Hey everyone!

Happy April! I am so sorry for the late updates. Lockdowns mean the days are merging into one and it's hard to tell what day is what sometimes. Hope you're all doing OK. Stay home, stay safe and keep the pressure off your emergency services. Remember this will pass and the sun will shine brightly once more.

Lots of love,

LM xxxx


Hidden Child-Part 68:

The news of Astrid's expulsion began to ripple through the school and Lyra suspected that Daisy or Maddie had leaked what had happened in revenge for their friend being expelled. The Malfoy witch knew that the two had been called to the Headmaster's office after her godfather had ventured into the common room to collect them. She sank back in her seat as all eyes watched the Potions master as he asked Astrid's friends to follow him. He hadn't said where but, with all the incidents going on, every snake knew exactly what was going.

Lyra sighed and headed to the library. It was the only place she could really hide, and she was a Malfoy and Draco had told her to start using it more s that is what she was going to do. The library at Malfoy Manor was her sanctuary and now she was hoping to make the Hogwarts one the same.

The 11-year-old walked into the library and saw that hardly anyone was there. She sighed in relief and headed to her usual corner and began to work on her homework. Instantly she began to relax as she was finally left alone and was able to get on with her work in peace. She loved having friends in Zenon and Jasmine but, right now, everything was getting too much for her.

Being a Malfoy was great but that attracted too much attention sometimes and then if anything happened it drew more attention to her. At least it did in the common room and the Great Hall; the library everyone was too busy doing work to notice who was around them half of the time. Even when they did they were soon back into their work so Lyra had nothing to worry about, just the way she liked it.

Madam Pince soon came over and told her it was almost time to leave and Lyra used the Malfoy card and the librarian instantly gave in. Summoning a spare key she gave it to Lyra and told her to lock the door behind her. The last thing the librarian wanted to do was have her job put on the line by Lucius Malfoy because everyone knew how Lucius now was where his daughter was concerned.

Lyra locked the library once she was done and ran into Rowena Ravenclaw on the way back to the common room. The ghost glided alongside Lyra as she walked and the two parted ways before Lyra snuck into her dorm and went to sleep.

The library fast became Lyra's safe place and Jasmine and Zenon knew to give her space and let her be. If she needed them then she would ask, until then they just kept an eye on her, making sure that she was OK and nobody was threatening her.

Lyra's routine and trying to ignore everything was going well but she was also looking around to see if anyone was going to try and hex her. Luckily she was barely in the common room so that wasn't too much of an issue.

It was almost a couple of weeks later and Lyra, Jasmine and Zenon were sat in the courtyard when Zenon looked at the two girls. He looked nervous and Lyra noticed.

"What is it?" she asked as she looked up from her book.

"I..I… I won't be here at Hogwarts next year. My family have to move away and go to America," he said, "I already tried to tell them I didn't want to go and that was quickly brushed aside," he said before Lyra just looked at him before standing up and rushing away from the others.

"I maybe shouldn't have told her yet," Zenon said.

"Maybe not but she needed to know," Jasmine said, "now we need to try and find her. I think we should go to Dumbledore," she said.

Zenon quickly agreed and they gathered up their things and Lyra's before they hurried to the phoenix guarding the Headmaster's office before they realised that they didn't know the password.

"Helena!" Zenon said as seeing the Ravenclaw House ghost, "we need to see Dumbledore but cannot get into his office. Lyra's run off and probably gone and hid."

Helena wasted no time in shooting up to Dumbledore's office. The youngest Malfoy was like a friend to her now and it wasn't too much longer before the Headmaster appeared.

"I know exactly where she will have gone. Helena can you get the portraits to link and get a message to Malfoy Manor? Once Lucius no doubt arrives bring him to the Room of Requirement," he spoke kindly to the ghost who nodded.

Dumbledore led the other two to the Room of Requirement and he could feel there was magic. He told Zenon and Jasmine to stand back and he tried every way he could think of to get inside the room but he couldn't. Lyra's magic was growing and he looked at the two before leading them back to his office where he found Lucius Malfoy talking to Helena Ravenclaw.

"I thought you'd have gone Helena," Dumbledore said.

"Lyra has become a good listener to me and in some ways a friend. I look out for her as much as I can," the ghost replied, "I also accompany her back to the dungeons when she decides to leave the library. I wish to stay and find out what is going on with Lyra."

Dumbledore nodded before he waved his wand and drinks appeared and he waited for everyone who could drink to have a drink before speaking.

"Lyra is in the Room of Requirement but I cannot get in there," he said, "I have tried everything but her magic is growing…"

"If I can get in there then I will," Helena said as she listened to the conversation, "I might be able to get past the magic."

"Thank you," Lucius said to the ghost, "I want to know what drove her there in the first place as she appeared to be coping with the Astrid fallout."

"That might be my fault…" Zenon sighed, "my parents are moving to America and taking me and my sister to America at the end of the school year and I told Lyra today. I knew a couple of days after Astrid was expelled but I kept trying to change their mind but I can't."

"I will do whatever I can to try and convince your parents to either stay here or allow you to stay here," Lucius said, "right now Lyra needs to be brought out of the room but if she wants to be alone then we can't make her let people in," he said.

"Rest assured we will do what we can Lucius," Dumbledore said and Lucius nodded wondering when Lyra would decide to come out of the room or if they'd have to force her somehow.