- Chapter 4 -
[Scare Tactics
p The end of July came up rather quickly and before either Remus or Lyla knew it, it was her birthday. Lyla had been on an unnatural high that previous week, thanks to the knowledge of having been accepted into Hogwarts, that she hardly paid attention to the days going by. It was only when she woke up late in the afternoon on the 31st of July that she noticed. /p
p Remus never let her sleep in that late unless she were ill, had the dream again with the added bonus of it being worse than ever before (which was still frequently happening despite her knowledge of the truth), or it was her birthday. She ruled out the other two options and smiled to herself while quickly getting ready for the fun-filled day ahead of her. /p
p Remus was waiting for her downstairs with her favorite breakfast, even though it was well past morning, of: waffles (chocolate syrup and whip cream included), Canadian bacon and eggs. After Lyla ate until she could barely move, Remus was a very good cook; they took off for their destination: Diagon Alley. Lyla and Remus planned on spending the rest of the day together, then at night Lyla would get to do whatever she wanted as long as Remus didn't find out about it. /p
p They reached Diagon Alley and after a few hours of casually browsing stores Remus took her to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor for, what else, ice cream. Lyla was a big fan of sweets and loved the new and exciting flavors they had to offer. Remus left a few minutes after getting Lyla settled with her triple fudge Sunday, to take care of some business. Lyla didn't bother to ask what kind of business since Remus was still a little secretive when it came to his work. /p
p A little over fifteen minutes later, Lyla felt something heavy land on her shoulder and startle her out of her day dream. She looked up and saw the same beautiful black-feathered green-eyed Phoenix she had wanted her first trip to Diagon Ally. She looked around and spotted Remus beaming at her bright and smiling face. /p
p The Phoenix took off and landed on a silver perch Remus had in his hand as Lyla nearly knocked him to the ground from the impact of her hug. Remus laughed as he hugged her back, he did very much love to see her happy, and would do nearly anything to keep her that way. They broke apart from their hug and Lyla took the post back to the table and started petting the beautiful creature. /p
p Remus looked on, proud of himself, before making his way over to her. "Thought of a name yet?" he asked while taking a seat across from her. He sneakily stole some of Lyla's Sunday and she playfully scolded him. /p
p She sighed, still with a smile on her face and said, "I think I'll call him, York." She said the name a few times, testing it out before smiling and nodding her like of it. 'York' seemed to approve of the name as well and nipped at her dark red hair affectionately. /p
p Remus watched as Lyla and York bonded with each other. He thought the name a bit odd. The name York in Latin did mean from the Yew tree, which was said to have poisonous thorns. And now that he thought about it, he remembered her wand being made from a yew tree as well. Of course there were many other things that could be connected with that but Remus decided not to think too much on it and focus more on Lyla. /p
p She was so happy with her new friend that she didn't go anywhere that day without him, which for her was a good thing as well. Remus had some more business to attend to later that night and Lyla didn't want to go home that early so he allowed her to stay later after showing her how to floo back home. Needless to say she didn't like that mode of transportation too much but agreed anyway, wanting to look around in all the shops a bit longer. /p
p She passed by a dark looking alley and curiosity once again getting the better of her she went down it. The shops had many weird, and not to mention gross, things in them. In the window of one store, if you could even call it that, were shrunken heads, shriveled hands, and other dirty looking items that Lyla didn't want anything to do with. /p
p She went to turn around when she was forcefully pulled into an even darker alley between the store and a local pub. She tried to scream but a hand was clamped harshly over her mouth, muffling any attempt at sound she made. The man, or whoever/whatever, it was smelled of some rank malt beverage. Lyla's oxygen was running out, she tried as hard as she could not to breathe out of her nose for every time she did the stench of her attacker would make her nearly spew her ice cream. /p
p She couldn't move her arms; they were tightly secured behind her back. She managed to move her head slightly and got a faint look at her attacker. He was taller than her by a lot, and wore what looked like raggedy prison robes. His eyes were a pale gray that were sunken into his head and his hair was long, shoulder length and very dirty. /p
p He looked wildly at her and Lyla shuddered in fear. When he caught a glimpse of her face though, his grip loosened and he looked confused. Lyla took this opportunity and wrenched her arms free. Unfortunately he was faster than her and caught her again but in the few moments she was out of reach and able to speak she screamed as loud as she could which only resulted in him laughing manically at her. /p
p What was she thinking? Screaming for help in a place like that? She sighed in defeat and hung her head feeling as though she were about to cry. A piercing shriek filled the air, though, and Lyla's head turned up towards the sky. She smiled in relief as York shot through the air like a bullet, claws outstretched and aimed at her captor. /p
p The man cried out in pain as York fiercely attacked him. He released Lyla in a failed effort to get, in his words, the bloody bird off of him. Lyla backed up into the side of the building and watched as something amazing, in her opinion, happened. /p
p The man had turned into a huge black bear-like dog and was retreating off further down the alleyway away from her. Perplexed and yet relieved that he was gone Lyla turned and mutely thanked York before deciding it was well past time to head home. /p
p When she arrived home Remus called for her from the library, where he spent most of his time. She walked in, still shaking from the earlier events, and he took notice of this immediately. "Lyla, are you alright?" he asked, concerned for her well-being while guiding her to a chair. /p
p It took a while before she could speak again but when she did she quickly let out everything that had happened. Remus let the information settle before getting into his lecture, "Why were you in Knockturn Alley in the first place? Didn't I tell you how dangerous it was down there, especially if anyone figures out who you really are?" /p
p He got up and started pacing still talking, not letting Lyla get a word in. "What were you thinking? You could have gotten seriously hurt, possibly even killed. Promise me you'll never go down there again." /p
p Somewhere during his ranting Lyla had started silently crying. The realization that she could have died had just hit her and made it all the more real how dangerous her life and this new world actually were. Remus stopped pacing and turned to face Lyla when he got no reply. His face softened when he caught sight of her tears. /p
p He made his way over to her and pulled her into a safe and comforting hug that he was famous for in her eyes. Lyla cried even harder now, not silently anymore however. "I was so scared, Remy. I couldn't get away from him, he wouldn't let go. I really thought I was going to die there." /p
p "Shh...Calm down Lyla. He's not here. He can't hurt you, I won't let him or anyone else hurt you." This seemed to be the magic words and Lyla was able to calm down to minimal sobs and wails. /p
p She sniffled lightly and looked up at Remus, who looked down at her also. "Can you do something for me Remus?" she asked her voice quivering, eyes filling with unshed tears. /p
p Remus nodded his head. He would do anything for her, anything to keep her safe and happy. He had vowed to do so when he took her into his care. /p
p She sniffled once more and sat up, "Can you teach me to defend myself? Not just the magical way but the muggle way as well. I don't want to feel that helpless ever again. We still have a month left before school starts. I promise I'll work really hard and--" /p
p Remus cut her off, "Of course, Lyla. I already planned to do so when you told me what happened." Lyla smiled, her eyes shinning brightly amongst the tears that had still yet to fall. /p
p She hugged Remus tightly and said her thanks. Remus laughed and said, "We shall begin tomorrow. I expect you to be up bright and early so go on to bed now." Lyla had no arguments about that command, already being exhausted from the day's events. She headed upstairs to her room as Remus stared into the fire replaying memories over in his mind and contemplating what his lesson plans would be for the next month. /p
p The rest of the summer went by with Lyla and Remus waking up early every morning and going to sleep very late at night. The time between was spent learning defensive and offensive spells, which were a lot easier than Lyla thought they'd be. For the muggle way of fighting, Remus conjured up fake opponents for Lyla to fight and test out moves on. He realized that she was getting stronger and didn't want to be the one she tried moves out on. He would have if the after effect of intense pain wasn't there. /p
p Most of the training went well; Lyla learned all physical muggle fighting maneuvers and most of the spells. She still had a long way to go before she was an expert but she was progressing quickly. Most being said because she couldn't seem to perform this one particular spell right. All the rest she got perfectly, right away but this one was giving her problems. /p
p Remus was concerned for Lyla's safety at Hogwarts after learning that Azkaban's Dementors would be on the grounds till they found Sirius Black. He decided to teach her the Patronus Charm so she could defend herself against them in case they were to go after her. That however did not turn out as well as he'd hoped. /p
p She couldn't seem to get more than a wisp of silvery smoke and that wasn't nearly enough to drive away a Dementor. Every time Lyla would try the spell she would fail. Remus didn't blame her though; most skilled Witches and Wizards could barely make the spell work either. /p
p Lyla refused to give up until she had gotten more than a wisp of smoke. She wanted to be able to do this spell and for some reason was obsessed with getting it right for the rest of the summer. Unfortunately for her, it seemed the harder she tried the worse her results would get. /p
p It was the last day of vacation and Remus had given Lyla the day off from training much to her displeasure. She insisted upon having another go at the Patronus Charm but Remus paid her no attention. She kept bothering him until he told her to go into Diagon Alley for the day because he had some more 'important' business to attend to. /p
p Lyla knew he was only saying that to get rid of her but left none the less. She opened her window to let York out before flooing to the Leaky Cauldron. She made her way out back and to Diagon Alley just walking around not really intent on buying anything. /p
p Later that afternoon Lyla found herself browsing around the Magical Menagerie, looking at all the beautiful and mysterious animals. One in particular caught her attention, and although most wouldn't consider him all that good-looking, Lyla included. However she was still fascinated with the creature. He looked like an ordinary cat but Lyla could tell right away, for some strange reason that he wasn't. /p
p She stayed staring at him for some time while the witch behind the counter talked with her wizard customer on the care of double-ended newts. The wizard left shortly after that and it was then that Lyla noticed three other presences in the store, two boys and a girl which looked to be around the same age as her. /p
p The girl had bushy brown hair and brown eyes and seemed to Lyla to be really stuck up. Or at least that's the way she came off to Lyla. The boy standing next to her was tall and lanky with ginger hair and lots of freckles. Neither of them struck Lyla more than the last boy. He was taller than her but shorter than the other boy. He had emerald eyes that were hidden behind the rounded spectacles adorned on his face. His hair was moderately short, black and not to mention very untidy. /p
p Lyla froze as she gazed unblinkingly at him. It couldn't be...but he looked so much like him. The resemblance was uncanny. Apart from his eyes he looked exactly like her father, who she's only ever seen in her dreams. Lyla broke out of her thoughts in time to stop herself from running over to this mysterious boy and hugging the life out of him. /p
p She smiled as she realized who he was. It was obvious to her once she thought things out rationally. Happiness swelled inside her as she watched her brother and his friends shop. She broke her gaze however when the 'cat' she had been watching leaped from its perch to the red-head's head. /p
p The boy screamed in pain before screaming out, "Scabbers," and running out of the shop, with Harry not far behind. Lyla, wanting to get another glimpse of her brother, followed after them. They stopped at a bin outside of Quality Quidditch Supplies and the red head retrieved his shaking and not to mention sickly looking rat from under it. /p
p Lyla pretended to look through the window of the shop at the newest broom, Firebolt, display while actually listening in on their conversation. She learned that the girl they were with was named Hermione and made a mental note to herself to stay away from her at all cost. There was just something about her that Lyla didn't like. /p
p She didn't have time to think on that for she had to duck into the store to avoid Harry and his red-headed friend who almost ran right into her. She waited a few more minutes, making sure the coast was clear, before heading back to the Leaky Cauldron to floo back home. /p
p When she reached the Leaky Cauldron, Harry, his friends and more people with red hair that Lyla assumed were related to Harry's friend, were there greeting him. Lyla smiled as she saw this exchange, he had done well for himself friends wise. They seemed like very nice people. /p
p Lyla watched them for a few more minutes before actually going home. When she arrived there she ran around excitedly trying to find Remus. She had to tell someone about what happened and who better than her best/only friend and guardian. /p
p Remus sat reading in the library most of the day. He was worried for Lyla's safety, not so much about the Dementors but more so about what could happen to her if anyone found out who she really was. Many of the Death Eater's children went to Hogwarts and could easily find out and tell their parents. Remus was starting to think going to Hogwarts wasn't such a good idea but all those thoughts seemed to disappear as he heard Lyla's excited squeals and footsteps drawing nearer to where he was. /p
p Lyla threw open the door and ran up to Remus, speaking so quickly that Remus barely caught one word rather than her whole story. He did however gather that something good had happened, which was painfully obvious even to the most oblivious person. Lyla took a deep breath, realizing that Remus probably couldn't understand a word she had said and started over from the beginning. By the time she was finished Remus was smiling slightly, happy for her and yet relieved that she did not approach Harry. /p
p Lyla spent the rest of the day lounging about, no longer interested in training. She was too busy basking in glee to recognize anything else she probably should have been doing. It was only when Remus asked her if she had everything packed that she broke out of her daydreaming and started panicking. /p
p Truth was she hadn't even started packing. She was always a procrastinator and that tended to get her into trouble more often than not. She jumped up from where she was hanging upside down on the couch and rushed up to her room where she started rapidly throwing things around everywhere in a botched effort to get organized. /p
p Remus had followed her upstairs and was leaning against the doorway to her room, watching amusedly as she rushed around. "You do realize you have plenty of time," he said calmly as Lyla stopped her movements and glared over at him. He was still smiling teasingly at her, loving how fast her moods could change from peacefully relaxed to a hysterical panic attack. /p
p "This isn't funny you know! Do you even realize how long this will take me to sort out?" She gestured around her room, which could be described as a possible danger zone. Clothes were strewn everywhere, over chairs and lamps, but mostly on the floor. That was the location of most of the items she wished to take with her to Hogwarts. /p
p Remus casts one last amused glance at her before making his way back downstairs, leaving Lyla to sort out her mess. It took nearly most of the night but she had eventually folded all her clothes and put all her accessories and school supplies into neat and separate piles. /p
p She placed her clothes and everything else she wanted to take in first then set about trying to fit in her supplies, books and other reading materials she thought were interesting. Lyla glared at her Unfogging the Future textbook that would be used for Divination. Her opinion of the subject hadn't changed very much at all; she still didn't want to take it and resented the fact that it was mandatory for her. /p
p Lyla placed all her textbooks and supplies, save for her wand, in her trunk before collapsing on her bed. She probably should have looked where she was lying for as soon as her body hit the bed she was jumping off it. She looked at the sleeve of her long sleeved shirt, it had been torn and part of it was hanging limply from her wrist. /p
p She glared at her bed where the culprit was staring its beady little black eyes tauntingly back at her, of course that was probably just her imagination though. Her textbook for her Care of Magical Creatures class had bitten her. She laughed as she thought of the task before her: getting the Monster Book of Monster's into her trunk with out loosing any fingers. "This is going to be tricky..." Lyla muttered to herself trailing off in thought as the Monster book went after her pillows. /p
p "Hey, cut that out, I need those! Cut it out!" Lyla lunged for the book tackling it off the bed. She landed with a loud and painful thud but continued to wrestle with the book until she finally managed to get her pillow out of its 'mouth' before wrapping one of her leather belts around it. /p
p In her haste to get her pillow away from the Monster book she didn't notice Remus standing in her doorway once again. He had heard the scuffle and went to investigate. He thought something was actually wrong and was relieved to find out that it was only Lyla fooling around. /p
p He held back a laugh as he cleared his throat to get her attention. She was sitting on the book smirking triumphantly at her accomplishment. She looked over at Remus when she heard him and blushed faintly in embarrassment. He laughed and helped her stuff the book in her already full to the brim trunk. /p
p "Well...that was invigorating. Let's not do that again sometime," Lyla said as she once again collapsed on her bed, this time without a nasty surprise waiting for her. /p
p Remus shook his head at her while walking out of the room. It was getting to be very late into the night, or early in the morning which ever way you looked at it and he told Lyla that she should get some sleep. "We have to leave early tomorrow if we want to make it to the train on time." /p
p Lyla rolled her eyes and reassured him that everything would be fine. Remus however was a tad doubtful. He retired to his room and went to bed all the while grinning to himself. He knew what he was going to do in the morning. He also knew very well that Lyla was not going to like it one bit. /p
