8th November 1980

The letters had been handed out at breakfast, the last breakfast they'd ever eat in the training compound. If they passed, they packed their things and took their ID photos for the Ministry ready to start their internship. If they failed any module, they still packed their things but left to find a new career path. Dorcas and Lyra both opened their letters nervously and then showed each other, holding their breath.

"We did it."

"We did!"

"We're onto phase 2!" Lyra breathed, shaking her head in disbelief as she stared at the piece of paper in her hand.

"We actually did it! I was so sure that I'd fucked up Stealth and Concealment," Dorcas laughed, "I can't believe this! My mum is going to be so proud!"

"Shit, we need to go and pack! We should get stuff sorted, there's so much to do," Lyra gasped, "There's finding somewhere to live, we need to get the Auror robes, when do we actually start? Do we have time?"

"Chill," Dorcas laughed, "We've got time! Remember we get the week and the advance pay to help us out, and we don't need to do anything right this second!"

"Oh Merlin, I have no idea how to find somewhere to live," Lyra said, face pale. She'd obviously known that this point would come sooner rather than later, but she'd not really allowed herself to think about it. Her life skills were focussed solely around running a house, not how to find one in the first place.

"Well that's alright, because I do," Dorcas grinned.

Lyra frowned.

"What, you really thought I'd want to live with anyone else?" she smirked, "You're so thick sometimes. Lily is married, Marlene can't keep anything clean and has no intention of moving out and having to pay for things, I am not living with any boys which rules out any of my other friends – and anyway, you're my best friend!"

"You mean it?"

"Oh I mean it, the day I voluntarily live with a guy is a day you put me out of misery – I will clearly have gone insane," she declared, hand on her forehead.

Rolling her eyes, Lyra dropped the letter and finished her porridge quickly, knowing that even if she had Dorcas to help her out, there was still a lot to be done in not much time.

"I don't think you believe me, Ly, but I mean it. If that ever happens, I give you full permission to just kill me."

"Don't joke about that," Lyra muttered, "Emma Vanity might overhear and think I'm plotting your death."

Dorcas just barked with laughter and stood up happily. "Emma Vanity? I don't care about her in the slightest, the petty bitch. I bet she didn't pass anyway."

"What has gotten into you?" Lyra grinned.

"We did it! We're in! Unless something disastrous happens between now and January, we are fully fledged Aurors! We get to wear the robes, we get to arrest people, we get to make a difference! You're no longer a recruit which means Mason can make his move and I can start planning the wedding, and it means we have actual adult jobs! I've wanted this since I was twelve, Lyra, and look at us!" she gushed, grabbing up their letters and practically skipping out the door. "Come on, we have to pack!"

"When I said this before you told me that we had time!"

Dorcas gave her a look, "You were stressing, I am excited – big difference!"

"I don't need to pack anything anyway, half my clothes were yours in the first place!"

"Oh my God - sorry mum, don't take the Lord's name in vain and all that – we can go shopping," Dorcas beamed, tugging Lyra along and earning herself a laugh. "I'm going to have so much fun shopping for you!"

"With me, you shop with me," Lyra corrected.

"For you," Dorcas countered, smirking, "Because I have a plan."

"I hate it."

Dorcas pouted. "You don't know what it is!"

"I can guess," Lyra sniggered, "It definitely involves Mason and, judging from that look in your eyes, involves lingerie."

"Okay you do know what it is," Dorcas huffed, waving her hand dismissively, "But it's a good plan."

"All your plans suck."

"La la la not listening! Let's pack, I wanna get out of here!"


Dorcas' enthusiasm had been infectious, and they'd spent the rest of the afternoon packing (aka throwing things haphazardly into the suitcases) and writing to various family members. Dorcas was going to crash at Mason's place that night so she could stay in London and be near to the flat hunting areas, and Sirius had offered his sister his spare room with the warning that the Marauders often invited themselves into the flat and she should really make sure she was decent at all times just in case.

He'd collected her from the Ministry, apparating them back to the little alleyway beside his building because, as with most wizarding homes these days, the flat itself was heavily warded from Flooing and apparition in and out of it.

"Here we are, I'll apologise in advance for any mess, I kind of forgot that you'd be finishing today or it would be cleaner," Sirius said sheepishly, holding the door open for her.

She slipped inside with an amused smile because already she could've guessed it was his place: there was a half dismantled Muggle machine of some sorts in the corner, a leather jacket slung over one armchair and a million assorted magazines and vinyls that she remembered from his bedroom at Grimmauld Place.

"I like it," she grinned, taking the suitcase back off him after he'd insisted on carrying it up the stairs for her.

"Uh, the spare room is just through here, that's the bathroom on the right, help yourself to stuff from the fridge or whatever you want, really," Sirius smiled back, grabbing two glasses from the cupboard. "Do you want a drink? Alcohol, or juice or something more responsible?"

She dumped the suitcase by the bedroom door and nodded. "Uh, just water please. And rewind – what's a fridge?"

Sirius had gone to turn the tap on but then paused and turned back to face her. "What do you mean what's a fridge?"

"I mean what's a fridge," she snorted, "Is it some Muggle thing?"

"I assume you didn't take Muggle studies?" Sirius said sarcastically but he was smiling anyway. "It's like an ice box, but better because it uses electricity. Shit, do you even know what that is?"

"Electricity?"

"Yeah!" he laughed.

Lyra shrugged, "I've heard of it. Doesn't it make lights work without a flame? The lights at the training centre were all electric apparently.

"God this is all going to blow your mind," Sirius laughed, handing her the glass of water and then opening a bottle of beer for himself. "Brace yourself."

Lyra laughed and took the water gratefully, glancing around the flat again. The last few days had been a rollercoaster with the final exams, finding out they'd passed and now here she was standing in the flat of her brother who, until a few weeks ago, had been a stranger to her. She was glad that now they were back in the 'real world' things would fall into a natural rhythm and she could find her feet again. Until that happened, she would just try and ride the wave.

"HONEY, I'M HOME!"

Lyra jumped, half spilling the water over herself and cursing, grabbing her wand from her pocket to clean it up quickly.

"What did I say about the boys?" Sirius snorted, grinning broadly as the three men barged into the living room, Remus remembering to shut the front door behind them.

"Honey, I missed you," James continued dramatically, spinning around as he threw an arm around Sirius' shoulders. "Did you miss me t-hello who is this?"

Lyra cleared her throat and blushed. "Hi, uh, I'm Lyra."

James' eyes lit up with recognition at the name and he looked between Sirius and Lyra with a grin. "I should've guessed."

"Yeah, Prongs, they're basically identical, who did you think it was?" Peter snorted.

"Well I'm sorry," James pouted, "I wasn't expecting it!"

"Your manners are all shit," Remus scoffed, pushing his way through the others and pecking Lyra's cheek. "Lovely to meet you! Sirius has caught us all up on everything and we'll make sure James doesn't ask any invasive questions."

James looked affronted so Sirius handed him the beer bottle to get him to shut up.

"Oh, lovely to meet you guys too," Lyra laughed, wrapping her hands around her glass and leaning against the kitchen counter to ground herself. "Sirius has told me all about you guys too."

"Who did he say was his favourite?" Peter asked eagerly.

"Lily," Sirius said sarcastically, making Remus laugh loudly as he dumped his jacket on top of Sirius'.

She'd often wondered how Sirius had done it, how he'd upped and left and abandoned everyone he'd known his whole life for a bunch of boys in his Hogwarts house but now… now she got it. Never in her life had she seen Sirius look so at ease, so open, and the resemblance between the two siblings seemed a million miles away as Sirius beamed and the boys barrelled into the living room to find a track to play on Sirius' very well dusted record player. Biological siblings seemed like a very tenuous connection as she watched the familiarity Sirius chatted to his friends with..

Lyra felt a little curl of envy snake its way around her stomach and squeeze, her grip on the glass tightening as she followed them quietly, suddenly feeling out of place in the group. She wished it had just been her and Sirius for a bit longer. How was it fair that they knew Sirius better than she did?

"What you thinking about?" James asked casually, and she jumped, realising that he was still standing next to her and not with the others like she'd thought.

"Nothing."

"I know that look," he shrugged, "It was on Sirius' face the whole Christmas holiday the first time he stayed at ours."

"What is it then?" she retorted.

James licked his lips before he answered. "Jealousy. A hint of loneliness"

"You don't know me, Potter."

"But I think you know me?" he offered, taking a gulp of his own beer.

"Sirius lived with you after he left, right?" Lyra said quietly, still watching her brother.

"He did."

"He chose to leave and live with you rather than stay at home and help us," she added, taking a deep breath as she felt the familiar tightness in her chest.

James couldn't exactly deny it, so he hesitated and then slowly nodded.

Lyra managed a smile and looked across at James. "I think part of me will always be angry about that, Potter, but not at you or him. Anyone with eyes can see he was happier out of that house, even if me and Regulus still wanted him there."

He met her gaze carefully, staying quiet as he picked through words in his head, making sure he was going to say what he meant. He wasn't pitying her – if she was anything like Sirius, pity would only earn him a glare – but he did want to make sure that there wasn't any unease or resentment between them all. Unbeknownst to Lyra, but something the Marauders were obviously well aware of, was the Order of the Phoenix; with all four of them, as well as Mason and Dorcas as members, Lyra was a crucial part of the balance without even knowing it, and it wouldn't do for there to be issues. On a more personal level, James did genuinely want to be friends with her despite the previous gulf between them.

"I know he'd never tell you this, or even tell the others. It might be that he doesn't even remember – you know the circumstances he left under," James mumbled, shivering slightly as he remembered the night Sirius' had apparated into their living room, splinched and bleeding. "But the first thing he said, the only thing he said before he passed out, was 'I couldn't let him hurt them'. My mum had been worried about him, but you and Regulus too. She hated the thought of the three of you there but Sirius had always said that you two were okay, that it was just him getting this treatment."

Lyra flinched slightly because it was true. She'd suspected for a long time that Sirius provoked their father when he was in a temper so her and Regulus weren't hurt, but it was heartbreaking hearing it confirmed.

"He spent the whole summer tearing himself apart, debating if he should go back and try and get you to leave too," James continued, allowing the music now playing to mask their conversation from the others.

"My dad nearly did go with him, to try and get Orion to let you two go. Mum was split in two, not wanting to get into something bigger than we could handle – we didn't ever have legal guardianship of Sirius, if the Ministry forced us to let Orion take him back, it would've got messy. I'm not saying this to be like 'wow isn't he a good guy' I'm just trying to say… we're not the enemy, and I think you know that. I don't want to be the guy that Sirius chose over you, I think you're pretty cool," James smiled. "I just want you to know that he felt awful about it for a long time. You weren't forgotten about just because he was with us."

Lyra laughed slightly and nodded. "In all honesty, I don't know if we would've left then even if you had appeared as a saviour with glowing lights and a chorus of angels around you. I didn't see it the way I do now, I didn't want to think that Sirius had done the right thing, you know? But I'm a big girl, Potter, I'm willing to let the old stuff go, I promise. None of it matters now anyway. It's just a large adjustment in a very short time period."

"Are you sure?" he checked, "And call me James, yeah?"

"Sure," she smiled, shoulders untensing.

"I hope you know…" he said slowly, pausing to be dramatic, "This does mean that you don't have one older brother, you now have four," James smirked, "So come and hug it out!"

"Don't make me regret this, James," she warned, taking a step back. "You're ruining the moment."

"Oi, you lot! Group hug with the new little sister!" James yelled.

"I hate you," she whined, trying to back towards the door, "Sirius, help!"

"You can't stop the hugs, believe me I've tried," Sirius said apologetically as she was swept up into a bear hug, James spinning her around easily as Remus and Peter piled in too. "Just ride it out."

"I hate you all," she gasped, glaring as Sirius leaned over his mates to ruffle her hair.

"She hates us all? Wow she's going to get on with Lily just fine," Remus smirked and James shoved him with a grin.

"You're all children," she grumbled, "And you spilled my water!"

"It never fails to amaze me that you actually do have a child, Prongs," Sirius mused, drying the water with a careless flick of his wand. "When you have the mental capacity of a four year old."

"I'm very mature for my age," James insisted, adjusting his wedding ring smugly.

Lyra shook her head. "Merlin help me. I think I made a mistake."

The Marauders just laughed, the sound filling the flat, and she smiled slightly as Remus made space for her on the sofa. Peter turned the record over and set the needle back in place gently, Sirius randomly threw a cushion at James so hard his glasses went flying, and Remus choked on his beer at the sight, making her laugh too; she felt the tendril of jealousy that had formed earlier slinking back down to where it came from, her chest loosening as she realised that even if everything was happening at a thousand miles an hour, she didn't have to deal with that by herself any more. Sirius had managed to survive this, finding people who genuinely cared for him and seemingly cared for her too, and for the first time she understood. Her brother was sat opposite her, bottle in hand and chatting loudly. His friends had accepted her and took her into the fold easily. Across London in Mason's flat, Dorcas was just a phone call away and soon they'd be living together. And Mason himself – they were feelings for another night, but even the thought of him chased away the last of the nasty emotions from earlier. She didn't talk much for the rest of the evening, but it was a choice on her part, not a rule imposed by someone else, and the warmth that the knowledge provided made her feel as drunk as the Gryffindors around her were by the time she made her excuses and headed to bed.

Perfectly happy, Lyra curled up in Sirius' spare room in a borrowed shirt, the golden light from the living room spilling under the door, the muffled sound of the boys talking and "Summer Nights" still playing in the background sending her to sleep with a smile on her face.


Dorcas and Lyra had spent all day going between flat viewings with the advantage over the Muggles that they could just apparate between the streets, saving a lot of time travelling around London. Armed with Dorcas' general knowledge of the Muggle world and Ruslana's long list of advice on finding a good place to live, they'd already ticked off all the places they'd seen today, and now they were at the last one.

"This had better be nice," Lyra grumbled as they walked up the street from the closest location Dorcas knew to be able to apparate them to. "I'm hungry and my feet hurt and I want to know where we're living."

"Listen, this one is going to be the right one, I'm going to talk it into existence! And remember, we can do a lot more to make a place look nice with magic than a Muggle person living here could!" Dorcas smiled, "My mum found this one in the paper and she's got far better sense than we have."

"I can't argue with that one," Lyra snorted, greeting the letting agent politely and then letting Dorcas do the talking as they headed up the staircase to the top floor flat.

"This place comes with your fridge, freezer, and general kitchen appliances are all in place too, obviously it's half furnished so there are some things you guys would need to find," the agent explained as she showed them around, checking everything as they went.

Lyra ran her fingers along the kitchen counter and smiled as she looked out of the little window above the sink. It was nothing like she was used to from Hogwarts or Grimmauld Place, but it was the kind of place she could imagine this new version of her living: there were corners that would look great filled with massive armchairs and space for all their things and the master bedroom's view skimmed the rooftops of the city, and in the autumn evening light the whole place was filled with warm light.

"I love it," Lyra smiled, turning back to Dorcas, whose own grin mirrored Lyra's.

"Good, because I do too."

"You're the only people to have viewed it, and there's no more interest currently – the owner asked us to get it leased as soon as possible so if you were happy to come into the office tomorrow, we could sort out the paperwork?"

"We'd love that," Dorcas said quickly, not wanting to let the chance slip by. "We'd like to move in right away, is that possible? The advert said it was available from this week."

"It is possible," the estate agent laughed, "If tomorrow worked for you two, and we got everything done, you could have the keys by the next day. Does that work?"

Lyra's grin widened. "That would be perfect, thank you!"

"How does ten o'clock tomorrow morning work for you?"

The two girls exchanged a look and then nodded. "Yes, that's fab. Is it just the office address listed on the advert?" Dorcas checked.

"It is," the agent confirmed, picking up their bag off the table. "The door locks as you leave, so if you'd like to stay a few minutes longer to look around, that's fine by me. I've got another appointment to get to, and you two seem trustworthy."

"Fantastic, thank you," Dorcas gushed, walking them over to the door and promising that they'd see them tomorrow for sure.

Lyra spun on the spot slowly, taking it all in again now it was just the two of them. There were some issues, sure – there were some peeling walls and the carpet was threadbare – but they could afford it, and those things could be fixed with a tin of paint and some well placed rugs. More importantly, it felt safe and cosy and she could already picture it as their flat and not just four walls and furniture.

"I can't believe it, my positive affirmations worked," Dorcas teased, nudging Lyra's side. "We're going to have a flat!"

"Don't jinx it, Doe, honestly," Lyra snorted. "But yes, we're going to have a flat."

"You want the bigger room, yeah?"

"I'm not going to take the bigger room, Dorcas, it should be done on a coin toss," Lyra snorted, shaking her head.

Dorcas gave her the familiar 'shut up' look. "I saw your face in there! The view over the city was gorgeous! But honestly, have it. I've shared a room with my sisters until Dad moved his home office and I took over the room, so I'm just thrilled to have my own space!"

Lyra returned the glare with her 'stop being nice' look. "Okay, but only because we're going to spend so little time in our rooms with interning and everything going on!"

Dorcas laughed loudly and shrugged. "Very true. But either way, any time we're here we'll be on the massive sofas I can picture for this room!"

"And some armchairs, for reading in," Lyra grinned, pointing to the spot she'd thought of earlier.

"I love it! Mum will definitely give us some cushions and stuff, and Mason told me that his mum has promised us anything we need too!"

Lyra grinned, feeling relieved that her own lack of belongings wouldn't mean they had to spend too much money or make Dorcas feel pressured to do anything more than she already was. "Sounds good! And we can finally get the photos developed properly and put them up too!"

"And then it'll be record bin trawling to get some good ones, and digging out all my old dorm posters from Hogwarts!" Dorcas said, voice getting even louder in her excitement. She bunched her hair, now freshly rebraided, in her hand and bounced on the spot. "God, Ly, this place is going to be sexy."

"Can a flat be sexy, Dorcas?"

"It can now!"

Lyra rolled her eyes and grinned. "Despite what the agent said, we should probably leave and lock this place up. We'll be back here very soon anyway!"

"Oh shit yeah, don't want them thinking we're going to squat here," she snorted, grabbing her jacket and throwing it back on. "Are you apparating back to Sirius' place?"

"Yeah, he's out tonight, so I've got the place to myself. Do you want to come over?" Lyra offered.

Dorcas pulled a face – they all had an Order meeting, so she wasn't free either. "Family dinner, can't skip it, sorry sweetheart. See you in the morning though? Owl me if you forget the address, my mum wrote it down."

Lyra nodded easily, freeing her hair from the collar of her coat after zipping it back up. "Sure, don't worry. I'll see you then to sign some papers!"

Dorcas whooped as she headed for the door. "Exciting times! I'll see you soon, gorgeous!"

"See you soon, Doe," Lyra laughed, watching as Dorcas shut the door, leaving her to apparate out of the empty flat back to Sirius' street.

They had a flat, Dorcas' wishful thinking had served them well, and it felt like the start of everything.


"Mason, please watch your back," Dorcas tutted, "Lift with the knees. Okay, a little to your left, and then backwards."

"Why the fuck did we volunteer to do this?" James grimaced, as they moved the heavy armchair into place and then carefully set it down. "I love you, Meadowes, but not this much."

The flat was bursting with activity, and Lyra was just gripping her box of things in the middle of the room as not only Dorcas, but also her mum, Sirius and the boys, Mason, a blonde girl who she assumed was Mason's sister, and Lily with baby Harry all tried to navigate through the small and rapidly overcrowded living room.

"Ly, you look like you're about to faint," Dorcas grinned, taking the box off her. "I assign you drink duty, the kitchen box is already in there. I would just churn out teas and coffees and see who takes what, honestly."

"Yes boss, thank you boss," Lyra laughed, retreating to the little kitchenette to find the box of essentials that Ruslana had brought them and rummaging around in it for the kettle and teabags. The Muggle fridge had also been stocked with the bare minimum but the concept was still wild to her and she snorted with amusement as she opened the door to fetch the milk.

"Need a hand?"

Lyra turned around as she tried to work the gas hob, lowering the kettle in her hand in defeat and smiling at the pretty redhead.

"Hi, you must be Lily. James mentioned you," she explained, stepping back and allowing her to slip over.

"Oh bless him, he does that a lot," Lily grinned. "You're Lyra, right? Sirius and Dorcas have both talked endlessly about you. Nice to finally meet you. How are you coping?"

"Judging by the fact that I've been relegated to making drinks and I'm completely lost in my own flat? Pretty well," Lyra snorted, running a hand through her hair.

Lily threw her head back laughing before she took the kettle from Lyra and swiftly filled it up and set it on the gas hob, now burning merrily. "I'm a Muggleborn, so this stuff is natural for me, don't stress," she added when she saw Lyra's facial expression. "I'm sure you're only as confused as I was when I first arrived at Hogwarts to see talking portraits and floating candles."

"I guess," Lyra smiled, starting to unwrap the mugs from the newspaper they'd been packed in. "That isn't the only confusing stuff at the minute, honestly. A lot is going on."

Lily had the kind of face that made you want to tell her everything, so Lyra continued.

"I'm surrounded by so many people that I either barely know, or only met recently, and they all somehow know each other and it's just me being hit with it over and over again," she admitted, glancing back through to the living room where Sirius was now taking a break with Marlene perched on his knee, Harry cradled in her arms, glancing around at everyone. "It's…"

"Lonely?" Lily smiled, watching her son fondly for a moment before turning back to Lyra, who was now scooping carefully measured teaspoons of coffee into each mug.

"Lonely kind of doesn't cut it, sometimes. It feels like they don't quite get that, even Sirius." she mumbled, not meeting Lily's eye as she moved on to dish out teabags.

Lily sighed deeply and watching the younger girl for a moment before she opened her mouth to reply. "You aren't the only one here who's felt like an outcast. I won't speak for the others but I'm a Muggleborn. Which means I've spent most of my time in the wizarding world being told that I don't belong here. On top of that, I'm estranged from my sister, a feeling that I'm sure you understand. Before me and James got together, I spent a lot of time feeling jealous of his friendship with the boys. Ask Sirius, ask any of them out there, they'd all have some story of feeling left out, we're a bunch of misfits, honestly. Just because you're the new one right now doesn't mean you're the only one who's ever experienced it. They'd understand if you told them."

Lyra's eyes widened slightly.

The other girl sighed and her shoulders dropped. "I'm genuinely not trying to be a bitch, but I get it, honestly, the feeling like you're just on the outside of something you want but can never reach? Feeling like you're never going to fully be included?"

"Lily, I…"

"Sirius cares about you, Dorcas does too. James and the boys would already do a lot for you. Dorcas tells me there's something with you and Mason-"

"Dorcas needs to shut up-"

"Maybe, but my point stands. Of course it feels overwhelming and you don't know if you're going to have proper relationships with them all when you're joining the group so late, but if you stand in the kitchen and allow yourself to feel that way, then it'll stay that way."

Lyra stayed quiet for a moment, before the kettle started screeching and she removed it from the heat quickly, pouring the boiling water into as many mugs as they had.

"Have I just been a massive bitch?" Lily winced. "James always tells me that neither of us have a good filter. I'm sorry, really."

"No, no, you've not been a bitch. You've been honest," Lyra said, glancing back up at her with a small smile. "You're right, I mean it. I did jump to conclusions about you and everyone in there and I can't do that anymore. This stuff goes both ways."

"They're a horrifically messy extended family to have, but they're also the best people in the world. Give them a chance and give yourself one too, yeah?"

"I'm sorry if I was rude," Lyra said plainly, stirring the coffees and watching Lily's expression. "I'm pretty bad at that."

Her green eyes sparkled slightly and she seemed to relish the next sentence that came out of her mouth. "That's alright. I'd be more concerned if you were perfect - and it was starting to look that way the way Mason has been going on about you!"

Lyra choked slightly. "What?"

"Tea and coffee is ready!" Lily called, still smirking slightly as Lyra gaped at her.

Everyone immediately barrelled in and James handed Harry back to Lily who just winked at the still stunned Lyra. Grateful for the break from moving boxes and furniture, Sirius ruffled Lyra's hair as he slipped past to dig out the sugar for Marlene. Lyra made a mental note to ask him about that – on and off her ass. Ruslana had to head off, and Peter had work, so they said their goodbyes and left once they'd finished their drinks, and James took Harry home for his nap, which meant any reason to behave themselves in front of babies and actual adults vanished, and the group got gradually more giddy.

Lyra decided that she liked Marlene, Mason's much blonder younger sister who was never more than a metre away from Sirius, whose eyes were on her at all times whether he realised it or not. She had a wicked laugh and her jumpsuit was just one piece in her brightly patterned wardrobe that she'd immediately offered to share with Lyra after she complimented it.

Lily had refused to answer any more questions on her comment about Mason, and he'd always been within earshot anyway, so once everyone dispersed to finish unpacking boxes, Lyra grabbed Lily's sleeve and tugged her towards the bedroom. Marlene and Dorcas exchanged a look and bounded across the flat too, leaving the boys with the excuse of 'girl time' they all piled into Lyra's bedroom, Marlene shutting the door firmly.

"Okay well I just needed to speak to Lily, honestly," Lyra said uncertainly.

"Incorrect answer," Dorcas grinned. "You speak to all of us."

"This feels like an intervention," Lyra continued, glancing between them.

Lily folded her arms across her chest, grinning smugly. "You want to know what Mason has said about you?"

Lyra's cheeks flushed. "Dorcas, why can't you keep a fucking secret?"

"I keep the ones that matter, but the fact that you are doing nothing about your feelings means that I have every right to recruit the others to help me!"

Marlene flopped onto the unmade bed. "And Lily never ever passes up a chance to play matchmaker. She's also really good at it, honestly."

"She sent you on a date with Gideon Prewett!" Dorcas protested.

"Who, admittedly, was not right for me, but it was a lovely date and he was pretty good in the sack," Marlene mused, pulling her hair into a messy bun. "Not as good as S-"

"Nope," Lyra said firmly, shaking her head. "Don't want to know. I just needed to know what he'd been saying about me in case it was bad."

"Oh God, if only it was bad," Dorcas grimaced. "He forgets that I also fucking know you and don't need all this shit from him too."

Lyra buried her face in her hands. "What does he say?"

Lily cackled happily. "Lyra said this today, isn't that funny? She's so smart! Did you know she can use wandless magic? Did you know she makes her own spells? Lily, she beat me in a duel! She's going to be a great Auror! I'd never even met you and I felt like I knew you!"

"Nothing there is, like romantic," Lyra cringed. "That could mean anything!"

"Lyra, I lived with him my whole life," Marlene said from the bed where she was rummaging through the case of clothes and sorting them into piles. "I know what he's like when he's into someone."

"That stuff still doesn't mean he's into me!"

Marlene shrugged. "My input is that he's been less aggressive recently. With work and – just work –" she corrected herself quickly, "He gets really stressed. But he's been much happier recently. I assumed he was getting laid, but apparently not, it's just you."

"I wish I had never asked," Lyra mumbled, closing her eyes tightly, cheeks burning.

Dorcas patted her shoulder. "I told you, didn't I? I told you months ago! I have a sixth sense for this stuff!"

"Okay, but you seriously haven't even kissed? No flirting, nothing?" Lily said impatiently. "Although I may live to regret encouraging this, last time it was Sirius and Lene and now they are together it's disgusting."

"We aren't together together," Marlene interrupted, "Just to clarify."

Rolling her eyes, Lily sat down next to her school friend and helped with the clothes. Wanting to do something rather than stand there getting more and more embarrassed, Lyra grabbed a box of books and started slotting them onto the shelves next to her bed.

"Okay, but I think what everyone is trying to say is that it's not just me that can see you two are into each other," Dorcas grinned, "He makes you happy, you're making him happy – can you imagine what it'll be like when you're actually hooking up?"

"Merlin, Dorcas," Lyra groaned, slotting the last book on her shelf and stepping back. "Crude, much?"

"Crude but true," Lily mused, smoothing her thick hair down and glancing around the room.

Marlene dumped the box by the door and hopped back up again. "Is this everything? There's not much, is there."

Dorcas and Lily shot Marlene an angry glare immediately, worrying that Lyra would take offence, but Lyra just shrugged.

"It's all at Grimmauld Place still, isn't it? I've only got what I could fit into my suitcase when I left," she explained, and Marlene had the good sense to look ashamed.

"I forgot that," the blonde said apologetically, "Sirius was the same, he just had the school trunk. I think Mr Potter went back for stuff though, right?" she said, glancing across at Lily, who might also remember the story.

"Maybe," Lily shrugged, "But he left very differently. Would you even want to get more stuff?"

Lyra chewed the inside of her cheek nervously. "I don't know. I don't know why my father would let me into the house to get stuff even if I did want anything back. There's more books, photos, school things that I'd probably get if I could, my stuff from Regulus and Sirius too, but…"

"But it would involve actually going back and seeing them?" Dorcas finished.

"Bingo," Lyra smiled, shrugging. "It's not the end of the world, honestly. Uh… I think I left my cup of tea in the kitchen, so I'll just go and grab it and check on the boys, don't break anything while I'm gone."

She vanished, taking the now empty box with her.

Lily raised an eyebrow slowly "Are you guys both thinking what I'm thinking?"

Dorcas and Marlene exchanged a look. "No?"

Lily scoffed and flicked her hair behind her shoulder smugly. "All wizards have to open the door for an Auror, right?"

"Yeah, everyone knows that," Marlene frowned.

"And who do we know who is both an Auror and emotionally involved with Lyra?" Lily continued with a smirk, twisting her wedding ring around her finger absentmindedly.

"Lily, I've said it before," Dorcas grinned, "And I'll say it again now – you're a fucking genius."

She bowed teasingly. "What would you all do without me? Operation 'retrieve the photos, books and mementos' is go!"

"Operation 'find a better operation name' is first, though," Marlene drawled.


Lyra and Dorcas, dressed in their brand new black and silver robes, Flooed into the atrium of the Ministry for their first official day as Aurors, dusting the soot off the crisp material of the uniform and glancing around. They'd both been to the Ministry before but it was very different being there as an employee – as an Auror - even if they were very junior employees. Everyone seemed to know where they were going and the chaotic energy that Lyra remembered from several visits with her father was still present now, if a bit more taut – there was a war on now after all.

"Okay, the Auror department is on level two, so we should find one of the lifts," Lyra said, orienting herself in the large space and then heading towards the back corner. "Do we just find Moody's office, have the meeting and leave again today?"

Dorcas nodded, checking the letter that they'd received the previous day. "Yeah apparently it's just a five minute thing so they know we're here and have got our instructions. Are you excited to see who you'll be working with?"

"Absolutely sick with nerves," Lyra grinned, "But yes, very excited. My meeting was scheduled just after yours, so I guess Moody knows that we're living together."

"Wow who would've guessed," Dorcas smirked, jabbing the lift button and leaning against the wall, minding out for the little purple paper aeroplanes hovering overhead.

Lyra rolled her eyes with a snort and chewed her lip as they stepped out into the Auror department. The noise here was much more noticeable, and the individual cubicles they passed on the way to Moody's office seemed overflowing with parchment, maps, scrawled notes on folders and rather stressed looking witches and wizards, all in the same black and silver robes that marked out their profession from the rest of the Ministry who wore their own robes.

Moody greeted them at the door to his office and Lyra sat herself outside to wait for Dorcas' meeting to finish, deciding to continue people watching and daydreaming about actually getting to work here. The five minutes passed quickly, and Dorcas emerged looking thrilled, accompanied by a man Lyra vaguely recognised but couldn't place.

"Ly! I'm with Auror Longbottom!"

Auror Longbottom – Frank, she remembered now, realising she knew him from Pureblood gatherings as a kid – waved and smiled before leading Dorcas the other way to show her around properly.

Lyra smiled back and then saw Moody standing in the doorway so she hurried over, dusting down her robes automatically.

"Good morning, Black," Moody chuckled. "Are you ready?"

"I think so," she admitted, smiling slightly, heading past him and sitting down in the chair, feeling like she was back at the start of the summer with her CV and a desperate expression.

"Auror McKinnon!"

Lyra's head whipped back to the door from where she'd been studying the desk. What?

"Come in and greet your mentee," Moody called, jabbing his cane towards where she was sat.

Mason looked bemused but extricated himself from his desk and made his way over. He took one step into the office and then stared right back at Lyra, whose eyes were now very round. No way.

"I figured seeing as the two of you worked so well together in your duel during training that it made sense to partner you up now," Moody explained, lowering himself into his chair. "Problem?" he added, raising a bushy eyebrow as Mason continued to watch Lyra warily.

"No problem, Sir," Mason said, folding his arms and standing next to the desk.

Lyra swallowed slightly but she shook her head too, not sure what to say. Mason's body language was really not giving off the impression he was pleased by this, and she tried to remind herself that she'd done nothing to piss him off and – if what the girls had said the other day was true – he did rather like her. Even so, she could feel his eyes burning into her and it didn't feel pleasant.

"McKinnon, Black will be working with you on all your active cases, including out in the field where it's appropriate. She'll help with paperwork, you will show her the ropes, when you work she works, you know the drill."

Mason blinked once and then licked his lips. "Moody, I didn't think I was being assigned an intern Auror this time around. You know I'm busy."

Moody looked at Mason for a moment, because Moody of all people knew that Mason was effectively doing double time with the Order too. "I know you're busy, yes, but Black is more than capable of helping, therefore making it easier for you."

Mason looked distinctly unhappy with that answer but nodded.

"Is there anything else I should know?" Lyra asked timidly, really wanting to get out of the room.

Moody glanced at her and shook his head. "You did well, kid. Good to have you. Now get McKinnon to show you around. See you tomorrow morning."

Dazed by both the introduction to the job and the knowledge that she would be working with Mason, Lyra zoned out for the entire tour, barely taking in her surroundings, Mason's words just noise in her ears. He noticed but didn't blame her as he felt much the same: they were both trying to process the fact that now they were not only working in the same place, but they were working together. As Moody had said, when Mason worked, Lyra would too. When he went out to make an arrest, she would be there. They'd spend most of their time together from now until she finished interning and graduated the training programme, which was another three months. He knew he had to find a way to get through it – Moody was right, they would make a very good pair – but it wasn't going to be easy when his feelings for her were becoming far too obvious to even the casual observer. January felt a very long time away.