Hey everyone! We've made it to level 12 of Jumanji! (I'll try not to use this next year...) Anyway we've made it to December and I'll save the soppiness for my midmonth update. I think we can all say it's been a rollercoaster of a ride though. Well here is the penultimate update of 2020. Oh yeah... my new fic has finally been posted so go and check out Love Strikes Twice.

Stay safe.

Lots of love,

LM xxx


Hidden Child-Part 84:

That night Dumbledore gathered the House of House into his office so they could discuss the recent events with Lyra. He had suspected that they would have cornered him at some point so he sent messages to them and asked them to come to his office once the Prefects had begun their patrols. He knew the staff would want filling in on everything and, considering they were all involved in Lyra's training, they deserved to know what had been going on with Lyra.

"I know she's your goddaughter Severus but this has been the most exciting Year at Hogwarts since Harry Potter arrived," McGonagall said as she looked at the Potions professor, "and that is including everything that Potter has accomplished."

"None taken Minerva. I think we are all in shock about Lyra's memories returning. We were all fooled by Bellatrix's deception," Snape replied, "not least Lyra. She seemed to be a little confused in class today as she looked at her books. She isn't sure what she remembers until she gets to it. That is also a lot for any child to handle… never mind Lyra with her destiny. She will need careful monitoring."

"That happened in Herbology too," Sprout said, "and Filius said that it also happened in Charms. How will this affect her in class Albus? As far as everyone knows she has lost her memories…"

"And that is the way it must stay. It'll certainly make it easier to teach her though as she will be able to keep up better," Dumbledore said as he looked at the gathered staff, "just make sure that you keep up with her not getting called to answer a question unless she has read the chapter first. That way we don't raise any suspicions that she has regained some of the lost memories. She should regain about 75% of her memories so that's something. I do wonder what she will not remember though as I'm really not sure what she remembers now.

"Did you know about that article that the Malfoys clearly wanted leaking to the press?" McGonagall said as she remembered it suddenly, "I could see from Draco and Lyra's reactions that they didn't. That cannot have helped Lyra at all. She's already got enough attention on her, let alone this stunt from her parents."

"Yes I knew about it. The idea is to trick Bellatrix…"

"How?" the Charms professor squeaked as he stood on a pile of books.

"The idea is to trick Bellatrix into thinking that she doesn't have to train as hard because she's already won," Dumbledore said, "meanwhile Lyra is hard working at her spells and hexes, learning everything she can to make sure she is better that Bellatrix."

Silence fell on the office as everyone thought about what Dumbledore had said. Each was shocked at the news that Bellatrix wasn't the one who had tried to wipe Lyra's memories. It appeared also that a lot had been set up and they hadn't been kept in the loop about it all.

"How sure are you that it wasn't Bellatrix who tried the memory charm on Lyra?" Sprout asked.

"Very sure. Bellatrix never missed a hex, charm or curse and she also never missed the target," Dumbledore said, "and also there is the fact that everyone is looking for her and would she really want to be caught that close to Malfoy Manor? Everyone is looking for her. It's more likely that was someone Polyjuicing as her who Bellatrix was willing to sacrifice for her cause," he said.

"Bellatrix won't fall for it," McGonagall said, "She's too smart for that," she added before noticing a twinkle in the Headmaster's eye, "What do you know Albus?"

"That… for now at least… Bellatrix appears to be falling into the trap. I think we should give it a few weeks and then test Lyra to see what she remembers. I think that the more she is able to stay in class and train the more she will remember. She will certainly need regular tests to see what she remembers."

"How do you know that Bellatrix is falling for it?" came a squeak.

"Because I have someone in the Death Eater camp. Just because Voldemort is dead doesn't mean I disbanded the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore said, "right now Tonks is following Lyra around the school to keep her safe."

"As in her cousin? However did you manage that? Last time I knew Narcissa and Andromeda were not on speaking terms," Sprout said as she looked at the Headmaster.

"When they safety of her children is concerned Narcissa Malfoy will stop at nothing and that includes trying to mend bridges with her sister," Dumbledore said as he looked at the staff, "Tonks has been following Lyra for months, sometimes under Harry's invisibility cloak or changed her appearance to a Hogwarts student. I couldn't tell you because Narcissa forbade me to but yes Lyra has Auror protection. The only problem is she cannot go to the village unless her safety can be guaranteed."

"She needs those visits," Flitwick squeaked, "they really do help her have some normality and do wonders for her. I could accompany the Malfoy children. Tonks and myself are master duelists. Lyra works so hard and trains so hard… surely she's allowed some time to relax and recover. The last thing anyone needs is her to burn herself out."

"I will speak to Lucius and Narcissa about it after Lyra's birthday," Dumbledore said, "this could be her last normal birthday and she has Zenon and Jasmine and I do not want to take this day away from her so I will discuss matters with them after her birthday."

"She will be here for her birthday and then go home for the weekend, accompanied by the usual suspects," Snape said, before raising an eyebrow, "I will also be going to the Manor that weekend as Lyra's godfather," he said, "this will be the last normal birthday she has and we need to make sure it's special."

"Will Bellatrix continue to fall for the news about Lyra?" McGonagall asked.

"Provided everyone plays their part well… yes. But we have to be on our guard and make sure that nobody outside of this room knows what the truth is," Dumbledore said and the other Professors nodded in agreement before Dumbledore dismissed them, hoping the plan would continue to work.