasn't sure if he could remember the spell to activate it. His quill hovering the parchment, it was then that Robert realised that other than his boss, he knew no one to send the memo to and so trying to send a memo would be pointless. A loud, out-of-place voice sounded, as if outside his door, and Mr Livingstone jumped, although he knew that it was simply the overhead magical announcement system that was used in emergencies. It had a message, and the message was urgent.
"An intruder has been detected in the Department of Mysteries."
It was then that Robert Livingstone realised that his little niece, Lira Munns, wasn't quite so little and obedient after all.
Please review! Pretty please! With sprinkles!
Thank you, and I hope you liked it!
Ta ta,
She-who-loves-fanfiction xx
