a/n: Thank you so much for the reviews, everybody! It is so nice to read those! I think I might go back and touch up Ch. 2 a bit. Those descriptions in the beginning sound a bit awkward. If anybody has any ideas, you're welcome to let me know! Ok, then, allons y!

Disclaimer: I wish I owned it. I wish I owned Sirius Black, actually. He could live under my bed… Alas, all credit goes to J.K. Rowling. Except Lyra and Maya, who own themselves, at least in my crazy imagination.

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And All Will Come To Darkness

By nightshade468

Chapter 3 … Shades of Gray (also known as Sixth Year, Part One)

Lyra had an odd sense of déjà vu as she hugged her father.

"Now, you keep yourself out of trouble. Do you hear me, lass?"

Lyra rolled her eyes, then grinned as her father gave her a mock-glare. "Kidding! Of course I will, Da. You know me!"

Kighan Montague gave his daughter a stern look. "That is exactly why I'm warning you, lass. I know what you get up to."

Lyra only grinned more broadly, and with a peck on the cheek she trotted off to the train, turning and waving as her father Disapparated with a pop.

Suddenly, she was attacked from both sides as both James and Remus wrapped her up in warm hugs simultaneously. "Well, thanks, guys, I missed you too!"

Both of them laughed and started dragging her to the train by both arms. "So what have you been up to all summer, you little scamp?" James asked, laughing.

Remus joined in. "Yeah, we haven't heard from you since July!"

Lyra looked a bit guilty. "I'm sorry, guys. We were in South America, and Da was digging in one of the Incan temples… I guess I got a bit caught up and forgot to write."

James grinned, his eyebrows wiggling. "Not too busy to write to Padfoot, though, were you?"

Lyra smacked him upside the head. "Well o'course, ye dimwit! We all write to Sirius." The laughter died a bit as the three turned towards a more delicate topic. Lyra broke the ice first. "Did he come and stay with you at all?"

James shook his head, but Remus nodded. "Yeah, he's been at my house for the last two weeks. Couldn't take it anymore, I don't think, although he won't talk about it."

It was with this sobering thought that the three friends boarded the train, heading towards their sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

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The Common Room was explosively loud, as was typical for the first night back. Even Lily didn't scold them for the amount of noise they were making, apparently having learned by now that any such efforts before classes even started would be utterly useless.

Lyra pulled away from the crazy music-less dance that James had been leading her through, laughing. She plopped herself onto the couch, refusing all attempts to drag her back up again. "You lunatics! Bloody hell, I'm trying to keep from dying until I'm seventeen, at least!"

James and Peter, who had been trying to drag her back up, moved on to more cooperative partners with smirks on their faces, and Lyra sighed, shaking her head and barely resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She glanced over to the window, and sure enough, Sirius was still there, not paying any attention whatsoever to the antics of the other Marauders. He'd hardly spoken on the train or at the feast, drifting over to a corner as soon as they'd reached the Common Room.

Lyra sighed and climbed over the back of the sofa, padding silently over to stand next to her friend. He didn't acknowledge her presence, but when she put a hand on his shoulder, he allowed her to turn him to face her. She didn't say anything, but the question was there between them. Her answer was in his brown eyes, dark with pain that he would never admit to out loud.

She grabbed her friend's elbow and he didn't resist as she tugged him up the stairs to the boy's dorm. James watched them go, but didn't follow. He knew Sirius didn't want to talk, but his friend needed to. Maybe Lyra would have more luck than he'd had.

The Marauders' dorm was unnaturally clean, and Lyra knew that this miracle would last only as long as it took them to dump out their trunks. Having been in this room countless times before over the past six years, she knew quite well that it most often resembled a garbage dump.

Her mind wasn't on the cleanliness of the room at the moment, however. She was more worried about one of its occupants, who was trailing silently behind her. He shut the door behind them and walked past Lyra to sit on his bed, lowering his head to his hands.

"Goddamnit," she heard him mutter.

With a soft sigh, she stood in front of him and lifted his face up so their eyes met. "You going to talk, soldier, or do I have do break out the Chinese water torture?"

He laughed, and there was real humor in it this time, albeit very little, but Lyra figured she'd take what she could get. He took his hands in hers. "You could break out the handcuffs…"

She pretended to glare at him, but then shook her head and gave up, chuckling. "Would it work?"

His eyes were still sad, but they danced a bit as he smirked. "Anything to get you in bed, love."

Lyra smacked him upside the head, then sat down next to him. She was quiet for a moment, then whispered, "Sir… I'm not leaving 'til you tell me."

"Then you're gonna be here for a while." He didn't meet her eyes.

She looked out the window, seeing the first quarter moon rising low in the sky. "We've got time."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled them both down so they were lying on their backs on the bed, just staring up at the canopied top of the four-poster. They lay like that for quite a while, before Sirius spoke quietly.

"It was the usual. Sorted into Gryffindor, befriending half-bloods and Mudblood-lovers, not to mention blood-traitors like the Potters."

Lyra turned to look at him, but he was still gazing up at the ceiling. "She still can't come up with new material, huh?" His lips twitched, and she smiled sadly. "Fought back, didn't you? You know she only does it to provoke you."

His voice was wry. "Every time I tell myself that; I won't let her get to me, I won't rise to the bait. And I think I would have succeeded this summer, except… my dad joined in."

Lyra just kept quiet. He had to get it out; he wouldn't be able to get past it if he didn't.

"They said things. Worse than usual. Like, why couldn't I be like Regulus? Why can't I make… powerful friends like he has? That my friends…" His voice dropped so low that she had to strain to hear it. "That the children of people like Harold Potter and Kighan Montague wouldn't last long, and that I'd be better off dead than oppose the Dark Lord." One side of his mouth went up. "I… lost my temper a bit. Came within an inch of hitting my father. Told them Voldemort could go fuck himself, and that if they came near you guys, I'd kill 'em. Needless to say, that didn't go over too well."

He sat up suddenly and started rubbing his temples. Lyra watched him sadly. He didn't deserve this. He deserved so much more than those bloody bastards. She rubbed his back gently, but saw him flinch in pain.

"Lia…" he started, but she had already moved behind him, tugging his shirt free of his pants and up over his head, not bothering to unbutton it. He'd already loosened the collar and removed his tie.

She gasped. His back was a mass of bruises from his neck to where his pants covered him, and she knew that they probably continued farther down. His lightly-golden skin was barely visible for all the black marks; bruises nearly covered his skin.

"God, Sir…"

He just nodded, and she moved around to his side, but he turned his face away. She placed a hand on his cheek, turning him back, and he wouldn't meet her gaze, though his tears flowed in rivulets down his cheeks. Her own eyes filling, she wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder.

He pulled her into his lap. They sat there, holding each other, for hours, and Sirius promised himself that no matter what his bastard family said, nothing would harm Lyra, or any of his friends. Nothing.

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Sixth year passed quickly, too quickly, as the years at Hogwarts always did. The Marauders outdid themselves on Halloween, charming the floating Jack-O-Lanterns in the Great Hall to begin fighting with each other and exploding, followed by an impressive display of Filibuster Fireworks in the main entranceway and a chorus of singing toads wandering the hallway, caterwauling to any passers-by.

All too soon, though, December had arrived, and Hogwarts was abuzz. Professor Dumbledore had announced that the school would be hosting a Yule Ball on Christmas Day's night, and that Fourth Years and above were welcome to attend, though dress robes were required. Naturally, every girl in Hogwarts was now concerned with one thing: what to wear.

All except one.

"Why does it matter?" Lyra asked Lily and Maya the next day.

Maya gave her a disbelieving look. "Well, it's the chance to dress up, go dancing, enjoy yourself. You love dancing, Lyr!"

"Yeah, but not in front of a bunch of people I don't know."

Lily put an arm over her shoulder. "You'll probably feel more comfortable when you're dancing with someone. I mean, you'll be there with a date; it's not as if you'll go by yourself."

Lyra stared at her. "Date?"

Maya chuckled. "Yeah, you know when you go up to a guy that you like and ask him if he wants to go to the dance? Or he asks you? Works both ways."

Lyra shook her head. "No. There's nobody I want to go with, anyway."

Lily's eyes narrowed. "Oh, come on, Lyr. You wouldn't go with any of the guys in this school? They're not all that bad looking."

Maya smirked. "You could go with Potter, since I'm sure Lily's going to turn him down."

Lily sighed and shook her head. "I already did. He asked me after dinner last night. I actually almost felt bad; he looked so disappointed."

Lyra stared at her. "Well, then why didn't you say yes?"

"Well," Lily looked a bit guilty. "I already told Amos Diggory I'd go with him."

Maya shook her head. "Why don't you give James a chance one of these days, huh? He's not as much of a prig as he used to be, you know."

Lily smiled, but shook her head. "I know. Maybe I will, eventually." Then her gaze sharpened. "But enough about me! Maya, are you going to ask Remus?"

Maya sighed. "Yes. I really would like to go with him."

Lyra snorted. "Well, it took you bloody long enough to admit that you like him."

Maya choked. "Well, at least I can admit it!"

Lyra looked bemused. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that you should ask Sirius!" Lily and Maya chorused together.

"What? Why?"

Lily looked exasperated. "Because the two of you have been mooning over each other for the past three years, and it's gotten worse this year. Just bloody ask him already!"

Lyra looked a bit regretful. "'S too late, even if I did want to ask him. I heard Jayne Li say that she's going with him, this morning."

Maya shook her head. "Did he say that? Because Li's been trying to get in his pants for years; she'd make that up easily."

Lyra shuddered. "Bad mental image there, May. Anyway, even if he didn't have a date then, I'm sure he does by now. This is Sirius we're talking about here. Besides, it won't kill me to go by myself; I probably won't even stay the whole time anyway."

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Sirius stood in a corner of the Great Hall, wishing he had James' invisibility cloak. He just wanted to disappear. He'd been getting 'come hither' looks from about ten different girls throughout the first hour of the Ball, and he was seriously (no pun intended) about ready to leave.

Not that anyone would miss him if he did. With the full moon high in the sky, Remus had been unable to attend the Ball, and it didn't look like Maya had shown either, judging by how disappointed she'd been when Remus had turned her down. Merlin knew Moony had looked like he'd been about to cry. Not that he had, but still.

Prongs had voted to keep Moony company after his own disappointing encounter with Lily. Sirius shook his head. The two of them were ridiculous; always arguing. If they would both just shut up and listen to what the other was saying, they'd probably get on quite well.

Wormtail had decided to tag along with Prongs and Moony, leaving Sirius all alone at the dance. He'd asked Maya if Lyra was going, but she'd replied that the last she'd heard, Lyra hadn't even bought a dress, and that had been two days before. Therefore, with the exception of Lily dancing with Amos Diggory, Sirius was quite alone at the Ball. Despite numerous offers from the female population of Hogwarts, there hadn't been anyone, really, that he'd wanted to go with.

With a sigh, he turned and began making his way to the doors, intending to change out of his dress robes and let Snuffles have a run down by the lake, but then he stopped.

And stared.

God damn.

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Lyra stood at the doors to Great Hall, looking out over the throngs of students. She felt a bit out of place, not to mention awkward at coming alone, but she'd really had nothing else to do. The Marauders had all disappeared for the evening, Maya had gone to the library, and Lily had come with Amos to the dance. She assumed Sirius was here as well, with whatever bimbo he'd picked for the evening.

After spending an hour doing absolutely nothing, Lyra had sighed, pulled on the dress her father had sent her (the one she'd picked out in Rio that summer but hadn't had an occasion to wear, as the party they had planned to attend had been canceled), and swept her hear back in a loose French braid.

She didn't think she looked too bad, actually. She preferred minimal make-up, and her hair looked quite good, if she said so herself. Plus, she had fallen in love with the dress over the summer. It was a pale golden yellow, strapless and clinging to her torso until it reached her hips, whereupon it flowed out into a long, loose silky skirt that shimmered when she walked.

And so she strode into Great Hall, looking around and wondering what all the fuss had been about. Sure, yeah, it looked nice, but… all that worrying for this? She spotted Lily dancing with Amos to the slow song and shook her head with a smile, meandering along the edge of the dance floor.

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Lyra?

Fuck me.

Is that Lyra?

Merlin, I knew she was pretty, but DAMN.

Oh, bugger, she's coming over here.

Sirius was staring. He knew it, and he couldn't stop it. Because the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life thus far was strolling in his direction, her gorgeous gown flowing around her legs as she walked.

Oh, Merlin, he was in SO much trouble here. Because ever since their third year, when he had taken notice of the fact that his friend was indeed female, and was quite nice to look at, he had managed to avoid thinking about Lyra as… well… Lyra. Beautiful, unattainable Lyra. The one girl he truly wanted, but also the one girl he wouldn't let himself have.

He wasn't good enough for her, but then who did he think was good enough?

All these thoughts were driven out of his mind when she walked over, smiling.

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Shit. What is he doing here? Alone?

"Hey, Sir."

"Hey, Li. I didn't think you were coming."

"Where's your date?"

"Don't have one."

Really? "Oh."

"Well… Hey, Lia?"

"Mmm?"

"Do you want to dance?"

So they danced. For quite a while, actually. Lia was enjoying herself immensely, something that she hadn't though would be possible at this thing. She enjoyed dancing, but didn't usually like to do so in front of a large crowd of people, the Gryffindor Common Room notwithstanding, of course. But she found that Lily had been right; dancing with Sirius, she wasn't thinking about what other people were saying. She was just thinking about him.

Suddenly, she felt him bend down and whisper in her ear. "Do you want to get out of here? It's getting a bit too warm."

It was getting a bit hot and crowded, and Lyra agreed instantly, nodding her assent.

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The December air was chilly, as was to be expected, but neither Lyra nor Sirius was really paying it any mind at the moment. They were caught up in one of their inevitable bickering sessions, though neither could really remember what had started the mock-argument.

Lyra pulled the lapels of Sirius' outer dress robe closer, shivering, and Sirius stopped what he had been saying, looking at her with concern. "You too cold, Li?"

She shook her head, not wanting to go in yet, but her teeth chattered and gave her away. With a smirk, Sirius wrapped his arms around her. "Body heat works wonders, luv." He wiggled his eyebrows.

Lyra chuckled, but she snuggled closer into his chest. "You know, one of these days, I'm going to say yes when you offer to sleep with me, just to see what you'd do."

Sirius joined her soft laughter. "You know, to be honest, I don't know."

"Sure, sure."

They stood like that for quite a while, just gazing out over the lake, wrapped up in each others' arms. Suddenly, Sirius pulled back a bit, still keeping a tight hold on her.

Lia raised her head, watching him but saying nothing.

He couldn't help it. Merlin, she just looked so… heart-stopping. Breathtaking. Hell, he didn't even know.

Before he could stop himself, he leaned down and brushed her lips with his.

a/n: Oooh, cliffhanger! I know, I'm mean. And there will be more about Moony and Maya; this thing just got a bit long, so I decided to split it into two parts. All right, off to Part 2!