I do not own Harry Potter. All rights go to J. K. Rowling as well as Warner brothers (For the movie rights).
Daughter of Darkness
Chapter Thirty-Seven
"I am absolutely furious, Lyra!" Amelia shouted as soon as the last partygoers left (Susan had gone home early because she wanted to hang out with one of her friends the next morning). The party had finished not long after Amelia had walked in on her niece and best friend trying to sneak an escaped hippogriff into one of the upstairs rooms. Why exactly they were trying to sneak it into the house at all Amelia could only guess, but there were several good ones.
She wasn't the head of the DMLE for nothing.
The party goers had, understandably, been sent home a little early.
"You have put yourself and your friends in a very compromising position. Yes, I said friends because I know the Weasley boys were involved in this! Do you understand what could've happened if anyone had been hurt?" Amelia continued. Lyra sat ashamedly in the living room as her aunt paced in front of her. "Hippogriffs are dangerous animals! If he'd been startled, he could've very easily been able to attack and even kill you or Hermione!"
"I'm sorry," Lyra whispered, tears pricking at her eyes.
"You're not sorry for the situation, you're sorry you got caught!" Amelia growled.
"I wasn't thinking about me or anyone else getting hurt, alright! Is that what you want to hear? I'm sorry that I didn't think of every possibility except for keeping an innocent creature safe!" Lyra shouted back, standing from the couch in righteous anger. Amelia's face was stone as she pursed her lips and stared down at the now red headed girl. She took a deep breath, and another, knowing that getting angry right back at the girl in front of her wouldn't help the situation. Amelia took Lyra's shaking hand and pulled Lyra back to a sitting position.
"Lyra I'm not upset at you for wanting to help a person or creature in need. Hell, I became an auror for that very reason. But there's a fine line between helping and placing yourself and those around you in more unnecessary danger. Buckbeak could've very easily been startled when he saw me and moved to attack anyone nearby. That means you and Hermione. I don't know the first thing about handling an enraged hippogriff! Do you?" Amelia asked. Lyra shook her head. "I'm not mad at you for technically breaking the law. I'm mad because you could've been seriously hurt, and you didn't seem to even think about that. Do you understand?" Amelia asked. This time Lyra nodded.
"Yes," she whispered. "I get it." She looked away, an embarrassed light blue coloring her hair and eyes. Amelia looked at her niece and held out her arms.
"Come here," she said. Lyra hesitantly leaned in and hugged her aunt around the middle as Amelia rubbed a comforting hand over Lyra's back. "I've only met you a few weeks ago and you're already giving me gray hairs," she chuckled. Lyra joined in a moment later before relaxing.
"I'm sorry for breaking the law," she whispered.
"Not yet you're not. There's going to be consequences for this. You know that, right?" Amelia asked, raising an eyebrow as Lyra pulled out of the hug to stare in the eyes. Lyra nodded her head reluctantly.
"I figured," she sighed in resignation. Amelia couldn't help but feel a little proud that Lyra was willing to take her punishment.
"You do understand that you and Hermione are going to need to be punished, right? It's not just you. Granted, you'll get the heavier punishment since this whole thing was your idea," Amelia pointed out. Lyra nodded. She definitely regretted dragging Hermione into this.
"I understand," Lyra stated. She was thankful that Hermione had been sent home, to await Amelia's official ruling on how the two of them would be punished. She suspected her best friend likely would've been a ball of anxiety and tears from just one look from Amelia.
As it was, Hermione had been so nervous when the Weasley's took her home she nearly threw up before leaving. Amelia had assured Hermione that she wouldn't be expelled from Hogwarts, something that Hermione infamously considered worse than death.
Amelia looked at her niece, really looked and noticed that the excitement of the evening had worn off. Her shoulders weren't set, and her eyes were drooping. Her eyes, just like her hair, were now colored a calming blue. Amelia sighed and patted Lyra on the shoulder.
"It's getting late," she declared, looking at the grandfather clock in the corner of the family room. "Narcissa and I will decide on your punishment tomorrow," she said, looking at the blonde who had thus far stood silently off to the side with her arms crossed over her chest, her fingernails digging into the soft skin of her biceps. Narcissa nodded as Lyra stood up, not quite looking either of them in the eye.
"Right…well," Lyra shuffled awkwardly. "If it helps…I really am sorry for the trouble I caused tonight." Amelia gave the girl a soft smile before pulling her in for a hug.
"Apology accepted. I'll be back here at ten AM sharp. Don't plan on going anywhere for the rest of the month, young lady," Amelia warned. Lyra nodded as her cheeks, hair, and eyes flushed a rosy red in shame and embarrassment. She used to hate being called 'young lady' back in the orphanage…but coming from Amelia, it was strangely nice. It felt good to know someone in her life loved her enough to punish her because they cared and not simply because they could.
"I'll walk you out, Amelia. Go wash up, Lyra, and head straight to bed," Narcissa ordered as she finally spoke for the first time since the end of the party. Lyra nodded before scampering up the stairs before finally disappearing around the corner.
"We weren't planning to go easy on her, were we?" Amelia asked amusedly. Narcissa's eyes danced mirthfully as she chuckled.
"I'm her godmother and you're her aunt. Of course not. That child has lacked any sort of parental guidance for pretty much all her life. Minerva did her best but held too much of a soft spot for Lyra. I can't wait to see how she reacts to whatever we come up with," Narcissa smirked. Amelia gave a good-natured scoff as the pair headed towards the fire place. Narcissa had taken in the liberty of adding Amelia and Susan to the ward book connected to the floo so the two could come and go as they pleased, showing up at the front door was merely a formality for parties.
"Well, whatever you or I come up with should be good," Amelia said as she grabbed a handful of the emerald powder. "Have a good night, Narcissa," Amelia whispered, bowing her head ever so slightly before being enveloped by green flames.
Narcissa looked up to the staircase before sighing and making what felt like a long trek up the old stairs. She passed by the enchanted curtains that kept Walburga's portrait mercifully silent (Nothing seemed to be able to unstick the damn thing off the wall, annoyingly) before rounding the corner and hearing the rustling from Sirius' room, followed by a loud squawking.
Narcissa pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. "A bloody hippogriff," she muttered in exasperation. "Of all the things you've done, Sirius, this takes the cake."
She continued walking forward towards the end of the hall where the master bedroom door was closed, but not all the way. Through the small crack in the door she could see Lyra sitting on her bed and heard her sniffling as she wiped her nose. She couldn't stand the sight of Lyra being so upset, but she had to admit to being a bit confused as to why.
Knocking on the door, she watched Lyra swiftly wipe her nose on her sleeve (Narcissa grimaced at the sight but said nothing) before looking to the door. "Come in!" Lyra called. Narcissa pushed the door open and made her way through the rather large bedroom before sitting near here goddaughter and gently wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulders. She remembered Minerva's words about not letting Lyra pull away.
"I understand what you were trying to do, and I hate seeing you upset, but there are rules for a reason. Granted, there wasn't a specific one regarding escaped hippogriff's being smuggled into your house, but nothing is perfect," Narcissa started, trying to make a joke to lighten the mood. Lyra didn't crack a smile, instead, she turned her head away from Narcissa and tried to escape from the side hug.
Narcissa didn't let her.
"I hate that you're upset, but actions have consequences, and this is yours. You put yourself and your friends at risk," she continued softly. Lyra nodded minutely, her head barely moving. All the while a sad frown seemed permanently etched onto her face. Narcissa sighed.
"I love you, Lyra. You're my goddaughter and my niece. I care about you, Amelia cares about you. We're punishing you because we care about you, we really do." She sighed again. "I wasn't allowed to punish my son, and Lucius only punished Draco if he did something that embarrassed the Malfoy name. He learned not to do anything serious enough to embarrass Lucius, but nothing of respect for his peers and how to be a good person. He…he is a good boy, he really is, but it's so far buried down under what Lucius wants." One more sigh. "Anyways…We punish you because we care. We really do, Lyra. Amelia and I want you to come to us if there's a problem, because we want to be there for you."
There was a sniffle from where Lyra was trying to hide her face, only this time Narcissa let her.
"I know you love me," Lyra sniffled. "I really do, and I couldn't be happier. It's just hard for me to trust adults. For so long I was alone, me against the world. Now I don't need to be that way, haven't for three, almost four years, but…it's just hard to escape that train of thought when it pops up; that little voice in my head that says 'nobody will believe you, you've got to make your own way.' Logically I know you and Amelia love me but…" Lyra stalled, still stubbornly refusing to look at Narcissa.
"But you just have a hard time fighting your instincts," Narcissa sighed. She rubbed Lyra's back and stood, holding her hand out for Lyra to take. "Come on, I want to show you something I think you'll like," she said.
Lyra followed Narcissa out of her bedroom all the way to the staircase and into the living room without asking a single question. When they got to the kitchen, she finally cracked.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked. Narcissa merely smiled before opening the door that Lyra had assumed was to the cellar. She was right, in a sense.
"You'll see," Narcissa sang as she stepped down the stairs, Lyra right behind her.
A wave of her wand lit the trench along the middle of the wall around the entirety of the room, save for the door, in a blueish white fire that never seemed to heat the room at all. In fact, it was quite cool inside.
"What the hell is this place?" Lyra asked, eyes raking over the bare room.
"This is a multipurpose room. It served as a dungeon centuries ago, but the wards around the house allowed it to be converted into whatever room you needed. Orion had it converted to a dueling room for your mother to practice in when she was younger. It looks like the training dummies are somewhere else though," Narcissa explained, enjoying the excited look in Lyra's eyes as they changed to a bright orange along with her hair. It was a nice change from the depressing blue, she decided.
"What?!" Lyra exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?!" she asked as she walked further into the room.
"Well, the wards weren't powered up all the way, not like they are now," Narcissa explained. "It wouldn't have been safe to practice in here, so I thought to keep it quiet as a surprise. I…I figured you could use something of a pick me up," she admitted, a small, nervous smile on her lips. The wind was knocked out of her a moment later when Lyra impacted her stomach and wrapped her arms around her waist.
"I love it!" Lyra exclaimed. Narcissa chuckled and wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulders.
"I'm glad," she said before sighing happily. "Come on, we should get some sleep. We've had long days and tomorrow is going to be even longer," Narcissa reminded the girl with a stern look.
"Right, of course," Lyra muttered, though the grin stayed on her face. She followed slightly behind Narcissa as the older woman led them out of the dungeon turned dueling chamber. The blueish white fire snuffed out automatically.
When the two got upstairs, Sirius was leaning against the frame of his bedroom door.
"I'm sorry about the trouble," he said immediately. Lyra and Narcissa both sighed before the younger of the two stepped forward and placed her hand on Sirius shoulder.
"It's alright. I took the risk and I take the blame. Don't worry about it," Lyra said. Sirius nodded and looked down.
"Well, I should at least thank you. That bloody hippogriff saved my life a few weeks back, I owe you one," he admitted. Lyra shook her head.
"You owe me nothing, Sirius. You're family…family helps each other. Granted, I didn't expect that family would include a hippogriff, but that's life, I suppose," she said with a grin. Sirius laughed and patted her on top of her head, ruffling her now purple hair. She glared at him before fixing her messed up hair and turning to Narcissa. "Goodnight, both of you. I'll see you in the morning before I attend my own funeral tomorrow." With that, she walked to her bedroom and closed the door.
The next morning saw Lyra, Narcissa, and Sirius sitting down for a nice English breakfast, begrudgingly cooked by the eternally negative and grumpy house elf of Grimmauld Place (Kreacher made rude comments under his breath to Sirius the whole time).
"I hope you know I didn't intend on getting you in trouble," Sirius said, starting the morning off strong. Lyra sighed but nodded.
"It's forgiven, Sirius. I wouldn't have done it if I thought I wouldn't get away with it," she explained.
"Still doesn't mean the both of you aren't insane. I mean, really! Keeping a hippogriff in the house, regardless of its conviction or not, is still dangerous. We should send it off somewhere and be done with it!" Narcissa muttered forcefully.
"Let's at least be honest with ourselves, Sirius," Lyra chuckled as she swallowed her eggs. "You and I both know that what we intend isn't always the outcome. Merlin's beard, I mean, you made me the Lady of House Black because it would've bored you to be the Lord!" she exclaimed, laughing. Oh, she'd been mad at first, but now wasn't really the time to tell him that, he was still recovering from Azkaban after all.
Lyra stopped laughing when she noticed the odd look on Sirius' face. "What is it?" she asked. Sirius looked down at his food, pushing it around on the plate a bit with his fork.
"I didn't really have a choice. I can't tell you everything, Lyra, but Arcturus left…instructions, I suppose you could call them," he hedged nervously, not quite looking at Lyra. In fact, he was looking anywhere but her.
"What kind of instructions?" she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at the haggard looking man. Narcissa was even giving him a look, silently demanding he tell Lyra the truth.
"The kind I can't tell you about. All he said in the letter, that I can tell you anyway, was that he'd met someone sometime before his death a few months before ol' Moldy Voldy bit the dust. According to the letter I received when I went to Gringotts for the gold to buy Harry his firebolt, the woman my grandfather had met was…a kind of seer. She'd told him that the future of the Black family lay not in me, but someone of your generation. At first, I'd taken that to mean it could possibly be…Draco," he pretended to gag as the words left his mouth and Narcissa shot him a dirty look. "But that didn't seem right given how carefully worded Arcturus had written the letter. My second thought had been Harry. He's my godson, and by right, since I was the lord at the time, I could've made him my heir and then abdicated my seat, making him the next Lord Black. It would've also been legitimate since he does have a Black relative through James, though if he'd have even wanted to do it given that he'd also be Lord Potter would've been another question," Sirius explained. Narcissa sat stock still, her breakfast completely forgotten as Lyra sat back in her chair.
"So, what changed?" Lyra asked, though she knew the answer.
"I met you, and suddenly it made sense," Sirius said, leaning forward and steepling his fingers, pointedly looking at the little pendant that hung right below the dip between her collarbone. "You were the lost Black, the child that grew up as a muggle, one who didn't know anything about the wizarding world. You're an outsider with a powerful name and a powerful platform. You're so unknown, you've even got the Daily Prophet nervous. They're afraid to write about you because they don't know what you're capable of, especially since you're the daughter of one of the most fearsome witches in modern magical history," Sirius explained. He noticed Lyra flinch at the mention of Bellatrix being her mother, something he could definitely understand, what with how…infamous his own mother was. He had hated it when he himself was compared to that bitch when he was her age.
"Maybe they're just afraid because I have a significant stake in the Daily Prophet," Lyra weakly countered. She didn't want anyone to be afraid of her. She was just Lyra, nothing special, and certainly not her mother's daughter.
"That could also play into why they're not writing about you," Narcissa muttered. "Actually, they're probably got multiple pieces ready to publish," she continued darkly.
"What do you mean?" Lyra asked. Sirius looked to Narcissa to explain since he knew she should be the one to do it.
"It means that they're waiting. No doubt they've got several articles ready to be published for whatever public situation you find yourself in. Should you prove to nothing like Bellatrix, they'll have an article that, while not slanderous, implies that you could turn on a dime and decide to start slaughtering your classmates. If you prove to be exactly how they think you to be, a dark witch in training, then they'll plaster your face on the front page for weeks, calling for the ministry to investigate you at best, or arrest you at worst," Narcissa growled, rightfully upset at the prospect of everyone holding their breath to see what kind of woman Lyra would become.
"So, in essence, I have to be perfect for a few years?" Lyra asked.
"No dear," Narcissa said gently. "You'll have to be perfect your entire life. Not only are you a Black, but you're Bellatrix's daughter. You'll be under a magnifying glass for the rest of your life, because if there's one thing the magical world never forgets, it's grudges, especially against people that don't deserve them for some reason."
Lyra sighed and rolled her eyes.
"Great, just what I needed," she muttered. She shook it off, her hair and eyes going from purple to silver after a moment. "I guess I'll just have to prove them wrong," she said after a moment, a confident smirk on her face. "After all, you said a Black holds their head up high. So that's what I'll do."
After breakfast was had, and their dishes cleaned up, Sirius went back upstairs to his room to hide since Amelia was supposed to show up at ten AM and it was nine thirty already.
When she finally showed up, Amelia stepped smoothly out of the floo (She'd been keyed in last night, along with Lyra's friends that had come to the little get together). Lyra couldn't help but be a little jealous at the elegant walk out of the fireplace that had undoubtedly come with years of practice. She wished she had that ability naturally, as she hated her floo lessons ("a lady must always have her back straight, chin up, and above all, elegance, Lyra").
"Well," Amelia started when she walked through the fireplace. "Why don't we get started?"
Narcissa nodded readily, but Lyra reluctantly dragged her feet to the couch situated off to the left of the fireplace.
Narcissa sat on one side of the couch while Amelia sat on the other, leaving the space in the middle for Lyra. With a huff, the young purple haired witch sat between her aunts. Amelia's face was soft but held a stern firmness around her eyes.
"So," Lyra awkwardly looked between Amelia and Narcissa. "Who talks first in this kind of thing? I talk first? You talk first?" she asked, violet colored eyes flitting between the two stern looking women. Amelia sighed and crossed her legs, though not like a Lady would, Lyra observed, as Narcissa had taught her. Amelia crossed her legs somewhere in between how a man would versus a woman. Lyra had no doubt Narcissa was internally debating on whether to acknowledge that or let it slide. It was a somewhat amusing thought.
"We talk. All you have to do is listen," Amelia said. Lyra nodded; her attention focused solely on the graying haired witch. "Good. I thought about it last night after I got home, and after much thinking I feel I've come up with something appropriate," she said. Lyra nodded again, preparing for whatever punishment was to be handed to her. "I want to make it that you should've come to us. I know, given your past, that the idea of asking an adult for help is somewhat of a foreign concept, but Narcissa and I love you. She's known you for a little around a month, myself even less, but we'd be devastated if something were to happen to you," Amelia explained, tenderly putting her arm around the girls shoulders. Narcissa did the same, enveloping Lyra in an odd feeling of love and care that she very rarely received.
"We love you Lyra. You're our family, even if we didn't have the pleasure of raising you as we should've. We want what's best for you, and we want you to be safe. In light of all that, and despite the fact that you broke the law by harboring a condemned hippogriff, I've decided to let you off lightly," Amelia explained. Both Lyra and Narcissa looked at the older witch in surprise. Lyra because she'd been expecting a punishment, and Narcissa because she didn't think they'd be letting her off so easily. Amelia sighed and tried to explain why she was letting Lyra off the hook.
"It was wrong, trying to sneak that hippogriff in, but I understand. I got ahold of the report of the incident this morning, and it looks like Lucius strongarmed the committee for magical beasts into sentencing Buckbeak to death despite the minimal injuries Draco incurred, at his own foolishness no less. The creature doesn't deserve death. As such, your punishment will be to take care of that thing as well as research a sanctuary it can be taken to outside of magical Britain. I suspect you and Hermione can find something?" she said, finishing with a raised eyebrow. Lyra nodded excitedly. "Good," Amelia nodded, looking to Narcissa to see if she had anything to add. The blonde shook her head, knowing full well that punishing a child was out of her depth; she'd never really done it.
"Well," Amelia said, patting Lyra on the knee before standing and adjusting her robes. "I have to get to work. If you want, Susan and I would love to have you over for dinner?" she offered. Lyra smiled widely.
"Of course! What time should I show up?" she asked. Amelia smiled.
"Six o'clock sharp. You can spend the night if you want."
"I'd love to," Lyra softly replied. "Oh! Is it okay if I bring Artemis? I need to write to Hermione and let her know about your decision and check to see if Fred and George are still alive," Lyra chuckled. Amelia smirked, knowing full well Molly Weasley's temper likely had them grounded until the Quidditch world cup. It wasn't too bad, considering the championship was only a few weeks away.
"Of course you can take Artemis. There's a small owlery at home so she can rest easy there," Amelia explained. Lyra hugged the older witch around her middle as Amelia grabbed the emerald floo powder.
"Have a good day. I'll see you tonight," Amelia said with a smile.
"I will. See you later!" Lyra replied happily, relieved that not only was she getting off relatively easy, but she would get to spend the night with Amelia and Susan (not that she couldn't any time she wanted). All in all, today wasn't turning out to be a bad day.
