Lyra
"Lyra dear, stop slouching." It had been over nine years since the tragic events that had happened in England. An older Narcissa was walking side by side with a young girl that had reached ten years of age and in only a few weeks was going to have her eleventh birthday.
"Sorry Aunt Cissy.." Lyra straightened and clutched onto her bag strap tighter which was thrown on her shoulder. She looked reasonably pretty for her young age. Her golden brown hair reached to her shoulders, which she had recently cut herself and almost losing half the length of her hair and that had broken Narcissa's heart. She wore a flowery red summer dress and wore flat shoes whilst they walked around the bustling crowds of Diagon Alley.
"I can't understand why Draco is simply just so fussy, he must take that from his father. Making Madam Malkin take extra time to fuss over him and his measurements. It's disrupting our shopping! Caelum's probably sauntered off to see Warrington and Montague." She huffed. Narcissa seemed to particularly enjoy having Lyra around, as she always seeming wanted to keep Lyra from going very far without her and often ended up complaining about her brother and cousin. As her brother was two years her senior and was naturally very independent already, Narcissa showed lack of concern for his whereabouts. Narcissa continued. "We have your robes, and both yours and Draco's wands and textbooks for this year. Now, you're birthday is coming up. If it's within reason we will buy it for you now before we head back home."
Lyra pondered. There wasn't anything that she particularly needed. She was quite content with everything she had if she was completely honest. She had her brother Caelum, who if she had to describe, she would say as much as she loved her brother he was bipolar. One moment he would speak calmly and nicely directed towards her and the next minute he'd snap and walk away. Narcissa believed it was the after effect of having their parents die from the war that had caused him to be bitter and angry. He hated being called an orphan.
Lyra however, never gave a thought to the word orphan, she knew her parents had died because of the war but Aunt Cissy and Uncle Lucius had always been around for her and Draco had been her best friend growing up. It felt as though it was a normal family setting and she wouldn't believe it to have been any different were her parents still alive. Aunt Cissy always made sure she was looked after, made sure that she was well fed and god forbid the amount of designer dresses she had, she could dress everyone in Diagon Alley twice over. The only thing that had never bode well for Lyra was the Malfoy's distaste of anyone that wasn't of pure blood, the Malfoy family constantly looked down on anyone that wasn't of high pure blood along with her brother however she never felt the need to go along with it. She felt indifferent about it all, she wondered if she was considered odd for it and if it was because she felt she had no right to judge others when for all she knew her father could have been half blood. Narcissa and Lucius never particularly spoke about her father often so she knew very little but they always spoke about her mother in the highest regard - more from her Aunt Cissy's side though and Lucius agreeing with that she said.
They walked past a number of shops, including Flourish and Blotts (where they had collected their books), and Florean Fortescue until a shop caught Lyra's eye.
"May I have a pet for school, Aunt Cissy?" She looked up at Narcissa whilst she contemplated. Both Caelum and Draco were against wanting animals at Hogwarts and she had never given it a thought that perhaps Lyra would have wanted one.
"We already have Artemis which we've bought for all three of you to use." Narcissa was referring to the family Eagle Owl which was to be used specifically for us three in school. Caelum had refused Artemis when he had first started Hogwarts until Narcissa had demanded him to take the owl to school. He soon realised the owl came rather handy because he would be sent care packages full of treats throughout the year. Lyra shook her head.
"I have no problems with Artemis at all. I was thinking more along the lines of a different animal." She turned her eyes towards Magical Menagerie. Narcissa looked ahead and realisation dawned that she wasn't referring to owning her own owl.
"Well, I don't see any reason as to why I can object. So long as you don't choose a toad. They are such nasty creatures." Lyra smiled and walked into the store with Narcissa, eagerly looking at all the trinkets that surrounded the front of the store to catch people's eye. There were leashes for dogs that had a charm on so that witches and wizards could walk their dog without having to hold the leash themselves and have them by their side. There were fish tanks that were charmed to keep constant natural clean water for the fish and never needing any effort to be cleaned. She walked towards the end of the stop and spotted all the available pets.
She could see Kneazles sleeping high on the shelves of the shop to seemingly avoid the public from disturbing them, nifflers fighting with the owner of the store and trying to steal the money from the till and ravens crowing at customers that tried to touch them whilst they were on their perches by the entrance of the store. There were rats in their cages scurrying around and trying to nestle to go back to sleep after a child had decided to stop poking them. There were toads croaking in their makeshift pond container at the back corner, but she didn't give any of them her attention. In the corner of her eye, Lyra saw a singular kitten on its own with it's ears pressed against it's head as it huddled on it's own watching everyone that walked past. It had subconsciously tugged her heart strings as she walked away from Narcissa and walked over to the kitten that closely resembled the look of a leopard.
"There, there now.." She cooed as the kitten hissed and took a step back from her, pressing against the wall. "It's okay...there's no need to be scared." She reached out with her hand and gave the kitten a chance to smell her scent. Narcissa walked over.
"Is this the pet you want, dear?" Lyra nodded up at Narcissa, her doe eyes shining brightly. The kitten tenderly leaned forward and sniffed her fingers before rubbing it's cheek anxiously and purring.
"Please.." She gently placed a hand under the kitten and lifted it into her arms, untying it from it's leash. They waltzed up to the store owner behind the till. The witch behind the till looked to be in her late fifties and she had a kind look about her, she had a broad smile on her face when she saw the kitten in Lyra's arms.
"Thank goodness that little Bengal is finally getting a home. I had been selling all of that litter throughout the day but he seemed to be the last one and no one gave him any interest. My dear, he will be 12 Galleons." Narcissa frowned at the price.
"Your price list says 9 galleons for your cats. What makes this one so special?" There was venom in her tone.
"Ah well, he is a Bengal. They are a rare type of breed and they are one of the most lively and chatty cats you'd find. He'll grow to be slightly taller than the average cat too. He'll definitely be a perfect companion to have around Hogwarts." Narcissa frowned but saw the loving look Lyra gave to the kitten. She would definitely be hexed by her husband knowing she spend 12 galleons on a cat that would perhaps never shut up around the Malfoy manor. Begrudgingly she gave the 12 galleons over to the lady behind the counter.
The witch smiled and took the money, turning to Lyra. "What do you plan on calling him, sweetheart?" Lyra smiled and kissed the top of the Bengal's head.
"I think I'll call him Finn. It keeps the names similar for him and Artemis." Narcissa gave a curt smile and placed her hand on her back.
"Come on, Lyra. I'm sure Draco will be done in Madam Malkin's now." Lyra nodded and they both headed out of Magical Menagerie with Finn in her arms, nestled in and his amber eyes curiously watching the high population of people on the cobbled street.
As they walked past Florish and Blotts, Finn's tail whacked Lyra's arm and his ears pressed into his head. Concerned, Lyra looked ahead to what Finn was staring towards and she noticed a giant of a man walking towards him. He had dark bushy long hair and a beard so long and thick that it looked like the fur pelt he adorned. He was walking towards them with a boy around her age, the scrawny boy in question looked to wear clothes way too big for him and hair so messy it couldn't of been intentional.
Suddenly Finn leapt up from her arms and ran into the nearest shop to hide, it looked as though the kitten really needed to adjust to being around people. Lyra panicked and turned to Narcissa.
"Aunt Cissy! I'll meet up with you in a minute! Finn!" She turned on her heel and chased. Narcissa frowning and shaking her head slightly and went off to collect her son.
.x.
Running into the shop, Lyra had not registered what on earth it was. The overall size was larger than she had expected as there was numerous aisles full of different colours of bits and bobs. There was one aisle that looks to be a whole row full of fireworks all ranging from different sizes and colours. There was a large sign close to the entrance.
Nose biting teacups! Special offer at 3 sickles and 38 knuts a piece! One day only!
Lyra paused slightly to register where she was. She must have been in that joke shop Gambol and Japes which her brother Caelum despised because it was some gryffindor's favourite shop. Mentally shaking her head out of her train of thought she hastily looked around for Finn, quickly she noticed his stripped body turn into the last aisle of the shop. Manoeuvring past a load of people around her age, she turned round the bend and stopped dead when she saw Finn be picked up by one of two identical boys. Instantly her mind flashed back towards something her brother had mentioned to her at the beginning of summer when they talked about her and Draco joining him in Hogwarts once september had hit.
"Once you arrive at Hogwarts, no matter what.. don't allow yourself to get separated and stuck on your own with the ginger twins from Gryffindor. Those bloody Weasley twins will try and cause all sorts of living hell on you. With how flimsy you both are, you'll be just a walking target."
She felt her hands become clammy, realising that these must be the twins her brother was referring to, let's face it.. how many wizarding identical ginger twins do you meet in your lifetime? She saw Finn look even more distressed in the hands of one of the boys and Lyra panicked for him.
"Please!" She shouted. Both boys heard her voice and turned towards her curiously, Finn in one of the boys hands distressed and squirming to get away. "Please don't hurt him!"
There was a pause and the both boys blinked and glanced over at each other before turning to her again. Confusion clear on their faces. The boy on the left spoke, whilst the boy on the right went to try and stroke Finn to calm him down.
"We'd never hurt anything. What makes you think we would?" The boy on the right nodded.
"This isn't a good place for him to run around, he could get the fur on his tail singed." He chuckled and caused Lyra to widen her eyes and reach out for Finn shakily to try and get him away. The boy on the left elbowed his brother and continued.
"What Fred meant was that, this shop could have a firework set loose and he could potentially get hurt. It's a joke shop, accidents can happen and so we picked him up to make sure things didn't." Fred could visibly see how shaken Lyra was and walked over to her, reaching out so he could hand her Finn.
"What made him so frightened?" She sighed in relief having Finn back in her arms and Finn had calmed the moment he had taken in her scent and rested his head on her breast bone whilst Lyra hugged him. She visibly calmed and released the oxygen she had sucked in.
"There was this giant of a person with black hair and a beard. Finn must have been scared of his size." Fred tilted his head in contemplation.
"That must 'ave been Hagrid! Don't you think, George?" The twin on the left named 'George' nodded.
"Must of been Fred! It's rare to see him around here! Usually he goes to Hogsmeade rather than come to Diagon Alley!" Lyra blinked.
"You know him?" Both the twins nodded.
"He's the groundskeeper of Hogwarts! You'll see him when we get off the train. Every year he asks for the first years to follow him." Exclaimed George.
"And then once you do the trial of wrestling the giant squid in the lake than you go to wrestle the troll in the dungeons." Fred grinned. Lyra's eyes widened and she squeaked at Fred.
"There's a troll in the dungeon?!" Both the twins laughed and shook their heads. Fred seemed to laugh the hardest.
"Of course we don't have a troll in the dungeon. What do you take Hogwarts for? It's not a dangerous school." Lyra awkwardly made a small laugh and the twins could see she she still seemed very wary of them. George walked over and offered her his hand.
"I'm George Weasley and this is my uglier twin brother Fred. It's nice to meet you...?" He paused, waiting for her to introduce herself. Slowly, after what felt a few seconds, Lyra took his hand in a shake.
"I'm Lyra, nice to meet you George, and Fred." Fred's eyes shone and he placed a hand on her shoulder, he had a big grin on his face.
"So are you looking forward to heading into Hogwarts Lyra? What house do you reckon you'll be in?" Lyra slightly tensed when Fred placed a hand on her shoulder but slowly eased into it. They may have been a tad too close to her for her comfort but she didn't feel any malice coming from either of the two. She smiled up at Fred.
"I'm trying to keep a fresh mind about it. My family would much prefer me to be in Slytherin as that would follow family tradition but I think all houses have their good points. I just want to placed where I can make some friends and have fun." The twins demeanour tensed slightly when she had said the house Slytherin. She continued, unaware. "Though, I pose the risk of my uncle abandoning me if I follow in my fathers footsteps and end up in Gryffindor like his side of the family." She chuckled to herself. Both the twins eased, realising she seemed to find the idea of it light hearted with her chuckle.
George grinned and turned to his brother, they both hand a mental agreement and they both went either side of her and put their arms around her shoulders.
"Well.. regardless what house you go in.." George started and Fred continued.
"You'll have us as friends."
"Just be warned of our brother Ron." George said wearily.
"He has a habit of trying to turn things yellow recently." Fred grinned and George finished.
"Mainly his rat." Lyra kept turning her head to listen to them both whilst they carried each other's sentences. She laughed, the twins seemed to be nice. She couldn't understand why her brother didn't like them, they were entertaining to say the least.
"Trying to turn his rat yellow?!" Both the twins nodded and laughed with her. Lyra heard her name being called outside the shop by a familiar voice. She stopped and pulled away from the twins, her eyes shining in excitement and joy.
"I've got to go, I can hear my cousin calling me. It was really nice to meet you both!" Both Fred and George smiled and nodded. George waved.
"We'll see you at Hogwarts!" Lyra smiled and waved back.
"You never know, we could be in the same house!"
Lyra walked out of the shop with the smile still on her face and Finn who had fallen asleep still nestled in her arms. An impatient Draco had a scowl on his face whilst Narcissa was checking all the school equipment they had was all bought off the list.
"What were you doing in there, Ly? A house elf would have died of old age, you took that long." Lyra walked over and raised her arms gently so Draco could see Finn better.
"Finn got a bit scared so I stayed in the shop for a while longer to calm him down. He's all settled now." Draco huffed and turned to his mother.
"Can we head home now mother? I've had enough for today." Narcissa turned to them, losing her concentration over the shopping.
"Ah, yes I believe we have everything. If there's anything missed once you have left for school, let me know. I'll send it by owl." They both nodded. Narcissa smiled curtly and then beckoned them both to leave. As the three left, Lyra trailed behind them both and stopped. She turned and looked back in the direction of Gambol and Japes. Spotting the ginger twins running out and a short, middle aged ginger women that must have been their mother, was running over to them seemingly angry with the two of them. Lyra couldn't help but feel the excitement bubble in the pit of her stomach and give her butterflies, she really couldn't wait to go to Hogwarts.
