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-Nine
Appearing at the Weasley house in a ball of green flame, she was greeted by the most amusing sight. Two Weasley boys, the twins, down on bended knees presenting a tiny tiara.
"Oh mighty princess of the Blacks…" Fred started.
"We are not worthy to stand in the presence…" George continued.
"Of a mighty prankster such as yourself!"
"To smuggle a hippogriff-"
"And, get away with it-"
"Is a prank worthy of this crown!"
"For we are not worthy of such an honor, but you are!"
"Boys!" Lyra laughed. "I must humbly decline such an honor," she graciously bowed. "For I have decided that pranking is not my business. I'll leave it to masters such as yourself!"
"Too kind she is, George!" Fred smiled.
"Right you are, brother. We should hold onto this crown should she decide she wants it someday!" George suggested.
"Oh, that's enough out of both of you!" Mrs. Weasley scolded before shooing them away. "It's good to see you again, dear."
"It's good to see you as well, Mrs. Weasley. Thank you for having me over," she bowed her head.
"Oh, none of that formal stuff. We don't stand on ceremony here in the Weasley household!" Mrs. Weasley joked.
"Is Harry here, yet? I have a surprise for him," Lyra asked. Mrs. Weasley looked around.
"The boys and Arthur should be heading off any minute to pick Harry up," she said brightly.
"Ah, alright then. Is Hermione here? Her letter said she'd be here this afternoon."
"She'll be here any minute. In fact," Mrs. Weasley said, leaning around Lyra to look out the door of the kitchen. "I bet that's her right now!"
Lyra turned around to see Hermione, off in the distance, stumbling out of a giant triple decker purple bus; the Knight bus, Britains answer to magical-but-not-travel. She appeared to be bracing her hands against her knees as the maniacal bus drove off. Lyra laughed as she walked out the door, her laughter carrying all the way to Hermione's ears.
"Had fun, did you?" Lyra called as Hermione got closer.
"Lyra!" Hermione exclaimed as she hauled her bag down the dirt road. She immediately noticed the changes in her friend. Where she had been quiet and sullen at the Granger house, she had been a little more relaxed and carefree during the housewarming party. Now, Hermione could see that Lyra had changed even further.
She wore a dress (something Hermione had never thought she'd see a girl like Lyra wear), her posture was rigid, her eyes sharp (not that they ever weren't), and she carried and air of confidence around her that was different than she had in the past.
"It's good to see you, Hermione," Lyra said. She'd missed her best friend in the three weeks that they had been grounded.
"It's good to see you too, Lyra," Hermione replied, pulling the girl into a hug. "You look different," she pointed out. Lyra pulled back and smiled.
"Do I? I haven't really been morphing my face all that much?" Lyra asked, frowning a little.
"No, not like that. I mean you look strong, like, you carry yourself differently than you used to."
"Well I don't know about that, but Narcissa had this grueling posture training she put me through and its just habit now. I mean, seriously, did you know there are spells designed to force your back straight if you slouch even a little? Bloody mental purebloods are," Lyra explained. Hermione laughed.
"Well that explains so much about you," Hermione joked. Lyra rolled her eyes in response before throwing an arm around Hermione's shoulder.
"Oh, ha ha," she responded dryly, leading Hermione into the Burrow. "Come on, let's get you inside. Harry's going to be here soon, and I would like to catch up with Ron before Harry gets here and they both decide to play some quidditch," Lyra said.
"Good point. It would be nice to catch up," Hermione said, though Lyra didn't miss the slight blush on Hermione's cheeks. Still, she said nothing, not wanting to embarrass Hermione.
"Is that-" Hermione started to ask when she caught sight of the big black dog sitting patiently by the Weasley's front door.
"Yup, that's Padfoot. He's a surprise for Harry since I know, most likely, he hasn't had much to do over the summer. Plus, his birthday is coming up, so I figured, why not?" Padfoot bounded over to Hermione and began licking the girl's hand before nudging her inside the house.
Once inside, the dog transformed before giving Hermione a hug.
"There's one of my little saviors!" he cheered. "Good to see you, Hermione. Sorry about the hippogriff thing, by the way. Never meant for you to get into trouble."
"It's alright, Sirius. I knew the risks," Hermione told the man. She noted that he looked a lot healthier than he did the last time she'd seen him. He noticed.
"Yeah, I look great! Not wearing rags and eating a regular amount of food does wonders!" he said before turning around, showing off his jeans and t-shirt. "Say, does all that food make my butt look big? I used to have a nice figure before but now it feels all different?" he asked. Lyra snorted before swatting him on the shoulder.
"Your arse is fine, Sirius. Now come on, you mutt, help us get Hermione's bags in here so we can all settle in for a bit before the excitement starts again once Harry arrives," Lyra said. Sirius nodded excitedly.
"Right, of course. I defer to your wisdom, Lady Black," he joked with a bow.
Once everyone was settled, Arthur, Fred, and George all went off to collect Harry as Ron, Lyra, and Hermione talked.
They didn't talk about much, certainly not school since that was a surefire way to bore Ron out of his skull, but Lyra couldn't help but notice that her redheaded friend studiously avoided talking about a second topic: her Headship of House Black.
It was a bit odd to her, but she accepted it seeing as Ron didn't exactly like talking about rich people, or money in general. She knew he was probably feeling a bit jealous. She understood, after all, having been homeless herself for about a year of her life, the kind of envy that took hold when your friends had money, but you didn't. She let it slide. If Ron didn't want to talk about it, she was more than happy to leave the subject alone rather than risk a confrontation. She still remembered how precarious their friendship had been last year, and she wasn't willing to bring about a repeat.
A commotion downstairs drew the trio's attention.
Harry had arrived.
The three friends all rushed downstairs to see a boy on the ground, a dog on top of him, and a gaggle of redheads surrounding them.
"Sirius, let him up and change back you old mutt!" Lyra called. The dog rolled its eyes, huffing before changing into the familiar form of a man, standing tall as he offered his godson a hand.
"Sirius!" Harry cried as he wrapped his arms around the man. "It's good to see you again!"
"It's good to see you too, pup," Sirius said, his voice barely above a whisper as he wrapped his arms around Harry.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were in hiding?" Harry asked. Sirius chuckled in response.
"Of course I am. I just happen to be hiding here for the day!" he exclaimed. The look in Harry's eyes told Lyra that the risk was worth it. Harry seemed so happy to have someone he considered family so close by.
"Well, why don't we leave these two to talk and catch up for a bit?" Lyra suggested. "We can all stand around awkwardly another time."
Ron looked to his brothers and sister. It was then that Lyra noticed two redheads she hadn't met yet
"Quidditch?" he asked. Fred and George grinned while Ginny simply looked ecstatic. The two redheads looked rather amused at their younger siblings antics.
"Yeah, just lemme warm up a bit!" she exclaimed before jogging out the door. Lyra and Hermione shrugged. Might as well join them, after all.
It was discovered that there was something Lyra wasn't good at or at least had a working knowledge of. And that something…was Quidditch. Merlin, she sucked at Quidditch.
Lyra was a slow flier. Better then Hermione, but she had no coordination at all, especially when things were thrown at her.
After nearly an hour of embarrassing herself (the ribbing from the twins didn't help at all) she called it quits, deciding she was more of a hindrance to her impromptu team. That suited her just fine. In fact, she had a better time watching the Weasley's fly around then she'd had for most of the summer as she sat on the cool grass. She heard footsteps behind her and looked to see who it was.
It was one of the older Weasley boys.
"I don't think I introduced myself properly," the man said. "William Weasley, though everyone calls me Bill."
"Lyra Black," she replied. "A pleasure to meet you."
"I've heard about you from my brother a few times. I hear you're interested in Runes?" he asked. Lyra smiled.
"Yes. Runes are fun. It's a whole other language, a magical one at that, though becoming a duelist is my true passion. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I work for Gringotts, you see. I'm a curse breaker by trade but I do work with Runes quite a lot. Working in old tombs, there tend to be quite a few nasty surprises," he explained. Lyra hummed.
"Somehow, I sense you're either trying to recruit me or are asking for a job," she teased. Bill chuckled and shrugged. "In either case, I'm afraid I'd have to turn you down."
"Worth a shot, can't blame a guy for trying. It's long been rumored the impressive power of the Black family home. What I wouldn't give to see that ward stone."
"Well I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint. Barring some catastrophe, it would be nearly impossible to access the ward stone. That being said, if there were a problem, you'd be the one I'd consider," Lyra said.
"I appreciate the consideration, Lady Black," Bill said before standing. Lyra stood as well. It looked like the Weasley family was done playing Quidditch for the day.
Dinner was a boisterous affair. A lot of catching up between family and friends. It was where Lyra learned of Fred and George's desire to own a joke shop. She could easily see them doing it, of course. The boys had magical talent in spades, even if they didn't use it in what many (Molly) would consider a respectable way. The whole thing gave Lyra an idea as she ate, but she would have to talk to Narcissa about it first, and Andi as well since she was soon to be managing the family finances.
After dinner, there was time to spare for the four friends to talk alone for a bit up in Ron's room. Hermione even brought out her infamous bluebell flames, conjuring the charm into a little glass jar that lit up the room.
"So, how's all your summer's been? Excited for the world cup?" Hermione asked. Harry and Ron both beamed.
"Course we are! Right shame that England won't be competing, but it'll still be good fun," Ron answered first. Harry looked confused but Ron shrugged. "Tell you tonight. I have the paper and it gives a good play by play."
"So," Lyra jumped in. "I don't mean to change the subject, as riveting as Quidditch is, I have news I think we can all appreciate," she said impishly, changing the subject on purpose. Everyone looked at her expectantly, but she wanted to hold their interest a little longer. "After much digging and searching, we have a good start on clearing Sirius' name."
It took a moment for the words to settle in. Lyra had purposefully omitted any information regarding Sirius in case of anyone getting nosy.
"Don't leave us hanging!" Ron exclaimed before his face turned red. The walls were a bit thin in the Weasley house, and his older brother, the uptight by the book's ministry worker, Percy was right next door. "Sorry," he whispered. "What have you found out?"
"With Amelia and Susan's help, I went to the department of records to find the trial record. All there was, was a little sheet of paper. All it told me was that Sirius had been railroaded by the last Minister, Barty Crouch, and Professor Dumbledore," Lyra explained. Her friend's immediate reaction was to say that that couldn't be right, that Dumbledore wouldn't do that. She ignored their protests to continue giving them the information she had. "Now, I know it might've been a mistake on Dumbledore's part, so we'll skip over that for now. Instead, we need to talk about you, Harry, and your family vault."
"Family vault?" Harry asked.
"Yes, Harry. The Potter family vault. That might be where the copy of your parent's Will is stored. Sirius informed me that your parents didn't particularly trust anyone back then, and rightfully so, so they made a copy of their will. Sirius and I think it's in your family vault because, whoever was supposed to be the executor of the will, didn't do a good job, and your parents wanted to be prepared for that possibility."
"But I've never seen anything in my vault apart from galleons, sickles, and knuts?" Harry explained. Lyra frowned.
"Well that's not right. The Potter family, while not obscenely wealthy, was an old family." Lyra thought for a moment before shaking her head. "Never mind, we'll sort that out before going back to Hogwarts. Anyways, that's all I've got for you right now, Harry. Just thought you might like to know," she smiled. Harry gave her an awkward side hug as he smiled.
"Thank you, Lyra. For keep Sirius safe and for everything else."
"What are friends for, Harry," Lyra muttered fondly. The room lapsed into a comfortable silence as the bluebell flames flickered back and forth. Lyra found herself focusing heavily on the little blue light before she sighed.
"Everything alright, Lyra?" Ron asked, unusually attentive of his friend's emotional state for once. Lyra looked up and ran a hand through dark blue hair.
"Stress. I've got a lot of responsibilities now as the head of a noble house and I'm worried how it's going to be at Hogwarts. No doubt many of the Slytherins and those purebloods in other houses will be watching me like hawks. Many of them are probably just as worried as I am," Lyra sighed.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"The Black family was…well, let's just say they own a lot of debts and love blackmail. Look, I shouldn't even be talking about this with you though. It wouldn't be a good look on me if I went blabbing about all the families who now owe debts to a bloody teenager," she snorted before dropping her head to her knees and groaning. "Why do things suddenly have to be so complicated? All I wanted was to know who my family was and then BAM! Head of an ancient and noble house!" Hermione shuffled over to her friend and threw and arm over the girl's shoulder.
"You're not alone, Lyra. You haven't been since you started Hogwarts. You have us, you have Narcissa, and Andi. You even have Amelia and Susan to help you if you ask. It may seem daunting, but when you've got people around you who love you, can even help you or better yet want to help you, well, it doesn't sound so daunting, does it?" Hermione asked softly, patting Lyra on the back. Harry and Ron had moved closer to be near their friend.
Lyra took a calming breath, her eyes and hair shifting from grayish-purple to a more normal (for her) sapphire blue.
"You're right. I'm freaking out over all of this for nothing. I have good people around me. I'll be fine," she said, mostly to herself. "Thanks Hermione."
"Anytime," Hermione replied.
"Oh," Lyra said, blinking as a thought popped into her head. "I should probably tell you before someone finds out accidentally, but I found out I have more family outside the Blacks."
"Really? Who? Anyone we know?" Harry asked.
"Yeah. The Bones.' Edgar Bones was my father. Amelia Bones is my aunt, and Susan is my half sister," Lyra explained.
"So that's why she took such a personal interest in you at the party!" Ron exclaimed in realization. "She was asking about you quite a bit. Wanted to know how you were in school and all that."
"Yes, she's a rather inquisitive woman. Anyways, I would appreciate it if we kept this to ourselves for as long as possible," Lyra asked.
"Of course we can, Lyra," Harry said. "We'll keep it to ourselves for as long as possible."
Lyra sighed, happily this time, before looking out Ron's window. "Well, I think it's time for me to go," she said, standing and dusting herself off.
"We'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning?" Harry asked. Lyra nodded in confirmation.
"Of course." Her face took on a serious expression as her hair turned black. "I expect you boys to be up by that time as well. If you're not, I'll wake you up with a stinging jinx to the arse," she threatened before smirking, chuckling at their worried expressions. "Goodnight boys, sleep tight!" she said before she walked out of the room with Hermione right behind her.
"See you tomorrow, Lyra," Hermione said as the two got downstairs and approached the fireplace.
"See you tomorrow, Hermione. Make sure the boys are up for me?" she asked, winking. Hermione chuckled.
"Of course. Sleep well."
"You too," Lyra said, pulling Hermione in for a hug before letting go and grabbing a pinch of floo powder. Calling out the name of her home, Lyra disappeared in a flash of green fire.
"Have a fun time, dear?" Narcissa asked once Lyra stopped coughing and waving the ashes out of her face. Lyra nodded with a tight thin-lipped smile before stepping out of the ash cloud she'd managed to create.
"Yeah. It was good seeing everyone. There were even a few extra Weasley's!" Lyra chuckled. Narcissa joined her as the younger witch sat on the couch in front of the fireplace. Narcissa had been curled up on it with a book and a cup of tea beside her.
"I've never met them personally, but their two eldest always seemed the smarter of the lot," Narcissa commented. "Forging their own path and thinking for themselves. If one listened to Lucius all the time, it wouldn't be too hard to believe that they were simply trying to get away from all the hustle and bustle of their family."
"Bill seemed nice enough, a bit forward in wanting to look at the house, and Charlie is pretty passionate about dragons so…they're pretty cool," Lyra said. "Makes me kinda wish I had siblings of my own."
"The likelihood that that would've happened was so small your mother never even considered it," Narcissa said, slipping a placeholder in between the pages of her book. It was getting late and she wanted to get ready for bed.
"I've read that pureblood women have a hard time having children. Is that true?" Lyra asked. Narcissa sighed and eventually nodded.
"Yes. It's not often talked about, and certainly not so openly, but as the years have gone on, many pureblood families have been producing less and less children. The Weasley's are an outlier. Many refuse to acknowledge the problem, but those of us who have an inkling of what's going on know that it's all the inbreeding. I was very fortunate to have Draco, and I know Bellatrix almost lost you several times. It wasn't an easy pregnancy, for either of us, but it was so worth it in the end," Narcissa explained, looking distantly into the fire.
"We'll get him, Narcissa," Lyra declared softly, wrapping her hands around Narcissa's arm and leaning into her side. Narcissa smiled at the gesture and leaned her head down to rest on the top of Lyra's.
"I believe you," she whispered. "You're willful, just like your mother. When she set her mind to something, it got down or she'd die trying." Lyra snorted bitterly.
"At least I can say I got one good thing from her," she whispered. Narcissa sighed.
"I know you don't see it, but there was good in Bellatrix once, before the Black Madness fully took her in that last year after you were taken. It was small, but it was there. I wouldn't have trusted her with Draco otherwise. Even when she was fully lost to the madness within, there was still parts of her I could recognize," Narcissa sadly explained.
"The Black Madness? You've never mentioned that before," Lyra softly asked, a pit of worry forming in her stomach.
"It's nothing you need to worry about. It skips a generation. Plus, I don't like talking about it in general," Narcissa explained softly, doing her best to immediately soothe Lyra's worries while also not thinking about what it had done to their family. The girl noticeably relaxed, not that she had even noticed she'd been tense. "Basically, it was a curse placed on the family centuries ago. It could randomly pop up in any family member every other generation. Depending on the severity, it could take only a few years to several decades to take hold of someone. Your mother fought against it her entire life," Narcissa whispered. "When you were taken, she gave in, not seeing any point to her life anymore, and just like that, it was like Bellatrix was gone, replaced by a different person. In reality she'd been changing for years, but that last push was what sent her over."
"When that rat bastard is found, I hope they string him up for everything he's done to our family. I hope Lucius gets what's coming to him," Lyra whispered, her hair turning a deep blood red as she simmered in a quiet wrath.
"Indeed," Narcissa agreed, pulling Lyra closer as the two stared at the fire.
"If you don't hurry up, you're going to be late!" Narcissa shouted up the stairs. The two of them had fallen asleep on the couch after making small talk. Apparently, fantasizing about all the different ways they hoped the people that had wronged them met justice really takes up a lot of energy.
Who knew?
"I'm hurrying! I would've been done by now if I hadn't had to change first!" Lyra snarked back.
Her attendance at the World cup would mark the first real public outing she made as Lady Black. Narcissa insisted she had to look good while at the same time warning her to be on her best behavior. Dressing up all fancy like to go to a sporting event didn't make for a cheery mood, however, Narcissa quickly found out. After a little debate, Lyra had decided to wear a pair of black boots and leather pants, a white ruffled blouse with an integrated corset (Narcissa's insistence), and a long dark coat that came down to just behind her knees. It wasn't exactly elegant like Narcissa had wanted, but it was far more comfortable while looking, at the very least, presentable.
"That's better," Lyra sighed as she came down the stairs.
"It's not…bad," Narcissa hesitated, the pureblooded woman in her wanting to demand Lyra go and change into something more befitting of her station. Lyra rolled her eyes before changing her facial features ever so slightly to give herself a little bit of a more aristocratic look. Her cheekbones came up ever so slightly as her cheeks themselves lost a little bit of 'roundness.' Her eyebrows thinned out, and her ears pressed a little closer to her head. Rounding out the look, her jawline sharpened, creating a quite lovely angular set to her face. Narcissa nodded approvingly while looking at Lyra's clothing in thinly veiled distaste.
"It's the best I'm going to dress up in. Next time, I promise, I'll let you dress me up. I have to get going now though if I don't want to be late."
"I know," Narcissa said. Honestly, the girl was so much like her mother had been it almost hurt sometimes. Lyra stepped over to the fireplace and grabbed a small handful of the emerald powder right as Narcissa grabbed her free hand. "Be careful tonight. There'll be witches and wizards from all over the world and many of them get a little too rowdy after drinking too much. Stick with your friends, and don't go anywhere alone."
"I know," Lyra replied, but not in an annoyed way. She knew Narcissa was worried, and not just for the spoken reasons, but the unspoken ones as well. Lyra was a little worried too, if she was honest. Magical's had a very hot and cold temper at the best of times, rarely was it ever neutral. Lyra knew who her mother was, and so did many others. Bellatrix LeStrange was one of the most feared witches of the twentieth century and for good reason; she wasn't Voldemort's right hand for nothing after all.
"I'll be safe. I promise," Lyra assured her godmother.
"Okay. I'll see you later tonight," Narcissa said, pulling Lyra into a hug.
"See you later," Lyra replied as she separated from the woman and throwing the emerald powder into the fireplace, calling out her desired destination and disappearing in a flash.
AN: Well, we're officially getting into Goblet of Fire. I think you'll all like what I've planned out so far for this arc.
Red=angry
Gray=nervous/anxious/irritated
Orange=happy/excited
Blue=sad/overwhelmed
Purple=worried/concerned/frustrated
Green=jealous/suspicious/grossed out
Brown=content/relaxed
Yellow=afraid/shocked
Pink=amusement/surprise/mischievous
Silver=determination
Light blue=embarrassment
