Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no claims to ownership.
Warning: sensitive topics/darker themes, though only alluded.
When Lyra disappeared, Lily didn't bother looking for her. It was impossible to find her when Lyra wanted to stay hidden. Despite the house being only a moderate size, she somehow remained unseen even when she stayed inside.
A burning smell in the kitchen, though, alerted Lily that a Black was quite skilled at creating disasters. By the time she reached the kitchen, the cake wasn't able to be rescued.
"Sorry," Lyra mumbled, looking at her feet.
"It's alright," said Lily distractedly. "Just don't try to cook without me again, you hear?"
Lyra nodded dutifully. Noticing her still fingering the cookbook, Lily gently took it from her and asked, "Which one were you trying to bake?"
Lyra rose on her toes to point at a chocolate recipe, which Lily recognized as the cake that had been given as a hostess gift. "That's Reggie's favorite," she confided.
"Let's make it together, then," said Lily, smiling at her.
Since the three siblings had come to stay with the Potters, Lily had been trying desperately to be a parent figure for them. She had been moderately successful with Lyra. However, it was much more difficult with Regulus and Draco. Each time she looked at them, she couldn't help but wonder if the relationship between Harry and Evan would have been the same.
Tears prickled at her eyes, and under Lyra's inquisitive gaze, she began to sniffle. Lyra's eyes widened in alarm.
"It's nothing you did," Lily assured her.
Lyra looked around the kitchen frantically before darting from the room. Lily blinked in confusion, but a few moments later Lyra returned with a thick photo album in her hands.
"Baby pictures always make everyone happier," Lyra explained as she opened the cover and pointed to the first photo. It was of a chubby baby, his mouth opened wide in surprise as he looked up at the camera. "That's Dray. And here he is sticking his tongue out…"
When she turned the page, Lily's breathing hitched. There was Sirius, kissing the cheek of a little boy who was smiling brightly, his blue eyes shining. Unconsciously, her fingers traced the photo.
Each photo had a description written beneath it in a neat hand that Lily thought might belong to Sirius. The latest one featured the Black family celebrating Regulus' birthday, which happened in early August according to the date. A lump formed in Lily's throat as she noted the happiness etched into all of their faces. She couldn't bring herself to look at Lyra, whose gaze she felt watching her intently.
"Do you mind if I keep this for a little while?" Lily asked, gently closing the album so she wouldn't have to see the picture.
Lyra's brows pulled in. "I guess you can," she said reluctantly.
"I'll give it back," Lily promised, and after a moment, Lyra nodded.
Feeling an odd desire to put distance between herself and the girl, Lily turned back to the oven to place the cake inside it. While her back was turned, Lyra slipped out of the kitchen, and Lily called after her with a reminder that she would be alone later in the afternoon. Lily ignored the ball of self-loathing that settled in her stomach as Lyra responded affirmatively.
After a tense lunch with Alice Longbottom, in which they discussed their respective sons' latest accomplishments, Lily was following her down the dark, unwelcoming stairs to the dungeon that lay beneath the Longbottom Manor.
"I don't like this," whispered Alice, stopping at the end of the dark and cold corridor.
Lily put a hand on her friend's shoulder. Though Alice and Frank had been ahead of Lily at school, the two couples had become close while they were in the Order.
"It has to be done," she murmured.
There was a lifeless shadowed figure resting on the bed inside the cell. Lily's brows rose when she noticed that the bed wasn't lumpy like the first time she visited. Under her scrutiny, Alice self-consciously pulled on a strand of her short hair.
"What harm can a better bed do?" Alice said with a helpless shrug.
Lily snorted. "Little prince," she muttered, but it was loud enough for the prisoner to hear.
"Nah," said Sirius, lifting his head and glaring at Lily in particular. "That's my son. You know, the one you've rendered parentless. Speaking of which, how are my kids, Evans?"
Despite the thick bars and layers of wards separating them, Lily almost took a step back. Then she firmed her shoulders and lifted her chin.
"They are well," she said shortly, her insides twisting as she thought of Lyra waiting for her at home.
"And my wife?" Sirius continued doggedly. "Or did you decide that Narcissa was too far in the Dark Arts that she wasn't worth 'saving'? Alice has been refusing to answer."
Lily swallowed, and Alice brushed against her in solidarity as Sirius bared his teeth in a smile.
"I know what you're capable of, Black," she said firmly. "You once tried to kill Sev as a joke."
Sirius flopped back onto his bed. "Sev, eh?" he said to the ceiling. "I thought you'd learned to stop listening to him, Evans. Otherwise you'd know the difference between a dare and a joke."
Her hands clenched into fists. Once they had been close, but their friendship had deteriorated after Harry died. She knew that he blamed her for it, just as she did herself. For years, especially after Evan was born, she would close her eyes and see that car hitting her little boy, and Petunia's disdain as she told Lily how it happened.
She had postponed the meeting as long as she could. Though she agreed that they needed access to the Black summer house, and Sirius would never have willingly allowed them inside, she hated to tear any parent from their children. The burn from Harry's unexpected loss was too deep. She had trusted her sister to keep Harry safe away from Dumbledore, but Petunia had done nothing to stop a small child from running out into the road.
She was thinking of all of that as she stood in front of Sirius' cell. Slipping a hand into her pocket, she curled her fingers around an exact copy of the album that Lyra had shown her hours ago. Lily had adapted the "Gemino Curse" so that she could make replicas when necessary. It was a spell that she had only revealed to James, for fear that it would be misused.
"Sirius," she called, the name sounding odd in her mouth.
Alice's eyes cut between Lily and Sirius, wariness marking her face. He had sat up during Lily's introspection, a newspaper spread out on his knee and a quill in his hand. His disinterest in them was clear.
"Hold on, Evans," Sirius said without looking up. "Thirteen down: A monster that's also known as the King of the Serpents… Merlin, that's easy. Basilisk."
He scribbled the word and then set the paper aside. From the other side of the bars, Lily could see that even without a stable surface to write on, his handwriting remained the neat script she had admired in school.
Sirius leaned back on his hands and looked at her with impassive eyes, sneering. She restrained herself from snapping at him. Kneeling down on the floor, she opened the grate through which he obtained his food and pushed the album across the magical barrier. He eyed it with distrust. Lily, who had visited the Black Library at Grimmauld Place, knew that he was thinking of the monstrous books there.
"It's just pictures," she said quietly. "I thought…" She bit her lip, unable to complete that sentence.
Slowly he got up from the bed. Even in robes that had likely not been washed in days, with unkempt hair and pale skin from lack of sunlight, he still moved with the grace of a Black as he bent down to pick up the photo album. Standing again, Lily watched as he opened it to the first page and froze. It was a picture of Harry sleeping next to a black dog.
Sirius swiftly flipped past the pictures that she had included of Harry. He settled on one of him with his own family in front of the Hogwarts Express. In the picture, Sirius stood proudly behind Draco and Regulus as the boys beamed at the camera. Narcissa was tucked into Sirius' side, and Regulus and Draco each had an arm wrapped around Lyra's shoulders.
"Can I keep this?" Sirius asked, his expression carefully neutral.
"You can keep all of them," Lily replied.
He turned to the next page and stopped again. It was a picture she had taken on the same day that she last visited him. When she had gotten home, James and Lyra had been outside flying together.
"He doesn't know, does he?" Sirius said in a quiet tone thick with accusation.
She frowned at the floor, unable to meet his gaze. Her stomach fluttered as she realized that despite the estrangement between James and Sirius, they still seemed to love each other. James had been devastated at Sirius' disappearance and insisted on taking in the children. For his sake, Lily had begged Dumbledore to help them get temporary custody.
Lily fiddled with her wedding ring, twisting it on her finger. His eyes caught the movement and narrowed. She stopped at once.
"I'm not cheating on him, if that's what you're thinking," she snapped. "I would never do that to James."
His brows rose. "No need to get defensive. I'm guessing that means he doesn't know about your little 'Save Sirius' project, though. Is this practice for your precious Severus?"
Lily forced herself to remain calm as she stepped closer to the bars. "Listen, Black." She paused to ascertain that he was paying attention, and then said in an even tone, "I couldn't care less about Snivellus."
Then she spun around and walked away, not sparing him another glance as Alice hastened after her. Lily could only hope that Peter would have better luck getting information out of Narcissa.
While the other Death Eaters jeered and laughed at the Muggle family that had been caught, Lucius climbed the stairs to the upper level of the house, screams echoing in his ears. The girl's voice rose in pitch, and the sounds that followed made his stomach heave.
Lucius pushed open the door to the bedroom and was relieved to see that Narcissa was alone. The look she gave him, though, made him flush.
"I never… I never did anything like that," he muttered, unable to meet her icy blue eyes.
Narcissa looked away, her gaze returning to the window. Lucius knew this to be a sign of dismissal, and that he was beneath her consideration as a threat. He took the moment to study her profile. Her hair was undone, and there were dark circles beneath her eyes. Despite all of that, she still maintained her regal bearing.
"How are you?" he asked, ignoring the mild pain in his chest.
Narcissa raised one eyebrow, but otherwise didn't answer. They spent several minutes in awkward silence before Lucius spoke again.
"Flower, please. I just want us to be a family again."
"You stopped being Draco's father when you decided to walk out on him," Narcissa said coldly.
"The Dark Lord…" Lucius began.
"Yes, yes, you've said that before," she said irritably. "You made your choice, Lucius, and I made mine. No matter what you think, I love Sirius, and he has been a good father to all three of our children."
Stepping closer to her seat, Lucius took her hand into his own. She stiffened and didn't look at him as he ran his thumb over her skin. Then she pulled away and began pouring a cup of tea.
"Thank you," he murmured when she handed the cup to him.
"Oh, don't thank me. Pettigrew laced it with a sleeping agent. I hesitate to think what he intended to do while I was knocked out."
Lucius spat out the mouthful he was about to swallow. "He what?" he said incredulously, looking at the innocuous tea. For the first time, he realized that her eyes were hooded, but she still maintained focus on him.
A small smile played about her lips. "What did you expect from a man who would so willingly turn his back on his friends?" Narcissa sighed and shook her head. "These are the sort of people with whom you associate, Lucius."
From below, they could hear the girl begin to sob, and Crouch called out, "Want a go, Sniv? She has such pretty red hair like your little Mudblood," to Snape. Lucius winced as the girl's mother screamed for mercy. He wished he could set up a silencing ward, but he feared taking out his wand near Narcissa.
Previously, Lucius' relations with Narcissa had always been cordial and at times even affectionate. When she had announced her pregnancy, he had initially thought they could become more loving, but then the Dark Lord went into hiding and Lucius hadn't even gotten to see the birth of his son. With Pettigrew being the Order member to house Narcissa as a prisoner, Lucius had been hoping to rekindle his relationship with her, but slowly he was beginning to see that would never happen.
"Don't worry, my love," Lucius said, taking her hands again. "I won't let him hurt you."
Narcissa laughed bitterly. "I don't see how you will protect me."
He winced. It was well-known that in order to be initiated as a Death Eater, one must demonstrate the use of one of the Unforgivable Curses on a victim. Pettigrew was fully capable of using any of them on Narcissa to get what he wanted.
"I'll visit more often," Lucius promised.
He knew that wouldn't do much to help her. Later, after he bid her farewell, he began thinking of how he could break her out. He would rather Narcissa be back with Black than risk another moment here. It was the first time that Lucius had ever considered betraying the Dark Lord.