Chapter Six
After seven years, waking up before dawn had become automatic. The soft snores and sleepy moans of her dormmates had become the soundtrack that started her day. These brief moments of peace and calm before everyone awoke had become the only such moment's she was guaranteed on any given day. So, she'd learnt early to start the day before the sun rose.
Grabbing the pink salve from her trunk with a scowl, she headed into the bathroom. Thankfully the mirrors in the Hogwarts bathrooms weren't charmed and the one above the sink made no sudden outbursts of concern when Lyra undressed. Her jaw clenched painfully as she took in the long pink, jagged rips that tore through her middle. The longest of the three, still spotted with scabs, stretched from the middle of her left rib cage to her right hip bone. All of them were raised slightly. Mrs Potter had informed her that they would stay like that forever. She tried to quell the rush of anger that swept through her by tearing her eyes away from the mirror. She tried to ignore the heat pooling in her hands by clenching her fists as she turned the shower on and stepped under the scalding hot stream.
The best thing about waking up before the other students, Lyra had decided, was that she was always the first in the Great Hall for breakfast. She arrived just as the sun was beginning its ascent and the charmed ceiling bathed the hall in a soft pink and golden light, when the table was still clear of food and drink. Sitting down at the Gryffindor table, she glanced up at the nearly empty high table.
Professor McGonagall was always the first one to arrive. Lyra had always suspected, being the diligent teacher that she was, that the woman made a conscious effort to try and start the day as early as she could Looking up from her paper, McGonagall inclined her head towards Lyra in what had become their customary greeting. Lyra copied the movement, looking back to the table just in time to see a steaming pot appear in front of her.
She was on to her second mug of coffee and had already finished her helping of scrambled eggs and toast when Marlene dropped into the seat beside her. By this time, the hall had begun to steadily fill, a scattering of students at each house table, and the usual buzz of energy and conversation had settled into the space like a heavy blanket. McGonagall had been joined by Professor Flitwick and Professor Antone – who had taken the Defence Against the Dark Arts position at the start of the year after old Professor Samps had retired – before excusing herself and leaving to start the day.
Normally, Lyra would have followed McGonagall's lead and left before the hall had the chance to become too full, but something held her at the table that morning. Not being the type to try and analyse things, Lyra simply accepted facts and sipped her coffee.
'I almost forgot. Here,' Marlene said absentmindedly, putting a small box on the opened Daily Prophet spread out before Lyra as she grabbed a piece of toast and some raspberry jam. 'Merry Christmas.'
No longer surprised by such acts of spontaneity from the blonde, Lyra simply raised her eyebrows in wary curiosity. Placing her mug down beside her, she lifted the lid. She withdrew a small, cool, silver metal box, which had an indent running around the circumference two thirds up. Her brow dropped as she turned it over.
Clearly predicting her confusion, Marlene scoffed through her smirk and took the box from her. Lyra watched as Marlene ran her fingernail under the indent, gently tugging the top of the box off. Under the hinged lid was a sight that only deepened Lyra's confusion. Smirking in anticipation, Marlene placed her thumb on a small barrel and slid it towards her.
Lyra felt her jaw drop. There, coming from the small box in Marlene's hand, was a single flame.
'How did you do that!' Lyra asked in astonishment.
Marlene was positively beside herself over the fact that she'd managed to pull such a reaction from the normally composed girl. 'Pretty cool, yeah?'
'But, it's muggle!'
'Right, it's called a lighter,' Marlene said. 'So don't ask me how it works, cause I have no idea.' She let go of the pad at the bottom of the barrel her thumb had been pressing on. The flame disappeared immediately, and she flipped the lid back in place, handing it back to Lyra who immediately opened the lid again, mirroring Marlene's previous actions.
She marvelled at the small flicker of heat and light; she never knew that conjuring a flame could be done so simply.
'Evan's told me that if it ever stops working,' Marlene explained, returning to her breakfast, 'that you need to take it to a tobacco shop and ask fluid, oh and don't forget some muggle money.' She paused and looked across at Lyra again, who was now making the flame appear and disappear every couple of seconds. 'And please don't show it to your brother. With the amount that boy smokes, you'd likely never see that thing again.'
Lyra let her thumb slip and finally closed the lid on the lighter, turning in her seat to stare accusingly at Marlene. 'Yes, I have been meaning to talk to you about how exactly Sirius picked up that particular habit.'
'Don't know what you mean,' Marlene said, taking a rather large bite of toast.
Lyra narrowed her eyes, slipping the lighter into the pocket of her robe. 'It's disgusting, Marls.'
'What's disgusting?'
Marlene grinned at the timely interruption that had no doubt saved her from Lyra' inquisition as Sirius, James, Peter and Remus along with Lily and Mary took the empty seats around the two girls. Lyra turned her glare from Marlene to Sirius who was now sitting directly across from her.
'What?' He demanded, looking from Lyra's narrowed eyes, to Marlene, who was practically alight with glee at the prospect of landing Sirius in hot water. Remembering the question he'd just posed, Sirius put a hand to his chest, looking somewhat affronted. 'I'm disgusting?'
Marlene, who had hastily chewed and swallowed her food – no doubt in preparation for such an opening – leaned slightly towards Sirius. 'I'm sorry,' she said, in mock concern, 'I thought that was common knowledge.'
'I wasn't asking for your opinion, McKinnon,' Sirius griped.
'I'm sorry,' Marlene said again, waving him away. 'But we all took a vote, and the results didn't exactly sway your way.'
Sensing where this was heading, Lyra rolled her eyes, subtly sharing a look of exasperation to Remus who was sitting next to Sirius, before picking up her paper and promptly hiding behind it as the voices grew louder.
Lyra was just about to lose herself in an article about the latest vanishings, when something stopped her – a number of somethings.
An unnerving feeling rose quickly through her veins. Almost instinctively she followed it and looked to her left, eyes going straight back to the Head Table. But instead of being absorbed in whatever he had been reading before, Professor Antone was now looking right at her, unashamedly she noted. Before she'd had a chance to do anything more than glance in his direction, someone knocked into her side, making her wince, dropping her paper, as pain flared through her.
'Shit, sorry Lyra, you okay?' James said quickly, hand paused still reaching for the orange juice.
Nodding him away quickly, Lyra was about to check the Head Table again as the sound of hundreds of wings erupted suddenly from above. She didn't bother looking for Talons, who had already stopped by the Great Hall earlier to deliver the Daily Prophet. So, when something large swooped towards her, dropping a letter before flying off in a hurry, Lyra couldn't help but startle. She recovered in time to see see Aries, her mother's eagle owl flying away in haste.
Those sitting around her stopped, their own letters and packages falling unnoticed beside them. Lyra's apprehension, which had already been stirred due to Antone's strange behaviour just before, rose further as she looked down and saw familiar cursive. A quick glance across the table confirmed that Sirius had no letter in front of him which both relieved and frightened her a little.
She'd never expected to hear from her mother ever again. From what Sirius had told her, both of them were now disinherited, scorched from their family in more than one way. There was no doubt in her mind that this letter contained more of the same.
Cautiously pulling it towards her, Lyra decided that opening it as quickly as possible, getting it over and done with, would be the most preferable option. The others eyed the letter nervously as she tore it open in one fluid motion.
There was a collective sigh when nothing happened.
But then Lyra pulled the letter out and started to read.
She could feel the colour drain from her face. With every word she read, her anger, her disbelief, her disgust grew. The words ran out just in time just in time as a familiar swell of heat began to pool in her fingers. Without thinking, she held the letter out for Sirius to take, who snatched it from her and greedily set about reading it. Now that her hands were free, Lyra quickly pulled them under the table and out of sight.
Sirius' face contorted in rage as his eyes flew across the parchment.
'That fucking cow!' Sirius spat, standing and looking wildly about the Hall, blind to everything but what he sought. From across the table, James was desperately trying to read the parts of the letter he could see from where he sat.
Sirius' eyes suddenly narrowed, his body stilled as if he were a cat, ready to pounce on its prey. He stalked away from them without a word, dropping the letter.
'Sirius!?' Lily called after him.
Lyra realised that, to the others, she probably appeared to be in a state of shock as she sat, staring blankly ahead. What they didn't know was that she was trying desperately to remain calm. A feat that seemed unlikely as the contents of the letter replayed themselves through her head.
'It's their mother,' James said, reading the letter he'd snatched up as quickly as soon as it had hit the table. 'She's,' he paused, rereading it to make sure he'd understood correctly. 'She's begging for Lyra's forgiveness. She says that if Lyra reconciles with them now then all past transgressions will be forgotten. She vows that Lyra will be protected if she accepts their offer.' He paused again quickly reading to the end. Unsuccessfully holding back a frustrated snort, he said, with no small hint of contempt, 'She also says that none of these terms apply to Sirius, that his actions can't be forgiven so easily.'
The others, who had fallen into a disbelieving stupor by this point, all jumped when loud voices erupted from the next table.
'To hell with you, you insufferable little git!'
Lyra lifted her eyes to see Sirius standing across from Regulus, the Slytherin table wedged between them. A number of Slytherins, Regulus included, had shot to their feet as soon as they'd realised where Sirius was headed. All of them had drawn their wands. All of them except Regulus. And every single person in the Great Hall at that moment realised that if it hadn't been for the table separating them, the two brothers would have already come to blows.
To his credit, Regulus was standing straight backed and proud, an expression of defiance firmly setting his features. The feathering of his jaw was the only tell-tale sign of nervousness Lyra could see, and he had every right to be nervous. Everyone knew that, for all his joking and levity, Sirius Black was a skilled wizard and had the potential to be extremely dangerous when provoked – all one had to do was see his mock duels in Defence Against the Dark Arts and the way his eyes flashed when he came across of group of Slytherins to know that.
The teachers at the Head Table had also been quick to their feet, already making their way towards the boys.
Sirius was shaking as he removed his wand from his pants pocket. There was a collective intake of breath from everyone in the hall as they were expecting him to aim at his brother. But instead, Sirius pointed his wand towards the Gryffindor table. Mrs Black's letter flew from James' hand and soared into his waiting hand.
Sirius leant further across the table, slamming the crumpled letter into Regulus' chest with an audible impact.
'You tell that loathsome old slag,' Sirius growled, his voice trembling from fury, 'that the only thing her daughter needs to be protected from is them! And if they ever come near her or me again, I will gladly repay them for their past kindness!' And with that, Sirius turned to his right, extended his arms wide in a mock bow and smiled a broad, extremely false smile, at McGonagall who had been walking past the Great Hall when she'd heard Lily cry out Sirius' name. 'Minnie!' Sirius called as the Professor reached him, with apparently no hint of his previous outburst. 'After you,' he said, bowing deeper still and ushering her to lead the way. His forced jocularity was abandoned as soon as McGonagall's back was to him and he followed her from the Hall with a ferocious look clouding his face
While Sirius followed McGonagall, Professor Slughorn, Regulus' head of house, quickly escorted him from the Hall as well, the boy's jaw still ticking away.
Those sitting at the Gryffindor table all slowly turned, silent, to where Lyra sat. She was frowning at the spot her brothers had stood moments before.
'Miss Black,' came Professor Flitwick's firm but squeaky voice from behind her. 'I'm terribly sorry, Miss Black, but I am going to have to ask you to follow me.'
Lyra nodded her head numbly, picked up her satchel and rose from the table, dropping her eyes immediately.
As she followed the little Professor, Lyra felt the uneasy feeling from before rise again. As subtly as she could, she looked behind her as she was exiting the Hall. Professor Antone looked right back at her.
ooOOoo
Sirius was still shaking as he pushed himself further into the seat in Professor McGonagall's office, glaring at the eagle quill sitting atop her desk. He refused to turn his head. The thought of his brother, no doubt sitting smugly in the chair next to him, was more than enough to fuel his anger already, he didn't need it confirmed.
How dare they think that they could worm their way back into Lyra's life. After everything they'd done to her, after they'd tried to kill her! It was far, far too late for that – even if it was a possibility – which of course it wasn't, it was absurd, it was infuriating! His Mother had disinherited them . . . both of them. Something like that couldn't just be undone with some frivolous, shallow letter. Words weren't enough to wash away so much blood . . . blood that Regulus had seen. There was no doubt in Sirius' mind in that moment that Regulus was just as guilty as those who caused Lyra's blood to spill in the first place.
The door to the office opened, then closed with a soft click. Lyra appeared in his periphery as she took the empty seat beside him, so that he was now in the middle of his two siblings. He didn't look at her, instead he ground his teeth further, not letting his eyes stray from Professor McGonagall who, at the present moment, looked downright murderous.
'Now,' she started, terse and stiff-lipped, nostrils flaring. 'I realise that certain events have occurred over the most recent holidays that have caused a rift to form between the three of you. But that does not give you any excuse to begin rioting within the halls of this school! As students of Hogwarts it is expected that you act in a manner befitting both your age and your education.'
McGonagall now focussed solely on the two boys. 'If I hear of another outburst, of any un-pleasantries of any kind, no matter how small or discreet, that take place between any of you, you will face much more serious consequences than the ones you are facing right now.' After receiving stiff nods of understanding, she gave an almost imperceptible huff and leant back in her chair, steepling her fingers. 'You will all be receiving separate detentions – Mr Black,' she said, looking at Regulus, 'I will talk to Professor Slughorn who will inform you of the details – and I wouldn't rule out the possibility of Professor Dumbledore wanting to talk to you all as well in the coming days.'
Sirius shot from his chair. 'But Lyra-!'
McGonagall rose with speed Sirius would never have expected to see from her, she slammed her open palms on the table. 'Enough, Mr Black!'
Sirius blinked in shock. Sure, he'd heard McGonagall get angry over the years, but that was anger borne out of good fun (for the most part). This was something else, something rawer.
'You and Mr Black are free to go. You will both proceed straight to your first lessons and if I hear that you have made even the slightest detour than you will be back here explaining yourself to the Headmaster.'
Sirius opened his mouth again.
'I wish to speak to Miss Black privately.' Her tone was final, and Sirius knew it. He laid a quick hand on Lyra's shoulder as he walked past, offering as much comfort as he could manage, before storming from the room.
Regulus, in stark contrast, rose slowly, composedly. He didn't acknowledge anyone as he left. And It was only after she had heard the door close that Lyra noticed that Regulus had placed something on McGonagall's table.
A crumpled piece of parchment covered in fine cursive writing.
McGonagall retook her seat with a long, drawn out and tired sigh. She looked at Lyra for a moment, taking in the paleness of her skin, the deep crease of her forehead, the way her hands had made their way into the pockets of her robe.
'The Potter's contacted us throughout the holidays, Miss Black,' McGonagall said, her voice softer now that they were alone. 'We are aware of how you came to spend the last few days with them but are, yet, unaware of the why.'
She waited for a response from Lyra, maybe she was hoping for an explanation, but, as he'd already predicted, none ever came.
Lyra gritted her teeth. She wasn't about to be bullied into talking about things that were her business alone. Not wanting to disrespect her head of house, however, she determined that silence would be a sufficient response.
After a moment McGonagall pursed her lips and continued. 'You will be reporting to Professor Dumbledore for your detention.'
Lyra's head shot up.
McGonagall raised her hands. 'Not for punishment, but merely for a discussion. If you wish, you may simply spend the time in silence. If I know the Headmaster, he will not push you for information, but it could be beneficial for you to offer it. If there is one person who can help you, Miss Black, it is Albus Dumbledore.' She waited again, unconvinced that her words were getting through. 'Do you understand?'
Lyra's brain was telling her that she was nodding, yet she couldn't feel it, she was struggling to feel anything but the burning in her fingertips. Six and a half years of successfully evading the Hogwarts headmaster – which was a considerably harder feat to accomplish with Sirius as a sibling – had been shot to hell.
Merlin help her.
'Very well,' McGonagall said heavily, 'you are free to leave. Straight to your first lesson, if you please,' she warned as Lyra rose.
Lyra neither noticed nor cared if McGonagall saw her taking the discarded letter from her desk.
As she left the office, she finally felt something. She felt a single tear trail down her cheek, along with the coarseness of the crumpled piece of parchment in her fist.
When she was finally free of the office, of prying eyes, when she had reached the security of an empty corridor she let the flood gates in her fingers open and she did not have to look down to know that the tips of her fingers, still stuffed in her pockets, were glowing, a deep blood red.
Walking slowly down the corridor, she let go of the letter and it rose to float in front of her face, uncurling before her eyes. Lyra withdrew a hand, in it was the lighter, it's cool metal quickly becoming hot. Lifting the lid and pulling her thumb along the barrel, Lyra watched as the flame appeared. With a mere twitch of her fingers, the flame lifted from the lighter and moved to envelope the letter.
It burst into flames.
The last thing Lyra read were the words come home, my daughter. Snapping the lighter closed, she flexed her hands when there was nothing left and made her way from the corridor to the fifth floor.
The plot thickens . . .
I realise that so far the chapters are mostly single scenes, but they will expand and cover more content in the future.
Also sorry to anyone from the UK who might be reading this. I took a guess about what cigarette shops were called there in the 70's. I hope it makes sense though.
Thanks once again for those who have favourited/followed and reviewed, your support means so much to me.
X3sunnydaay – Thanks as always for your review. I use similar programs for my university studies, but I do like re-reading past chapters and will most likely always teak it a bit haha. I've always enjoyed following multiple perspectives and have been inspired by a few works that I've read that achieve really smooth transitions between different POV's so I'm glad I've managed to do the same. Hope you liked this chapter and don't worry, there will definitely be more Remus and Lyra in the coming chapters!
AllyCatt12 – I'm so glad you've been enjoying the story so far! I'm going to be following multiple people throughout the story. It's going to mainly focus on Sirius and Lyra, but I enjoy exploring canon and further developing Rowling's characters. I hope you like this chapter!
Till next time, stay safe, stay happy
