Hey everyone!
Happy March! It's super hard... but not at the same time to believe that the 3rd month of the year is upon us and guess what? I'm finally managing to start getting into a writing pattern... finally! I need to get more organised with my planning though but one thing at a time right? Enjoy the update.
Lots of love,
LM xxxx
Hidden Child-Part 66:
Dumbledore was worried about what had happened and was sure that Astrid was behind what had happened to Lyra and, with the Malfoys, watching his every move, he had to be seen to be doing something to find out what had been going on with Lyra.
The young Malfoy was still under observation in the Hospital Wing to make sure she was fully better before she headed back into mainstream school. Jasmine and Zenon, along with Draco and the Greengrass sisters were the only visitors Lyra was allowed.
"When you aren't teaching today I want to go through Astrid's possessions but I want you to come with me," the Headmaster said to Snape as they were sat discussing things in his office, "I am sure she's behind the troubles with Lyra's shields but I need to find proof," he said.
"Well I'm not teaching now and most of the school is in double lessons so we'd be able to slip into the dorm and have a look around and see what we can find," Snape replied before he and Dumbledore left the office and walked through the school, down to the dungeons and eventually into Astrid's dorm.
Snape looked around before heading to Astrid's bed.
"Albus you'll have to do this. I'm not able to get close. Something isn't right," Snape said as he felt some magic and traded places with the Headmaster.
Dumbledore nodded and looked around before beginning to have a careful look around to see what could be causing the magical signs.
"These are well beyond a First-Year's ability," he said before he began to take a closer look and soon found where the magic was coming through. The Headmaster pulled his wand from his robes and ended the spell before seeing a pile of letters revealed.
"Now why would these letters be under a powerful charm?" he mused before passing some of the letters to his colleague to look at.
Silence fell as the wizards looked through the letters.
"Well whoever Astrid is talking to wants to harm Lyra and was using Astrid to do so," Snape said after reading one letter, "I will go and find old her and bring her to your office," the Potions professor said before passing the letters to the Headmaster, going off in search of Astrid.
Luckily the First-Years were just unpacking their things when Snape arrived.
"Sorry Professor McGonagall but I need to take Astrid with me now," he explained. The Transfiguration professor nodded before Astrid followed Snape to the Headmaster's office before she was told to sit down.
The witch had been about to ask what she was doing there when she saw her letters.
"Have you been through my things? That's my private property!" Astrid said, angry.
"We have belief there is a threat to Miss Malfoy in the school and, after discovering a charm on her, suspicion has almost certainly fallen on you because of recent events," Snape said.
"And from these letters we have every piece of evidence that we need to confirm that it's you," the Headmaster said, "however we are missing one key piece of information. Whoever you are writing to means to harm Lyra and we need to find out who it is."
Astrid just crossed her arms and looked smugly at Dumbledore and Snape. Clearly she wasn't she wasn't going to say a thing, loyal and thinking that Lyra deserved to be harmed in some way or another.
Dumbledore had been about to say something when the fire suddenly glowed emerald and Lucius Malfoy stepped out of the fireplace.
"Lucius… I wondered how long it would be before you discovered what was going on," Dumbledore said.
"Well Pomfrey has been keeping me up to date on what has been going on with Lyra and then I thankfully was told that a suspect had been found and came straight here," Lucius said before his eyes fell on Astrid.
"Astrid is remaining tight lipped about who she is talking to but maybe you can decipher who it is," Dumbledore said as he passed over the letters.
The blonde wizard sat in the Headmaster's chair and began to look through the letters and silence fell on the room as Lucius began to look through the letters. It wasn't obvious at first and then it struck him.
"It's Bellatrix," Lucius said finally after a few minutes of silence, "it's Narcissa and Andromeda's sister Bellatrix. I couldn't pick it out at first but this last letter was the one that gave it away for me and she is the only one who knows the spell that's been used to down Lyra's shields and make them weaker."
"You're sure of this?" the Headmaster asked.
"Yes. Very sure. There is only one person who means to seriously endanger Lyra. She is the only one who can take Bellatrix down and she knows that Astrid doesn't like her either. So what better way to deflect suspicion from her than to go through Astrid because it's usually the last person anyone would suspect. The only flaw in the plan was the dorm war as it meant that if anything was noted to be wrong with Lyra then Astrid would be instantly suspected," Lucius said, "the dorm war has firmly put Astrid here under suspicion."
Astrid had remained silent until that point before she smirked.
"Well solved Malfoy," she smirked, "you are indeed correct. The dorm war was meant to weaken Lyra so next time she went to Hogsmeade Bellatrix could take her down."
"Well you have just confessed, " Dumbledore said, "but what to do with you now?" he mused as he looked at Lucius.
"I want her expelled, plain and simple. She has to be expelled," was the reply.
