AN: READ THIS FIRST!!!! Okay people, listen up. This story was written a few months before the fifth book came out, and since I'm choosing now to post it, I feel I owe some explanation. You are, however, free to ignore me for a sec while I bitch about it, (the book I mean).
In my opinion, (and keep in mind that this is only an opinion), Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was an utter disaster. I, like millions of other people, was Harry Potter's number one fan, and even then, after finishing the fifth book, I was disgusted enough to throw it away. Rowling completely ruined it! Not only did she unnecessarily kill my favorite character, she gave him a miserable role and by the end of the book, I was extremely willing to rip off Harry's and Dumbledore's heads.
The book basically got rid of whatever interest I had in Harry Potter, and it was definitely not worth the three-year wait. It simply wasn't up to the mark. I find it a pity, since Rowling's first 4 books were marvels. Perhaps she can redeem herself in the next book, but I can safely say that I won't loose sleep waiting for it.
Okay, there, I'm done ranting. Anyway, when you read this story, keep in mind that the fifth book NEVER HAPPENED. This story begins in the time frame of the 3rd book or so. All right, having said all that (and I'm pretty sure I lost half my potential readers with this author's note), on to the story!
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(Oh, no wait. Almost forgot the disclaimer).
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters in the books written by J.K.Rowling. However, this story, as well as Lyralei, is mine. This fic is purely for entertainment purposes only.
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(Still with me? Good; now here's the story).
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It was about 10:30 PM and all was quiet and dark in the relatively secluded street. Suddenly, a woman appeared on the front porch of one of the houses. No one saw her, but then again, that was to be expected, for though this woman was quite special, her neighbors didn't know...
Lyralei Maxwell apparated wearily in front of her door and fumbled for her keys. She did a temporary disable check on her wards, saw that all was fine, and opened the door to her elegant, though neglected condo, where she lived alone. She threw her keys onto the counter and collapsed wearily into her leather sofa, which really wasn't meant to take such abuse. All she really wanted to do now was sleep; sleep and quite possibly never wake up again, for she was that exhausted.
Lyralei was a witch, who was powerfully magical. She was smart too, and that was always a great combination, so she worked for the Ministry of Magic. Lyr used to be a Class 1 Auror, but ever since the fall of the Dark Lord, Aurors weren't needed as much any more. The Ministry wasn't about to let them go, however, so instead put most of them "temporarily" at other jobs. Lyr was tossed around in various departments for a few years, traveling and learning a lot, and doing all she could, and then worked at more and more permanent jobs of more importance. She never completely stopped her Auror training however, and was now in a very important position in the Ministry. Her quick promotions were mainly due to the fact that she basically lived at work. Her work had become her whole life about 12 years back, for it was a lifeline for her; a way to not think about, and at the same time slowly extract revenge for how her whole life was ruined on that Halloween night, so many years ago...
Lyralei groaned and got up to order Pizza. She didn't like to cook anymore, and only did it when she absolutely had to. Lyr was never that much of a cook anyway, and she grinned as she thought of herself and a certain black-haired someone in the kitchen. Man, did they make a mess of things, but it was great fun. Then again, anything was great fun when it came to Sirius...No way, Lyr. Do not go there. she said to herself. Firmly wrenching her thoughts to safer subjects, she looked at the fine dust that covered the coffee table and frowned. God, how long was it since I bothered to clean this place? she wondered, and winced as she realized that it was almost 3 days since she had even left work to come home; 3 days since she had last eaten or slept. It wasn't the first time she worked so hard, and it wouldn't be the last. In fact, most of the last decade or so had been like this, not that she was complaining...
Lyralei would have worked more, for in this state of crisis she was extremely busy and needed, but she was kicked out of her office just now by a few well-meaning colleagues, who insisted that she looked like shit and needed some rest before she collapsed completely. And, looking at the mirror, Lyralei realized that they were right. [Lyralei's normally pretty features were lacking. Her shoulder-length black hair was in complete disarray, and there were deep purple bags, almost like bruises, under her Prussian-blue eyes. Her slightly tanned skin was so un-naturally pale that she probably looked like a ghost.]
She went and took a shower, coming out just as the bell rang, indicating that the Pizza had arrived. Lyralei was a witch, certainly, but she had been muggle born, and things like ordering pizza was nothing out of the ordinary for her.
After she ate a little bit, Lyr went straight to bed and was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow. Her last conscious thought was to order her mind to wake her up as soon as daybreak.
\tap, tap. tap tap./ an impatient rapping noise was coming from the window. Lyralei moaned and blinked her eyes open, squinting in the bright sunlight at the owl outside. Whoa, bright sunlight?! What time is it? she thought in alarm.
She looked at her watch as she got up to open her window, and let loose a string of very colorful vocabulary that she would never have used in decent company. SHIT she thought as she read the Ministry letter the owl had given her, saying that she had a meeting with Crouch today.
Lyralei considered half-heartedly to skip the meeting altogether, but knew she couldn't. God, how she hated that man. She forced herself to be civil enough to his face, for it would completely damage her standing in the Ministry to insult such an important member. But then again, Sirius's jailer didn't really deserve any niceties.
Lyralei grinned as she thought of the way she came and hexed the man right after he threw Sirius into Azkaban. Not only did she do that, she went and gave him a black eye the old fashioned way; with her fists. The damage she did to her reputation that day took years to repair, but it was worth every bit of it.
As of now, she and Crouch had a very formal, semi-decent sort of relationship. Until a few years ago, Crouch ignored her existence, and was, in truth, slightly apprehensive of Lyr. No one could blame him. A pissed off Lyralei was a very scary sight. In recent years however, as Lyralei gained mounting importance, and as her work brought her closer to Crouch's department, the two were forced to acknowledge each other again, and fortunately, so far at least, there had been no actual fights between them.
Lyralei got ready at top speed and ran out of her house, disapparating just as soon as she locked the door. There were protection spells which prevented anyone from using apparation inside her house, which was a very necessary, though sometimes inconvenient, safety measure.
Lyr cursed under her breath again as her secretary immediately assaulted her with schedules and questions as soon as she entered her office. This was going to be one hell of a day.
AN: Okay, so what did you think? This story gets a lot better, I promise. So how about you make my day and review, huh?