They'd almost had it all . . . They'd been so close to having it all . . .
She swallowed slowly, not wanting to take her eyes off his. Perhaps telling him wasn't the wisest decision. His potato-filled fork still hovered halfway to his mouth, the knuckles gripping it slowly turning from an angry red to bone white.
Definitely not the wisest decision.
'He said what!'
She was quickly reconsidering her decision to answer honestly when Remus had asked her if she'd talked to Regulus lately. By the time she started thinking rationally, she was already half-way through recounting the encounter with Regulus after the Quidditch match. If only he'd asked another question. Any other question.
Placing her own fork back down on the table, she took a steadying breath.
'Remus, he has every right to be upset.'
'Not when he knew what they were doing to you and Sirius! Not when he didn't do anything about it.'
Seeing that the conversation was moments away from quickly descending into tense silence, Remus sighed heavily, finally dropping his food back into his plate. 'What are you going to do?'
She knew he was trying to hold back from saying something else, probably to tell her to stay away from him. Thankfully he knew better, thankfully he knew her better. For that she let herself consider the question instead of focussing on the one that was never said.
What was she going to do about Regulus? The thought of cutting ties seemed incomprehensible. Regulus was her family, her baby brother. She used to be the one he came to whenever he had a problem he needed solving. The first problem she ever remembered being enlisted for was retrieving his stuffed kneazle from the top of the armoire where Sirius had hidden it. After she and Sirius were sorted into Gryffindor, Regulus wrote her, his ten-year-old scrawl pleading with her to talk to the headmaster and that mother and father's tempers were beginning to upset him. The thought that she was no longer that person to him. The thought that, if she were to do as Remus was silently suggesting, if she were to remove herself from Regulus' life, she would be abandoning him to the worries she knew weighed him down. It made her stomach churn.
'I don't know,' she said, shaking her head. Desperately wanting to change the subject she quickly brought up their upcoming graduation. As far as conversation changes went, there were definitely better options she could have chosen. Thankfully, the solutions to the challenges they would face after their tenure at Hogwarts was up seemed mildly more achievable. Mildly.
'No doubt James and Sirius will be getting their own place,' Remus said, with a good-natured grin. 'That's if they can keep from getting kicked out on account of the shenanigans they'll no doubt try and pull.'
Lyra chuckled, an image of James and Sirius standing in the middle of a blown-up kitchen springing into her mind. 'I don't know, now that James has finally convinced Lily to go out with him, I doubt he'll stop there, especially once we graduate.'
'You think he'll ask her to get a place with him?' Remus considered it for a moment. 'That makes sense, I mean, James' parents aren't the youngest people, and James is probably itching to get some independence.' He paused, his grin growing. 'James and Lily living together, who would've thought it.'
'And all it took was endless years of persistence and grovelling.'
Remus chuckled as their dishes vanished. By the time they had been replaced by plates of bread and butter pudding, Remus had somewhat sobered. 'What are you going to do?'
Lyra shrugged, picking up her spoon and quietly thanking the elf who had come to refill their wine glasses. Another conversation she should have known to avoid. She knew what she wanted to do, unfortunately none of them would have gone over to well with Remus, or with anyone to be honest. What was even more unfortunate was the fact that Remus already knew some of them.
'You want to go to Australia?'
She fought to keep her head from nodding. He knew she'd been wanting to go to Australia since she found out about the traditions of their indigenous people. Sometimes she would get equally excited and nervous just thinking about what visiting them would mean for her. But that would mean leaving for who knows how long.
Knowing what she was thinking, Remus moved on. 'Would you move in with Sirius?'
Again, Lyra paused. That would certainly be the safest thing. But, on the other hand, 'I've seen how Sirius lives,' she grimaced good naturedly. Thankfully Remus took the bait and relented a smile.
In a rare moment of honesty, Lyra admitted something she'd not yet told anyone. Picking up her wine glass, she swirled the liquid around gently, watching it pick up the light from the burning torches. 'What I really want is to just . . . take a break. Would that be the worst thing?'
Of course, she knew it would be, Remus' silence said as much. There was no way that the war would let her live without it in her life. But still, it was nice to dream from time to time. 'I mean, we could just get some place small in the country, away from everything, maybe have a unicorn or two.' A small smile found its way onto her face as she pictured it. She didn't notice Remus' stare and slightly hanging mouth.
'"We"?'
She raised her eyebrows at him. 'If James and Lily can do it, why not us?'
'You realise that that would mean telling people we're together, y'know.'
Lyra's lips quirked. 'I think they would have suffered enough by then.'
'You're really asking me to move in with you?'
'Don't you want me to?'
'You know what that would mean, don't you?' He leant forward, lowering his voice out of habit. 'We'd have to make arrangements for . . . Moony.'
She bit back a comment at the nickname. 'You know that if we moved in together it wouldn't be a problem.'
He looked at her sceptically. Thankfully it wavered after a few seconds as the reality of what they were discussing sunk in. She revelled in the look that washed over his face. She loved being responsible for his feeling happy, contented. After a moment of admiring, she turned back to the matter of her pudding. She was up to the last bite, when Remus spoke again, unshed laughter coating his every word.
'You really want unicorns?'
They spent another half an hour in the kitchens. Thankfully all subsequent topics of conversation were decidedly more light-hearted. When they took notice of the time, they were nowhere near ready for the night to end.
'You sure they'll cover for us?' Lyra asked somewhat breathlessly.
They were on their way up to the seventh floor to the Room of Requirement, making use of the abandoned alcoves they came across.
'I'm sure,' Remus murmured against the skin of her neck.
'It's not going to be anything stupid right? The girls are suspicious enough as it is.'.
Groaning, Remus pulled his head back enough to meet her eye. 'They'll be fine, it's not like they haven't done this before.'
She nodded, pulling him to her again.
As lost as she was in his lips on hers, his tongue massaging against hers, his hands on her, one splayed on her hip, holding her in place as he pressed himself to her, the other cupping her face, rubbing the spot behind her ear that he knew made her breathless, she could still sense whenever someone was approaching. This led to them having to abandon a number of alcoves before they reached the seventh floor.
Decidedly flushed, the couple were skirting along the eastern corner of the fifth floor, when Lyra sensed a presence, one she definitely wanted to avoid. Grabbing hold of Remus' arm, she darted into the closest recess.
Given the noticeable way in which she tensed, Remus knew that the reason for this detour wasn't the same as the others.
Thankfully the strong grip Lyra had on his arm told him not to ask questions as she focussed.
Lyra's brow furrowed as she focussed. He wasn't alone. They must be close to his office. What the hell was he doing?
As they came closer, voices floated into the seemingly deserted corridor. Her grip on Remus's arm tightened and it wasn't just the strength behind it he felt as she made sure they wouldn't be seen.
'-personally vouched for the protection of my students.'
A quick glance between the two and it was agreed, Dumbledore was not in a good mood.
'I understand that Albus, but in circumstances such as this, tougher action must be taken!'
Lyra frowned, she recognised that voice, but was having a hard time placing it.
Remus caught her eye.
Minister for Magic, he mouthed.
Lyra's frown deepened. What was the Minister for Magic doing here?
'What action would you propose, Minister?'
'The first point of action that should have been taken was never allowing a creature such as that to enter into a school full of children in the first place!' The Minister hissed.
Her grip on Remus' arm slackened as she felt the colour drain from her face.
Whatever Dumbledore's response was, they never found out as the two men made their way down another corridor.
Numbly, Lyra's hand fell from Remus' arm. For a moment they simply stood, staring into the corridor. Remus found his voice first, despite it being somewhat cracked.
'They could have been talking about either one of us.'
She couldn't help but shoot him a look.
She really couldn't wait to get those unicorns.
XXX
Stupid Dumbledore. Stupid Minchum. What the hell was the Minister for Magic doing at Hogwarts anyway? Not that the answer really mattered, what was going to be one hell of a night had now been ruined.
Lyra's lips were plumped, there was a small mark starting to form where her neck met her shoulder and her hair was somewhat mussed. But the exerted blush that had dusted her cheeks had faded and her eyes, that had been as dark as storm clouds, were now wide, her irises barely moving as she thought, staring at the wall of the alcove.
With an internal groan Remus gave up the night as lost. With this realisation firmly setting in, Remus grabbed hold of her hand and led them back to the Common Room.
They arrived at the portrait hole in silence. Without thinking, Remus dropped Lyra's hand and watched as she disappeared. Even after all this time, he didn't think he'd ever stop being awed by her.
Climbing through into the Common Room, Remus almost winced at finding it uncomfortably full. Immediately he spotted Sirius, James and Peter in front of the fire. Unfortunately, Lily, Marlene and Dorcas were sitting with them.
Sirius was the first to raise his head, almost at the exact moment Remus felt something brush his fingers. When Lily and Dorcas raised their heads Remus knew it was time to move. He didn't know where Lyra went after he'd made it to the lounges, dropping into an occupied armchair.
From their silence, he could tell that the boys were aware that something hadn't gone quite to plan. The girls however . . .
'Remus! Are you alright? How are you feeling?' Dorcas said as soon as he was close enough to hear her.
Out of habit he didn't allow himself to look confused.
'Yeah didn't put Poppy through too much trouble, did you?' James said with a snicker.
Ah yes, the old Hospital Wing ploy. Remus forced a convincing smirk. 'She said I was a pleasure as always.' He looked at Dorcas, ignoring the suspicious looks being shot at him from Lily and Marlene. 'I'm feeling much better Dorcas. I think it was something I ate, but Madame Pomfrey wanted to be sure before she released me.'
His performance was pretty much perfect, but he'd never had to preform with such a speculative audience before.
'Say, Lupin,' Marlene said from her spot on the floor, 'you haven't happened to see Lyra, have you?
He schooled a look of confusion over his features. 'She wasn't at dinner?'
Lily and Marlene shared a look and shook their heads.
Remus shrugged lightly. 'Well I imagine dinner would have been busy tonight. Maybe she had dinner in the kitchens?'
He managed to skirt the topic for the rest of the night. His initial response seemed to appease the girls somewhat. He supposed he seemed aloof enough about Lyra, as a friend of her brother's would, he guessed.
For the next hour or so, the group sat and talked and laughed and discussed their upcoming exams and graduation. Remus tried to participate, tried to focus, but it was hard when the conversation between Dumbledore and Minchum wouldn't stop running through his head. That, coupled with the fact that he didn't know where Lyra had gone, was enough to distract him completely. Thankfully, due to the cover story provided by the boys, he passed off his mood as still feeling sick.
Slowly the room started to empty and as Lily kissed James goodnight and made her way up the stairs to the girl's dormitory, Remus realised that the four of them were the only ones left.
Ten minutes after the room had cleared, Sirius, who had been somewhat quiet up till this point, raised his voice.
'There's no one here but us now, you can stop hiding.'
The others looked in the direction in which Sirius was speaking. And just like that, Lyra appeared at the corner in the back of the room.
She sat with her back to the room, holding her head in her hands. She looked relaxed, she could almost be mistaken for being asleep. But by the way Sirius' jaw was clenching and unclenching, Remus knew that she was probably anything but.
James, clearly picking up on all these things, but nevertheless wanting to diffuse the tension, piped up, looking between Remus and Lyra. 'So, how was your night?' He asked, waggling his eyebrows.
The story that they told him, certainly wasn't what any of them had been expecting.
After the short recount (the two had decided to leave out the specifics of what exactly they had been doing when they stumbled into the headmaster's conversation), Lyra had found her way over to the group, seating herself between James and Sirius.
There was a moment of tense silence which was broken, predictably, by James.
'Well, I think you're both jumping to conclusions. I mean, we don't really know that they were talking about either of you.'
Despite the circumstances, Remus allowed himself to appreciate the fact that James had already inserted himself into the situation. "We". Remus loved that word. For the longest time he remembered when 'we' meant his parents and himself. It would always be connected to some disastrous problem that would engulf his parents into some awful fight. Now, that same word, mostly with James' help, meant something a whole lot better – hope.
Remus was surprised that Lyra didn't outright scoff at that. She looked like she wanted to, but she sat still, staring into the fire.
'And even if they were talking about you,' Peter said, 'there's no way Dumbledore would ever kick you out.' He was speaking to the both of them, looking between them and towards the entrance to the dormitories. Thanks to Sirius having cast a muffliato at the start of the story, they all knew that they wouldn't be listened in to, but Peter had never been one to completely relax.
If he hadn't had been watching her every move, Remus would have missed the way Lyra's eyes tightened. He wasn't the only one watching her.
'What is it.'
She didn't make any indication that she'd heard Sirius' words. She didn't move, just kept staring into the flames. She didn't move until,
'It's too much of a coincidence,' she mumbled.
Remus wasn't sure what she was referring to, just that he felt unsettled at her words.
Lyra stood and walked towards the fire. The boys watched as she approached the fire, the light from it intensifying her features.
'Why now? We've been here for nearly seven years. Why would Minchum make this a big thing now?'
'Who says this is the first time they've talked about it?'
A raised eyebrow was all that Sirius' comment received. 'Not exactly what I was referring to,' Lyra said in a flat tone. 'As far as we know, the Minister for Magic has never once felt the need to come here and discuss . . . whoever it was they were discussing. Not until now, not until whatever happened in the forest.'
The boys shifted slightly in their seats.
'You think there's a connection?' Peter asked. 'Between the forest and . . .'
'That and . . .' She trailed off, still looking into the fire, brow creased in concentration.
Remus had no idea what was going through her head. Worry churned his stomach. No matter what she was thinking, he doubted he was going to like it.
'What is it?'
Sirius and Lyra were fiercely protective of one another, about that there was no argument. Maybe it was because of this that he would never get used to how short tempered they could be towards each other. It's not that Sirius's words were angry ones, there was however a bite to them that couldn't be ignored.
Lyra was quiet for another minute or two, her lips pursed.
'I was walking to breakfast this morning when I saw someone – I don't know who it was. She wasn't a teacher.' She stopped talking. Remus knew that she was trying to find the words. He was slightly perturbed that she hadn't said anything about this to him earlier.
'What happened?' James asked.
'Nothing. I stopped thinking, I stopped – the only thing I felt was this, this pull. I could think of nothing else except trying to catch up with her. I followed her until she disappeared.'
There was something she wasn't saying, something that was holding back. But now wasn't the time to prod at that dozing dragon.
'Are you sure it wasn't just a teacher?' Peter asked breaking the silence.
Lyra shook her head. 'Definitely not, she wasn't wearing what you would call Professor's robes.'
Sirius stiffened. His shoulders had tensed up at the first mention of this mystery woman, but now he could have been made of stone. Lyra noticed at once as she met his eyes.
'What?'
'This woman, what did she look like?'
Lyra frowned, remembering. 'Tall. Dark hair. Mauve robes.'
As she went through her description, Sirius seemed to deflate.
'Why, you haven't seen her too have you?'
'No the woman I saw was –' Sirius stopped abruptly, seemingly remembering that there were other people in the room.
'You saw someone?' Lyra asked, stepping away from the fireplace. 'When? Where?'
Sirius hesitated. He looked briefly at Remus before saying. 'In, uh, in Knockturn Alley.'
It was if Remus, James and Peter heaved an internal sigh all at the same time, they all wore the same exasperated expression. When would Sirius learn?
Lyra, on the other hand, looked outright stunned. 'What!'
Sirius tried to stammer out an explanation, but Lyra wasn't having any of it.
'Have you completely lost your mind!' She said over his spluttering. 'I told you not to go to Knockturn Alley! What the hell where you thinking! What if you were recognised?'
Her expression turned livid at Sirius' silence. 'Who was it?' Her tone was downright murderous.
'I don't know who she was,' Sirius said in a firmer tone this time. 'She just grabbed hold of me.'
Remus didn't miss the way Lyra's eyes flicked momentarily to Sirius' left wrist, as if she knew exactly where that woman had grabbed him.
'I didn't even know what she wanted.' Sirius continued, not noticing Lyra's reaction. 'If Remus hadn't come along, I don-'
Lyra whipped around. 'You knew!?'
All Remus wanted to do in that moment was shrink into his chair and disappear. He swore even the wolf in the back of his mind whimpered.
'You knew he was down there, and you didn't tell me?'
Remus almost sighed out-loud when she whipped around to Sirius again. James and Peter merely sat with winces on their faces as they followed the conversation in a manner reminiscent of viewers of a tennis match.
'Well what did this woman want?'
Sirius, looking more frustrated than frightened, simply shook his head.
'You don't know,' Lyra said – Remus would marvel at their ability to so easily read each other without speaking later. 'So, you ignore my express wishes not to venture down to that god-awful place, you get accosted by a stranger, put your friend in a thoroughly uncomfortable position, pass the whole thing off as some amusing adventure and yet you're still being affected by it!'
Remus and the others frowned not understanding the end of her rant.
Sirius stood with a scoff. 'Yeah, like you can really lecture me on keeping things from others! Let's not forget why Minchum wants to kick you out!'
The effect was instantaneous. Lyra was still seething, but Remus knew how hard Sirius' words had struck her. He could tell by the slackening of her jaw, the way her clenched fists loosened. And the way she stormed from the room, out the portrait hole.
Sirius stared at the spot she'd been standing for a moment longer before turning back to the others.
'What?'
XXX
Trying not to think, Lyra stormed away from the Fat Lady who was currently yelling after her about curfew violations. But the portrait might as well have been speaking to the wall opposite her.
Lyra couldn't hear, she couldn't think. She was trying not to feel, to which she was failing miserably. The pressure in her head was building, her fingers were burning and her anger to all things Sirius was at an all time high.
Turning a corner, she loosened a breath at finding that she'd walked into a completely deserted corridor. With the pressure building, she started unfurling her fingers, the air around her already beginning to shift, a whirlwind of unseen colour and palpable tension.
She snapped her fingers back into fists as she felt something from behind her. Turning, she stared into the darkened corridor entrance. It was almost as if someone had tugged at her mind, and in response her magic had immediately retreated back into itself. That lack of control scared the hell out of her.
Staring into the darkness she tried to spy some explanation, taking note of every shadow, every twitch of every portrait, she was just about to turn away when the sound of hurried footsteps pounded towards her.
I know, it's been a long time, and I know laziness is a lousy excuse but it's the only honest one I can give.
I haven't really proofread this chapter, so I apologise if it's riddled with mistakes but I was anxious to post something.
Sorry for leaving you on a cliff hanger and for making it seem as if Lyra is so angry all the time (or is that just me?). There is a reason for everything though, I promise!
Please leave a review and I promise I won't leave it for so long next time!
